Make every meeting move work forward

Employees and team leads can try one small meeting habit, then share what they noticed.

Fictional example: Northstar Services is inviting employees to try a five-day Better Meetings challenge. Use a meeting already on your calendar; no tracking or sign-up is needed.

Open the meeting guide See the sample agenda
A meeting room set for a handful of people

The aim: leave with a clear outcome

A useful meeting ends with a decision, a deliverable, or named next steps. When people only need the same information, a written update may be the better choice.

Try the challenge with one existing meeting. Each day gives you a small action to test—not a requirement to add another meeting.

Try the five-day challenge

Use the actions with one meeting you already have; adapt them to the work and your team's needs.

  1. 1

    Day 1: State the outcome

    Add one sentence to the invite describing what the group should decide, create, or clarify.

  2. 2

    Day 2: Share a short agenda

    List the topics and the result needed from each. Send essential context before the meeting.

  3. 3

    Day 3: Invite the contributors

    Check that each attendee has a clear role: provide input, make a decision, or coordinate an action.

  4. 4

    Day 4: Record the decision and owner

    Capture what was agreed and write an owner and next step for each follow-up.

  5. 5

    Day 5: Reflect and adjust

    Ask what helped, what could have been shared beforehand, and what to change next time.

Get practical support

Choose the guide or worked example that fits your next step.

Choose a meeting format

Compare common work situations and follow a sequence for a focused conversation.

  • Decide whether a meeting is useful
  • Prepare contributors and context
  • Close with owners and next steps
Open the meeting guide

Use a sample agenda

Review a fictional 30-minute planning example and copyable invite and follow-up wording.

  • See example timings
  • Adapt the invite
  • Record decisions and actions
Open the campaign toolkit

When you have tried a habit, share what you learned

Describe one change in the meeting and one question that remains.

Share the habit you tried and what you observed with the campaign owner through the established internal communications channel.

Share a specific observation, such as whether naming the decision-maker helped the group reach a clear next step.