F
ew of us work in a vacuum. Most of us have contact with our
colleagues every day, either one-on-one or in group meet-
ings. We spend a considerable amount of time conversing,
sharing information, negotiating for resources, presenting ideas,
providing status reports, getting feedback, solving problems,
establishing or reinforcing team units—as well as just shooting
the bull—on an informal and formal basis.
Yet when the amount of time spent in meetings is weighed
against the results from these meetings, it’s clear that a good por-
tion of that time is unproductive. Statistics show that the time
we spent meeting is increasing while the satisfaction we feel is
decreasing. It’s a problem that has spawned seminars and consul-
tants aplenty with a host of observations, rules, and the serious
prospect for more meetings.
The One-on-One Meeting
The single greatest potential time exploiter for most of us comes
in the form of the colleague who, discovering he needs some last-
minute information to finish his current task, telephones or stops
by and asks the simple question: “Got a minute?” We can normally
sympathize with this colleague because we frequently are guilty of
this behavior as well. But, while we should be aware that burning
one’s bridges can be costly, we still need to consider our answer
to this question before responding automatically in the affirma-
tive. Once we say “Now’s fine” or “What can I do for you?” we’ve
signed a blank check and the caller gets to fill in the amount.