Three-hour meetings: the manual for getting them down to 45 minutes

Nobody hates meetings: people hate ENDLESS meetings. And endlessness has concrete, fixable causes.

Why they drag on (the diagnosis)

1. New information delivered live: half the meeting is people trying to understand figures they are seeing for the first time.
2. No real order: the lid comes off — every item spawns three more.
3. Decisions without options: debating in the open ("what shall we do about the facade?") instead of choosing between prepared alternatives.
4. The loop: the same three neighbours repeating the same argument for the fourth time.
5. Group therapy: personal grievances using the meeting as a stage.

The 45-minute manual

• Everything in advance: accounts, quotes and proposals travel WITH the notice. The meeting decides; it does not discover.
• An agenda with a verb and a time: "Approve the 2026 budget (15 min)" — not "accounts".
• Closed options: A, B or C with numbers. Debating concrete alternatives is quick; philosophising is infinite.
• The loop rule: when an argument comes round a second time, it goes to a vote. "I think the positions are clear: shall we vote?"
• A parking lot for topics: anything that comes up outside the agenda goes onto a visible list for next time. Nothing is lost; nothing derails.
• Start on time and announce the end: "we finish at 8.15" changes everyone's behaviour.

The magical side effect

Short, executive meetings RAISE attendance (people come back when their hour is respected) — and high attendance legitimises the decisions. A virtuous circle that always begins with the homework done before the meeting.