Strategies for Aligning Meeting Objectives with Goals

How I Lead Effective Meetings as a Program Manager at Amazon. Meetings can either be a powerful tool for decision-making or a frustrating time sink. Early in my career, I struggled with unstructured meetings—great discussions but no clear outcomes. One chaotic project, where we held frequent but ineffective syncs, taught me that meetings aren’t just for talking; they should drive action. Here’s how I lead meetings now: 1️⃣ Set a Clear Agenda (and Share It in Advance) Every meeting starts with a structured agenda that includes: ✔️ Objective: What we need to achieve ✔️ Discussion topics: Prioritized for focus ✔️ Attendees: Only those necessary 📌 If an agenda isn’t clear, I challenge whether the meeting is even needed. 2️⃣ Keep Meetings Decision-Oriented Before starting, I clarify: ✔️ What decisions need to be made? ✔️ Who is responsible for next steps? If discussions drift, I refocus: “This is important but let’s table it for a separate deep dive.” This keeps meetings productive instead of open-ended. 3️⃣ Ensure Follow-Through with Clear Recaps A great meeting means nothing if action items aren’t tracked. After the meeting, I send a quick recap with: ✔️ Decisions made ✔️ Action items + owners ✔️ Next steps 📌 I also log action items in a shared tracker to ensure accountability. Bonus: Reduce Unnecessary Meetings Before scheduling, I ask: Can this be solved via Slack, email, or a written update? At Amazon, concise narratives often replace meetings—allowing for more deep work. Final Thoughts A well-run meeting aligns teams, drives decisions, and prevents wasted time. The best compliment I get? “That was one of the most productive meetings I’ve been in.” How do you keep your meetings effective? #Meetings #Productivity #Leadership #ProgramManagement #Amazon

I am revisiting some of my playbooks to get them ready for my new team and thought I'd share out some tips on how to make your EBRs more impactful. This is a VERY small part of a 10 page playbook that has successfully been used at multiple organizations now (of course adjust for each org accordingly). An Executive Business Review (EBR) is a high-level strategy meeting that highlights the major accomplishments, project updates, and ROI since the relationship start or since the previous EBR. This is not about you (company), it's all about your customer. A lot of folks forget this and use the EBR to resell their services. To quote Julie Roberts “Big mistake. Big. Huge.”  You've been gifted this time with your customer, don't make this mistake. A typical flow I've followed is: Introductions: 5-10 min. How you partner with us today: 5-10 min. Successes to date: 10 min. (this is ROI - not usage) Untapped value: 5 min. (more value you can achieve with zero additional investment) Continued partnership goals: 15 min. What’s next / roadmap: 10 min. Next Steps: 5 min. Tips to make your EBR more impactful! - Know your audience and what they care about! Remember, while you are delivering the presentation, this is about making them look like rockstars and celebrating our mutual wins. - Present information that helps the folks in the room with their decision-making. Example: if they are considering whether or not your partnership is mission-critical, this meeting should help them arrive at clarity. - Have clear objectives and takeaways that you want the attendees to leave with. What key messages do you want the executives to take away from the review? Align these objectives with the overall strategic goals of the organization. - Make sure you are speaking the language of the attendees. Only use acronyms that you know that they will understand. Actually, to be safe, don’t use acronyms! - Make sure your presentation flows and tells a story. Instead of data, more data, more data, weave in their whys and the story. This will not only make your presentation more interesting, it’ll also help it be more memorable. - Mind your speak to listen ratio!! This one is important. While you are delivering this EBR, you should not be the only one speaking. Encourage open dialogue during the review. Create opportunities for executives and other participants to ask questions and provide feedback. This fosters a collaborative atmosphere and ensures alignment. - Manage your time. Be mindful of time constraints. Keep the presentation focused on key points and allow sufficient time for discussion and questions. Keep your content simple, straightforward, and easy to understand. Use visuals and examples to make the presentation engaging and relatable. - Be genuine and authentic in your delivery. Customers appreciate honesty and sincerity. Avoid over-promising and ensure that you can deliver on what you commit. There's more to say here but alas I am out of space.

Strategy isn’t a slide. It’s a fight worth having. I’ve been quiet here for a day because I just came out of two intense, energizing sessions with our extended strategy team. And I’m still fired up. 💥 We pushed each other hard. We challenged assumptions. We laughed a lot. And we left with crystal-clear alignment and a shared determination to think bigger, move faster, and win as one team. Our focus: ✅ Think Big, Go Fast Not in months and quarters. In days and weeks. ✅ Win Every Key Moment in the Customer Journey Especially the ones that define value and long-term loyalty. ✅ Win as One Team Not your team, not my team. Our team. Rooted in shared goals, not personal preferences. For some reason, I usually get to help moderate these sessions. That’s no small task with 25 to 30 strong leaders in the room from every department. But it gives me a front-row seat into how we build alignment that lasts. Here’s what works for us and might work for you: 1️⃣ Be clear up front Why are we meeting? What are the most important objectives? And how exactly are we going to win together? Set the tone early. Remove ambiguity. Drive purpose. 2️⃣ Bring the voice of the customer into the room 🎤 The most substantial alignment starts with empathy and clarity around what matters most to our customers. When we anchor the conversation in value needed and delivered, priorities become clearer and conflict becomes productive. Customer insights create unity. 3️⃣ Make cross-functional ownership real 🤝 Everyone says “we’re one team.” But real alignment means we walk out with shared KPIs, not siloed tasks. Product, Sales, CS, Ops, we all succeed only when we move together. 💬 So here's my call to action for you today: If you’re leading in CS, CX, Product, or Revenue, and you’re halfway through Q3, ask yourself: Are you chasing alignment? Or are you building it through purpose, participation, and shared accountability? The next level doesn’t arrive by accident. We create it. Together. #CreateTheFuture #LeadershipInAction #CustomerSuccess #StrategyExecution #CrossFunctionalAlignment #OneTeamOneMission #Q3Momentum