4 things you shouldn't use meetings for

A meeting where people can't stick to an agenda should not take place.

Meetings should be an exception, not the rule. If you can't explain in an agenda what the meeting is for, you shouldn't have one. If everything on the agenda is dealt with, you should end the meeting, even if there is time left.

Five people can have a productive meeting, but 300 people can't.

Jeff Bezos uses the two-pizza rule to decide if he will attend a meeting: He will only attend if two pizzas can feed the whole group. The basic idea is that one should consider where to draw the line for your team. If the meeting is not productive, cut back on the number of people you invite.

Meetings can be very effective for building on ideas but not for working from scratch.

People should come prepared to brainstorming sessions to bounce ideas around, but it is only helpful if everyone brings a few ideas or pitches. Otherwise, people sit in awkward silence.

To consider if a regular meeting should happen, drop them and see what happens.

A team can have a meeting every second week and still feel like they get enough face-time. While it is easy to default to a weekly meeting, we should ask ourselves if it is necessary.