The key to meetings is for them to have a goal, i.e., something they are supposed to accomplish. Occasionally, a meeting which is just to give status can be effective, because it gets everyone hearing the status of the other team members at the same time, which can flush out conflicts, misunderstandings, and duplications of effort. The best meetings are those in which they have a product, such as a decision on which of two or more alternative approaches to use to move the project forward.