Avoid calling a meeting 98% of the time

Hi all –

Now that Drift is a Digital First company and so many of us are still working from home (and will continue to do so in the months and years to come) I thought I’d repost this one from the archives because it is REALLY important.

TLDR; Avoid calling a meeting 98% of the time. For the 2% of the time where you still think a meeting is needed see my thoughts below and the recommended tips from others.

As our companies get bigger and more complex, there’s a tendency for people to feel the need to call for more meetings. I believe it is dangerous, subtle and unless we fight against this tendency it will lead to creating a bureaucratic, slow-moving company.

Please work hard to avoid meetings. Question if we can do it without a meeting, push back when invited to a meeting, and excuse yourself from a meeting if you feel it is not useful.

Here are my thoughts on meetings:

1. Seeking Wisdom #51: How To Run A Meeting
2. Seeking Wisdom #57: How We Do Internal Communication At Drift

Recommended tips from others (remember to avoid meetings 98% of the time and use these tips for the remaining 2% of the time):

1. Running effective meetings: a guide for humans (Atlassian)
2. Jeff Bezos Knows How to Run a Meeting. Here’s How He Does It (Inc)
3. Google Chair Eric Schmidt’s 8 Rules For Running A Great Meeting (Business Insider)