Mindless meetings?
Do your meetings meander, get sidetracked, and frustrate? Maybe it’s your format.
Several of my clients go on crazy tangents in their meetings. They start out discussing how to approach an initiative and quickly go down a rabbit hole of debating strategy and overarching goals. They’re blending together conversations about tactics with conversations about strategy.
In Death By Meeting, Patrick Lencioni gives us a structure to overcome this problem, by having just 4 meeting types.
The daily check-in is a 5-minute stand-up (literally stand up) where the team shares their daily schedules and activities. It’s purely administrative and is not canceled, even if someone can’t attend.
The weekly tactical meeting is an hour, in which the team reviews their weekly activities and metrics, resolving tactical issues, obstacles, and issues. Give the initial reporting first, followed by the agenda. If the conversation turns to strategy, put that issue on a list for the next meeting…
The monthly strategic meeting is where you discuss, analyze, brainstorm, and decide on critical issues that affect your long-term success. Limit this meeting to just two or three important strategic topics, prepare and do research in advance, and engage in good conflict. This meeting can be done ad-hoc if something pressing came up in the weekly tactical.
The quarterly review meeting is a day or two long, and offsite. It’s where the team reviews its strategy, industry trends, the competitive landscape, key personnel, and team development. Don’t over-structure or overburden the schedule, and prepare in advance.
If you’re struggling with making decisions, use the IDS method to identify, discuss, and solve.
