Meeting: Difference between revisions

96 bytes added ,  13 October 2019
no edit summary
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
{{a|meetings|}}A [[meeting]] is what happens when a colleague unilaterally asserts that ''his'' agenda is more important than yours. Though, of course, meetings can be benign and even fruitful — few of history’s monsters have been wholly without redeeming feature — convening a meeting is a profoundly political act and, however well-intended, and what goes on in most of them has a starkly political aspect. Meetings are thus best avoided, and any adept survivor will have developed detailed tactics for avoiding them. Like [https://jollycontrarian.com/wordpress/?p=148 these ones].
{{a|meetings|}}A [[meeting]] is what happens when a colleague unilaterally asserts that ''his'' agenda is more important than yours. Though, of course, meetings can be benign and even fruitful — few of history’s monsters have been wholly without redeeming feature — convening a meeting is a profoundly political act and, however well-intended, and what goes on in most of them has a starkly political aspect. Meetings are thus best avoided, and any adept survivor will have developed detailed tactics for avoiding them. Like [https://jollycontrarian.com/wordpress/?p=148 these ones].


Like a [[conference call]], only without phones, it’s much harder (though not impossible, depending on how brazen you are) to [[multi-task]], and impossible to go on [[Sorry, I was on mute|mute]].  
Like a [[conference call]], only without phones, it’s much harder (though not impossible, depending on how brazen you are) to [[multi-task]], and impossible to go on [[Sorry, I was on mute|mute]].  


 
“Important” meetings are often stewarded by a functionary from the [[COO]] office who gets to watch the the grisly proceedings up close, occasionally twisting the knife or going [[crazy Ivan]] with an “innocent” question<ref>{{maxim|On a conference call, there are no innocent questions}}. There are stupid questions and trick questions.</ref> Although nominally no more than a court clerk, such a person can skew their role to resemble one of the master’s attack dogs. Depending on the disposition of that [[chairperson|person chairing the meeting]], it can, therefore, be quite the cat-bird seat: rather like walking around the rim of a volcano in one of those big silver spaceman suits watching everyone else in tee-shirts and flip-flops hopping about trying to dodge flying magma.
“Important” ones are often stewarded by a functionary from the [[COO]] office who gets to watch the the grisly proceedings up close, occasionally twisting the knife or going [[crazy Ivan]] with an “innocent” question<ref>{{maxim|On a conference call, there are no innocent questions}}. There are stupid questions and trick questions.</ref> Although nominally no more than a court clerk, such a person can skew their role to resemble one of the master’s attack dogs. Depending on the disposition of that [[chairperson|person chairing the meeting]], it can, therefore, be quite the cat-bird seat: rather like walking around the rim of a volcano in one of those big silver spaceman suits watching everyone else in tee-shirts and flip-flops hopping about trying to dodge flying magma.


Never, ever, to be described as a “[[meet]]”. “Meets” happen in swimming pools and on running tracks.
Never, ever, to be described as a “[[meet]]”. “Meets” happen in swimming pools and on running tracks.


{{seealso}}
{{seealso}}
*[https://jollycontrarian.com/wordpress/?p=148 Blog post: The JC's tips to avoiding meetings]
*[[Crazy Ivan]]
*[[Crazy Ivan]]
*[[Meet]]
*[[Meet]]
*[[All-hands conference call]]
*[[All-hands conference call]]
{{ref}}
{{ref}}