Avoid unproductive meetings

Organizations are drowning in unproductive meetings, according to author Al Pittampalli in an article for Harvard Business Review. Often it is difficult to distinguish the worthwhile ones from the worthless due to vague language that hides a meeting’s true purpose. Often what we consider a meeting could be renamed as conversations or group work sessions.

Pittampalli suggests that the following types of meetings should be avoided:
•    Convenience meetings used by managers to disseminate information instead of sending out a memo. These meetings are convenient for the manager but waste everyone else’s time.
•    Formality meetings held purely out of tradition or habit and the original purpose has been forgotten.
•    Social meetings intended to foster connections should be replaced with optional team-building activities, retreats, or parties.

Source: Harvard Business Review