efficientmeeting

Efficient Meeting Pattern - EMP v0.2

Why?

90 percent of employees feel meetings are “costly” and “unproductive”

“Status” meetings are a waste of time and extremely costly for the company.

A 1-hour meeting with 4 people = 4 hours spent
An all-hands meeting of 2 hours with 40 people = 80 hours = 10 days spent

The Efficient Meeting Pattern aims to reduce by four times the time spent on “status” meetings

How does it work?

EMP is like an application that offers several levels of features. It can also be compared to a physical or sporting activity where there are different levels based on each person’s skill.

Modules

The principle revolves around a central module that is enriched with satellite modules depending on our level of expectation and maturity.

How to start?

Efficient Meeting Pattern follows a logic of transformation. It is therefore recommended to gradually start applying the principles and increase the level as the team becomes more engaged.

Below are the details of the 3 EMP levels.

3 levels

Features	Level 1 - The Minimalist	Level 2 - The Perfectionist	Level 3 - The Nerd
Before the meeting
Apply the efficient meeting pattern	✓	✓	✓
Share the topic to be discussed, the goal of the discussion, and the success criteria	✓	✓	✓
Share status elements in a known, shared, and archivable place (OneNote, Loop, Notion…)	✓	✓	✓
Share documents to read/know to effectively conduct the meeting	✓	✓	✓
Share concepts to know to effectively conduct the meeting	✓	✓	✓
Respond YES to invitations if I can/must attend	✓	✓	✓
Respond NO to invitations if I am absent/on leave/sick	✓	✓	✓
Cancel my meetings if I am absent/on leave/sick	✓	✓	✓
Do not have “unanswered” meetings in the calendar	✓	✓	✓
Take 5 minutes at the end of the week to review the meetings for the following week and check for conflicts	✓	✓	✓
Use the “mandatory” and “optional” features when scheduling the meeting	✓	✓	✓
Delay the start of the meeting by 5 minutes		✓	✓
Shorten the meeting by 10 minutes		✓	✓
Take 5 minutes at the end of the day to review the meetings for the next day and check for conflicts		✓	✓
Take 5 minutes in the middle of the day to prepare for the meetings of the next day			✓
During the meeting
Apply the efficient meeting pattern	✓	✓	✓
Be on time for meetings	✓	✓	✓
Postpone the meeting if the “mandatory” participants are not present	✓	✓	✓
Ensure that time is managed (timekeeper)		✓	✓
Come prepared to the meetings		✓	✓
After the meeting
Share the minutes of the meeting	✓	✓	✓
Share and assign the task list	✓	✓	✓
Share the next steps	✓	✓	✓
Add your todos on your personal task management system (if applicable)		✓	✓

The pattern

Sequence

Prepare your meeting
Send the invitation including all details following the template
Share status on the shared document asynchronously
Conduct the meeting

Meeting agenda & timing

5 minutes for Introduction
10 minutes for Q&A and potential alerts
(Optional) 30 minutes for collaboration

Templates

This document is used to share all updates prior to the meeting so that participants can focus on the essentials during the discussion.

Participants should update and read this document before the meeting.

You can copy/paste this template and update & remove according to your needs.

Date: [Insert date here]

Participants: [Insert list of participants here]

Updates:

[To be updated]

List item

List item

…

Alerts:

[To be updated]

List item

List item

…

Minutes of the meeting: [To be updated]

Todolist:

[To be updated]

List item

List item

Next steps:

[To be updated]

List item

List item

Meeting template

It is important to mention that the invite must be read before the meeting (in the meeting’s title).

You can copy/paste this template and update & remove according to your needs.

Meeting title : [An explicit and attractive title] - Read this before the meeting

Collaboration topic(s):

Topic 1

Topic 2 (if required/possible)

Objective: [A clear sentence explaining the objective of the discussion]

Documents:

List all the necessary documents for the meeting (attached to the invite or link included)

Updates: Please share your updates on this document before the meeting: [insert link here]

Agenda [Example, to be updated]:

5 minutes for Introduction

10 minutes for Q&A and potential alerts

30 minutes for collaboration

Methodology: I’m following the Efficient Meeting Pattern to reduce the time spent in non-productive meetings. You can find all the details and documentation about EMP on this page.

In case there is no immediate need to collaborate on a specific topic, you can skip the last 30 minutes of the meeting.

How to communicate and get adhesion from your team?

Explain the “Why,” the starting point, the foundation. The idea is not to add something or propose a “new reorganization.” The core of the subject is the meaning of our work and the waste of our resources.

Lead by example. Probably the best way to prove the model’s viability.

Communication. Include the image of your badge in your invitations; this should spark curiosity and perhaps even debates. We have two sets of badges to choose from according to your preferences (copy/paste):

Library & inspiration

Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni
- Constructive Conflict: Encourage open debates and constructive disagreements to engage participants and arrive at well-thought-out decisions.
- Meeting Structure: Divide meetings into different types (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly) to address specific needs and avoid redundancy.
- Dramatic Narration: Apply storytelling techniques to make meetings more engaging and relevant.
The Secrets of Facilitation by Michael Wilkinson
- Meticulous Preparation: Successful meetings begin long before they are held, with thorough preparation by the facilitator.
- Group Dynamics Management: Use techniques to manage the different dynamics and personalities in the room.
- Post-Meeting Actions: Ensure actions and decisions are clearly established and followed up after the meeting.
Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli
- Decision Culture: Change the organizational culture so that meetings are primarily decision-making places, not just discussions or reports.
- Less, but Better: Have fewer meetings but of higher quality, where each meeting has a clear and precise purpose.
- Mandatory Preparation: Require all participants to come prepared to contribute effectively to the meeting.
Getting Things Done by David Allen
- Clarification of Actions: Ensure that each discussion point leads to a clear action, with a responsible person and a deadline.
- Regular Reviews: Hold regular reviews to track the progress of actions decided during meetings.
- Information Organization: Keep information organized so that relevant data is easily accessible during the meeting.
Where the Action Is by Elise Keith
- Meeting System: Develop a comprehensive meeting system that supports the organization’s strategic goals.
- Clear Roles: Assign specific roles in meetings to improve flow and structure (e.g., facilitator, note-taker).
- Continuous Feedback: Integrate feedback to continually improve the structure and content of meetings.
Dear Manager, You’re Holding Too Many Meetings by Benjamin Laker, Vijay Pereira, Ashish Malik, and Lebene Soga - Link
Hate Meetings? Considerable Research Reveals the Loophole That Makes Every Meeting Worthwhile by Jeff Haden - Link
Les équipes distribuées, ça peut marcher ? by Bertrand Delacrétaz - Link
Stop the Meeting Madness by Leslie A. Perlow, Constance Noonan Hadley, and Eunice Eun - Link

Contributors

Benoit Lamouche

Want to contribute?

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