Snooze Meetings

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Nov 27, 2000

For the people isn't at all surprised. After all, even chief executive officers are human beings subject to all the flaws that flesh is heir to, even if they do get paid a heck of a lot more than the rest of us.

But get this: In a survey conducted by researchers at the University of South Australia, one out of every three executives admitted that they snoozed during business meetings. Imagine! In addition, 87 percent said they daydreamed during meetings, a figure that doesn't impress this column, which would tend to be more worried about the 13 percent who claimed they didn't.

Still, there was a measure of honesty. Sixty-eight percent admitted they raised their voice in anger during meetings, but there was no indication about just how loud they got. Forty percent said they had "stormed out" of meetings," according to the survey, which was released in late October and published in a dispatch from Reuters.

This survey on meeting behavior and productivity polled more than 300 executives. It found inefficient meetings were wasting a huge amount of company time and money -- a finding to which even Insight's writers and reporters say they can relate.