Meetings have taken on a life of their own and have become one of, if not the biggest time wasters for American businesses.  We are aware of one company that holds meetings in which the entire executive group is invited and it is expected that each executive bring from 2 to 4 of their direct reports in the event they are asked a tough question they must defer to one of their subordinates.  As a result of this wrongful approach, meetings often involve from 25 to 50 people whose time would be much better spent focusing on their areas of responsibilities.  Individuals who we have talked with tell us that they know intuitively that this approach is wrongful, but they are fearful that if they do not attend, there will be a perception at the highest levels that they don’t care or worse, that they are no longer influential and that their opinion and involvement is not necessary.

Recommended Solution: Only hold meetings that have a direct customer affect. Meetings that do not affect the customer or the bottom-line of the organization should not take place.  Immediately reduce meetings by 20% and only involve those individuals whose input and participation are necessary to make rapid decisions.  Set one day per week in which no meeting will take place and watch your organization’s productivity increase!