The Two-Minute Rule
Post-pandemic I found myself inundated with internal meetings on Zoom or Teams with 30-minute meetings extending to one hour or more in some cases.
I tried something different.
I instituted a maximum 15-minute cap on all meetings and The Two-Minute Rule.
But then the issue was everyone was in a rush to finish the meeting within 15 minutes and people were being interrupted non-stop.
The Final Solution? The Two-Minute Rule. I stole this one from Ray Dalio, famous Hedge Fund and business guru. I discovered it while leafing through one of his books at the local bookstore.
Here’s how it works: For a meeting attendee who wishes to speak, you must give them an uninterrupted two minutes to explain their thinking before someone else can jump in. This ensures everyone has time to fully develop and communicate their thoughts without worrying about someone talking over them.
Using this method, I discovered that people can much more thoughtful, creative, and imaginative if given the time to articulate their thoughts without being talked over by others. It also encourages the introverts to speak without fear of being verbally trampled.
The seeds of many innovative projects have been planted during these 15-minute meetings.
I tried this at our local homeowner’s association meeting last month. It worked like a charm. I highly recommend this rule.
Other meeting rules I recommend that have worked very well for me:
- Keep the meeting small – a group of 3 – 5 usually works best.
- Stay on topic: Everything can be condensed to 15 minutes. Focus on one single objective.
- Prepare: Distribute the meeting agenda before the meeting.
- Rack & Stack: Arrange meetings in a linear fashion. I do all mine now in the morning and leave the afternoon open for more client-facing tasks and creative thinking. Fridays are a no-meeting day. For everyone in the office.
I never knew how wasteful and stressful meetings could be until I implemented this strategy.
Good luck to all!
Rob
