BOSTON — In an effort to streamline workplace efficiency, executives at CircuLogic Inc. convened a two-hour meeting Wednesday to address what many employees agree is the company’s biggest productivity killer: too many long, pointless meetings.
“Frankly, this meeting marks a turning point,” declared COO Janet Lerman, while clicking through a 67-slide PowerPoint presentation titled ‘Streamlining Synergy Through Scheduled Synchronization.’ “By coming together to talk about how often we come together, we’re finally taking action.”
The meeting, which included breakout sessions, brainstorming rounds, and a closing reflection circle, produced several promising strategies — all of which will be revisited in next week’s follow-up meeting, tentatively titled ‘Meeting Fewer Meetings: Phase II.’
Lerman added, “Our mission is to empower collaboration through the efficient multiplication of shared inefficiency.”
According to sources inside CircuLogic, the company currently averages 14.2 meetings per employee per week, with an average duration of “eternal.” Productivity reports indicate most employees spend more time discussing work than actually performing it, though morale remains high due to the complimentary bagels.
“We could have just sent an email, but then how would we all silently judge each other’s home office backgrounds?” said CircuLogic’s HR Director, from her kitchen island.
To demonstrate commitment to change, management proposed implementing “Meeting-Free Mondays,” an initiative quickly scrapped after realizing someone needed to meet about how to structure it.
By the end of the session, participants agreed the best solution was to form a Meeting Reduction Task Force — which will meet biweekly to track progress.
“We’re confident this is the start of real change,” Lerman said, moments before scheduling a debrief to summarize the meeting’s outcomes.
At press time, sources confirmed CircuLogic had also scheduled a cross-departmental summit to determine whether employees should clap at the end of future meetings, or simply email applause asynchronously.
