Handling appointments

As mentioned earlier, an appointment is an agreement between several individuals to rendezvous at a specific location at a specific date and time to discuss a specific issue. For there to be an agreement between several individuals, everyone concerned must be available at the same time. Availability is not the only criterion—if it were so, the number of appointments every individual schedules would grow exponentially! An appointment is a demand on an individual's time, and, as such, all demands on a person's time must be evaluated objectively:

• Is it important enough to warrant spending time on? In fact, is it important enough to dislodge another meeting if needed?

• Can this be delegated? Am I the only person who can contribute to this issue or can anyone else act in my stead?

• Is it convenient to attend? If not, will the benefits outweigh the inconvenience?

• Will this align with values, goals, and intermediate steps?

In the beginning, new employees will attend meetings and...