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Sir Francis Bacon said, “Time is the measure of business” in the 1600’s. Those words are truer today than ever. How many times have you sat through a meeting that was a waste of time? We all have, in fact, we have even set them up and in the end realized it was not time well spent. How many times have you met the same person or group and walked out of the meeting with comments like “great meeting”, nice people”, “that person is really smart”, but what was the outcome? Why did I just spend one hour of my day with this person or group.

There is a fine line between spending an incessant amount of time with people vs. being the business butterfly catching bits and pieces before moving to the next meeting. The key is to develop a strong habit of understanding what you want out of a specific person or group, determine how you can be of benefit, and what will be the achievable first steps as an outcome.

As we close on 2008 and enter a very challenging 2009, it will become increasingly important to maintain concise timeframes that connect with the people that we meet.

Do The Work
Read up on the person, company, market, product before the meeting. Coming to a meeting with more “intel” than the others is always a benefit to you.

Get To Specifics
You should be able to get through the intro, history, and current events within the first three minutes. The next step is to specifically state why you are having the discussion and what you hope to get out of it.

Bring Something
The assumption is that you have an idea why you are meeting. Make sure you have an inventory of how you can help the person or group you are meeting; your experience, your knowledge of the industry, market, or products. Don’t give it all away for free, but just enough so they know you are needed.

6 Degrees Of Separation
Most people meet other people through introduction; so do the same. Give the person you are meeting a name of someone that will be very relevant to your discussion, even if it does not help you directly. It will come in handy later.

Look For Opportunities
Disagree with every 3rd statement if you’re in one of those “me too” conversations. It helps to bring clarity to concepts and ideas as they’ll have to articulate. By the time you have finished you will both learn something.

The “Deal Junky”
As an entrepreneur or senior manager, it is important to pursue a steady stream of new contacts, while managing existing relationships. However, be skeptical of people who discuss deals that appear very attractive on the surface, especially when they bring up more than three in the same meeting. Some checks and balances are; what product or service do they bring to the table? What is their main function or core competency in the deal? Do they have real contacts and funding? Do the “Deal Junkies” do anything or do they just do everything?

What Are The Actions
There must be a reason to meet next time. If not, then the meeting did not follow the above steps and should not have been setup in the first place. What are very specific actions that are going to take place by you and for you that will require another discussion or meeting?

While you are making your new years resolutions, try to interweave time into your activities; it will be very important. Keep this inventory list in mind for your next “let’s have coffee”. In addition to helping you, it will be a relief to the person or group you plan to meet.