More Tittish Bellicon stupidity
Back in the day, I worked for them for quite a while. On one project, every month we had a meeting in the Midlands - a central enough location given how spread around the UK everyone was. The meeting was held in an upstairs room in a pub with sandwiches - so top marks at least for keeping the costs down.

However, in the group of around 12 of us, there was one guy whose presence at the meeting was something of a mystery. I imagine that at the planning stage, someone thought we needed the input of XYZ team and so he got drafted in.

I noticed after about the 3rd meeting that this bloke never said a word all meeting, bar the initial introductions and then the grunts of assent that would go round the table at the conclusion of the proceedings.

I attended those meeting for at least 18 months, and it got hard not to laugh with my boss at this guy's presence there. He literally contributed nothing, apart from a "Fine by me" at the end of every session. Still, it got him out of the office one day a week, but with travel and time, must have cost say the profits from a village of BT subscribers to send him there once a month. Hey ho.
(TheImmortalJenkins, Tue 28 Feb 2012, 13:28, 2 replies)

In a similar vein
my old company used to be part of a group of companies who were required each day to hold a conference call to set a running benchmark on one of the London commodity futures markets.

Each day, on a rota system, five of the companies would set this price. When our chief trader was busy, he'd tell me to take the call.

I knew fuck all about it, so I just used to hmm and ahh, and say 'Yes, I agree' now and then. Occasionally we were 'chairman' of this panel, so I'd have to say a bit more, but even then I had no clue.

Hope nobody ever went bust becuase of my incompetence. lol.
(username failed moderation, Tue 28 Feb 2012, 13:50, closed)

That's pretty much all I do at meetings.
Anyone who attends any sort of meeting/conference/external training session for any reason other than the possibility of free pens/sandwiches/pastries/maybe even a mug(!) needs to reasses their priorities.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 28 Feb 2012, 19:24, closed)