会议是邪恶的吗？
It was a Tuesday afternoon and I found myself at yet another web steering group meeting. With over 20 people in attendance I knew it would be a long one. I had little to report since the last meeting two weeks ago. Yet that wouldn’t stop the meeting dragging on especially as I knew the site’s design was on the agenda.
那是一个星期二的下午，我在另一个网络指导小组会议上发现自己。 我知道要参加的人数超过20人。 自两周前的上次会议以来，我几乎没有报告。 但这并不能阻止会议继续进行，尤其是当我知道该站点的设计已列入议程时。
Sure enough two hours later two directors were still discussing what shade of blue the website should be. It was at this point I vowed to never attend a meeting again.
足够肯定的是，两个小时后，两位导演仍在讨论网站应该是什么样的蓝色。 正是在这一点上，我发誓不再参加任何会议。
I am sure you can associate with my feelings. We have all sat in meetings that suck your soul. But, was I right or realistic in my vow? Are meetings that bad?
我相信你可以和我的感情联系在一起。 我们所有人都坐在开会中，这深深吸引了您的灵魂。 但是，我发誓是正确的还是现实的？ 会议不好吗？
The team at 37signals thinks so. Their book Rework describes meetings as toxic. And there are no shortage of people who agree with them.
37signals的团队是这样认为的。 他们的书《 返工》将会议描述为有毒的。 而且不乏赞同他们的人。
In many ways this is completely understandable. There are significant problems with how we use meetings.
在许多方面，这是完全可以理解的。 我们如何使用会议存在重大问题。
会议的问题 (The problem with meetings)
The biggest problem with meetings is how disruptive they become. If you are not careful your working day becomes fragmented. Interrupted by a series of meetings. This makes it impossible to get into a flow with your work.
会议的最大问题是会议变得多么混乱。 如果您不小心，您的工作日将变得支离破碎。 被一系列会议打断。 这使您无法顺畅进行工作。
This can become expensive for the organisation. Not only is there the man hours of the meeting itself, but also of the time it takes to get back into work afterwards. Those man hours can add up. A one hour meeting with only eight people in it costs the organisation an entire day of productive work. The meeting I mentioned at the beginning of this post cost the organisation an entire week of productivity!
对于组织而言，这可能变得昂贵。 会议本身不仅要花很多时间，而且还要花一些时间才能重新开始工作。 这些工时可以加起来。 一个只有八个人的一小时会议花费了组织一整天的生产性工作。 我在本文开头提到的会议使组织整个星期的工作效率降低了！
Part of the problem is that most meetings lack focus. This is what leads them to become so long and drawn out. Too many meetings lack an agenda or a well defined outcome. Without that structure the meetings wander and that starts costing the organisation a lot of money.
问题的一部分是大多数会议缺乏重点。 这就是导致他们变得如此漫长和引诱的原因。 太多的会议缺乏议程或明确的结果。 如果没有这种结构，会议就会流连忘返，这开始使该组织付出大量金钱。
Not only are the meetings too long, but they have too many people attending. This is because they have no focus. The organiser ends up inviting anybody who might have an interest in the vague topic.
会议不仅时间太长，而且参加的人太多。 这是因为他们没有重点。 组织者最终邀请了对这个模糊主题感兴趣的任何人。
The result of this is that you end up in a meeting discussing design with the head of IT in attendance. What has the head of IT got to contribute to a discussion about branding?
这样的结果是，您最终会与IT负责人一起参加讨论设计的会议。 IT主管对品牌讨论做出了哪些贡献？
Although meetings can be a sink hole for time and money, they are not without their merits. Some types of meetings are worth the effort and expense.
尽管会议可能会浪费时间和金钱，但并非没有优点。 某些类型的会议值得付出努力和花费。
一些会议值得努力 (Some meetings are worth the effort)
In response to 37signals’ comments about meetings, digital agency Happy Cog wrote a post defending them. In this letter they mentioned four types of meetings they found useful. These included:
为了回应37signals关于会议的评论，数字代理商Happy Cog撰写了一篇为会议辩护的帖子 。 在这封信中，他们提到了四种他们认为有用的会议。 这些包括：
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The kick off meeting. Happy Cog argues this meeting as a vital tool in ensuring a project gets off to the right start. They argue that it can remove other meetings further down the line.
开工会议 。 Happy Cog认为这次会议是确保项目正确开始的重要工具。 他们认为，这可以取消其他会议。
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Brainstorming meetings. They believe that coming together to brainstorm a problem can be more effective than working alone.
头脑风暴会议 。 他们认为，聚在一起集体讨论问题比单独工作更为有效。
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Post mortem. When a project finishes Happy Cog likes to look at how things went. They feel this helps prevent repeating the same mistakes in the future.
验尸 。 当项目完成时，Happy Cog喜欢看事情的进展。 他们认为这有助于防止将来重复同样的错误。
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Critiques. Happy Cog feels that discussing a design helps it become more refined and leads to better products. If nothing else it also helps designers learn to justify their work.
批判 。 Happy Cog认为，讨论设计可以使它变得更精致，并带来更好的产品。 如果没有别的，它也可以帮助设计师学习证明其工作合理性。
I can think of many other types of meetings that have their place. From stakeholder interviews to workshops, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with meetings. Rather the problem is in how they are run.
我可以想到其他许多类型的会议。 从利益相关者访谈到研讨会 ，会议本质上没有错。 而是问题在于它们如何运行。
如何召开一次好会议 (How to run a good meeting)
Running a good meeting is not that hard. It just needs some discipline, a bit of thought and somebody to take control.
召开一次好会议并不难。 它只需要一些纪律，一点思想和控制权即可。
Below are some dos and don’ts for running effective meetings. If you stick with these you will find meetings feel a lot less evil.
以下是进行有效会议的一些注意事项。 如果您坚持这些原则，您会发现开会的邪恶感要小得多。
有议程吗 (Do have an agenda)
Calling a meeting without an agenda is just lazy and shows a disregard for other people’s time. Receiving an agenda in advance allows attendees to decide whether to attend or not. It also helps ensure that the meeting stays on track.
召开没有议程的会议只是一个懒惰，无视别人的时间。 提前接收议程可让与会者决定是否参加。 它还有助于确保会议按时进行。
不要邀请太多人 (Don’t invite too many people)
If you have a clear agenda it will help decide who to invite. The more people you invite, the more you are costing your organisation. Also the longer the meeting will run. By focusing the discussion on one or two areas you can invite the minimum number of people. Nothing is worse than sitting in a meeting while people discuss something you know nothing about.
如果您有明确的议程，它将有助于确定邀请对象。 邀请的人越多，您花费的组织成本就越高。 另外，会议将运行的时间越长。 通过将讨论集中在一个或两个领域，您可以邀请最少的人员。 当人们讨论您一无所知时，没有什么比坐在会议上更糟糕的了。
有一个目标 (Do have a goal)
An agenda is great, but know what outcomes you desire too. By having a clear goal you want to achieve, the meeting will be much more productive. It will also help you stay on track when people move off topic.
议程很重要，但也知道您想要什么结果。 通过有一个想要实现的明确目标，会议将变得更有成效。 当人们脱离话题时，它也将帮助您保持步调一致。
没有自发的会议 (Don’t have spontaneous meetings)
When an issue arises it is tempting to grab a group of people and have a meeting to discuss it. Although this may help you it is disruptive for other people. Schedule your meetings at least a day in advance so people can plan their workday around it.
当出现问题时，很想吸引一群人并开会讨论这个问题。 尽管这可能对您有所帮助，但对其他人却具有破坏性。 至少提前一天安排您的会议，以便人们可以安排工作日。
明确结束时间并坚持下去 (Do have a clear end time and stick to it)
Meetings tend to lose focus if there is no clear end point. Decisions get made a lot quicker when there is a deadline. It is also important to respect people’s time and schedule.
如果没有明确的终点，会议往往会失去重点。 在有截止日期的情况下，可以更快地做出决定。 尊重人们的时间和时间表也很重要。
不要安排定期会议 (Don’t schedule recurring meetings)
It is common practice to schedule recurring meetings for things like a ‘web steering committee’. People are busy and get booked up, so it makes sense to block out some of their time.
通常会安排定期会议来召开诸如“网络指导委员会”之类的会议。 人们很忙并且被订满了，因此可以节省一些时间。
The problem is that you often find yourself having meetings for the sake of it. Or those meetings drag on because you have scheduled an hour, but there is only one item to discuss that week.
问题在于，您经常会因此而开会。 或由于您安排了一个小时而推迟了这些会议，但是那一周只有一个项目需要讨论。
Only call a meeting when needed. Scheduling a meeting before you have an agenda for it is counter productive.
仅在需要时才召开会议。 在安排会议议程之前安排会议会适得其反。
确实记录下一个动作和决定 (Do keep a record of next actions and decisions)
Most meetings do not need formalised minutes. Nobody ever reads them anyway. But you do need a record of next actions and key decisions.
大多数会议不需要正式的会议记录。 无论如何，没有人读过它们。 但是您确实需要后续操作和关键决策的记录。
Focus meetings on the next steps. Assign these steps to specific people and where possible set a deadline.
将会议重点放在下一步上。 将这些步骤分配给特定人员，并在可能的情况下设置截止日期。
It is also important to record key decisions. This is because people’s perception of decisions can be different. Writing it down helps to bring clarity.
记录关键决策也很重要。 这是因为人们对决策的看法可能有所不同。 写下来有助于提高清晰度。
不要整天开会 (Don’t spread meetings throughout the day)
By grouping meetings together you save people a lot of time. Time wasted trying to settle back into their work, before yet another meeting.
通过将会议分组在一起，可以节省很多时间。 在下一次会议之前，浪费时间试图恢复他们的工作。
Some organisations say that meetings must be at the beginning or end of the day. Others say that certain days of the week have to remain meeting free. However you approach it, try and group meetings together.
一些组织表示，会议必须在一天的开始或结束时进行。 其他人则说，一周中的某些日子必须保持*开会。 无论您采用哪种方法，都请尝试将会议分组。
不要使用日历默认值 (Don’t use calendar defaults)
By default most calendar apps set meetings as an hour. Most meetings should not run this length. If you have a clear agenda and have not invited too many people, then a meeting should not run to an hour.
默认情况下，大多数日历应用程序将会议设置为一个小时。 大多数会议都不应如此长时间。 如果您的议程很明确并且没有邀请太多人，那么会议应该不会花费一个小时。
By following these tips, the quality of meetings will improve. But, I also believe that traditional meetings are becoming less relevant in the digital sector.
通过遵循这些技巧，会议的质量将得到提高。 但是，我也相信传统会议在数字领域的重要性正在下降。
超越会议 (Moving beyond the meeting)
There are two trends that are moving us away from traditional meetings.
有两种趋势使我们远离传统会议。
The first is that web design is becoming more collaborative. Web designers and developers sit side by side working on projects. Many web professionals are now even working on site with the client so they can work on projects together.
首先是网页设计变得更加协作 。 Web设计人员和开发人员并排坐在项目上。 现在，许多Web专业人员甚至都在与客户进行现场合作，以便他们可以一起从事项目。
The days of waterfall management is on decline as digital teams work in a more agile, collaborative manner. This reduces the need for meetings.
随着数字团队以更加敏捷，协作的方式工作， 瀑布管理的时代正在逐渐减少 。 这减少了会议的需要。
Then there is also the growing realisation that committees do not work well as a way of managing digital. For a start they meet too infrequently to make decisions in the fast moving world of the web.
然后，人们越来越意识到委员会作为管理数字货币的一种方式并不能很好地运作 。 首先，他们开会的频率太低，无法在快速发展的网络世界中做出决策。
The other problem with committees is the broad nature of digital. It requires so many different skills, impacting the entire business. This means that many web steering committees just become too bloated. The wrong people end up in meetings discussing the wrong things. This wastes everybody’s time.
委员会的另一个问题是数字化的广泛性。 它需要许多不同的技能，从而影响整个业务。 这意味着许多网络指导委员会变得过于肿。 错误的人最终参加讨论错误的事情的会议。 这浪费了每个人的时间。
Instead, many organisations are adopting the RACI matrix. This more flexible approach ensures the right people are making the right decisions at the right time. It also reduces the need for meetings.
相反，许多组织正在采用RACI矩阵 。 这种更灵活的方法可确保合适的人在正确的时间做出正确的决定。 它还减少了会议的需要。
All this leads me to believe that the number of meetings we attend should decline over the next few years. But they do still have their place. That is why it is so important we become more efficient over how we run them.
所有这些使我相信，未来几年我们参加的会议数量应该会减少。 但是他们仍然有自己的位置。 这就是为什么它如此重要的原因，我们使其在运行方式上变得更加高效。