The best part about this problem-solving course...YOU DON'T NEED A TEXTBOOK!!!

Situation 1: Imagine you are at an important group meeting. You have to find a way to generate more revenue for your job. How do you do it? 

Okay, so let us expand on this. Suppose you work for a candy company, and you have to find a way to increase sales for a brand of chocolate chip cookies. the one who is officiating the meeting is looking to you and a few other people for answers. One strategy you can use is to have a Before, During, and After game plan.

Check out the following resource:

Video - Effective Meetings in Plain English

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQYUHpi0fhk

This is not just for those who conduct meetings. I am an educator, and I have needed to plan what I would do before, during, and after important events. Here is an example of how you can structure this strategy as a team member:

Before the Meeting Questions:

• Is this meeting optional? My manager says no.
• What will be my responsibility? I have to come up with the next big thing in sales for a new cookie product.
• Will I have problems attending it? I can attend the meeting, although I do not want to do so.
• Are there accommodations that need to be made on my behalf? Not really.
• What technology will be provided? The team has to listen to a lecture on current estimates with some brainstorming. We are just having a collaborative meeting, talking about ideas. It will be a 30-minute meeting.
• What strategies have been known to work that you know of right now? I know that when we incorporated sports themes into our ads, there was a significant increase in sales. Also, the use of cartoon elves did well too.
• Do you need more information? Yes. I need to know more about why it is not doing as well as the other brands.

During the Meeting:

• Does the agenda stick to the actual task at hand? We do discuss some other products, but most of the talk is about the new product.
• Did anyone keep minutes? Yes.
• How much did you actually participate? I did share my ideas, and the team liked what I had to say. I found out that one reason the cookies were not doing well was the timing. Girl Scout cookies can't be beaten.
• How long was the meeting in reality? We went overtime by 10 minutes.
• What is at least one strength and one weakness? Everyone came to the meeting with suggestions, which is great. A few people were late for it, which is why it went beyond the recommended time.
• What do you need to do now? Create a cookie commercial with cartoon elves that play basketball.
• Do you have the materials you need to carry out your next task? Yes, I have more information about the brand via survey results. Turns out a lot of viewers like to watch basketball on television.

After the Meeting:

• Did you receive the minutes? Yes, I got them in email.
• What is your responsibility? I have to outline a basic story for the video ad with my teammate Carly, who I would rather not work with at the moment. I have to work with her in order to get paid and keep my job.
• When is the next meeting? The next meeting is in two weeks.
• How do you plan on communicating with others between now and the next meeting? I plan to use email and phone. I don't know what Carly will use, but it will probably be the same thing.

This is just ONE example of how you can structure your Before, During, and After plans. As long as you cover what is found within the video, you are good to go!