Corporate culture has normalized a crime: The Theft of Focus.
If a stranger walked into your office and stole your laptop for an hour, you would call security. But if a colleague sends a calendar invite for “Quick Sync,” you accept it. The result is the same: You cannot work.
The Mathematics of Waste
A “1-hour meeting” with 8 people is not a 1-hour meeting. It is an 8-hour meeting. That is one full manday of salary burnt to discuss “status updates” that could have been an email.
The Protocol: Meetings as a Last Resort
In a high-performance system, a meeting is an admission of failure. It means your documentation was unclear or your autonomy is broken.
The 3 Laws of the Almanac
1. The “No Agenda, No Attendance” Law: If the invite does not have a clear bulleted agenda and a desired Decision Outcome, decline it. “Brainstorming” is not an agenda; it is a social hour.
2. The “Read-Before-You-Speak” Law: Amazon uses the “6-Page Memo.” No PowerPoint. The first 15 minutes of the meeting are silent reading. If you haven’t written the memo, you aren’t ready to meet. If you haven’t read the memo, you have no right to speak.
3. The “Stand-Up” Law: If a meeting must happen, remove the chairs. People talk 50% less when their legs are tired. Efficiency is physically enforced.
#DhandheKaFunda: A calendar full of meetings is not a sign of importance. It is a sign that you are a clerk, not a maker.