The Career Consigliere

Episode 31: Meetings the Right Way - The Post-Mortem Phase

• America's White Collar Wise Guy • Episode 31

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Your meeting is finally over.  But not so fast, you're not done yet!  What comes next?  How do you manage expectations and keep all your attendees on the same page?

Today's episode ends our meeting series with the "Post mortem" phase.  Sending a follow-up email is all that really happens here, but you'd be amazed how many people in the corporate world mismanage, or completely skip this small but critical step.  Here, you'll find out how what to say, and how to say it, to keep all attendees organized and moving in the same direction

Enjoy!

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Whaddaya hear, whaddya say?  Welcome to episode 31 of the Career Consigliere podcast: your no frills, no BS forum for navigating the corporate job scene.  We’re back with you once again for what we hope to be a highly informative and engaging half an hour, or so!  Today we conclude our series on properly structuring a meeting by talking about phase 3:  the post mortem.  Yes, this is the end of the line, the last stop on the meeting train, the very end of the process, which deals with what happens AFTER the meeting occurs.  It’s a very important, yet all-too-frequently ignored or mismanaged phase that will really make or break the success of your meeting.  So, true to form, we’ll talk about what it consists of, why it’s important, and how you can make it a regular part of your project management routine.  So podcast land, lettsssss get it! 

I’ve said this before:  if you observe the average person leading a meeting out in the corporate world, their form and method are all kinds of messed up.  The most obvious reason?  They’re not a loyal consigliere listener (only a chosen few of us can be so enlightened, right?)  But we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and explore another possibility, and this, if you want my honest opinion, is a good old case of “Monkey see, monkey do”.  The average corporate employee with even a moderate workload is usually running from meeting to meeting, frazzled beyond belief, and just has way more electronic stimuli in their face than a human being was ever meant to be exposed to.  They’ve got a smart phone and a laptop spitting all kinds of pings, dings, and communication rings all in competition with one another.  The result?  Their focus shifts very frequently, and stuff gets lost in the sauce.  So, when one meeting is over it’s usually right on to the next.  And even if it’s not, there’s still other work to be done, emails and stuff coming in while that meeting is going on, and more than enough crap to keep them occupied for the entire rest of the day.  

So do you really think the average person like this, our archetype of corporate life, is really primed to start doing reflections on a meeting that just took place?  Hell no!  I can promise you, they’re thinking about the next thing long before that meeting even ends.  So think of who’s observing this.....everyone!  It hits home especially for more junior people, those in the early days of their career, more impressionable, and still forming their habits and style.  Being overstimulated and busy beyond belief is so normalized and widespread that there are even products, services, and entire industries built around it.  Think of all the mental health apps and other resources you see advertised on social media – a staggering amount of that is marketed towards “you and I”, figuratively speaking, employees of the corporate world.  But however normalized and accepted this might be, I’ve never been a fan personally, and have always done my absolute best (at times to my own detriment), NOT to fall victim to overstimulation at work.  Maybe it ostracized me a little bit, maybe it made me look a little cavalier, but hey, I’d rather get my 8 hours of sleep a night and maintain a blood pressure that’s not going to send me into cardiac arrest anytime soon:  wouldn’t you?

Bringing it full circle, the more people see this happen around them, the more these behaviors gain momentum and continue to build, and the faster-paced our business world becomes.  And guess what:  the less meeting follow-up that takes place.  So what SHOULD happen after a meeting concludes?  Let’s get down into it.

Phase 3, what we’re calling the “post mortem”, should actually begin BEFORE the meeting ends.  In the last episode, remember how I mentioned it’s a good idea to write down notes while the meeting is happening?  Well not only is it a good idea, it’s CRITICAL to putting together a good post-mortem.  The more you can remember from a meeting, the more follow-up you can do.  And you might have a venus fly trap of a short-term memory:  you might still know your childhood phone number and the license plate of your first car.  But no matter how sharp your memory is, there is SO much information coming at us in modern corporate meetings that it’s nearly IMPOSSIBLE to keep it all straight and not miss anything without at least jotting down some notes.  And your method for doing so doesn’t have to be fancy at all:  I was always a big fan of opening up a blank email and using that as my notepad.  There are so many tools and resources like that on today’s corporate computers, so I won’t bother suggesting any because you probably know more of them than I do.  But whatever it happens to be, even if you wanted to use a good ol-fashioned pen and paper, quill and parchment, what have you, do SOMETHING to keep yourself organized and avoid missing key details.  

So assuming you have some kind of system in place to take notes during a meeting, let’s get into what happens after.  To set the stage here, you’re going to send a written summary of what was discussed along with action items laying out what happens next.  That’s it, people:  that’s all the post-mortem phase is.  But we need to make sure we’re doing it efficiently and effectively.  I recommend doing this as soon as possible after the meeting ends:  notes aside, you’ll always do better when everything is fresh in your head.  You wanna get up and go use the bathroom first?  Go grab a cup of coffee maybe??  Fine. Just don’t wait TOO long, or else you risk another stimulus invasion and you might take your eye off the ball.

In this written summary (usually an email), you’ll first want to thank everyone for attending the meeting.  Remember, they kept their word and took however much time out of their day to spend with you, so a thanks is definitely in order.  Doesn’t have to be fancy or over-the-top:  a simple “thanks for a productive meeting earlier today” should do just fine.  Next, you can literally say, “here’s a recap of what was discussed”.  And that’s where you’ll list out bullet points of the main takeaways and action items from the meeting.  Now, a word of warning here:  DON’T reiterate every single turn of phrase that was uttered in the meeting:  in the words of the famous Sweet Brown, “ain’t nobody got time for that!”.  Keep this to the most central elements, people.  Think of it this way: if somebody MISSED the meeting, what would be necessary to get them up to speed and back in the loop? That’s a good way you can approach the post-mortem.  

I’d recommend keeping your list of bullets around 5, but no more than 7.  Where does a number like 7 come from, you wonder?  If you’re typing in Outlook’s default size 11 font, 7 bullet points (at least in my experience) is usually the most you can get without having to expand the size of the email window from its default.  Not scientific by any stretch, but the idea here is not to overwhelm your colleagues.  If you write a novel, I PROMISE you:  ain’t nobody gon’ read it.  You’ll want to keep it to the point and focusing only on the facts.  Your bullet points should also contain action items, and call out the specific people responsible for that particular task.  So, if you designated Kelly as the person to “call the venue to reserve a conference room”, put her name somewhere in that bullet point and make it very obvious that you’re expecting that action from HER specifically.  Bold text usually works pretty nice here, and you might even want to take it one step further and highlight each person’s name in a specific color to make it visually obvious whose tasks are whose.  Do it however you see fit, just make it very obvious what you’re expecting, and from whom.

Finally, at the end of this message, you’ll want to close out the meeting once and for all.  To do this, you’ll first want to announce what’s coming next.  Assuming it’s a long-term, ongoing project, usually it’s another meeting of some kind.  So, in a case like that, mention that you’re intending to hold another meeting during a designated week.  Don’t commit to a specific day just yet, because you probably haven’t looked at everyone’s schedule yet and you don’t want to send any conflicting or confusing messages.  So just mention, for example, that you’re targeting the week of (September 2) for the next meeting, and that all your recipients should be on the lookout for another meeting invite that will be sent separately.  Finally, end your message with some kind of a goodwill statement:  something positive and progress-oriented.  I was always a fan of “Excited to move this forward!”  Use what you see fit, but something along those lines usually sends a pretty good message.  

So there you have it!  The post mortem phase is now complete:  simple, yet very effective, and it sends a message far beyond what’s literally written.  It shows that you as the meeting organizer, the project manager, or whatever your role in the process are organized, intentional, and reliable.  And I can promise you, even if nobody responds or acknowledges your post-mortem message (they frequently won’t, by the way), they’ll see it, they’ll read it (especially because you kept it nice and short!), and they’ll think to themselves “so-and-so’s really got it together”.  They’ll feel like the project is in good hands and they’ll be much more in sync with the workflow and rhythm you’re setting the tone for.

So let’s summarize the entire meeting process with today’s......consigliere call to action.  Not much else to say here, folks.  There were three phases that we covered:  the set-up, the execution, and the post-mortem.  There’s an episode dedicated to each (this one included), and all the information is there for you, so I’d recommend going back and taking a listen if you want all the details.  However, I’ll be a pal and do this for you real quick:  

Phase 1 – The Set-up:

-          Schedule the meeting at a time that works for your attendees

-          Craft a well-written meeting invite that has the “what”, the “how”, and the “why”.  

-          Attach any relevant documentation/other information

-          Check it all over, and press send when you’re ready

Phase 2 – The Execution:

-          Kick the meeting off with a cordial thank-you to participants

-          Moderate.  It’s your meeting, and you’re in charge, so do whatever you can to keep the ball in your hands and the conversation moving in the direction YOU intended it go to.

-          Close it out.  Briefly summarize the main takeaways and follow-ups, using the notes you took along the way.  Reiterate everyone’s responsibilities, and announce what the next step is.

And finally, Phase 3 – The Post Mortem

-          Send a written summary

-          Indicate any next steps

-          End it with a goodwill statement

It might seem like common sense, but I can promise you:  some of the meeting mismanagement you’ll see in the corporate world will blow you away.  And usually, in my experience anyway, the overly dramatic and complex situations that pop up can all be traced back to bad communication.  So follow these simple steps, heed the wisdom bestowed upon thee, and observe how clean and simple your job can really be.

Sadly folks, that’s all the time we have for today.  But have no fears, and shed no tears, because I’ll be back with a new episode very soon.  As they say in the industry:  no listeners, no show, so do me a favor, and stay loyal!  If you find value in my content, please leave me a nice review, tell all your friends, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and follow on whatever platform you use to get your podcasts.   Beyond the confines of your headphones, speakers, TV screen, or any other crazy contraption with the ability to stream audio, I also provide one-on-one career assistance, so visit my website at career-consigliere.net to learn more about me, book me for a private consult, join my email list, or explore some of the other career services I offer.  And to all of you out there in podcast land, remember this:  Who’s the boss in your career?  You, nobody else.