When you want to learn about effective meetings, you will find very good tips in books on how to get the maximum result from the time spent in a meeting room.
The problem is that the other people in your meeting probably didn’t read the same books.
The corporate hustler thinks about himself and how to get maximum value in any situation.
There are two main types of meetings: the ones you set up and the ones you get invited to.
The ones you set up:
When you set up a meeting, it’s your time to shine. Less is more when it comes to attendees. Invite other hustlers. Leave out the babblers. Give people a clear view on the goal of the meeting when you start. And once that goal is achieved, you wrap up and continue your daily hustle. People will appreciate a meeting with a clear outcome that took less time than expected.
Meetings are always set up with a 30-60-90-120… minute time. That’s only because outlook software works like that.
When the goal is achieved, you move on !
The ones you get invited to:
Let’s focus on the worst ones here. Think of a meeting without a goal and where people are just sharing thoughts and ideas of what they ‘could be doing’.
They get my blood boiling, but the corporate hustler doesn’t get emotional.
Think of what the best outcome would be for YOU !
Let’s say the meeting is 1 hour. They always take at least the amount of time they were booked for because nobody knows what the goal is.. so people just babble on until the meeting runs out of time.
I usually try to make my point between the 15 and 25 minute mark. This is where I say what I will DO and how the problem will be SOLVED.
After that, I sit back and go into a light state of meditation. I might make another point here and there. But in general I’ll try to say the least I can.
When you start doing this more frequently, people will be waiting for you to give your two cents. They will know it’s coming, and they will know it’s the most important part of the meeting.
You can do this a couple of times in one meeting. Just make sure that what you say actually solves the problem people are ‘sharing thoughts’ about. If you can’t solve the problem, don’t speak.
Not all meetings are like this. But they are what might make you give up your hustle and accept that corporate life sucks.
Always think of what the best possible outcome is for YOU and never get upset/pissed-off/emotional.