Whoever invented the meeting must have had Hollywood in mind.
I think they should consider giving Oscars for meetings: Best Meeting of the Year, Best Supporting Meeting, Best Meeting Based on Material from Another Meeting.

– William Goldman


I often wonder how most of my clients ever find time to actually get work done. Their schedules are often double and even triple booked with meetings that begin with the first cup of coffee and go far past when most of them should be wending their ways home to families, hobbies, dinners and relaxation.

Ever since people have worked in large organizations meetings have been standard fare, but with more organizations structuring around cross-functional teams, global teams and virtual teams, meeting madness has spread like red wine on a white table cloth: meetings are everywhere and it’s hard to imagine how to remedy the problem.

Bad meetings fall in to one or more of the following five categories. My suggestions for addressing the problems are in green.

  1. There is no critical reason to actually be in the meeting. The information could have been conveyed via email, phone message etc. The meeting is merely a habit and a time waster.

    2. Look hard at the meetings you call and confirm for yourself that a gathering is truly the best way to accomplish your intentions. Many meetings—weekly staff gatherings, update meetings etc. occur simply because they always have. Be bold and eliminate unnecessary meetings.

  2. The meeting is poorly prepared— no agenda has been sent out in advance so meeting attendees are not certain of the meeting’s intention or how they can contribute most valuably.

    3. An agenda for every meeting should be distributed to all attendees at a minimum 24 hours prior to the meeting’s start time. If there is no agenda attendees should feel no obligation to attend. Your agenda should include the following:

    – Date and time and location of meeting
    – Subject of meeting
    – Issues to be resolved
    – Attendees
    – Deliverables for meeting
    – Time meeting will adjourn

  3. The meeting goes off topic and the meeting leader lacks the leadership skills to guide the conversation back to the issue at hand. Enormous time is wasted.

    4. Here’s where having an agenda comes in handy. If you’ve done your homework and have clarity about the meeting’s subject and intention, it is much easier to remind people that though their comments are interesting, they are off-subject. You have a responsibility as a meeting leader to herd the cats and keep your meeting moving and on point.

  4. Blowhards dominate the discussion intent on bullying others to their point of view. A kind of corporate filibuster with everyone glancing at his watch and no rules that limit this offensive and counter-productive behavior.

    Establish and distribute behavior rules and norms for your company’s meetings. Here are a few suggestions:

    – Meetings start and end on time. Period. Paragraph. Do not repeat information for late arrivals.
    – No one speaks for more than 4 minutes at a time. Bring a timer and use it. Anyone can bottom-line his thinking and share his perspective in 4 minutes. If he can’t, then he should put his thoughts in writing and distribute the report.
    – No meeting starts without an agenda
    – If you say you will be at the meeting, show up.
    – Cells, blackberry’s etc. are off
    – Meeting minutes are distributed to all attendees and anyone else who needs the information by day’s end.

  5. After the meeting has concluded it has failed to move the conversation forward. There are no action items and no clear next steps. Really unfocused meetings often propagate follow-up meetings only adding to the meeting mania.

    You will find if you set an agenda and keep to it, that meetings will move toward meaningful decisions consistently. If a meeting does not generate closure on the issue at hand, confirm what information is missing, and assign tasks and deadlines for the follow-up meeting. If you notice that your meetings consistently require follow-up meetings, be harder on yourself and your team regarding what information and pre-work is necessary at the meeting.

In case you’re still not convinced that meeting efficiency is worth the effort, let me monetize meeting cost just to make your jaw drop. The calculations come from a fabulous book called Say It In Six by Ron Hoff. This book will help you organize and deliver your thoughts with more brevity, impact and pizzazz than you ever thought possible. I encourage you to calculate what your organization is spending on meetings in a given week.

Average
Annual Salary

Hourly Cost of Meeting
$100K $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000 $2000
$75K $150 $300 $450 $600 $750 $1500
$50K $100 $200 $300 $400 $ 500 $1000
$37.5K $ 75 $150 $225 $300 $375 $750
  2 4 6 8 10 20

Number of Attendees

The great beauty of tackling meeting madness in your organization is that everybody wins. Better, clearer decisions are made more quickly; meetings mean action so participants come to meetings with energy, focus and intention; more time is liberated from everyone’s schedule for other things, and depending on the size of your organization, meeting rigor can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.


The best leaders of all, the people know not they exist.
They turn to each other and say ‘We did it ourselves.’
~ Zen Saying

Dina Silver, MCC, is the Principal of Pegasus Coaching Group.

I specialize in leadership coaching working with senior executives and their teams to create great leaders and high impact groups. I have enjoyed success working with technically proficient people who need guidance in developing the interpersonal skills that are essential to effective and compelling leadership.

My background in the entertainment industry as a feature film and interactive game producer effectively assists me in helping leaders develop powerful executive presence so that ideas and challenging initiatives are met with keen interest and excitement. In order to lead, people must be excited to follow!

I have enjoyed trusted advisor status with high performance individuals, teams and organizations, coaching in high tech, entertainment, banking, and marketing.

I hold a B.A. in United States History from Princeton University. I am a Master Certified Coach (MCC) and hold my credentialing through the International Coach Federation. In addition, I am certified in a range of assessment tools including DISC and PIAV, and am an active member of Professional Coaches and Mentors Association (PCMA) and the International Coach Federation (ICF). I am married, have two teenage kids, two fat black cats and live in Santa Monica, CA.

If you are interested in learning more about how my work may be of value to you and your organization, please get in touch. I am happy to offer interested prospects a complimentary and confidential half hour coaching session so you can take me and coaching for a test drive.