ALL TOGETHER NOW

If your office has a conference room, make sure you run it and maintain it as precisely as you do the rest of your workplace. Conference rooms should always be booked in advance, since nothing could be worse than 18 people converging at the same time in a room that has space for 12. Before scheduling a meeting, make sure everything is in its place, and when the meeting is over, a staff member should return the room to its default condition: tidy, functional, and ready for the next pow wow.

I always like to provide conference room visitors with all the niceties and essentials they’ll need. I make a point to have preset at every seat a pad of paper and pen or pencil, a glass of water or bottle of water ready to be poured, along with a cocktail napkin with my business logo printed on top of it. On a side table or counter, visitors can find an ice bucket and a bowl of nuts. As usual, we offer everyone tea or coffee too.

If the meeting is taking place in my personal office, I have an extra pad of paper and pen available and will always personally offer my visitors a beverage and a snack. No exception.