I hate bad meetings (said everyone).

Is “hate” too strong? Loathe, despise, abhor…doesn’t capture it. I’d rather be in traffic or do my taxes. If you can’t relate, then you’re probably the perpetrator! Up there, listening to yourself talk and loving it, not reading the room.

Here’s what everyone is secretly thinking at your bad meeting (or at least I am). Why are we here, what are we talking about, what the hell is the point, do I really need to hear this, are we complaining or are we fixing, I don’t care, does this matter, does anything!…every meeting a mini existential crisis.

To combat bad meetings, I tried Nihilism: nothing matters anyway who cares? Tried Stoicism: doesn’t bother me, could be worse. Hedonism: nothing a nice latte, a little chocolate, and some mindless internet browsing in the background won’t fix… Radical Candor: easy to complain, but better to bring solutions (read on).

Some people say you just need a great moderator to fix bad meetings. That wouldn’t hurt but you know what’s more important? Have a meeting worth having in the first place! You could go cancel half your meetings right now…I promise they won’t be missed. Go do that now, and improve the the other half with these 5 tips to make the few meetings you do have worthwhile and productive:

1) Ask Why

You better have a purpose for meeting otherwise cancel it. Have a clear written agenda.

2) Ask Why Again

Are you really sure you want to do this, are you sure you need a meeting? Could an email solve this? Could you solve this by yourself? What’s your goal and how else could you get that…what if a meeting weren’t possible, what would you do instead…consider doing that instead. Avoid unnecessary meetings at all costs. Guard your people’s time - shelter them from pointlessness!

3) Who’s There?

Meetings don't need spectators! You could save a lot of people a lot of time by inviting a few crucial people to make a decision and then share that decision with the rest. Are you inviting everyone in the company to help you make a decision, why are you possibly doing that, get a good leader instead or become one. It's leadership's job to make decisions, stop passing the buck. Send out a poll/survey if you're curious what people think.

4) Designated Driver

Assign somebody/anybody to be the moderator - which is simply the person imbued with the power of interruption for the greater good - to keep the meeting on track. If you're not sure who, consider rotating the moderator responsibility---choose a new volunteer each week to take a crack at leading the meeting/being moderator. Their job: start on time, follow agenda, squash tangents, end on time.

5) Holistic System

Consider a holistic system to run your business on. The health of your meetings is often a proxy for the health of your overall business. Bad meetings could be a symptom of some withering roots leading to some withering fruits. I like EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System). Of course I'm biased because I help companies implement EOS into their businesses and run their quarterly meetings until they don't need me anymore---so maybe that's just my hammer and I see nails everywhere. But there's a reason I chose EOS, because it works and I wish I had it for all my previous businesses. Frankly, any system is better than the typical fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants and make-it-up-as-you-go system most businesses are running on.

Implement these tips and your next meeting will be universally heralded and acclaimed as a “good meeting,” maybe even great.