Make meetings effective with a powerful agenda.

Seek input on the agenda from participants before the meeting.
This will prevent new topics from cropping up and derailing the primary goal.

Clearly state the purpose of the meeting.
Is it a problem-solving meeting, a team-building meeting, a brainstorming meeting, or a quarterly planning meeting?

Choose a facilitator for the meeting.
A facilitator will moderate the conversation during the meeting, thereby saving time.

Identify all essential participants.
The fewer the participants, the better the outcome of the meeting.

Attach realistic time estimates to each agenda item.
This will allow the participants to monitor the progress and pace of the meeting.