Your calendar is full.
Your work waits.
Most meetings do not need to happen.
Ask four questions first.
If the answer is weak, do not book it.
A short story
A team was always “in a meeting.”
Decisions were slow.
Morale was low.
We added one rule.
No meeting without four yes answers.
In one month they cut 35 percent of meetings.
Work moved. Energy returned.
The Four Questions
1) Purpose
What result must be true when we end
Write it in one line.
2) Decision
What decision will we make in the room
Name it. If there is none, you do not need a meeting.
3) People
Who is needed to decide or provide facts
Invite fewer people. Share notes with the rest.
4) Prep
What must be read or done before we join
Send a short brief. No brief, no meeting.
If you cannot answer all four, stop and fix.
The green light test
Book the meeting only if you have:
- A one-line purpose
- A named decision
- The smallest list of needed people
- A short brief sent at least 24 hours before
Everything else is calendar noise.
Turn a meeting into a decision note
Use this when the decision is simple.
Decision Note (copy and paste)
- Purpose:
- Background (5 lines max):
- Options:
- My proposal:
- Decision needed by:
- Owner after decision:
Send it. Ask for replies by a time.
If people still need to talk, meet with the note in hand.
A simple agenda that works
Meeting Title: Decision on X by today
Duration: 25 minutes
- Purpose and decision (2 min)
- Options and facts (8 min)
- Risks and trade-offs (8 min)
- Decide and assign owner and date (5 min)
- Next step in one line (2 min)
End on time. End with clarity.
Roles that keep it clean
- Owner: runs the meeting, keeps time, drives decision
- Decider: one person, final call if needed
- Contributor: gives facts or views, then steps back
- Scribe: writes the decision and next step in the note
No owner. No meeting.
Length and size rules
- 15 minutes for a quick decision
- 25 minutes for a normal decision
- 50 minutes only if complex
- 5 people or fewer when you can
- More than 8 means you likely need a note, not a room
Scripts you can copy
Before booking
“Here is the purpose and the decision we need. If we cannot state both, let us write a note first.”
To reduce the list
“Only people needed to decide or provide facts are invited. Notes will go to everyone else.”
To push for prep
“Here is the brief. Please read before we meet. If you cannot, we will move the meeting.”
To decline kindly
“Thanks for the invite. What decision will we make. If none, I suggest a short decision note.”
To end on time
“We have five minutes left. Let us decide and assign one owner and date.”
For managers
- Ask to see the purpose and decision line before you approve large meetings.
- Praise short, useful sessions.
- Remove or merge standing meetings that do not move outcomes.
- Protect two focus blocks a day for the team.
For remote teams
- Send the brief and decision note 24 hours early.
- Use cameras for the first two minutes, then screenshare the note.
- Record the decision at the end and post it in one channel.
- Replace status calls with a weekly “What moved” note.
Common traps
- “Let us sync” with no result.
- Ten people on a call to listen.
- Slides that repeat the brief.
- Debates without a decider.
- Ending with “Great chat.” and no owner.
Fix one trap this week.
Your pocket checklist (print this)
- Purpose in one line
- Decision named
- Only needed people
- Brief sent 24 hours ahead
- Agenda with times
- One owner, one date, one definition of done
- Decision posted after
If any box is empty, do not book.
Tiny action now
Open your calendar.
Cancel one meeting that has no clear decision to make.
Replace it with a decision note due today.
Use the saved time to move real work.
The bigger frame
Awareness sees what is waste and what is work.
Leadership sets rules that protect time.
Execution writes clear notes and makes fast decisions.
Meet less.
Decide more.
Let your calendar serve your results.