Are your meetings a productivity black hole? You're not alone. In the world of product management, meetings can make or break your team's success. But what if you could transform these time-sinks into powerful tools for alignment, decision-making, and innovation?
In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein dive deep into the art and science of effective meetings. They explore common pitfalls, share battle-tested strategies, and provide a practical framework for running meetings that actually move the needle.
In this episode, you will:
- Discover why having a clear aim is the foundation of any successful meeting
- Learn how to calculate the true cost of meetings and maximize their ROI
- Explore strategies for keeping recurring meetings fresh and valuable
- Understand when to use synchronous vs. asynchronous communication
- Master the art of meeting facilitation and ownership
- Gain practical tips for preparing and following through on meeting outcomes
- Implement a "no-shit meeting checklist" to dramatically improve meeting quality
00:58 On Today's Show
02:10 The Startup Podcast Pact
02:35 Why Meetings Are Important (Even Though Most Meetings Suck)
04:32 Fact 1: Meetings Need An Aim
07:46 Fact 2: Meetings Are Expensive
15:19 Fact 3: Meetings Expand To Fill Time
24:44 Holding Effective Workshop Meetings
26:06 Optimal Meeting Lengths
28:37 Fact 4: Recurring Meetings Rot
30:29 Minimum Viable Meetings
33:42 Fact 5: Meetings Are A Last Resort
38:36 Bonus Fact: The Stand-Up Meeting Misconception
40:41 A Non-Sh*t Meeting Checklist
45:08 Closing Thoughts
The Pact
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Key links
The Startup Podcast is sponsored by Vanta. Vanta helps businesses get and stay compliant by automating up to 90% of the work for the most in demand compliance frameworks. With over 200 integrations, you can easily monitor and secure the tools your business relies on. For a limited-time offer of US$1,000 off, go to www.vanta.com/tsp.
Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A
The Startup Podcast website: https://tsp.show
Learn more about Chris and Yaniv
Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/
Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/
Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/
Editor: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur
Content Strategist: Carolina Franco https://www.linkedin.com/in/francocarolina/
Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/
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