Connecting Top Managers: Developing Executive Teams for Business Success

3. Meetings Are Money

“In many companies, meetings themselves are a source of distraction from higher-value work that people feel they could otherwise be doing.”¹

—Tony Schwartz

How often have you left a meeting room and thought—that was two hours of my life I will never get back? Our senior leadership team survey results reinforced what many of us have seen and felt: Meetings are often a waste of time. We asked survey participants to tell us what a fly would see if it observed their team discussions. The choices that received the lowest scores were

• Team members prepare well for team meetings.

• Meetings are well run and productive.

• Leadership styles do not clash within the team.

• Team members share the same priorities.

• Team members ...