Your time is valuable. And so is mine.

There are probably a million little things that need your time and attention, like right now.

That’s why there are few worse things than a truly terrible meeting (TTM’s for short!).

TTM’s are unfortunately a ubiquitous part of modern work life. Unproductive time sinks filled with unproductive discussions, lack of engagement, and a general sense of futility.

Studies show that executives spend nearly a third of their workweek in unproductive meetings. In fact, 92% of employees consider meetings costly and unproductive.

So, what makes meetings so TERRIBLE?

It often stems from these common culprits:

• A lack of a clear agenda or purpose.
• A failure to establish a structured process for achieving their objectives.
• Individuals dominating and lack of individuals who speak up

But you can take on these culprits with a few simple strategies that will turn your TTM’s into opportunities for alignment, inspiration and action-planning.

1. Consider whether a meeting is necessary before scheduling one. Before scheduling a meeting, ask yourself, “should we meet at all?”

• Is this urgent? If not, can it be handled through email, messaging, or a quick video using a service like Loom?
• Is this complex? Does it require face-to-face discussion to fully understand and address?
• Is this decision-making? Do we need to gather input from multiple stakeholders to make a critical decision?

2. Create agendas on the fly with P.O.P. Outline the topics to be discussed and the desired outcomes, provide participants with a sense of direction and purpose.

P.O.P. Which stands for Purpose, Outcome, Process.

• Purpose. Clearly define the objective of the meeting and ensure that it aligns with broader organizational priorities.
• Outcome. Identify the desired outcomes or deliverables that should be achieved by the end of the meeting.
• Process. Establish a structured agenda and meeting guidelines to ensure efficient and productive discussions.

(Grab a sample of the P.O.P. worksheet here!)

3. Engaging people. Actively involve participants by encouraging them to share their thoughts and perspective.

• Ground rules. Set clear expectations for behavior and participation at the start of the meeting.
• Sharing how you want people to participate. Be explicit about how you expect participants to contribute during the meeting.
• Poll people. Use polls, either verbally or via tools like Zoom or Slack, to quickly gather input from the group.
• Ask open-ended questions. Encourage thoughtful discussion and creative problem-solving.
  • What haven’t we thought of?
  • What could go wrong?
  • What are we missing?
  • What are the range of ways to approach this?