Every week, teams schedule meetings to decide things that could have been decided days ago.
The decision exists. The information is available. The person with authority knows what they would decide if they had to.
But instead of deciding, they schedule a meeting.
The meeting isn't about making the decision. It's about sharing the decision — or avoiding it.
Why We Schedule Instead of Deciding
It's safer. A meeting shares responsibility. If the decision goes wrong, it wasn't just you. The group decided.
It feels like process. Scheduling a meeting looks like work. Making a quick call and committing feels like skipping steps.
There's no pressure. When something can be decided anytime, it gets put in a meeting slot. When something needs to be decided now, it gets decided now.
The Cost
Every decision that gets delayed costs momentum. The team waits. Work pauses. People follow up to ask when the decision will happen.
And for what? So a group can formally ratify something one person could have decided in minutes?
When to Skip the Meeting
You already know what you're doing.
If the decision is obvious, make it. Don't schedule a meeting to tell people what you already decided.
You have the authority.
If you can make the call, make it. Inform people after. A quick message beats a 45-minute sync.
The stakes are low.
If the downside of a wrong decision is small and reversible, decide fast. "Let's try X. If it doesn't work, we'll know in a week."
The Rule
If you can decide it now without a meeting, decide it now.
The meeting is for things that genuinely require discussion. Not for things you're scheduling to avoid the discomfort of committing.
The decisions that should have been made already are the ones you're scheduling meetings for. Make them.
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