Getting Value from Recurring Meetings | Peter Hughes
Recurring meetings are useful until they become automatic. Then they become expensive. The trap is simple. A weekly slot exists. People show up. The agenda is vague. Updates expand to fill the time. Nobody wants to cancel because cancellation feels like failure. Re earn the meeting every month I like a simple question: if this meeting did not exist, would we create it again today? If the answer is no, change something. Cadence, attendees, purpose, or format. Three patterns that work - Decision meeting. A small set of decisions that need a group. Everything else stays async. - Unblock meeting. A short slot dedicated to removing blockers, not giving updates. - Learning meeting. A rotating topic where the goal is capability building, not status. Protect the calendar Time is not free. It is the rarest project resource. If a recurring meeting does not create clarity, decisions, or momentum, it is a focus tax. Remove it, or redesign it, before it silently becomes culture.
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