Minute With Mallon: Too Many Meetings?

Apr 21

Welcome to Minute with Mallon!

Something I Taught:

A couple of months ago, I was working with a client who was getting pulled into way too many meetings. Some were at the worst possible times and kept throwing off his flow—and honestly, a few were just a waste of his time. So we came up with this goal:

Through April, I am scheduling my meeting times to just Monday and Fridays by listening to recordings instead of being on live calls so that my Tuesday-Thursdays are freed up for high impact activities that will grow our business.

I checked in with him this week to see how that goal was going, and he lit up—he’s really happy with the results.

And it all started because he made a decision—and then followed through on it.

Which brings me this idea: You don't have to go to every meeting!

About a year ago, another new client was so booked with meetings that we were having a hard time finding two 1-hour meetings a month for our coaching calls.

I asked him why he had so many. He told me that it had always been that way. So we had a discussion about why he had to attend. Why not use some of the people on his team? He had never really thought about it!

So over the course of several months, he assigned team players to some of the meetings and they came back with 5 minute summaries of the important information he needed to know.

AND - he became much more effective as a leader and his stress level lowered!!!

So here are 5 other useful ideas that I teach my clients to help you with Meeting Fatigue!

1. Protect a “No-Meeting Zone” Each Week

Block off a regular window—maybe a morning or afternoon—just for thinking, planning, and doing deep work. Let your team know it's protected time. Most things can wait.

2. Ask: “Do I Really Need to Be There?”

Before saying yes to a meeting, ask yourself, “Would this still move forward without me?” If so, ask for a quick summary instead.

3. Make It a Standing Meeting

Turn long recurring meetings into short stand-ups with a clear purpose. People stay focused, move quicker, and respect the clock.

4. Build a Decision Tree

Help your team know which decisions they can make without you, which need input, and which only you should make. This keeps you from being a bottleneck and cuts way down on unnecessary meetings.

5. Audit Your Calendar

Look back at the last month of meetings. Which ones truly moved things forward? Which were just habits? Eliminate or rethink the ones that aren’t serving a clear purpose.

You don’t have to settle for a calendar that runs your life. Start by choosing just one of these ideas and put it into practice this week. Protect your time. Reclaim your focus. And lead with more clarity and less clutter. One small shift can create a big ripple.

Something to Ponder:

"Always remind yourself that your track record for making it through your bad days is perfect."

Unknown

Something I Learned:

Competition is a Great Thing!

I was listening to a Shawn Ryan podcast this week, and he was interviewing Vivek Ramaswamy. At one point, Vivek brought up something that really stuck with me—how Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, the three greatest Grand Slam champions of all time, were all competing in the same era. There are only four Grand Slam tournaments a year, yet these three dominated like no one before them. Why? Because the competition between them created a culture of excellence. They pushed each other to levels they likely wouldn’t have reached on their own. As they say:

Iron sharpens iron.

Each of them became greater because the others existed.

Federer set the initial standard with elegance, speed, and precision.
Nadal responded with unmatched grit and dominance on clay.
Djokovic evolved to outlast them both with flexibility, consistency, and mental toughness.

Without each other, none of them may have pushed their physical, strategic, or mental limits to the degree they did. They created the perfect storm of rivalry—and raised the bar for excellence year after year.

Here’s what really stood out to me—and I think it’s a big takeaway for any leader: If you want to build a culture of excellence, you’ve got to surround yourself with people who push you and raise the bar.

These three didn’t get better in a vacuum—they sharpened each other. Great leaders do the same. They don’t shy away from strong talent—they lean into it. They build teams where high performers stretch each other, grow together, and keep raising the bar.