United CEO Caps Meetings, Orders End To Slide-Heavy Briefings

United Airlines chief Scott Kirby has limited himself to no more than four hours of meetings a day and told employees to stop depending on long slide decks during sessions.

The 59-year-old executive is pushing back against the norm of nonstop calendars, asking that gatherings be compact and focused on back-and-forth discussion rather than presenters reading material people could skim later.

Kirby, speaking recently with Semafor, described a preference for brisk, conversational sessions. A management scholar who studies corporate decision-making said the approach can speed up choices and force teams to prepare clearer, more concise summaries.

He also reserves roughly three hours each day for reading books, journals and newspapers, a habit he says keeps him well informed. For staff, the edict means shorter briefings, more give-and-take in meetings and a premium on succinct analysis.