We all have meetings; in fact, it seems that sometimes we have meetings just to have meetings. Jon Petz, author of Boring Meetings Suck: Get More Out Of Your Meetings, or Get Out Of More Meetings, wrote the book to empower both organizers and attendees on how to run meetings effectively without them become “soul-sucking” and tedious. As a resource book, Petz tackles the functionality of hybrid meetings – currently taking place all over the world. He says, “Hybrid is what everything is about now today. How do we have a truly functional, hybrid meeting?” Petz is an advocate of getting people engaged and gaining time back, but how can we get that accomplished? He says by getting people in and out of meetings quicker by running them efficiently and effectively, with clear outcomes. When everyone comes out with a clear understanding of what needs to be accomplished, that can be categorized as a productive meeting. This is one way where people can get their ‘real job’ done – not at night or on weekends.

The book aims to put the power in the hands of meeting participants – those who don’t control or set up the meeting, with what he calls SRDs: Suckification Reduction Devices. Those are quick tips and nuggets designed to run meetings differently where people feel empowered to excuse themselves and go about their business without being disrespectful or disruptive. He says the biggest mistake meeting organizers make is that there’s no outcome statement, despite having an agenda. People often say they don’t know what they’re coming in to, what they’re hoping to accomplish and what they’re walking out with. Petz goes on to discuss the different types of meetings, but his favorite is “Two and out” meetings. He states that concept derives from the popular ESPN show, “Pardon The Interruption” (PTI) where participants have two minutes to explain their point, while another person keeps time. With ground rules set beforehand, everyone’s on an even playing field, this method teaches people to be succinct when they share data, keeps them focused on the task at hand, and away from tangents.

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