Committee Relay Races...Film at eleven...

Today was a marathon day of meetings; one after another. I have probably complained about this before but I hate, despise and loathe anything that requires a committee. I find them to be tedious and primarily nothing more than an allotment of time where people who feel the need to speak to their own self importance get to have a captive audience. Generally, nothing is decided and we're no further off than we were before we met.

My survival mechanism for these things is to doodle. I fill entire notebooks with doodle art - fanciful designs, whistful characters, and calligraphy. I make occasional eye contact with whomever is speaking and nod approvingly which is what they want. I chuckle at the appropriate moments and hear just enough to stop and ask a question now and then. All this while not really paying attention at all. Then, when the marathon is over, I go back to my desk, draw up some plan to address whatever issue was supposed to be taken care of by the committee and email it out as the solution to the problem. Everyone responds with approval and the problem is solved.

I could do that without having to be tortured for three hours first but in the business world, learning to accept the torture is part of the game. And it gives all those people who need those meetings to stroke their own egos a chance to feel they've been productive and useful. And I get some good art design ideas out of it too.