I have had a series of meetings where I really can't see what has been achieved and I wonder why I was there; especially when research shows that we can't concentrate for more than about fifteen minutes at a time.. I often sit there afterwards and think what did that achieve, what value did it add and what am I going to do differently as a result and the answers are generally depressing. My colleagues tell me that meetings are important; if not essential elements of what we do. If that is true, and to be honest I need convincing,my question is how do we improve our meetings and ensure that we are making the best use of our precious time.
I have started to ask myself some questions about each of the meetings I attend and I would encourage you to do the same. Simply ask yourself...
- Is this meeting necessary?
- Do I need to be at this meeting?
- What do we expect to achieve at this meeting?
- Could we do achieve the same outcomes in any other way?
- What would happen if this meeting didn't take place?
- Could these meetings take place less often?
2 comments:
Been there, done that, come to the conclusion that many (most?) meetings are about abdication of responsibility. It is as if the following thought was in meetings-addicts minds - "If I involve lots of others in this issue then they will implicitly share the responsibility".
Add a question (OK, a complex of questions!) to the list:
Could the decision to be made in this meeting be made by one person? Who? What is getting in the way of that one person making the decision? How can that obstacle be removed?
You should have a look at our discussion on www.talknet.eu, where we are proposing the concept of the 'long meeting'. Not quite what it seems, but to post the agenda and questions for five days, and then leave it open to participants to discuss the points on the agenda on-line. we've tried it, and in certain circumstances seems to work
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