Meetings Quotes

“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be 'meetings.”
― Dave Barry

“Journeys end in lovers meeting,
Every wise man's son doth know.”
― William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

“A photograph shouldn't be just a picture, it should be a philosophy.”
― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

“Each person you meet
is an aspect of yourself,
clamoring for love.”
― Eric Micha'el Leventhal

“His dress told her nothing, but his face told her things which she was glad to know.”
― A.A. Milne, Once on a Time

“We learned not to meet anymore,
We don't raise our eyes to one another,
But we ourselves won't guarantee
What could happen to us in an hour.”
― Anna Akhmatova, The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova

“Each meeting occurs at the precise moment for which it was meant. Usually, when it will have the greatest impact on our lives.”
― Nadia Scrieva, Fathoms of Forgiveness

“You invented me. There is no such earthly being,
Such an earthly being there could never be.
A doctor cannot cure, a poet cannot comfort—
A shadowy apparition haunts you night and day.
We met in an unbelievable year,
When the world's strength was at an ebb,
Everything withered by adversity,
And only the graves were fresh.
Without streetlights, the Neva's waves were black as pitch,
Thick night enclosed me like a wall ...
That's when my voice called out to you!
Why it did—I still don't understand.
And you came to me, as if guided by a star
That tragic autumn, stepping
Into that irrevocably ruined house,
From whence had flown a flock of burnt verse.”
― Anna Akhmatova, The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova

“How the miracle of our meeting
Shone there and sang,
I didn't want to return
From there to anywhere.
Happiness instead of duty
Was bitter delight to me.
Not obliged to speak to anyone,
I spoke for a long while.
Let passions stifle lovers,
Demanding answers,
We, my dear, are only souls
At the limits of the world.”
― Anna Akhmatova, The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova

“People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.”
― Thomas Sowell, Ever Wonder Why? And Other Controversial Essays

“Effective board meetings encourage active participation from all board
members, fostering a culture of open communication and respectful debate.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr., Board Room Blitz: Mastering the Art of Corporate Governance

“My advice was to start a policy of making reversible decisions before anyone left the meeting or the office. In a startup, it doesn’t matter if you’re 100 percent right 100 percent of the time. What matters is having forward momentum and a tight fact-based data/metrics feedback loop to help you quickly recognize and reverse any incorrect decisions. That’s why startups are agile. By the time a big company gets the committee to organize the subcommittee to pick a meeting date, your startup could have made 20 decisions, reversed five of them and implemented the fifteen that worked.”
― Steven Gary Blank, The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win

“Without a clear definition of success, board discussions can become disjointed, with
members focusing on different priorities and potentially conflicting agendas. It can also lead
to members talking through each other or over each other during meetings, instead of talking
with each other. This can lead to inefficient decision-making, missed opportunities, and
ultimately, hinder the organization's progress.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr., Board Room Blitz: Mastering the Art of Corporate Governance

“How many twenty-second-century bureaucrats did it take to change a light panel?
We'll have a sub-committee meeting and get back to you with an estimate.”
― Peter F. Hamilton, Great North Road

“The celebrations
Of secret nonmeetings are empty,
Unspoken conversations,
Unuttered words.
Glances that don't intersect
Don't know where to come to rest.
And only the tears rejoice
Because they can flow and flow.
Sweetbrier around Moscow,
Alas! Somehow it is here ...
And all this they will call
Love eternal.”
― Anna Akhmatova, The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova

“In meetings philosophy might work,
on the field practicality works.”
― Amit Kalantri

“I think there needs to be a meeting to set an agenda for more meetings about meetings.”
― Jonah Goldberg

“Boardroom discussions, by their nature, involve individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. This diversity of thought is essential for making well-rounded decisions, but it can also lead to disagreements and passionate debate. While conflict is inevitable, it doesn't have to be destructive. In fact, when handled constructively, disagreements can spark innovation and lead to more robust solutions.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr., Board Room Blitz: Mastering the Art of Corporate Governance

“Whatever happens, I’m glad we met. You’ve made the past few days more bearable for me. Thank you.”
― Jason Medina, The Manhattanville Incident: An Undead Novel

“Accurate minutes are the official record of a board meeting. They capture key decisions, discussions, and action items. Minutes should be clear, concise, and distributed to all board members promptly after the meeting.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr., Board Room Blitz: Mastering the Art of Corporate Governance

“These are icebreakers. You’re not supposed to break the ice, you’re just supposed to coat your voice with as many layers of confidence as possible so that they don’t hear your voice shake when it’s your turn to speak. Idiot.”
― Karl Kristian Flores, The Goodbye Song

“No one wants to be surprised or shot down, especially in a group setting. So the person who needs an answer, if they are smart, will have already led individual members towards their side. Conversations are happening behind the scenes so that by the time the big meeting takes place, the person pitching the idea already has buy in.”
― Lauren Wesley Wilson, What Do You Need?: How Women of Color Can Take Ownership of Their Careers to Accelerate Their Path to Success

“For a moment the closing meeting was almost beautiful- like a ballet in space, like 2001. That was before it started, of course, while the meeting room was being set up.”
― Guy Winter, Watchdog- A Credit Crunch Fairytale

“The first half hour took a little less than twice that long, which was par for the course.”
― Mick Herron, Bad Actors

“You know, if this country just allowed a couple of hours between meetings, we might actually have time to achieve something.”
― Colin Cotterill, Six and a Half Deadly Sins

“Not every man in a strange land is a stranger.”
― Joshua A Adebodun, Re-Exploring Genesis: Uncover the Author's Intents, Gain Clarity, and Deepen Your Faith.

“Centre point of every meeting that will attended almost dull, if the process of sharp eye remains there.”
― KH Muawia Tariq

“The Complexity Trap: Every problem gets solved by adding more …more meetings, more approval, more process. Until the solution becomes worse than the problem.”
― Greg Born, The 3 Laws: Escape Chaos, Unlock Clarity, Achieve Epic Results

“Everyone on your path is helping you evolve, no matter how unevolved they appear.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson, Sips And Little Portions

“Regalia Mason liked to be early to meetings; it was an interesting way of making others feel uncomfortable. If the most important person in the room is early, even those who are on time feel as though they are late.”
― Jeanette Winterson, Tanglewreck