"If you had to identify, in one word, the reason the human race has not achieved, and neve

r will achieve, its full potential, that word would be meetings." Thus spoke humorist Dave Barry, and many of us would agree. But it doesnt have to be this way. Some tips for having a good one: Start and end strongly. Running a productive meeting isnt rocket science. As Denver-based consultant Teri Schwartz notes, much of it boils down to opening and conducting every meeting with a purpose and closing it with a plan for "going forward." Problems arise when people forget this. "Its like flying a plane," says Schwartz. "Most crashes happen at takeoff and landing." Pick a leader. Four years ago, Clevelands KeyCorp Bank adopted a new principle: Always assign someone to lead. "The worst thing you can do is go into a meeting with no one in charge," says the banks senior EVP and chief risk officer, Charles Hyle. "It turns into a shouting match." Think small. Be realistic about what you can accomplish. "You cant solve world hunger in an hour," Schwartz says. By the same token, keep the number of attendees manageable to stimulate discussion. "When you have too many people in the room," says Hyle, "everyone clams up as if their mouths were sealed." Direct, dont dominate. "People hate it when they cant get their work done because they have to go to somebody elses meeting," says Columbia Business School professor Michael Feiner. So encourage others to speak up and get involved, especially junior staffers. "They need to believe its not his meeting or her meeting, but our meeting," Feiner says. Lay down the rules of engagement. Everyone should understand who will take notes and how decisions will be made. Remember that consensus is typically a bad thing. "It means there isnt enough dialogue or debate," says Feiner, "and thats the lifeblood of any innovative organization." Jon Petz, the author of Boring Meetings Suck, suggests assigning follow-up tasks during the final five to ten minutes, then repeating them later in a group e-mail so that theres no confusion.

In Dave Barrys opinions, meetings______.

A．have been blocking human progress

B．may fade away from the human world

C．are an important part of the human race

D．are meant to solve problems for humans