The Meeting Standard

Why I book meetings this way — and why you might want to steal it.

When you book a meeting with me, you’ll see a short preparation note in the invite. It exists for one reason: to make sure our meeting is worth having — for you, for me, and for anyone else in the room. Here’s the thinking behind each element, with sources if you want to go deeper.

The Email Test

The most expensive meeting is the one that didn’t need to happen. Before booking, ask: can this outcome be reached asynchronously — an email, a shared doc, a short video? If yes, that’s almost always faster for everyone. Meetings earn their place when we need real-time discussion, creative back-and-forth, or a decision that requires everyone at once.

The One-Page Brief

Amazon famously banned PowerPoint. Instead, whoever calls a meeting writes a narrative memo, and the meeting starts with everyone reading it in silence. The logic: writing forces clear thinking, and reading together means the discussion starts from shared understanding instead of a cold start.

We don’t need six pages. But for complex topics, a single written page — the problem, the context, your proposal — beats any agenda. Send it in advance and our meeting time goes entirely into discussion, not into bringing each other up to speed.

Go deeper: Jeff Bezos on Amazon’s memo culture (Inc.) · How to write an Amazon-style 6-pager (Lark)

No Spectators

Jeff Bezos’ “two-pizza rule”: if two pizzas can’t feed the group, the meeting is too big. Small groups discuss candidly, decide faster, and nobody can hide. Steve Jobs went further and simply removed people from meetings who didn’t need to be there — not as an insult, but as a gift of time.

So: invite only people who actively contribute to the outcome. Everyone else gets the summary afterward, in two minutes instead of sixty.

DRI — Directly Responsible Individual

A meeting without owned action items is a conversation, not a meeting. At Apple, every action item on a meeting list gets a DRI — one named person who is directly responsible for it, with a due date. Not a team, not “we should” — one name. It sounds bureaucratic; in practice it’s the opposite: everyone leaves knowing exactly who does what by when, and nothing falls through the cracks.

Go deeper: How Steve Jobs made meetings productive (World Economic Forum)

Done Early = End Early

Elon Musk told Tesla employees to leave any meeting the moment they stop adding value, because “it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time.” We’ll keep it friendlier: if we reach the outcome in 20 minutes of a 45-minute slot, we end — and you get 25 minutes of your day back. Ending early is a success, not a failure.

Go deeper: Musk’s productivity rules from his Tesla email (CNBC)

Like & Wish

Thirty seconds at the end: each participant names one thing that worked (Like) and one thing to improve next time (Wish). It keeps the format honest and evolving — this page is itself the product of many Wishes.

Steal This Format

This structure isn’t mine — it’s assembled from ideas by Amazon, Apple, and Tesla, adapted for everyday business meetings. Copy it, adapt it, put it in your own invites. The template:

Your time is valuable. This structure keeps our meeting short, prepared, and worth having.

STEP 1 — THE EMAIL TEST
If the outcome can be reached asynchronously (email, doc, short video), let's do that
instead — it's faster for both of us. Book a meeting only when we need live discussion
or a decision.

STEP 2 — ANSWER THESE 4 QUESTIONS IN THE COMMENT FIELD
1. Outcome — What should be decided or achieved by the end?
2. Agenda — Max. 3 points, most important first.
3. PrepWork — What can each of us prepare beforehand? Send materials in advance.
   For complex topics: a one-page written brief beats any agenda.
4. Attendees — Only people who contribute to the outcome. No spectators.

HOW WE RUN IT
• We start with the outcome and stick to the agenda.
• Every ToDo gets a DRI (Directly Responsible Individual) and a due date.
• Outcome check at the end. Done early = we end early.

AFTERWARD
• 30 seconds of feedback: one Like, one Wish.
• Everything else happens asynchronously.