I'm in a very similar place....although being in this time zone makes it brutal.

I actually caused a few waves by having my "work issue" being how we are locked into a mindset that meetings are fitting into neat little 1hr increments. I then followed that up with there being two negative effects from it...one of which is seen and one which is not. The seen effect is that the meeting will grow and fill that box....even if the subject being discussed isn't worthy of that whole hour(s). This takes away valuable time from all parties.

The unseen effect is that having that meeting in 1hr increments actually unconsciously stifles innovation. This is because we're already in a mindset of an expected solution fitting the expected problem.

I came up with this while sitting on a call during dinner time so as to accommodate people in other time zones. The kick to the face was that people loved it...and I got booked into other 1hr meetings to "deep dive" into it further.

All those stupid little managmenet books are nonsense. You want to make some gains...start working your own problem creatively. Use the individuals "non-work" skills/interests on your team and see what's out there. You'd be surprised what type of innovation one gets from the guy who likes to cook or the woman who's into puzzles.

~Jeordam