Product Manager here, I set a lot of meetings.
Basically make sure there’s a very clear goal for the meeting and very clear bounds on what is being discussed.
For me, I put an agenda in every meeting invite I send out with:
1. The purpose of the meeting
2. Bullet points on the things to consider
3. The end goal. What is the point we stop discussing
Part of it is also keeping people talking about relevant things.
It’s tough being the person who says “this is a great line of thinking but it’s not relevant to X” but in the end it helps make timeboxed meetings actually stay timeboxed.
Also, depending on the context, often it’s helpful to pre-align with a few key people who might cause potential struggle. Don’t pre-align with another meeting though. That’s just redundant.
Basically make sure there’s a very clear goal for the meeting and very clear bounds on what is being discussed.
For me, I put an agenda in every meeting invite I send out with:
1. The purpose of the meeting
2. Bullet points on the things to consider
3. The end goal. What is the point we stop discussing
Part of it is also keeping people talking about relevant things.
It’s tough being the person who says “this is a great line of thinking but it’s not relevant to X” but in the end it helps make timeboxed meetings actually stay timeboxed.
Also, depending on the context, often it’s helpful to pre-align with a few key people who might cause potential struggle. Don’t pre-align with another meeting though. That’s just redundant.