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Still on the subject of meetings, a guest blog today from Jesse Lyn Stoner: I’ve attended a lot of meetings that are a waste of time – it’s part of my job. (I help teams improve their performance and often observe to understand their issues before I intervene). However, I must say this was the most boring meeting of my career.

…and they might actually cost you and your business less. Imagine you hired a meetings fairy. The fairy’s job would be to ensure that meetings were short, efficient and effective.

Groupthink can lead to bad judgments and decisions being made, and can also cause a group of decision makers to rationalise a poor decision after the fact. It’s a simple and totally inadequate way to deal with difficult issues.

On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger blasted off. Seventy-three seconds later, millions of people watched as the rocket disintegrated in a fiery explosion, and the capsule plunged back to Earth.

In many organisations we visit we see meetings where people arrive late, and unprepared for the topics to be discussed. Often, people more or less openly check their emails on their BlackBerry or laptop during meetings, or even answer their mobile and leave the room for a while to take a call!