Yes, I'll Attend

Isn't it weird to have meetings every single day of the working week?

I understand a 10-minute briefing daily is okay in certain industries, however, when the meeting is just between people in a single department, and it stretches on and on for 2-3 hours MINIMUM, it is no longer an effective gathering.

Pens and pencils begin to clickety-click, yawns emerge, tummies began to rumble and attention wanders to "where will I go for lunch?"

No, I'm not talking about my own unit, but my observation of another unit in the organization.

At the moment Said Unit is temporarily led by an External Consultant (I so want to name the person Ex-Con) summoned by the Heads That Be to motivate Said Unit Staff to increase sales revenue. Ex-Con has been leading Said Unit close to 3 months now, and still the only change brought in was to hold daily meetings 'till your eyes bleed. OK I'm exaggerating here, but the spirit does feel that way.

And then, right after the darned meeting is over, Ex-Con sends e-mails out by the dozen to Said Unit Staff, to the Heads That Be, to every soul in the organization, to show what a great team Said Unit Staff is, under the Ex-Con's so-called "leadership". It's a good thing we have e-mail now, otherwise the organization would have to keep a load of huge ring files titled MEMOS.

On one hand, my sympathies go out to Said Unit Staff who have to bear this until Ex-Con's contract ends, on the other hand, I'm thankful NOT to be part of Said Unit.

That said, my own feelings are best summed up in the quote below:

"People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything." 

Thomas Sowell (American Writer and Economist, b.1930)

More quotes on why meetings are the bane of an organization here