Among Gen Xers and Millenials, a major source of friction and @*&*%$ (complaining) is the number of meetings called by Baby Boomers to review, discuss, process, or just spend face-time with no clear agenda. For Xers, the very last thing they want to do is waste time in a nonessential meeting that does not have a clearly stated outcome or a timeline to accomplish that outcome. Even worse is holding a meeting that is just an exercise. While they have suffered in silence, Xers often are voting with their feet. They are leaving the meetings or calling in and doing work on their computers while listening to “everyone weigh in and have a voice” as they make their way through the meeting. They will spend time adding up the hourly rates of everyone in the meeting, calculating the time spent traveling to and from the meeting, and figuring out whether it’s providing value equal to the cost.

One way for Xers and Millennials to try to survive the unproductive nature of meetings is to be able to keep working through their portable technology. Eye contact is a casualty, but productivity and spirits do not suffer quite as much. It comes down to what you measure and whether you value face time or output.

Generationally Savvy Solution:
Ask these questions in evaluating your own meeting strategy and frequency:
• What are the real takeaways from your meetings?
• How many meetings are essential, and how much is tradition or habit?
• Do you put the appropriate planning into the meeting to get the financial investment of hours back in equal or greater value?
• Is the face-to-face meeting integral to producing the outcome?
• Does everyone leave with a documented action item list that he or she will be called to account for later?
• Do we share the reward of a good idea fairly?