Why Meetings Take Too Long

The clock keeps moving forward while people talk about the same thing.

The meeting starts at nine o'clock. The boss says we have one hour to talk about the new plan. Everyone looks at their phone. They check their email too. People wait for a turn to speak.

Ten minutes later, someone says the plan is good. They say it needs more time. Another person agrees with them. The person adds a small problem they see in the report. Now we are ten minutes past nine. We still talk about this same plan.

Someone else joins in with a different idea for the project. The boss says no to it. They ask us to make one choice now. People start arguing with each other. They want their idea to be picked first.

The meeting ends at ten fifteen. The boss says that was a bad choice. They say we must fix it another time. We leave the room feeling tired. We feel sad because we talked about one idea for too long.

Do you ever feel that way in your own meetings?