Author: Leigh Espy
_Leigh Espy_
Reading time: 16 minutes
Synopsis
Bad Meetings Happen to Good People (2017) is a helpful book for anyone who wants to plan and lead better meetings. It offers simple ways to avoid wasting time, keep meetings focused, and make sure every gathering is truly useful. Whether you are leading the meeting or just attending, it shows you how to make the experience more productive and less difficult.
What’s in it for me? Simple habits to fix frustrating meetings
Meetings use a lot of the workday, but too often people don’t know why they are there. Some meetings last too long. Others go off topic, get controlled by one person, or finish with no clear result. It’s annoying to waste time and get nothing done.
Most meetings are not good because no one knows the goal, the plan, or the main idea. Even a small plan can make a big difference: when a meeting has a purpose, a clear list of topics, and someone leading the talk, it can help people do their jobs better. It makes things clear, helps make decisions faster, and helps work progress instead of just taking up another hour.
This Blink gives easy steps to make meetings better and more useful from start to finish. It shows you how to know if you really need a meeting, how to plan one that stays focused, and how to check up later so tasks are completed. It also gives useful ways to fix common problems like people who talk too much or talks that go in circles, without making it strange or uncomfortable.
If your schedule is full of meetings, this can help you make them better.
Blink 1 – Some meetings don’t need to happen at all
Meetings are everywhere, but that doesn’t mean they are always necessary. Just because something is important doesn’t mean it needs to be talked about in a meeting, in person or online. Before you schedule a meeting with anyone, ask yourself one thing: do we really need to discuss this right now, all together?
If the goal is simply to give information, email might be the better way. A message in your team chat or project area might also work. You will save people time, and they will thank you for it. But if the topic is private, difficult, or will likely cause questions, talk face-to-face or on a video call. People like to ask questions, see how others react, and feel respected.
When a decision needs to be made, a meeting can help – but only if the right people are in the room. If the person who can say yes or no isn’t there, you are probably just wasting your time. The same goes for planning meetings. These are best when people are ready to work hard. Keep the group small. Get everyone involved. Use whiteboards, shared documents, or sticky notes: whatever helps people share their thoughts and add to others’ ideas.
Brainstorming works best when you are looking for new ideas. A new way of looking at it, a new answer, a better way of doing things. You are not trying to make it perfect. You are looking for a new idea, so invite people with different ideas, not just the usual ones.
Some meetings are about collecting ideas or opinions. You might need ideas from many different teams, or views from people who work directly with customers or products. That’s a good reason. But without clear focus, these talks can go off topic. Someone needs to lead, and a calm, strong leader can keep things focused without making it boring or unpleasant.
Meetings for status updates are different. Some managers want updates in meetings regularly, others prefer to quickly read an email. Understand who you are talking to. If you do hold a meeting, make it quick. Don’t give long reports. Don’t ask everyone to speak just because. Say what is important, ask for help if you need it, and finish.
The best way to have good meetings, in short, is knowing when not to have them. If the goal is to make things clear, make decisions, or connect, then have one. But if you are doing it just because it’s a habit, stop. Meetings should be tools you use carefully, not something you do without thinking, and they are best used only when really needed.
Blink 2 – Good meetings start before anyone enters the room
The difference between a calm, focused meeting and confused, wasted time often depends on what you did before. If you want your meetings to be useful, and for you to build trust, show leadership, and keep things moving, preparing is the most important first step.
Start by being sure why you are having the meeting. Is there a decision to make? A plan to create? A problem to solve? If you are just doing it because it’s that time of the week again, you will probably waste everyone’s time. Meetings without a clear reason do not achieve anything. People arrive not ready or not knowing what to do, and you just talk about old things again. If you know what you want the group to achieve or understand, everything else becomes simpler.
Once you have decided the reason, turn that into a simple plan of topics. Keep it short and clear. Start with action words like “decide,” “approve,” or “check,” so people know what they need to do. If you need information to be read before the meeting, send it. Don’t just hope everyone will come prepared. That’s taking a risk, not a plan.
When scheduling, think if you really need the usual one-hour slot. Just because Outlook says 60 minutes doesn’t mean that’s what you need. If the meeting goal can be done in 30 minutes, schedule 30. People are more focused when they have a short and clear time limit. Parkinson’s Law says that work fills the time you give it: if you give a task too much time, it will take all that time.
Plan the details as if you are experienced. That means checking the meeting room or online link, testing equipment, printing documents early, and knowing who is coming and what they will do. If someone is only available for part of the session and has something important to say, put their topic first on the list. If your group often gets stuck or struggles, begin with an easy success to get everyone feeling positive and moving forward.
And finally, give yourself enough time. Show up early. Prepare quietly. Greet people. When you are relaxed, your team will notice. You are leading the meeting well from the moment it begins, not rushing to get ready. People see that you are calm and confident.
People often see how good you are as a leader by how you manage meetings, not just by what you say. Good preparation makes you look prepared, keeps the meeting going, and helps your team do their work. So take the time to plan it well before the meeting starts.
Blink 3 – Active leadership makes meetings flow
Once the meeting starts, you have finished preparing. Now it’s about leading the talk, making sure it continues, and using the time wisely. A good meeting needs a calm leader. Not controlling too strictly, but giving clear guidance so everyone stays focused on important things.
Begin by reminding people why they are there. The list of topics may already have been shared, but a short, confident summary makes a good start and helps everyone understand the main topic. It also shows that the meeting has a purpose. If the goal is to make a decision, say so. If the group is there to create a plan or think about choices, make that clear. When everyone understands the result you want to achieve, it is easier for them to take part and share useful ideas.
Stick to the list of topics, but decide what is best. Some talks need time to grow, especially if people are looking at new ideas or agreeing on something. If the conversation is still moving forward, let it continue. But if things start going in circles or talking about other things, intervene and bring everyone back to the main topic. You can always suggest talking about a topic again later or having another discussion with a smaller group.
Make sure everyone has a chance to speak. If only a few people are speaking, ask others to speak. A simple question like “What do you think, Alex?” can encourage more people to talk. Some people need a small push to take part, especially if they are thinking silently or waiting for a chance to speak. If a comment is unclear or the group seems confused, ask them to explain or give a quick summary to continue the meeting.
Pay attention to how the group is feeling. Disagreement can be helpful if people are still polite, but if people start to sound annoyed or lose interest, intervene to fix it. Look at how people stand or sit, not just their words. If someone looks unsure or not involved, give them a chance to say what they think. These small moments help keep the meeting engaged and useful.
When a topic is complete, finish it clearly. Summarise what was decided, point out any tasks that need to be done, and move on. Meetings feel better when they have a clear goal from beginning to end.
And this is the main point: good meetings are focused, fair, and make people feel energetic. People leave knowing what happened, what comes next, and that they used their time well.
Blink 4 – The meeting’s only truly over when the follow-up is done
The meeting might be over, but the work definitely isn’t. What happens after the meeting is just as important as what happened in it. If you want your meetings to actually make things happen, not just polite agreement and broken promises, you need to finish the process.
Start with your meeting notes. Don’t wait. Get them out while the discussion is still clear in your memory. Include the date, time, people who came and, most importantly, main decisions and what to do next. You are not writing down every word. You are creating a clear, short summary of what got done and what happens next.
Make it easy for people to know what they are responsible for. Tasks for people should be easy to see, not hidden in a document that no one reads. A good idea is to put them in the main part of your email that comes after the meeting, with who is responsible and when it’s due. That way, even if people ignore the attached notes, they will still see what they need to do.
If someone missed the meeting, still send them the notes. That saves you time having to tell each person individually. If you are not 100 percent sure your notes are perfect, say they are a draft and ask for changes within a day or two. Quick, tidy checking up like this keeps things moving and shows you are organized and get things done.
But don’t stop there. People get busy. A task that seemed clear in the moment can get lost among other important tasks. Talk to the people who need to do the tasks before the due date. A short, gentle reminder is all it takes. Something as simple as, “Just checking if you need any help to finish this on time,” helps tasks get done and shows that completing tasks is important.
Set up a simple system to keep track of tasks, due dates, and who is responsible. Use Excel, Trello, or whatever works. Include those “parking lot” items too. These are the ideas that were not discussed in the meeting but still need to be looked at. If you promised to check on something, do it.
And finally, if you want to get better at leading meetings, ask for opinions. Pick someone who will be truthful, not just kind. Ask what worked and what didn’t. Then really use the advice you get. It’s a small thing that creates trust and shows you really want to improve, not just complete tasks.
Blink 5 – Fixing common issues starts with speaking up clearly
Even the best-planned meeting can go wrong if you don’t deal with common problems that make people lose focus, waste time, and annoy the group. Knowing how to see and manage these situations can greatly help keep things useful.
Let’s start with the person who takes over the meeting. You know the type. They talk too much, keep changing topics, and don’t let others speak. Don’t let one person control the talk. Kindly repeat their main idea in your own words to show you’ve heard them. Then ask others to speak with a simple phrase like, “Let’s hear what other people think.” That makes it fair again without making anyone feel bad.
In large groups, setting time limits helps. Let people know at the start that you want everyone to speak, so comments will be short. You can use a timer if your team is okay with it, or just show an example by making your own comments short and clear. And yes, don’t do this with senior managers unless they have agreed to it.
Then there’s the person doing other things: the one always looking at their phone or computer during the meeting. If it’s someone at your level, ask them directly for their ideas to get them back into the discussion. If it’s your manager, you might have to ignore it. Either way, agreeing on rules at the beginning helps. Saying something like, “Let’s stay focused so we can finish quickly,” is very helpful.
Disagreements are more difficult to manage. Some disagreement is good: it shows people are interested. But when people start to sound annoyed or protective, it’s your sign to get involved. Look at how people stand or sit, not just their words. Don’t ignore signs that the group is moving towards a discussion that won’t achieve anything. If emotions rise, bring the talk back to the main goal. If that doesn’t help, suggest talking about it later outside the meeting, or say that the group needs more time or details to make a choice.
If the conversation keeps talking about the same things and arguments, point it out. Describe what is happening. Suggest next steps. Find out what is not there. Sometimes the group doesn’t know it’s going in circles until someone says so.
Most meeting problems can be fixed with calm, clear leadership and a little sensitivity. You don’t need to be too forceful. You just need to lead with a clear purpose. When you do, everyone else feels the change and your meetings quickly improve.
Final summary
In this Blink to Bad Meetings Happen to Good People by Leigh Espy, you’ve learned that meetings only work when they have a clear reason. If a short message is enough, don’t schedule a meeting. But when live ideas or teamwork are needed, preparation matters. Decide the goal, make a clear list of topics, and prepare all the details early. During the meeting, lead with a purpose. Keep the talk focused, ask many people to speak, and handle problems calmly. Afterward, follow up fast. Good meetings don’t just seem useful – they truly help things progress.
Okay, that’s it for this Blink. We hope you enjoyed it. If you can, please rate us – we always value your comments. See you in the next Blink.
Source: https://www.blinkist.com/https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/bad-meetings-happen-to-good-people-en