Meetings Suck
I can smell the smoldering Maxwell House coffee.
[Part 1 of 2]
Meetings suck. That’s right, I said it.
Why such a strong reaction you ask? Well – it’s simple. For too long I’ve felt that meetings have a remarkable success rate at wasting my time but I’ve never had much proof (other than that nagging, irritated feeling I get when I’m subjected to other people’s chaos). So, I decided to take control and give some effort to controlling, or at least managing, my role in the meetings I’m involved with.
However, before I dispense any advice (that’s Part 2), I feel it’s important to rant a bit (it’s cathartic for me, so just deal with it):
1. Most meetings take place because someone wants to give or receive an update on tasks. That’s not a great justification for a meeting because the flow of information is unidirectional. There are other ways to transfer information – it’s called a fax machine, hello? Hehe.
2. Meetings are often way too long! I like how it’s worded in the book ReWork (by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson – 37Signals): why schedule a 1 hour meeting when 8-minutes are all that’s required. Get to the point and move on!
3. The meeting is called because there’s some slackers in the group and the boss wants to get everyone back on track. Don’t be a slacker and don’t subject yourself to working with slackers if you can help it. Besides, berating or embarrassing people in front of their peers doesn’t improve motivation, and it wastes everyone else’s time.
4. Meetings seem like a good place to clear up a disagreement – but that’s bogus. If there’s a difference of opinion about a project, stakeholders should approach each other individually and find ways to move forward. In a group setting there’s a bit of a gang mentality and that’s just not cool.
5. Meeting to build excitement is stupid. Motivation is a daily management challenge, not a one-time fix. Private conversations are better, but something social is ideal. A pint after work, a spontaneous coffee run, a small gift, or quick encouraging phone call are better than a meeting.
There are so many inefficiencies and liabilities that can stem from meetings. For every great idea that surfaces in a meeting I’d venture a guess that about a hundred die a quick death. For every ounce of energy we have to apply to being effective, I believe most meetings kill-off 1-ton of productivity.
I’ve just come through a period of having some VERY successful meetings. Some meetings where short, some where long, some were online, and some were face-to-face. They energized me and were extremely productive. There’s no formula, but there is something to be said for managing the environment and outcomes of a meeting. It’s pretty awesome connecting with likeminded people who want to get stuff done.
We can do this differently people.
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ha! made some quick grammatical edits thanks to RustyBoy/Badger/Edit-dude.