Ask YC: How to conduct a meeting? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask YC: How to conduct a meeting?

#31

Post by chrisbroadfoot » Mon, Jun 23, 2008, 6:55 AM UTC

skmurphy wrote: post #30

chrisbroadfoot wrote: post #15

Keep it short and to the point. Have an agenda. Allow people to edit the agenda before-hand (a wiki is a good place for this). Make sure actions come out of the meeting, so the time isn't wasted.

These are great suggestions! We use a private wiki that anyone on the team can edit: it saves a lot of time versus E-mail. We use the same page for both the agenda, the minutes, and a decision record (you can always re-factor or start pages to address ongoing issues/concerns, but there should be a single page for the meeting that links to related content). Since you are geographically separated I would use an IM sess…

The other good thing about wiki vs email is that you have a permanent record of everything that has ever happened. E-mails get lost, and new employees cannot browse the old content

Re: Ask YC: How to conduct a meeting?

#32

Post by skmurphy » Mon, Jun 23, 2008, 6:56 AM UTC

chrisbroadfoot wrote: post #18

jlouis wrote: post #7

Meetings should have an agenda. By mail. 5 days in advance. That will kill "impulse meetings". First point on the agenda: "Is this meeting necessary?". Every time. With luck, it can be adjourned in less than 5 minutes. If not, you have something to discuss. Meetings have a secretary who writes down decisions. The referendum is available as quickly as possible. The same day or the next. Meetings have a speaker who con…

Mail is horrible. As I just commented, I much prefer the pattern of using a wiki to organise a meeting agenda. That way, everyone can contribute to the meeting's purpose (beforehand, obviously)

Not only beforehand: you can use the same page for the minutes as well and the "secretary" doesn't become the neck of the bottle. The page should be updated during the meeting and links added to other relevant material as needed.

Re: Ask YC: How to conduct a meeting?

#33

Post by chrisbroadfoot » Mon, Jun 23, 2008, 7:02 AM UTC

skmurphy wrote: post #32

chrisbroadfoot wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mail is horrible. As I just commented, I much prefer the pattern of using a wiki to organise a meeting agenda. That way, everyone can contribute to the meeting's purpose (beforehand, obviously)

Not only beforehand: you can use the same page for the minutes as well and the "secretary" doesn't become the neck of the bottle. The page should be updated during the meeting and links added to other relevant material as needed.

No, not during the meeting. I think it's rude for people to be using devices in a meeting unless it's necessary - demo'ing, presenting, etc. Not only that, but it will make everyone else in the room uncomfortable, and the person on the device won't be paying attention or contributing much of anything.

Re: Ask YC: How to conduct a meeting?

#34

Post by skmurphy » Mon, Jun 23, 2008, 7:06 AM UTC

chrisbroadfoot wrote: post #33

skmurphy wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only beforehand: you can use the same page for the minutes as well and the "secretary" doesn't become the neck of the bottle. The page should be updated during the meeting and links added to other relevant material as needed.

No, not during the meeting. I think it's rude for people to be using devices in a meeting unless it's necessary - demo'ing, presenting, etc. Not only that, but it will make everyone else in the room uncomfortable, and the person on the device won't be paying attention or contributing much of anything.

I guess my experience has been different: we've found it very effective to have the decisions documented and reviewed before the meeting ends. This is for 3-6 folks on a small team, either face to face or on the phone/skype.

Re: Ask YC: How to conduct a meeting?

#35

Post by edu » Mon, Jun 23, 2008, 10:30 AM UTC

What kind of meeting?

In some cases I'll recommend Lego Serious Play, http://www.seriousplay.com/. Basically uses Lego to project the issues discusses in the meeting so it's easier to (1) de-personalize them and (2) to visualize.

Re: Ask YC: How to conduct a meeting?

#36

Post by DanielBMarkham » Mon, Jun 23, 2008, 12:40 PM UTC

Daily stand-ups for 5 minutes each.

Weekly 15-minute "what's killing us right now" meetings

Work in the same room all the time.

Make it a point to spend a lunch with the team at least once a week somewhere besides lunch.

Repeat and rinse.

My guess is that you're not co-locating and collaborating effectively. If you were, meetings would not be a problem.

Re: Ask YC: How to conduct a meeting?

#37

Post by wheels » Mon, Jun 23, 2008, 1:05 PM UTC

chrisbroadfoot wrote: post #15

Keep it short and to the point. Have an agenda. Allow people to edit the agenda before-hand (a wiki is a good place for this). Make sure actions come out of the meeting, so the time isn't wasted.

Ditto on the agenda-in-wiki, with the addition that if it's not on the agenda it has to wait until next week. This keeps meetings from wandering from topic to topic, usually on topics that someone just thought of that don't really need to be discussed in a group.

Re: Ask YC: How to conduct a meeting?

#38

Post by danw » Mon, Jun 23, 2008, 2:14 PM UTC

First step is to figure out why you want weekly team meetings. Once you've figured out the goal make sure everyone attending knows it, keep the time spent to a minimum (max 30 mins) and don't let anyone take you on an irrelevant tangent.