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The best HR advice comes from people who’ve been in the trenches.
That’s what this newsletter delivers.
I Hate it Here is your insider’s guide to surviving and thriving in HR, from someone who’s been there. It’s not about theory or buzzwords — it’s about practical, real-world advice for navigating everything from tricky managers to messy policies.
Every newsletter is written by Hebba Youssef — a Chief People Officer who’s seen it all and is here to share what actually works (and what doesn’t). We’re talking real talk, real strategies, and real support — all with a side of humor to keep you sane.
Because HR shouldn’t feel like a thankless job. And you shouldn’t feel alone in it.
Meetings Don’t Sell
So why are you drowning in them?
Here’s the brutal reality: no deal has ever closed because of another internal meeting. Yet most sales teams spend more time in conference rooms (or Zoom rooms) than in front of prospects. Meetings feel productive, but they’re usually just expensive time drains. And in sales, time is the ultimate currency.
Top reps know this. They protect their calendars like territory. Every hour wasted in an “alignment session” is an hour not prospecting, not closing, not driving revenue. Average teams confuse talking about selling with actually selling. Elite teams cut the noise and spend their energy where it counts on the customer.
If your week is jammed with status updates and “strategy syncs,” you don’t have a communication problem you have a leadership problem. Meetings don’t move pipeline. Reps do.
Action Steps: Kill the Meeting Overload
Audit the Calendar – Count every recurring meeting. If it doesn’t directly move revenue, cut it.
Replace with Dashboards – Use real-time reporting to eliminate “status updates.” Numbers should be visible, not discussed.
Set a Meeting Tax – Every meeting must justify the lost selling hours. If it’s not worth the cost, it’s gone.
Shorten & Sharpen – Cap meetings at 20 minutes. Agenda-driven. No tangents. No fluff.
Protect Golden Hours – Block prospecting time in the morning and make it meeting-proof. Revenue first, everything else second.
Your job isn’t to keep the team busy it’s to keep them selling. Meetings don’t win deals. Reps do. And the team that sells more hours wins more revenue. Period.
