Head: (4 of 5)
Heart: (3 of 5)
Leadership Applicability: (4 of 5)

In this article, there are some very simple yet impactful changes that can be made to the structure of a meeting in order to use time more productively and efficiently. The author outlines four typical ways time is squandered: 1.) Top management teams spend relatively little time together, 2.) Agenda setting is unfocused and undisciplined, 3.) Too little attention is paid to strategy, and 4.) Top management meetings aren't structured to produce real decisions. He also offers seven techniques for exploiting valuable time:

• Deal with operations separately from strategy
• Focus on decisions, not discussions
• Measure the real value of every item on the agenda
• Get issues off the agenda as quickly as possible
• Put real choices on the table
• Adopt common decision-making processes and standards
• Make decisions stick

Although this article is focused on top management teams, the tips and suggestions can be used for any team or meeting to use time more efficiently and effectively. Buy it.