2017 was a big year for Meeteor. Our first book Momentum: Creating Effective, Engaging and Enjoyable Meetings was published in November. It reached Amazon’s best-selling list within a few days. Our articles on meetings were published in major media sites such as Forbes, Inc.com, and Huffington Post. I was a guest on numerous podcasts, including The Productivityist, Beyond the To-Do List, and Smashing the Plateau, where I spoke about ways to improve meetings and culture. We facilitated workshops for organizations and conferences to inspire leaders to reflect on their meeting practices and team culture. And, we launched the Thriving Teams program to support teams to grow their collaboration skills and achieve greater impact together.
Throughout all of this, we had the Meeteor software. Our web and mobile apps have helped hundreds of people adopt and sustain effective meeting practices.
Our learning journey and big decision
Since our founding in 2013, we’ve offered a variety of products and services to support effective meetings and teamwork. We know changing behavior is a complicated process, and we are continually learning from our customers and evolving our offerings to best serve teams and organizations as they strive to transform their meetings.
After 4 years on this journey of helping teams collaborate more effectively and run productive meetings, we’ve learned a lot about how we can best contribute to a team’s success. Though we’ve received much positive feedback and many people love the Meeteor apps, we’ve come to the conclusion that our strength and unique contribution to a world with better meetings is on the human side of change.
Where we can create the most impact and momentum
In other words, our book, workshops, coaching and talks are more impactful and have begun to shift people’s mindset and their behavior. We get messages every day like this one:
I'm rocking my agenda creation process thanks to YOU! The ‘desired outcomes’ have become a staple for my work and how I think about how to organize meetings.
Or this one:
What an excellent and productive workshop! I learned so much from Mamie and the entire Meeteor approach. I have started implementing what I learned and am genuinely looking forward to tightening my team through productive and purpose-driven meetings.
Or this one:
After applying the practices I learned at a Meeteor workshop, my boss thanked me for 'managing up'!
Comments like these showed us that we should keep doing what we’re best at–writing, speaking, coaching and teaching–and pause our efforts to develop software. Therefore, on March 1, 2018, the Meeteor software will officially close down. This was indeed a very difficult decision to make and a sad moment for all of us at Meeteor. We’ve built an incredible team across oceans and continents, managed through time zones and multiple languages to develop deep relationships. I’m so proud of the culture we’ve built and the work we’ve done together to role model what a healthy organizational environment can be. My deepest gratitude to each and every Meeteor team member for your contributions to the company, our customers, and the world.
It is tough for us to leave behind the apps we’ve been working on so passionately for the past few years. Yet, as a business and humans with limited capacity, it makes sense for us to focus on where we can make the most impact.
Technology is still crucial in the change process: Introducing our partner
We still believe that a great meeting technology is an important enabler in your change process. We’ve found a fantastic partner, Beenote, whose apps provide similar functionality to Meeteor, and just as importantly, whose team believes in the same principles of productive meetings as we do.
Beenote was launched by seasoned entrepreneur Louis Turmel. Mr. Turmel has more than 25 years of experience in Information Technology and his goal was to develop a software solution that would simplify meeting management. Beenote enables organizations to carry out their projects through effective management of their meetings. It’s simple and intuitive structure eases planning, execution and follow-up for meetings. Beenote was conceived by the developers of the Voxlog suite, a renowned voice recording software suite.
If you’re a current Meeteor user, you should have received the notice of the transition plan and our invitation to the joint webinar by Meeteor and Beenote in which you can learn more about the functionalities and transition process. If you have any questions, contact us at support@meeteor.com to learn more.
What’s next for Meeteor
So here is what’s coming next: I will continue to speak about and facilitate workshops on effective meetings and collaboration. Whether you’re looking for a speaker for your company’s annual meeting, a conference, or a podcast, I’m here to help your audience reimagine their meeting and collaboration practices and take action to see real improvements. Tai and I will continue to coach teams to develop collaborative skills and build strong culture. Our first online course on meeting leadership will be available in Spring 2018. We’ll also continue to publish articles to support your learning journey. If you haven’t yet subscribed to our blog, click here to stay informed of all the exciting news from us.
Our book Momentum: Creating Effective, Engaging and Enjoyable Meetings is always available on Amazon in ebook and paperback version. A bulk discount is also available on our website. If you have purchased the book, you can also visit here to download the bonus materials including a change management plan, meeting flowchart, and checklists to support your learning and implementation.
As for myself, I’m launching a new podcast in spring 2018. Each episode will features topics like: effective meeting strategies, team collaboration, productivity, using technology to support teamwork, organizational culture, and more. If you’d like to recommend any topics, guests, or just stay inform of the launch, click here.
Thank you
We appreciate all your support for the Meeteor apps and our company. Thank you for sharing your stories, your challenges and your triumphs. As we said in our book,
Change is an ongoing process. There is no end to the journey, at which point you can say, “We have improved our meetings. We are now done.” It requires constant attention and reflection. Always ask yourself and your team what you can do better. If the journey feels long and slow, that’s okay—you are walking uphill, after all. You’re always moving upward toward healthier, stronger, more productive meetings.
We’d love to hear from you and help support you on your journey. I look forward to partnering with you, your team and your organization to lead meetings that create momentum.
Photo Credit: Chris Lawton on Unsplash