Avoiding meeting hell

Apply this to boost productivity and team morale:

“Defend your team’s calendar.” ⚔️

  • Cancel all recurring meetings with more than three people.
  • Dedicate a block of day to be meeting-free.
  • Add a meeting-free focus day.

For that not to backfire, the teams need to be of appropriate size and matched to the domain.

You need to communicate a clear vision and goal(s). Empower a culture of ownership.

My learnings:

  • See Conway’s law in action — a misfitting organizational design will create unofficial communication channels.

  • People invite too many people to a meeting when responsibilities are unclear.

  • A lack of ownership will mean consensus meetings.

P.S. What other ways have you found to maximize focus time for your team members? Let me know.

Best regards,

Taj

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