Issue 49

• Welcome
• Events
• Marrek Moments
• Tips

Audie McCarthy
founder and president
of Marrek Solutions Inc.
Click here for Audie's bio

63 Southmeadow Cres.
Stoney Creek, ON
L8G 3E6

Meetings. We all attend them. We often leave wondering why.

Are your meetings as effective as they could be? Meetings should be viewed as a way to open the door to communications or to reinforce an already established environment of open communications. Meetings should be beneficial for all attending. There should be an element of WIIFM (what’s in it for me) for every attendee. There should be decisions made and action plans established. There should be an element of learning.

Gene Moncrief, in his article “Meetings: Time Wasted or Well Spent”, estimates that 50% of the 25 million meetings that take place each day in corporate America are a waste of time. I have no reason to believe it is any different in Canada.

So what can you do to improve your meetings? Read the TIPS section below and consider attending the “Facilitating Effective Meetings” workshop on September 8th at Mohawk College.

Have a great week!

Audie

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Events

September 12 - Stoney Creek Chamber AGM - 4:00 - Winona Vine Estates

For more information visit www.chamberstoneycreek.com

September 28 – Grimsby Chamber of Commerce – Breakfast Meeting 7:30 – 9:00 – Rumour Mill – Guest Speaker – Audie McCarthy on “Creating Amazing Customer Service”. For more information, contact audie@marrek.com

September 28 - Oakville Chamber - AGM and Annual President's Dinner.

For more information visit www.chamberstoneycreek.com

Workshops

Mohawk College- (Tools for Business Series)

Please note: The Tools for Business Series is on hiatus for August. Please plan to join us in September! Registration and information will be available on the Mohawk website on August 8.

 

For more info call Kym at 905.575.2442 or visit http://t4b.mohawkcollege.ca.

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Marrek Moments

• Marrek Solutions was one of twenty businesses selected by the Stoney Creek Chamber to attend a luncheon at the Old Powerhouse on Friday, July 21. Guest speakers included Greg Sorbara, Ontario Finance Minister and Jennifer Mossop MPP for Stoney Creek. Also in attendance, representing their ridings were Maria Boutrianni, Ted McMeekin and Judy Marsales. Other businesses present included the Scotiabank, DJB Chartered Accountants, The Holiday Inn Express, The Venetor Group, Tripemco Insurance Brokers, Assante Capital Management and others.

• Audie McCarthy was recently quoted in an article on Crock a Doodle in the Burlington Post. Click here to view the article.

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Tips

Effective Meetings

1. Have an agenda. Regardless of how many people will be attending an agenda will keep you focused.

2. Set Norms or Standards of Behaviour. (e.g. Turn cell phones and blackberries off!)

3. Develop an environment of open communications. Encourage discussion and demonstrate effective listening skills.

4. Take minutes. Not long “he said/she said” minutes. Note action items, key people responsible for action and dates.

5. Follow up. Stay on top of the action items. Find out if the meeting was beneficial to all who participated. If not, find out why not, then improve it next time.

 

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