MEETINGS
MEETINGS , YOU ’ RE DOING THEM WRONG
ARI MEISEL
MEETINGS ARE the bane of my existence . It ’ s not that I ’ m not diametrically opposed to meetings .
Under the right circumstances and executed under the proper guidelines , meetings can be a great expenditure of time …
The problem is , most meetings — I ’ m willing to say 95 percent of them — are not held under the right circumstances nor are executed under the proper guidelines .
The average meeting is horrifically inefficient . It involves too many people , too many touch points , too many questions , and — most importantly — too much time .
No meeting , no matter the significance , should take longer than 30 minutes . I don ’ t care if it ’ s about your business , your mortgage or your child ’ s education — the meeting itself should be less than a half an hour .
Meetings are not about discussing all the avenues available , they ’ re about coming together to make decisions . They ’ re about choosing which road to take , not highlighting all the roads on the map .
Invited parties should be properly briefed before the meeting begins ( if you ’ re hearing about something for the first time in the meeting itself , somebody screwed up ) in order to ensure only pertinent matters are discussed .
When everyone has done their homework , I find most meetings can actually be concluded in less than 15 minutes .
Now , there is ONE important exception to my aforementioned stance on meetings and that is in the case of a brainstorming session — which is , quite frankly , an entirely different animal all together . If you ’ re gathering to hash out new ideas , speculate on future plans or activate the creative faculties of the collective mind , then go nuts , use as much time as you ’ d like . Take all day and all night — a good brainstorming session can go for hours and hours .
Just remember that most meetings are not scheduled to brainstorm , they ’ re scheduled to make decisions .
If you ’ ve been struggling to adhere to tight timelines as of late , here are my five suggestions to make sure your next meeting is short and sweet . Try Going For A Walk Take your meetings and make them mobile . When one of your employees or co-workers wants to chat ( be it in-person or over the phone ) go for a stroll . Have a predetermined route that takes no more than 30 minutes roundtrip and confine your conversation to the duration of the journey . Use The Timer On Your Smartphone Using the timer / alarm on your smartphone is a blunt , effective means of keeping conversations focused and on-point . Clearly state , before the start of the meeting , that when the clock strikes zero you ’ re gone . For even greater impact , employ something more rudimentary like a kitchen timer , or hourglass — the incessant tick-tick-tick of the timer or the passing sand within the hourglass will amplify the sense of urgency in the room and minimize the trivial chit-chat . Only Meet With People On THEIR Time Though not always the most practical solution , meeting with people on their time is an incredibly powerful way to keep things as short as possible . By offering to meet with people during their lunch , after 5pm , on the weekend , etc . ( those traditional timeslots when no one wants to work ), you ’ ll avoid the superfluous and deal strictly in brass tacks .
Keep The Invitations To An Absolute Minimum
Not everyone needs a say — it ’ s callous but true . In this overly sensitized world , the workplace has too often become an environment of “ we need to get everyone ’ s opinion on this .” The truth is , no you don ’ t . Having too many cooks in the kitchen will be detrimental to the environment , efficiency , and effectiveness of your meeting . Keep the guest list as small as possible — two people is the dream . Ask Yourself Why ? The easiest way to keep a meeting concise is to not have it in the first place . Most meetings aren ’ t actually needed , but ordered and held from a force of habit . Before sending out a batch of invitations or blocking-off chunks of calendar time , ask yourself why do I / we need this meeting ? Try and find another way to reach the objective you seek without involving other people . Are meetings totally dispensable ? — no . As much as I ’ d like to do away with them entirely , there is always going to be a time and a place but that time and place is far less frequent than we generally suspect .
So before scheduling your next meeting , make sure it ’ s : 1 . Absolutely necessary 2 . Taking up no more than 30 minutes of your day For some further reading , check out Cameron
Herold ’ s great book “ Meetings Suck .”
Ari Meisel
Ari Meisel is a best-selling author , productivity expert , CEO , real estate developer , green building consultant , and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania , Wharton School of Business . His proprietary process , the Less Doing System , is the foundation of his company Less Doing which offers individuals and enterprises road-tested methods to optimize , automate , and outsource everything . The goal is to learn how to work smarter , instead of harder .
LessDoing . com
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