It’s been true for decades, and with everyone forced to switch to Zoom for the past year it hasn’t changed much — meetings without a clear agenda are often a complete waste of time.
While we have solid agendas for many of our meetings, there are times when we don’t have a chance to put together a solid plan before we start. A quick solution for that can be the “POP Model”. Just agree on three things before you start:
Purpose
Why are you having this meeting? If you can’t come up with a good answer to this, you should probably just log out of Zoom and go on with your day.
Outcome
What do you want to accomplish with this meeting? You know why you’re having the meeting, but what do you hope to walk away with? It could be a decision on a color for a logo, or agreement on the name of a product, but there should be some clear outcome that you’re aiming for.
Process
How will you make that outcome happen? This generally means assigning specific tasks at the end of the meeting so that everyone knows what needs to happen next.
If you can create a clear, detailed agenda before your meeting, that’s often preferred. If not, a quick “POP” might be a good way to help people stay on track.
