The Shitty Leadership Series

THE SHITTY LEADERSHIP SERIES - FREE SHIT TO READ

Meetings That Should Have Been an Email 

(And How to Kill Them Forever)

If you've ever sat in a 90-minute meeting that could’ve been summarized in two bullet points, congratulations—you’ve experienced meeting hell.

Signs your meeting is useless:
☠️ You’re discussing what to discuss in the next meeting.
☠️ There’s no agenda, just "vibes."
☠️ Someone says, "Let’s circle back on this"—translation: Nothing will happen.
☠️ Half the team is secretly updating their LinkedIn profile.
☠️ The only tangible outcome is another meeting.

How to Kill Meetings Before They Kill You:

  1. Set a damn purpose. If you don’t know why you’re meeting, don’t meet. Or ask the sender for an agenda and purpose so everyone is in the knowing. 

  2. Use email like it’s 2025. Not everything needs a Zoom, Slack or Teams invite.  Ask your questions you need answered and give a timeline as to when you'd like the response by.  It really is that simple.

  3. Stop with the "cc'ing" everyone - if you're old school like me, the "TO" line is for the person you want to respond - the "CC" is for all the other people that you want to impress that you're sending a stupid email.  If you still work in the environment of "covering your ass," you're either working in. the wrong company or the problem is YOU. 

  4. Enforce a ‘Get to the Point’ rule. No monologues. No PowerPoint torture.  State what you need, why you need it and by when.   Keep it simple and stop wasting peoples time with your silly narratives - we know you're a genius - stop trying to tell everyone.  

  5. Ban Meetings About Meetings. If the only topic is when to have another meeting, end it immediately.

  6. Stop the Showboating:  Everyone already knows what you know and how amazing your are - you don't need to keep reminding people passively through your wonderful emails.   Pick up the phone, send a text, use your internal chat program - stop wasting time by craving an audience - get your attention through your results and outcomes.   

  7. Don't be a Calendar Bully:  Everyone is busy and everyone has a calendar - use the "find a time" feature to plan something when all are free - and send a bloody agenda regarding what the meeting is about.   Meetings are about communications, and the effective communications start with the invite.   Stop expecting everyone will drop everything for you your majesty!  

Your productivity will thank you. Your employees will thank you. Hell, your company’s bottom line will thank you.

Say This (Direct & Efficient) vs. Not That (Meeting Invitation Hell)

Say This (Direct & Efficient)
"Hey, what’s the status on X? Just need a quick update."
"Can you send me a bullet-point summary?"
"What do you need from me to get this done?"
"Can you give me a yes or no on this?"
"Drop your top three recommendations in Slack."
"I trust you—make the call."
"If you have concerns, just DM me."
"What’s blocking this? Can I help?"
"Let’s settle this now—5-minute chat?"
"No need for a meeting—just send me the numbers."
"I’ll give you my thoughts in an email by EOD."
"This is a quick fix—handle it and move on."
"What’s your recommendation?"
"This is a non-issue. Ignore it."

Not That (Meeting Invitation Hell)
"Can we set up a 30-minute call to discuss where things are at?" (Translation: I enjoy calendar clutter.)
"Let’s hop on a Zoom to go over this in detail." (Translation: I don’t trust emails for some reason.)
"Let’s schedule a meeting to align on priorities." (Translation: I have no idea what I want.)
"I’d love to get your thoughts in a collaborative discussion." (Translation: Just say no so I can move on.)
"Let’s brainstorm in a group session." (Translation: Prepare for an hour of wasted time.)
"Let’s set up a call to talk about the call we need to make." (Translation: Indecision is my hobby.)
"Let’s all sync up to address potential roadblocks." (Translation: I don’t trust myself to handle conflict.)
"Let’s set up a check-in meeting." (Translation: I like the sound of my own voice.)
"Let’s get something on the calendar." (Translation: I enjoy prolonged suffering.)
"We should set up a call to review the data." (Translation: I fear spreadsheets.)
"We should have a touch-base meeting to discuss." (Translation: I thrive on ambiguity.)
"Let’s circle back in a follow-up meeting." (Translation: I refuse to let this die.)
"Let’s get a committee together to weigh the options." (Translation: No decision will ever be made.)
"Let’s create an action plan to discuss whether this is a problem." (Translation: I create work for fun.)