Are you dreading your weekly management meetings?
If so, you’re not the only one.
But the good news is that there’s an alternative.
Try my ideal agenda for making it the most efficient and effective 90 minutes of your week:
🥳 Good news: 5 min
Always start with a round of good news to get in the right mood.
Happy minds are creative minds.
Moreover, by sharing both a professional and a personal positive, you learn something about your team members every week.
🚥 Goal status: 5 min
Spend 5 minutes tracking your quarterly goals.
This is where you build accountability.
Don’t get into details yet, it’s WAY too early in the meeting to get sidetracked.
Just report “on track” or “off track”. Off track items go on your issue list to discuss later.
🚥 Company health: 5 min
Spend 5 minutes discussing your company scorecard.
This scoreboard tracks your company’s health along 10 (max!) KPIs.
Any issues go on the issue list to discuss later.
🤷🏼 Headlines: 5 min
Share any relevant employee or customer headlines.
Any issues – you guessed it – go on the issue list to discuss later.
✅ To-do’s: 5 min
To-do’s from your previous meeting are next.
At least 80% of the previous meeting’s to-do’s are done, any unfinished to-do’s can be pushed once.
Of course, it helps to define each to-do as concretely as possible.
Experienced teams can knock the above items out in 20 minutes or less.
Showing up prepared and staying on point is the key.
With everyone properly informed and up-to-date, you can then move on to…
❗️ Issue solving: 60 min
You’ll spend the bulk of your time solving your company’s most pressing issues.
These are any issues or opportunities that need to be tackled to solve one or more of your company goals.
Before you dive in, it is crucial to first agree on the top three issues that you want to discuss.
Come prepared and be ready to suggest an issue, this shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds.
One by one, solve the issues you’ve identified.
• Identify the issue below the issue, so you know you’re tackling it at the root. One way to do that is by asking “Why?” five times.
• Discuss potential solutions. Remember that the point is to get all perspectives on the table, not to debate your way to a preferred solution.
• Solve the issue by defining concrete follow-up steps, and assigning them to the right team members.
Time left? Pick three more issues, rinse and repeat.
🎁 Wrap up: 5 min
Five minutes before the end of the meeting, repeat the to-do’s for next week.
If anything needs to be communicated to the rest of the company, discuss what you’ll communicate, how you’ll communicate it, and who will do it.
Trust me when I say that just this last part will save you ton of headaches over the years.
TL;DR:
🥳 Good news: 5 min
🚥 Goal status: 5 min
🚥 Company health: 5 min
🤷🏼 Headlines: 5 min
✅ To-do’s: 5 min
❗️ Issue solving: 60 min
🎁 Wrap up: 5 min
Do this every week, same day, same time.
And if you’re feeling extra fancy, make it a pizza meeting.
Your management meeting sets the pace for the rest of the company, so make it count.