Preparing and running the meeting
Step 1 / 4·Agendas written as results
0/4 steps done
Learning objectives — after this module you will:
- Write agendas as results rather than topics
- Decide who genuinely needs to be in the room
- Keep the pace and make sure everyone is heard
Agendas written as results
Fix the single highest-impact thing about meeting quality.
Two ways to write an agenda
A topic agenda
“1. Recruitment update 2. Q4 training plan 3. Production staffing issues 4. Any other business”
Nobody knows where the meeting is meant to end up, so item one easily eats 40 minutes and item three — the one that mattered — gets pushed to next time. 'Any other business' is almost always where meetings lose control.
A results agenda
“1. DECIDE: sign off the Q4 training budget (15 min, materials already sent) 2. SOLVE: find the cause of high production attrition and pick 2 actions (25 min) 3. INFORM: recruitment progress (5 min, sent ahead, questions only)”
Each item states what has to come out of the meeting, how long it gets, and what to prepare. Attendees know what to read beforehand and can tell when the meeting is drifting.
Four agenda rules
- START EACH ITEM WITH A RESULT VERB: decide, choose, agree, diagnose — not 'discuss' or 'talk about'.
- PUT A TIME ON EACH ITEM. Without one, the first item always eats the last item's time.
- SEND MATERIALS AT LEAST 24 HOURS AHEAD, saying who needs to read what. Reading in the meeting is the most expensive way to read.
- DROP 'ANY OTHER BUSINESS', or cap it at the final 5 minutes. It's where meetings most often overrun.
Key takeaway: Every agenda item states what RESULT must come out, in how long, and what to read first.