Problem-First Meeting Rules
Define the problem, questions, and end time before agreeing to meet
- Difficulty
- Starter
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 98%
Problem-First Meeting Rules make a meeting conditional on preparation. Ferriss's first rule is that a meeting should solve a problem, not determine what the problem is. When someone proposes getting on the phone to hash things out, he asks for an agenda, the topics to cover, and the questions requiring his input. That information lets participants prepare before synchronous time begins. He then limits calls and meetings to no more than 30 minutes and defines an end time in advance. The mechanism replaces an undefined calendar event with a bounded problem-solving session: the purpose is known, relevant questions arrive beforehand, participants prepare, and a hard stop prevents the conversation from consuming the day.
Origin
Ferriss described these rules during the SXSW audience Q&A while explaining how his virtual company avoided most in-person meetings and conference calls.
Core principles
- 01Meet to solve a defined problem rather than discover what the problem is
- 02Require questions and topics in advance
- 03Prepare before the conversation
- 04Limit meetings to 30 minutes or less
- 05Set an explicit end time
How to run it
- 1
Require a defined problem
Ask what specific problem the proposed meeting must solve. Decline to use the meeting itself merely to identify its purpose.
Watch out A vague request to hash things out is not yet an agenda.
- 2
Collect topics and questions
Request the agenda, discussion topics, and exact questions in advance. Use them to decide who and what the meeting requires.
Pro tip Ask for the questions you personally need to answer.
Watch out Topics without questions may still leave the required decision unclear.
- 3
Prepare before calling
Review the agenda and gather the information needed to solve the stated problem. Enter the conversation ready to decide or answer.
Watch out Ferriss says he does not hold conference calls without preparing.
- 4
Bound the session
Set a duration of no more than 30 minutes and state the exact end time. Use the limit to keep discussion tied to the problem.
Pro tip Put the end time in the invitation, not only the start time.
Watch out An open-ended start can quietly consume several hours.
In the wild
When someone asks Ferriss to jump on the phone to hash things out, he agrees conditionally and asks for an agenda, the topics, and the questions they have for him. He then prepares and keeps the call within 30 minutes with a defined end time.
→ The proposed call becomes a prepared and time-bounded problem-solving session.
Common mistakes
Meeting to discover the problem
Ferriss says the problem should be defined before synchronous discussion begins.
Scheduling only a start time
Without an end time, a meeting planned for 11:00 can continue until 2:00 and consume the day.
Is it for you?
Best for
Conference calls and work meetings that need a concrete problem solved or decision made.
Not ideal for
Conversations whose legitimate purpose is unstructured relationship building or exploration rather than problem solving.
From the transcript
“The first thing is you shouldn't have a meeting to decide what the problem is. You should have a meeting to solve that problem.”
“Send me an agenda. What are the topics you want to cover? What are the questions that you have for me?”
“Keep them very very short. Uh none of my none of my conference calls or meetings run more than 30 minutes.”
From the episode
#548: The Lost Presentation That Launched The 4-Hour Workweek — “Secrets of Doing More with Less in a Digital World” from SXSW 2007