Category Archives: Conduct Productive Meetings

Did you know that there are over 11 million formal meetings held every day in America? According to a study conducted by the University of Arizona, that comes to more than 3 billion meetings per year. Most managers spend an estimated 20% of their working hours in formal meetings of five or more people. A meeting between several executive leaders may run a firm over $1000 per hour or more in salary costs alone. Ineffective or unproductive meetings could cost Fortune 50 companies losses of more than $75 million per year.

A New York consulting firm, Communispond, Inc., conducted a survey of 471 management leaders and found that well over one-half of the managers surveyed considered most meetings to be a “waste of time.” Almost 90% recognized the failure of most meetings to be due to a “lack of advanced planning and organization,” and over 75% of those polled pointed … Continue reading Top 7 Reasons Why Executive Meetings Fail →

No one says it more eloquently than nationally syndicated columnist Dave Barry:

“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved and never will achieve its full potential, that word would be ‘meetings’.”

Too Many Meetings at Work

It’s tough to argue with him. If you’re like most managers, you’ll spend 8 to 10 hours each week in meetings. In fact, according to a University of Arizona study, there are more than 11 million formal meetings each day, totaling a staggering three billion a year.

Yet in study after study, workers cite meetings as one of the most unproductive and frustrating parts of their jobs. Since they waste almost $40 billion each year, it’s no wonder that IndustryWeek magazine called meetings “The Great White-Collar Crime.” But you don’t have to be a victim.

7 Steps to Make Workplace Meetings More Productive … Continue reading Make Your Work Meetings More Productive →

A client told me how frustrating it is to attend work meetings all day. He can’t get any of his work done and it’s basically impossible to have any semblance of a healthy work-life balance. Unfortunately, the amount of time you spend in meetings increases as you advance within the organization. Anyone at the director level knows that they are gone often from 9 to 5 just attending meetings. They barely have time to check email or voice mail. Attending to their important projects becomes almost impossible unless they work longer and later hours.

Companies Have a Meeting-Driven Culture at Work

Many companies have a meeting-driven culture. It’s an opportunity to connect, chat or just catch-up. Often times, the meeting wasn’t actually needed at all or you just don’t need to attend.

You can’t change the culture. The meetings will always be there, but your time will not. So … Continue reading Just Say No to Work Meetings →