Here's an idea: get out of the office.

That's what Rob Bernstein does. Except he doesn't do it alone. He brings along his key managers too. Once a month they leave the office and travel all the way … to a Hampton Inn about three miles down the road.

For a morning each month he sits there, shivering in an overly air-conditioned meeting room and talks about the business. With the people that are helping run the business. "It's the most productive four hours of the month," Rob told me. "And I really get a chance to catch up with Kenny G's song collection."

The whole morning, including the room, costs him about $300. But the return on investment is huge.

There's no phones. No one's poking their head in asking for "just a minute." There are no overlapping meetings. There are no pictures of horsey-faced kids playing soccer or sunburnt bald guys from the last corporate golf outing. It's just a plain old room where there's nothing better to do than talk about … the company.

Some people like to get into the numbers at these meetings. But not Rob. He's into gossip. He wants to talk to his production manager about what jobs are causing problems and what people are creating bottlenecks. He needs reminders from his office manager as to what each person in the office actually does all day. He asks his sales manager about the customers she's speaking to. Are they happy? Any ideas for new products or services? Rob finds that going offsite opens people up. It makes them more comfortable to talk.

A good penny pincher like Rob knows how to get maximum productivity out of these offsite meetings.

He keeps them short. "No longer than a morning." He hates those "corporate retreats" that last for days and cost a fortune. No one wants to be there. They want to be with their families. And besides, a typical business owner like Rob has the attention span of a 5 year old. Three or four hours is about all he can take, let alone his employees. I can relate to that.

He switches up the attendees. Different people are invited each time. Some managers don't always get invited. His employees love to get a chance to leave the plant for a morning, drink coffee and hobnob with the execs. Fresh faces bring fresh ideas. It's no fun to look at the same tired mugs each month. And management, knowing how the gossip flows at the Hampton Inn, gets nervous when they're not attending too.

He has a specific agenda for each meeting. Everyone knows what's going to be discussed in advance. There are no surprises. People have time to prepare. This isn't some exercise to catch someone off guard. It's not a game show. Rob needs information and answers to questions. It's only fair that people can prepare beforehand.

Once a perky employee jumped to her feet and enthusiastically suggested that everyone agree on a list of "action items." Bob fired her on the spot for being so annoying. But he does keep notes. He assigns follow-ups to people. He sends a written document to everyone so they know who's responsible. Then he starts with the last meeting's list at the next meeting. Everyone's held accountable. Duh.

Are all your meetings in the office? Try something different. Get out. Penny pinchers know the value of a change of scenery. Try taking a deep breath, stepping back, and making sure the boat's headed in the right direction. Rob's approach is to do this at the Hampton Inn once a month. It ain't the Four Seasons ... but it's a whole lot better than his office.