The strategy conversation you can only have here
Just before walking out the door after a meeting, try asking this killer question which summarises everything that has just happened.
"So what are you taking away from this meeting?"
The summary which follows gives you an opportunity to hear what others are concluding from the meeting.
It immediately gives you a checkpoint confirming that they are leaving with the desired outcome of the meeting. If not, then it gives you an opportunity to correct it. If you are not sure what the other person or people are leaving with then the meeting may have been a complete waste of time.
Speaking of which, if you have too many meetings where the outcome that the other participants report back after you ask the question falls well short of the objectives of the meeting, then you have to rethink how you run your meetings.
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