If you're a typical professional, you will waste 31 hours every month in unproductive meetings. That’s 4 days every month that you’ll never, ever get back!

I could quote more stats, but let's face it, you don't need more numbers to convince you that the amount and quality of your meetings suck. No, what you need is a way to change that fact, so that you can collaborate efficiently and effectively.

The 7Ps Meeting Framework encourages you to define a clear meeting purpose, then select the appropriate people and process that will deliver a product to meet that purpose. As you do so, the framework also serves as a reminder to prepare for the meeting, as well as identifying practical concerns and pitfalls. 

QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE A MEETING. 

Let’s break down the 7Ps in a little more detail. 
 

PROCESS & TYPES OF MEETINGS. 

I like to think of choosing who to invite to a meeting akin to selecting a 'mini-team'. Sure, a meeting is short-lived compared to even the smallest project, but the point is that you are selecting a group of people to get a job done. 

Applying this framework effectively particularly involves thinking through the most effective process to help the people in your 'mini-team to achieve results as rapidly as possible. Explore the 'Better Meeting Canvas' at the bottom of this page for tips on how to run five common meeting types including stand-ups, decision-making meetings, and innovative problem-solving meetings. 

DISCUSS THIS WITH YOUR TEAM TODAY. 

Meetings are a team sport, so changing them will take a team commitment. Share this page with your team today and start a discussion about how you will all commit to change. 

For example, before calling a meeting everyone might commit to: 

• Considering alternatives.
• If a meeting is required, send invitations with a clear and short purpose, product, and suggested process/ agenda. 
• Being clear about optional attendees and how they will be kept informed/ involved.
• Including pre-reading and context as required.  

And, before accepting a meeting invite, make it the norm to: 

• Request a purpose, product and suggested process. 
• Clarify if you are required or optional and, if the latter, request to receive an update/outcomes or the meeting product. 
• If you are required to attend, take a moment to do the pre-reading and prepare to contribute. 

Not surprisingly, I suggest you include a link to this page in a short email rather than calling a meeting ;). With such 'meeting-alternative' emails, ensure they have a clear call to action and deadline for a response. 

IN YOUR LATTICEWORK. 

As much as we all hate meetings, they’re a crucial part of living in a collaborative world. To that end, when exploring your pitfalls and people, ask how to better establish the Psychological Safety required for effective collaboration. Similarly, use models such as High-Velocity Decisions to move to decisions even when you lack consensus. 

Use the 7Ps Meeting Framework with the 5 Stages of Teaming to understand the different needs of each stage. When presenting information in meetings, consider using Minto Pyramid for efficiency and/or Aristotle’s Rhetoric for persuasion.

Pitfalls would be best explored by using a combination of Inversion and the Risk Matrix. A common pitfall is how to challenge the Confirmation Heuristic and other unconscious biases. 

Boost the efficiency of your meetings by applying Parkinson’s Law and Timeboxing meetings and agendas, and even scheduling a meeting as part of a Forcing Function. And finally, if you need participants to have a positive view of the meeting then consider the Peak-End Heuristic which might involve investing time to effectively summarise the meeting and/or focusing participants' attention on outputs.