meeting productivity | facilitation | effective meetings | agenda design | time management | 1 on 1 | follow through
What You Will Learn:
- Decide whether a meeting is needed at all, using the decision it would have to produce
- Prepare a session so the first ten minutes are not spent on why everyone is there
- Run a discussion where the quiet people contribute and the loudest one does not decide
- Close with named owners and a record, which is the difference between a meeting and a conversation
- Replace the informing part of a meeting with something written that people actually read
- Run a one-to-one that produces a commitment rather than a status update
- Audit your calendar honestly and see the gap between meeting hours and thinking hours
- Prepare and run a two-day strategy offsite, the hardest meeting format there is
- Learn alongside Mike’s 1.6 million students from 185 countries
- Get the author’s experience from Preply, Wargaming, iDeals and Alfa-Bank
Alright, let’s talk about a course that’s been on my radar for a bit: ‘Meeting Productivity: Plan, Run and Follow Through [EN]’. As someone who’s spent way too many hours in meetings that felt like black holes of productivity, I was keen to see if this could actually deliver. And I’ve got to say, Mike’s approach, honed by experience at places like Preply and Wargaming, brings a refreshingly pragmatic angle to a topic that often gets a lot of lip service but little in the way of actionable results.
Overview
This isn’t your typical “how to make meetings suck less” fluff. What struck me immediately about this course is its focus on the fundamental purpose of a meeting. Mike’s core philosophy, which permeates the entire curriculum, is that meetings should only exist if they’re the most efficient way to achieve a specific, tangible outcome. He pushes you to question the necessity of every invite, pushing for written communication for information sharing where possible. The course dives deep into facilitation techniques that go beyond just keeping things on track; it’s about actively engineering participation, ensuring quieter voices are heard and preventing the loudest ones from dominating the conversation. The emphasis on clear ownership and documentation at the end of every session is crucial β Mike argues this is the very line that differentiates a truly productive meeting from a mere chat. From running effective one-on-ones that drive commitment to tackling the beast that is a two-day strategy offsite, the course covers the full spectrum.
Prerequisites
Honestly, the only real prerequisite is a willingness to be honest with yourself about your current meeting habits. You don’t need any prior technical background, although having some experience in a professional setting where meetings are a regular occurrence will definitely make the content more relatable. If youβre prepping for a certification that involves team collaboration or project management, the principles here will serve you well.
Skills & Tools
The skills you’ll gain are directly applicable to real-world project scenarios. You’ll learn agenda design that actually works, time management within a group setting, and how to conduct effective one-on-one conversations that yield commitments, not just status updates. The course implicitly encourages the use of collaboration tools and documentation platforms for follow-through, though it doesn’t explicitly teach specific software. The core tool here is your own critical thinking and a systematic approach to meeting planning and execution. Think of it as learning to wield your calendar and your communication as powerful, job-ready skills.
Career Benefits & Job Roles
This course is a significant boost for anyone looking for career growth, especially in roles that involve a lot of coordination and leadership. Project Managers, Team Leads, Scrum Masters, and even individual contributors who want to influence outcomes will find immense value. In today’s fast-paced tech environment, demonstrating proficiency in these industry-standard tools of communication and organization can set you apart. The ability to run efficient, outcome-driven meetings is a universally sought-after skill, making you a more valuable asset in any team.
Pros
- Actionable Frameworks: This isn’t theoretical. Mike provides concrete, step-by-step methods for planning, running, and crucially, following through on meetings. The emphasis on decision-making as the litmus test for meeting necessity is brilliant.
- Inclusive Facilitation: The techniques for drawing out contributions from quieter individuals and managing dominant personalities are game-changers for team dynamics.
- Focus on Outcomes: The relentless drive towards tangible commitments and documented actions transforms meetings from time sinks into engines of progress.
- Author’s Experience: Learning from someone who has navigated these challenges across diverse companies like Preply and Wargaming adds significant credibility and practical insight.
Cons
If I had to pick one honest critique, it would be that while the course teaches you *how* to audit your calendar, the actual calendar auditing itself is a personal exercise. The course provides the lens, but you have to do the messy work of confronting your own time management gaps. It would have been useful to have a few more hands-on labs or templates for calendar analysis, though I understand the need for personalization here.