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SecondBrain/10 Knowledge/CTO Academy/Project Management/Meetings and Follow-up.md
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Duration: 30--40 minutes
## Definition
A project meeting is a coordination mechanism for decisions, blockers,
alignment, and delivery. A meeting is not progress by itself.
**Follow-up** converts discussion into owned actions and decisions.
## Simple Mental Model
> **A useful project meeting changes something.**
At the end you should know what was decided, who owns what, by when,
what is blocked, and what needs escalation.
## How It Works
Do not automatically create a recurring meeting for every project.
A useful review agenda:
1. Outcome / health
2. Last and next milestone
3. Risks/blockers
4. Scope changes
5. Decisions required
6. Actions, owners, dates
Distinguish:
**Decision:** We will use Option B.
**Action:** Alex updates the architecture by Friday.
Avoid "team to investigate." Give actions one owner and a date.
Use asynchronous status for routine information. Use meetings when
synchronous coordination adds value.
## Example
A weekly 60-minute meeting with eight people mostly consists of everyone
describing what they did. Replace the reporting portion asynchronously
and use synchronous time for two blockers and one scope decision.
## How It Fits Into the Bigger Picture
Status reporting communicates project state. Meetings resolve what
cannot efficiently be resolved asynchronously. [[Ownership and
Delegation]] determines who follows through afterward.
## My Company / Real-World Context
Cross-functional work with Product, DevOps, Security, IT, and vendors
can create meeting overload. Your project owner should drive normal
project follow-up. You join when your authority, escalation, or judgment
is required.
## CTO Perspective
If every project requires you in every meeting, **you are the system**.
A scalable leader designs ownership and information flow so their
presence is needed only where it adds value.
### Questions to Ask
- Does this require a meeting?
- What decision must be made?
- Who actually needs to attend?
- What is blocked?
- Who owns each action?
- By when?
- Can the owner follow this without me?
## Meeting Scenario
**Situation:** An owner includes you in a weekly execution meeting where
most discussion is detailed implementation.
**Possible response:**
> I don't need to be in the detailed execution meeting unless there's a
> decision, priority conflict, or escalation requiring me. Keep the
> project status current and bring me in when one of those conditions
> appears.
## Key Takeaways
- Meetings are tools, not evidence of progress.
- Use synchronous time for decisions, blockers, and coordination.
- Actions need owners and dates.
- Capture decisions separately.
- Prefer asynchronous status where possible.
- Project owners should drive normal follow-up.
## Related Concepts
- [[Status Reporting]]
- [[Ownership and Delegation]]
- [[Decision Log]]
- [[Project Health]]