You’re extremely busy but drop everything to attend a required meeting. When you arrive in a timely manner, only half the participants are present. Worse yet, the first 15 minutes of the meeting is taken up with small talk about someone’s recent low golf score. When the meeting does start, there is no agenda and a long-winded monologue, essentially summarizing a document you’ve already read, is presented. Two hours later you leave and realize that you have not only learned nothing new and were never asked for your opinion but wasted two hours of your time in the process. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Most American workers find most meetings to be a waste of time. Fortunately, managing meetings isn’t difficult and managing effective meetings is something nearly all managers and leaders could do if they adopted just a few guidelines.
