- Avoid large meetings Large meetings waste valuable time and energy.
- They discourage debate
- People are more guarded than open
- There’s not enough time for everyone to contribute Don’t schedule large meetings unless you’re certain they provide value to everyone.
- Leave a meeting if you’re not contributing If a meeting doesn’t require your:
- Input
- Value
- Decisions Your presence is useless. It’s not rude to leave a meeting. But it’s rude to waste people’s time.
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Forget the chain of command Communicate with colleagues directly. Not through supervisors or managers. Fast communicators make fast decisions. Fast decisions = competitive advantage.
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Be clear, not clever Avoid nonsense words and technical jargon. It slows down communication. Choose words that are:
- Concise
- To the point
- Easy to understand Don’t sound smart. Be efficient.
- Ditch frequent meetings There’s no better way to waste everyone’s time. Use meetings to:
- Collaborate
- Attack issues head-on
- Solve urgent problems But once you resolve the issue, frequent meetings are no longer necessary. You can resolve most issues without a meeting. Instead of meetings:
- Send a text
- Send an email
- Communicate on a discord or slack channel Don’t interrupt your team’s workflow if it’s unnecessary.
- Use common sense If a company rule doesn’t:
- Make sense
- Contribute to progress
- Apply to your specific situation Avoid following the rule with your eyes closed. Don’t follow rules. Follow principles.