The goal of every meeting should be a decision

The useful part

Nothing quite triggers a collective exhale like the "ding" of a canceled meeting. Injecting fun into meetings is like putting lipstick on a pig—it can't save a bad, unproductive meeting. Research has found that nearly a third of meetings are patently unnecessary, and they waste $25 million a year for every thousand people.

How it works

• They ensure that meetings aren't just group chats, but catalysts for decisions and action—inflection points for moving work forward.
• Here's how leaders can reduce meeting drag and create faster, cleaner decisions.
• The problem isn't meetings themselves—it's how we use them.
• Too often, we view them simply as time slots for getting together and discussing things.
• Sometimes, we're just rehashing ideas or discussing points that could have been resolved with an email.

What to take from it

We persist in doing something the same way because that's the way it's always been done. Build a system with clear ownership There's a tendency to go along with standard practices for the sake of continuity.

Details worth keeping

These days, people have come to dread meetings. That's a figure that leaders can't afford to ignore.