Jim Stroup’s Managing Leadership Blog has a series of entries discussing the value – or lack of value to having meetings and their accompanying smokescreens: “..meetings can, and commonly are, actually used to frustrate effective decision-making and accountability, and to cloud the clear flow of control and power.” “It doesn’t only happen when senior managers or directors want to put something over on their competing peers (or shareholders); it can also happen when a lower-level interest or power group wants to manipulate a development and represent it in a way that advances their cause.”  While Stroup is primarily focused on what happens in executive meetings, this phenomenon happens every day at all levels of management. The key to avoiding the pitfalls of these smokescreens is to have a clear view of what you want to accomplish from the meeting. Are you there to garner support, provide information, highlight an issue, get approval, etc? You should understand who is attending the meeting and what roles they play in the organization both formal and informal. Who is the key decision maker in the room? Who does he or she listen to? Which attendees support your position and which ones have a different agenda? Meeting preparation requires more than just pulling the appropriate information or printing out PowerPoint slides. It requires a considered view of the likelihood that you will leave the meeting with the result that will further your project and your career.