Meet less, do more
Productivity is an important factor of any successful business. And one way to make sure everyone is productive and on the same page is to hold consistent meetings. Some more enthusiastic professionals have taken the traditional meeting one step further by holding pre-meetings. Just as the name suggests, pre-meetings are meetings held before the actual meeting, just to plan agendas and topics of discussion and to make sure everyone agrees before the start of the regularly planned meeting. Some may think that it will make everyone more productive; it’s actually quite the opposite. Pre-meetings are ultimately a waste of time.
Everything that is discussed in a pre-meeting should be saved for the actual meeting. Planning what will be discussed at the meeting can be done on an individual level rather than meeting an additional time to plan. If you need to discuss a few agenda items before the meeting, you can meet one-on-one with the relevant person, just so every essential item is covered by a representing manager.
Two leaders as examples
So, cut out pre-meetings and focus on making your real meetings more productive and on-point. The best two things you can do are to experiment with different methods and use brilliant entrepreneurs as examples. Take Steve Jobs, for instance. He believed that meetings should be brief and should only involve those absolutely necessary. He cut out anyone that wasn’t essential to the process. This kept all his company meetings intimate, basic, and fruitful. Steve Jobs understood that the longer the meeting didn’t mean increased productivity. He understood that just the opposite was true. Keep your meetings brief and focused and then let everyone get back to work.
Another example is Donald Trump. He’s known for being brutal and completely business-minded. He said, “If you’re honest, you should know the questions that should be asked, as well as the answers.” Use that mindset as you prepare for the meetings and throughout your company’s meetings. Be honest and be verbal. That’s the only way to make any real professional progress.
There needs to be less meeting together and more doing what needs to be done. Meet regularly, but keep your meetings concise and full of rich content. Cancel all of your pre-meetings and use that time to move your business to the next level. Your time is valuable. And so are your meetings.
Feel free to steal this image we created and use as your desktop wallpaper as a reminder of where your focus should be.
