One of the amazing things to me, whether in Texas or on Guam (where we now live a big part of the year) is how hard it is to reach someone when you call them on the phone.  The number one reason I can't reach people is because, "they are in a meeting."  I'm wondering how many of these meetings are truly effective and how many are costing companies money?

Meetings are a multi-billion drain on the global economy every year.  It's the very real cost of BAD meetings.  Poorly run meeting are a silent killer inside a company.  They frustrate people, diminish productivity, reduce the bottom-line and negatively affect the corporate culture.

Surveys have indicated that senior managers and supervisors spend at least 50 percent of their time in meetings.    They also have found that 50 per cent of the time in meetings is a waste.

That means if a manager spends 20 hours per week in meetings, 10 hours a week are ineffective and unproductive.  If 50% of their time is spent in meetings, and 50% of that time is considered wasteful, then 25% of their time at work is spent in bad meetings.  Consider then, the waste of time and money in  companies where most of their managers and supervisors are attending meetings most of the time!

Where else in an organization would such excessive waste be accepted?  Nowhere!    In most manufacturing organizations for example, less than 5% of waste from scrap is unacceptable. 

So why do BAD meetings continue to happen? It's not because the people in the meetings are ineffective or incompetent.   It's because smart businesspeople lack the tools and training to effectively run meetings, and manage the multiple personalities attending the meetings. Isn't it about time to turn this situation around so that your meetings are run effectively?    Effective meetings will save, rather than cost, your organization money.

If you want to calculate how much it cost every time a meeting is held, try the Meeting Ticker.  It's a tool to measure how much money is spent attending meetings. You enter the number of attendees, average hourly salary, and meeting start time, and watch the dollars add up in real time. To try it out, click here.

Our company has helped numerous companies save a ton of money over the years by teaching those who conduct meetings to do so more effectively.  Don't let meetings drain your bottom-line.