This addition to the “8 ideas” series gives you 8 reasons to cancel a face to face meeting, e.g.: when the desired outcomes can be easily achieved by e-mail or fax communications, or when issues are not ready for informed decision making.

1. The meeting is too costly and the potential return-on-investment is too small.


2. The issues on the agenda have no significant impact on members and decisions can be made without consulting them. There is no need to bore them with an unneeded meeting.


3. All issues can be easily addressed by phone, fax, or e-mail consultations.


4. Everyone is very busy and productive and a meeting would be too disruptive.


5. The meeting is purely for information sharing with no consensus building or decision-making. The same result can be achieved by sending memos to everyone.


6. The issues are far too divisive and the parties are not ready for face-to-face discussions. It may be more harmful to hold a meeting at this stage, and you may be better off waiting.


7. The meeting is a “last minute” emergency, with no pre-meeting time to study the issues or plan properly. Discussions are bound to be reactive, unfocused and unproductive, and members will justifiably resent the imposition on their schedules.


8. Many people, especially key decision makers, are not available for the meeting. Attendees will get frustrated with the lack of ability to reach closure.

Eli is the author of the newly published "101 Boardroom Problems and How to Solve Them." He is also the author of several other books and publications on meetings, shared decision-making and minute taking (see Eli Mina's Books at www.elimina.com ). Eli can be reached at 604-730-0377 or via e-mail at eli@elimina.com.