Do you stick to the agenda and achieve the meeting goal?

Any good meeting has a clear goal and follows an agenda.

Capture side issues separately instead of letting them take over the meeting. Start by agreeing side issues will be moved to the parking lot or handled by a scribe.

Start the meeting with a question:
“Who will be the scribe so we can capture side issues? Let’s aim to stay on track and avoid rat holes.”

Figure: Rat holes are where meeting goals go to disappear

Keep the meeting effective

• Start with a couple of easy quick wins to build momentum and get decisions made
• Put important or mentally demanding items near the start, while people are fresh
• Refer to the agenda from time-to-time. Early topics should build alignment, then handle difficult topics, and try to end on something that brings the group together
• Keep urgent but low-value topics timeboxed
• For long meetings, add a break at each hour mark
• End with a quick Retro to check whether the meeting stayed on track and what could be improved next time

A good meeting should stay aligned with the agenda, respect everyone’s time, and end with clear outcomes.