Think about the last meeting you attended. Did it start on time?
A study by the video conferencing company Blue Jeans Network analyzed more than five million video meetings in 177 countries revealed that a whopping 81 percent of meetings fail to start on time. Another study by Bain & Company found that a meeting that starts five minutes late will be eight percent less productive.
Just because tardiness is the norm—or even the expectation—doesn’t make it one to perpetuate.
Time is people’s scarcest and most squandered resource.
When you’re leading a gathering, start on time.
You respect your participants and demonstrate that you value them by starting on time. They respect their fellow participants and the purpose by not being late and are able to use their time more efficiently. You will all develop a relationship of mutual respect, professionalism, and reliability.
Starting on time may seem trivial, but this simple act is transformative when it comes to cultivating a culture of respect, accountability, competence, reliability, and care.
What’s the best way to start a meeting?
On time.
P.S. Many of us attend a lot of meetings – quite possibly too many. Before you schedule your next meeting, use this FREE tool to understand if you really need to have it.
