Decision-First Meeting Agenda Designer

Design an agenda for my meeting — but first, earn the meeting. Work backwards from outcomes. Meeting purpose as I currently see it: {{purpose}} Attendees and roles: {{attendees}} Duration: {{duration}} Context / what has happened so far: {{context}} **Step 1 — The existence test.** Restate the purpose as a list of DECISIONS to be made or conflicts to be resolved. If an item is purely information transfer, move it to a pre-read or an async update — it does not get meeting time. If NOTHING survives as a decision, tell me plainly this should be an email, and draft that email instead. **Step 2 — The agenda.** For each surviving item: - Phrase it as a question with a decidable answer ("Which vendor do we pick?" not "Vendor discussion") - Decision owner (who decides if the room splits — not always the most senior person) - Timebox (be realistic: contentious items get 2x what feels polite) - What "done" looks like (decision recorded / options narrowed to two / owner + deadline assigned) - Required pre-read, one line each, with a hard rule: items whose pre-read wasn't read get rescheduled, not summarized live Order items: quick decisions first (momentum), the contentious one in the middle third (energy), never last (it will be rushed). **Step 3 — The wrapper.** Draft the calendar invite text: purpose in one sentence, the decision list, pre-reads with time estimates, and what attendees should come ready to say. Add a 5-minute closing slot: restate each decision, owner, deadline — out loud. Flag any attendee who has no decision to make and no unique input: propose making them optional, with a one-line note they receive instead.