Meetings
First 1:1 with a new manager: the exact agenda
The first meeting with a new manager sets the template for the relationship. Here's the 30-minute agenda that gets you 90 days of goodwill.
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Meetings
Agendas, decisions, follow-ups — and how to stop meetings from eating your calendar.
Meetings are a tool, not a default. The test is simple: if you can’t state the desired outcome in one sentence — a decision, an alignment, a piece of feedback — you probably don’t need the meeting. A doc, a Loom, or a Slack thread usually gets there faster and leaves a record.
When a meeting is the right tool, the three artifacts do most of the work. An agenda sent in advance so people arrive prepared. A decision log captured during the meeting so “what did we agree?” never becomes a second meeting. A short follow-up with owners and dates so the decisions actually turn into work. Most of what people call “bad meetings” are really meetings missing one of those three things.
The harder skill, once you’ve been in enough of them, is knowing when to push back. Declining a meeting isn’t rudeness — it’s respect for everyone’s time, including the organizer’s. Ask what decision needs to happen, offer async if it fits, and show up prepared when it doesn’t.
Start here
The one to read first.
All 6 posts in meetings
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The one sentence that ends a good 1:1
Most first-year 1:1s end with 'thanks, see you next week.' Here's the one sentence that turns a decent 1:1 into one your manager remembers — and uses on your behalf.
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When to keep your camera on, when to turn it off
Camera-on vs. camera-off is read as a signal about how much you care. Here's the short version of when to do which, and why the rule is different for new hires.
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Meeting rules: 7 habits that make you the person people want in the room
Short rules for running crisp meetings: agendas, outcomes, and follow-ups — even if you're not the one in charge.
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Manager 1:1 agenda (the one that makes you look prepared)
A weekly 1:1 structure that produces decisions, not vibes. Updates, blockers, calibration, and the discipline of recommend-don't-ask.
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The secret to good 1:1 meetings (how to make every session count)
A practical 1:1 system: agenda, scripts, and follow-ups that build trust in your first 90 days.
This topic maps to Chapter 5 — Meetings that end of the book. See the full chapter →