Meetings don’t have to suck
Jan 31, 12I have been preaching for a long time that meetings don’t have to suck. I’ve been a part of some great meetings. All the great meetings that I have been a part of have a few things in common:
- Short (30 minutes or under)
- Small (There should be no more than 6 or 8 people)
- Life Changing (Unless something is going to change, there is no reason to meet)
This is not to say that a there are not exceptions to the points above, but 99.99% of the time, they are true. Also, when leaving a good meeting, I want to work more. Good meetings inspire instead of discourage.
A few weeks ago, the San Francisco Chronicle published an article about how Larry Page mandated some changes to meetings at Google. The great thing about a CEO making changes like this is that he can follow through. Not only did he make meetings hinge on decisions, but he gave his employees the ability to decide. He went so far as to reorganize the company to make sure that each product has one person who is available to make hard decisions. One day, I hope to run a company like Mr. Page. Companies and employees should not be scared to make decisions.