What? Another meeting???
I understand the human need and desire to feel connected, belong, feel involved and be part of something bigger, more than just themselves, especially in this day and age of extended and extensive virtual work arrangements.
I believe starting with a good question often gives us outcomes. I mostly recommend starting with a problem question more than a problem statement.
How can we be more purposeful, efficient and effective with our time and energy?
In 2020, I conducted a company-wide survey with 267 respondents across India, Indonesia and Singapore. I used these qualitative and quantitative research findings to derive the estimates below.
What does my research on actual humans say?
I come from a company that spent aeons in meetings monthly — to make this more precise — 33,000 hours, 1,375 days (3.77 years) that translates into 990,000 USD per monthly operational expense (OPEX).
Where does 2000 humans’ time go?
Most humans spend at least 4 to 6 hours daily in meetings for alignment and decision-making.
Where do these humans wish to spend more of their time on?
Most humans would prefer to spend their time on problem-solving.
What were the pain points?
Agenda: “The add description section is empty or hasn’t been updated since the first kickoff meeting!” — Lack of written communication and notice.
Time management: “We’re starting late and running overtime again?” — Setting expectations, role modelling, awareness and respect
Communication format: “This could have been an email or a shared Google document!”
IT Infra: “Poor WiFi again? … I can’t hear you well… You’re freezing up!”
Audience: “Who are these attendees again? How are they relevant to this meeting?” — Getting the right people in the room or on the call is half the battle won.
Why quality meetings?
To name a few, to create organizational efficiency, effective communication, space and time for deep work, creativity, work-life balance, and many more…
What are quality meetings?
Quality meetings are meetings with a clear purpose, structure and audience.
The Cost-Benefit Analysis
The potential savings could be 904,900 USD OPEX, 16,830 hours, and 701 days (1.92 years) monthly.
Let us meet for success! Efficiency matters!
Resonate with any of these? Do they sound familiar? Leave a comment! Laugh! Share this post!
I will post about what we did with this research, how we drove change and adoption to create efficiency and my quality meetings playbook soon.
