I don't think I've shared this story with you. One of my great bosses at Starbucks marketing used the expression, "The price of admission is participation." What she meant was, if you want the privilege of being in the meetings the price you paid was adding value with thoughts and suggestions.

One way to make meetings more efficient is to scan your invite list and weed out those who are simply attendees and keep the participants. Attendees are typically involved because they are people who like or want to stay in the loop. They don't necessarily have a vote, but want to be informed. Send them your recap notes instead. Save them time and make your meetings more efficient.