Today I was invited to what, I believe, was the most pointless conference call I’ve ever been to.
Involved organizing more than 10 people from 4 different companies in three diferente timezones. It was scheduled because of an email thread around a release plan I wrote for a project. The idea was to ensure that we were ready for the kick-off. I was excited. This is a fantastic opportunity.
What made it so terrible then? For starters, it was evident that no one had read the document. Neither the email thread, apparently, because the same points were repeated in the meeting.
The main customer stressed that this is a time-sensitive project. So urgent, that the reunion was postponed three times in order for everyone to attend. I don’t expect them to get the irony.
Then, one of the attendees introduced themselves and said that they were going to sort things from their side (which I can only assume involves more meetings) so we can propose a release plan. Not a new release plan; the previous one was not even acknowledged. There were no complaints. Instead, people asked to be present in the next call when such a proposal is ready. I wish I was making this up.
Yes, the meeting ended up serving as a conduit to create a new, different meeting which will fulfill the purpose of the original one.
Meetings are a virus.