Big, Theatrical Meetings Are a Waste of Time

Too often, business review meetings — in which executives and stakeholders hear project or performance updates from managers and staff — are run like theater productions. Enormous amounts of time and effort go into creating the impression that all is well and that any problems are well on their way to being overcome. But these anodyne meetings leave little chance that serious problems and gaps will be discussed and addressed. To keep initiatives on track and solving the actual problems that organizations and their customers face, leaders need to update their approach to review meetings in three ways: 1) Create their agendas to be about the future, not a review of the past; 2) Create a culture of safety around bringing up challenging ideas and problems, and 3) Rigorously review each review meeting in order to improve the next one.