Operating cadence

Every organization has a cadence. Most have one that accumulated — a meeting added after each incident, none ever removed — rather than one that was designed. The symptom is familiar: full calendars, thorough reporting, and decisions that still take six weeks.

Give every recurring meeting a decision it exists to make

A review that only shares information is a document pretending to be a meeting. Before a meeting recurs, answer three questions: what decision does this forum make, who in the room can make it, and what would have to be true for the answer to be no.

If a forum has made no decision in a quarter, either it is the wrong forum or the decision is being made elsewhere. Both are worth knowing.

Separate the three time horizons, and do not let them merge