Bernie De Koven's Meeting System IQ Test

Not-So-Smart: Minutes filed somewhere. Project status reports filed somewhere else. In other words, start the meeting from scratch.

Smart: Minutes of previous meetings, action items, project status, etc., available on-line.

Not-So-Smart: Using phone and memo, maybe even fax, days are spent trying to get everyone to the same place at the same time.

Smart: Using computer network and calendaring software, less than an hour is needed to arrange meeting time and place.

Not-So-Smart: Agenda is distributed late, if at all. Developed unilaterally, or maybe by a few. Presentation material not available until the day of the meeting, if at all.

Smart: Agenda developed collaboratively via network. Presentation material and references available before and during meeting.

Not-So-Smart: Lots of money and time just to translate computer-produced presentations into color slides, hand-outs, posters, etc., that usually get thrown or stored away.

Smart: Information projected directly from computer. Materials remain instantly accessible, reusable, and brought-up-to-date-able.

Not-So-Smart: Meeting delayed for perhaps days because of absence of one or another key person.

Smart: Meeting arranged and conducted well ahead of decision deadlines. People who can't make it to the meeting room participate via phone and network.

Not-So-Smart: Action items are tracked by separate people, if tracked at all. People leave with different ideas of who is supposed to do what, when, and some things don't get done, ever.

Smart: Action items are evaluated, synthesized, organized, approved and posted continuously, as needed, during the entire meeting, assigned before the meeting is over, recorded and distributed via hard- and electronic copy.

Not-So-Smart: The "real agenda" is hidden. If there is an agenda, most items are new for most people. Need to define, challenge and reprioritize.

Smart: Up-to-date agreed-on agenda for review and last-minute prioritization. Can be collaboratively edited, reprioritized, used as a tool throughout meeting to help structure and re-assess priorities.

Not-So-Smart: Decisions are made by vote or by hollering at each other. Minority opinions forgotten.

Smart: Participants see their own and each other's contributions carefully and accurately noted. People work together to create on-screen summaries, define areas of consensus, describe their disagreements.

Not-So-Smart: Complex decisions lead to alternate solutions, each of which results in another meeting.

Smart: Participants model complex decisions on the computer via spread sheet, or planning tool. They generate alternate solutions using "what-if" capabilities.

Not-So-Smart: Unresponsive leadership using unresponsive media: pre-printed posters, packaged presentations, flipcharts and whiteboards that only the leader gets to use.

Smart: Leader uses information management software to support collaboration, participation, productivity. Team is self-facilitating, using the computer and other media to work together.

Not-So-Smart: Everybody leaves with a different interpretation of what happened. "Official" minutes arrive too late to make a difference.

Smart: Minutes approved as they are being developed, becomes collaborative process, basis for producing memos, summaries, reports.

Not-So-Smart: Participation is not invited. Meeting is formal and linear. People bored or anxious for it to be over.

Smart: Leader, presenter use computer to share information, leadership, responsibility for learning.

Not-So-Smart: No tangible results. At best a set of out-dated, questionably thorough, poorly authorized meeting Minutes to file.

Smart: Electronic records of all major decisions. Distribution of approved results within a day. Co-owned, co-created, co-authored, co-produced: files, resources, reports, templates, tools, methods.

Not-so-smart: Questions and comments might eventually be found in the Minutes, maybe.

Smart: Questions and comments can be added to and stored with the presentation data, cross-indexed by project. Participants can edit questions and comments, creating co-authored and co-owned summaries and action items.

Not-So-Smart: Presentation is a mix of handouts, foils or slides, showing out-of-date material that most people haven't had time to think about.

Smart: Information is on-line. Presenter can check and update presentation data at the last minute. Presentation is displayed live, directly from the computer, providing interactive, responsive, random-accessible, updatable, full-colored, animated detail.

Not-So-Smart: Presenter is on the defensive: needs to document source, verbally defend position, information.

Smart: Presenter can retrieve on-demand, on-line background data to support conclusions and respond to questions. Presenter and group together use computer to research, combining expertise, search skills.

Not-So-Smart: Not sure what was agreed to or what you got noted for or as.

Smart: Hard copy in hand.

Not-So-Smart: Not sure who's supposed to do what, when...

Smart: In hard- and electronic copy for all to see: your name, what you agreed to do, when, with whom, who you're supposed to tell when it's finished.

Not-So-Smart: Everyone has a different interpretation of what was decided.

Smart: Everyone has the same set of notes.

Not-So-Smart: Follow what up?

Smart: On-going, via network, phone, fax and collaborative software.

Not-So-Smart: Minutes not taken, or not distributed until days or weeks after the meeting, produced on paper and then filed somewhere.

Smart: Accurate, approved records of key decisions available within the hour, on-line, cross-indexed by project and meeting date, for anyone whose business it is to know.

Not-So-Smart: People walk away clearer about who's who, and less clear about what's what.

Smart: Clear, collaborative, productive communication. Electronic production, distribution and storage of results and notification of accountability.