#159: Is Scrum Really Too Many Meetings? with Lance Dacy

“Too many meetings” is one of the most common complaints in Scrum teams, but is it really the meetings, or what’s (not) happening in them? In this episode, Brian and Lance Dacy dig into the events of Scrum to uncover what works, what doesn’t, and how to make each one actually add value.

Overview

In this episode of the Agile Mentors Podcast, Brian Milner welcomes Certified Scrum Trainer and Mountain Goat colleague Lance Dacy for a breakdown of the four main Scrum events, and why so many teams struggle with them.

They tackle one of the most persistent frustrations teams face: the sense that Scrum has “too many meetings.” Together, they explore how to reframe these as working sessions, clarify their purpose, and avoid the common traps that drain time without moving the work forward. From sprint planning that skips the plan to daily scrums that lose their rhythm, this episode is full of specific guidance for getting more value out of each event. Plus, hear why retrospectives and backlog refinement are two of the most underrated (and powerful) drivers of team improvement.

Whether you're new to Scrum or looking to reset a struggling team, this conversation will help you re-center on what the framework is really designed to do, and how to help your team do it well.

References and resources mentioned in the show:

Lance Dacy
#138: The Bad Meeting Hangover with Julie Chickering
#156: Making Product Ownership Work in Shared Services with Kert Peterson
Does Scrum Have Too Many Meetings? By Mike Cohn
What Happens When During a Sprint By Mike Cohn
Scrum Activities: An Overview
Working on a Scrum Team Course
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This episode’s presenters are:

Brian Milner is a Certified Scrum Trainer®, Certified Scrum Professional®, Certified ScrumMaster®, and Certified Scrum Product Owner®, and host of the Agile Mentors Podcast training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work.

Lance Dacy is a Certified Scrum Trainer®, Certified Scrum Professional®, Certified ScrumMaster®, and Certified Scrum Product Owner®. Lance brings a great personality and servant's heart to his workshops. He loves seeing people walk away with tangible and practical things they can do with their teams straight away.

Auto-generated Transcript:

Brian Milner (00:00)
Welcome back Agile Mentors. We're here for another episode of the Agile Mentors podcast. I'm here as always, Brian Milner, and I have with us friend of the show, once again, Lance Dacy wit