Is your calendar running your day, or are you?
Back-to-back meetings have become the default, not the exception, and most teams have stopped questioning it. The result is a culture where meetings eat the day, decisions still don’t get made, and nobody feels able to challenge a habit everyone’s quietly frustrated by.
This three-hour session tackles meetings head-on, for in-person, online and hybrid teams alike. You’ll look honestly at the real cost of meetings, question whether some shouldn’t exist at all, and leave with practical tools to make the meetings you do keep genuinely worth attending.
We recommend:
In-person or online
3hrs
20 people
What you’ll learn & do
During this hands-on session, your people will discover:
- The 4Ps framework, Purpose, Plan, People, Protocols, for building meetings worth attending
- How to question whether a meeting is even needed, before defaulting to booking one
- The 40:20:40 approach: preparation, delivery and follow-through, so decisions actually get implemented instead of forgotten
- How to positively and confidently challenge bad meeting habits, whatever their role in the room
- Tools for making hybrid and remote meetings work fairly, addressing proximity bias and time-zone friction
- Where AI-powered scheduling and smart assistants can take the admin out of organising meetings
94%
of participants would recommend our workshops
This workshop is for you if…
- Your organisation is losing hours every week to meetings that are too long, too frequent or missing a clear purpose
- You’re a manager or team leader who wants to model better meeting habits but needs a shared framework the whole team buys into
- You’re an HR or L&D lead responding to feedback that meetings culture is a source of frustration, burnout or wasted time
- You want a session where people make practical changes to real meetings on the day, not just discuss the theory
What this workshop offers
- Learning by doing. Real changes made to real meetings during the session, not case studies to apply later
- Permission to say no. Everyone leaves feeling able to positively challenge bad meeting habits, whatever their role
- A format that fits. A 3-hour session, in person or live online, for up to 20 people
- AI as an ally. Practical ways AI-powered scheduling and smart assistants can take the admin out of organising meetings
- Learning that lasts. Every participant gets access to the Productivity Ninja® Academy
- Built to stick. Add an Impact Clinic 1 and 3 months later to keep new habits alive.
What you’ll do
You’ll start by facing the real cost of meetings, honestly, including questioning whether some shouldn’t exist at all. From there, you’ll build a shared framework using the 4Ps: getting clear on purpose, planning properly, having the right people in the room, and setting protocols everyone actually follows.
You’ll also work through the 40:20:40 approach, putting real weight on preparation and follow-through rather than just the meeting itself, so decisions made in the room actually get implemented afterwards. Because this session works on real meetings, not case studies, you’ll leave having already made changes, not just planned to. You’ll also look at how AI-powered scheduling and assistants can support better organisation and follow-up, without adding another layer of admin.
What happens when meetings work
When teams learn to run meetings with purpose, everything changes:
- Calendars stop filling up by default, because people feel able to question whether a meeting’s needed at all
- Meetings start with clear purpose and end with clear next steps
- Decisions get made in the room, not deferred to yet another meeting
- Follow-through happens, because preparation and follow-up get as much weight as the meeting itself
- People leave meetings with energy, not drained by them
Brighton & Hove Faith in Action
“One of the most useful meetings I’ve ever been to! My meetings have a clear purpose and feel more driven and results-orientated.”
Lev Eakins
Benefits & results
The most immediate benefit is time back: fewer meetings, and the ones that remain actually worth attending. Because changes are made to real meetings during the session itself, people leave with something already fixed, not a framework to apply “when things calm down.”
The deeper shift is in confidence. Once people have the 4Ps and the 40:20:40 approach as a shared language, they stop quietly resenting bad meetings and start positively challenging them, whatever their role in the room. Declining an unnecessary meeting stops feeling risky and starts feeling like good practice.
What your organisation gets
A team with a shared standard for what a meeting is actually for, and permission to hold each other to it. That matters more than it sounds. Once everyone knows what “purpose” and “protocols” mean in practice, calendars stop filling up by default, hybrid and remote colleagues stop being an afterthought, and meetings stop being where good decisions go to get forgotten.
Edwin Coe LLP
“It was great to take the time out to think outside the box and re-evaluate normal habits around meeting scheduling.”
Keeley Cox
Why it matters
Bad meetings aren’t a scheduling problem, they’re a culture problem. Nobody feels able to say no, so the calendar just keeps filling up.
- Meetings default to happening because they’re booked, not because they’re needed
- Unclear purpose and the wrong people in the room mean decisions stall instead of getting made
- Without a shared framework, nobody feels empowered to challenge outdated habits, so nothing changes
Frequently Asked Questions
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Most meetings suffer from unclear purpose, the wrong people in the room, or poor follow-through. Add in back-to-back scheduling and remote fatigue, and it’s no wonder people leave feeling drained. Our Fixing Meetings workshop tackles these issues head-on, helping you make meetings rarer, shorter, and more productive.
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You’ll get a toolkit for better meetings, including the 4Ps framework (Purpose, Plan, People, Protocols), ways to balance listening and action, and how to say “no” to meetings that don’t add value. We also cover follow-up habits so decisions actually get implemented.
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It’s for anyone who organises, chairs, or attends meetings, from senior leaders to team members. If your organisation wants fewer, faster, and more focused meetings, this is for you.
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Clients report reduced meeting hours, more engaged participants, and faster decision-making. By embedding the 40:20:40 approach (40% preparation, 20% delivery, 40% follow-through), teams free up time for higher-value work.
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Yes. We address challenges like proximity bias, time-zone differences, and remote engagement so your meetings work for everyone, wherever they are.