Death by Meeting!

Here’s the Meeting Manifesto our team committed to and I believe it should be adopted by every company. Let us know what you like and what you would change or add:

Meeting Manifesto

1. Meetings are scheduled on a calendar
2. Meetings are not for sharing information
3. Any important information should be shared at least 24 hours prior to meeting
4. Meeting participants are expected to review provided information prior to meeting
5. Meetings are for recapping information, making decisions & answering questions
6. Two exceptions to rule #5 involve:
   1. Update calls (when necessary, use Slack or Audio Message if possible)
   2. On-boarding calls
7. Meeting length should be dictated by scheduled frequency:
   1. Weekly meetings should be no more than 30 minutes, 15 minutes is preferred
   2. Bi-monthly or monthly meetings should be no more than 1 hour 

Time

We believe our time is our most precious resource. For that reason, our goal is to:

1. Never waste each other’s time by being late or unprepared for any meeting. If anyone will be late or unable to attend a scheduled meeting, they have the immediate responsibility to communicate the situation to the the other meeting members. 
2. Never abuse each other’s time by causing the meeting to go longer than expected. If a meeting is going over the scheduled time, the meeting members are free to leave the meeting to attend other commitments. If decisions have yet to be made in the allotted time, an additional call can be scheduled rather than the tendency to rush to a decision without getting full engagement. The meeting host is responsible for following up with any info someone missed if a meeting is finished after the allotted time scheduled in a case where a member had to leave the meeting. 

Trust

The greater trust between meeting members, the quicker the group will make collective decisions. Trust allows everyone to be heard and compromises to be made quickly. Any distrust existing among members of a group prior to a meeting will cause skepticism. If meeting members notice distrust leading to inefficiency, an attempt to rebuild trust should be made.