Meeting agenda

An agenda is a promise about what a meeting will produce. The topics matter less than the outcome line at the top: "by the end we will have chosen the CRM" tells everyone why they are there, what to read, and when the meeting has done its job. Meetings without one tend to fill the time with updates that an email could have carried.

A good agenda puts decisions first, while people are fresh and before the clock runs out, gives every item an owner and a time, and says what each item needs from the room: a decision, input, or nothing (in which case it probably belongs in writing). This skill builds one from whatever the person has, and carries forward what the last meeting left open.

When to use it