Why Having More Meetings is not the Answer
Let’s be honest, people don’t like meetings. They’re often dull and most of the times unnecessary. Unproductive meetings cost UK businesses £1,400 per employee every year. Whatever the size of your team, that is lot of money that could be saved by altering the way we do meetings. It is important to work out when you do need a meeting, but more importantly, when you don’t.
Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, tells his employees to skip pointless meetings. His definition of a pointless meeting is simple. It’s a meeting you don’t really need to be in. But why are we having so many pointless meetings in the first place ? What is it about them that keeps us coming back for more even when they’re often useless ? We’re just going through the motions, when we should be questioning why we’re doing things. In a video interview with The Journal, Satya Nadella said his strategy for running meetings is to “listen more, talk less, and be decisive when the time comes.” Meetings are crucial for making decisions and exchanging ideas. In truth, companies wouldn’t get far without them. But, they would get a lot further with fewer, more productive ones.
Tips for meeting prep
1. Am I looking for a discussion, or just an update?
If you require a discussion and you need feedback before proceeding with an important decision, then it might be best to schedule a meeting. If its an update then e-mails, spreadsheets, and messenger should be sufficient for sharing those brief updates.
2. Does this meeting have to happen in face to face?
Thanks to technology you should be able to organise a quick meeting that saves time, money, and energy. Does everyone on my invite list really have to be involved? More isn’t always better when it comes to meetings and you would be well served to adopt a minimalist approach whenever you schedule or lead a meeting.
3. Is there a clear goal or result this meeting is designed to accomplish?
If not, cancel it.
4. Do I have a clear decision maker confirmed to attend?
If you don’t, then what’s really the point of the meeting? Without someone present who is capable of making decisions from the meeting nothing will be implemented. Times have changed, and meetings are quickly becoming passé.
About Carbon and Finch
Carbon and Finch provides software development for Microsoft Dynamics, C# and .Net. Carbon & Finch deliver high-quality, complex solutions for enterprises using Microsoft technologies across the globe. We have a proven record of accomplishment for delivering complex solutions across a wide range of industry sectors across the globe.
With delivery capacity covering a wide range of Microsoft-based technologies, including Dynamics AX, Dynamics CRM, Microsoft SQL Server, Windows Azure and Cloud-Based Services, our consulting team possesses a breadth of domain knowledge and experience associated with some of the highest quality skills and capabilities in the ERP industry today.
