Making meetings meaningful: every meeting is an opportunity for leaders to connect with employees and convey a sense of mission: who we are, where we are going, and why. (Last Words).

Most meetings do not work. I am referring here to the large (100-plus employees) internal meetings sponsored by top management, and by "not work," I mean that these meetings typically do not have clear, measurable goals, let alone achieve them. Formal presentations may achieve their immediate and specific objectives, but the whole of the formal program often comes to less than the merits of the parts.

Yet such meetings are important. Providing all the attendees with the same program at the same time can create a shared sense of mission. In addition, they foster informal communication among employees. This is especially important when leaders need to trust those who work far away and with whom they communicate, for the most part, electronically. As the futurist John Naisbitt said 20 years ago, the more high tech the world becomes, the more we need high touch.

So how does one measure the success of a meeting, its added value? First, does the value outweigh the costs? I mean the real costs. The greatest cost comes not from facility fees or airfares, but from the investment of the attendees' time -- not only their time on site and in transit, but also the disruptions to their schedules and productivity.

Thus, the more significant measure of a meeting's success is the return on investment, and this relates to mission: Does the meeting convey the senior leadership's vision for the enterprise, and will the attendees get it? Meetings should tell a story and provide a statement about who we are as an organization today. The story may be explicit, as with an internal reorganization, or more general, such as a response to economic or industry forces. But unless a narrative informs the whole meeting, the point will probably be lost on much of the audience. This failure represents a risk of loss to the organization whose cost is hard to calculate. Success, however, delivers tangible results.

Therefore, every meeting, regardless of its ostensible themes, is a leadership event, an opportunity for leaders to convey a sense of mission: who we are, where we are going, and why. Meetings do this indirectly, for the most part, through their various speakers and panels, often using both internal and outside talent. So the leader who sponsors such an event must give the meeting a clear vision with defined goals. The organizers also need to choose presenters who will further this vision and help realize those goals. Then, attendees will remember the message and make the story their own.

Bill Leigh is president of W. Colston Leigh Inc., Advisory Services LLC. He can be reached at [e-mail]