Meetings Are Legalized Robbery | Hacker News Reader

Meetings Are Legalized Robbery

yegor256.com

13 pointsdasil0037 comments

I hate meetings. But even I think this article is ridiculous. I like the idea of asynchronous collaboration, but I'm bothered by the other 80% of this article.

The main thesis, buried in the paper, is that meetings steal the spotlight away from the one individual who's smarter than everyone else.

Or in my experience, the one individual who thinks he's smarter than everyone else - everyone else is beneath him and doesn't know "software engineering." He is The Architect, who sits in his office all day doodling and thinking of just the perfect architecture. He hates meetings because they pull him out of his theory sessions with himself.

The article mentions Einstein creating his theories alone. Einstein is the exception, not the rule. It's just like all the people who idolize Steve Jobs and try to run their business like him, only to fail because of an inflated ego with nothing to back it up.

"The article mentions Einstein creating his theories alone. Einstein is the exception, not the rule."

Even Einstein probably spent a lot of time talking face to face with his colleagues and presenting his ideas at Physics conferences. Science progresses through the exchange of ideas, both formally and informally.

"It's just like all the people who idolize Steve Jobs and try to run their business like him..."

And I bet that Jobs, like most executives, spent most of his days in meetings rather than thinking alone in his office.

The Einstein thing was pretty weak. We don't need 100% asynchronous collaboration, but meetings should be treated as a last resort, not a first step. Call meetings when the features unique to meetings are needed - body language, 100% attention and instant response, etc.

Otherwise you're just wasting 1 man-hour per person in the meeting. Did we need to spend the equivalent of somebody's work day to talk about this thing? Was that needed? Because that was extremely expensive.

And the title is just click bait. If anything, meetings are legalized sabotage or vandalism. Not robbery. I don't go and steal people's time and end up with it myself.

The problem with meetings is that they are often interminable, with too little accomplished. That's what needs to be fixed.

I've never had an opportunity to try it, but long ago someone suggesting that everyone needs to remain standing at meetings, to help expedite them. This would also make it more difficult to e.g. use a laptop to read HN instead of paying attention. :)

Agreed. And we need good meetings. But we shouldn't assume that no meetings is better than good meetings.

Standing meetings work. When anyone (non handicapped) wants to sit down, it's a sign the meeting is going too long.

> A good software architect doesn't need meetings and never organizes them.

Well I'm glad someone decided this arbitrarily. Who needs data? We have an oracle.

"If I'm not mistaken, enjoying the process of creativity without any results is an obvious sign of mental illness."

Well fuck you too.

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