I’ve written a lot about meetings, mostly because I just hate them. The vast majority are wasteful, unproductive, and distract employees from the actual task of getting things done. But no matter how much I (and plenty of others) write about the evils of meetings, organizations still have them. Now, I’ve finally discovered why:
In bureaucratic organizations, far too many employees think the process is the goal. They think their policies, meetings, and paperwork is their job – when these areas are only tools to get the job done.
So they schedule meetings on the mistaken premise that the meeting is the task in itself. In my mind, very few things could be more damaging to a company. As a result, full-time employees in big organizations schedule endless meetings, create books of policies, and talk about work, instead of actually doing work.
I’m calling for a boycott. Be tough. Be the obstinate person in your organization willing to stand up to the meeting bullies. Remind them that meetings usually hurt more than help. Remind them that policies may be important, but they’re not the reason your organization exists.
Stop talking and start doing. Take it to the streets and don’t back down.
Let’s start a “no meetings revolution.”
Any other good anti-meeting ideas out there?
