More Bad News About Effective Meetings

Effective meetings cause enough woes to warrant being banned. And some business have successfully done this for the duration of their tenure before disappearing into bankruptcy.

Besides the problems cited in the previous articles (Bad News About Effective Meetings), you will have to contend with:

Problem #4: Others may succeed.

This is completely unacceptable in a competitive workplace. Everyone knows that their next promotion depends upon trashing their competition. And so, in a bad meeting the attendees make sure that no one accomplishes anything of merit. That way, top management has to award promotions based on one’s ability to appear productive. This is much easier to achieve than being productive.

Benefit: Bad meetings guarantee jobs for people whose poor work skills make them unemployable. This relieves public agencies of having to use tax revenues for welfare.

Rebuttal: Success is a team effort. And thus, effective leaders help everyone succeed.

Problem #5: You lose control.

No one knows what the results will be in an effective meeting. So, you have to endure the uncertain chaos of exploring different possibilities. You have to hope that absurd ideas are rejected. And you have to wait for decisions to be made by compromise and consensus. People who want absolute control prevent this by doing all of the talking or by telling everyone what to do.

Benefit: Bullies easily succeed in an environment that fosters bad meetings. Then they can make sure that less competent drones are promoted, thereby guaranteeing their control over everything.

Rebuttal: Wise leaders know that the best results are found by exploring different options. They manage this process with guiding questions and a structure that helps people think freely.

Problem #6: Your business might improve.

Nothing scares executives more than the thought of having to repeat (or even worse: surpass) superior results. Bad meetings provide the comfort of knowing that business will stay the same (or even become worse). Then executives can make grand proclamations about their strategies for improving the business. And everyone respects a leader with vision, even if it’s the same old vision (e.g., earn a profit next year).

Benefit: Bad meetings help executives avoid escalating expectations by producing predictable and reproducible results – i.e, none. They are also able to reuse promises for improved performance.

Rebuttal: Businesses that earn a profit provide security for all, including the executives. And if the board decides to replace a successful executive, a history of success always helps that person find a better job.