This time I'm referring to office meetings. A good friend of mine recently suggested that we discuss the office meeting and its place in the corporate world. More specifically, in what instances are meetings actually productive rather than being a complete waste of time for 90 percent of participants in the room or on the other end of the teleconference.In my personal opinion, most meetings I've either run or attended in my short career thus far have been highly beneficial. This of course has mostly to do with the fact that I'm doing everything in my power to soak up as much corporate knowledge as possible to be a partner by the time I'm 25, so sitting and taking notes and learning from those above me has been a big benefit to me. But in realizing that not everyone works with people as smart and talented as I do, this is a biased opinion. This also does not apply to company specific meetings - if I have to sit through one more two hour session on proper time entry I think I might have to stick needles in my eyes - that'd at least be more enjoyable.
As this shows, I don't know what the crap I'm talking about.
I do believe, however, that all meeting organizers need to consider their audience beforehand - if the content isn't 100% relevant to an individual, refrain from sending them the invite.According to my colleague Luke Armour who is significantly more brilliant at the corporate life than I (well, okay, so life in general), believes that meetings can be productive if your audience, objectives, and action items are all aligned. If one of these elements does not correspond with another, you end up with a meeting that can be unproductive and frankly, a waste of time. Problem is, most corporate meetings do not have these three critical elements in alignment, mainly because the objectives are not clearly defined in the first place.
This is great insight.
So whether you're planning your next creative brainstorm, informational meeting, or group working session, outlining the objectives first is key in walking away from a productive meeting.
So tell me dear readers - in your opinion - the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to corporate meetings.
Cheers!
-A
5 comments:
Meetings are by far the biggest waste of time in my day. I can't even believe how many meetings end with no resolution other than the plan to meet again. A meeting should only be to sit down - review where you stand - delegate the next assignments and get the hell back to your desk.
I hate meetings.
PS - The one thing I hate more than meetings is Time Entry
Damn. You really wrote an entry about corporate meetings.
Oh, and I neglected to mention a quote from my good friend Justin Wyman, "I hate meetings." This goes without saying as I've called just to get him out of them before.
narm - ugh, time entry - right there with ya!
so@24 - sure. everything has a positive and a negative side, especially the corporate meeting.
I think some meetings can be great but department wide, brand crossing meetings are unproductive and I could honestly be doing more by being in my office.
On the upside it's the perfect place to network.
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