Meetings

Definition
Meetings are structured gatherings intended to exchange information, coordinate activity, make decisions, or resolve variance. They exist to align participants where workflow, visibility, or authority is distributed. A meeting is a coordination mechanism, not output itself.

Application
Meetings operate at points of dependency. Close meetings align accounting tasks across owners. Forecast reviews coordinate assumptions and update projections. Operational huddles synchronize throughput and surface constraints.

When structure is strong, meetings are agenda-driven and decision-oriented. Inputs are prepared in advance. Data is stable. Time is bounded. Discussion focuses on interpretation and tradeoffs rather than reconstruction of facts. Decisions are recorded and ownership is explicit.

When structure is weak, meetings expand in frequency and duration. Participants arrive unprepared because inputs are unstable. Status updates replace system visibility. The same issues reappear because underlying constraints remain unresolved. Coordination is performed verbally rather than embedded in workflow.

Meetings reduce coordination friction only when they are supported by stable inputs and clear authority.

Implication
Meetings absorb coordination risk. When proportionate and structured, they reduce interpretive drift and accelerate aligned action. Leaders spend time evaluating options rather than chasing updates.

When excessive, meetings signal structural deficiency. Time becomes the substitute for system visibility. Human attention is consumed synchronizing work that design should already align. Decision latency increases because consensus replaces defined decision rights.

The condition of meetings reveals whether coordination is sustained by embedded workflow and clarity of ownership or by repeated conversation. Where meetings are few and focused, structure carries alignment. Where meetings are constant and repetitive, effort carries it instead.