Thursday, September 06, 2012

How to keep meetings from wasting your time

I came across this great Inc. article "Don't let meetings suck your time" and it inspired me to write some of my own thoughts on those dreaded meetings we all attend.

Sometimes I find myself in a meeting and realize that we have just covered the exact same topic about 10 times in a row without moving the issue forward.  I imagine these scenarios often play themselves out in asylums across the country where people slowly bang their heads against a wall muttering the same question over and over.  It takes everything I have not to yell out "stop repeating yourself!" and "stop drooling."

So what do you do when this happens?  Ask this question out loud: Now that we understand the problem what are the next steps to resolve this issue and who will take them?  Then you will most likely hear crickets but don't let that stop you from your goal.  Start naming names.  Make people jump.

Don't settle into the routine of unproductive meetings, your time is more valuable than that.