PM's Guide To Running Meetings That Don't Make People Want To Quit

Forbes

7 days ago

Ishaan Agarwal, Senior Product Manager at Square.
Let's talk about meetings. Actually, let's talk about why everyone hates them. You know the feeling. That calendar notification pops up and your soul dies a little. Another hour of your life is about to vanish into the corporate void. The thing is, as product managers, we're often the ones sending those soul-crushing invites. We're the meeting makers.
But here's the uncomfortable truth. Meetings aren't inherently evil. Bad meetings are evil. And most meetings are really, really bad.
Microsoft researchers found that ineffective meetings are the number one productivity killer in modern workplaces. When people quit jobs, they don't usually cite "too many meetings" as the reason. But dig deeper into exit interviews about "lack of work-life balance" or "inability to get work done," and guess what you'll find? Meetings. Always meetings.
Start With Why (No, Really)
Every meeting needs a purpose. Not a vague purpose like "discuss Q4 roadmap." A real purpose. What decision needs to be made? What problem needs to be solved? If you can't articulate this in one sentence, cancel the meeting.
Here's a simple test. Before scheduling, ask yourself: "What will be different after this meeting?" If the answer is "Everyone will be informed about X," send an email. If the answer is "We'll feel good about alignment," please don't. But if the answer is "We'll have decided between option A and option B," now you're talking.
Product managers love to schedule "sync meetings." Stop it. Synchronous time is expensive. A one-hour meeting with six people isn't a one-hour meeting. It's six hours of human potential. Treat it that way.
The Guest List Matters More Than You Think
Who really needs to be there? I mean, really, not who might have feelings about not being invited or who traditionally attends these things. Who actually needs to be in the room for the decision to happen?
There's this weird corporate thing where meeting invites become status symbols. So, here's what you do. You create two lists. Required attendees who need to be there for the meeting to achieve its purpose and optional attendees who might find it useful but aren't essential. Then, tell the optional folks they're truly optional. Write it in the invite: "You're optional for this one. I'll send detailed notes after." Watch what happens. Half won't show up. And the ones who do actually want to be there.
Write It Down First
You've heard about Amazon's memo culture. Most companies try this and fail spectacularly. They write the memo, then still have the meeting where everyone discusses what they just read. That's missing the point.
Writing forces clarity. When you have to put your thoughts into complete sentences, you realize half of them don't make sense. So, write stuff down before the meeting, but not six pages. Write maybe six paragraphs: what's being decided and the context, options and trade-offs. Send it 24 hours before. Give people time to think.
Run It Like You Respect People's Time
Start on time. If the meeting starts at 2:00, you start talking at 2:00. Not 2:03 when Steve finally joins. The people who showed up on time? They matter.
End early. Never end late. If you scheduled 30 minutes and you're done in 20, give people 10 minutes back. They'll love you for it. If you need more time than scheduled, tough. You failed at planning.
Keep a parking lot. Someone starts going down a rabbit hole about technical implementation when you're trying to decide on pricing? Parking lot. Write it down, promise to address it later and move on.
The Follow-Through That Everyone Forgets
The meeting ends. Decisions were made. Actions were assigned. Then, nothing happens. Why? Because nobody wrote anything down. Or they wrote it down but didn't share it.
Within two hours of the meeting ending, send a summary, not a transcript. Include what was decided, who's doing what and by when—three paragraphs max. Then, follow up. That action item Jim took? Check on it, but not in a micromanaging way. Ask in a "Hey, need any help?" way. Most action items die from forgetfulness, not malice.
The Nuclear Option
Sometimes, you end up in meeting hell—back-to-backs all day with no time to think. When this happens, you need the nuclear option. Cancel everything for a week. Send a note: "Meeting reset. If your meeting is critical, please reschedule with a clear agenda and outcome."
Half the meetings won't come back. The ones that do? They come back better with a clearer purpose and a smaller group. It's like spring cleaning for your calendar.
The Reality Check
Meetings aren't going away. We need to align, decide and create together. But we don't need to do it badly. The next time you're about to send that meeting invite, pause. Ask yourself if this is really the best way to achieve what you're trying to achieve. If it is, make it count.
Because here's the thing about being a product manager. You're not just building products. You're building culture. Every terrible meeting you run—that's the culture you're building. Every efficient, purposeful, respectful meeting—that's culture, too.
Choose wisely. Your team's sanity depends on it.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?