3 ms·

The one easily implementable item from this list that just never seems to catch on is: prepare a bullet-point agenda in advance, then make sure everyone reads i

The one easily implementable item from this list that just never seems to catch on is: prepare a bullet-point agenda in advance, then make sure everyone reads it before the meeting, or in the first 10 minutes of the meeting. This one is kind of mysterious to me, since everyone who has experienced it says it’s great, yet it’s still not a common practice in startups, all these years later.

malfist 3y ago
It's fantastic. And if you do it digitally with some shared word processor that supports commenting, you can run a meeting very effectively. Everyone reads, adds comments as they read and then the rest of the meeting can be settling debates around the comments now that everyone is on the same page. As a bonus, this system lets the quieter voices speak up. Someone unassertive and shy can put a comment and it get heard
- bruce511 3y ago
  I too picked up on that line. But it kinda depends on the meeting doesn't it? Of course an agenda is ideal. Of course each participant should come to a meeting understanding what it's for, where real, important, things are discussed, concensus reached, and decisions are made. I go to some of these kinds of meetings every year. This year I've had the joy(?) of consulting in two corporate environments. Where the folks executing a project get to have regular (frequent) meetings with middle managers to "report on progress". What did we do? What do we plan to do? When will it be finished. 10 people are invited to each meeting. 3 give feedback. 1 "runs" it (and tries to keep it short). 6 (I'm sure) are working on other things while the meeting happens. So yeah, no, I'm not spending 30 minutes preparing for your meeting. I'm barely attending your meeting. (And if my name is mentioned I'll likely ask you to repeat the question.) Which brings me to my point. Calling every gathering the same thing (meeting), then prescribing advice for all meetings, is unhelpful because not all meetings have the same value to begin with.
nlitened 3y ago
> prepare a bullet-point agenda in advance I think bullet points are exactly the thing Bezos was arguing against. No lazy bullet points, but instead a well-written text with a cohesive narrative, consisting of full sentences and paragraphs.

malfist 3y ago

It's fantastic. And if you do it digitally with some shared word processor that supports commenting, you can run a meeting very effectively. Everyone reads, adds comments as they read and then the rest of the meeting can be settling debates around the comments now that everyone is on the same page. As a bonus, this system lets the quieter voices speak up. Someone unassertive and shy can put a comment and it get heard

bruce511 3y ago
I too picked up on that line. But it kinda depends on the meeting doesn't it? Of course an agenda is ideal. Of course each participant should come to a meeting understanding what it's for, where real, important, things are discussed, concensus reached, and decisions are made. I go to some of these kinds of meetings every year. This year I've had the joy(?) of consulting in two corporate environments. Where the folks executing a project get to have regular (frequent) meetings with middle managers to "report on progress". What did we do? What do we plan to do? When will it be finished. 10 people are invited to each meeting. 3 give feedback. 1 "runs" it (and tries to keep it short). 6 (I'm sure) are working on other things while the meeting happens. So yeah, no, I'm not spending 30 minutes preparing for your meeting. I'm barely attending your meeting. (And if my name is mentioned I'll likely ask you to repeat the question.) Which brings me to my point. Calling every gathering the same thing (meeting), then prescribing advice for all meetings, is unhelpful because not all meetings have the same value to begin with.

nlitened 3y ago

> prepare a bullet-point agenda in advance I think bullet points are exactly the thing Bezos was arguing against. No lazy bullet points, but instead a well-written text with a cohesive narrative, consisting of full sentences and paragraphs.