Saying "hello"first is simply being polite, educated, and following linguistic norms. I don't see a problem with that. In fact, if someone called me and said " when are you going to finish the project? " or " have you decided what the next move is? ", I think I'd probably be a little taken aback and perhaps even insulted by the brusque request. Nothing wrong with getting to the point, but a simple salutation to begin with is absolutely obligatory, IMHO.
There's also a cultural aspect to this. Anyone in a Spanish-speaking country who failed to say "hello! How are you? How's the family/the dog/life treating you? " would probably have the phone put down on him. Spanish is also fairly florid, and tends to beat around the bush a bit before getting to the point; but that is a cultural thing. English tends to be much more to the point, but not to the point of rudeness.
I can't speak for other cultures, but I'd imagine there's also a little cultural protocol involved before getting to the crux of the matter.
