Meetings inescapable in a corporate environment. They can either be long boring nightmares, or they can be very productive groups. Not surprisingly, a lot of it depends on how the meeting is run. Take a look at Businessweek’s interesting article on how Google’s Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice-president of search products, runs her meetings.

1. Set a firm agenda – This ensures it does not go off tangent
2. Assign a note-taker – Allows everyone to have an official record of events rather than several versions
3. Carve out micro-meetings – Allows small but important topics to be given proper attention
4. Hold office hours – Allow non-scheduled meetings during allotted times of the day
5. Discourage politics, use data – Don’t use personal relationships. Have opinions backed up by relevant data
6. Stick to the clock – Ensures a disciplined and focused meeting

Bear in mind that while these styles work for Google, they may not work in your company. Pick and choose those most relevant and apply them to your next meeting and hopefully you will see a big improvement.