Meet

The Meeting Nobody Needed

At some point today, somewhere in the world, forty-seven people are sitting in a conference room for a one-hour meeting that could have been a two-paragraph email. They know this. The person who called the meeting knows this. Nobody says it.

At the same time, somewhere else, two people are exchanging their fourteenth email on a decision that would take four minutes to resolve if they just talked.

Bad meeting culture does not have one failure mode. It has two: too many meetings that should not exist, and too few of the conversations that should.

This skill fixes both.

Meeting Classification

MEETING_TYPES = {
  "decision":      {
    "purpose":    "A specific decision must be made before people leave",
    "required":   "Decision owner, options pre-circulated, clear criteria",
    "failure":    "Leaving without a decision documented and assigned"
  },
  "alignment":     {
    "purpose":    "Everyone needs the same understanding of something",
    "required":   "What specifically needs to be aligned, why async failed",
    "failure":    "Sharing information that could have been an email"
  },
  "creative":      {
    "purpose":    "Generate options, ideas, or approaches that require real-time interaction",
    "required":   "Diverge before converge — all ideas before evaluation",
    "failure":    "HiPPO effect — highest paid person's opinion dominates early"
  },
  "relationship":  {
    "purpose":    "Build trust, connection, and shared context that enables future work",
    "required":   "Intentional structure — this does not happen by accident",
    "failure":    "Filling with status updates instead of genuine connection"
  },
  "should_not_exist": {
    "status_update":  "Use async tools — weekly written update replaces 30 min standup",
    "one_way_info":   "Record a video or write it — do not call 20 people to read slides",
    "FYI_meeting":    "If no one needs to say or do anything, it is not a meeting"
  }
}

The Pre-Meeting System

MEETING_PREPARATION = {
  "agenda_design": {
    "structure": """
      AGENDA_TEMPLATE = {
          "title":        "Meeting name that states the purpose",
          "objective":    "One sentence: what will be true after this meeting that is not true before",
          "pre_read":     "Material people must read BEFORE — not during",
          "items":        [
              {
                  "topic":    "Specific discussion point",
                  "owner":    "Person leading this item",
                  "time":     "Minutes allocated",
                  "type":     "inform | discuss | decide",
                  "output":   "What we need from this item"
              }
          ],
          "decisions_needed": "Pre-listed so everyone arrives prepared",
          "parking_lot":      "Where off-topic items go — not ignored, not derailing"
      }
    """,
    "rules": ["Send agenda minimum 24 hours before",
               "No pre-read longer than 10 minutes",
               "Last item is always next actions — who does what by when"]
  },

  "attendee_audit": """
    def should_attend(person, meeting):
        roles = {
            "decider":      person.must_approve_outcome,
            "contributor":  person.has_unique_input_others_lack,
            "implementer":  person.will_execute_the_decision,
            "informed":     False  # Send the notes — do not attend
        }
        return any([roles["decider"], roles["contributor"], roles["implementer"]])

    # Amazon rule: if two pizzas cannot feed everyone, the meeting is too big
    # Optimal decision meeting size: 5-8 people
  """
}

Running the Meeting

FACILITATION_FRAMEWORK = {
  "opening": {
    "first_90_seconds": ["State the objective — not the agenda",
                          "Confirm decision authority — who can say yes",
                          "Set the clock — visible timer creates urgency"],
    "parking_lot":       "Visible place for off-topic items — keeps meeting on track
                           without making people feel dismissed"
  },

  "discussion_management": {
    "silence_is_data":   "Silence after a question means people are thinking — let it breathe",
    "dominant_voice":    "Thank you for that — let us hear from someone who has not spoken",
    "tangent_response":  "That is important — let us put it in the parking lot and come back",
    "circular_discussion": """
      def detect_circular_discussion(transcript):
          if same_points_repeated_3_times:
              intervene("We are going in circles. Let me name the two positions I am hearing.
                          [Position A] versus [Position B]. Can we agree on what information
                          would resolve this?")
    """
  },

  "decision_making": {
    "RAPID_framework": {
      "Recommend":  "Person who develops the proposal",
      "Agree":      "Person whose agreement is required",
      "Perform":    "Person who executes the decision",
      "Input":      "Person consulted but not blocking",
      "Decide":     "Single person who makes the final call"
    },
    "principle":   "Every decision needs exactly one Decider. Not consensus. Not majority.
                    One person who is accountable for the outcome."
  },

  "closing": {
    "last_5_minutes": ["Read back every decision made",
                        "Confirm every action item: owner + deadline",
                        "State what will be communicated to people not in the room",
                        "Rate the meeting 1-5 — one word per person"],
    "never_end_without": "Written next actions before people leave the room"
  }
}

The After-Meeting System

MEETING_NOTES = {
  "what_to_capture": {
    "decisions":     "Every decision with the reasoning — not just what, but why",
    "actions":       "Owner, task, deadline — three fields, no exceptions",
    "parking_lot":   "Every item with assigned follow-up owner",
    "not_decisions": "Discussion content is optional — decisions and actions are mandatory"
  },

  "distribution": {
    "timing":    "Within 2 hours — memory degrades fast",
    "audience":  "Everyone who attended + everyone who needs to know the outcome",
    "format":    "Decisions first, then actions, then discussion summary if needed"
  },

  "accountability": """
    def track_actions(action_items):
        for action in action_items:
            if approaching_deadline(action) and not complete(action):
                send_reminder(action.owner, days_before=2)
            if past_deadline(action) and not complete(action):
                escalate_to_meeting_organizer(action)
  """
}

Fixing Meeting Culture

CULTURE_FIX = {
  "audit_first": """
    def meeting_audit(calendar):
        for meeting in calendar.recurring:
            evaluate({
                "last_cancellation_missed":   was it missed when cancelled,
                "output_per_session":         what is produced each time,
                "could_be_async":             would Loom or doc work instead,
                "attendee_engagement":         do people actually contribute
            })
        kill_or_redesign(meetings_failing_audit)
  """,

  "principles": ["Default to async — meetings are the expensive option",
                  "Protect deep work blocks — no meeting before 10am or after 3pm (example)",
                  "Meeting-free day per week — Wednesday is common",
                  "No meeting without agenda — if you cannot write the objective, cancel it",
                  "Standing meetings get audited quarterly — most should die eventually"]
}

Quality Check Before Delivering

• Meeting type identified — decision, alignment, creative, or relationship
• Agenda has a single stated objective not just a list of topics
• Attendee list audited — no passengers
• Decision authority identified if decision meeting
• Action item format includes owner and deadline
• Meeting notes distributed within 2 hours
• Recurring meetings flagged for audit if culture question raised