Inventory every recurring meeting
- Owner
- Decision or outcome it produces
- Attendees × duration × frequency = cost per month
- Last time the format was changed
For each meeting, pick one
- Keep as-is
- Shrink (fewer people or less time)
- Move to async (doc, thread, or standup format)
- Kill (default answer if there's no clear owner)
Enforce the trim
Delete the recurrences the same day. Anything ambiguous gets a 30-day sunset — if no one asks for it back, it's gone. Publish the before/after so the team sees the trade.
Common pitfalls
- — Auditing without deleting. The whole point is fewer meetings.
- — Letting the loudest voice save every meeting. Default is kill; save requires a case.
- — Not re-running the audit. Calendars refill within six months.