Hello and welcome to today’s in|retrospect segment. Ah, the dreaded staff meeting. Chances are you’ve sat through one: a “series of 1-to-1 conversations” masquerading as group updates, stretching on as attendees space out, longing for the “forcing function of physically standing up.” But what if you reinvented the ritual? In his article “The Staff Meeting Ritual,” Ben Allen shares his proven recipe: schedule your weekly sync early in the week—“on a Tuesday or Wednesday, in a neutral timezone”—and kick it off with an icebreaker question designed to help your team bond. Next, maintain a living agenda doc, inviting everyone to add topics so discussions address real concerns. Don’t forget to take notes yourself—using AI notetakers if you like—and resist the urge to solve every problem in the meeting. Instead, capture action items and follow up consistently. After iterating for seven or eight years, Allen says simplicity is key, so he’s even asked senior team members to lead when he’s away, maintaining that collaborative cadence. Try this ritual in your next staff meeting and transform it from dreaded to dynamic. That’s all for today’s in|retrospect.
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