I Hate Meetings- a personal rant
Help me with a word stronger than “hate”, would you?
Most meetings are useless and the useful ones usually last longer than necessary. I don’t just dislike that, I hate it!
Watching paint dry is more interesting than a lot of meetings. When was the last time you truly enjoyed a meeting? You didn’t sleep off. Didn’t check Facebook or Twitter.
“Well, I just want to support what the last speaker just said. He said that…” If you have nothing original to say, why don’t you just shut your gutter?
A lot of meetings are ego massage sessions for some lonely, frustrated managers. Period!
When was the last time everyone followed through on their deliverables from a meeting you have had?
The number of meetings you call is inversely proportional to the amount of important work you do.
Mathematically, Nm = 1/IWD;
Where:
Nm is Number of Meetings
IWD is Important Work Done
Why do so many meetings end without any concrete decisions and next steps?
Why in Heaven’s name do you call people for a meeting without sending them the Meeting Agenda?
What can be more annoying that individuals who dominate meetings for their personal glory?
How to Fix Things
If you must conduct a meeting, try doing it online.
If you must gather people in a physical location…
- Conduct your meetings with everyone standing, similar to Scrum’s Daily Standup Meetings
- Meetings must not always be held in the conference room. Take a walk, especially if it’s a 1-on-1 or 1-on-2 meeting
- Share the agenda before the meeting and stick to it during the meeting
- Don’t bring refreshments
- Make it clear that it is okay for people not to attend
- All deliverable must be assigned to someone with fair but concrete timelines
You know the meeting is over when people begin to repeat themselves and/or echo what others have said.
Quit wasting people’s time in the name of meetings!
