Plan executive meetings with a clear agenda, prep the venue with tech and comfort in mind, and coordinate early with attendees. Share materials ahead of time and confirm all logistics. What’s your winning formula?

While providing a gist of what is to be presented in the meeting beforehand helps in most cases meetings are run on first slide interactions. - If you're presenting a deck, it's very important to get all the major points covered in a summary/ agenda slide at the start. - Keep a good stronghold over what are the focus points and have it mentioned in the first 5-10 minutes. - In case of a bigger scope getting discussed, try to provide hook points over major dependencies, achievements or key action items in the first few minutes.

Consider sharing your meeting goals with attendees in your informational or even welcome emails if they are new. This way, they will feel more engaged in the meeting and show more interest. Encourage everyone to participate. Great meetings take place because they are required to achieve an important goal. Before a leader can select who should attend a meeting and how it should be run, specify the meeting's purpose. Meeting agendas serve as a tool for team preparation before the meeting and a guide throughout it. Get attendees prepared for your meeting. You can use social listening tools to analyze how your attendees would like to receive the invitation and what they want to discuss to make your meeting more productive.

Start by organizing a prep meeting with key stakeholder representatives ahead of the high-stakes meeting. In this session, collaboratively define agenda topics, establish the meeting structure, and identify the speakers for each presentation. I believe the "devil is in the details", so it's crucial to balance comprehensive insights with concise focus—tailoring the depth of each presentation to its strategic importance. Finally, documenting decisions and action items ensures accountability and smooth implementation of outcomes.

High-stakes executive meetings demand more than logistics—they require alignment, intention, and strategic storytelling. As I plan the Future Logistics Leadership Summit (FLLS) and prepare for TACE, I’ve found success in three layers: A – Align purpose with outcomes: Every agenda item ties to a clear goal. B – Build a coalition early: Early co-creation leads to deeper engagement (CIF reminded me of that). C – Cover the details: From tech checks to dietary needs, nothing is too small to plan. Planning is an art. Execution is the masterpiece. What’s your go-to move for high-impact meetings? #WorkforceDevelopment #FLLS2025 #TACE2025 #CIF2025 #LeadingwithLaKesha