Take it from someone who keynotes at over 250 corporate events, conferences, trade shows, and meetings around the world: You can double (or even triple) the value of any event you attend by spending a few hours doing the simplest of things long before the event starts.

Productivity is a combination of clever planning and hard work with fully focused efforts. In simple words, it is using your time the best you can and providing 100% results. While, this is something that's expected out of every business and employee, staying productive is not as easy as it may sound.

Critical meetings are not productive, effective or efficient. So, what can you do to keep your company's top minds on track and the meeting agenda on the rails? Simple. Call in the cavalry - in this case, that's a neutral, independent meeting facilitator. You may be wondering what a professional facilitator will bring to your meeting, but it's really about what they won't be bringing.

I'm referring to what's called the Daily Huddle, and it's one of the most effective tools for building and reinforcing culture that a manager can have. This group meeting creates connection and alignment through consistent sharing of key metrics, accomplishments, goals and organizational direction.