Too many meetings? Fewer may not be your only, nor best, fix
Another meeting. (Sigh.) In our work with healthcare teams, there are few shared beliefs that are more widely held than, “We have too many meetings!” And healthcare isn’t alone. When you search “meetings” in the Harvard Business Review archive, 381 magazine articles, 1,016 digital articles, and 4,071 case studies show up. Clearly, we know there’s a problem. So, why have most organizations made so little progress in crafting solutions? It’s likely because the core issue is complex and requires meaningful change. When companies jump to the conclusion that “too many” is the only problem with meetings, predictable solutions emerge. Believing that reducing supply will reduce demand, organizations try implementing every imaginable version of “No Meeting Zones,” from blocking one-hour-a-day, to one-day-a-week, to flexible versions that