Steve Jobs insisted that all the items on a meeting agenda have a designated person responsible for that task and any follow-up work that happened.

Public accountability works, because it ensures that a project or task actually gets done.

Why the productive conversations in a meeting seemingly go nowhere:

• Participants are most likely immediately running to another meeting where their attention shifts to a new set of issues. 
• Participants leave the meeting without clarity about what was agreed upon.

After and in between meetings, quickly send out clear and concise meeting notes and follow up on the commitments made.

• If you don’t capture the conversation and put it into a form that can be easily retrieved later, the thinking and the agreements can be lost.
• Persistenc...

They help inform people who weren’t there about what happened and remind those who were there about what agreements they made. 

Use them as a tool to keep everyone on the same page and focused on what you all need to get done before you meet next.