In this episode of Good Intentions and Bad Outcomes, Gino and Wayne explore how the well-meaning practice of daily stand-ups can become overwhelming when individuals are expected to attend multiple stand-ups across different teams.

TIMESTAMPS:
 0:00 Introduction
 0:33 Today's problem: attending too many daily stand-ups
 1:06 When expert contributors spread themselves too thin
 1:23 The good intentions behind wanting to stay involved
 2:15 Why too many meetings can drain productivity
 2:39 A different lens on a recurring issue
 2:58 Balancing collaboration with individual capacity
 3:28 Refocusing on the intention: communication
 4:14 Solution 1: Back-to-back scheduling to preserve deep work
 4:49 Solution 2: Supplier-team model for shared work
 5:31 Solution 3: Scrum of scrums or cross-team sync
 6:05 Solution 4: Joint planning and reviews for cross-team clarity
 6:44 Solution 5: Rotating representatives between teams
 7:10 Solution 6: Weekly cross-team progress alignments
 8:13 Making information sharing efficient and intentional
 8:52 Closing thoughts on time-conscious communication
 9:28 Don't follow the playbook—do what makes sense
 9:45 Wrap-up and invitation for listener stories

Gino and Wayne tackle a challenge common in many agile environments: when people contribute to multiple teams and end up drowning in stand-up meetings. What starts as a simple communication tool turns into a calendar nightmare where no time is left for actual work.

In this episode, they explore alternatives that preserve the value of daily coordination while respecting people’s time, such as:
Organizing back-to-back meetings to protect blocks of focus time
Shifting to a supplier relationship for shared work
Implementing scrum-of-scrums or other cross-team alignment practices
Holding joint sprint planning and reviews to reduce duplicate discussions
Rotating team representatives to maintain connection without overload
Setting up weekly cross-team check-ins to keep things aligned

If your calendar ever made you think "When am I supposed to actually do the work?" you’ll relate to this one.

Got your own workplace story where a good idea had unintended consequences? Drop us a line and it might be featured in a future episode!

Contact us at feedback@goodintentionsbadoutcomes.org