5.2 Meetings & Decision Tracking
(Or: "How to stop wasting 37% of your workweek in pointless discussions")
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5.2.1 The Art of the Meeting
Before, During, and After – Like a Pro
📝 Agenda Rules (The "No Agenda, No Meeting" Policy)
✅ 24-Hour Rule: Agenda circulated a day before
✅ Owner Tagged: Every topic has a @name responsible
✅ Time Budget: 5min/item (use ⏳emoji for longer)
Sample Agenda:
markdown
# [Project] Weekly Sync - YYYY-MM-DD
📍 Location: [Zoom/Office]
⏰ Duration: 30min (Hard stop at XX:XX)
1. **Q2 Sales Pipeline Review** (⏳10min - @Raj)
- Key blockers?
- Forecast accuracy check
2. **New Vendor Decision** (⏳5min - @Priya)
- Option A vs B comparison
- Vote required
3. **Action Item Check-In** (⏳5min - All)
🔥 Horror Story:
A Mumbai startup held 4-hour "brainstorming" sessions with:
• No agenda
• No notes
• 23 "action items" (0 completed)
Result: Product launch delayed by 3 months
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5.2.2 Decision Tracking
Who Does What by When? (Or Else)
🚀 Action Item Framework
Element Bad Example Good Example
Task "Fix the bug" "Increase server memory limit to 8GB"
Owner "Dev team" "@Amit (Backend Lead)"
Deadline "ASAP" "2024-06-20 EOD"
Status "In progress" "50% done - awaiting cloud approval"
Tools That Save Sanity:
• ClickUp/Asana for tracking
• Slack/Teams bots for reminders
• Public shame board (Just kidding... mostly)
💀 Nightmare Scenario:
An "urgent" client request:
• Discussed in 3 meetings
• 7 people "taking the lead"
• Actually completed by the intern after hours
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📝 Meeting Minutes That Matter
The 5-Minute Post-Meeting Ritual
1. Pin Decisions (Box them in 📌)
2. Highlight Actions (Color-code by department)
3. Kill Zombies (Archive unresolved topics)
Template:
markdown
# [Meeting Title] Minutes
📅 Date:
👥 Attendees: @A, @B (Absent: @C)
## ✅ Decisions Made
• [Exact wording] → Owner: @Name
## 🔴 Action Items
| Task | Owner | Deadline | Status |
|-----------------------|---------|------------|---------|
| Migrate server | @Dev | 2024-06-25 | Pending |
## ➡️ Next Steps
• Schedule follow-up: [Date]
• Pre-read for next meeting: [Doc link]
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🛡️ Meeting Health Check
"Are your meetings adding value or stealing time?"
Parameter 😱 Black Hole 🛠️ Mostly Useful 🛡️ Productivity Engine
Agendas None/"In someone's head" Basic bullet points Time-boxed + pre-reads
Minutes Verbal summary Partial notes Searchable decision log
Action Tracking "We'll remember" Some follow-ups Real-time dashboards
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🚨 Meeting Emergencies
"When chaos strikes:"
Disaster Triage Prevention
No agenda meeting Walk out after 5 minutes Calendar plugin blocks invites without agendas
Decision paralysis Coin flip + document Pre-meeting voting via Typeform
Action item limbo Public Slack shame thread Automated escalation to managers
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📌 Founder's Meeting Toolkit
1. The 22-Minute Rule
o Default duration (proven optimal by Google)
o No chairs → Standing meetings stay crisp
2. The "Parking Lot"
o Off-topic ideas go on a whiteboard → Revisit only if time permits
3. The Meeting ROI Calculator
o (Avg salary × attendees × hours) ÷ outcomes
o Cancel if projected ROI < ₹50K
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🎯 Final Thought
"Bad meetings create more meetings. Good meetings create action."
