Invite, don't Invent

So, you've got some cross-department collaboration going. Maybe some kind of initiative, or a need for regular syncs and alignments. You open your calendar app and start hunting for a spot for a new recurring meeting for everyone involved. Which is tricky, because calendars are already so full, and the only spots left are needed for other work and overall ...

Let me stop you right there. Please, don't invent another recurring meeting. Everyone already has enough meetings, no-one is looking for a new one.

Why don't you first look at the agendas of involved people, stakeholders and teams, and see what meetings they already have set up that kinda address a similar issue than the one you want to address?

For example, Scrum teams have their sprint reviews once a sprint (typically, every other week, but the setup may vary). Consider inviting your stakeholders to that meeting to collaborate. If your initiative is to bridge the gap between engineering and customer support, what other format would be better suited to discuss the current state of the product, or the challenges customers are reporting back to support? Or instead of setting up an additional meeting with Sales to discuss their pipeline, why not give them a slot on the Review agenda to talk about that?

Those opportunities are of course not limited to Scrum ceremonies in general or the Sprint Review in particular. Many meetings can be changed in a positive way by inviting new participants. Making one meeting whole and more valuable is always preferable to having two semi-useful, but disjointed meetings.

The obvious benefit is that you're avoiding to create another meeting (for which everyone will be eternally grateful to you).

But there's a deeper benefit, too. Inviting someone to an established routine is like inviting someone into your house. You're not meeting them at the door for a quick chat. You're asking them in, sharing the table with you and all the other regulars.