In the late 20-teens, there was buzz around Elon Musk’s idea of “no meetings” – although that was apparently not his words. Instead, he (did? does?) pushed fewer meetings, that are shorter, and are moderated/facilitated more more aggressively. Meaning – when you’re done, be done. It reminds me of some conferences I went to that used “Open Space Technology“. And I know I got more out of those sessions than all other business conferences I’ve been to before.
Musk’s rules for better meetings:
- No large meetings. – In one of his emails to his employees he wrote: “Please get rid of all large meetings, unless you’re certain they are providing value to the whole audience, in which case keep them very short.” At one point, he said a typical meeting at Tesla should have no more than four to six people.
- If you’re not adding value to a meeting, leave. – He said “Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren’t adding value.” (Unless your boss specifically invited you.) I’m a fan of the idea – though I DO think people process DISCEMINATION of information better when they hear it, rather than having to read it. (Assuming they are actually listening!)
- No frequent meetings. – Musk also said: “Get rid of frequent meetings unless you’re dealing with an extremely urgent matter. Meeting frequency should drop rapidly once the urgent matter is resolved.”
These ideas are meant to save everyone’s time, thus giving them more time to do the actual work they’re here to do – which in turn, makes everyone (and the business) more productive. But… what about “Done right, On time”? Well, all of these ideas do require hiring the right people (and getting rid of the wrong people.) Having a committed team who are there to accomplish something and not just collect a paycheck is the key. Seriously. I’ve worked with too many people who are clock-watchers. They do the bare minimum (or slightly above that) to not get fired. Which sadly seems like a lot of office workers these days. And when you have the right people, who go back and ask questions – NOT in a meeting – they get things done right.