My entire life I've had near perfect attendance for the things I've wanted to attend: sport practices, sales meetings, networking events, friends parties, free taco days, whatever. Because of this, I find it exceptionally annoying when people miss meetings.
As a first time tech entrepreneur, I hold meetings as one of the most important things I can do outside of actually building the business. I've probably had over 200 this year, and have gotten intros, partnerships, amazing advice, and even friends through them.
However, when you are juggling 50 things at once, a few things are bound to fall through the cracks, BUT meetings can't be one of them. And when you are meeting important people, their time > your time. (Here's a great post by Ezra of Chicago Ventures about this) They have 1k people wanting to talk w. them, and only your mom, significant other, and dog probably want to talk with you :(
I'm writing this right after I made a huge mistake, and missed a very important office hours appointment at 1871. When I realized it, I had the same feeling in my gut when my HS chem teacher was handing out test scores. I was originally so pumped to have the opportunity, that I scheduled it through my phone VS my laptop, forgetting to put it on my calendar. It's the type of mistake that you don't forget, but can't make.
Because of this, here are 8 quick meeting tips I've learned over the past year. (I understand they are basic, but need to be said again)
1. Know who you are meeting with - I've had people ask me this the second we started the meeting, and I'm lucky that (all except one) I knew a good amount about the person and why it made sense for me to schedule. It guides the conversations and shows you actually took the time for them.
2. Have a reason for meeting with them- Is it to fundraise? Is it for advice, potential partnership, another intro etc.? Don't just meet with a design expert when you don't have design work to do. (I've fallen into this trap because I love to hear about peoples different experiences. ) While these are great for networking, it's not worth it when you have very limited time.
3. Cut to it- When I was starting out and looking for advice in a meeting, I gave them the entire pitch, wasting both our time. Tailor your meeting to what u want to get from them in the shortest way possible- Ex - You started a marketplace, and are meeting w. someone who is a marketplace expert. They will probably know more then you, except for your specific vertical. Cut to it and start asking questions!
4. The SECOND you schedule, put it on your schedule. A very simple thing to do to not miss things. G-Calendar is great at reminding 3 hours and 15 min. before it starts. The only reason I've forgotten meetings is because of this, so DO IT!
4b- Invite them to the meeting. - It takes 5 seconds on G-Calendar and will alleviate any time-zone &/or date confusion
6. Calendar is king, put it on it! - Worth saying again!
7. Your time < Their Time - When you want to have a meeting w. someone more than they do, their time is more valuable. Respect it, and make the most of it!!
8. Thank you! - It takes 15 seconds to say thank you for a meeting, but it's just the right thing to do :)
Finally, if you do miss a meeting, try and make it right! Every situation is different, but be as apologetic as you can.
I wrote this on the train home w. a GreenLine. If you think my suggestions are bad, let me know! If you want to add, put it in the comments. I apologize to Steven, Dave, Alice and anyone else this past year for missing our meeting!
Patrick
