6 Ways to Avoid Endless Meetings

I spent 7 straight hours in meetings yesterday

Have you ever thought to yourself that:

• you might just be able to do some of the things that you said you would do in one meeting
• if you didn’t spend all your time in the next meeting
• explaining why it is you haven’t done what you said you would do in the last?

If you can get your head around that these are for you:

6 ways to alleviate your pain:

1. Hold stand up meetings.  People don’t half get to the point quicker if they can’t sit down
2. Hold information only meetings.  Giving out a lot of information to people always causes discussion.  Handle the discussion outside the meeting, not in it.  Not everybody wants to have to listen to it. (Me for one, I don’t, really I don’t)
3. Vote on any decisions that have to be made at the start of the meeting.  Then you will only need to discuss the issues that people disagree on.  (There is nothing quite like violent, endless agreement for me lose the will to live)
4. Even better: hold decision only meetings.  Publish an agenda of yes / no decisions that need to be made and only allow a vote in the meeting.  It is astounding how much preparation people will do before the meeting.  (I might even read the agenda)
5. Here is the really clever one, if the meeting you are holding isn’t to either impart information or make a decision, then don’t hold the meeting
6. And then there is the nuclear option, just decline the meeting; do you really need to be there?  (If this option is not an option click here for help and support)

P.S. If you only do one of the above buy a stand up meeting table.  You will be amazed

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult ~ Senca

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