I have written other articles on how to prepare for job interviews and how to prepare for business meetings. The things that you do to prepare for both meetings are the same.
Once you land a job, you are competing with other people inside and outside your company to keep your job and to progress in your career.
If you want job security and, especially if you want to get promoted, treat each day as a job interview.
Before starting your business day, make a list of five things you want to accomplish that day. If those five things include business meetings within your own company or outside your company, preparing for those meetings is very simple. At first, you may find that making these preparations may seem complicated and burdensome. I know that I did. However, I found that repetition made these preparations easier and the habit of making these preparations made them feel natural, even necessary. I also found that when I encountered new situations, these habits made preparation for those situations much easier as well.
Before going to a meeting, write down the following things.
- The purpose of the meeting
- Presentations you need to bring to the meeting
- Names of participants
- Location, time, and date of the meeting
- The things you want to accomplish in the meeting
During the meeting take notes. From your notes you can send follow-up emails and take action on your commitments resulting from the meeting. You will do a better job for your employer and your peers.