How Many Use A Timed Agenda?

How many of you use a timed agenda? A new client asked me to observe one of their monthly Board meetings and offer some guidance on ensuring their future meetings were both shorter and more productive. The meeting was held on a Sunday morning and didn’t end until 4:00 PM. nearly every Board member was exhausted, cranky and totally frustrated by the end of the meeting. Who would not blame them? It was a Sunday and the Board meets monthly.

Now we all realize that this situation was occurring for a number of difficult unhealthy reasons and something drastic had to be done . . . .

The first step and one so simple was to create a timed agenda. It was really quite easy. The meeting ended at 1:30 rather tha
4:30 so they reduced their meeting time by 3 hours. This is a dramatic example however if your board meeting took less time, was better organized and more productive wouldn’t it be worth trying a timed agenda? The timed agenda is only the first step and if the time is not adhered to frustration will occur. Someone (usually the Chair) must enforce the time limits and others need to be respectful of the time.

So what happens when you absolutely must go over the allotted time or when do you fit an in camera meeting into the schedule. What about the attendee who go on and on giving no consideration for the time. It’s very tricky to cut off debate and you must give everyone an opportunity to speak to an item.

No need in reinventing the wheel or continuing with overly long meetings. There is an example below of a timed agenda you will have to modify for your needs however it’s a good starting point.

Sample Timed Agenda

Acceptance of consent agenda 6:00-6:05
Board Chairs Welcoming Remarks 6:05-6:25
Review of Quarterly financial status 6:25-7:00
Review of Draft Budget 7:00-7:30
Introduction of Programming Model 7:30-8:00
Meeting evaluation and adjou
8:00-8:15

This is a really simple timed agenda, adjust it to your requirements, follow it and your meetings will be shorter, that’s a guarantee!