“Meetings are toxic.”

Why it was said

This is the title of a chapter in Rework. Fried and Heinemeier Hansson argue that a meeting interrupts the work of everyone in the room at once, often to talk about something vague, and they set out strict limits for the meetings that do have to happen.

What it actually means

The word 'toxic' is deliberately strong. The authors' complaint is about cost, not about people talking. A one-hour meeting with six people costs six hours of work, not one, and it breaks up the long uninterrupted stretches where real work gets done. Meetings also tend to drift toward abstractions and to breed more meetings. The line is not a ban; it is a demand that each meeting earn what it costs. Much of what a meeting gets called for could be settled by one person deciding, a short written note, or two people talking for five minutes.

How to use it

1. 1Before sending an invitation, multiply the length by the number of people. If the total feels too high, write a message instead.
2. 2Keep meetings small, time-boxed and tied to one specific problem, and end them when the problem is solved.
3. 3At an agency in Ankara, Zeynep replaces the Monday status meeting with a written update each person posts by ten o'clock; the team gets a morning back every week.