Meetings, when done appropriately, are a good thing. They are a necessary thing. In looking at the majority of meetings that I have been to could have been handled in an email. The reactions to well run meetings are enlightening and bring some type of resolve, good or bad. I have been to some of those meetings. I long for those meetings. I want more of those. I think that we can get there if we think about it.
My selling point for this is not just my sanity, it is economic. In the end it is simple math. X number or people at Y mean dollars per hour. It is not just lost productivity it is the creation and propagation of the next meeting. They snowball. They take on lives of their own. Then nobody remembers the reason why the original meeting was called.
In trying not to generalize the business world today I rather talk about the good meetings:
They start on time
They have a written agenda (and minutes)
The topics are discussed and kept on track.
Anything off topic is tabled unless it is elevated to a central topic because some oversight in preparation.
People are called in as needed in the expanse of the topic
Everyone that attends the meeting needs to be there for a purpose.
to hear the content,
to deliberate,
provide background, or history
are subject matter experts
the appropriate decision makers are there
Stakeholders are either their or copied on the minutes.
In the end meetings should result in a decision. If it is about status and accountability, I get it. There are uses for those types of meetings to provide pressure for action. But once the culture of compliance and doing then the creation of a report is likely. But then that creates a deliverable. Which brings me to a purpose here. If you as the person calling the meeting, if it is supposed to be a standing meeting, and you would not be willing to create a report as a deliverable in the frequency of the meeting you are creating, then is the meeting truly worth it?