Two days ago I wrote about how meetings are destroying offices across the world. But what are reasons to call a meeting?
1) Brainstorming. First of all, these meetings should never, ever be held within the office walls. Pick a restaurant, a park, a coffee shop, something other than the office. When you have meetings like this inside the office, all the mental blocks, creative rules and office politics get in the way of true outside-the-box thinking.
I tricked you. To me, that is the only truly good reason to have a meeting. There are tons of bad reasons: project update (unless your industry demands it), goal setting and project planning.
I know I’m being very general here because meetings are important in projects and the day-to-day operations of teams. I don’t disagree with that. But we need to limit how often we have big meetings where the value is lost. Don’t get caught up in the minutia of the office. Go do your own “meeting” at your local coffee shop today!
(Flickr photo via amandawoodward)
