The Harvard Business Review website included an article on 3/19/15 by Roger Schwarz,  “How to Design an Agenda for an Effective Meeting”. This management note makes many good points. It can be improved by adding a much clearer task orientation to the outcomes.

Add Task Orientation to the Agenda

Except for purely informational announcements⁽⁽¹⁾⁾ every agenda item should conclude with the clear assignment of a task. This should include who is responsible, who helps, what are the desired outcomes, when should the task be completed, what resources are available (people. machines, $), and which senior manager can be called on if roadblocks need busting up.

Effective Meetings Lead to Effective Tasks

The whole point of a meeting is to reach actionable decisions then take action. Assigning tasks as part of the meeting process leads to more effective work.

1. Why clutter up a meeting with these anyways?? Email, wikis, and many other vehicles are good for providing informational updates without filling a meeting room [↩]