This book has shown me that I should expect more. We'd meet, then get on about our business. I never really saw it that way because I didn't have any expectations that meetings were supposed to accomplish anything at all. Pittampalli is adamant that this is a waste of time. Most of the meetings that I've attended in my life have been rambling, unfocused affairs that were called to fill the monthly meeting quota that was arbitrarily chosen by management- a touch-base, if you will. Thus addressing the problem that the meeting was called to solve and serving its function. But, this preparation pays off when, after the meeting, the business should have created a concrete 'action plan' that includes: "What actions are we committing to? Who is responsible for each action? When will those actions be completed?" pg 39. ![]() If the attendee doesn't have time to read and prepare, she doesn't have time to attend." pg 37. Any information for getting attendees up to speed should be given out beforehand. "Every meeting should require pre-meeting work. The person calling the meeting has to distribute information about the issue so that those who are attending can contribute. This strict definition of a meeting means that there is going to be some major preparatory work since communication isn't going to be a part of the show. Like war, meetings are a last resort." pg 23 So, they're necessary, but they should run quickly because: "Meetings are too expensive and disruptive to justify using them for the most common types of communication, such as making announcements, clarifying issues, or even gathering intelligence. The end goal: "Meetings need to be less like the endless commercial breaks during a football game and more like pit stops in the Daytona 500." pg 20. I can think of no single great innovation that has ever happened without the presence of opposition." pg 15 So, there may be an uphill battle over this, but, Pattampalli thinks, it is worth it. ![]() Great decisions involve risk and risk scares people it's natural for great ideas to get attacked or, worse, ignored. And also keep in mind: "Change is never met with open arms. If an operating room were as sloppily run as our meetings, patients would die." pg 7. "Over time, we've become nonchalant about bad meetings. The first step, like with any problem, is to admit that you even have a problem. It does take some internal mindset changes by the folks who call meetings. He claims that modern meetings should only be held to solve specific problems and the only people who should be required to attend are those who could take direct action to solve that problem. Endless meetings have you down? Pittampalli has a solution to your woes.
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