Meetings, whether they are one-on-one discussions or gatherings of five, ten, or twenty people, are an important part of working life - but they are time-consuming. And often they are criticised for being unproductive, costly, boring, and sometimes unnecessary. Are they always needed? And all of them? Check out these points, and you may find you'll be holding fewer meetings in future... 1. Be fully aware of the cost of your meetings. Meetings consume valuable time. Often, time is wasted on rambling discussions, excessive socialising, political manoeuvring, special-interest conflicts, and travelling. Nor is time the only casualty. When did you last find out what your organisation's meetings were costing in salaries alone? 2. Consider why you hold so many meetings. Meetings can be very useful tools for communicating ideas, clarifying information, solving problems, making decisions, and building teams. But they can also be held for the wrong reasons: Do you [...]