davidgasquez.com
📚 Personal bits of knowledge
📝 Expand Meetings.md with additional best practices for hosts and attendees, and introduce recommendations for a healthier meeting culture
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Meetings.md
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Meetings.md
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# Meetings
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Meetings are essential for brainstorming and group decision-making, but they often become unproductive [[Time]] sinks. Creating an exceptional meeting [[Culture]] requires intentionality and clear practices.
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## Common Meeting Problems
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- [Too many meetings with unclear value lead to productivity loss](https://abitmighty.com/posts/the-ultimate-meeting-culture)
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- Meetings tend to be slow and unproductive without proper structure
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- [Large meetings make active participation difficult for most attendees](https://abitmighty.com/posts/the-ultimate-meeting-culture)
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- People attend due to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) rather than genuine need
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## Host Best Practices
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- [Meetings should be as short, focused, and small as possible](https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/10/01/the-low-information-diet/comment-page-5/).
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- [Include detailed agenda with time estimates for each item](https://abitmighty.com/posts/the-ultimate-meeting-culture)
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- [Schedule meetings ending at :50 to allow breaks between meetings](https://abitmighty.com/posts/the-ultimate-meeting-culture)
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- The host is typically the moderator, unless otherwise determined.
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- Nominate a note-taker prior to the start of the meeting.
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- Share a draft agenda prior to the meeting (with consideration for time zones)
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- Review the agenda at the top of the meeting, asking for other items and the order.
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- During the meeting, collect to-do's, blockers/asks, and DRIs.
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- [Take clear minutes documenting all decisions made](https://abitmighty.com/posts/the-ultimate-meeting-culture)
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- [End meetings on time to respect everyone's schedule](https://abitmighty.com/posts/the-ultimate-meeting-culture)
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- You can add [[feedback]] as an agenda item, and ask the participants to take a few minutes to jot down feedback for the next meeting.
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- When asking for a meeting, send a message with:
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1. **Purpose.** State reason for meeting. Include necessary information, links, context, ...
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3. **Date.** State restrictions (i.e. "must happen before Aug 8.")
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4. **Suggestions.** Pick three reasonable choices given restrictions and suggest them up front.
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## [Attendee Best Practices](https://abitmighty.com/posts/the-ultimate-meeting-culture)
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- Only attend meetings if genuinely interested and can contribute
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- Prepare in advance by reviewing agenda and related materials
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- Actively participate in discussions rather than passively listening
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- Decline meetings when appropriate - it's better than attending without engagement
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- Read meeting minutes if not attending to stay informed
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## Update Meetings
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- Progress: what did I accomplish this week?
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- How the most important customers are succeeding (or not) using the product.
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- How the team is performing and any people changes needed.
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- Financial position of the company and review of metrics.
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## Meeting Culture Recommendations
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- Prioritize written [[Communication]] for knowledge sharing over meetings
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- Make it culturally acceptable to enter/leave meetings strategically
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- Create a culture where declining meetings without guilt is normal
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- Focus on creating intentional, purposeful meetings rather than habitual ones
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- "The goal of an exceptional meeting culture is to allow for people to constructively decline meetings by fully understanding the consequences of their action"