You know, the all hands meeting where subjects are covered but nothing is said. When we talk about the broad brush but no one colours in the details. Where the talk is happy but reality is glossed.

It’s like the point of the meeting is to have the meeting, not the substance of the meeting itself.

You know, the project review where checklists are ticked, the deliverables discussed, the actions are assigned whist the elephant watches, sitting quietly in the corner, wondering whether anyone will shout Stop and deal with the real issue, that the reason for the project no longer exists.

You know, when the process is more important than the outcome.

When the reason-why and the benefit-of is immaterial and all that seems to matter is going through the motions.

Skippy strategy: Don’t go through the motions. Ask why, and adjust or eliminate as necessary.