会议效率不高？来看看如何解决
编者按 ： 肯·诺顿（Ken Norton）是 Google Venture 的合伙人，主要负责创业公司的产品管理指导 。
对我们大部分人而言，会议是 一天中效率最低的部分 。然而，许多聪明人每天仍要参加多次会议。会议文化往往会带来更多的会议。这造成了恶性循环，不利于我们的效率和精神。
作为谷歌日历的前产品经理，我对人们处理会议的方式有很多了解。而作为谷歌风投的合伙人，我也与超过 100 家创业公司有过直接合作。在 一些研讨会 上，我们讨论过如何让会议更高效。通过这些讨论，我得出了以下一些经验：
停止例会 ：任何日程表上最糟糕的部分就是例会，或者说“签到会”。在这样的会议上，每个人轮流介绍一周的进展。这完全是浪费时间，而经理们召开这些会议主要是为了保证下属都在有效地工作。
实际上，每个人介绍的进展只与会议室中的一两个人有关，而其他人只是在等待轮到自己发言。可以用即时消息应用、小组站会和电子邮件同步来取代这些会议。
慎重安排一对一对话 ：许多经理都忙于参加各种会议，因此常常会取消或重新安排与下属的一对一对话。在经理们的日程表上，一对一对话实际上最重要，尤其是对下属而言。
作为经理，你需要做出决策，解决下属面临的障碍，使他们感到愉快、有价值。准时参加会议可以向下属表明，他们很重要，受到尊重。
所有会议都必须有一名负责人 ：这样的负责人应当介绍会议的目的和日程，确定决策者，安排后续跟进，以及发送会议记录。不应该有人问：“这是谁开的会？”在负责人没有确定的情况下，不要召开会议，否则你要决定自己担任这样的角色。
提前发布会议目的和流程 ：会议上需要做出什么决定？谁需要参加会议？在人们走进会议室之前，他们应当知道为何要参加会议，以及他们需要讨论出什么样的结果。鼓励员工用脚投票：允许他们拒绝目的、负责人和流程不清晰的会议。
你的日程表安排并不意味着你很重要 ：许多高级经理认为，忙碌的日程表意味着他们很重要。然而，他们只是经理，而不是专业开会人士。只有在团队需要你的时候，你才是真正需要去忙碌的。而如果某件事并不一定需要你的介入，那么你可以拒绝会议。此外，如果没有收到邀请，那么请勿不请自来。通常情况下，这是对你所组建团队的一种考验。如果你有话要说，那么提前与会议负责人沟通。
日程表不应当导致决策被推迟 ：如果某项决策十万火急，那么需要立即召集所有决策者。创造一种急迫的文化，加速决策。
控制会议规模 ：在理想情况下，参加会议的人不应多于 5 人。研究表明，如果有 7 人同处一间会议室，那么效率将会下降。对于某些会议，不同团队只需派代表参加，而不必全员参加。如果你不清楚如何与较小的团队开会，那么请重新思考你的目的，并进行任务划分。
当然，大型团队的会议，以及全公司的信息发布会除外（例如谷歌的 TGIF 和 Twitter 的“茶歇时间”）。对于这类会议，请预先确定发言人，确保将大部分时间留给问答环节。
思考每次会议的机会成本 ：某次会议将给公司带来什么样的成本？例如，让 16 个人参加 2 小时的会议将消耗 32 人/小时的人力资源，这接近于 1 人一周的全部工作时间。是这样的会议更有价值，还是让一名员工工作一周更有价值？你应当向所有人宣传开会的成本，并使用定时器来衡量。
将他人时间视为稀缺资源 ：向他人借 1 个小时与向邻居借一部梯子类似。你应当注意礼貌，只安排所需的时间，并向对方致谢。请不要安排长度超过 60 分钟的会议，并将 30 分钟作为默认选择。你会惊讶于在这么短的时间里取得的成果。准时结束会议。
提出问题，而不是掩盖问题 ：在许多公司，“向上反映”是一种令人讨厌的行为。情况为何如此？经理的存在就是为了解决分歧，分歧造成了僵局。如果人们无法达成一致，那么应当迅速能够决策的某人反映。在一个健康的团队中，如果决策不符合某些成员的观点，那么尽管存在不同意见，他们仍将尽力去做。
如果会议议程完成，那么提前结束会议 ：在许多会议上，如果提前 20 分钟结束讨论，那么很可能会有人说：“还有 20 分钟，我们来聊点别的什么？”这非常愚蠢。如果你乘坐的车可以提前 15 分钟到家，那么为何你还要在路上耽搁 15 分钟？如果能提前完成会议的目标，那么可以提前结束会议。
宣告日程表的破产 ：在某些情况下，摆脱“会议债”的最佳方式就是推倒现有日程表，从头再来。
我曾见过一家创业公司这样做。1 月 1 日时，他们删除了公司的所有会议安排。只有在必要情况下，并且有着合适的负责人和参会者，会议才能带来价值。
所有人都被最终结果震惊。耗时长达 3 小时的每周例会被彻底取消。一些会议被恢复，但参会者的范围大大缩小，而时长也被缩短。这家公司赢得了数千人/小时的人力资源。而这些时间可以被用于日常工作。
Meetings That Don’t Suck
Ken Norton Crunch Network Contributor
Ken Norton is a partner at Google Ventures, where he advises startups on product management.
For most of us, and certainly for most of your team, meetings are the least productive part of our day. Yet too many brilliant people are stuck in too many meetings. Meeting cultures begat more meetings, and the downward cycle continues, crippling productivity and crushing psyches.
As the former product manager for Google Calendar, I had plenty of exposure to how people handle meetings. As a partner at Google Ventures, I’ve also worked directly with more than 100 startups. I’ve even given a workshop on making meetings suck less. I’ve seen the good and the bad, and have come away with some tips for how to make life better. Here’s what I recommend:
Kill the status meeting: The most vile creature on any calendar is the weekly status or “check-in” meeting. You know: “Let’s go around the table and have everyone give an update.” They’re a waste of time and harken to a bygone era where managers used them to make sure people were doing work.
The vast majority of updates are only relevant to one or two people in the room, and everyone else painfully waits for their turn. Replace them with real-time messaging apps, smaller team standup meetings or even email lists.
Hold one-on-one meetings sacred: It’s remarkable how many managers are too busy with meetings, yet consistently cancel or reschedule one-on-ones with their direct reports. One-on-ones are the most important meetings on your calendar when you appreciate one detail: They’re not for you, they’re for the employee.
As a manager, you’re there to make decisions, clear roadblocks and help them feel happy and valued. Sticking with a schedule and being present shows your employees that they’re important and respected.
Every meeting must have a single owner: This person is responsible for sharing the purpose and the agenda, identifying decision-makers, arranging follow-up and sending notes. No one should have to ask, “Whose meeting is this?” Don’t schedule a meeting unless an owner has been identified, or you’re willing to step up and be one.
Borrowing an hour of somebody’s time is the same as borrowing a neighbor’s ladder. Ask politely, keep it only as long as you need it, return it quickly and say ‘thank you’.
Share the purpose of the meeting and agenda ahead of time: What decisions need to be made and who are the attendees? Nobody should walk into the conference room without knowing why they’re there and exactly what needs to be accomplished. Encourage employees to vote with their feet: Give them permission to decline meetings that don’t have a purpose, an owner and an agenda.
Your calendar doesn’t make you important: Too many executives think a busy calendar makes them seem important, and that being double- or triple-booked is their chest full of medals.
You’re a manager, not a professional meeting attendee. It only makes you unavailable and out of touch with the needs of your team. If you’re not needed, decline the invitation or leave. And don’t take it personally if you’re not invited. Often, that’s a testament to the strength of the team you’ve built. If you have input, share it with the organizer ahead of time.
Calendars shouldn’t postpone decisions: If a decision is urgent, gather the decision-makers right away. Create a culture of urgency where decisions are made quickly and aren’t allowed to fester. Another advantage to an un-cluttered calendar is that you’ll have more time to be available to others for these ad hoc decisions.
Keep meetings small: Fewer than five people in one meeting is ideal, and research has shown that effectiveness drops when more than seven people are in the room. Teams should send representatives rather than the entire group. If you can’t figure out how to hold the meeting with a smaller group, rethink your goals or divide and conquer.
Of course, large team or company all-hands and weekly celebrations are excluded (such as Google’s TGIF or Twitter’s Tea Time). For those, identify presenters in advance and make sure to keep plenty of time for open Q&A.
Consider the opportunity cost of every meeting: How much will this meeting cost your company? For example, a two-hour meeting with 16 attendees is 32 person-hours. That’s almost an entire person-week of time. Is this meeting more valuable than whatever one of your employees could accomplish in an entire week? Look for visible ways to remind everyone of meeting costs, with a timeror digital meter.
Treat other people’s calendars as a scarce resource: Be considerate of how much time you’re taking from your team. Borrowing an hour of somebody’s time is the same as borrowing a neighbor’s ladder. Ask politely, keep it only as long as you need it, return it quickly and say ‘thank you’.
Try never to schedule a meeting longer than 60 minutes, and aim for 30 minutes as a default. You’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish. End on time and leave promptly so the next group doesn’t have to wait for the room. And respecting their time goes both ways: If you’re an attendee, stay off your laptop or mobile device and be present.
Escalate, don’t undermine: At many companies, “escalation” is a naughty word. Why should that be? Managers exist to resolve disagreement. Disagreement leads to immobility. If people can’t agree, they should quickly and civilly escalate to someone who can make the decision. And healthy teams “disagree, but commit” if the decision doesn’t go their way.
If the meeting is over, end the meeting: How many meetings have attended where someone said, “Well, we still have 20 minutes, what should we talk about?” That’s absurd. If your commute home took 15 minutes less than normal, would you spend the remaining time sitting in your driveway? If you’ve accomplished the meeting goals early: Well done! End the meeting and give everyone their time back.
Declare calendar bankruptcy: Sometimes the best way to get out of meeting debt is to clear the slate and start over.
I worked with one startup that decided to do just that. On January 1, they deleted every scheduled meeting at the company. Meetings were only added back if they were essential and had an owner and the right attendees.
Everyone was astounded at the results. Weekly “check-in” meetings that used to take three hours were eliminated entirely. Some were restored, but with a smaller attendee list and for shorter durations. The company gained back thousands of hours of employee time. Time that can now be used for, you know, work.
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