Study: CEOs Spend
a Third of Their Work
Time in Meetings
I
f you think you are spending a lot of time in
meetings, you are not alone. In fact, according to a an ongoing project—the Executive
Time Use Project—conducted by a team of
scholars from London School of Economics and
Harvard Business School, chief executives spend
about a third of their work time in meetings.
The study looks into the day-to-day schedules
of more than 500 CEOs from around the world
with hopes of determining exactly how they organize their time—and how that affects the
performance and management of their firms.
In one sample of 65 CEOs, executives spent
roughly 18 hours of a 55-hour workweek in meetings, more than three hours on calls and five hours
in business meals, on average. Working alone averaged just six hours weekly.
The study had two interesting findings:
1. CEOs with more direct reports are likely to be
more hands-on and involved in internal operations
which eventually leads to more and longer internal
meetings.
2. In companies that incorporated a finance
chief or operating chief into the corporate hierarchy, the CEOs’ time in meetings was reduced by
about five-and-a-half hours a week, on average.
How about you? How much time do you spend
in meetings? Candidly assess if you are in fact
spending your time and energy in productive meetings and what type of meeting (e.g. regular
huddles versus hour-long staff updates) is best for
your team. Ultimately, it is important not to lose
sight of the fact that meetings are critical to management and in keeping employees engaged but
can also be counter-productive. SuccessFactors
Inc. CEO Lars Dalgaard says it best: “While you are
sitting in a meeting, your competition is getting
stuff done.”
SURVEY: Hawaii
Tops in Well-being
G
allup recently released the results of its Gallup-Healthways
Well-Being Index survey conducted between January to
December last year. The survey identifies Hawaii residents as
respondents with the highest well-being with an index score of 70.2,
ranking No. 1 for three consecutive years. North Dakota, Minnesota,
Utah and Alaska rounded out the top five states. In contrast, residents
from West Virginia had the lowest well-being (62.3), followed by
Kentucky (63.3) and Mississippi (63.4).
How can you help improve the well-being of the residents in the
state where your spa or business is located? Think of more local-based
health initiatives like community yoga classes, free holistic or nutrition
classes as well as special spa treatment discounts for locals to encourage them to proactively live a healthier lifestyle.
VISIT digital Pulse at experienceispa.com to view the entire survey
results and to find out where the other U.S. states are ranked.
May 2012
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