It starts as one meeting. It ends as four. The process is so consistent that it can be mapped in advance.
The original meeting
A meeting is scheduled to make a decision. The decision requires input from three teams. All three teams are represented. The meeting runs for sixty minutes. At the fifty-minute mark, it becomes clear that the decision cannot be made today because one team does not have the data they need.
The meeting ends with an action item: get the data. A follow-up meeting is scheduled to review the data and make the decision.
Meeting count: 2.
The data review meeting
The data arrives. The follow-up meeting is held. The data raises a new question that nobody anticipated. The question involves a fourth team that was not in the original meeting. The decision cannot be made until the fourth team weighs in.
A third meeting is scheduled to include the fourth team.
Meeting count: 3.
The expanded meeting
The third meeting includes all four teams. It is now twice as large as the original meeting. The decision is almost made, but two attendees have concerns that need to be addressed. They are asked to send their concerns in writing so the decision-maker can review them.
A fourth meeting is scheduled to confirm the decision after the concerns are reviewed.
Meeting count: 4.
Why this happens
Meetings multiply for three reasons: incomplete preparation, absent decision-makers, and the habit of scheduling a meeting to resolve what a meeting created.
The original meeting could have been one meeting if the data had been gathered beforehand, the right people had been in the room, and someone had been empowered to make the call.
How to break the cycle
- Before scheduling a decision meeting, confirm that all required information is available
- Confirm that the person who can make the decision will be present
- If the decision cannot be made in the meeting, assign a specific person to make it asynchronously rather than scheduling another meeting
The rule: A meeting that produces another meeting as its primary output has not ended. It has paused. The pause costs everyone another hour.