New Year's Resolution for Mindful Meetings

​Here’s an easy-yet-impactful new year’s resolution for all of us: Let’s commit to starting meetings on time in 2026!
 
How might we accomplish this? Allow me to offer some humble thoughts:

• Look at your watch. At the appointed time…on time…start talking.

• Start by saying, “OK, let’s get started.”
• If people are standing and talking at a sit-down meeting, say “Let’s take our seats and get started.”
• If people are sitting and talking, say “Let’s get started.”

(This isn’t rocket science. And it’s not rude to interrupt people to start a meeting. Quite the contrary…it’s mandatory that we interrupt people to start a meeting.)

• If someone comes in late, there’s no need to acknowledge or welcome them. One, we don’t need to embarrass them for being late. Two, we don’t want to celebrate their tardiness by halting the meeting and announcing their late arrival.
• There’s also no need to explain to a late-arriver why the meeting has begun. Even if your boss is late, there’s rarely a reason to delay a meeting for the boss.

 
Moist importantly, if we arrive late to our OWN meeting…shame on us! This is unacceptable. Resolve to do better in 2026, because make no mistake – teammates lose respect for us when we make them wait.
 
Like I said, this is an easy resolution. Being on-time for meetings only requires a wee bit of mindfulness. And if you’re squeamish about interrupting a talkative bunch, or you think it’s rude to begin before everyone arrives, well, let’s be honest…that’s a “you” problem. But that’s OK. Be thankful you have an easy opportunity to practice a better way.
 
Now let’s get started!