Meetings are so notorious for draining productivity that historic sabotage manuals listed them as a tactic of choice. The trouble is, modern meetings often fall into the same traps by accident: too many people invited, vague agendas, and decisions that never stay decided. The result isn’t just a wasted hour, but a feedback loop: too many meetings leave no time to prepare, which makes meetings run longer, which forces multitasking, which makes them even less effective.

In this talk, we show how to break those feedback loops before they start. Using lessons lifted from the old sabotage playbook, we’ll contrast common anti-patterns with practical counter-moves: picking the right type of meeting, deciding who actually needs to be there, shaping the environment and logistics, and closing with action and accountability. The aim is simple: meetings that respect time and deliver outcomes. Or, to misquote Arleen Lorrance, be the meeting you want to see happen.

Learning outcomes
* Spot and break meeting feedback loops
* Apply countermeasures to sabotage anti-patterns
* Choose the right meeting type and environment
* Use deliberate prep to respect time and attention