Meetings Are Like Chinese Finger Traps
June 2nd, 2010 Posted in Professional
While running a business I have learned that meetings are the Chinese Finger Traps of a company. It looks like you can easily escape, but you’re wrong. Meetings last far too long and get off topic faster than a Nolan Ryan fastball.
A few reasons as to why meetings are “Chinese Finger Traps”
- Meetings almost never stay on topic
- One person does all of the talking and the other sits and listens
- It takes just as much time to “prepare” for a meeting as the actual meeting
- A meeting with 10 employees costs the company 10 hours of productivity every hour, leading to decreased production and overhead costs
- Meetings tend to snowball and lead to follow-up meetings. Ever heard the phrase “Let’s have a meeting about the meeting”
If you must have a meeting, here are a few ways to make it productive.
- Set a timer, once it dings, meeting’s over. No if, ands, or buts about it.
- Actually pull in a computer or meet at a location that the problem/situation can easily be discussed and explained. Show real issues and explain real problems.
- Brainstorm a solution and assign 1 person to fix the problem.
- Invite as few people as possible. A room full of 10 employees can get out of hand in a hurry.
Bonus Material: Scheduling Meetings.
Ignore Outlook’s, Gmail’s, TumbleMe’s way of blocking out time. These programs have been built to schedule on the hour and ½ hour. If a meeting should only take 12 minutes, schedule it for 12 minutes instead of 30 minutes. You’re wasting valuable time talking about non-related topics.
Tags: chinese finger traps, mediaplug, meetings, time wasters
