According to the Wharton Center for Applied Research at the University of Pennsylvania, the average executive spends 23 hours each week in meetings. Sadly, senior and middle managers report that a mere 56 percent of meetings are productive and that a phone call or email could replace more than 25 percent of meetings.

When the resources that are involved in meetings each day are considered alongside of the above statistics, the financial drain to organizations alone is devastating.

Why are meetings unproductive?

1. Lack of Process and Protocol: They are not strategically valuable. There is limited or no progress against a goal due to an inattention to (or lack of) meeting process and protocol.

2. Lack of Performance: They fail to bring out the best in the people who attend or those who are affected. Relationships are damaged or interpersonal friction is created.