At a 15-person seed-stage startup, the marketing team implemented several rules and best practices to reduce ineffective meetings, resulting in hundreds of person-hours saved. They started by requiring an agenda for every meeting, which forced meeting organizers to consider the purpose, attendees, and necessity of the meeting. This led to fewer meetings and more productive ones, with everyone being better aligned. The team also brought others into the room when they were mentioned during a meeting, reducing wasted time and allowing everyone to share their point of view. Additionally, they had daily huddles and weekly all-hands meetings, which added structure and alignment to the organization. Setting quiet hours from 9:35 a.m. to noon allowed team members to focus on deep work and prioritize high-leverage projects without interruptions. The strategies were refined after trying some that didn't work, such as shortening daily huddles or eliminating all-hands meetings, which led to a disconnect among the team and more meetings.