The 25 Minute Meeting

CHAPTER 2 It’s easier than you think

That’s right. Because you are already having 25-minute meetings — you just don’t realise it.

Right now, you are cushioning your 25-minute meetings with extra fat — that is, a whole bunch of unnecessary time that is pushing them out to 60 minutes.

The problem is that you’re running meetings, as you have always done, unconsciously.

Your team or organisation’s meeting culture is driven by everything from the default setting in your calendar app (not to mention your brain) to how the lack of punctuality is tolerated.

Like most, you probably believe that cooperation, collaboration and communication must be done in the form of meetings.

You spend all day flitting from one 60-minute meeting to the next like it’s the standard operating procedure.

As a leader, this behaviour is driven by and accepted by you: it’s been said that the standard you walk past is the standard you accept. (Ouch.)

Well, no more!

I’m about to show you that your default mindset is wasting time and draining productivity levels. You could be doing 25-minute meetings without making that much effort, and you can boost your brain power while you’re doing it. Yes, really!

How to slim back to 25 minutes

Let’s start by looking at a typical meeting scenario.

You may show up on time, while others may not. Maybe they (or even you) rock up 10 to 15 minutes late with a few excuses about why others are not coming.

Then the meeting starts with questions about the agenda that no-one has ...