how to have fewer meetings
It seems that we have more meetings than ever.
Even prior to the era of remote work, we had a lot of meetings. Now, we often find ourselves in the pain of the never-ending work check-in.
In many organizations, a typical workday involves meetings from 9 (or 8! or 7!) until 4 or 5 pm. It is common practice to “get real work done” after hours, or on the weekends.
This is not a sustainable way to work, or live.
In addition, meetings are expensive.
So how do we have fewer of them, while still creating a culture of open communication and collaboration?
Here are a few ideas.
Decide what actually needs to be a meeting.
Status updates, demos, and workflow walkthroughs typically do not need to be meetings. Meetings should be reserved for collaboration, deep conversation, and situations in which we need to be communicating in real-time. Questions to consider include:
For this particular topic, does everyone need to be present at the exact same moment in time, or could this happen asynchronously?
If we feel that this does need to be a meeting, what is the specific goal of being together at the same moment in time? What will be possible because of it?
Decide why we are meeting and what we are hoping to accomplish.
What is our stake in the ground for this meeting? (our specific why and purpose)
What are the outcomes we are hoping to achieve?
What is each invitee responsible for impacting, influencing, or contributing during this meeting? If we don’t know, how can we clarify this up front?
Use Technology Effectively.
These days, there are many great technologies that can support us working effectively in an asynchronous manner. Here are a few that we use on the Zing Collaborative team.
Trello: for keeping track of projects and project-related updates. We use a kanban-style board (backlog, to do, in progress, needs review, and done), and if we tackle something via email, we will typically capture it in Trello (and our operations guide) for future reference.
Loom: for recording videos to demonstrate workflows, show progress, or ask questions. Using Loom has the power to significantly reduce meeting times, because instead of meeting live to talk through things, you can simply record a video when it's convenient, and the other person can watch the video when it's convenient. If you're looking to reduce meetings within your own business, team, or organization, you might start by asking: could any of my upcoming meetings be covered via a quick Loom video instead?
A Shared Email Address: that we can use to access shared accounts and platforms, with a single login and password.
consider what isn’t being done as a result of being in so many meetings.
In addition to getting clear on what should happen within our meetings, we can also think about what isn’t happening because of them.
What isn’t happening because we are attending so many meetings? What is the opportunity cost?
Are we losing time for strategic thinking, new creative projects, or working on the vision for our company?
Are we missing out on opportunities to connect with our team members 1:1 because we are, instead, sitting in a three-hour budgeting meeting?
Are we noticing that nobody has won the Innovation Award for the past three years because, well, there’s no time to innovate?
And, are we okay with the trade-off?
What do you think? What is the meeting culture like within your organization? And what strategies have you found useful?
Additional Resources and Links:
How to Run Meetings in a Humane Manner by Jocelyn Glei
How Should We Meet? And Who Decides? by Priya Parker
The Biggest Mistake Bosses will Make with Workers after Covid-19 by Tsedal Neeley
10 Tips to Help with Work from Home Burnout by Nicole Lipkin
Meet is Murder by Virginia Heffernan
It Doesn't Have to be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried and David Hansson
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
