How to escape the hell of bad meetings
There is a goldilocks number for every group, one of many insights of evolutionary psychology that can help managers to build successful teams.
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Oversized meetings of all kinds allow bores to hold court while most people check their phones.
PHOTO: PIXABAY
Adrian Wooldridge
The most fundamental questions for all organisations are about numbers. Is there a point when economies of scale are negated by the costs of bureaucracy and alienation? How many people can you admit to a meeting before it becomes a waste of time? What is the optimum size for a committee? Or a panel? Or a board?
Dr Robin Dunbar is a British psychologist and evolutionary biologist who has been thinking about the question of numbers throughout his career – and who was once accorded one of the highest honours in the scientific world, that of being mentioned in The Big Bang Theory TV show.
