Official Meetings
In all these years in the IT industry, what is it that I have grown to hate with all my heart?
Meetings.
I mean all flavors of it - status meetings, review meetings, weekly meetings, group conference calls ..you name it.
I understand meetings are a necessary evil for the Leads and a very important evil for Project Manager types. But I think it simply sucks off the developer’s productivity. Most of them end up doodling in their scribble pads in these meetings.
Team meetings are places where the Manager talks and the rest listen and manage
appropriate, applicable, relevant responses 
A few questions are asked in the conf. calls which again are answered by the Project Manager. The poor guy is also responsible or lending out ‘Ok’ and ‘yes’ at appropriate intervals.
In my previous organization they would have a meeting every Monday mornings. There will be about 20 members and the meetings would easily stretch to 90-100 minutes. It was a flat team so some people would use that chance to settle political scores too.
I simply could not digest losing 100 minutes of productive time on the first day of the working week. Unless I had anything to say, I usually dodged these meetings…
The present organization insists on Conf. calls every alternate days. My part will be like 5-10 minutes but the meeting goes on for 60-90 mins. I dodge here whenever possible too:) But sometimes there is an expectation that we should sit through these meetings. Like today:(
I have one call at 6:30 and then an other one as soon as I finish that… Gosh when will I go home?
Nowadays am sick of these…
I just want to quit this job but soon the thought of bank balance on the last day of the month makes me come back the next day…
January 4th, 2006 at 5:21 pm
PK,
My plight at work is strikingly similar to yours, when it comes to meetings and conf calls!
January 4th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
actually meetings are fun.u get time 2 loaf!
January 4th, 2006 at 6:25 pm
There was a poster stuck near the coffee point at work a while ago, something to the extent of…..
Are you bored? Feeling depressed? Feeling lonely? Then call a meeting
January 4th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
> In all these years in the IT industry
- indha stmt paatha romba vayasanavanga solra madhiri irukke… u r getting old PK.
We used to refer meetings as OTPs. OTP is Official Time Pass.
January 4th, 2006 at 8:17 pm
PK neenga blog ezutharadhum unga officela yaarukavadhu theriyuma ?
January 4th, 2006 at 11:03 pm
bala(karthik)
ungalukuma? sutham!!!
siddharth
if tats the case in yr place, ensoi:)
WA
oru kaalathiley naanum apdi daan irunden.
epdi irundha naan ipdi ayiteen:(
chakra
adu seri!sema kaduppu chakra.
ganesh
hehehe blog padikaravangalum bloggers daan:)
January 5th, 2006 at 5:23 am
PK… team meetings are fun. I enjoy meetings. It is all the way it is conducted. Some meetings are purely technical. One of my previous manager was an expert in conducting meeting. He used to involve everyone by asking about how they spent their weekend and by the time he ends the meeting it used to be like a family chat. So the way meetings are conducted is an art.
January 5th, 2006 at 6:52 am
PK, Chakra is right.. OTP
But In my development wing, we complete everything on sametime.. Fineesh !!
Romba puriyalannadhan call povom.. otherwise, you could recommend for a sametime conf.. You can do it.
Please take of the last sentence.
Just in case, Please.
January 5th, 2006 at 6:53 am
I hate meetings to the core unless there is a figure to drool
Summa koodi koodi pesarathey enakku pidikaathu… the last statement u said is the one driving most ppl today 
January 5th, 2006 at 11:16 am
i love to idle time
really
but i hate staying back late
anytime after 8 PM psyches me
i would like to come in by 8.30 and leave by 5.30
but that never happens
i hate conference calls too…..
calling during my day time is ok
calling and talking during the US day time is bad
but isnt it that way everywhere?
i have a friend in another IT company, she says she works in shifts becoz, there are insufficient computers…and beleive it is a leading well known IT company
wat say??
but the worst part is, i have planned my leave, and that day they choose to have a conference call and all have to be present…wat is the use of planning then?
i feel like a kid, who was promised to be taken to a movie, but didnt get tickest
aasai kaatti mosam pannittaango!
and i totally agree with ur last stattement
most of us drag ourself to work ,just for the money…the motivation to work is missing!
January 5th, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Balaji sir
>> It is all the way it is conducted.
unmai. and also i dont like the idea of forcing ppl to sit after working hours in office…
keerthi
sametime nalla idea. but sametime for more than 5 pl is not smart imho…
cipher
when i am drooling for food bcos of acidity, figure is the last thing in my mind:)
January 5th, 2006 at 12:10 pm
monu
enna panradu.. life goes on:(
January 5th, 2006 at 12:16 pm
The last line says it all.!! Can’t help it I guess.!
I hate these meetings too.! Today we had a meeting for over one hour and I almost slept in the meeting.!
You wrote “flat team”…What does that mean?? We don’t use that here
January 5th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
narayanan sir
Flat team na, no hierarchy in practice though there existed 2 levels..
anaivarum samam types(almost). pazhaya officela apdi daan irundhadhu…
January 5th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
What, You are not ware of BullShit Bingo ?
http://www.bullshitbingo.net/cards/bullshit/
Take a print out and take it to the next meeting
Loosu
January 6th, 2006 at 1:48 am
Karthik,
I agree with some of your thoughts from a tech-guy stand-point. But
some meetings are fun then others. I am in sales/consulting now. About 50% of my job is meeting strangers/talking on the phone. Understanding business needs, gap analysis etc. What i’ve noticed is some are very polite, straight forward, while some are extremely un-friendly, too focussed, juvenile, some too geeky, some too much trash- talking. However, we get a lot of productive work done with good short meetings. I feel it is necessary to have meetings for communication purposes and good healthy team relationships.
-Sundar
January 6th, 2006 at 9:26 am
Sundar
seringa anna:)