When managers gather around a table for a committee meeting, the discussions are sometimes heated, the presentations disorganized and the tension extreme. Here’s a cure, a way to improve company performance by organizing effective meetings using “best practices” and the Continuous Improvement approach.

During my work on several committees, I have seen fatigue in the faces of participants and I have listened to their complaints. They criticize the interminable meetings, the heated debates, the disorganized presentations and the tension. As a consultant, my job is to, step-by-step, help them become more organized. I work on the principle that if committees organize themselves well, they will ultimately improve their company’s performance.

More than 30 years ago, I had my first opportunity to advise an internationally renowned company on its committee meetings and how they could be improved. The committee included five managers and the general manager, a former student of mine who asked me for my help. The group held meetings every two weeks and they lasted the whole morning, without a break. Everyone present began in a good mood, but ended tired and tense.

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