Qworky Book Review: Taking Minutes of Meetings

At Qworky, we’re passionate about meetings. As a part of our mission, one day, poorly run and organized meetings will go the way of the dinosaur. We approach this goal in a few ways, including reading up on all the best literature that relates to meetings- so our software embodies them. The first in this series is ‘Taking Minutes of Meetings‘ by Joanna Gutmann, and I have particularly taken the message of this book to heart due to the very high premium I have learned to place on quality notes.

Creating a Meeting’s ‘Historical Record’

I found Gutmann’s arguments about the vital nature of note-taking to a meeting’s success to be quite convincing, and think that she also did a fantastic job of explaining her rationale as well. This is especially the case with the four reasons she provides about why the written record is so important for a meeting to achieve its highest potential:

• “Participants rely on them for information on subjects they did not understand or to fill in gaps when they lost concentration.”
• “The action points act as a reminder to those who agreed in the heat of the moment but have since been overtaken by other priorities and would otherwise forget what they were to do.”
• “Those who could not attend need an idea of what was decided in their absence.”
• “And finally, minutes are the historical record of the meeting and ‘proof’ of the actions/outcomes.”

A meeting’s ‘historical record’ allows for easy followup from participants about the information they may have may have missed, actions that were decided on (provoking accountability for the decisions and assigned actions), and an easy way to share information with those unable to attend. The question at hand is how do we ensure more meetings have such a useful ‘historical record’, and the book acts as a how-to-guide for producing high caliber historical records in the form of meeting notes.

Summarizing while Listening

Throughout Gutmann’s guide, a primary lesson of hers for achieving this goal is that proper note-taking requires “ongoing listening and simultaneous summarizing” which allows the note-taker to properly convey the core and contextualized message—not necessarily of what was said at the meeting, but of what was discussed. This is not necessarily an easy feat though, and she takes particular care to emphasize that, by succeeding at their role, the minute-taker is, in fact, “one of the most important and powerful people in a meeting.”

To exhibit the real value of this role, Gutmann goes through the various ways in which the note-taker’s contributions can lead directly to the success, or the failure, of a meeting. Specifically, even though it is a meeting facilitator that controls the meeting, she argues that “it is the support of the minute-taker that enables this to be done effectively.” For example, Gutmann explains how the note-taker can help make sure a meeting is both structured and controlled by using the agenda to construct the foundation of the notes, supporting the importance of meeting organization before, during, and after the meeting. She also shows how a note-taker can solve the problem of action items falling through the cracks, as the notes can easily be used to remind the participants of the action items they were assigned while also ensuring their easy access to the information they need to follow through on them.

According to Gutmann, the note-taker leading in this way will both minimize time wasting and reduce the stress and frustration of unproductive meetings. However, despite the integral role these professionals play, many apparently do not believe in their own capabilities, as the book appears to have been specifically designed as a confidence builder to note-takers. The book not only goes through the skills required of the role, but it continually emphasizes its importance as well- exhorting the rationale behind taking the craft, and yourself as a practitioner, seriously. In particular, Gutmann takes pains to explain how misunderstood this activity is, and especially promotes empathy to the difficulty of being a “mute non-contributing member” within a meeting.

Qworky’s View of Notetaking

At Qworky, we view note-taking as a collaborative activity, and this mentality does a lot to prevent the “mute non-contributing member” experience. However, as someone who takes note-taking as seriously as I can, I do feel a strong sense of empathy to this negative experience, and can see why Gutmann assumes her audience universally understands this reality. On the flip side, I am particularly proud that, as Qworky has developed our meeting software, we have further confirmed that these powerful contributors really are often amongst the most valuable meeting participants. We firmly recognize that it is through note-taking that a meeting’s value goes from fleeting to indelible, and that the written record is what can best transform passive discussions to tangible actions. The task at hand for us is to keep this reality in mind as we make software that strives to change it. Now, doesn’t that sound Qworky?

Final Verdict

I highly recommend this book to anyone that takes note-taking seriously, yet particularly to virtual assistants who are redefining the field of office support. Despite some of the examples and practices in the book being dated to a degree, and an absence of recommendations about utilizing lap tops, smart phones, iPads, etc., the comprehensive rationale for the importance of  a meeting’s written record still rings loud and clear even when incorporating modern technology’s impact. Anyone involved in the construction of meeting notes, whether they be virtual or present, has a lot to gain from this ode to the craft of taking minutes of meetings!