No More Than Two Meetings A Day

One of the best tips that I ever received in my business career that enable me to work on my management and leadership skills was to avoid filling my day with  meetings.  

Going “wall-to-wall” with meetings on a daily basis is a recipe for ineffectiveness as it often leaves you worn out and behind the 8-ball  with tons of follow up.   It can also distance you from your co-workers who require your interaction and/or direction.

So what’s the magic number of meetings a day to be effective in your leadership/management role?   It’s two.

Why two?   Well, on average most meetings are in the one hour plus range.   To be effective in these meetings requires being prepared for the meeting and getting required results from prompt, focused  follow up.   Good preparation and follow up can also take up to  an hour respectively.   Now your two meetings a day are accounting for six hours plus of your time.

With this approach, you are left with valuable time to spend and reflect  on the company business as opposed to working in the company business.     Good managers/leaders always seem to be able to allocate some of their time this way.   They also find it easy to take on an emergency meeting when necessary.