Leadership
The Monday Meeting We Finally Cancelled
How one recurring meeting became a clearer weekly operating rhythm, with fewer updates and better decisions.
For nearly a year, our Monday meeting did the same thing every week: every manager read out an update, everyone nodded, and the real decisions happened afterwards in smaller conversations.
We did not need a better agenda. We needed to be honest about what the meeting was for.
So we cancelled it for a month. In its place, teams posted a short Friday note with three things: what changed, where they were stuck, and what decision they needed. Monday became a thirty-minute decision room for only the people involved.
The result was not simply fewer hours in calendars. Issues surfaced earlier, owners were clearer, and quieter managers had more time to think before being asked for an answer.
A recurring meeting should earn its place. If the useful work consistently happens before or after it, redesign the rhythm, not the slide deck.
