CHICAGO—Almost every organization has too many meetings, including credit unions, and the situation isn’t getting any better. But one person is offering a three-point strategy for cutting the amount of time spent in unproductive meetings.
Geoffrey James, a contributing editor with Inc.com, pointed to research published in MIT’s Sloan Management Review that found the average executive spends 23 hours a week in meetings, a whopping 10 full hours since the Mad Men era.
“That sounds like a lot of time and it is,” wrote James. “Since the average work week is 47 hours, you're spending approximately half of your time each week in meetings. Because most executives and professionals work for about 45 years, that's 22 years spent in meetings.”
While some meetings are productive, James estimated that conservatively at least a third of the time spent on meetings is “wasted in irrelevant conversations, boring presentations, and meandering chit-chat.”
So, what can a credit union leader do? James offered these three strategies he said can be started today:
No More PowerPoint
“Overheads are a horribly inefficient way to communicate,” said James. “They force everyone to absorb information at the speed with which the presenter talks. Furthermore, Harvard research reveals that displaying words while you talk actually reduces retention and comprehension. So, when it comes to PowerPoint, just say no. Use one of these alternatives instead.”
No Meeting Longer Than 30 Minutes
The longer a meeting lasts, the more likely it is to become a waste of time, observed James. “Meetings should not be turned into information-transfer lectures nor should they be an opportunity for general hob-nobbing,” he wrote. “Every meeting should have an agenda and it should be possible to achieve that agenda in less than a half-hour.”
If No Value is Added, Leave Immediately
According to James, Elon Musk has a brilliant rule. "If you are not adding value to a meeting, walk out or drop off the call."
“It is not rude to do this,” wrote James. “What's rude is people who expect you to waste your precious time because they're such snowflakes that they'll be offended if you leave. And even if you are being a little rude, isn't seven years of your life worth a bit of rudeness?”