If the purpose is not defined before a meeting then it will go out of control. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
Meetings! We all have them every day. They come in different
shapes and sizes. Some are simple with few participants and last a few
minutes while others are massive, involve thousands of participants and
run for several days with several sub-meetings. These massive ones are
called conferences or congresses.
One
of the major beneficiaries of the meeting and training culture are
hotels and conference centres. If you visit any reasonable hotel on a
week day in any major city, you are likely to find their halls hosting
one meeting or the other.
So, what is
the purpose of meetings? If the purpose is not defined before the
meeting, then it will go out of control. There will be unnecessary
preambles and the possibility of distractions is very high. I know of
someone who insists on having meetings standing up. This way people do
not waste time on non-essentials and the meeting can move speedily.
One
service that is rising in importance is the service of professional
meeting managers. These people look at the purpose and the expectations
for the meeting and they help navigate it to ensure that it meets its
objectives.
While this is brilliant,
the truth is that meetings do not happen for the sake of meetings. So,
it is possible for a meeting to meet all its objectives as a meeting but
the larger purpose where the decisions made at the meeting are
implemented is where a lot fall flat on their faces.
Millions
of shillings are being spent on workshops and seminars where ideas that
can change the world are shared, but a year later, nothing has changed
and the same group of people convene again to deal with the same issues
but under a different title. Transformation cannot be said to have
happened if the problems have not changed.
Let us take a simple example. The biggest
problem facing Nigeria for decades is power supply. Each administration
comes in with the promise of dealing with this problem. Billions of
dollars have been spent in trying to resolve the issue but to no avail.
Can you imagine the number of meetings that have been held to address
this issue for nearly half a century? Can you imagine the brainstorming
sessions? Can you imagine the number of “international consultants”
hired from the western world who have been paid in tens of millions of
dollars to come and evaluate and assess the situation and give
recommendations? My question is, what is this problem that is so big
that defies human ingenuity?
Another
such problem is corruption. Special anti-corruption taskforces have been
set up. New departments have been set up to deal with corruption. Bills
have been passed and conferences have been held. Yet, corruption
lingers. Again, the brains of very intelligent people have been defied
by this scourge. Is it that there is no solution? Is it that the problem
is so big that all the meetings held could not come up with a lasting
solution?
Yet, the answer is simple.
Why is it that there are countries where you can leave the engine of
your car running and go into the shop to buy something and are
absolutely sure that when you get back you will find your car where you
left it? Are people in such countries inherently good while we are
inherently bad? On the contrary!
In such countries there are consequences for misdeeds. Serious consequences!
How
can we fix the power problems when the very people supposed to fix them
benefit from the problem? They are the importers of generators and the
importers of fuel. The day we stop pretending that we do not know what
the problem is, is the day we will solve the problems.
We
cannot cry corruption and yet there are no consequences for saboteurs
of the economy who are all in plain sight flaunting their wealth. If we
do not deal with the corrupt, they will grow from being thieves to
becoming Robin Hood because of how they will distribute the wealth among
the poor. Once this happens, it becomes increasingly difficult to deal
with the thief.
Until there is a will
for implementation, nothing will change regardless of the number of
meetings or conferences held. When the will does not come voluntarily,
then the right consequences will help the will to come. When we are
ready to sacrifice the comfort of a few for the good of the many, change
will come.
Meetings without purpose
are a waste of time. Meetings where the solutions and decisions are not
implemented are nothing short of crimes against time.
Wale Akinyemi is the chief transformation officer, PowerTalks
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