How long was the longest meeting you were ever in?

I once briefed a set of navy O5s and O6s for about 2.5-3 hours plus questions.

6 hours as a civilian. What was it you ask? I only could pay attention for about 40 minutes. The rest I have blocked from my memory. From what I do remember, it had something to do about Federal funding percentages. It had absolutely nothing to do with my job but all senior executives had to attend.. Want me to zone out on you? Start talking money and numbers.

It was so bad that even our CFO and I agreed after the meeting that suicide was a serious consideration after hour two. Our CEO the time was a rambling gasbag who had no concept of brevity equalling wit. He could not not repeat himself. By hour three, he was repeating the crap that he already addressed in hours one and two. Then he'd move on a bit and bring up the first thing he said at the beginning of the day.

The absolute worst that we had some vile lunch brought in at around 1:30 p.m.. Of course from 12 to one was him asking questions about the pros and cons of each restaurant suggested by the staff.

Plus, there's always the end-of-the-meeting-do-you-have-any-questions-or-comments portion. The staff only had enough functioning brain cells in order to keep the most basic of life sustaining bodily functions operating by that time so the only responses to that question was a slow shaking of the head and a low-pitched "no".

Now, you're probably thinking we got to leave. Au Contraire, the H.R. person after all of that, decides to ask a question on a wholly unrelated matter that only dealt with her department. Well, we got to hear him ramble on for yet another hour.

We put a hit on her the next day.

12 days. (No this is not a joke or an an exaggeration. We started it one day. Finished, started up the meeting the next morning. etc).

I was with an Organization called the MAGTF Staff Training Program. We did nothing but "Meetings." Meetings about Meetings, and Meetings about Meetings about Meetings. I even gave a class about how we were in too many #$%#^ meetings!

When I got out, and was higher up in a Company organization (essentially #2~ in the company), I had a rule. I didn't go to meetings unless my boss did. If the information couldn't be conveyed via phone conversation, or an email, it sure as hell wouldn't be conveyed with 6 people sitting around a table. The guys who worked for me, got a 5 minute "azimuth check" before operations first thing in the morning, and I did one-offs with each person as needed through out the day, but I avoided meetings.

It has been my experience (others may vary), that most meetings are a colossal waste of time. That isn't to say I didn't meet with people, but any more than could sit reasonably at a lunch table didn't make sense. Too much cross talk, too much loss of focus, too much "I'll get back to you" or "Bob has that for action."

I had one about a new building the first fifteen minutes was arguing how the Soldiers would dry their hands. Paper towels vs. Dyson or Mitsubishi hand dryers.