Marketing Insights From a to Z: 80 Concepts Every Manager Needs to Know

“A desk is a dangerous place
from which to view the world.”
Most companies are managed by committees. Richard Hark-
ness, a journalist, defined a committee as 
“a group of the unwill-
ing, picked from the unfit, to do the unnecessary.”
Others say
that committees are a fine device when you don’t want to accom-
plish anything. Peter Drucker observed: 
“Ninety percent of what
we call ‘management’ is making it difficult to get things
done.”
Every committee meeting should end in 45 minutes, or at least
the attendees should take a vote to continue. Some say that the opti-
mum size of a committee is zero. Former U.S. Senator Harry Chap-
man gave this advice about being on a committee:
1.
Never arrive on time; this [punctuality] stamps you as a be-
ginner.
2.
Don’t say anything until the meeting is half over; this stamps
you as being wise.