10 Entrepreneurs Share Fail-Safe Strategies For More Effective Meetings Focus more. Listen more.

We asked readers: How do you make the most of everyone's least favorite work routine? Here's what they had to say.

1. Plan ahead. Set the agenda one week ahead of time. Allow employees to comment on it prior to the meeting so they have time to really think about it -- and then stick to the agenda. -- T.J. Allan, owner, Ageless Fitness, Gillespie, Ill.

2. Be holistic. We use the principles of sociocracy to make meetings valuable. It's a whole system approach for inclusive decision making, effective governance and the ongoing evaluation and improvement of your organization. -- Abhishek Gupta, technical consultant, Creative n Innovative Research, Jaipur, India