Meetings are a waste of time. There, I said it. As a CTO or developer, you know this all too well. You have better things to do than sit in a conference room for hours on end, listening to people talk about things that have nothing to do with you or your work.
Developers are creatives. They follow their own schedule and work at their own pace. They don’t need to be interrupted by meetings that have nothing to do with their work. Instead, they need time to focus and get things done.
On the other hand, managers have their own schedule. They have meetings to attend, reports to write, and decisions to make. But just because they have a different schedule doesn’t mean they should be able to dictate the schedules of others.
Too often, meetings are called just to inform people about decisions that have already been made. This is a waste of everyone’s time. If the decision has already been made, then there’s no need for a meeting. Just send an email or a message and let people know what’s going on.
On the flip side, if decisions are made in a meeting and not written down, then the meeting was a waste of time. How are
people supposed to remember everything that was discussed and decided on? It’s important to have a clear agenda and to take thorough notes so that everyone is on the same page and can follow through on their action items.
So, what can be done to make meetings more productive and less of a waste of time? Here are a few suggestions:
- Send an agenda before the meeting. This will give everyone a chance to prepare and know what to expect. They will also be able to decide if they want to come.
- Time box the meeting. Don’t let it go on for hours. Keep it to a maximum of 1 hour.
- Write down discussion points and action items. This will help everyone stay on track and make sure that nothing falls through the cracks.
- Moderate the meeting if your company has a strong debating culture. Make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and that the conversation stays on track.
By following these suggestions, you can make meetings more productive and less of a waste of time. This will allow developers to get back to their work and focus on what they do best: creating amazing software.
