As many have said above, having meeting minutes that clearly document what was talked about and the action items that arose as a result is crucial. These minutes are essentially a snapshot of the meeting, allowing those who attended to quickly remember what was talked about and those not in the loop to understand the reasons for some decisions. I have run into several occasions where managers have wondered if something was completed or if there was an update for a task that another department had to do. On these instances, looking through meeting minutes helped to clarify misconceptions and keep everyone updated as to what was happening. The reality is that not everyone can remember every single detail that is talked about or occurs when they are working. But having the ability to look back on documented meetings and have minutes trigger remembering other events helps us to do our jobs much better. What has helped a lot is the digitization of minutes and utilization of document sharing sites (like SharePoint) to share meeting minutes with others. Having such a tool creates a centralized location for minutes, allowing for quick and organized retrieval of information.