Making the Most of Meetings - 4 Easy Rules

According to Forbes there are 55 million meetings each day - and half of them are a waste of time.

Photo by Benjamin Child on Unsplash

I mean yes, some meetings are really important for us to …

• share ideas
• move things forward, or
• come together and create momentum in a project.

But, meetings can be a big waste of time.

Since I started working in the corporate world, I’ve had many meetings - some good ones and some bad ones. The good ones share this 4 core-rules:

• Keep meetings as short as possible (15-30 minutes are optimal)
• Preparation is key for an efficient meeting: if you’re leading it, send out materials beforehand and if you’re attending, jot down three things you want to address.
• The most important section of a meeting is the “next steps” section. Assign clear tasks and deadlines.
• Avoid discussing anchor problems and don’t discuss gravity problems at all.