Imagine that you had to purchase the time of each coworker you invited to your meetings. Do you know how much it would cost you?
At my last job, I was given a company credit card with a $2,500 monthly credit limit. There’s no doubt I would have maxed out that card on meetings alone every month.
Let’s do some quick math…
Say the average cost of a colleague’s time, including overhead, is $40/hour. If I scheduled 4 hours of meetings each week, with an average attendance of just 4 people, my monthly meeting expenditure alone would be $2,560!
Time is the most valuable resource we have. Once it’s gone, there’s no way we can get it back. The cost of every meeting is primarily one of our time.
Better Meetings, More Often
This is not to say that we should have fewer meetings. In fact, I think most people are not meeting enough. Disorganized projects, frustrated teams, and organizational silos are often a byproduct of neglected meetings.
The problem with meetings is not that they are inherently undesirable or unproductive. Most of us simply have not learned how to run them effectively.
In his book Death by Meeting, Patrick Lencioni gives us a good framework for transforming
But improving the way we conduct our meetings really starts with a healthy appreciation for what meetings cost us. When we know the price, suddenly we treat them with the value they deserve.
Justify the Cost
If you had to shell out $160 for a one-hour meeting, how would you prepare differently? Would you work harder to keep people engaged?
Make it a habit to include the following 3 things in every meeting you schedule:
- Purpose: Make it clear why you need to meet.
- Agenda: Outline how you expect the meeting to proceed.
- Outcome: Describe what you expect to achieve.
Before you schedule your next meeting, ask yourself, “Is this meeting necessary? Can I justify the cost? Do these people need to be involved?”
When we understand the time cost of meetings, we can be smarter about how and when we choose to engage in them.
Leave a Comment