Beyond Agenda

By now it's pretty common to go to require that meetings have agendas (those links are the top three on google at the moment, but it goes on for ages). That's not enough, though.

Meetings need a purpose.

Meetings with agendas can still be a waste of time.

So how do you know if you have a meeting with a purpose, or just an agenda? There are a number of warning signs:

If you can't say what the meeting is for in under 2 sentences, it's probably purposeless.

• Good: "The meeting is for triaging potential release blockers." This is good because you're accomplishing a necessary business and software release task.
• Bad: "We get all the departments together for status." This is bad because "status" is not useful to anyone by itself. Yes, communication is good, but only when it's accomplishing something.

If a meeting has the same agenda for months, it may be purposeless.

This one isn't universally true (see daily standups, for example), but a meeting with an unchanging agenda can indicate a following of form over function. Good meetings dynamically handle changing circumstances and needs, and you don't get that if you're stuck in an agenda. It may also be a sign that the meeting organizer and/or meeting attendees aren't paying attention and is just going through the motions.

When you're planning how to spend your time, and considering whether a meeting is useful, ask yourself whether it has a purpose, or just an agenda. No purpose, no reason to go.