Your Meeting Is Starting . . .

Apparently, meetings take up about 15% of a typical organization’s time  (citation)Also, iturns out that 91% of meeting-goers day-dream, 39% of people fall asleep in meetings, 73% of people do other work while in meetings, 41% of people complain that meetings are a waste of time, and 96% of people skip meetings altogether.In total, the current estimate is about $37 Billion (with a “B”) of salary expenses are wasted on meetings in the U.S.

2 Minute Action:

The next time you have a meeting and aren’t sure if it wilL be useful, run through these questions real  quick. This is your litmus test for productive meetings:What would happen if you didn’t have the meeting? Would it impede progress?Could the meeting really be an email or a Skype meeting instead?If you have to have a meeting, can you do it in a room with no chairs?What’s the purpose of the meeting?Pick one of the following, and you can only pick one. If it’s more than one, skip the meeting.• Inform people about the project• Learn opinions or facts that will help you achieve a success• Discuss the project and gain input from interested parties• Pitch or approve the idea for the projectAfter the meeting, how will you know it was a success?