Entrepreneurship October 17, 2025 0 Comments

Why Jamie Dimon Calls This ‘Disrespectful’ Meeting Habit a Silent Killer of Success—And How to Fix It Now

Ever caught yourself sneaking a peek at emails during a meeting, thinking no one’s noticing? Well, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, isn’t having any of it. Picture this: a titan of finance calling out distracted employees—whether in person or zooming in remotely—for juggling inbox notifications instead of paying full attention. It’s not just a pet peeve; for Dimon, it’s downright disrespectful. He’s a staunch believer in being present—100%—from the moment the meeting starts, armed with all the pre-reads done. So, if you’re thinking multitasking is your secret sauce for productivity, think again. Could reclaiming our focus and ditching screen distractions be the game-changer our work culture desperately needs? Let’s dive into what the CEO of America’s largest bank has to say about meeting etiquette and why it might just shake up the way we work. LEARN MORE

Key Takeaways

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says checking email during meetings is “disrespectful.”
Dimon said that he gives “100%” of his focus when attending meetings and always does the pre-meeting reads.
Earlier this year, Dimon criticized remote employees for checking notifications while he was speaking during a virtual meeting.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is advocating for better meeting etiquette in the workplace — and that means no checking emails or Slack messages.

“None of this nodding off, none of this reading my mail,” Dimon, 69, said at Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women Summit on Tuesday. “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. It’s disrespectful.”

Dimon said that he gives “100%” of his focus when attending meetings, always coming prepared by doing the pre-reads in advance.

Focus is a non‑negotiable for Dimon, who said if he can’t give his full attention to his work, then it would be time to “move on.”

Earlier this year, during a leaked town hall in February, Dimon criticized remote employees for checking notifications while he was speaking during a virtual meeting.

In an interview a month later with the Stanford Graduate School of Business, he recalled another incident when people were focused on their screens — and not him.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Photographer: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“I was on a Zoom yesterday… People are reading their mail and getting their notifications,” Dimon said in the Stanford interview. “As I was talking, there were 12 people in the room and four people on the screen, and all four people on the screen were on their phones. And you think you’re focusing and learning?”

JPMorgan brought all employees back to the office full-time in March, ending its hybrid work policy in favor of a fully in-person one.

Dimon previously remarked on meetings in his 2024 annual letter to shareholders, released in April. In the letter, he stated that CEOs should “kill meetings” because they are an “example of what slows us down.”

If meetings do need to happen, they should start and end on time, and a set person should lead them, he wrote. Dimon also noted that meetings should begin with a clear purpose and conclude with a list of actionable follow-up items. He stressed the importance of using straightforward language and avoiding unnecessary jargon. He also rejected the idea of a “meeting after the meeting,” saying that any executive who has something to say should voice it openly rather than in private afterward.

“That’s not acceptable,” Dimon wrote in the shareholder letter. “Don’t bother… Be transparent with your colleagues.”

JPMorgan is the largest bank in the U.S., with $3.9 trillion in assets and a market capitalization of over $818 billion at the time of writing. Dimon has been CEO of the bank since 2006.

Key Takeaways

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says checking email during meetings is “disrespectful.”
Dimon said that he gives “100%” of his focus when attending meetings and always does the pre-meeting reads.
Earlier this year, Dimon criticized remote employees for checking notifications while he was speaking during a virtual meeting.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is advocating for better meeting etiquette in the workplace — and that means no checking emails or Slack messages.

“None of this nodding off, none of this reading my mail,” Dimon, 69, said at Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women Summit on Tuesday. “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. It’s disrespectful.”

Dimon said that he gives “100%” of his focus when attending meetings, always coming prepared by doing the pre-reads in advance.

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