The Gathering Purpose
Before any meeting, write a disputable, specific purpose — or cancel it.
The concept
A purpose strong enough to exclude is strong enough to gather around
Parker's work on gatherings argues that most meetings underperform because their stated purpose ('align,' 'sync,' 'catch up') is so vague nothing could violate it. A specific, disputable purpose tells you who to invite, what to cut, and when you're done.
Try it now
0 / 3Get reminded to actually run this
Pivots only work when you use them. Send me a gentle nudge:
How people ran this
Used this before a portfolio review. Sat with the dread for 8 minutes, then opened Figma and just shipped the worst version. Got the best feedback of my year.
Maya, product designer
Ran it during a planning week when I kept rewriting the same doc. Three rough versions in 15 minutes — my staff eng picked the one I least liked.
Jordan, eng manager
I'm a chronic deleter. The 'name the feeling' step was the unlock. It was almost always shame, not perfectionism.
Anon
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