Archive for January 31st, 2009
Are meetings a waste of time?
I don’t think so. But some people seem to think so, or at least, they are quite against the whole “meeting” philosophy.
Here is something I read recently from Getting Real book -
Do you really need a meeting? Meetings usually arise when a concept isn’t clear enough. Instead of resorting to a meeting, try to simplify the concept so you can discuss it quickly via email or im or Campfire. The goal is to avoid meetings. Every minute you avoid spending in a meeting is a minute you can get real work done instead. There’s nothing more toxic to productivity than a meeting. – 37Signals.
According to me, there are times when meetings are useful for brainstorming, coming to consensus, taking decisions, etc. And there are also times, when they are complete waste of time.
But when we think they are waste of time, they are not waste of time for all the participants. Generally they are waste of time for an individual. Some participants are active, and it’s useful for them, but some are passive, and it’s sheer waste of their time. But passive people may not be passive because of their personal trait, but may be because they get invited to the wrong meetings where their involvement wasn’t necessary.
Our goal should not be to cancel the meetings, rather it should be to make the meetings effective and efficient. Here is what I’ve learned, observed and implemented when I set or attend the meetings.
Invite only active people
Meetings are highly effective and efficient, when each member is active for at least 25% of the meeting time. And they are extremely ineffective for some people when few members are active for majority of the time, and rest members are either active for very little time (<10%) or completely inactive. So while inviting a meeting, if we know that a person is going to contribute only for 5 mins or so, then it’s better to communicate with him in his cube on 1:1 basis rather than inviting him for an 1 hour meeting.
Send clear agenda in invite
This will help to achieve the previous step. If you send a brief agenda, then at least that will help invitees to decide if it’s going to be a relevant meeting for them or not. Clear agenda also helps people to come up with some prepared mindset. During the meeting, they understand the progress of the meeting and take active participation in completing items on the agenda. If they don’t know the agenda, they don’t get the visibility of the meeting, and hence may not get actively involved in completing all items on the agenda.
Set a fixed timer
Set a fixed timer – say 30 mins or 1 hour. Don’t extend it just because there is no one outside the door to kick you out. Keep watching the clock during the meeting. Alert yourself before 10 mins only so that you can wrap up or conclude necessary things within last 10 mins.
Reject unnecessary meeting invites
Sometimes I get invited to the cross department meetings, which have almost 20-30 people on the invite list. Sometimes the agenda explains that my involvement is not absolutely necessary for such kind of meeting. When in doubt, I confirm with my manager that if it is okay if I don’t go to that meeting. I’ve learned to reject meetings, which are absolutely not necessary.
Carry a notepad
In worst case, say if you are attending a meeting which is complete waste of time, then instead of watching people’s faces and wasting time, take notes of your next action items, tasks, ideas, etc. I do this many times if I realize that I got invited to the wrong meeting, and there is not much input I am expected to add in this meeting.
Set meetings when you are bored
There are times, when you want to be alone working on your own stuff and you don’t want disturbance and interruptions. Fine, reject all the meetings if it’s possible, and focus on getting things done. But there are also times when I’m not productive on my own. Sometimes my mind gets blocked to solve complex problems or sometimes it gets distracted to other thoughts. In such situations, I end up in procrastinating those tasks. During such times, I found having meetings help me get out of my boredom, mind-blocks or distractions. I’ll go and talk to my colleagues about some issue, do some brainstorming about implementation or so. Instead of wasting time, we get pumped up by brainstorming and solving more issues by discussion. So we find meetings are very productive in such situations.
The bottom line is – it shouldn’t be either this or that approach. We should find the balance. Sometimes meetings are going to be waste of time, but sometimes they are productive as well. It’s up to us how we conduct or attend the meetings. I hope these thoughts will help you to make your meetings more effective.
What are your thoughts? How do you make your meetings productive? Or do you find them waste of time?
