Stop Scheduling Your Way into Irrelevance

“We don’t do PowerPoint at Amazon. Instead, we write narratively structured six-page memos. We silently read them at the start of each meeting.”

Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon & Executive Chairman

That’s not just a quirky leadership move – it’s a declaration of war on corporate time-wasting.

Let’s face it: meetings have become the comfort zone of indecisive leaders. A place where energy goes to die, and clarity is replaced with calendar clutter. Strategy drowns in small talk, and execution dies in the waiting room of endless alignment sessions.

🎯 Real-World Symptoms of a Meeting-Sick Organization

🔻 No pre-read? That’s laziness.
🔻 No decisions made? That’s fear of ownership.
🔻 Too many “update” meetings? That’s micromanagement in disguise.
🔻 Need a “meeting to align on next steps from the last meeting”? That’s organizational rot.

I’ve seen it all – from the boardrooms of i.e. GE Healthcare, Migros and Roche to high-stakes transformation at i.e. Selecta. What separates winners from time-wasters? Execution velocity. And you don’t get that by sitting in Zoom purgatory.

💸 Do the Math – Meetings Are Cost Centers in Disguise

Let’s get brutally clear: every meeting has a cost. A real one.

Take a 1-hour meeting with 10 mid-to-senior professionals. At an average blended rate of CHF 120/hour, that’s CHF 1,200 gone – before a single decision is made.

Now multiply that across your week. Your month. Your org.

And what if that time could have been used to close a deal, fix a process, or launch an initiative? That’s the real burn: opportunity cost.

If your meetings aren’t delivering outcomes, they’re burning budget. Period.

🧱 My 3 Ground Rules for Meetings That Actually Deliver

This is the framework I’ve battle-tested across CHF 4B+ in spend and digital overhauls in some of Europe’s toughest markets. Simple. Sharp. Non-negotiable.

1. Purpose First
   No objective = no meeting. If the invite doesn’t clearly state the decision to be made, it gets deleted.
   ➡ “What outcome are we driving?” should be the litmus test for every call.

2. Ownership Always
   Every meeting needs an owner, not a moderator. Decision-makers only. If you’re there just to listen, read the recap.
   ➡ No passengers, no passengers, no passengers.

3. Time is a Weapon
   30 minutes is a luxury. Prep with purpose. Use silence to think. Use tools for input, not airtime.
   ➡ Efficiency isn’t cold – it’s respectful.

This isn’t theory. This is how I’ve consistently created clarity where there was chaos – building momentum, aligning global teams, and driving transformation with pragmatic precision and zero tolerance for time-wasting.

💥 So now What?

If you’re serious about impact, treat your calendar like a budget:
📉 Cut the waste
📈 Invest in outcomes
🧠 Protect the brainpower of your best people

Bezos was right: vision is sacred. But that means executing with speed and discipline – not drowning in discussion.

Next time someone invites you to a meeting, ask: “Is this a decision or a distraction?”

Choose wisely. Act boldly. And always #MakeItRain.

⚡ Ready to cut the noise and drive real results?

👉 If you’re serious about killing calendar clutter and building a high-performance culture—
book a free virtual touchpoint with me now.

Let’s pivot meetings into value creation. No fluff.