Perception Matters (That's What You Think)

A recent television commercial features a group of business people gathered in a conference room with a general look of confusion.  "Who called this meeting?" someone asks. "I just came because it was on my calendar," says another. You've been throught this, haven't you?  The meeting just for the sake of having a meeting.  These kinds of meetings are, of course, a total waste of time and resources. But wait just a minute! I bet that project managers know there is an exception to this--seemingly unnecessary "perception" meetings can sometimes mean the difference between a project's success or failure.

There are, in fact, many times when project managers or consultants schedule meetings for no other reason than client or staff perception, or because it's the politically wise thing to do. There are probably just as many times when a project manager would rather be doing other tasks but feels a team meeting--while not really necessary for sharing information--serves to demonstrate to a client or to management that everyone is working hard towards the project objectives. This tends to be especially important early on in a large project, when it is essential to start off on the right foot and to demonstrate to management that you are in control, that planning is under way and that a project is getting organized. 

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