Maximize the time spent on meetings by borrowing from the Jeff Bezos principles

People who worked directly for Jeff Bezos over the years describe him as bold, innovative, a tad impatient, demanding and results-oriented. One positive trait all Amazon-ers seem to agree on is Bezos is gifted at managing people.

Bezos shares how meetings are a necessary evil and how Amazon meetings differ from the norm in his letters to shareholders. At the beginning of a meeting, executives and assorted decision makers silently read narrative memos, written by Amazon staffers, that highlight company financials and updates on projects.

Bezos admits the silent reading exercise, while “pretty weird,” works because company execs are busy. The usual back-and-forth between department heads is neutralized and execs feel less pressure to engage in two of the least productive and most common meeting time-wasters:

• defending one’s turf, and
• “asking for updates” on what this and that group are working on.

Set rules that work and abide by them, every time

Bezos is a stickler for meetings starting on time, people showing up on time, and keeping the duration short. Here are some of the best practices Amazon follows for meetings:

• Meetings run for 30 minutes. Some might end a little early. But no marathon meetings that are all too common at companies.
• Be on time or stay out. The meeting is locked out at start time so any late-comers can’t sneak in silently. All attendees are expected to be on time if they want to be a part of the session.
• No PowerPoints or slide presentations allowed. If only every employer adopted this rule! Make people review materials ahead of time or during a silent reading session as Amazon does.
• One executive takes detailed notes. Those notes are then made available to attendees afterwards.
• Every meeting’s got a clear agenda. Keep it focused on a narrow, business-only topic.
• Save time at the end for questions and clarification. No one should walk out of a meeting unclear on a point that was made.
• Side conversations are verboten. The person speaking’s got the floor and deserves everyone’s attention.

For more of Bezos’ meeting practices and a few others that work for Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and Warren Buffet, check out this LinkedIn resource.