Join our Waitlist for Expert Advice!

4 Simple Rules to Cut Down on 'Evil' Meetings Meetings usually represent a big waste of time. Instead of sitting around, use these four tips to boost productivity at your organization.

By Jeff Shore Edited by Dan Bova

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

I hate meetings. I avoid them as much as possible. They bore me and all too often represent a colossal waste of time.

I am not alone in my thinking here, either. Management guru Peter Drucker felt the same way. Note his not-too-subtle take on the subject as stated in his classic work, The Effective Executive:

"Meetings are by definition a concession to deficient organization. For one either meets or one works. One cannot do both at the same time."

Business meetings need to change -- like right now!

Related: How to Make Deathly Dull Meetings Fun Again

If I were running your meetings, I would implement these four rules immediately:

1. No end goal = no meeting

Every meeting should include a brief and clearly defined objective before ever getting scheduled and everyone attending the meeting should clearly understand this end goal. A goal indicates a bias for action, not merely a discussion. Everyone in attendance must agree to drive toward the goal as rapidly as possible.

2. Cut the planned meeting time in half

Determine how much time you need for the meeting and then divide it by two. Most 60-minute meetings I attend can easily be handled in 30. Give the meeting a firm time limit and watch everyone become amazingly efficient! (Shorter sentences, no unnecessary chatter, etc.)

Take this an extra step further by changing the default meeting duration in your Outlook or Google calendar from "60 minutes" to "30 minutes." Even better -- set it to "15 minutes"!

Related: The 7 Must-Know Rules of Productive Meetings

3. Limit the number of participants

The more people who attend a meeting, the more time wasted, and the harder it is to stay on target. (Think: "Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth!") Meetings with two people are far more productive than those with three, etc., assuming they are the right people -- so send meeting invitations selectively!

Jeff Bezos famously adheres to the "two-pizza rule": Never hold a meeting where two pizzas can't feed the entire group. If you work in a larger company, consider adopting this as a rule of thumb going forward!

4. Absolutely no tangents

Someone must play the role of "enforcer" to keep the conversation on point at all times. Of course, this means establishing a clear outcome for the meeting to begin with. No one wants the role of conversation police, but someone has to do it. "I'm sorry -- that might be an important topic, but it's not for this meeting."

Meetings still exist, of course, as a necessary evil. But you can significantly diminish the evil while unleashing your team's productivity by implementing these four very simple rules.

Related: 3 Small, Doable Ways to Become Wildly More Productive

Jeff Shore

Entrepreneur, Sales Expert and Author; Founder of Shore Consulting

Jeff Shore, of Shore Consulting, is a sought-after sales expert, speaker, author and consultant whose latest book, Be Bold and Win the Sale: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Boost Your Performance, was published by McGraw-Hill Professional in January 2014.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

'Unfair and Unjust': JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Says Federal Banking Regulations Are 'Hurting Companies'

Dimon said it is "time to fight back" against federal regulations at a conference on Monday.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Want to Start a Small Business? Here Are the Best States to Try (and the Ones to Avoid).

Plus, here's how many businesses closed in your state last year.

Career

Personal Accountability Will Push You Forward and Help You Grow in Business and in Life — Here's How to Practice It

There is a startling lack of personal accountability today. Exercising personal accountability will push you forward both personally and professionally.