a proposal for how to structure team meetings

team-meetings

a proposal for how to structure team meetings.

goals: to make sure you have something to talk about, everyone is represented, and a topic does not get dropped.

rules:

i. have team meetings. always have team meetings.

ii. write topics on a whiteboard. this is important. make sure everyone knows that they can add 
another topic at any time.

iii. discuss topics from the top down. management has the option to add really important things to the top 
of the list each time.

iv. while discussing the topics from top down, if other topics are discovered - add them to the list, then 
go back to the topic being discussed. do not diverge from the topic being covered.

v. exhaust your time discussing the topics on the list from top down. move on to the next topic when general 
concensus is reached, but do not mark it as completed.

vi. 5 minutes before your time is exhausted, review what you have covered item by item. ask the room if anyone 
feels you haven't fully explored the topic. (do not ask for confirmation from all; ask for objection from 
individuals.) anyone in the room can raise an objection to keep a topic active. it will become the top of the 
list next time ("Continued"). otherwise, mark it as complete.

vii. transcribe the whiteboard list to an email, sent to all participants. mark Completed items with [X] 
(at the top of the list). mark Continued items with [C] (next on the list). the rest of the items follow.

viii. in the interim, any participant can reply-all and add a topic to the end of the list.

ix. at the start of the next team meeting, transcribe the Continued and normal items from the list onto the 
whiteboard, following any management 'hot topics'

x. repeat the cycle and adjust the frequency: if at the end of the meeting you have more than 5 items on the 
list, you need to meet for longer, or more frequently. if you complete the entire list every time, you need 
to meet for less time or less frequently.