Jason Fried says that the office is a lousy place to get work done because of 2 things: Managers & Meetings.
If that’s true, then you’re not doing it right. And, of course a lot of people aren’t doing it right – that’s what keeps my blog in business. I’ll tackle the meetings bit here and leave the manager problem for another post.
Collaboration, Communication
Most people don’t do their work in a vacuum. They need collaboration and communication (C&C) with others. Let’s say you have 5 people on a team who need to organize their work together. Let’s add a sixth person – the manager – who needs to know how the team is doing, if there’s anything she can do to help any of them (that’s her job after all) AND she needs to provide direction and connection with other teams in the organization.
That’s a lot of C&C. If all those people reach out to one another willy-nilly whenever the impulse strikes that’s a lot of interruptions. No wonder Jason wants to get away from the office.
But there is another solution. Figure out which parts of all that C&C can be scheduled and organized. It won’t make the problem go away, but it will diminish it. Hopefully to the point where the down side of the interruption is out weighed by the benefits of C&C. So if you’ve got a scheduled and organized way to collaborate and communicate, what do you have but a meeting?!?!?
I agree that most meetings are a waste of time. But that’s because they aren’t done right. Appropriate meetings not only save time, but encourage all kinds of good things like synergy, morale, camaraderie, sharing of ideas – in short, team work. But the idea of abolishing meetings because of this problem is like abolishing food because people are obese. You just have to do it right.
Here’s a quick primer for Better Meetings
- Each Meeting needs a purpose. And the kind of meeting has to fit the purpose.
- It has to include the right people – all of them but no one else.
- People have to come prepared.
- It should have a pattern – a rhythm. This will vary with the type of meeting and it’s purpose. A brainstorming meeting has a different pattern than a meeting where you hash out alternatives and reach a decision.
- It should be as short as possible – but no shorter.
- Someone must be in control.
- Each meeting should have an outcome – one that accomplishes the purpose of the meeting.
- Keep in mind that each meeting doesn’t happen in isolation. Maybe there are times that should be “meeting-free zones” and other times when meetings should be optional.
[Ricardo Semler goes so far as to make all meetings optional. His point is if you’re planning the meeting it’s your job to make it enticing enough that people want to come (and want to pay attention instead of playing with their iphones). This is pretty extreme and only works when all other aspects of the company culture are aligned with it. But it’s an interesting approach. ]
If doing meetings this way sounds like a lot of work – well yeah. That’s why no bumper sticker says “I’d rather be running a meeting.” But (as Jason points out in the video) meetings are expensive. A one hour meeting with 10 people is really a ten hour meeting. And if you add up the salaries of all those people and account for the interruptions the meeting causes before they get back into the flow of their work – you’ll jump out of your skin. If you’re going to spend that much money / time / etc isn’t it worth it to do it right? That’s why you get paid the big bucks.
Takeaways
- Meetings are expensive
- If you’re going to have one – do it right
- If you do it can pay off it spades
UPDATE: Seth Godin and I are aligned in starting the new year with better meetings.