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Pssst, want a stock tip that will make you rich? Okay, here it is: phone a public corporation and ask

to speak with the CEO.

If a secretary tells you that the CEO expects to be busy in meetings for

the next six hundred years, call your broker and sell the stock short. Any company unable to manage an

activity that should last an hour is on its way down the financial tubes.

Although its true that

senior executives spend much of their time in meetings, you can bet that a business is in trouble if

their meetings are out of control.

Surveys show companies waste an average of 20% of their payroll

on bad meetings. And thats just the beginning of the problem. Meetings keep people away from the tasks

they were hired to perform — tasks that make money for the company and keep the business ahead of the

competition.

Since bad meetings are so wasteful, you may wonder why anyone

tolerates them. Unfortunately, many business leaders think that their meetings are just fine. They

even believe that theyre experts at holding effective meetings.

For example, when I phone

companies to ask if they would be interested in improving their meetings, I sometimes encounter an

assistant who assures me that the executives believe that they hold wonderful meetings. Then the

assistant snickers, coughs softly, and regains enough composure to state that they dont need my services. At

this point the assistant sounds like someone on a sinking ship who is throwing a life jacket into the

water.

And that must make you wonder: why any intelligent person would hold a

meeting that wastes everyones time and produces nothing.

There are easy answers such as 1)

they dont know that their meetings could be effective, 2) they dont know what an effective meeting is

like, or 3) they dont know how to hold an effective meeting.

But what about the rest of

them? That is, what about all of the executives who know how to plan and organize and run an effective

business, but still hold bad meetings?

Lets dig deeper. These executives actually

want to hold bad meetings because they prove to be useful. Heres how.

1) They

provide refuge.
Bad meetings provide a sophisticated form of executive busyness. Some people find this

useful because it keeps them from having to work on difficult tasks such as planning, coaching, learning, and

communicating. Compared to these difficult tasks, sitting in a conference room is easy. In fact, it is so

easy that a six-year old could do it, assuming you could convince the child to stay inside for such a

pointless activity.

Better: An effective meeting is business activity where people

work together.

2) They avoid responsibility.
Bad meetings never end with decisions, which

means that no one ends up being held responsible for doing anything. Some people find this useful because

responsibility implies accountability and accountability requires results. Thus, without responsibility there

is no failure and everyone appears to perform well. This masks poor performance so that everyone continues to

receive raises and promotions, even when they accomplish nothing because (you guessed it) they spent all of

their time sitting in meetings.

Better: Effective meetings produce decisions that someone is

responsible for implementing.

3) They provide excitement.
Bad meetings feature all of the

elements of a good drama, such as conflict, tension, and pain. For example, the participants deliver self-

aggrandizing reports, denigrate their colleagues, and engage in politics. Some really terrible meetings play

out like pathetic battlegrounds with verbal gladiators battling for favors while the boss watches.
/>Better: Effective meetings occur in a safe environment of respect.

4) They serve food.
Bad

meetings become an enviable executive perk when they provide snacks, coffee, and (sometimes) meals. The

attendees then use eating to offset the boredom of having to hear meaningless discussions. It also saves them

the expense of having to buy food.

Better: Meals should be a separate activity used to build

relationships and (sometimes) rest.

5) They entertain.
Bad meetings resemble a party. People

tell stories, trade jokes, and argue over trivia. Some meetings feature comedy performances by the office

fool. Others feature humorous belittlements by the office bully. And if neither of these occurs, the

absolutely unbelievable discussions amaze and entertain everyone.

Better: Effective meetings use

process tools to make methodical progress toward results.

All of this shows why the type of

meetings held in a company should be of major concern when making investment decisions. If the executives

need to learn how, that can be fixed by scheduling a workshop. Then you might consider investing in the

company, after they complete the workshop. If, however, the executives hold bad meetings to

avoid fundamental leadership responsibilities, you should seek other investments.

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IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and author Steve Kaye works with leaders who want to

hold effective meeting. His innovative workshops have informed and inspired people nationwide. His

facilitation produces results that people will support. Call 714-528-1300 or visit his web site for over 100

pages of valuable ideas. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.stevekaye.com
Copyright Steve Kaye –

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