The 7 Roles in Highly Ineffective Meetings – Reclaim Your Time!

In 25 years, I’ve seen companies optimize products, packaging, and supply chains—yet meetings often remain an afterthought. I’ve played every role in this time-wasting disaster.

Let’s step inside a typical "one-hour" meeting… and finally fix it.

-15 to 0 mins: The Setup

The Executors – Ready to act. Arrive early, speak up only if something is literally impossible.

The Organizer – Runs the show, wrangles attendance, and battles AV (IT intervention required).

0 to 5 mins: The Late Starters

The Supervisors – Bosses of Executors. Arrive late, apologize, and focus on “advocating.”

5 to 10 mins: The Seat Fillers

The Butterflies – Intern, new hire, transfer, or person who was mistakenly invited. Curious but unnecessary. Arrive late, observe.

10 to 15 mins: The Excused Latecomers

The Influencers – Chronically overbooked. Arrive late, blame another meeting. Decision maker is “on the way.”

15 to 20 mins: The Grand Entrance

The Decision Maker – A former Influencer. Late, assumes someone else apologized for them.

20 to 40 mins: The Pre-Read Storytime

Agenda was pre-read and has been onscreen for 20+ minutes—but now it’s read aloud anyway.

The Interruptor – Had a good reason to skip but joins late from doctor’s office, kid's birthday party, or vacation. Ironically, they’re often the Organizer’s boss—aspiring to be an Influencer.

40 to 55 mins: The Meat of the Meeting (Finally!)

Q&A begins. Influencers weigh in. Debate ensues. A decision might be made.

55 to 60 mins: The Wrap-Up

Organizer locks in the decision and next steps, sharing it onscreen.

60 to 65 mins: The Escape Attempts

Small talk creeps in. Supervisors rush out, late for their next meeting. Executors hesitate—waiting to see if the decision sticks.

65 to 75 mins: The Bonus Round

Influencers launch monologues to impress Decision Maker. Butterflies take notes. The Organizer silently fumes, knowing this will repeat at the next meeting.

3 Steps to Get Yo' Time Back!

1. Cut the Fluff – 3-Question Test

✅ Is this necessary, or could an email/quick call suffice?

✅ Who truly needs to be here? (No passengers.)

✅ What’s the decision or outcome? (No meeting = no action.)

💡 Tip: Require pre-reads. No in-meeting “storytime.”

2. Right Meeting, Right Purpose

🕒 Daily Check-Ins (10 min) – Quick updates.

📅 Weekly Tactical (30-45 min) – Focused problem-solving.

🌍 Monthly Strategic (60-90 min) – Big-picture planning.

🏕 Quarterly Off-Sites (3-4 hrs) – Vision & culture-building.

💡 Tip: No more "catch-all" meetings.

3. Enforce the Amazon “Two-Pizza Rule”

🚫 If you don’t need to be there, don’t be.

🎯 Every attendee must contribute or leave.

👥 Limit meetings to decision-makers, influencers, and executors (no more than 9 total).

💡 Tip: Assign a facilitator to keep discussions on track.

Meetings should serve decisions—not the other way around.

Cut the fluff, keep them structured, and make every attendee accountable.

🚀 Reclaim your time!

TED Talk "No más": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6Qo8IDsVNg

Credit: Wall Street Journal

© Nuri Dimler 2025