Who's in control?

Is it just me or does it seem like the setting of meeting times and fulfilling them is getting far too difficult? Diaries seem to be inordinately full these days and on top of that, there seem to be many more last-minute cancellations and late attendances. Does this reflect a more dynamic business environment, overworking, or is it just that we aren’t coping with our activities and merely wait for a crisis to determine the priority? Hence the title question.

I once was told that the ultimate definition of Management is the ability to accommodate mutually exclusive options! Well it appears that the mutually exclusive options are winning out and that there are far too many of them.

The answer for me lies in saying no. Although there could be value in a meeting either external or internal, there comes a time when we need to say enough is enough. In that regard, even getting a no answer to a meeting request usually takes two or three attempts and in many cases an answer is never forthcoming. And don’t get me started on people who don’t bother to accept or refuse meeting invites and then just turn up like all is well.

Whatever happened to planning and preparation? How many meetings end up being pre-cursors to the “real” meeting which will come later: what the heck? It’s time to bring sanity and courtesy back to meeting requests by only accepting when you know you can be there and letting people know when you really can’t. And be there on time!