Meet Effectively

Effective meetings

Many consider meetings the bane of productivity; nowhere else can so many people waste so much time together. This isn’t entirely untrue. However, meetings are necessary, and some are even productive.

The theory behind meetings is simple: decisions need to be made, so we can get the right people in a room, hash out the issues, and make a decision. In terms of communication bandwidth, there’s nothing more effective than face-to-face talk. Email isn’t very expressive and has high latency. Phone calls are somewhat more expressive, but it’s easy for people to zone out. Video conferences come with their own issues. Face-to-face is definitely the best way to communicate.

We’ll be involved in some pointless meetings; just accept that. However, we can help keep meetings productive and set a good example for others.