Why Are Some Organizational Meetings so Drab?

Recently I attended a couple of organizational meetings where the families of the members were also present. First half (about 2-3 hours) were spent on organizational matters like minutes, reports, project discussions and felicitations. Later half (another 2-3 hours) were ear marked for entertainment programs by the members and their families.

The first meeting was a morning to evening affair. The first half, needless to say, was a drab affair with endless speeches, most of them of a repetitive nature. The ladies and kids were bored to death as the discussions dragged on and on. It was evident that none of the topics discussed were remotely interesting or useful for them. Office bearers were resolute in projecting their achievements and patting each other for projects well conducted. Most of the speeches were not audible as the ladies and kids and the younger members in the back were making a racket. Later, when the entertainment started in the afternoon, everyone was in the mood for a siesta!

The second meeting started around 8.30 pm. The organizational 'speeches' went on till 11. Lots of children who were fully dressed up for group and solo dances were seen napping in their seats. Finally, the variety entertainment program started which was adjourned for dinner at 11.30.At midnight by the time other programs(which were well presented) like songs, dances, couple quiz etc started, the audience was only one third of the original! It was 2 am in the morning when the harassed hotel waiters literally showed us the front door!

Both meeting were marked by a significant lack of caring and imagination on the part of the organizers. Lack of caring for the sufferings of their spouses and children. Lack of imagination on how to make meetings more effective and interesting. What an absolute waste of time, money and energy!

It is high time we did something to rectify this inane ineptitude on the part of the organizers of such organizational family meetings!

Why should the organizational family meetings be so drab?

Is it necessary that organizational matters are discussed in detail at family gatherings?

Why should the whole office bearers and visiting dignitaries line up behind the desk on the stage and sit upright for hours together while endless speeches were being dished out?

How can we make these meetings more interesting and proactive?

We will explore a few creative tips on how to make meetings interesting in the next part of this article.