Once upon a time, a manager decided to do something about the poor meeting culture in his part of the organisation.

Firstly, he advised the team that the meeting would commence at 10 am sharp and latecomers would not be admitted.

Not believing him or simply operating according to their normal behaviors, a number of people were several minutes late and found the door to the meeting room locked.

Of the nine members of the team, only four were in the meeting when it started on time, and all decisions were discussed and made by those who were present.

When the remaining five tried to have a say after the meeting, and requested the topics be discussed again, they were told that the subject was closed. At the next team meeting, 100 per cent of participants were in the room several minutes before the meeting start time.