The quiet relief of a fair turn

There was that familiar pause, right after I asked who wanted to go first. A few people looked down at their notes, someone cleared their throat. It wasn't a big deal, but it was a small, recurring friction point we all felt.

That moment of collective hesitation

We’d tried going alphabetically, by seniority, even letting the last person from yesterday start. Each method felt a bit arbitrary, and someone always ended up feeling a little put on the spot. It created this tiny, unspoken weight at the very beginning of our meeting.I remember thinking we just needed a neutral third party. Something that took the decision, and any perceived slight, completely out of our hands. The goal wasn't to be random for the sake of it, but to be fair in a way everyone could see.

Letting the wheel carry the weight

I pulled up the wheel with our names already on it. The click to spin it was almost ceremonial. We all watched it go around, a silly little animation somehow holding our attention.When it landed, there was a soft chuckle from a few people. The person it picked just nodded and launched right in. There was no debate, no mental energy spent on the order. We could all feel the shift—the meeting's focus was immediately on the work, not the process.

The space it created

That small moment of fairness at the start created a different tone for the whole standup. It felt more collaborative, less like a rigid reporting chain.

A simple, shared agreement

We didn't need to discuss it again. It just became our way. The wheel decided, and we could all get on with the actual conversation.