The hidden cost of bad meetings (and how to fix it)

71% of meetings are unproductive. Let that sink in.

We’ve all sat through them. Long updates that could have been shared in a dashboard. Endless back-and-forth with no decision at the end. People leaving the room more confused than when they walked in.

The problem isn’t meetings themselves. It’s bad meetings.

The best leaders I work with treat meetings as the engine room of the business. A few principles stand out:

• Every meeting has a clear purpose and owner.

• Decision meetings are different to update meetings.

• The most valuable time is spent aligning priorities and removing roadblocks.

• Everyone leaves knowing what they’re doing next, by when, and how it connects to the bigger plan.

When run well, meetings aren’t a time drain. They’re where alignment is built, accountability is reinforced, and progress accelerates.

So here’s the real question: if I sat in on your leadership team’s meetings this week, would I see wasted time or a team moving the business forward with conviction?

Grow well