I have to share this post from Mitch Joel, President, Twist Image & author of Six Pixels of Separation, because it is so near and dear to my heart. Poorly organized and executed business meetings are a waste of everyone's time.

Here are Mitch's 15 Ways to Have a Better Meeting. Jump over to Mitch's blog at http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/15-ways-to-have-a-better-meeting/ to join in the conversation there as well. There are some great additional great tips in the comments.

Here are 15 ways to create a winning business meeting:

1. Set a simple and short agenda. You can figure out the minutia later. If you're pulling people away from their day-to-day work keep it short and simple. Also only put items on the agenda that can be resolved within the meeting.
2. Invite only the people that really have to be there. If you have the right people in the room, those people can then find the additional resources to figure the rest out. Too many meetings have too many people which causes some (sometimes a lot) of the content to not be relevant to others in the room. If something is being discussed it should be relevant to all participants of the meeting.
3. Confirm with attendees on the day before. Make sure to send a friendly reminder the day before. Also re-confirm with those that are presenting to ensure that they keep their content relevant to the entire group, and that they don't kill your meeting with death by PowerPoint.
4. Do some research. If your company is bring in a new potential partner or vendor, do your research before the meeting. A basic online search will help you understand who the company is and what they do. If you have time, hop over to LinkedIn and review the profile of the people who you are meeting. If you don't know who the company is, who you are meeting and why you are meeting them, then why did you show up? Doing that baseline research goes beyond common courtesy... it's just common sense. Leave any (and all) meetings that start with someone saying, "so tell us why you are here and what you can do for us?"
5. Create a space. Bring the lighting up. Bring all of the chairs close together. If the room is too big, move the chairs so people have to sit close to one another. Put the drinks in the middle of the table so attendees don't have to get up or disturb the presenter. Black belt tip: leave name cards on the seats - this will force people to sit next to new/different people and will encourage more interactivity amongst the group. If you want winning results, you have to create an atmosphere to win!
6. Technology first. If you're using a conference call, video conference, Skype or even Internet connectivity, make sure it is set-up and running correctly ten minutes before starting the meeting. Meetings that start ten minutes late because of this are not only wasting people's valuable time but also demonstrate a lack of professionalism. 
7. Hand-outs. If you must have hand-outs (my recommendation is to only give them out at the end of a meeting or to email a digital version after the meeting's conclusion) place one in every seat prior to the start of the meeting.
8. Start on time. If people are late, it will be them who will be missing the content. Don't penalize those that are on time. And yes, this includes superiors. Bosses, managers, etc... should be embarrassed if their own staff can be there and ready before them (lead from the front) - it says something about their respect for the team.
9. Chair it. Always have someone chair the meeting. This person should give a 30-second pitch for the meeting that is ahead and do any formal introductions if you are meeting with people you have never seen before. All meetings should start off with a simple opening statement around the context of the presentation. Great meetings are created by great chairs.
10. Nobody gets out alive. Go to the bathroom before the meeting. There is never any reason to get up and leave. And yes, that means to grab a bottle of water or snacks before. How would you feel if people were getting up and leaving while you were presenting? If you can only stay for a portion of the meeting either check in with the person chairing the session or don't bother showing up at all. People who leave in the middle are a huge disruption and distraction. Black belt tip: if someone does have to leave in the middle, have the Chair let the group know during the opening statement.
11. All hands on deck. Unless you have an agreement that people can use laptops, iPads and smartphones to take notes (which is not the best idea), all of that technology should be banned from formal meetings and presentations. Recently, I was speaking in a meeting and noticed that the three people next to me were on their laptops... working on their email! Why invite someone in and create a meeting if the people attending are doing the same work they would do if there wasn't a meeting? Everyone looses. More importantly, it is totally insulting and distracting. So, even if you are legitimately taking notes, sit far away from the presenter and be very quiet and subtle about it.
12. Never table an item. Why do people say, "let's table that item"? That's stupid. Never table an item. If something was put on the agenda, it's important for the team to come to a resolution on it. Get it done.
13. Clean up. When the meeting is done, please clean up. Don't wait for someone else to do it (even if you have a cleaning crew). Put the chairs back nicely, remove your food/beverages and toss out all papers. Shut down the computers and projectors (and don't forget to put the remotes back in a place where everyone can find them). Leave it in the same way that it was created.
14. Be a human being. Be kind. Use your best manners. Smile. Thank people for their attention and time.
15. Follow-up. Send a thank you note (written is best, but email is acceptable) letting people know that you appreciated their time and what the follow-up/output of the meeting will be.

Mitch Joel is President of Twist Image — an award-winning Digital Marketing and Communications agency. In 2008, Mitch was named Canada's Most Influential Male in Social Media, one of the top 100 online marketers in the world, and was awarded the highly-prestigious Canada's Top 40 Under 40. His first book, Six Pixels of Separation (published by Grand Central Publishing - Hachette Book Group), named after his successful Blog and Podcast is a business and marketing best-seller. You can find him here: www.twistimage.com/blog 

Here's my two cents worth - #1 Do a timed agenda and appoint a time keeper to remind you of the agreed to time commitment for each item. Keeping track of time and chairing a meeting at the same time can be difficult.

#2, 8, 13, 14 really resonate with me. Aren't these all just common courtesies we should be affording to each other as humans sharing the same planet? If so, why are they so difficult to deliver on?

#4 - Review all materials sent in advance before the meeting. Don't come in and ask if anyone else got a chance to print off the material so you can share and admit you never read any of it. The reason it was sent out in advance is so the agenda can be shortened by everyone coming in with their homework done.

#11 Band all blackberries, cell phones, etc. from a meeting if you want it to be productive. It makes me crazy when I give up my time to attend a meeting and someone is texting all the way through and continually has to be brought up to date with what is going on. The clicking of the keyboard is distracting and it wastes the time of everyone in the room if repeat backs have to be given on content. I think a laptop is okay for the scribe of the meeting, but for everyone else if your full attention is not needed at the meeting, you probably don't need to be there.

#12 Feel free to use the "parking lot" for ideas and issues that come up outside of the content of the meeting, but follow up if the ideas and issues need to be addressed.

Thanks to Mitch for sharing these great ideas. Share your great meeting tips by leaving a comment. Learning to organize and execute a great meeting will go a long way to make your career successful.