Are all meetings really necessary?

How many meetings did you attend this week? Which meetings ended with a clear outcome and a defined next step? Which ones stand out in your mind because they moved an idea, project, or task forward positively? How much time did each meeting actually involve?

Meetings are expensive. Every meeting requires time to travel to and from the location, as well as the time at the meeting and any conversation after the meeting is adjourned. A two-hour meeting may require half a day.

Our time is too precious to sit through unproductive, unnecessary meetings.

As the workload has become heavier and resources reduced, we must look for ways to improve meeting results. The issue of meeting management is a time management issue. When we agree to conduct or attend a meeting, we need to give careful consideration to the value this meeting and the associated time will add to our project or team.

There are several opportunities to manage the cost of a meeting. One is in the preparation and conduct of the meeting. Another is the decision of “where” to hold it.

Traditional meeting management guides always focus on having an agenda, being well-prepared, and making sure the time is used productively. As a facilitator, I conduct meetings for a living. I have a standard promise I make to my clients: “I will not waste your time.”

If everyone made that commitment, we might see fewer bad meetings.

No time wasted rules

Here are the “no time wasted” rules. Follow these simple rules and not only will your meetings improve immediately, your colleagues will thank you for respecting their time.

• You must have an agenda. Define the issue or reason for the meeting. Address each of these in order: a) what is the current status of the issue; b) what is the desired solution; c) brainstorm ideas to achieve the solution; and d) develop an action plan. Use these questions as a generic format to simplify agenda development. You may also discover the meeting might not need the entire time allocation. Have you ever noticed how eyes light up when a meeting finishes early?
• Actively facilitate the meeting. This means having one person whose role is staying on the agenda, keeping everyone on track, and managing the time allocated. If the meeting convener is required to contribute content and cannot fulfill this role, invite an outside party who has facilitation skills. Even if you have a solid, well-prepared agenda but don’t stay on track and manage time, it will have been for naught.

If you follow these two simple rules, the time invested in meetings will produce real value for everyone. As the group collaborates to answer the proposed questions, everyone benefits from hearing a variety of perspectives. When groups share ideas, new insight is produced and the potential for creative solutions is enhanced.

Virtual meetings save time, too

Another decision that will contribute to the cost of a meeting is “where” the meeting will be held. In a world where the demands on our time exceed our ability to respond, we must begin to use virtual meeting techniques and make them as viable as face-to-face. We have been conducting conference calls for many years in response to the need to save money and time, and the requirement to collaborate with teams in diverse locations.

A variety of virtual collaboration tools exist, and their cost is based upon the complexity of the technology platform, client requirements, and number of participants. There is an affordable solution for every budget. As collaboration becomes more and more important, conducting and attending meetings will only increase for everyone.

Resources are precious – people, technology and time – and we cannot afford to waste anything. Many of the technology tools available today easily integrate at the desktop. The cost for such tools as GoTo Meeting can be as low as $49 a month. The ability to conduct meetings from the desktop is the future of collaboration.

If we think about the way e-mail transformed written business communications, I predict that virtual meeting tools will do the same for meeting management. We can no longer afford the cost in time, resources, and dollars to hold every meeting in person.

As we seek to make an uncertain world more predictable, taking a second look at how meetings are conducted and managing that process makes a lot of dollars and sense.

Shirley Esterly is a master facilitator and systems thinker who works with clients to build sustainable business practices. She can be reached at

sae@quantumwest.com.

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