Al Habtoor reacts to Al Alabbar’s video: Meetings are not a waste of time

Today, Friday, social media platforms witnessed a division over a video that spread over the past hours of the founder and managing board member of Emaar, the businessman Mohamed Alabbar, in which he confirmed that the meetings witnessed by companies “are nothing but a waste of time,” and that in his company he has not held a meeting since. 35 years.

In the context of responses to the viral video, businessman Khalaf bin Ahmed Al Habtoor interacted with Al Abbar’s statements, stressing that meetings are not a waste of time, but rather a platform for unifying efforts and achieving goals if managed efficiently.

Al Habtoor said in a blog post on his account on the “X” platform: “I received a video of Mr. Mohammed Al Abbar in which he talks about meetings and describes them as a waste of time. The video may be excerpted from a broader context explaining his idea, but a statement like this surprised me, as it contradicts the foundations of successful management and practical logic. Meetings, as a principle, are not a burden as they are portrayed, but rather they are the backbone of any successful planning and implementation, unless they are managed randomly or exploited for side conversations, and here the fault lies in whoever runs the meeting, not in the meeting itself.”

Al Habtoor explained, “In my company, I start my day with senior managers before 7:30 a.m. with a brief meeting, not exceeding 30 minutes, in which we discuss developments, agree on next steps, and define responsibilities. Such meetings are what ensure the work progresses with discipline and efficiency.” “.

He added: “The problem is not in the meetings, but in the way they are managed. If they are organized effectively and with clear goals, they become a vital tool for distributing tasks, unifying visions, and achieving success. To say that meetings are not useful means ignoring these important roles that they play in developing countries and institutions.” .

He concluded by saying: “If the goal of these statements is to stir up controversy, it is better for them to be based on a balanced vision. Meetings are not a waste of time, but rather a platform for unifying efforts and achieving goals if managed efficiently.”