Get off the treadmill of back-to-back meetings and get back to the work that matters most when you…
Start With Better Meetings
If ‘too many meetings’ has become your weekly norm and you’re looking for ways to…
…do more of the work that inspires you?
…motivate and empower your team?
…and finally get off the meeting treadmill?
You can!
And, it’s easier than you might think.
Somewhere in your schedule, there’s a meeting just waiting for the chance to be better. Maybe it’s one that you lead. Or maybe it’s one in which you’re a key player.
That meeting is the starting point, the catalyst for change. Because when you Start with Better Meetings, the positive ripple effects are incredibly powerful.
In this book, you’ll learn practical meeting makeover strategies loaded with potential to help you strengthen your team, deliver consistent results, and finally get off the treadmill of back-to-back meetings.
Meetings aren’t the problem. We just need to do meetings better.
Maybe fewer, maybe shorter, but definitely BETTER MEETINGS!
No more meetings that only lead to more and more meetings.
Better Meetings = Better Work.
I’m an organizational nerd. I LOVE project management and figuring out how to bring the puzzle – and the people – together.
It’s always been my superpower.
Meetings are a big part of that, especially figuring out how to collaborate effectively and have some fun doing it.
When the world shifted to remote, almost overnight, the landscape of meetings changed right along with it. In nearly 25 years of project management and community engagement, I’d never experienced anything quite like it. Suddenly, the workload seemed to triple with the addition of meeting after meeting. Meetings that, most of the time, seemed to lead nowhere except toward more and more meetings.
Smaller teams. Smaller budgets. Bigger expectations.
Something had to give. And, that something was trading bad meetings for better ones.
Fast forward a few years and that’s exactly what this book teaches.
Transforming meetings from mundane to meaningful is as simple as making a few small changes. Small changes with huge potential for positive impact.
Impacts you’ll see in consistent and timely deliverables, increased motivation and collaboration within your team, and sustainable progress year over year.
Meetings aren’t the problem. We just need to Start With Better Meetings.
How Would You Feel If You Could Start Adding 2-3 Hours Back into Your Schedule Every Week?
Start With Better Meetings is an invitation to shift the way you look at meetings.
A path toward progress that works over and over again.
Maybe you’ll love all of it! Maybe a piece or two will resonate with you and be just the thing you were looking for.
Either way, the steps inside this book are designed to make it easy for you to transform your work week when you Start With Better Meetings.
Here’s Some of What You’ll Discover Inside the Book
- Why meetings aren’t actually the problem – and what is
- Why better meetings solve so many other problems
- The key ingredients that result in a Better Meeting
- The essential question that makes all meetings better
- Busy vs Productive – and which one is causing you trouble
- Five of the most common meeting mishaps and how to avoid them
- Common categories of meetings and how to use them
- Powerful questions to ask before scheduling – or attending – a meeting
- The Take Ten Agenda and why it’s a gamechanger for meetings
- The 5-Step Better Meetings Method
- Why accountability gets a bad rap and why it’s critical for Better Meetings
- How to make sure the right people are in the right meeting for the right stage of work
- Essential management skills for leading Better Meetings
- Real-world recommendations for implementing change
Better Meetings Benefit Everyone…
Even if You’re Not A “Meeting Person”
(Spoiler Alert…I used to hate meetings)
You might be thinking that planning better meetings is a poor substitute for just taking a fire hose to your calendar and starting with a clean slate.
Satisfying as that may sound, meetings aren’t the problem. Meetings are still one of our best tools for collaboration.
No need to overhaul the whole system. When you Start With Better Meetings, just one meeting has the potential to create a change.
Like it? Keep going. The ripple effect through your calendar will leave you with more time to focus, more time to share, and more time to deliver your best work. And that benefits everyone.
That’s why I’m so excited to share this book with you and see how you use it!
It’s Simple. It’s Practical. And it Works!
This method bucks the norm of ‘when in doubt, schedule more meetings.’ It’s a change, for sure, and one that has the potential to propel your team to new heights.
If you are responsible for bringing people together toward a shared goal, better meetings are a must.
Whether you’re part of a board, a leadership circle, a team, or a community group, better meetings reliably lead to more effective collaboration, clearer expectations, and steady, sustainable progress.
Of course, this method isn’t for everyone, but if it sounds like music to your ears, read on to see what people are saying.
Lilla
Kelly is a natural. Her wealth of wisdom and gentle approach allows you to be comfortable and easily receptive. She helped me tremendously with my own business during a very trying time in my life. I highly recommend her.
Emily
Kelly has a great talent for organizing vague ideas into an actionable plan. She sees the bigger picture and finds a way to meet goals in a better way. She also sees peoples’ strengths and draws those out so the whole process is inclusive and highly engaging. She keeps us on track and forward thinking!
Need a recap? Here it is in a nutshell.
- Meetings are not the problem and busy is not the same as productive.
- Better Meetings can help you transform the culture of your team, strengthening the bonds and resulting in distinctly better work.
- The free download gets you the whole book, including the step-by-step method to Start With Better Meetings
About the Author
Kelly has spent the last 25 years designing and building programs, partnerships, and place-based projects in education and conservation. She has had the good fortune to work alongside incredible staff and volunteers at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Audubon, and is a professional member of the National Association of Productivity and Organization Professionals (NAPO) where she serves on the Education Advisory Committee.
In 2021, she turned her attention toward consulting and started Function & Flow to help teams and organizations work better, smarter, and more effectively…together.
In short, to Do Productivity Differently.
She has worked with and consulted for organizations of all sizes and scopes and knows that although industries and missions are as different as the day is long, the foundational principles of getting things done are always the same. Get to the core, collaborate effectively, choose a path, and commit.
Her superpower is helping you simplify that process.
She values relationships as the core element of strong and effective teams. Understanding that has opened doors for her to connect classrooms to communities, design productivity and organization strategies for corporate and non-profit entities, and turn a maximum-security cell block into an award-winning, tail-wagging incubator for compassionate change at the HOPE Dogs Program.
When she’s not nerding out on this incredible work, she can usually be found outdoors. She loves spending time with her husband and keeping up with her two retired greyhounds who think she invented peanut butter.