At Google, I could always tell who would get promoted.
It wasn’t the person who showed up on time and left on time.
It was the person who lingered after the VP’s town hall. Who walked out with senior leaders. Who showed up 5 minutes early to make small talk.
The meetings are where you do your job.
The margins are where you build your career.
👉 The Problem
You show up to a meeting on time, participate, and take notes.
Then it ends and you immediately rush to your next thing. You think you’re being productive.
But you’re missing the moments that actually matter.
👉 The Big Small Thing
Stop rushing out immediately when a meeting ends.
Instead, optimize for the margins.
3 ways to do this:
1️⃣ Arrive 5 minutes early to important meetings.
When it’s just you and a few people in the room, that’s when real rapport gets built.
Make small talk. Ask how their week is going. Comment on something they mentioned last time you talked. This is where executives decide if they like you.
2️⃣ Walk out with people you want face time with.
Your VP just wrapped their town hall. Don’t bolt for the door. Walk out with them. Ask one follow-up question: “What else are you thinking about with the reorg?” or “How can my team best support this?”
That 3-minute hallway conversation gives you more face time than you’ll get in any formal meeting.
3️⃣ Create margins virtually.
Most meetings are on Zoom now. So how do you create margins when you can’t walk out together?
Send a quick Slack message right after the meeting ends: “Thanks for walking us though the reorg. Really helpful context. Quick question: how can my team best support this?”
The virtual equivalent of lingering is reaching out immediately after, when the conversation is still fresh.
When I was 23, I would’ve been terrified of this advice.
Spending extra time with my boss? Voluntarily lingering after meetings? I would’ve rushed back to my desk to catch up on email.
But here’s what I’ve learned:
Your network is your net worth.
Every opportunity to build real relationships is better time spent than crossing things off your to-do list.
You can watch content later or read in a summary. Connections only happen when you’re there.
Want more like this? Check out my guide to getting promoted!
👉 How This Helps You Get What You Want
When you optimize for the margins, you stop competing with everyone else who’s optimizing for the meetings.
You get face time with senior leaders when no one else is around.
You build relationships that turn into opportunities, partnerships, and promotions.
The real work happens in the margins
