Myth: More Meetings Create Alignment

The Illusion of Consensus

I sat in a “Strategic Alignment” meeting yesterday. There were 8 people. The leader spoke for 40 minutes. Everyone nodded.

At minute 55, I asked: “So, just to clarify, are we cutting the marketing budget or not?” Three people said “Yes.” Two people said “No.”

They had been “aligning” for an hour, and they were in completely different realities.

The Friction: The Verbal Fog

Oral communication is low-fidelity.

• It is fleeting: Words disappear as soon as they are spoken.
• It is emotional: We agree with the loudest person, not the smartest idea.
• It is ambiguous: “We should look into that” means “Do it now” to one person and “Ignore it” to another.

Meetings are great for bonding. They are terrible for data transmission. When you rely on meetings for alignment, you are building your house on fog.

The Flow: The Read-Then-Discuss Protocol

We align before we meet.

I enforce a strict rule: No Deck, No Doc, No Meeting. If you invite me to an “Alignment Sync” without a document attached, I decline.

Here is the flow that replaces the fog:

Step 1: The Asynchronous Pitch

The meeting organizer must write the “State of the Union.”

• Current Status: X.
• Proposed Change: Y.
• Data: Here is the chart.

Step 2: The Silent Review

We do not present on the call. We send the doc 24 hours in advance.

• The Action: The team reads. They comment in the margins.
• The Magic: Most disagreements are solved in the comments. “Oh, I see, you meant Q3, not Q2. Fixed.”

Step 3: The Targeted Meeting

If (and only if) there are still conflicts in the comments, we meet. But now, we are not “syncing.” We are negotiating.

• Agenda: “We agree on points 1, 2, and 4. We are meeting to resolve the conflict on point 3.”

The “Silent Start” (Amazon Style)

If your team is lazy about pre-reading, use the “Silent Start.”

1. Start the Zoom call.
2. Paste the link to the doc.
3. Say: “We will read in silence for 15 minutes.”
4. Mute everyone.

It is awkward for the first time. It is incredibly productive for the rest of time.

Summary: Alignment is a document, not a feeling. Write it down so we can agree on the same reality.

FAQs

But I need to see their facial expressions.

No, you need to see their logic. Facial expressions are data, but they are not strategy. Read their arguments first.

Writing takes too long.

Writing takes one person 20 minutes. A bad meeting takes 6 people 60 minutes. That is 6 hours lost. Writing is cheaper.

What if people don't do the pre-reading?

Then you end the meeting after 5 minutes. Do not enable illiteracy. Send them back to read.