Meetings are a fact of our modern work lives, but they're not winning any popularity contests. Economist John Kenneth Galbraith summed up the general sentiment when he said, "Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything." And there may be more than a grain of truth there-surveys report that up to 50% of the time we spend in meetings is a waste of time. And it's costing American businesses an estimated $37 billion a year.