"Owning" the Agenda

First and foremost, I believe that every single meeting or activity, whether it's a sales call, or a sales meeting, or a board meeting, or even a daily activity like writing a blog, should have an agenda.
And every agenda should have a "mission" or purpose.  And every item in the agenda should have its mission or purpose as well.
And why such a big deal about the agenda? 
The person with the agenda is the person who controls the meeting.  If you, as a salesperson, go on a sales call with an agenda and present the agenda to the customer, you "own" the meeting.
And this is true for any meeting.  Every meeting should have a mission or purpose and that purpose is the title of the agenda; and every item on the agenda should have a purpose: to achieve the mission.
This is a fact: the person with the agenda OWNS the meeting and taking control of the meeting gives everyone in the room confidence that you know what you're talking about.
One warning, however:  make sure you anticipate all the issues that your agenda will raise and be able to answer questions related to the agenda.
In summary:
1. Make an agenda for every meeting;
2. Make sure every item on the agenda focuses on the mission of the meeting;
3. Make sure everyone at the meeting has a copy of your agenda--even ahead of time so they know you are in control;
4. Stay focused on the agenda.  If the meeting moves away, get back to the items as soon as reasonable;
5. Summarize the meeting before everyone leaves;
6. Send an email summary to everyone in attendance as soon as possible after the meeting ("minutes").
OWN THE AGENDA; OWN THE MEETING; GET THE ORDER.