Read This Before Our Next Meeting

1. Meetings are corroding organizations and killing productivity

One mediocre meeting after another quietly corrodes our organization, and every day we allow it to happen.

Meetings dominate work life. Many professionals spend most of their time attending meetings rather than doing productive work. This culture of excessive meetings has become so ingrained that we've stopped questioning its effectiveness.

The cost is enormous. Meetings interrupt workflow, waste time, and drain organizational resources. They often lack clear purpose, run too long, and fail to produce meaningful outcomes. This constant interruption makes it difficult for employees to achieve flow state and accomplish deep, focused work.

Two fundamental problems persist:

• Organizations have too many meetings
• The quality of these meetings is generally poor

2. Traditional meetings create a culture of compromise and kill urgency

Change is never met with open arms. Great decisions involve risk and risk scares people; it's natural for great ideas to get attacked or, worse, ignored.

Compromise dilutes innovation. Traditional meetings often lead to watered-down decisions as participants seek consensus. This culture of compromise stifles bold ideas and innovative thinking, resulting in safe but uninspiring outcomes.

Urgency disappears. Regular, unproductive meetings create a false sense of progress and activity. This illusion of productivity masks the lack of real action and decision-making. Employees become accustomed to delay and indecision, losing their sense of urgency and drive.

Three types of unnecessary meetings:

• Convenience meetings: Could be replaced by a memo
• Formality meetings: Held out of habit or to assert status
• Social meetings: Primarily for connection, not decision-making

3. Redefine meetings: conversations, work sessions, and brainstorms are not meetings

From now on, we'll use "meeting" to define only a precise type of session.

Conversations are not meetings. One-on-one dialogues should be encouraged as an efficient form of communication. They're easy to control, decline, and generally effective without the formality of a meeting.

Work sessions differ from meetings. These are focused, collaborative efforts where team members work together to create something. The purpose is clear, and only essential team members participate.

Brainstorming sessions are unique. These are dedicated to generating ideas and should be treated differently from decision-making meetings. They require a specific environment and set of rules to foster creativity and innovation.

4. The Modern Meeting supports decisions already made

The Modern Meeting is a special instrument, a sacred tool that exists for only one reason: to support decisions.

Decisions precede meetings. In the Modern Meeting framework, a preliminary decision is made before the meeting is called. This ensures that meetings have a clear purpose and are not used for indecision or procrastination.

Two primary purposes:

1. Conflict resolution: Debating the decision, proposing alternatives, or addressing concerns
2. Coordination: Planning the implementation of the decision

Ownership is crucial. The decision-maker must take responsibility for the outcome. While input from others is valuable, the final decision rests with one person, preventing diffusion of responsibility.

5. Modern Meetings are fast, focused, and limited in attendance

Keep meetings as brief as possible and set a firm end time. Every minute that you are sitting with five or seven of our key people is a minute that's costing us a fortune.

Speed is essential. Modern Meetings have a bias for action. They move quickly and end on schedule, preventing circular discussions and indecision.

Focused attendance. Only absolutely necessary participants are invited. This ensures efficient decision-making and coordination without wasting others' time.

Key questions for potential attendees:

• Can you function with a post-meeting summary?
• Can you provide your opinion in advance?
• Do you add value by being present?
• Are you attending for symbolic reasons or to demonstrate power?

6. Preparation and action plans are crucial for Modern Meetings

If someone comes unprepared, cancel the meeting or hold it without him.

Preparation is mandatory. The meeting leader must create a clear agenda and background materials. Attendees must thoroughly review these materials and come prepared to contribute meaningfully.

Action plans conclude meetings. Every Modern Meeting should produce a committed action plan that clearly outlines:

• Specific actions to be taken
• Individuals responsible for each action
• Deadlines for completion

Accountability matters. The meeting leader is responsible for following up on action items and holding participants accountable for their commitments.

7. Eliminate informational meetings and embrace a culture of reading

We must keep meetings about decisions. They must stay sacred. The only way to do so is to cancel the informational meetings.

Information sharing via memos. Instead of holding meetings to disseminate information, leaders should write clear, concise memos. This preserves meeting time for decision-making and coordination.

Reading is mandatory. For this system to work, everyone in the organization must commit to reading and engaging with these memos. This creates a culture of information sharing without the need for time-consuming meetings.

Benefits of a reading culture:

• More efficient information dissemination
• Preserved meeting time for critical decision-making
• Improved written communication skills across the organization

8. Brainstorming complements Modern Meetings for idea generation

The brainstorm is the anti-meeting, the counterweight that sits on the other end of the scale, opposite the Modern Meeting, giving the system balance.

Brainstorming is essential. While Modern Meetings focus on decision-making and narrowing options, brainstorming sessions are crucial for generating new ideas and possibilities.

Create the right environment. Effective brainstorming requires a different setting and rules from regular meetings. It should be fun, free from criticism, and encourage wild ideas.

Key brainstorming principles:

• Invite passionate participants, regardless of rank
• Praise liberally and avoid criticism
• Set numerical goals for idea generation
• Use a timer to create productive tension
• Change the physical environment to stimulate creativity
• Have a clear focus or problem statement
• Use a strong facilitator
• Exclude high-ranking executives who might inhibit free thinking

9. Implement the Modern Meeting Standard to transform your organization

Culture change occurs when a transformational idea spreads to enough people that a massive paradigm shift occurs.

Start small. Begin by implementing Modern Meeting principles in your own meetings and with your immediate team. Demonstrate the benefits through increased productivity and better outcomes.

Spread the idea. Share the Modern Meeting concept with colleagues and other departments. As more people adopt these practices, a cultural shift will begin to occur.

Be patient but persistent. Changing ingrained meeting culture takes time. Stay committed to the principles and continue to advocate for better meeting practices throughout the organization.

Key elements of the Modern Meeting Standard:

• Support decisions already made
• Start on time, move fast, end on schedule
• Limit attendees to essential participants
• Reject unprepared attendees
• Produce committed action plans
• Refuse to be informational
• Work alongside a culture of brainstorming

Last updated: October 10, 2024