Meetings Suck: Turning One of the Most Loathed Elements of Business into One of the Most Valuable: Summary & Key Insights

When I ask executives why their meetings feel like torture, their answers are strikingly consistent. They talk about confusion, wasted time, endless tangents, or lack of decisions. At the heart of it all lies the same issue: no one sets up meetings with structure, purpose, or engagement in mind. Meetings fail because they are treated as calendar fillers, not strategic sessions for progress.

Most people never receive formal training on how to run, attend, or even evaluate a meeting. So each person brings their own assumptions — some think it’s a place for open discussion, others think it’s mandatory socialization. Without alignment on why a meeting exists, chaos follows. It’s like trying to play soccer where half the team thinks it’s basketball.

The bigger danger is what these poorly run meetings do to culture. They breed cynicism. When your staff spends half their week in useless gatherings, they start resenting leadership and disengaging from the organization. Productivity drops not because people work less, but because they spend their best mental energy in rooms that don’t move the needle.

The solution begins with awareness. If leaders realize that every minute of every meeting represents payroll cost, they’ll start treating meeting time as an investment — not free time. In fact, meetings are often the single most expensive activity in your company. It’s your duty as a leader not to let that capital evaporate. Recognizing the hidden cost flips the mindset: meetings become serious business, and only those that add real value deserve to exist.

Before you send that invite or reserve a conference room, stop and ask yourself one simple question: 'What is the purpose of this meeting?' If you can’t answer that clearly in one sentence, you’re not ready to schedule it. In 'Meetings Suck', I emphasize that purpose is the foundation of a successful meeting. It’s what determines who should attend, what should be discussed, and what success looks like when it ends.

The best meetings are outcome-driven — they exist to make a decision, share critical information, or solve a specific problem. Each objective should be measurable. For example, 'decide which vendor to use', 'review this quarter’s marketing data', or 'plan next week’s product launch.' Generic descriptions like 'sync up' or 'touch base' are red flags. They signal vagueness and guarantee that people will show up unsure why they’re there.

When purpose is clear, everything else falls into place. You’ll know who needs to attend (only those directly contributing), how long it should last (shorter when objectives are narrow), and what preparation is required. Clarity isn’t just efficiency — it’s respect. Respect for your colleagues’ time, mental focus, and role within the organization.