The Meetings Handbook
Management · Nº 34
The Meetings Handbook
Short Meetings That Make Decisions
You spent two hours in that meeting. Can anyone say what was decided?
24 tools, a spreadsheet that tracks every meeting, and one packaging factory's meetings worked through start to finish, so each one ends with a decision, an owner, and a date.
You get 24 tools to find out what your meetings cost, cut the ones that should be a message, write an agenda of questions, start on time, and end with one-page minutes and an owner for every task. Plus a 6-tab spreadsheet, already filled in with the example.
A book explains the method. This handbook puts it to work: the tool, a worked example, and a spreadsheet with your numbers.
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
Monday, 8:15. The 8:00 meeting is just getting started. Nine people, fourteen topics, and most of them are updates someone could have texted. Two hours later, the big problem gets a "let's look into it." Next Monday, it's back on the agenda. Same problem, same faces, same coffee. Nobody wrote down who was supposed to do what, or by when.
THE SPREADSHEET
Meetings spreadsheet
Use the completed example as a reference and enter your business data in the marked fields. Check the instructions and the calculations before you make a decision.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Three situations this handbook solves
Friday afternoon, building Monday's agenda
Fourteen topics, most of them updates. You turn the real issues into questions, move the updates into a five-line written update, and cut the guest list to the people who decide, know, or do the work.
The same problem shows up for the third week
This time whoever raises it brings options and a recommendation. You state how the decision will be made, decide in the room, and write one name, one task, and one date on the screen before anyone leaves.
A customer wants to meet about a complaint
You send the agenda as questions two days ahead, ask who's coming from their side, and close with minutes both sides receive. Nobody walks away with a different memory of what was promised.
INSIDE
What you'll find in each tool
Five parts, in the order of a meeting. First, measure: what each meeting costs and whether it should exist at all. Then prepare: an agenda of questions, a short guest list, and a proposal before anyone walks in. Then run the room on time, with a clear decision rule. Then follow up with minutes and owners. Finally, the special meetings and a monthly dashboard.
WHAT YOU GET
Everything included in your purchase
- The Meetings Handbook in PDF: 24 tools, each with step-by-step instructions, a worked example, and an exercise
- The Meetings spreadsheet in Excel and Google Sheets, with 6 working tabs from Inventory to Dashboard, filled in with the example factory
- The Template kit: 13 ready-made texts, from the invitation and the agenda of questions to one-page minutes and the written update
- 2 worksheets to fill in (agenda and minutes) and a 30-day plan, one week per stage
- Access to your handbook on the Consylion platform
Full table of contents
The 24 tools, in the order you'll use them
Part 1 · Part 1 · Do you really need this meeting?
- 01Meeting costPeople times hours times pay: the real price of a full room
- 02Meeting inventoryEvery recurring meeting on one list, with owner, frequency, and cost
- 03Meeting or messageUpdates fit in a text; deciding and solving need people together
- 04The goal in one verbDecide, solve, plan, or align: the verb sets the format
Part 2 · Part 2 · Before the meeting
- 05An agenda of questionsEach topic becomes a question, with an owner and a time slot
- 06Who to inviteWho decides, who knows, and who does the work; everyone else gets the minutes
- 07A proposal before the meetingWhoever brings the problem also brings options and a recommendation
- 08A one-page memo, read at the startA short memo and a few minutes of silent reading, so everyone starts on the same page
Part 3 · Part 3 · During the meeting
- 09Roles in the roomFacilitator, timekeeper, and note-taker: three different people
- 10Start on timeThe meeting starts at the scheduled time, with whoever is in the room
- 11How the decision will be madeOwner alone, owner after listening, vote, or consensus, settled before the discussion starts
- 12The parking lotAn off-agenda topic goes on a list with an owner, not into the next hour
- 13Live minutesDecisions and tasks written on the screen, in front of everyone
Part 4 · Part 4 · After the meeting
- 14One-page minutesDecisions, tasks, and open items, sent within 24 hours
- 15One owner per taskOne name, one verb, one deliverable, and one date
- 16Open items firstThe next meeting opens with what was agreed at the last one
- 17A message for those who missed itThe decision reaches the team the same day, in the same words
- 18The 1-minute meeting ratingWas it worth the time? A score from 1 to 5 and one thing to improve
Part 5 · Part 5 · Special meetings and the calendar
- 19Written updateThe five-line text that replaces the status meeting
- 20Customer and supplier meetingsAn agenda sent ahead and minutes for both sides
- 21Emergency meetingTwenty minutes, few people, and one owner for containment
- 22Partners' meetingNotice, agenda, and signed minutes, following your articles of association
- 23No-meeting dayOne protected half day a week for deep work
- 24Meeting dashboardHours, cost, tasks on time, and average rating, every month
Who it's for
It's for you if
- You spend a good part of the week in meetings and walk out without a decision
- The same topic keeps coming back because nobody wrote down who would do what
- You run meetings you called or inherited, and nobody can explain what they're for
- You want every meeting to end with minutes, an owner, and a deadline
- You'd rather have one sheet per meeting than another piece of software
It's not for you if
- You want to set up the company's management cadence, with metrics and a dashboard. That's The Business Management Handbook
- You want to speak better in public and lead a conversation. See The Communication Handbook
- You want to set targets and OKRs for the team. That's The Goals and OKRs Handbook
- You want a promise of hours or money saved. This handbook organizes your meetings and shows you how to measure the change
Frequently asked questions
My business is small. Do I need all of this?
No. With three or four people, start with three tools: the agenda of questions, one owner per task, and open items first. Roles in the room and the dashboard can wait until the team grows.
What if I'm the one who's always late?
The rule applies to everyone, starting with whoever is in charge. Agree on it with the team and let the timekeeper start on time, with or without the owner. It's a good test of whether you mean it.
Do I need special software for agendas and minutes?
No. The included spreadsheet, a shared document, or a notebook photographed and posted to the team chat is enough. What matters is using the same template in every meeting.
Does this work for video meetings?
Yes. Agenda of questions, roles, an on-time start, and minutes on the shared screen all work the same way online. Camera etiquette and taking turns to speak are covered in The Communication Handbook.
My team never reads the minutes. Will that change?
The handbook cuts the minutes down to one page and opens every meeting with the open items from the last one. When people know they'll be asked, they read.
How much time does this take?
About 2 hours of reading, or 5 minutes per tool, plus the exercises. The 30-day plan works one stage a week, starting with the inventory. The agenda of questions can change your very next meeting.
What do I get, and in what formats?
Each handbook is a PDF of about 100 pages with 24 to 27 tools. Every tool has step-by-step instructions and a worked example. You also get the handbook's spreadsheet in Excel (.xlsx), which opens in Google Sheets too, with the example already filled in. The message, policy, and clause templates are in the Template Kit inside the PDF, ready to copy and adapt. Read it in the member area or download the files.
How do I know if it fits my business?
Each handbook's page shows the problem it solves, who it is for and who it is not for, the full table of contents, sample pages, and the company used in the examples. The examples come from small businesses in several industries, with illustrative numbers. If it is not a fit, you can ask for a full refund within 14 days of your purchase, as described in the Refund Policy.
What is the difference between a handbook, an area set, and the Series?
A handbook solves one problem. An area set brings together every handbook and spreadsheet in one of the 6 areas, for less than the price of 5 single handbooks. The Consylion Handbook Series brings together all 100 handbooks and 100 spreadsheets, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks, and includes the next handbooks in the Series. Products outside the Series, from Consylion Life or Consylion Business, have their own price. They are sold separately and are not part of an area set or the Series.
Do I need to read everything before I start?
No. Each tool works on its own. Open the table of contents, pick the tool for today's problem, and start there. You can also read it cover to cover.
Do I need to know Excel?
The basics are enough: open the file and fill in the marked fields. The formulas are already built, and the handbook's example is filled in for reference.
How do I pay, and when do I get access?
By card or bank transfer, as a one-time payment with no subscription. Once your payment is confirmed, you get access to the member area by email. Approved card payments are confirmed right away. Bank transfers are confirmed when the funds clear. If access does not arrive within 24 hours of confirmation, check your spam folder and write to team@consylion.org.
How long do I have access, and how can I use the files?
Access does not expire, and you can download the files for offline use. The license is individual. You may read the handbooks, print them for your own use, and fill in and adapt the spreadsheet and templates with your company's data. If you are a consultant, accountant, or manager, you may apply the tools with your clients and deliver the result of your work, not the files. You may not share, resell, or distribute the files or the access.
How do support and refunds work?
Support is by email at team@consylion.org, on business days, with a reply within 5 business days. It covers questions about access, files, and payment. It does not include consulting or advice on applying the material to your case. You can cancel within 14 days of your purchase, without giving a reason, and get the full amount back through the payment method you used. Send the request to the same email. The details are in the Refund Policy.
CONSYLION HANDBOOK SERIES
The 6 departments of your business, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks.
This handbook solves today's problem. The Series solves the next one, and the one after that, with nothing more to pay.
- 100 handbooks with 2,403 ready-made tools, to read on screen and download as PDFs
- 100 spreadsheets for Excel and Google Sheets
- 6 business areas
- Lifetime access, unlocked once payment is confirmed
One-time payment of $197.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
Management · Nº 34
Make your next Monday meeting the short one
A meeting doesn't need a new system. It needs an agenda, an owner, and an end. This handbook gives you the tools, the templates, and a spreadsheet to run it that way, plus a dashboard to see whether it changed. Start with the meeting that costs you the most.
See all 100 handbooks · $197.00
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.