Thread by @petergyang

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:

https://twitter.com/petergyang/status/1485643584611045378