The Cost of Everyone-Is-Invited Meetings and How to Fix Them
Patrick Bushe
February 22, 2025 · 5 min read
Inviting everyone feels inclusive and safe: nobody is left out, and nobody can say they weren't told. But every extra person adds cost, and large meetings tend to produce fewer decisions, not more.
The cost adds up fast
A one-hour meeting with 20 people, each earning about $100,000 a year, costs about $960 in salary time. Held weekly, that's close to $50,000 a year. Many of those people may only need the outcome. Meeting Cost Calculator shows the live cost of any meeting from the number of attendees and an average salary.
What happens as meetings grow
- Less participation: in a big group, most people listen and a few talk.
- Diffused responsibility: when everyone is there, it's less clear who owns the decision.
- Slower decisions: more voices mean more opinions to hear and more chance of reopening settled points.
- Performative talk: people may speak to be seen rather than to move things forward.
The two-pizza rule
Jeff Bezos is credited with Amazon's "two-pizza" rule: teams, and meetings, should be small enough that two pizzas could feed everyone. It's a memorable reminder to keep groups small.
How to fix it
- Start from the decision: who must be there to make it? Invite them.
- Use optional invites for people who might want to join.
- Share notes widely instead of inviting widely. See meeting notes.
- Split by topic: if the agenda covers several groups, hold shorter separate meetings.
- Use roles: make clear who decides, who's consulted and who's just informed.
- Record big updates: all-hands information can be a recording or written post.
Making it acceptable to decline
People accept invites they don't need because declining feels rude. Leaders can help by saying openly that it's fine to decline if you're not needed, and by doing it themselves.
When large meetings make sense
All-hands meetings, launches and moments that build shared understanding can be worth it. The key is that they're deliberate, short and rare, not the default for every topic.
Check your calendar
Look at last month's meetings with more than eight people. Ask whether each needed everyone. See auditing a team calendar and the real cost of a one-hour meeting.
