Meetings have a bad reputation. I’ve seen feedback that calls them a “waste of time” a way for leaders to “stroke their egos” and “boring”.
It’s unfortunate that so many companies and leaders are ineffective at running meetings. When executed properly, meetings are a powerful way to communicate, align teams to the vision, and get work done.
This playbook is a simple framework that allows you to host and attend more effective meetings. I have also included a working agenda for every major type of meeting that you can easily implement in your company.
Meeting Rules
- Set the meeting type (see below) and communicate it clearly
- All meetings must have a published agenda
- Follow the 2 pizza rule
- Ruthlessly follow the agenda
- Start the meeting with energy – give attendees a mindset shift
- Visuals or collaborative docs > talking
Effective Meetings Framework
The 3 types of meetings
- Information sharing
- Brainstorming
- Decision making
Clearly define what type of meeting you are requesting. This will ensure everyone is on the same page and can contribute the right value to the call.
Meeting Agendas
To make it easy, I have published the most important meetings you will run and the working agendas below. You are free to modify these to your organization’s needs.
You will notice that each agenda follows the same format
- Meeting type
- Purpose
- Agenda
- Outcomes
Annual planning meeting
Quarterly planning meeting
Monthly planning meeting
Weekly sync
Meeting Type: Information Sharing
Purpose:
1. Share team wins
2. Benchmark weekly actuals to targets
3. Review big rocks
========
Agenda:
1. Celebrate wins! (4 mins)
2. Scorecard (6 mins) – 1 min per team
3. OKR Review (8 mins)
4. Announcements (4 mins)
=========
Outcomes:
1. Update Team on Changes
2. Team Updated Scorecard
3. Update Big Rocks
1:1 Check-ins
Project-based meetings
Skip level meetings
Recommended Resources
Cameron Herold’s Meetings Suck