Time to read: 3 minutes.
Founder Tim Morris shares his perspective on the intriguing evolution, or rather de-evolution of meetings in the business world.
It never ceases to amaze me how much time we are expected to spend in meetings. Somehow, attending meetings and participating in meetings has become “work“.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on a baseball field, on a family vacation, or even in the middle of the night, and had to “participate” in a meeting. Friends and family members that don’t work in this way, often look with amazement and envy at how we can work remotely almost any time.
My perspective on these “meetings“ is a bit different. First of all, I can’t imagine why or how companies let their staff be scheduled in meetings throughout the entire day. When is work supposed to get done? Or are all these meetings really necessary? I remember a guy I worked for one time, talking about how much every staff meeting cost. Just add up the cost of every person that has to attend a meeting, and think about the hourly cost of having these meetings. It is thousands upon thousands of dollarsmeetings
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I know I’m not the only one that’s also guilty of being completely distracted when remote on a “meeting” conference call. When I lived in Houston, I would get so bored on some weekly calls, that I set up a target range at the back of my property. I would sit there with a pellet gun and a 22. rifle with my phone on mute with a headset.
The point is, meetings have their time and place and can be useful to get everyone up to speed or on the same page. However, meetings should be used sparingly and for well-thought-out, intentional purposes. Your employees will thank you, and you may even find yourself with more time on your hands.