Walk into any meeting room and ask: "What's the goal of this meeting?"
Chances are, you'll get one of two answers. Either someone will tell you the topic ("we're discussing the project"), or they'll tell you the format ("we're doing a standup").
Neither is a goal.
A goal is a specific outcome. "By end of this meeting, we will have decided X" or "By end of this meeting, we will have a clear plan for Y."
Without that, you're not running a meeting. You're having a conversation and calling it a meeting.
Why Agendas Feel Like Overhead
Most people don't write agendas because they think it's bureaucratic. "We all know why we're here."
But when no one writes it down, everyone shows up with a different version of the meeting in their head. The project manager thinks this is a status update. The engineer thinks this is a decision review. The designer thinks this is a brainstorming session.
Three people. Three meetings. Same hour.
What a Good Agenda Actually Looks Like
It doesn't need to be long. It needs to be specific.
Meeting: Q2 Planning Review
Goal: Decide on Q2 roadmap priorities
Prep: Review the attached project list
Needed: Decision between Option A vs Option B
Output: Finalized Q2 priorities
That's it. Four lines. And it tells everyone exactly what they need to know.
The Test
Before any meeting, ask: "If this meeting goes perfectly, what do we walk out with?"
If you can't answer that, cancel the meeting. Or at least figure out the answer before you start.
The meeting without a goal isn't a meeting. It's a placeholder.
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