I've found that many meetings are poorly organized and a waste of time. Meetings can be effective, but they need a few things: 1) a clear purpose, 2) an agenda,

I've found that many meetings are poorly organized and a waste of time. Meetings can be effective, but they need a few things: 1) a clear purpose, 2) an agenda, 3) structured progression through the agenda, 4) someone to keep things on track and stop things from going off the rails, 5) written notes or other written output. Getting people to do this things has proven difficult. I have found that you can replace most meetings, or at least parts if meetings, with asynchronous written communication. The problem is that many of the non-technical people don't seem to want to write things down - maybe they aren't good at writing, or maybe they are more persuasive or better recieved via verbal communication. It's certainly faster to tell someone to do something than write out sensible requirements.