From f308afd914f25483d0efbdeb940c828fa930fe20 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Stevan Freeborn <65925598+StevanFreeborn@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2026 11:46:44 -0600 Subject: [PATCH] talk: initial draft of script and presentation --- slides/undefined-recurring-meetings/index.md | 187 ++++++++++++++++++ slides/undefined-recurring-meetings/script.md | 101 ++++++++++ 2 files changed, 288 insertions(+) create mode 100644 slides/undefined-recurring-meetings/index.md create mode 100644 slides/undefined-recurring-meetings/script.md diff --git a/slides/undefined-recurring-meetings/index.md b/slides/undefined-recurring-meetings/index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e5c6336 --- /dev/null +++ b/slides/undefined-recurring-meetings/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,187 @@ +--- +title: The Case Against Undefined Recurring Meetings +theme: default +layout: center +class: text-center +fonts: + sans: "CaskaydiaCove Nerd Font Mono" +--- + +# The Case Against
Undefined Recurring Meetings + +--- +layout: center +--- + +# The 10:00 AM Grid + +
+
+
+ Status updates are not work. +
+
+
+
Nodding
+
Checking Phone
+
Talking
+
Muted
+
Zoned Out
+
Emailing
+
+
+ +
+ Organizational procrastination disguised as collaboration. +
+ + +--- +layout: default +--- + +# The Accounting Error + +
+
+
1 Hour
+
+
How we view
the cost
+
+ +
+
10 Hours
+
+
+
+
The Actual Cost
(Cumulative Labor)
+
+ +
+ +
+ Would you pay a $25,000 invoice with no proof of services rendered? +
+ + +--- +layout: center +--- + +# The Death of Deep Work + +
+
+

Context Switching

+

It takes 20-30 minutes to recover focus after an interruption.

+
+ +
+

Flow Interrupted

+

Coding, writing, and designing require long, uninterrupted blocks of time.

+
+ + +
+

Recovery Syndrome

+

Mental fatigue and increased cortisol spent cooling off after a bad meeting.

+
+ +
+ +--- +layout: center +class: text-center +--- + +# The Mechanics of Unproductivity + +
+ +
+

Parkinson's Law of Triviality

+

Groups gravitate toward the easiest topics to discuss, not the most important.

+
+ Example: Debating a $500 bike shed for 45 minutes while rubber-stamping a $10M project. +
+
+ + +
+

Social Loafing

+

The subconscious belief that someone else will pick up the slack.

+
+ Result: A group less productive than the sum of its parts due to diffusion of responsibility. +
+
+ +
+ +--- +layout: center +--- + +# "What about alignment?" + +
+
+ You are solving a Data Transfer problem. +
+ +
+

The Inefficiency

+
    +
  • ❌ Synchronous communication is the most expensive medium.
    • +
  • ❌ Round-robins hold the room hostage to the slowest speaker.
    • +
  • ✅ The average adult reads much faster than they speak.
    • +
+
+ +
+ +--- +layout: center +--- + +# The Gatekeeper Framework + +
Before sending the invite, answer these 5 questions:
+
+ +
+
1
+
Why are we having this meeting?
+
+ + +
+
2
+
What specific decision or deliverable will come out of it?
+
+ + +
+
3
+
How will the time allocated actually be used?
+
+ + +
+
4
+
Who needs to be there and why?
+
+ + +
+
5
+
Who has the final say on the decision/deliverable?
+
+ +
+ +--- +layout: center +class: text-center +--- + +# Presence ≠ Productivity diff --git a/slides/undefined-recurring-meetings/script.md b/slides/undefined-recurring-meetings/script.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..04d8596 --- /dev/null +++ b/slides/undefined-recurring-meetings/script.md @@ -0,0 +1,101 @@ +[VISUAL] + +"Welcome back to The Readme. Today we are talking about a corporate epidemic. We are talking about trading time for the comfort of 'busy'." + +"This is the case against undefined recurring meetings." + +[CLICK] + +"We all know the 10:00 AM grid. You log in, and you look at a screen of boxes. One person is talking, while the rest are nodding, checking their phones, emailing, or just completely zoned out." + +"We need to be honest with ourselves. Status updates are not work." + +[CLICK] + +"What this really is, is organizational procrastination disguised as collaboration. It feels like work, but nothing is actually getting done." + +[CLICK] + +"The biggest issue is how we account for the cost of these meetings. We look at a one-hour calendar block and think it costs one hour." + +[CLICK] + +"But if there are ten engineers in that meeting, the actual cost is ten hours of cumulative labor." + +[CLICK] + +"Think about it in financial terms. Would you pay a $25,000 invoice with no proof of services rendered? Because that is exactly what you do when you run a year of undefined weekly syncs." + +[CLICK] + +"Beyond the raw time, there is a hidden tax. These meetings destroy deep work." + +"First, we have context switching. It takes 20 to 30 minutes to recover focus after an interruption." + +[CLICK] + +"Second, your flow state is interrupted. The actual work we do, such as coding, writing, and designing, requires long, uninterrupted blocks of time." + +[CLICK] + +"Finally, there is recovery syndrome. This is the mental fatigue and increased cortisol spent cooling off after a bad meeting." + +[CLICK] + +"So why do these meetings go off the rails? It comes down to human psychology." + +[CLICK] + +"The first culprit is Parkinson's Law of Triviality. Groups gravitate toward the easiest topics to discuss, not the most important. For example, you will spend 45 minutes debating a $500 bike shed while rubber-stamping a $10M project." + +[CLICK] + +"The second is Social Loafing. When you pack a room, there is a subconscious belief that someone else will pick up the slack. The result is a group less productive than the sum of its parts due to diffusion of responsibility." + +[CLICK] + +"Now, the common defense is that we need alignment." + +"If one person is talking and everyone else is listening, you are solving a Data Transfer problem." + +[CLICK] + +"And a meeting is a massive inefficiency for transferring data." + +"Synchronous communication is the most expensive medium." + +"Round-robins hold the room hostage to the slowest speaker." + +"And the simple fact is that the average adult reads much faster than they speak. Put it in a document." + +[CLICK] + +"To fix this, I use a strict framework. Before sending the invite, answer these 5 questions." + +[CLICK] + +"One: Why are we having this meeting?" + +[CLICK] + +"Two: What specific decision or deliverable will come out of it?" + +[CLICK] + +"Three: How will the time allocated actually be used?" + +[CLICK] + +"Four: Who needs to be there and why?" + +[CLICK] + +"And Five: Who has the final say on the decision or deliverable?" + +"If you cannot answer these, delete the invite." + +[CLICK] + +"Presence does not equal productivity." + +"Stop trading your most valuable resource for the comfort of appearing busy. Cancel your undefined meetings, and get back to work."