Q: I'm required to attend meetings every week for my job. Many of the meetings could be handled easily by just an email message. Oftentimes, these needless gatherings are stretched out further by a few co-workers who ask dumb, mind-numbing questions just as the meeting is being dismissed. How can I get back to work without offending my verbose co-workers?
A: Excessive meetings can be a real time suck, but in most offices there is no escaping them. It makes it worse when office morons get their turn to waste everyone’s time by making unnecessary comments on every subject.
My suggestions for cutting the meeting time and dealing with excessive talkers:
- Ask a lead person to keep time and ensure conversations stay on course.
- Request that meetings have an agenda, beginning and ending time.
- Ban distractions such as cell phones and laptops.
- Schedule the meeting in a stuffy room with bad chairs. Even better: Take away the chairs. Requiring everyone to stand up will keep the meeting shorter.
- Use software that allows you to share documents on your computer desktops without meeting in person in the first place.
- Release a swarm of angry bees into the company conference room before the meeting. (This one may be a little extreme.)
Employers should follow Steve Jobs' approach to meetings. Ken Segall, a close Jobs collaborator, wrote in his book Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success that Jobs believed in starting with small groups of smart people and keeping them small. The idea behind that is that every time the body count goes higher, you are simply inviting complexity to take a seat at the table.
Jobs had no qualms in kicking people out of the meeting if he felt they had nothing to add. In his book, Segall recalls one instance where a woman from Apple, whom he calls Lorrie, took her seat with everyone as Steve breezed into the boardroom, right on time. Steve was in a sociable mood, so they chatted it up for a few minutes, and then the meeting began. “Before we start, let me just update you on a few things,” said Jobs, his eyes surveying the room. “First off, let's talk about iMac…" He stopped cold. His eyes locked on to the one thing in the room that didn't look right. Pointing to Lorrie, he said, “Who are you?”
Lorrie was a bit stunned to be called out like that, but she calmly explained that she'd been asked to attend because she was involved with some of the marketing projects they would be discussing. Steve heard it. Processed it. Then he hit her with the Simple Stick. “I don't think we need you in this meeting, Lorrie. Thanks,” he said.
Then, as if that diversion had never occurred—and as if Lorrie never existed—he continued with his update. So, just as the meeting started, in front of eight or so people whom Steve did want to see at the table, poor Lorrie had to pack up her belongings, rise from her chair, and take the long walk across the room toward the door. Her crime: She had nothing to add. The idea is pretty basic: Everyone in the room should be there for a reason. There's no such thing as a “mercy invitation.” Either you're critical to the meeting or you're not. It's nothing personal, just business.
Your boss should remember this story the next time “too-much-coffee-and-not-enough-sense guy” goes on and on about TPS reports.
