I have several clients right now who are struggling with too many meetings.
Their calendars are packed, and some days they are lucky to find a few uninterrupted hours to do the work they are actually responsible for. They get invited to meetings where they have little to contribute, meetings with far more people than necessary, and meetings that wander well beyond what they were supposed to accomplish.
If that sounds familiar, I would start by looking hard at which meetings you actually need. I’ve sat in meetings with 12 people that could have been handled better with five. Before you invite someone, ask yourself whether they need to contribute to the conversation or make a decision. If they are only there to listen, there may be a better way to keep them informed. An update that can be handled effectively through an email, dashboard, or pre-read probably does not deserve a 30 minute meeting with eight people.
For the meetings you keep, be clear about what you need to accomplish.
An agenda tells people what you are going to discuss, but you should also know what you want to walk away with.
Before an important meeting, try completing this sentence: “By the end of this meeting, we need to have ______.”
Once you know the desired outcome, send out a clear agenda far enough in advance for everyone to prepare. It should also be clear who is leading the meeting and, what decisions need to be made, who has the authority to make the final call.
I also recommend establishing a few ground rules for how meetings will be run.
I have clients whose teams have agreed on meeting standards that everyone understands and is expected to follow. One might be no electronics unless you are using them to take notes. Other rules might address preparation, participation, or staying on topic. The specific rules will vary by team. The important thing is that they are explicit, consistently followed, and that people are comfortable holding each other accountable when someone ignores them.
Once the meeting begins, start on time and end on time.
Use the meeting for discussion and decisions rather than spending valuable time catching everyone up. This is especially important in strategy meetings, where I often see people spend far too much time reviewing the past instead of determining what needs to happen next. You also need to manage the pace. Move quickly on smaller issues, give consequential decisions the discussion they deserve, and do not allow one person to dominate the meeting or take everyone down an unrelated path.
It is important to create an environment where people can disagree.
One of the principles I use is, “People are safe. Ideas are not.” You have smart people in the room for a reason. Ask them to challenge assumptions and point out weaknesses in your thinking. When they do, thank them. Your reaction teaches everyone else whether you genuinely want candid input or only agreement.
Before anyone leaves, make sure there is complete clarity about what happens next.
Identify who owns each action, what they have agreed to do, and when it will be completed. I recommend recording important meetings when appropriate and using AI to create a concise recap. At the next meeting, review the previous commitments and make sure they were completed.
If your calendar is out of control, start by eliminating the meetings you do not need. Then put enough discipline around the meetings you keep so that everyone knows why they are there and something worthwhile gets accomplished.
Organizations are expecting more from the people they bring in to speak.
A strong keynote still matters. But leaders are also looking for practical tools, planning support, useful takeaways, and someone who understands the pressure behind the event.
John Spence was named the 2026 Thinkers360 Thought Leader of the Year. He does not just walk on stage, deliver a keynote, and leave. He works with you as a trusted partner from the first planning conversation through the final follow-up.
