Before you schedule that meeting, ask yourself three questions.
1. What decision needs to be made?
If you can't answer this, you probably don't need a meeting. Meetings are for decisions. If you're just sharing information, send an email.
2. Who needs to be there?
Only people who can contribute to making the decision. Not people who need to be informed — they'll get the memo after.
3. What will happen if we don't meet?
If the decision can wait a week, it doesn't need a meeting today. If it can't wait, schedule it. But be honest with yourself about the urgency.
Most meetings fail the purpose test. They're scheduled out of habit, anxiety, or the assumption that "we should talk about this." The purpose test cuts through all of that.
The System Behind It
I use a Meeting Mastery System that helps you apply this test before every meeting:
- Pre-meeting checklist
- Decision-first meeting structure
- Time-boxed agendas
- Action trackers
The purpose test takes 2 minutes. It saves hours of unnecessary meetings.
[Link to Meeting Mastery System in bio]
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