Billionaire internet mogul Jeff Bezos is not a man without controversy, facing as he does damaging accusations of a bruising work ethic and tax evasion.

However, as CEO of Amazon.com and owner of The Washington Post, he’s a leader who knows a thing or two about how to manage meetings.

And with UK workers wasting on average a year of their lives in fruitless pow wows, this is clearly a topic we could use some advice on.

Read more: five ways to work less and get more done

Bezos’ rule of thumb for minimising the teeth-gritting monotony of meetings is simple.

Never have more people than you could feed two full-size pizzas to in a room at one time.

Business Insider – who divulged details of Bezos’ unique approach – explains it as this:

“The more people you pack into the meeting, the less productive the meeting will likely be. The solution? Never have a meeting where two pizzas couldn't feed the entire group.

“Gathering together a massive squad for your meeting will just stifle creativity.”

Disappointingly, this concept doesn’t actually involve chowing down on platefuls as pizza (as we assumed it might when we first heard the title of the rule).

Read more: the five golden rules of productivity every successful person lives by

However, since this Neapolitan favourite could trigger creativity on its smell alone – according to science – you can’t go far wrong with a few slices of the good stuff in that budget meeting come 4pm.

Other methods Stylist suggests to make your work assemblies more productive and less boring include ditching seating (a guaranteed way of picking up the pace) and setting a time limit that everyone sticks to.

That way – pizza or no – you won’t find yourself banging your head in frustration at the sheer, mind-numbing futility of it all.

Photos: Rex and iStock