Happy Friday, everyone. I’m not going to sit here and complain about meetings because my bosses read this. But, hypothetically, if you’re one of those people who does, there’s a book for you, written by local entrepreneur Paul English. We had a quick chat with him about what makes a bad meeting, and trust me when I say the guy hates bad meetings.
But first, here’s what else is going on:
- The International Olympic Committee has banned transgender women from competing in “any female category.”
- Mass. researchers are testing AI to detect signs of Alzheimer’s in its earliest stages.
- The Senate approved a deal to fund much of the Department of Homeland Security, except the immigration enforcement operations that have been central to the standoff. It next goes to the House, which is expected to consider it later today.
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TODAY’S STARTING POINT
It’s not that Paul English hates meetings. He’s a tech entrepreneur and the co-founder of Kayak.com, which means he’s been in about 30,000 of them. Which is more than enough to truly, genuinely despise bad meetings.
So he’s gone to war with them with “The Meeting Book: How the Best Companies Meet Better,” which comes out May 26. It’s his personal manifesto against the estimated $870 billion a year we burn on meetings that are a complete waste of time.
I caught up with the 62-year-old English, who was born in West Roxbury, went to Boston Latin School and UMass-Boston, and now lives in the Seaport, to find out why most meetings really should have been an email. The following is an edited excerpt from a longer conversation.
What made you decide to write a whole book just about meetings?
I find most meetings are aimless, people talk about nonsense, and it’s just a colossal waste of time. And people often talk about this problem, but there was no great resource for teaching people how to run a productive meeting.
I interviewed people from all over about their best and worst meetings. We did a survey of about 1,000 people on the meeting habits of their companies, and from our study — which is supported by other studies — we found that over 50 percent of employees believe that over 50 percent of their meetings are a waste of time.
For a 1,000-person company, that works out to $9.4 million in salary wasted on people in bad meetings. But the worst part is that bad meetings lead to bad decisions, and they demoralize the staff.
Not all meetings are bad meetings. You can run meetings that are decisive and not soul-sucking. So the second half of the book is my practical advice based on all that research.
And what is your advice?
If a meeting doesn’t have an agenda, don’t run it. If someone is bored, they should get up and leave. If someone is not contributing, you should consider uninviting them to the next one because they’re wasting your time, and their time.
And if you’re running the meeting, you need to be like a conductor and move the energy around the room to make sure everyone is participating. If they’re not, talk to them one-on-one and help them be more active in meetings.
And when a meeting is over, end it. Meetings should be half an hour, not an hour.
Can we go back to this bit about just getting up and walking out of a boring meeting? That sounds easy to say if you’re the CEO, but what about the rank-and-file? We can’t just leave.
I think you can if you have a discussion with your supervisor. Don’t be shy to ask. I’d bet 95 percent of managers would understand if you thought you could be doing better work with your time. So rather than showing up to shine, shine through your work.
You’re a huge proponent of small meetings (at Kayak, if more than three people came to a meeting, he would kick one out). But what if you have a larger team?
I like one-on-one meetings. They’re the most productive and it’s good to see people face-to-face. Group meetings are important every now and then for social catchup, and to debug relationships.
Men interrupt women more than women interrupt men, and once you notice it, you can correct it. But if you’re running a team, maybe once a week you have a quick meeting, but don’t go around the room and say: “Everyone please give us a status update.”
I hate to say this word out loud, but what about Zoom meetings?
Zoom is so hard, particularly for group meetings. I’m a little ADD, so I struggle in a Zoom meeting trying to focus on five or 10 people trying to talk for an hour. It is slightly better one-on-one, but if I’m in person, I tend to pay attention longer. But I work with people all over the place, so it’s unfortunately a necessity.
So what’s the grand takeaway for improved meetings?
To do less meetings. Always less, shorter, and with fewer people. It’s not by giving out free pizza.
🧩 2 Down: Fury | 💨 49° Clearer, colder
POINTS OF INTEREST
Road trip: Phil Eng, the state’s top transportation official, is drawing some inspiration for World Cup planning from systems in Singapore, Seoul, and Tokyo. The trip was detailed in records of Eng’s schedule obtained by the Globe.
Kids these days: Do 12- and 15-year-olds think it’s cool that their stepmom is the governor? “It’s a lot of eye rolls,” jokes Joanna Lydgate, Massachusetts’ first lady.
Red Sox 3, Reds 0: Garrett Crochet’s three-hit, eight-strikeout performance over six scoreless innings gives Boston an Opening Day win on the road. But you still have to wait a week for the home opener.
‘Because I’m president’: Trump has repeatedly called voting by mail “cheating.” But he defends his own use of mail-in ballots.
Protest preparations in full swing: Senator Ed Markey, the Dropkick Murphys, and a chainsaw artist are among the expected attendees at this weekend’s “No Kings” rally in Boston. It’s one of dozens planned around the state.
The verdict is in: A judge has acquitted former North Andover police officer Kelsey Fitzsimmons of pointing a gun at another officer who shot her while trying to serve a restraining order. Fitzsimmons opted for a bench trial.
The lawyer leading Trump’s battle with Harvard: As the head of civil rights enforcement in the Justice Department, Harmeet Dhillon has sued Harvard twice in the last six weeks. Here’s how she rose to prominence.
VIEWPOINT
Who gets to be an American?: Andrea Campbell and other Democratic AGs have their answer as the Supreme Court takes up Trump’s bid to curtail birthright citizenship.
Priced out of the dating pool: Commentators seem to agree that women are less attracted to men who make less money — and vice versa. But it’s not really true.
The Marine and the vulgarian: In the way they lived, and the way they comported themselves, Bob Mueller and Donald Trump offered polar examples of what it means to be a good American.
‘We did this, we really did this’: Two years ago, they were crushed by the lack of charges against a former teacher. But they refused to yield, and now a jury has indicted the former Miss Hall’s School teacher on three counts of rape.
Who is next on Wu’s grudge list?: From developers to state senators to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Boston mayor has been settling scores in her second term.
BESIDE THE POINT
By Curt Woodward
💸 Cash is king: How to avoid a lifetime of debt from a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
🌅 Bio ... philic?: This nature-inspired property on the Vineyard has a rooftop pool. For $23 million, call it whatever you want.
📺 Baseball, schmaseball: The movies and shows to light up your life (and screen) this weekend.
🎸 All about that bass: Rock veteran Melissa Auf der Maur has a new memoir about her years as a bassist for Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins.
🍽 'Tall, but not necessarily my type’: Can a cinematic setting salvage this first-date first impression before the crème brûlée hits the table?
🏆 Totally not participation trophies: People keep giving President Trump awards that didn’t exist before he got them. It’s worth stepping back and asking: how did this even begin?
Thanks for reading Starting Point.
This newsletter was edited by Curt Woodward and produced by Ryan Orlecki.
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Billy Baker can be reached at billy.baker@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @billy_baker.