Escape from Hellish Meetings

Do you dread attending meetings at work? Are meetings just status updates from different department heads? Do meetings devolve into bitch and gripe sessions? Or worse, do they turn into sessions where everyone passes the buck? Do you leave meetings feeling like you wasted time and accomplished absolutely nothing?

Fortunately there is a solution. The entire problem revolves around the flow of information in your company:

• Stop using meetings to provide status updates; send that data to each other via email ahead of time. Now, use the meeting time to engage in meaningful discussion and analysis.
  
• 90% of the bitching at meetings is about "poor communication." Stop talking about how you should start communicating and start exchanging useful information. Stop treating data like it's Top Secret information and share it with your colleagues.
  
• With accurate, timely and relevant data, you can't pass the buck. If your department is underperforming, everyone has the facts and figures in front of their eyes. Stop trying to place the blame and focus on fixing the problem.

By opening the information floodgates you avoid the most common problems with company meetings. Open the flow of info and you will finally start having productive meetings and stop wasting your precious time.