Ten People at a Meeting Is About Seven Too Many

“We are known for having very small meetings, usually three people.
No innovation happens with 10 people in a room. If there are a bunch of people in a room, “I’ll stick my head in and say, ‘It takes 10 of you to decide things? There aren’t three of you smart enough to decide this?'”
— Paul English, co-founder and chief technology officer at Kayak.

Forget death and taxes; here are two other sure things:

1.  Most meetings are either unnecessary or have unnecessary attendees.

2.  Most meetings go on too long. Meetings tend to linger on, end and die slowly.…

How to avoid mediocre meetings? Avoid wasting irreplaceable time, precious human energy?

– Easiest way is not to have a meeting!

– Second is to severely limit the participates (3?); excuse participants once their portion of the meeting is complete.

– Send background materials in advance.

– A clear purpose/objective(s); end on time. A big visual countdown timer helps focus the discussion; plus requiring everyone
stand up if the meeting continues past the appointed hour.

– Summary of the meeting should be circulated soon after with clear action points for all.

– Think long and hard about your last meeting:  What (if anything) changed or happened as a result? Is there a faster, easier way to achieve the same outcome?

Closing quotes:

“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’.”  — Dave Barry; 1947–, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author and columnist, who wrote a nationally-syndicated humor column for The Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody , as well as comedic novels.

“I just hate meetings. I don’t do meetings; I value my time.”  — J. K. Rowling; 1965–

“Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.”  — John Kenneth Galbraith; 1908–2006, diplomat, professor of economics at Harvard University for half a century; author of four dozen books, published over a thousand articles and essays.