The Meeting That Could Have Been an API Call: A Framework

On one hand, meetings are the connective tissue of an organisation. On the other hand, they are the exact opposite of that. We reconcile both views below.

The 4-question test

• ▪Does the meeting exist to share information? Replace it with a message. Then replace the message with the thing it would have said.
• ▪Does it exist to make a decision? The decision was made before the meeting. Replace it with a record of that.
• ▪Does it exist to build trust? Replace it with a team-building offsite. (Replace the offsite with a survey. Replace the survey with the answers it would have produced.)
• ▪Does it exist because someone senior wanted to feel in control? We have a product for that: it's called a Dashboard. It does not have feelings and it has never once interrupted.

Results from our pilot

Across 14 organisations, 91% of meetings were reclassified as 'API calls'. The remaining 9% were reclassified as 'API calls with extra steps'. The average employee reclaimed 11 hours per week, which they were encouraged to spend on 'strategic reflection'. At the end of the quarter, the strategic reflection was found to be strategically redundant.

Meetings don't end careers. Meetings that could have been an API call end careers. And then the API call is cheaper.

On one hand, this is a framework for productivity. On the other hand, it is also a framework for you. We leave the reader to decide which.