Let’s end the meetings and get to work

Meetings are often considered a needed evil in today’s workplace. In fact, many professionals today spend so much time in meetings that they feel like they have almost no time for real work anymore – ironic, I know.

However, several many years ago, Ingvar Kamprad, the legendary founding father of IKEA, was a strong opponent of unnecessary meetings, favoring short, specific discussions.

You may then wonder how we allowed our work culture to reach the time-wasting stage when then and now we have prospects like Kamprad’s. However, while his philosophy of shortening the length and frequency of meetings to increase productivity resonates with the current debate around productivity in the workplace, some might argue that this approach cannot apply in an era defined by digital communications and hybrid work structures.

But Kamprad may have been right all along. So let’s look at the essence of his philosophy and see the way it applies to today’s requirements.

Problems with excessive meetings

We touched on the huge chunk of the day that meetings often take up earlier, but for context, we cited a study by Harvard Business Review found that managers spend almost 23 hours a week in meetings, up from lower than 10 hours in the Nineteen Sixties. Comments that this may very well be reduced to longer hours or harder work are completely inaccurate and even if true, it might be higher have fewer meetings.

That’s because a survey by Korn Ferry found that 67% of employees consider that too much time in meetings prevents them from doing their best work. My conclusion is that by cutting out unnecessary meetings you’ll save time, but what you do in that shortened time might be higher.

Kamprad was aware of this reality and danger. His approach to IKEA was famously cost-effective, not only in terms of cash but also in terms of time. He insisted that the meetings needs to be short, substantive and focused only on the most vital issues, with priorities being the next steps and motion items.

His philosophy comes from a deep understanding that excessive meetings often lead to diluted concentration, poor decision-making and, ultimately, lower productivity. This totally resonates with me. As the former CTO of a 150-person distant engineering team, I always received calls that distracted me and disrupted operations. This is what led me to create BubblesAI-powered note-taking and asynchronous collaboration platform.

We proved ourselves at Bubbles meeting survey that this form of communication and the willingness to focus on strictly vital topics can shorten the meeting time by up to 38%. I have personally experienced a very positive knock-on effect in terms of productivity because of this.

Economic cost of meetings

In addition to the frustration they cause, long meetings have real economic costs. According to A Doodle reportin 2019 alone, poorly managed meetings cost US firms $399 billion. These costs result from lost productivity, wasted time and ineffective follow-up. AND Microsoft study additionally they found that after 30 to 40 minutes into a meeting, participants’ attention began to wane, leading to less effective results. Personal experience leads me to agree with this, which is why I like to recommend that meetings focus only on key topics. Everything else might be sent in a bubble, Slack message, or email.

This is especially vital because from a company’s perspective, time is money, and reducing unnecessary meetings can lead to significant savings in each time and worker engagement. Kamprad assured that the longer the meeting, the less productive it becomes for each the company and the participant. I’d say this is still true.

Kamprad’s philosophy in the modern workplace

In the era of Internet meeting fatigue and constant “quick messages”, Ingvar Kamprad’s meeting philosophy seems more relevant than ever. His belief that point needs to be used effectively suits in with the growing popularity of asynchronous work models, in which teams communicate and collaborate without the need to use the Internet at the same time. While this number is growing, online meeting statistics are still astonishing.

Microsoft Teams boasts, for example 320 million users worldwide in 2024 and in the world of distant work, 76% of employees use video calls every day. Combine this with the Korn Ferry statistics above, and you quickly realize that Kamprad’s focus on rapid decision-making and streamlined processes aligns well with these modern approaches. His approach to reducing unnecessary face-to-face meetings allowed more work to be done.

Are minimalist meetings the most suitable choice?

However, Kamprad’s philosophy is not without potential pitfalls. Reducing meeting times can actually increase productivity, but if you overdo it, the quality of collaboration and team cohesion may suffer. Not all meetings are wasteful; some are essential for creative collaboration, making key decisions, or bringing teams together to achieve strategic goals corresponding to OKRs.

According to a study conducted in 2021 Gartner82% of employees said that well-organized and purposeful meetings are essential to their productivity and engagement. For me, the key is finding a balance between minimizing time-wasting meetings and ensuring that vital discussions proceed to occur effectively.

Conclusion: Still relevant, but might be adapted

So, is Ingvar Kamprad’s meeting philosophy still valid? The answer is yes – with some changes to meeting management. His principles of focusing on relevant communication, reducing wasted time and ensuring that meetings lead to clear motion points remain central to modern business practices. However, as our world of work becomes increasingly digital, firms must adapt this philosophy by introducing recent tools and methods to ensure collaboration does not suffer.

Ultimately, Kamprad’s legacy serves as a beneficial reminder: meetings should never develop into a job in itself. Make sure you stick to it!