Proceedings on Meeting Overrun Apology
'I know we're mindful of time.' The meeting ran another fourteen minutes.
Proceedings on Meeting Overrun Apology
Matter: Meeting Overrun Culture and the Phrase "Mindful of Time" Duration of Meeting: Sixty-two minutes Scheduled Duration: Forty-five minutes Chair: The Meeting's Host, who noted time consciousness at 44:30
CHAIR: I just want to flag that I know we're coming up to time.
ATTENDEE A: Of course, we can take this offline.
CHAIR: Actually, if we just — this won't take long.
[Fourteen minutes pass]
TRANSCRIPT RESUMES
ATTENDEE B: So just to summarize what we've agreed —
CHAIR: Actually, before we do, I want to make sure we've addressed the original question.
ATTENDEE A: I thought we had.
CHAIR: We did, but the corollary is still open.
ATTENDEE B: Do we need to decide the corollary today?
CHAIR: We should, yes.
[Eight minutes pass]
ATTENDEE A: I'm going to need to drop in two minutes.
CHAIR: Yes of course, we're almost done. Let me just — this is the last thing.
[Six minutes pass]
POST-MEETING NOTE
The phrase "I know we're mindful of time" was deployed at minute forty-four. The phrase indicates awareness that the meeting has reached its boundary. The phrase also, by its use, redefines that boundary as flexible.
The phrase has appeared in every meeting this team has had in the past three months that has exceeded its scheduled time. In each case, the phrase preceded an extension.
The second meeting in which the phrase preceded an extension produced a template: "Meeting Overrun Acknowledgment" was added as a standing item to the meeting notes format. The template documents that the overrun was noted.
Noting the overrun has become part of the overrun. The workaround is now in the onboarding guide for new team members.
Meeting Overrun Apology becomes institutional after the second occurrence. The phrase "mindful of time" now serves as a signal. The signal means: we are about to go longer.