Meetings
Posted: 07/16/2023
Meetings: some are necessary; most are not. Most of what needs to be communicated could be done asynchronously.
If you are a creator/maker, where most of the value you create happens when you are alone, outside of meetings, then having fewer meetings makes a lot of sense because that's when your actual work is done.
If you are more of a manager or orchestrator where most of the value you create is in coordination of other people and projects, then having fewer meetings also makes sense because the work that needs to be coordinated gets done when those people (creators/makers) are not in meetings.
If you are a leader, where your key value is making decisions for an organization, then clarity is needed. Meetings can help give more information and coordination, but clarity happens when you are not influenced by others and can really see and decide what is needed. Sometimes key decisions are made in meetings, but the thinking must happen beforehand when you are alone.
Happy to see a large organization (Shopify) put real penalties for unnecessary meetings. I hope more follow.
PS if you're in sales or some external facing function then keep those meetings 📈!