Belmont University

Let's Call a Meeting About This Study

Meetings. Most of us really don't like them, and many entrepreneurs hold off using them in the day-to-day management of their business as long as they can. But at some point, your business will grow large enough where meetings become a key tool to facilitate coordination and communication between a growing staff of managers.

So how do you make your meetings productive? Opinion Research USA has just issued an "Ouch Point" study that examines what makes meetings painful to participants. The top things that make meetings painful:

27 percent -- disorganized, rambling meetings

17 percent -- peers who interrupt and try to dominate meetings

16 percent -- cell phone interruptions

9 percent -- co-workers falling asleep

8 percent -- no bathroom breaks (older respondents)

6 percent -- no refreshments (younger respondents)

5 percent -- people arriving late or leaving early

5 percent -- others checking e-mail on Blackberry

4 percent -- meetings that start late and those that end without distributing a written recap

So if you are at the point of needing meetings in your business remember to be organized with a clear agenda, set some basic rules and expectations about behavior, and if you have any folks my age, for goodness sake offer frequent bathroom breaks!


Posted by Jeff Cornwall on May 16, 2007 09:46 AM |

Comments

I can not choice any of these over one another -as all of them irritate me.

Birdied by: John | May 16, 2007 09:34 PM

Was searching for personal finance discussions and came across your blog. Very informational.

Now to boring meetings: there are always people who complain about everything.

Why are you annoyed by a co-worker falling sleep? I found it rather entertaining :-) If you are chairing the meeting and someone falls asleep, doesn't it say something about your meeting?

No bathroom breaks? Can't you stand up and go to the bathroom?

No refreshment comments must have come from young graduates who go to school seminars solely for the purpose of free cookies.

If you find the meeting boring or not useful, would you rather leave or stay till the end? Then why do you complain about other people leaving?


"Peers interrupting others and trying to dominate meetings" is, unfortunately, very popular among corporate america, and these peers are usually promoted quicker. This is the world, at least in the US, where talking is more important than being technically capable.

Birdied by: Hart | June 15, 2007 01:18 PM

I find cell phone interruptions as the worst thing. On the otherhand no refreshments is also another big negative factor.

Birdied by: Leading | August 6, 2007 09:50 AM

Tap it in and Comment, Please

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