10 Rules, Quotes, or Laws of Meetings!

We have read many books, articles and blogs on meeting facilitation and management, but this still remains an area where all of us can improve. We still through those meetings where nothing gets accomplished and we feel that we’ve wasted most of our day in meetings. This is especially true if we work with teams or large organizations.

We have concocted 10 quotes/rules/laws on meetings drawing “inspiration” from various sources – science, literature, and even divinity. Please enjoy it with your favorite beverage.

  • It is good to have a meeting with a good facilitator. It is better to have a meeting with prepared participants. It is best not to have the meeting in the first place!
  • Ignore participants who shout or speak a long time in meetings and you won’t miss much.
  • Why bother attending a meeting, when someone didn’t bother with an agenda?
  • I came across a fork, I declined the meeting and that made all the difference.
  • A meeting that starts on time is likely to end on time. A meeting that doesn’t start on time is not likely to end on time. It is that simple, folks!
  • Meeting’s success can be measured by its actual duration – the shorter the better.
  • I went around looking for the bad in other’s meetings, only to realize mine was the worst.
  • More the mass in the meeting room, the less the velocity of the meeting.
  • What is the purpose of attending a meeting, if the meeting doesn’t have a purpose?
  • The only time meetings are fun, it is called Sports.