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Meetings are often considered a necessary evil in modern workplaces. In fact, many professionals today spend so much time in meetings that they feel there is hardly any time left to do real work – ironic, I know.
However, decades ago, Ingvar Kampradthe legendary founder of IKEA, was a staunch opponent of unnecessary meetings, advocating instead for short, focused discussions.
Then you might wonder how we let our work culture get to this stage of time-wasting, with prospects like Kamprad present then and now. However, while his philosophy of shortening the length and frequency of meetings to increase productivity resonates with the current debate about workplace efficiencysome may argue that this approach cannot be relevant in an age defined by digital communication and hybrid work configurations.
But Kamprad may also have been right all along. So let's examine the essence of his philosophy and see how it relates to today's requirements.
Problems with excessive dating
We touched on much of the day that meetings often take earlier, but for more context, a study from Harvard Business Review found that executives spend nearly 23 hours a week in meetings – an increase from less than 10 hours in the 1960s. Claims that this could be reduced to longer hours or harder work are completely unfounded, and even if were true, you would be better off having fewer meetings.
This is because a survey by Korn Ferry found that 67% of employees believe that too much time in meetings prevents them from doing their best work. What I am taking from this is that by cutting out unnecessary meetings, you will save time, but what you do in that reduced time will be better.
Kamprad was well aware of this reality and danger. His approach at IKEA was extremely frugal, not only financially, but also with time. He insisted that the meetings be kept short, actionable and focused only on the essentials, with next steps and action items being prioritized.
His philosophy stems from a deep understanding that excessive meetings often lead to weakened focus, poor decision-making and, ultimately, lower productivity. This totally resonates with me. As a former CTO within a remote engineering team of 150, I was constantly on calls that distracted me and took away from operations. That's what drove me to create Bubblesan AI note taking and async collaboration platform.
At Bubbles, we've tried that a meeting poll that this communication style and willingness to keep meetings to strictly essential topics can reduce meeting times by 38%. Personally, I have experienced a very positive effect in terms of productivity because of this.
Related: Why it's more productive to have fewer meetings
The economic cost of meetings
Beyond the frustration they cause, long meetings have a real economic cost. According to one report from Doodlepoorly organized meetings cost US companies $399 billion in 2019 alone. These costs are due to lost productivity, wasted time, and ineffective follow-up actions. or study by Microsoft also found that after 30 to 40 minutes into a meeting, participants' attention starts to wane, leading to less effective results. Personal experience makes me agree with this, so I advocate that meetings focus only on critical topics. Everything else can be sent in a bubble, a Slack message, or an email.
This is particularly important because, from the company's perspective, time is of the essence reducing unnecessary meetings can lead to significant savings in terms of time and employee engagement. Kamprad asserted that the longer the meeting, the less productive it becomes for both the company and the participant. I'd say that's still true today.
Kamprad's philosophy in the modern workplace
In an age of online dating fatigue and constant “quickies,” Ingvar Kamprad's dating philosophy feels more relevant than ever. His belief that time should be used efficiently coincides with the growing popularity of asynchronous work models where teams communicate and collaborate without having to be online at the same time. While this is on the rise, the online dating statistics are still staggering.
Microsoft teams, for example, boast 320 million users worldwide in 2024, and in the distant world of work, 76% of employees use video calls every day. Mix this with the Korn Ferry statistics above and we quickly realize that Kamprad's focus on quick decision-making and streamlined processes fits well with these modern approaches. His method of cutting unnecessary face-to-face time allowed more work to be done.
Related: It's Time To Retire Jeff Bezos' 2-Pizza Rule For Dating – Here's Why.
Are minimalist dating the best option?
However, Kamprad's philosophy is not without potential pitfalls. While reducing meeting time can certainly increase productivity, the quality of COOPERATION and team cohesion can suffer if overdone. Not all dating is wasted; some are necessary for creative collaboration, making critical decisions, or aligning teams with strategic goals such as OKRs.
According to a 2021 survey by Gartner82% of employees said that well-structured and purposeful meetings are essential to their productivity and engagement. For me, the key is finding a balance between minimizing time-wasting meetings and ensuring that essential discussions still happen effectively.
Conclusion: Still relevant – but adaptable
So is Ingvar Kamprad's dating philosophy still relevant today? The answer is yes – with some appointment management tweaks. His principles of focusing on essential communication, reducing waste of time and ensuring that meetings lead to clear action points remain critical to modern business practices. However, as our working world becomes more digital, companies must adapt this philosophy by incorporating new tools and methods to ensure collaboration does not suffer.
Ultimately, Kamprad's legacy offers a valuable reminder: meetings should never become work in themselves. Make sure you stick to it!