Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, requires that anyone who wants to bring up an issue or proposal must write up the item fully before the decision meeting (with someone else writing up a counterproposal if necessary). The meeting is then spent reading the write-ups. Once the decision-making team has read them all, a decision is made. If consensus is not reached, the pre-appointed decision maker makes the call. If there are still open questions, then the decision maker assigns one or more people to research and, of course, write the needed follow-up. At the end of the next meeting, the decision is made. This strategy, though time-consuming for the sponsor, yields extraordinarily thoughtful decisions in a very short amount of time. The extra effort and work by one person creates a net savings in time and energy across the whole group.

That said, imposing this process on a group can be daunting. Here are the steps to ease a group into it:

1. Reserve the first fifteen minutes of the meeting for all participants to write out their updates and issues. Then use another ten minutes of the meeting for all participants to read one another’s updates and issues. Then discuss and decide. Use this method for two to three meetings, then…

2. Require that all participants write their updates and issues before the meeting. Do not allow people to bring up an issue that they have not already written up. Use the first ten minutes of the meeting for all participants to read one another’s updates and issues. Use this method for one to two meetings, then… Require that all participants write their updates and issues by a certain time before the meeting (e.g., 6:00 p.m. the day before).

3. Require that all participants read and comment on one another’s updates and issues before the meeting. People prove that they have read the documents by having their comments in the documents themselves. Do not allow people to make comments in the meeting if they haven’t already commented in the documents themselves.

This will make your meetings much more efficient and ensure that meeting time is spent effectively.

The write-up should include both a detailed description of the issue and the proposed solution. Someone may say, “I don’t know the answer.” It doesn’t matter. They should take a guess. Even if they have only 10 percent confidence that their answer is a good one. And they should phrase the proposed solution in very bold, directive terms (e.g., “Do this…”). This may seem aggressive but creates a flag in the sand that generates a much more productive discussion and a quicker decision time, which ultimately is more important than appearing to be humble.

I recommend that all issues and proposed solutions be presented at the weekly team meeting. Allow five minutes of discussion for each proposed solution. If, in that time, consensus is reached, great. The solution is turned into a next action with a directly responsible individual (DRI) and due date.

If not, do not spend more time talking about the issue. Instead, turn to the RAPID method (see p. 47).

Mochary