Meetings
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We are having some changes at my place of employment and the person who has been here for over a year is now filling in has rescheduled all of our weekly meetings. Previously our meetings were an hour, we were getting everything that we needed to get done handled. Although we drifted onto some topics for to long and could have honestly dropped 30 minutes if we had just stayed focused. Most of the time we lost 10 minutes at the start because one person was late. However if our focus shifted to any one topic for to long, we scheduled a meeting for just that item with just the key participants so no one else's time was wasted. However, we just got a new invite for our weekly that bumps it up to an hour and a half. Anyone have a suggestion on how to say "This is an idea I disagree with."? Preferably without sounding like a total jerk. I can list studies that say increasing meeting time decreases productivity, I can quote the figures for the additional time and money we are losing every week. ARG! I don't have 30 minutes a week to lose with our current development schedules.
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We are having some changes at my place of employment and the person who has been here for over a year is now filling in has rescheduled all of our weekly meetings. Previously our meetings were an hour, we were getting everything that we needed to get done handled. Although we drifted onto some topics for to long and could have honestly dropped 30 minutes if we had just stayed focused. Most of the time we lost 10 minutes at the start because one person was late. However if our focus shifted to any one topic for to long, we scheduled a meeting for just that item with just the key participants so no one else's time was wasted. However, we just got a new invite for our weekly that bumps it up to an hour and a half. Anyone have a suggestion on how to say "This is an idea I disagree with."? Preferably without sounding like a total jerk. I can list studies that say increasing meeting time decreases productivity, I can quote the figures for the additional time and money we are losing every week. ARG! I don't have 30 minutes a week to lose with our current development schedules.
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We are having some changes at my place of employment and the person who has been here for over a year is now filling in has rescheduled all of our weekly meetings. Previously our meetings were an hour, we were getting everything that we needed to get done handled. Although we drifted onto some topics for to long and could have honestly dropped 30 minutes if we had just stayed focused. Most of the time we lost 10 minutes at the start because one person was late. However if our focus shifted to any one topic for to long, we scheduled a meeting for just that item with just the key participants so no one else's time was wasted. However, we just got a new invite for our weekly that bumps it up to an hour and a half. Anyone have a suggestion on how to say "This is an idea I disagree with."? Preferably without sounding like a total jerk. I can list studies that say increasing meeting time decreases productivity, I can quote the figures for the additional time and money we are losing every week. ARG! I don't have 30 minutes a week to lose with our current development schedules.
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We are having some changes at my place of employment and the person who has been here for over a year is now filling in has rescheduled all of our weekly meetings. Previously our meetings were an hour, we were getting everything that we needed to get done handled. Although we drifted onto some topics for to long and could have honestly dropped 30 minutes if we had just stayed focused. Most of the time we lost 10 minutes at the start because one person was late. However if our focus shifted to any one topic for to long, we scheduled a meeting for just that item with just the key participants so no one else's time was wasted. However, we just got a new invite for our weekly that bumps it up to an hour and a half. Anyone have a suggestion on how to say "This is an idea I disagree with."? Preferably without sounding like a total jerk. I can list studies that say increasing meeting time decreases productivity, I can quote the figures for the additional time and money we are losing every week. ARG! I don't have 30 minutes a week to lose with our current development schedules.
RJOberg wrote:
ARG! I don't have 30 minutes a week to lose
That is valuable CP posting time! :mad:
RJOberg wrote:
I can list studies that say increasing meeting time decreases productivity
How much time did you waste reading those?
It was broke, so I fixed it.
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We are having some changes at my place of employment and the person who has been here for over a year is now filling in has rescheduled all of our weekly meetings. Previously our meetings were an hour, we were getting everything that we needed to get done handled. Although we drifted onto some topics for to long and could have honestly dropped 30 minutes if we had just stayed focused. Most of the time we lost 10 minutes at the start because one person was late. However if our focus shifted to any one topic for to long, we scheduled a meeting for just that item with just the key participants so no one else's time was wasted. However, we just got a new invite for our weekly that bumps it up to an hour and a half. Anyone have a suggestion on how to say "This is an idea I disagree with."? Preferably without sounding like a total jerk. I can list studies that say increasing meeting time decreases productivity, I can quote the figures for the additional time and money we are losing every week. ARG! I don't have 30 minutes a week to lose with our current development schedules.
RJOberg wrote:
Anyone have a suggestion on how to say "This is an idea I disagree with."? Preferably without sounding like a total jerk.
I recommend saying "this is an idea I disagree with". If asked for more input, be ready with some supporting values.
If it moves, compile it
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We are having some changes at my place of employment and the person who has been here for over a year is now filling in has rescheduled all of our weekly meetings. Previously our meetings were an hour, we were getting everything that we needed to get done handled. Although we drifted onto some topics for to long and could have honestly dropped 30 minutes if we had just stayed focused. Most of the time we lost 10 minutes at the start because one person was late. However if our focus shifted to any one topic for to long, we scheduled a meeting for just that item with just the key participants so no one else's time was wasted. However, we just got a new invite for our weekly that bumps it up to an hour and a half. Anyone have a suggestion on how to say "This is an idea I disagree with."? Preferably without sounding like a total jerk. I can list studies that say increasing meeting time decreases productivity, I can quote the figures for the additional time and money we are losing every week. ARG! I don't have 30 minutes a week to lose with our current development schedules.
Don't "disagree" - you'd have to justify why. Instead, demand justification for the change. "Efficiency" is your obvious weapon of choice. Avoid the notion that meeting is not working. You want better meetings instead of more. Ask which things need to be added to or extended in the agenda. Ask what will be the expected outcome of this change, use examples to suggest you expect something tangible ("one of the teams provides an in-depth presentation of what they are working on") instead of vague vapor like "improved communication". Wonder why 26x{Number of employees} hours per year need to be shifted to communication, whether an all-hands meeting is the most efficient way to acquire and/or distribute that meeting, or if there are other solutions - e.g. smaller project-specific meetings or improvements to the information infrastructure. Look for Data: Small groups are better, shorter is better. It's hard to get objective efficiency data, but there are tons of studies, scout the google for some statistical gems. Having to wait frequently is an absolute no-go. this should result in being grilled in front of all. If it's always the boss who is late, that's hard; one tactic could be to start the meeting without him.
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RJOberg wrote:
ARG! I don't have 30 minutes a week to lose
That is valuable CP posting time! :mad:
RJOberg wrote:
I can list studies that say increasing meeting time decreases productivity
How much time did you waste reading those?
It was broke, so I fixed it.
I can list studies that say that, increasing the listing of studies that decrease productivity, decreases productivity ... ;)
"State acheived after eating too many chocolate-covered coconut bars - bountiful" Chris C-B
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We are having some changes at my place of employment and the person who has been here for over a year is now filling in has rescheduled all of our weekly meetings. Previously our meetings were an hour, we were getting everything that we needed to get done handled. Although we drifted onto some topics for to long and could have honestly dropped 30 minutes if we had just stayed focused. Most of the time we lost 10 minutes at the start because one person was late. However if our focus shifted to any one topic for to long, we scheduled a meeting for just that item with just the key participants so no one else's time was wasted. However, we just got a new invite for our weekly that bumps it up to an hour and a half. Anyone have a suggestion on how to say "This is an idea I disagree with."? Preferably without sounding like a total jerk. I can list studies that say increasing meeting time decreases productivity, I can quote the figures for the additional time and money we are losing every week. ARG! I don't have 30 minutes a week to lose with our current development schedules.
We have a weekly team meeting and a bi-monthly department meeting to which attendance is compulsory. There are one or 2 savvy chaps whose phones inevitably ring after about 35-40 minutes and who then politely excuse themselves, never to return. For some reason the powers that be simply believe the calls are work related so it's okay to leave. If I get invited to a meeting over 30 minutes that doesn't have an agenda I will always question the need to have it. A meeting without an agenda is just a very long and boring coffee break.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me me, in pictures
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RJOberg wrote:
ARG! I don't have 30 minutes a week to lose
That is valuable CP posting time! :mad:
RJOberg wrote:
I can list studies that say increasing meeting time decreases productivity
How much time did you waste reading those?
It was broke, so I fixed it.
S Houghtelin wrote:
How much time did you waste reading those?
No work time at all, director at my previous employer had a hatred of long meetings. Plus he was a PhD and ran a research dept, so he made sure we knew the data behind why we should never have a long meeting. So I guess in a way I wasted that time years ago.
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Don't "disagree" - you'd have to justify why. Instead, demand justification for the change. "Efficiency" is your obvious weapon of choice. Avoid the notion that meeting is not working. You want better meetings instead of more. Ask which things need to be added to or extended in the agenda. Ask what will be the expected outcome of this change, use examples to suggest you expect something tangible ("one of the teams provides an in-depth presentation of what they are working on") instead of vague vapor like "improved communication". Wonder why 26x{Number of employees} hours per year need to be shifted to communication, whether an all-hands meeting is the most efficient way to acquire and/or distribute that meeting, or if there are other solutions - e.g. smaller project-specific meetings or improvements to the information infrastructure. Look for Data: Small groups are better, shorter is better. It's hard to get objective efficiency data, but there are tons of studies, scout the google for some statistical gems. Having to wait frequently is an absolute no-go. this should result in being grilled in front of all. If it's always the boss who is late, that's hard; one tactic could be to start the meeting without him.
peterchen wrote:
Don't "disagree" - you'd have to justify why. Instead, demand justification for the change. "Efficiency" is your obvious weapon of choice.
That is what I am going to do. At least list things out so I can have the numbers in my head when we are discussing it. If I can't back up my position with sound reason then I won't make an argument against it. A gut feeling doesn't work to well when you are discussing a position contrary to that of a supervisor. Unfortunately he tends to believe his way is the best and sticks with it. In that case, I will figure out a more creative way to handle things.
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We have a weekly team meeting and a bi-monthly department meeting to which attendance is compulsory. There are one or 2 savvy chaps whose phones inevitably ring after about 35-40 minutes and who then politely excuse themselves, never to return. For some reason the powers that be simply believe the calls are work related so it's okay to leave. If I get invited to a meeting over 30 minutes that doesn't have an agenda I will always question the need to have it. A meeting without an agenda is just a very long and boring coffee break.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me me, in pictures
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We are having some changes at my place of employment and the person who has been here for over a year is now filling in has rescheduled all of our weekly meetings. Previously our meetings were an hour, we were getting everything that we needed to get done handled. Although we drifted onto some topics for to long and could have honestly dropped 30 minutes if we had just stayed focused. Most of the time we lost 10 minutes at the start because one person was late. However if our focus shifted to any one topic for to long, we scheduled a meeting for just that item with just the key participants so no one else's time was wasted. However, we just got a new invite for our weekly that bumps it up to an hour and a half. Anyone have a suggestion on how to say "This is an idea I disagree with."? Preferably without sounding like a total jerk. I can list studies that say increasing meeting time decreases productivity, I can quote the figures for the additional time and money we are losing every week. ARG! I don't have 30 minutes a week to lose with our current development schedules.