NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU

"It is when we try to grapple with another man's intimate need that we perceive how incomprehensible, wavering, and misty are the beings that share with us the sight of the stars and the warmth of the sun."

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) British novelist

At the root of this poetic paragraph is the challenge we all face attempting to deal with each other.

Remember this the next time you look across the conference room table at your co-workers.

Who Called This Meeting?

"Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything."

John Kenneth Galbraith

20th century Canadian/American economist

I agree with one caveat.

The fault is not with the meeting but with the meeting participants.

Just as in planning, if you don't have a clear agenda and of greater importance, a solid commitment from the participants to take personal responsibility for what happens, nothing good will come from it.

And by the way, all that time wasted in the meeting will continue to be wasted in the participant's personal work space if they don't organize themselves there any better than they did in the meeting.

About The Need To Be Heard

"He must be very ignorant because he answers every question he is asked."

Voltaire
18th century French writer

Notice Voltaire draws no distinction between answering correctly and incorrectly.

One of the hardest concepts I see younger workers struggling with is that sometimes less (from them) really is more.

Time Management: That Which We Know or That Which We Don't?

"I fear explanations explanatory of things explained."

Abraham Lincoln

You can count on Abe to get to the heart of things; in this case, using a mere seven words.

Next meeting you're in, take informal notice of how much time is devoted to discussion about things already known and agreed to as opposed to that which isn't. I'll bet, a majority or close to it.

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Meetings: The Cost of Time

"Unfaithfulness in the keeping of an appointment is an act of clear dishonesty. You may as well borrow a person's money as his time."

Horace Mann

As one who sells consulting services to others I am used to clients being late for our meetings and calls . Not sure but I think there is some federal law that says they must; the same law that says consultants like me have to be on time.

So I adjust but what about the rest of you who just work together? Is everyone always on time or as I suspect often late? What is the cost in terms of inefficiency and lost production?

What works and what doesn't in terms of minimizing the problem?