Make the flow visible
Map the actual journey of a request, decision, or deliverable — not just the organizational chart.
An idea worth exploring · A book currently in Spanish
What if the problem isn't too many meetings — but how work flows?
Every time a task gets stuck, we tend to add a meeting. But what if we could make the work visible, fix the handoffs, and give teams the clarity to move without constantly asking for updates?
A practical perspective by Chema Maroto. The original book and current learning resources are in Spanish; this introduction is in English.
Meetings are often a symptom. The workflow is where we should look first.
La empresa SIN reuniones (“The Company Without Meetings”) challenges a familiar reflex: treating every coordination problem as a reason to gather people in a room. The goal is not to ban human conversation. It is to make collaboration purposeful, reduce avoidable interruptions, and improve the flow of value.
Spot waiting and handoffs
Look for unclear ownership, invisible queues, missing information, and repeated status requests.
Coordinate by design
Create clear transitions, shared signals, and review moments only where they add value.
A small thought experiment
Draw your company like a subway map.
Imagine that every station is a meaningful state of work, every line is a flow of value, and every interchange is a handoff between people or teams. Where do the queues build up? Where does a journey change lines without clear directions?
That map gives teams a different conversation: not “When is our next meeting?” but “What prevents this work from reaching the next station?”
- Choose one real piece of work
- Trace its path from request to outcome
- Mark delays and ambiguous transitions
- Test one small improvement
A real book. An invitation to think differently.
La empresa SIN reuniones
Written in Spanish, the book turns principles of visual management, flow, clear operating agreements, and continuous improvement into practical ways to rethink coordination.
Spanish edition: current publication
English edition: in preparation, no release date announced
Spanish-language learning resources are available through the Academic Hub. An AI-powered way to explore the book's ideas is being developed and is not yet publicly available.
See the Spanish edition ↗For people who are curious about how organizations really work.
Researchers studying organizations. Designers who work on complex services. Founders scaling teams. Operations and product leaders looking for something more fundamental than a better meeting agenda.
This is an invitation to explore an idea, not a consulting offer or a request for a meeting.
About the author
Chema Maroto
Chema Maroto is a Spanish professional and author with over 25 years of experience in software, operations, organizational change, and transformation. His professional learning includes specialized courses at MIT Sloan, Stanford Online's Product Management program, and IDEO educational programs.
These are educational experiences, not university degrees, endorsements, or institutional affiliations.
Stay curious
Is the idea relevant to your work?
Feel free to share a thoughtful question or reaction. The most useful conversations often start with curiosity, not a pitch.
Looking for the original Spanish resources? Visit the Academic Hub ↗