Oh Meetings!

It’s commonplace for many to have come across situations where people in organizations are found to be in meetings very frequently. I have heard retailers’ vendors often complaining that key personnel in many organizations are repeatedly inaccessible as they are always caught up indoors in meetings! Someone remarked on frequent meetings in a sales intensive retail sales organization, “When do these people work if they have to be in meetings always?”

I have known a business head friend who would call for a meeting of his team members every day at the drop of a hat. His secretary had a standing advice to make big minutes of every meeting too! Hardly was there any link among the minutes of these meetings to follow up with the actions decided! These meetings would last a minimum of half a day! The added drama used to unfold, when even before he would walk into the meeting room, an assistant was there to set his laptop at the meeting table. Once he left after the meeting, the assistant would disconnect the equipment and carry it again back to his cabin! And the secretary too would follow him dutifully! Each meeting happened to be a great event! Until the team members gathered their guts to request him for time to work, the act of calling for these meetings did not cease. Years ago, we used to make fun of this friend saying that he may even convene meetings of his family members for discussing his home affairs – and minute them too! 

Team meetings often have proved to lift the morale and performance of players in the football field. We see that in the currently happening Euro 2012 matches where teams have quick meetings even on the field to decide or change strategies! It is important for a team captain or the team manager to have communication with the players. Such communication can motivate players, point out rights and wrongs and instill a good deal of confidence in such a way that it can result in winning the game ultimately. Retailing is no different and meetings are important. A daily morning meeting on the retail floors can be fruitful if done very briefly and to the point and planned well in advance. More often such floor meetings are carried out as everyone stands around in sharp focus. Worthy meetings are carried out briefly with a crisp agenda to follow-up with the action points of each responsible. Management team meetings and review meetings can happen as required within planned timeframes and then they become really enjoyable and fruitful too.  And teams do not have to meet physically for anything and everything. The use of technology for convening meetings can be leveraged to the hilt. Physical meetings may be convened only if required. The Registrar of Companies (RoC) in India has even mandated only a once in a quarter board meeting, giving enough time to ensure that more business actions are done!

John Kenneth Galbraith, the famous American economist said, “Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything!” How right he is!!

- Dr. Gibson G. Vedamani