How to ... Keep meetings short and productive

Coming from the corporate marketing world, Beck Besecker recognized that meetings at most companies aren't productive. That's why his company has rules to keep meetings quick and to the point.

The first rule is no meetings in the morning because people tend to be most productive when they first get in to the office. “You let people work when they are smartest,” says Besecker, CEO of Marxent Labs, a 50-employee virtual reality firm.

The second rule is no meeting can last longer than 30 minutes. In a corporate environment, “the first 15 minutes is BS, then you have the meeting” and then you fill the rest of the booked time, Besecker says. “You're paying for people sitting and talking.” Marxent Labs avoids this trap by programming 15 minutes, instead of an hour, as the default meeting time on company calendars.

The third rule is “advise and move forward,” according to Besecker. Employees are encouraged to let leaders and peers know the direction they are moving in and tell them “if you have a concern, let me know because I'm moving forward with it tomorrow.” This rule helps with momentum, he says.

It's not that collaboration isn't important. The key is recognizing meetings as a fundamental underpinning of your company's culture, Besecker says.

Each morning Marxent does a “stand-up,” where each employee takes 5 to 10 seconds to share with a small team what she did yesterday and what she plans to accomplish today. “The daily stand-ups eliminate the need for 10 meetings during the week,” Besecker says.

The company also has what it calls the “top meeting,” where employees share their top three accomplishments. It's a moment for a “humble brag” in front of their peers and leaders about two things they've accomplished and one shout out to another team member. “It provides visibility to other teams and projects,” Besecker adds. Following the lead from companies with 20,000 employees who still find a way to build the stand-up and top meetings into their company culture, Besecker plans to keep this visibility. “As we continue to grow, that will never go.”

— Traci McMillan Beach