meet

# Meet ## The Meeting Nobody Needed At some point today, somewhere in the world, forty-seven people are sitting in a conference room for a one-hour meeting that could have been a two-paragraph email. They know this. The person who called the meeting knows this. Nobody says it. At the same time, somewhere else, two people are exchanging their fourteenth email on a decision that would take four minutes to resolve if they just talked. Bad meeting culture does not have one failure mode. It has two: too many meetings that should not exist, and too few of the conversations that should. This skill fixes both. --- ## Meeting Classification ``` MEETING_TYPES = { "decision": { "purpose": "A specific decision must be made before people leave", "required": "Decision owner, options pre-circulated, clear criteria", "failure": "Leaving without a decision documented and assigned" }, "alignment": { "purpose": "Everyone needs the same understanding of something", "required": "What specifically needs to be aligned, why async failed", "failure": "Sharing information that could have been an email" }, "creative": { "purpose": "Generate options, ideas, or approaches that require real-time interaction", "required": "Diverge before converge — all ideas before evaluation", "failure": "HiPPO effect — highest paid person's opinion dominates early" }, "relationship": { "purpose": "Build trust, connection, and shared context that enables future work", "required": "Intentional structure — this does not happen by accident", "failure": "Filling with status updates instead of genuine connection" }, "should_not_exist": { "status_update": "Use async tools — weekly written update replaces 30 min standup", "one_way_info": "Record a video or write it — do not call 20 people to read slides", "FYI_meeting": "If no one needs to say or do anything, it is not a meeting" } } ``` --- ## The Pre-Meeting System ``` MEETING_PREPARATION = { "agenda_design": { "structure": """ AGENDA_TEMPLATE = { "title": "Meeting name that states the purpose", "objective": "One sentence: what will be true after this meeting that is not true before", "pre_read": "Material people must read BEFORE — not during", "items": [ { "topic": "Specific discussion point", "owner": "Person leading this item", "time": "Minutes allocated", "type": "inform | discuss | decide", "output": "What we need from this item" } ], "decisions_needed": "Pre-listed so everyone arrives prepared", "parking_lot": "Where off-topic items go — not ignored, not derailing" } """, "rules": ["Send agenda minimum 24 hours before", "No pre-read longer than 10 minutes", "Last item is always next actions — who does what by when"] }, "attendee_audit": """ def should_attend(person, meeting): roles = { "decider": person.must_approve_outcome, "contributor": person.has_unique_input_others_lack, "implementer": person.will_execute_the_decision, "informed": False # Send the notes — do not attend } return any([roles["decider"], roles["contributor"], roles["implementer"]]) # Amazon rule: if two pizzas cannot feed everyone, the meeting is too big # Optimal decision meeting size: 5-8 people """ } ``` --- ## Running the Meeting ``` FACILITATION_FRAMEWORK = { "opening": { "first_90_seconds": ["State the objective — not the agenda", "Confirm decision authority — who can say yes", "Set the clock — visible timer creates urgency"], "parking_lot": "Visible place for off-topic items — keeps meeting on track without making people feel dismissed" }, "discussion_management": { "silence_is_data": "Silence after a question means people are thinking — let it breathe", "dominant_voice": "Thank you for that — let us hear from someone who has not spoken", "tangent_response": "That is important — let us put it in the parking lot and come back", "circular_discussion": """ def detect_circular_discussion(transcript): if same_points_repeated_3_times: intervene("We are going in circles. Let me name the two positions I am hearing. [Position A] versus [Position B]. Can we agree on what information would resolve this?") """ }, "decision_making": { "RAPID_framework": { "Recommend": "Person who develops the proposal", "Agree": "Person whose agreement is required", "Perform": "Person who executes the decision", "Input": "Person consulted but not blocking", "Decide": "Single person who makes the final call" }, "principle": "Every decision needs exactly one Decider. Not consensus. Not majority. One person who is accountable for the outcome." }, "closing": { "last_5_minutes": ["Read back every decision made", "Confirm every action item: owner + deadline", "State what will be communicated to people not in the room", "Rate the meeting 1-5 — one word per person"], "never_end_without": "Written next actions before people leave the room" } } ``` --- ## The After-Meeting System ``` MEETING_NOTES = { "what_to_capture": { "decisions": "Every decision with the reasoning — not just what, but why", "actions": "Owner, task, deadline — three fields, no exceptions", "parking_lot": "Every item with assigned follow-up owner", "not_decisions": "Discussion content is optional — decisions and actions are mandatory" }, "distribution": { "timing": "Within 2 hours — memory degrades fast", "audience": "Everyone who attended + everyone who needs to know the outcome", "format": "Decisions first, then actions, then discussion summary if needed" }, "accountability": """ def track_actions(action_items): for action in action_items: if approaching_deadline(action) and not complete(action): send_reminder(action.owner, days_before=2) if past_deadline(action) and not complete(action): escalate_to_meeting_organizer(action) """ } ``` --- ## Fixing Meeting Culture ``` CULTURE_FIX = { "audit_first": """ def meeting_audit(calendar): for meeting in calendar.recurring: evaluate({ "last_cancellation_missed": was it missed when cancelled, "output_per_session": what is produced each time, "could_be_async": would Loom or doc work instead, "attendee_engagement": do people actually contribute }) kill_or_redesign(meetings_failing_audit) """, "principles": ["Default to async — meetings are the expensive option", "Protect deep work blocks — no meeting before 10am or after 3pm (example)", "Meeting-free day per week — Wednesday is common", "No meeting without agenda — if you cannot write the objective, cancel it", "Standing meetings get audited quarterly — most should die eventually"] } ``` --- ## Quality Check Before Delivering - [ ] Meeting type identified — decision, alignment, creative, or relationship - [ ] Agenda has a single stated objective not just a list of topics - [ ] Attendee list audited — no passengers - [ ] Decision authority identified if decision meeting - [ ] Action item format includes owner and deadline - [ ] Meeting notes distributed within 2 hours - [ ] Recurring meetings flagged for audit if culture question raised