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You have just participated in an important meeting with your superior. How will you ensure that every part of the

instructions you received will properly reach all subordinates, suppliers and clients, located in different

parts of the world?

Marcus YauIE Business School Application

Before and during the meeting

• Preparation: Understand aims and business case for meeting

• Attendance: Make sure names, position and company of every participant is noted

• Listen: Take careful notes to aid in remembering the different topics during the meeting

• Confirm: Understand who, what, where, how and when are actions going to be completed by

After the meeting

• Summarise: Use minutes to confirm accurate comprehension with superior • Ask for acknowledgement and corrections to be reviewed• Highlight key messages and strategy to follow

• Send the report to all stakeholders with ample time for corrections, factoring in mind time differences and schedules

• Ensure all notes are clear and succinct for each action point that each individual is responsible for

Action Plan (1)

• Create a plan of action using a a project management tool or spreadsheet to coordinate and monitor list of deliverables

• Draw on experience of previous projects with similar instructions and adapt strategy and scope to current project

Action Plan (2)• Establish best practice for vertical and horizontal

communication both internally and externally

• Setup an escalation and crisis management process so that the appropriate members are able to respond and resolve issues

• Coherent, clear and concise lines of communication with the appropriate tone to ensure retention of information.

Subordinates (1)

• Ensure subordinates have defined roles and responsibilities to allocate correct tasks to each persons’ specific skillset

• Assess if each member is correctly trained and ready to execute the instructions given, if not make sure enough support is given to complete the task

• Arrange a conference or phone call - may not be possible but enables instant communication for direction and instant feedback

Subordinates (2)

• E-mail to confirm all points raised and allows each member to refer back to highlighted issues when they need to

• Consider geographic locations of all members and weekly meetings or manage by exception – call meetings when potential risks arise

• Request short status updates or informal chats to ensure continued business justification

Suppliers

• Prepare an email to highlight the demand and information of the meeting if necessary

• Phone/Meet suppliers to clarify instructions and discuss any modifications to products or services needed to help the suppliers understand what is needed

• Take into account the challenge of global sourcing such as technical aspects, cost (price and time) timelines and logistics

Clients

• Set expectations early and establish a relationship with the client to communicate in the appropriate language

• Consider the impact and consequences of each decision

• Contact client to explain any unexpected changes of good/services if any issues arise and how to resolve them

• Gain feedback from client and keep up to date with progress

Outcome and Review

Once confident instructions from superior have been acknowledged and understood, evaluate the execution of agreed actions

If positive: • Communicate with all parties to acknowledge success• Review feedback and take suggestions from all parties on how

things could have been improved

If negative: • Review where the issue has come from and how to solve• Analyse original instructions with superior and try to adjust

strategy to find ways to improve