When meetings become the enemy of actual work. The particle state pattern where discussing replaces doing.
The Meeting Loop is a particle state pattern where your calendar becomes a friction machine. Meetings spawn meetings. Discussion replaces decision. The organization optimizes for attendance over output. Decision Latency spikes while Error Correction collapses.
Decision Latency: Every decision requires a meeting, which requires scheduling, which requires availability coordination. Days become weeks.
Knowledge Velocity: Information trapped in meetings instead of flowing through systems. Knowledge dies in calendars.
Error Correction: Cannot course-correct because the next meeting is not until Thursday. Problems compound while waiting for discussion.
Talent Flow: Best performers leave because they cannot actually produce. Meeting tolerance becomes a hiring filter.
"Executives: 23 hours/week in meetings (vs. 10 hours in 1960s)"
"Meeting growth: 8-10% annually. Productivity growth: 1%."
"Average calendar density: 3 minutes between meetings. Zero time for field state work."
"Let's schedule a meeting to discuss what we'll discuss in the next meeting."
GPI Impact: Decision Latency multiplies. Each meta-meeting spawns 3 more meetings.
Everyone attends but only 2 people speak. The other 8 are audience to avoid FOMO.
GPI Impact: Structural Lock-In hardens. Attendance becomes mandatory even without value.
Round-robin of updates that could have been a Slack message. No decisions made.
GPI Impact: Knowledge Velocity collapses. Information moves at meeting speed instead of system speed.
The calendar is full. Work happens in margins. Thinking time: zero.
GPI Impact: All dimensions particle state. Organization cannot function without meetings but cannot function with them.
Every meeting must justify why it cannot be an email or async decision. Reduce Decision Latency.
Schedule 4-hour blocks for actual work. Meetings cannot break these. Protect Knowledge Velocity.
Every meeting must end with specific decisions and owners. No decision = failed meeting. Enable Error Correction.
Calculate real cost: hourly rate x attendees x time. Make the particle state drain visible.
Cancel all recurring meetings for one week. See what actually breaks vs. what was just Structural Lock-In. You will discover 80% of meetings were theater, not necessity. This is the fastest path to field state.
5 targeted questions to measure your exposure to meeting loop.
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Stop optimizing meetings. Start eliminating them. Move from particle state to field state.