I mentioned earlier that taking meeting minutes is a tough job. It's also a very essential role. Minutes are the record of the meeting. They are necessary for so many reasons:
Distribution beyond the meeting: Often, meeting minutes are distributed to absent participants and to interested parties that were not in attendance. I would share executive team meeting minutes with my department. And I would share department meeting minutes with my boss.
Record of discussion: If there is ever a question about a decision made during the meeting, the minutes can serve as a resource. For instance, the decision to change the date of the employee holiday party; various dates were discussed but which one was finally agreed upon?
Planning tool for in-between meetings: This is why I love SMART plans. The person responsible for the action steps agreed upon during the meeting can use the minutes as a planning tool.
Defense of a decision: While none of us want to focus on this aspect, in...