90% of decisions can be made async instead of having to schedule a meeting.
If you learn how to do this effectively, your team will love you for it.
Here's my 5-step process:
1/ Identify key people
Every decision should ideally have:
1 decision maker
<5 people to provide input
You don't want to have too many cooks in the kitchen.
2/ Set context
The decision maker should start an async thread or decision doc with:
1. Background 2. List of options with pros and cons 3. Recommended option
Nobody has time to read your shit so the above should be as concise as possible.
3/ Use one channel
Pick one channel or doc for people to provide input.
Avoid starting a bunch of separate threads and then playing a game of telephone to figure out who said what.
4/ Number your points
Encourage people to provide input in a list format for easy readability.
Use numbered lists vs. bullets to make it easier for people to respond ("e.g., I agree with #1")
5/ Push for a decision
When it looks like people are reaching alignment, the decision maker should push for consensus:
"It sounds like people prefer #1, any strong objections to moving forward?"
Once confirmed, share the decision far and wide so everyone is on the same page.
6/ BONUS: Know when a meeting is needed
Usually it's when:
1. A decision has alot of ambiguity 2. A decision is a one way door (hard to reverse once made) 3. Your decision doc or thread looks like people threw up all over it
7/ To recap, here's how you can make better decisions async:
1. Identify key people 2. Set context 3. Use one channel 4. Number your points 5. Push for a decision
6. Know when a meeting is needed
8/ Follow me at @petergyang if you found this useful.
And here are two other frameworks that I use to prioritize my day: