Relevant. To be meaningful, a goal has to relate to overall mission of your business. Otherwise, you may be wasting time. Challenge each goal with question, “What happens without it?” If your answer is “nothing,” cancel meeting.

Time. Specifying a deadline (e.g., by noon) or a rate (e.g., 3 per hour) moves activity toward completing task and provides a criteria to measure progress. Of course, you want to select realistic times.

As a final check, make sure your goals are so clear that someone else could use them to run your meeting.

Better: An effective meeting is business activity where people work together.

2) They avoid responsibility. Bad meetings never end with decisions, which means that no one ends up being held responsible for doing anything. Some people find this useful because responsibility implies accountability and accountability requires results. Thus, without responsibility there is no failure and everyone appears to perform well. This masks poor performance so that everyone continues to receive raises and promotions, even when they accomplish nothing because (you guessed it) they spent all of their time sitting in meetings.

Better: Effective meetings produce decisions that someone is responsible for implementing.

3) They provide excitement. Bad meetings feature all of elements of a good drama, such as conflict, tension, and pain. For example, participants deliver self-aggrandizing reports, denigrate their colleagues, and engage in politics. Some really terrible meetings play out like pathetic battlegrounds with verbal gladiators battling for favors while boss watches.

Better: Effective meetings occur in a safe environment of respect.

4) They serve food. Bad meetings become an enviable executive perk when they provide snacks, coffee, and (sometimes) meals. The attendees then use eating to offset boredom of having to hear meaningless discussions. It also saves them expense of having to buy food.

Better: Meals should be a separate activity used to build relationships and (sometimes) rest.

5) They entertain. Bad meetings resemble a party. People tell stories, trade jokes, and argue over trivia. Some meetings feature comedy performances by office fool. Others feature humorous belittlements by office bully. And if neither of these occurs, absolutely unbelievable discussions amaze and entertain everyone.

Better: Effective meetings use process tools to make methodical progress toward results.

All of this shows why type of meetings held in a company should be of major concern when making investment decisions. If executives need to learn how, that can be fixed by scheduling a workshop. Then you might consider investing in company, after they complete workshop. If, however, executives hold bad meetings to avoid fundamental leadership responsibilities, you should seek other investments.