Making Meetings Work: The Power of Meeting Rhythms
Establishing a consistent meeting rhythm is one of the most transformative practices for any organization. Far from being a time drain, well-structured meetings can become the backbone of your company’s success, bringing clarity, alignment, and focus. As the saying goes, "Routine sets you free." When the rhythm is set, it becomes second nature—a reliable framework that supports your team without constant thought or effort.
From Strategy to Execution
You’ve done the hard work of strategic thinking. You’ve set ambitious goals, defined priorities, and identified KPIs. Meeting rhythms bring these plans to life. Without a consistent rhythm, plans can falter. With one, your organization’s vision stays alive, embedded in the day-to-day activities of the team.
Why Meeting Rhythms Matter
Meeting rhythms provide a structured way to bring strategy into daily action. They create a predictable cadence where goals, priorities, and KPIs move from ideas to execution. Without this structure, even the best-laid plans can lose momentum. When implemented effectively, meeting rhythms:
Improve communication flow: Regularly scheduled meetings ensure information moves accurately and quickly through the organization, reducing delays and improving decision-making.
Save you time: Pre-scheduled meetings eliminate the inefficiencies of ad hoc check-ins, freeing up valuable time for meaningful work and preventing small issues from becoming larger problems.
Reduce hassle: Setting up meetings can often take longer than the meetings themselves. By pre-scheduling a rhythm of regular check-ins, you reduce the hassle of finding time and ensure everyone’s availability. (“Routine sets you free” is a Scaling Up mantra for a reason.)
Keep everyone aligned on priorities: Routine meetings create space for discussing opportunities, addressing bottlenecks, and solving strategic concerns, keeping your organization focused on its goals.
Build accountability: With consistent check-ins, teams stay accountable to their objectives, ensuring progress is measured and celebrated.
Meeting rhythms aren’t about adding more to your plate—they’re about working smarter. (More on this below). They provide clarity, alignment, and structure, enabling teams to focus on what matters most.
The Scaling Up Meeting Cadence
The Scaling Up methodology emphasizes a disciplined meeting rhythm designed to align communication and drive execution at every level of the organization. Here are the key elements:
1. Daily Huddles (10-15 minutes)
Purpose: Share quick updates, highlight tactical roadblocks, and sync on immediate key activities.
Key Questions: What’s up?, What’s stuck?, Where do we need support?
Impact: Prevents small issues from escalating and keeps teams connected and proactive.
2. Weekly Meetings (60-90 minutes)
Purpose: Dive deeper to review progress on the quarterly priorities and tackle one or two pressing topics.
Key Questions: Are we on track with our goals?, What needs our attention this week?
Impact: Resolves challenges and maintains momentum on quarterly goals.
3. Monthly Strategy Meetings (4-8 hours)
Purpose: Managers (senior, middle, and frontline) managers learn together and collaboratively tackle one or two big issues.
Key Questions: Are our strategic initiatives on track?, Do we need to pivot?
Impact: Ensures alignment with strategic initiatives and adapts plans as needed.
4. Quarterly and Annual Planning (1-3 days)
Purpose: Reflect on past performance, set new priorities, establish the next quarterly/annual theme, and align on the vision and execution plan.
Key Questions: What must we achieve in the next quarter/year to stay on track with our vision?
Impact: Drives major breakthroughs and energizes the team for the next phase.
Yes, You Have The Time
The most common pushback to meeting rhythms is, “We don’t have that much time to meet.” But consider the alternative: how much time is wasted on unstructured, ad hoc communication? The “it will just take 5 minutes” phone calls, the 25-minute office “drive-bys,” the “can’t find a time for the 6 of us to meet until next Thursday”, and the endless “circle-backs” that disrupt workflows.
When a consistent meeting cadence is set, they become non-negotiables and eliminate these inefficiencies. A 10-15 minute daily huddle, for example, saves countless hours by addressing issues before they snowball. It’s not just about having time to meet—it’s about gaining time back through better communication and alignment.
Get Started, Build Momentum
If your organization doesn’t have an established meeting rhythm, start with the basics. Implement daily huddles or weekly meetings to build consistency. Focus on:
Purpose: Every meeting should have a clear objective.
Consistency: Regularity builds trust and reliability.
Value: Meetings should add more value than they consume.
Scaling Up isn’t just about growing bigger; it’s about growing better. Meeting rhythms are one of the most effective tools to help your organization achieve that. Start small, stay consistent, and watch your team thrive.
Need some help getting your meeting rhythm going? Let’s chat—I’d love to help.
