I am a marketeer (at least, as of now!) and most part of my day is spent in — meetings. Ah! that dreaded word that sucks up your time!!
In 90% of the cases, I come out of a meeting and think, “what an absolute waste of time”. So, when Seth Godin in his note on meetings says, “Despite the time spent, most people don’t seem particularly happy with the results the meetings create” I found myself nodding in resonance.
In general, I have noticed that Indian’s are the worst when it comes to meeting’s . Here are some laws that I could readily think of, that were applicable to most of my meetings…
- At least one important attendee shall come in late
- If a meeting begins on time, then it shall never end on time and vice versa
- When a critical function is being discussed, that function bearer shall have gone out of the meeting
- The middle of the meetings, are the place, when ones gadgets (black berry’s, cell phones etc.,) shall be shown off
- In the middle of the meeting, at least one person shall ask his neighbor, what the meeting was about
- At least one person shall give his opinion on/commit on behalf of a function not his own
With my limited experience, here are a few thoughts that would probably help solve the problem…
- Book meetings for the time necessary – Most organizers (outlook etc.,) don’t have the end time just like that! Have an end time along with the start time and adhere to it. Make sure everyone knows about it at the beginning of the meeting. It will cut unnecessary sidetracks between the meetings.
- Get only the relevant people in – Sure, you would want alignment from other functions as well. But, if a person is not going to have a task at the end of the meeting against his name, he might as well not be there!
- Follow up meetings are a must – Book the next meetings’ time and date as the last thing at the end.
- Minutes and task list – Clearly state what you did, what’s going to happen and who’s going to do what next.
- Categorize your meeting review them – A very good trick I learnt was to take some time out, once a month and review the meetings. You will know what works, and what doesn’t work for you
