Article | Harvard Business Review

Stop the Meeting Madness: How to Free Up Time for Meaningful Work

by Leslie Perlow, Constance Noonan Hadley and Eunice Eun

Abstract

Many executives feel overwhelmed by meetings, and no wonder: On average, they spend nearly 23 hours a week in them, up from less than 10 hours in the 1960s. What’s more, the meetings are often poorly timed, badly run, or both. We can all joke about how painful they are, say the authors, but that pain has real consequences for teams and organizations. Every minute spent in a wasteful meeting eats into solo work that’s essential for creativity and efficiency. Chopped-up schedules interrupt deep thinking, so people come to work early, stay late, or use weekends for quiet time to concentrate. And dysfunctional meeting behaviors are associated with lower levels of market share, innovation, and employment stability. The authors have found that real improvement requires systemic change, not discrete fixes. They describe a five-step process for that—along with the diagnostic work you’ll need to do in advance.

Keywords: Time Management; Performance Efficiency; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Improvement;

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Citation:

Perlow, Leslie, Constance Noonan Hadley, and Eunice Eun. "Stop the Meeting Madness: How to Free Up Time for Meaningful Work." Harvard Business Review 95, no. 4 (July–August 2017): 62–69.

About the Author

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Leslie A. Perlow
Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership
Senior Associate Dean for Research
Organizational Behavior

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