How to Use Meetings To Drive Progress and Success

This is a very simple technique that can massively increase your productivity.

I noticed early in my career that I am motivated by deadlines and the drive to avoid any failure to meet those deadlines. However, that fear was not a fear of missing an arbitrary date, rather it was the fear of letting someone else down or disappointing someone in not delivering for them when I said I would.

This is a common driver. If we commit to doing something for someone, it increases our own drive to complete the task that we have committed to and therefore increases our chance of success.

The technique

The technique is very simple: if you need to get something done, book a meeting with someone with a vested interest in whatever that something is, for a specific time in the near future, to review either the output of the completed task (e.g. the deliverable) or progress towards its delivery.

Ideally, this time that you book the meeting should leave plenty of space before the overall "deadline", to provide you with time to make any updates you need to following this meeting. e.g. if you need to deliver something in two weeks time, try booking the meeting for one week's time.

Often, the tighter the deadline the better. It creates a sense of urgency for yourself and the pressure can often drive you to produce a better output quicker. It's better to finish early than to leave things to the last minute and rush something out, that could be either incomplete or not quite right (partly because you didn't consult with whoever you are doing the task for in time).

The more respect that you have for the individual you book the meeting with the better, particularly if you really care what they think of you. You need to care enough for it to get you to work.

I often find that I repeat this a number of times before I deliver something. It's common to take an iterative approach to the development, review and approval of deliverables for clients but I use this technique for more than just formal "deliverables": it can be applied to all kinds of tasks at work and at home.

Why it works

There are various reasons why this simple technique works:

• It provides us with a tighter timescale to work to, increasing our chances of getting it done sooner and decreasing the risk of missing our deadlines
• It creates a feeling of urgency, making us act now instead of putting it off "because we have time"
• It sets expectations with someone whose opinion we care about, increasing the stakes for success and failure
• It gives us more time, enabling us to increase the quality of our output or to get it done earlier
• It gives us a chance to get input early, to be able to adjust our approach so we can "get it right" based on people's feedback

It still depends on you

However, it still depends on you taking action:

• Choosing a date that will push you to get the job done quicker
• Choosing the right person to attend the meeting to increase your drive to succeed
• Actually following through to (1) getting the work done and (2) actually run the meeting when you said you'd run it (i.e. never postpone - it's better to go in there less prepared but still get the input/support/guidance - or less positive feedback - than to postpone and risk missing out on valuable feedback or reduce the amount of effort you put in so that you increase your risks of missing the overall deadline)