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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Meetings Suck summary
Cameron Herold
Turning One of The Most Loathed Elements of Business into One of the Most Valuable
16 mins
Brief summary
Meetings Suck by Cameron Herold is a guidebook for making meetings more productive and efficient. It provides practical advice for setting goals, structuring agendas, and avoiding common mistakes.
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Meetings Suck
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Key idea 1 of 7
Minimizing and optimizing time spent by staff in meetings saves money.
They say that time is money, so it wouldn’t be wise to waste the time of your employees, right? Yet this is exactly what’s happening everyday when companies drag their staff into inefficient meetings.
How much money is being wasted? If you take the hourly rate of the people attending and multiply it by the length of the meeting, you’ll start to get a good idea. For executives, it would be in the thousands of dollars; for lower level employees, each person would cost around $50 in lost revenue. Overall, on a yearly basis, meetings cost an average company around $25,000.
So what can be done to reduce this money drain?
One of the simplest solutions is to make sure the meeting starts on time, which means getting people to arrive before the scheduled start time.
Imagine if an Olympic runner decided to show up to the race just as the gun went off. They’d never catch up to those who were in position and ready to go.
The same holds true for those who show up right when a meeting begins. These people are actually late, since they keep things from moving forward and make the meeting less effective.
So make sure everyone knows that being on time actually means getting there five minutes early. You can tell employees that being timely is a sign of respect, and being tardy clearly signals disrespect, both of the company and of their coworkers.
Another solution is to allow for opt-outs. People often get called to a meeting even though they have no real business being there. So why not share the agenda a few days in advance and allow people to opt out of attending if there’s no business relevant to them being discussed.
You could also provide a timetable for attendance along with the agenda, which would allow people to schedule their arrival and departure in accordance with relevant portions of the meeting. This way, no one needs to waste an hour of their day to discuss five-minutes worth of business.
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What is Meetings Suck about?
Meetings Suck (2016) is a guide that’ll help your company save time and money by eliminating the common pitfalls of boring, unproductive meetings. Meetings needn’t be dreary and dreadful; they can be a true delight. After all, meetings are where ideas are born, information is shared and people gain the skills they need to become tomorrow’s inspiring leaders.
Meetings Suck Review
Meetings Suck (2016) by Cameron Herold is a book that sheds light on the problems with traditional meetings and provides practical strategies for making them more effective. Here's why this book is worth reading:
- It offers concrete solutions for common meeting issues, helping readers transform their meetings into productive sessions.
- With its real-world examples and actionable tips, the book equips readers with the tools they need to improve their meeting skills.
- Herold's persuasive arguments and refreshingly honest perspective make this book a compelling read that is anything but boring.
Who should read Meetings Suck?
- Entrepreneurs trying to improve their business
- Managers and CEOs
- Anyone in charge of organizing meetings
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Meetings Suck FAQs
What is the main message of Meetings Suck?
Meetings Suck highlights the problems with traditional meetings and provides practical solutions for more effective and productive meetings.
How long does it take to read Meetings Suck?
The reading time for Meetings Suck varies depending on the reader's speed, but it typically takes several hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.
Is Meetings Suck a good book? Is it worth reading?
Meetings Suck is worth reading for its valuable insights on transforming meetings. It offers practical tips and strategies for making meetings more efficient and engaging.
Who is the author of Meetings Suck?
The author of Meetings Suck is Cameron Herold.
What to read after Meetings Suck?
If you're wondering what to read next after Meetings Suck, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- How to Fix Meetings by Graham Allcott and Hayley Watts
- The Surprising Science of Meetings by Steven G. Rogelberg
- Talk Lean by Alan H. Palmer
- Meetings That Get Results by Terrence Metz
- How to Talk to Anyone by Leil Lowndes
- Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle
- No Ego by Cy Wakeman
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
- Million Dollar Habits by Brian Tracy
- Meaningful by Bernadette Jiwa