"No more internal meetings!!"

Wednesday, 11:30AM. Seurasaari Island’s coastal road. I fill my lungs with the crisp autumn air. The trees, blushing with blazing fall colors, wrap the sand road in a warm embrace, sweeping me along with it. The world feels quiet, broken only by the crunch of my sneakers, the thud of cones and acorns bounding down like runaway beads, and the sharp cries of seagulls slicing through the air. I tilt my head toward the blue sky which is empty not only of clouds but birds as well. Another cry, much closer this time, and it sounds less like a seagull, and more like a person. I squint into the sharp sunlight, and that’s when I spot them: a small crowd gathered on the pier. A man in a fleece vest and button-down shirt is kicking a rock on the shore, hands shoved deep in his jeans pockets. A middle-aged woman in a technical jacket and suit pants crouches down, lifts a stone into her hands, and cradles it for a moment as if it were a newborn. Then she turns her gaze to the sea and marches toward the edge of the pier, stopping for a brief moment of contemplation while the others watch in eager anticipation. She raises the rock to her side like an Olympic javelin thrower aiming for gold and hurls it into the sea, screaming after it: “NO MORE INTERNAL MEETINGS!!”

Silence follows, but just for a moment. Then the group bursts into cheers and applause, cheering. "Heck yes!"

"That's right!

"Amen!"

Flushed from her victorious throw, the woman flashes a triumphant grin and ends her performance with a theatrical bow. A young man in a lightweight down jacket scoops up another stone from the ground, claiming the stage next, but I don’t stay to watch. Instead, I continue my walk as the echo of “no more internal meetings!!” follows me down the path, serving as the soundtrack for the rest of my journey.

All meetings and no work makes everyone dull

I stumbled upon a performance like this earlier in the fall, and assume it was a team from some big company enjoying their recreational day.  Regular internal meetings – held on every possible topic – are a classic hallmark of corporate culture. They clog up employees’ already packed calendars even further. At worst, this leads to a situation where there is no time to properly take care of one’s own work, because the days are spent sitting in different meetings.

An internal meeting culture can easily creep into growth companies, especially if the leadership comes from corporate backgrounds. And while meetings can be an excellent way to boost team spirit, they often end up doing the exact opposite – breeding inefficiency and slowly chipping away at that team spirit.

Less is more

Prevent meeting burnout by ensuring that all meetings are truly necessary, and that not everyone is invited just for the sake of passing on information and keeping everyone “in the loop”. No one wants to sit through a meeting that could’ve been an email. The less relevant a meeting’s topic is to a team member, the less they focus, and the more time gets wasted that could’ve been spent on more important things. So, make sure every meeting has a clear purpose and goal, and that participants come prepared with materials or questions in advance.

Ensure all meetings have clear purposes and goals and that participants come prepared with materials in advance

Smart, focused meetings build shared goals, boost team spirit, and improve communication across the company. To top it all off, they ensure that, at the next recreational day, instead of shouting “no more internal meetings”, your staff will be yelling “no more of that cheap instant coffee!!” (which, if we’re being honest, is entirely a matter of taste.)