JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says meetings hold back a company — but if they have to happen, there are certain strategies leaders should follow to maximize productivity.
In his annual letter to shareholders released on Monday, Dimon stated CEOs should “kill meetings” because they are an “example of what slows us down.” If meetings happen, they should start and end on time, the JPMorgan CEO wrote, and a set person should lead them.
Dimon also stated that meetings should “always” start with a set purpose and end with a follow-up list of points to consider moving forward. Only people who need to be at the meeting should attend.
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In addition, there shouldn’t be a “meeting after the meeting” where an executive privately says something to Dimon that he couldn’t say in front of the group.
“That’s not acceptable,” Dimon wrote. “Don’t bother… Be transparent with your colleagues.”
Dimon stated that before the meeting, attendees should prepare by doing any pre-reading and giving the material “100%” of their attention. When talking during meetings, Dimon advised against using jargon, stating instead that he prefers to keep the language simple.
During the meeting, he says to be present and turn off notifications.
“I see people in meetings all the time who are getting notifications and personal texts or who are reading emails,” Dimon wrote. “This has to stop. It’s disrespectful. It wastes time.”
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Photo Credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Dimon has previously talked about his frustration with meetings.
In a leaked town hall in February, Dimon said that remote employees were checking their notifications at a recent meeting while he was speaking. He told the same story in an interview last month with the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
In last year’s shareholder letter, Dimon said that the annual shareholder meeting has “devolved into mostly a showcase of grandstanding” and “spiraling frivolousness.”
Dimon’s 58-page shareholder letter also touched on management tips, like treating people at every level with respect, and JPMorgan’s achievements in 2024, like servicing over 775,000 small business owners in Texas.
JPMorgan is worth around $700 billion and employs 320,000 people, Dimon wrote in the letter. Dimon has been CEO of the bank since 2006.
