A well-managed law department that I have worked with promotes a five-word acronym to help everyone take care of meetings more effectively. (See my post of April 22, 2007: meetings with 9 references.)
PACER stands for Purpose, Agenda, Conduct, Expectations, and Roles. My interpretation of PACER is that everyone should understand why the meeting is taking place (Purpose) and what topics will be covered in what order (Agenda). Further, those who attend should understand the rules of effective listening and other behavior (Conduct) and they should state at the start of the meeting what they want to achieve (Expectations). Finally, everyone at meetings should contribute according to their abilities, including to take ownership of actions agreed upon (Role).
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