Handling meetings - as Chair and participant

MEETINGS get me down. I don't mind the informal ones where everyone says what they think and nobody is trying to get their own point of view endorsed. I like chatting with people on occasions which happen by chance and we maybe chew over a bite to eat. The best decisions I got made were at these sort of gatherings. But you do have to have some formal meetings, some regular catch-up sessions where all present know the figures and most can write the script for the Chair.

I call these Discipline Meetings. Regular, to an agenda and, if well done, brief. Trouble is, these meetings often turn into platforms for self-promotion. Perhaps the Chair wants applause. Or maybe the next in line feels the need to flex his muscles at the Chair. …