■ · People
Meetings and reviews that actually help
Bad meetings waste hours. No meetings means problems surface too late. A small business needs a few meetings, each with a clear job, a set agenda and a fixed length, and nothing more. Get the rhythm right and meetings start saving you time.
Meetings are where the plan meets reality
Andy Grove, who ran Intel, wrote in High Output Management that a manager's output is the output of their team, and that meetings are one of the main tools managers have to influence it. Good meetings exchange information, make decisions and solve problems. Bad ones just fill the calendar.
The meeting rhythm
| Meeting | How often | Length | Its job |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily check-in (optional) | Daily | 10 min | What's today's priority? What's blocking you? |
| Weekly team meeting | Weekly, same time | 60–90 min | Scorecard, priorities, solve the top issues |
| One-on-ones | Weekly or every two weeks | 30 min | The employee's agenda: progress, problems, growth |
| Quarterly planning | Every 90 days | Half day | Grade the quarter, set the next priorities |
| Performance review | Quarterly, short | 30–45 min | Outcomes against the scorecard, values, goals |
■ Copy-ready agendas
Agendas you can use this week
Weekly team meeting
WEEKLY TEAM MEETING 1. Good news, personal and business (5 min) 2. Scorecard: each number on or off target? (5 min) No discussion yet. Off-target numbers go to the issues list. 3. Quarterly priorities: on track or off track? (5 min) 4. Client and team headlines (5 min) 5. Last week's to-dos: done or not done? (5 min) 6. Issues: pick the top three and solve them (30–60 min) For each: what's really going on? What are the options? Decide. Who does what, by when? 7. Recap new to-dos and owners (5 min)
One-on-one
ONE-ON-ONE (the employee's meeting) 1. What's going well since we last met? 2. What's getting in your way? 3. Progress on your outcomes and priorities 4. What do you need from me? 5. Feedback, both directions: What should I start, stop or keep doing? 6. Anything else on your mind? 7. Agreed next steps, with dates
Quarterly planning
QUARTERLY PLANNING 1. Review last quarter's scorecard trends 2. Grade each priority: done or not done? Why? 3. Lessons: what did we learn? (run it like a dossier review) 4. Check the one-page plan: still the right direction? 5. Choose 3 to 5 priorities for the next 90 days Each one: one owner, due date, what "done" means 6. Update the scorecard targets 7. Everything else goes on the "not now" list
Performance review
QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE REVIEW 1. Outcomes: each one from the role scorecard, met / partly met / not met, with evidence 2. Values: where did they show our values? Where didn't they? Specific examples only. 3. What went well this quarter (their view first) 4. What to improve (their view first, then mine) 5. Goals for next quarter 6. Support: training, tools or help they need 7. Anything that should change in the role
Make reviews short, frequent and fair
A once-a-year review asks everyone to remember twelve months of work, which nobody can do fairly. Short quarterly reviews against the role scorecard keep feedback fresh and remove surprises. Nothing in a review should be news. If it is, the one-on-ones weren't doing their job.
Feedback that lands
Describe what happened, the effect it had, and what you'd like next time. Keep it specific and about the work. Ask for their view first. For the wording, see Clear at Work.
Meetings are the tight ship's weekly inspection
The weekly meeting is where drift gets caught: a number off target, a priority slipping, a to-do not done. Same time, every week, no exceptions.
In the issues section, find the real problem before solving. The issue people name is often a symptom.
As owner, speak last when solving issues. Ask "what am I missing?" before deciding.
Big issues don't get solved in 10 minutes. Make them a Class II or III case and open a dossier.