Data from StatsSA shows that South Africans spend about two hours a day in meetings. This would be impressive if those 120-odd minutes were productive, but too much of that time is wasted. Daniel Marcus, the CEO of Magnetic Software, which provides a process management tool for small businesses, says owners and managers can make meetings more productive. "Meetings have become prevalent fixtures in today's organisational culture, particularly within client service and project-driven business models. However, when teams are calling meetings to prep and plan for future meetings, something needs to give." He has the following advice: • Every meeting must have an agenda, which must be stuck to. "The agenda should be sent out ... before the meeting ... and contain a finite number of items to be discussed and resolved," says Marcus; • "Parkinson's Law ... suggests that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. This means that if a full hour has been allotted to a meeting,...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.