READ ME!
What is this all about? Maybe you should read the READ ME READ ME.
may 15, 1996: meeting
a lot of people ask me how i spend my time.
The answer is, to a large extent:
meetings
So I guess today I really should discuss the meaning of meetings, at least to me, right now.
Meetings are an unusual form of human interaction.
I am not too fond of the practice.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the "real time" factor of "face to face" interactions.
And how lovely it is to come together on "both sides of the computer screen."
But I just wish that there were some way around "the meeting."
"I cannot meat! I am vegetarian!"
Anyway, this point is difficult to make.
It seems that so much of the value of meetings lies often in the symbolic meanings behind the meating.
For example, there is symbolic value to leading the meeting; to scheduling the meeting, to speaking at the meeting, to wearing the proper attire to a meeting.
There is symbolic value to having the ability to attend meetings at all.
My dear friend Jodi, who now works for the Senate, once sent me a funny email, which said, in summary, that you know that you have really succeeded in your career when all you do is attend meetings.
As a staff member of the very important Budget Committee, Jodi attends a hell of a lot of meetings.
I guess I should feel fortunate for being so successful that I too get to attend a lot of meetings, which might not even appear to be many at all to a person like Jodi.
Nonetheless, I end up feeling kinda silly, instead. Like, I am sure that there is a piece of spinach in my teeth as I am trying to make a point, or like I am sure that my fly is unzipped as I stand up to emphasize a point, or like, I am sure that the actual challenge of having my point of view incorporated into the Plan that is being Generated or Discussed or Evaluated or Decided is indeed insurmountable.
I am paranoid.
But I do know one thing.
The only thing worse than being at a meeting is having one going on and not being at it.
or, if you must, back to Rebecca's Revenge
Copyright 1996 Rebecca Eisenberg mars@bossanova.com