"Don't let your office meetings become mere Time Killers—activities that consume time with no real outcome. Learn three ingenious strategies from the late Apple CEO who transformed meetings into productivity engines."
Photo source by SR Digital - Alinear Indonesia (Gemini AI by Google)
Ineffective meetings have long been a bane in the business world. It's reported that meeting inefficiencies in the United States alone lead to losses of over 37 billion USD annually. To overcome this "ailment," we can emulate three powerful methods employed by the late former Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, to ensure every meeting yields tangible impact instead of merely wasting time.
1. Minimize Participants for Maximum Focus
Photo source by SR Digital - Alinear Indonesia (Gemini AI by Google)
Jobs firmly believed that an overcrowded room was a recipe for ineffective meetings. The more people, the more fragmented the focus, and decision-making became sluggish.
In an anecdote shared by Kevin Seagall, a Jobs collaborator, Jobs once politely asked someone to leave a room because their presence was deemed non-essential to the topic at hand. He even famously declined an invitation from US President Barack Obama to attend a Tech Mogul meeting based on this strict principle.
Only invite individuals who are essential and have a direct contribution to the meeting's outcome. Excessive attendance only prolongs the duration and reduces efficiency.
2. Enforce Accountability: Appoint a Directly Responsible Individual (DRI)
Photo source by SR Digital - Alinear Indonesia (Gemini AI by Google)
A meeting without clear follow-up is a waste of time. Jobs ensured that every decision and action item had a fully accountable owner, implementing an "Accountability Mindset."
In every meeting minute (MoM), there had to be a specific column for the DRI (Directly Responsible Individual). The DRI is the person directly responsible for following up on and completing the task decided during that meeting.
Accountability must be deeply ingrained. Everyone involved in the project must be aware of their specific obligations. This eliminates ambiguity and ensures tasks are executed immediately after the meeting.
3. Focus on Critical Discussion, Not Lengthy Slideshows
Photo source by SR Digital - Alinear Indonesia (Gemini AI by Google)
Steve Jobs was known for his aversion to formal meetings that relied heavily on slide presentations (such as PowerPoint or similar tools). For him, digital presentations could stifle critical thinking and vibrant discussion.
Jobs preferred face-to-face meetings that allowed for deeper, more spontaneous interaction.
Meetings must be a venue for critical thinking and dialogue. Jobs famously believed, "People who know what they're talking about don't need PowerPoint." When participants are encouraged to speak from understanding, rather than reading from slides, it triggers higher engagement and leads to more valuable ideas.
By adopting these three strategies, you can transform time-consuming meetings into focused, directed collaboration sessions that produce clear decisions with assigned responsibilities.
