I understand the general sentiment. But without a discussion (meeting by another name?), how will you figure out things? Emails and chats can go only so far.
Sometimes meetings are productive to hash things out. For meetings and discussions to be productive, they need to follow some guidelines - like:
1. Have a clear purpose: Why are we meeting and what decision are we trying to make or problem we are trying to solve
2. Share agenda in advance
3. Invite only the minimum set of people necessary
4. Be punctual - enough said!
5. Assign roles and responsibilities to the attendees
6. Summarize the meeting and share it along with next steps and who is doing what (and by when, if applicable). Call out blockers
7. Audit meetings - especially recurring and cull them if they are not required
8. Default to async if possible
When we follow these principles, meetings stop being the "mind killers" and start becoming a lever for clarity, alignment, and momentum.
“If you believe meetings are always a waste, no structure will change your mind. If you believe in making them count, even a short one can change everything.”
