scrubbedexpat141

How many meetings do you haver each week (internally) and how many of them are actually useful, productive AND efficient?

The Dean

“The least productive people are usually the ones who are most in favour of holding meetings”

“People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.”

(both quotes from Thomas Sowell, African-American economist and philosopher)

scrubbedexpat141

It's true though isn't it.

I especially love the weekly, scheduled ones. I have to write an Agenda for it. It kills me. 60 mins of bollocks.

Meow

There are several inhouse meetings in week. I just don't go as I consider them largely a waste of my time. It's lovely being self-employed.

Oyibopeppeh

And the least productive are the meetings about meetings

scrubbedexpat141

I know it's all a bit cliche to moan about meetings for meetings or meetings for the sake of it etc. But it really annoys me.

Especially when the 'commitments' made in the meeting are never met because they are bollocks and agreed to to try and look good.

Eurgh

kittycat1

I wonder when Im meant to get any work done I have so many! or pre meeting meetings- gun to head smilie

jackthehat

Meetings = 30 Minutes of Ritual Humiliation from a Man in a Dress! Oh how did I yawn! Nothing Productive, and Nothing Pre-emptive either! "I want the job finished NOW!" - But he wasn't paying the bills!

goonerseba

Likewise.

I have a daily morning "huddle" with my team to set the scene - 15 mins max briefing and very effective.

But the weekly "management" meeting is worthy of its own episode of "the office" - every comic meeting/boardroom scene is played out in that one.

although to keep it interesting, I try and drop in well known sayings or phrases from tv, or film or even quotes lines song lyrics - try it - its amazing how one many liners you can drop without anyone non-western realising your taking the complete p*ss !

jackthehat

I know! Do the same, and it flies over their heads like an Exocet Missile!

Millhouse

what do a bunch of designers talk about in a meeting?

The Dean

At a well-known banking organisation I worked for back in the 1980s, a new CEO took over, and removed all the tables and chairs from the designated meeting rooms, replacing them with those little upright mini-tables that you see at hotel conferences in the coffee breaks............ in other words, there was (just about) something to lean on to write, but nowhere to sit down.

Astonishingly, the number and duration of meetings both fell dramatically...................

Millhouse

Even more pointless is the video conference. We regularly have multiple site video conferences - typically a 9-11 hour difference between all the offices being patched in - technical issues will kill 45 minutes - then we start... 60-90s min of drivel.

scrubbedexpat141

Things like that I often look at as new-wave-management bullshit. But actually, they serve the purpose don't they.

lullabelle

My ex boss loved meetings so much that we had WHOLE DAY management meetings to discuss the structure and nature of all other meetings and how often other meetings should occur. These whole day meetings were, for a while, ONCE A WEEK. Occasionally, during these whole day meetings we'd talk about performance reviews, how many producers it takes to change a lightbulb, what we could call locals on a trainee scheme (not "runners" clearly...) oh man. I hate extra paperwork and every meeting would generate more and more as we had to pen our response to various bullshit ideas bandied about by bored people trying to think of things for everyone to think about to justify the amount of time spent having a meeting.

Then my other old boss used to call meetings at 1830 to tell us all about his 100,000 dhs ice shower he was having installed by the pool in one of his villas, then admonish us for costing too much money compared to the Filipino/Indian workforce.