Each Monday, I have extensive internal meetings—sometimes with direct reports, sometimes with skip-level team members. No matter who I’m meeting with, I appreciate preparation.
It’s always interesting to see the people whose agendas are a day long, likely because they’re unsure when they’ll get another meeting. They’re often surprised when I say, “Put us on for the next 6 weeks or so.”
Preparation, as I often tell people, is not just about me, it’s about them. I want to know what’s on our people’s minds. In addition to their agenda, I track things in a notes system for recurring meetings, so I can go back and review what we’ve discussed.
But it’s also my framework for managing 9 or 10 meetings a day. I need an agenda, and I typically review every agenda before the meeting. More likely than not, my review and prep come Sunday night and early Monday morning, before anyone in the world is awake.