I am generally thankful that my job doesn’t involve attending very many meetings.  I get very easily frustrated, however, at people who are unable to finish their business in the time for which they have scheduled their meeting.  I don’t have to be in that meeting to be affected by this sort of behaviour, either.  If Meeting Room A is reserved from 9:00 A.M. to 10:00 A.M. and I have a meeting in Meeting Room A at 10:00 and the 9:00 A.M. meeting "runs long," then I am affected.  People who have miscalculated and underestimated the time it will take to conclude the business before them need to either re-locate their meeting or schedule a follow-up.

It’s a matter of respect.  I lecture my children on how to behave in this scenario and how to guard against being disrespected.  Let’s say Brady is involved in the school’s Mock Trial team and practice is on Saturday afternoon from 2:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.  Brady has asked me to pick him up after practice and has told me it ends at 5:00.  If his coach decides practice needs to go over, Brady is instructed–by me–to leave ON TIME with a comment similar to the following: "You scheduled this practice to end at 5:00.  I have made plans involving other people based on this information.  They are expecting me now and I need to respect their time, as you should be respecting mine."  If Coach has a problem with that, then he and I will be having a conversation.

Manage your time better.  Have an agenda for your meetings and do NOT allow participants to stray off-topic.  And most importantly: END YOUR MEETINGS ON TIME!!!