Wednesday, September 21, 2005
time for another meeting
Main Entry: meet
Pronunciation: 'mEt
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): met /'met/; meet•ing
Etymology: Middle English meten, from Old English mEtan; akin to Old English gemOt assembly -- more at MOOT
transitive senses
1 a : to come face-to-face b : to come together for a common purpose : ASSEMBLE c : to come together as contestants, opponents, or enemies
The obvious reason for meetings is to get a group of people together for a common goal. To discuss things that might affect everyone in attendance, to call for action, to discuss pertinent information and possibly debate. But as seen in the definition above (from Merriam-Webster.com) it is also a coming together of contestants, opponents, or enemies. Language such as that would suggest a possible battleground, and in today’s corporate environment, that battlefield would be known as the Conference Room.
Personally, I think that the majority of meetings proceed more smoothly and achieve better results when they are “face-to-face” and “in person”. You tend to concentrate a bit more when you physically have to look at the person that is speaking. As opposed to the current trend of “conference calling”. Don’t get me wrong, the telephone can be a huge benefit in regards to a meeting. You might have participants in different locations that are physically unable to (or it is financially irresponsible to) attend a particular meeting. That makes sense, especially if the participant is an integral part of the discussion. However, when all parties are within walking distance to the meeting place and CHOOSE not to attend physically, but rather patched in over a telephone line, you tend to notice a change in behavior. And I’m just as guilty of it as the next guy.
Typically, you rationalize the use of the conference call, stating that you will be more productive if you stay at your desk. What this means is that you are free to play a hand or two of Solitaire, surf the web even. The conference call also tends to diminish group discussion. You just hear one person speaking, because too many people speaking at once over a conference bridge leads to distortion, and you typically tend to tune that person out anyway. As a participant in a conference call, your main goal is to listen, as you do other mindless task at your desk (see: Solitaire), until you hear your name.
Once you have heard your name, don’t immediately answer the question that was asked of you, instead reply with something witty. Perhaps “Could you repeat the question, I was involved in an invoicing issue that required my presence to resolve and did not hear what was asked of me”. This shows that you were being productive while not paying attention to the original question. Always make it LOOK like you’re working, even if they can’t see you.
And one of the biggest lessons learned is: no matter how long the meeting is scheduled for, it will never end on time. For that matter, it will never start on time either. And the higher up you are, the later you are allowed to arrive without repercussions. The lower on the totem pole, the sooner you can expect to get your ass handed to you.
The biggest problem with a conference call is not actually directly seen by the participants, but rather their fellow cube prisoners. Due to the fact that there is no way to close off a cube, everyone around you will hear the whole “meeting” due to the technological wonder that is the speakerphone.
Bottom line: you’ll get more accomplished if you actually meet with people as opposed to tuning them out over the phone. And you won’t piss your co-workers off with the deafening volume of your speakerphone ¶ 12:18 PM
Pronunciation: 'mEt
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): met /'met/; meet•ing
Etymology: Middle English meten, from Old English mEtan; akin to Old English gemOt assembly -- more at MOOT
transitive senses
1 a : to come face-to-face b : to come together for a common purpose : ASSEMBLE c : to come together as contestants, opponents, or enemies
The obvious reason for meetings is to get a group of people together for a common goal. To discuss things that might affect everyone in attendance, to call for action, to discuss pertinent information and possibly debate. But as seen in the definition above (from Merriam-Webster.com) it is also a coming together of contestants, opponents, or enemies. Language such as that would suggest a possible battleground, and in today’s corporate environment, that battlefield would be known as the Conference Room.
Personally, I think that the majority of meetings proceed more smoothly and achieve better results when they are “face-to-face” and “in person”. You tend to concentrate a bit more when you physically have to look at the person that is speaking. As opposed to the current trend of “conference calling”. Don’t get me wrong, the telephone can be a huge benefit in regards to a meeting. You might have participants in different locations that are physically unable to (or it is financially irresponsible to) attend a particular meeting. That makes sense, especially if the participant is an integral part of the discussion. However, when all parties are within walking distance to the meeting place and CHOOSE not to attend physically, but rather patched in over a telephone line, you tend to notice a change in behavior. And I’m just as guilty of it as the next guy.
Typically, you rationalize the use of the conference call, stating that you will be more productive if you stay at your desk. What this means is that you are free to play a hand or two of Solitaire, surf the web even. The conference call also tends to diminish group discussion. You just hear one person speaking, because too many people speaking at once over a conference bridge leads to distortion, and you typically tend to tune that person out anyway. As a participant in a conference call, your main goal is to listen, as you do other mindless task at your desk (see: Solitaire), until you hear your name.
Once you have heard your name, don’t immediately answer the question that was asked of you, instead reply with something witty. Perhaps “Could you repeat the question, I was involved in an invoicing issue that required my presence to resolve and did not hear what was asked of me”. This shows that you were being productive while not paying attention to the original question. Always make it LOOK like you’re working, even if they can’t see you.
And one of the biggest lessons learned is: no matter how long the meeting is scheduled for, it will never end on time. For that matter, it will never start on time either. And the higher up you are, the later you are allowed to arrive without repercussions. The lower on the totem pole, the sooner you can expect to get your ass handed to you.
The biggest problem with a conference call is not actually directly seen by the participants, but rather their fellow cube prisoners. Due to the fact that there is no way to close off a cube, everyone around you will hear the whole “meeting” due to the technological wonder that is the speakerphone.
Bottom line: you’ll get more accomplished if you actually meet with people as opposed to tuning them out over the phone. And you won’t piss your co-workers off with the deafening volume of your speakerphone ¶ 12:18 PM
