276: Cameron Herold - How To Conduct A Meeting So It Doesn’t Suck

Everyone in business is will need to conduct a meeting at some point. When that time comes, you want to do it well, right? Ari and Nick’s guest on this episode is Cameron Herold, author of “Meetings Suck.” He’s on the show to talk specifically about how to conduct meetings in a way that makes them beneficial to everyone involved. In fact, Cameron says that you want to conduct your meetings in a way that people are actually eager to come. How can that happen? You can find out on this episode. ## Do you know how to conduct a meeting for your team well? When Cameron Herold first came up with the idea for his book, “Meetings Suck” he was chatting with one of his peers who was bemoaning the meetings he had to conduct. When Cameron asked him if he’d ever been taught how to conduct an effective meeting, his friend said, “No.” That was the starting point and the book is the result. “Meetings Suck” serves as a primer on what meetings are for, how they should be planned, the best format and structure for meetings, and ground rules for participation. You’ll find Cameron’s insights into effective meetings very helpful, so be sure you listen. ## Do your meetings suck or do you suck at running meetings? Most meetings drag on and on simply because the person conducting the meeting doesn’t know what they are doing. They wrongly believe that they are supposed to let everyone voice their opinion, allow for comments about everything, and be careful not to hurt anyone’s feelings. Cameron Herold says that’s the best way to frustrate everyone in the company and make attendance at meetings as much fun a root canal. You can hear some actionable, practical tips from Cameron about running effective meetings, on this episode. ## “Sorry, I’m late” means, “I’m selfish and don’t value your time.” ~ Cameron Herold Every company or team needs to have ground rules for their meetings - and they need to be widely and clearly communicated. One of the most important ground rules is that you don’t show up late. Cameron Herold says that showing up late says, “I am selfish and I don’t value the time of the other people who are attending this meeting.” If you’ll take the time to hear what Cameron has to say about team culture as it pertains to meetings, you’ll discover some of the missing pieces that can make your meetings more effective and enjoyable for your team. ## How to best conduct meetings for remote teams. It’s more and more common for companies (like the Leverage Team, for example) to work remotely all across the globe. That makes in-person meetings an impossibility most of the time. So what are some good alternatives and how should they be used most effectively? On this episode of The Leverage Podcast, Ari and Nick chat with Cameron Herold about meetings for remote teams and find out that most of the principles that should be applied to in-person meetings are even more important when it comes to video or phone meetings for remote teams. You’ll want to hear this one. ## Outline of This Episode - [0:03] Introduction of Cameron Herold, COO of 1-800-Got-Junk. - [0.14] How Cameron came to write “Meetings Suck.” - [2:12] How rigid should you be with scheduling of meetings? - [3:53] Cameron’s basic meeting template and goals. - [6:26] When is asynchronous video communication OK to replace meetings? - [8:30] The primary purpose of meetings has to be meeting-specific. - [9:42] How do Cameron’s principles about meetings apply to remote teams? - [12:30] Using meetings well is about using people, time, and money well. - [13:25] Tips for building team culture on a remote team. - [15:50] Cameron’s top 3 tips to be more effective. ## Resources Mentioned - [www.CameronHerold.com](http://www.CameronHerold.com) - [www.1800GotJunk.com](http://www.1800GotJunk.com) - [The COO Alliance](http://www.cooalliance.com/) - BOOK: [Double, Double](https://www.amazon.com/Double-Your-Revenue-Profit-Years/dp/1608320995) - BOOK: [Meetings Suck](https