Phones in meetings have sparked an unexpected corporate debate that's dividing two of the world's most influential CEOs.
People should be fully engaged and avoid checking devices during meetings, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon said. Speaking at the Fortune Most Powerful Women summit in October, he added that focus and presence are non-negotiable in the boardroom.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, however, sees it differently. He said a device ban at a technology company like IBM would be "weird" because laptops and tablets are part of everyday work.
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Dimon's Zero-Tolerance Approach
"If you have an iPad in front of me and it looks like you're reading your email or getting notifications, I tell you to close the damn thing," Dimon told Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell, saying he expects everyone's full attention in meetings.
In his April letter to shareholders, Dimon wrote that when a meeting is required, "make it count. I ALWAYS do the pre-read. I give it 100% of my attention." He added that "I see people in meetings all the time who are getting notifications and personal texts or who are reading emails. This has to stop. It's disrespectful. It wastes time."
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Krishna's Case For Context
Krishna views device use through a situational lens. He told CNN recently, that meeting etiquette depends on size and purpose.
"I distinguish between one-to-10-person meetings and very large meetings. If it's a very large meeting, I'm sorry. It's not really a meeting. It's a communication vehicle. You're just informing people," he said.
For smaller meetings, however, he said attention matters most. "If it's a small meeting, I would really frown upon if somebody is sitting opposite my desk and lost in their phone, I would tell them, ‘Why don't you come back when you have time?'"
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Modern Meetings Under Pressure
Workplace routines are facing renewed scrutiny as digital distractions reshape how people collaborate.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) said in its latest "Work Trend Index" that employees are interrupted by meetings, emails or chats about every two minutes, underscoring how difficult it has become to stay focused in a connected workplace.
At the same time, etiquette expert Daniel Post Senning of the Emily Post Institute told Business Insider in May that the growing use of artificial intelligence assistants in meetings is also testing attention spans. He said transparency about when AI tools are active helps maintain trust and engagement among colleagues.
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