Stop and ask yourself: could this be an email?
That's the tactic. That's the whole article.
Oh, you were expecting more? Nope. That is, well, that is it.
Let's move away from thinking a meeting is the only way to connect with people. And let's start being a little more cognizant of everyone else's time and their productivity.
Maybe we don't need eight people sitting on a "status report" just so they can "hear" what's going on. Chances are half of them are zoning out anyway.
Type it up. Email it to people. And if you really need to, do a 15-minute one-on-one when someone is actually struggling.
Use math to measure a meeting's worth
Here is a quick gut-check before you hit send on that calendar invite:
8 people in a 1-hour meeting = 8 hours of productivity.
4 people in a 30-minute meeting = 2 hours of productivity.
What more could your team have accomplished in those hours?
Need a little more motivation? Here is Basecamp's Jason Fried making this exact point more than a decade ago. It is nothing new. We just need to actually do it.
With a real chance to build a better way of working, now is the time to put this one small tactic into place. Your calendar, and your team, will thank you.