3.5 Meeting System: Cadence, Formats, Decision Log

A meeting is a high-cost manufacturing process. The inputs are expensive engineering hours; the required output is a tangible decision or a synchronized, executable plan. When a meeting occurs without generating a written decision or a specific action item, the process yield for that hour is exactly zero. It is operational waste.

This chapter defines the required meeting architecture. It distinguishes between the high-frequency, tactical rhythm required of Middle Management and the lower-frequency, strategic cadence required of Executive Leadership.

Universal Roles & Hygiene

Successful meetings are determined before the calendar invite is sent. Regardless of seniority, two fundamental roles must exist for every single session.

The Chair (The Organizer)

• Responsibility: Design the outcome.
• Requirement: Formally distribute the agenda 24 hours in advance.
• The Invitation: Must include an explicit “Goal” (e.g., Goal: Select Vendor A or B based on cost vs. lead time). When the goal is undefined or vague, the meeting is unauthorized.

The Scribe (Rotating Role)

• Responsibility: Capture the truth.
• Requirement: Record corporate decisions and action items in real-time.
• Constraint: The Chair is forbidden from being the Scribe. Facilitating a vigorous debate while simultaneously typing reduces cognitive control. This role must rotate among attendees to enforce group discipline.

The Manager’s System (Team Level)

Middle managers act as the transmission gear, converting high-level strategy into specific execution. The manager’s meeting architecture must focus on alignment, unblocking individuals, and technical velocity.

A. The Team Sync (Weekly)

• Purpose: Align the immediate functional team (e.g., SMT Engineering, Procurement) on the exact execution plan for the week.
• Organizer: The Functional Manager.
• Preparation: The Manager must completely review all WLR-OT notes prior to the meeting.
• Agenda:
  1. Cascading: Swiftly disseminate critical directives from Executive meetings.
  2. Inter-dependencies: Identify hard cross-functional needs (e.g., “Engineer A needs Part X from Procurement by Thursday”).
  3. Load Balancing: Re-assign tasks from overloaded staff to those with available capacity.

B. The Work Session (Ad-Hoc)

• Purpose: Solve a specific, isolated problem (e.g., “Root Cause of PCB Warpage on Line 2”).
• Trigger: A hard blocker exists that cannot be resolved efficiently via asynchronous text.
• Constraint: Invite only the necessary subject matter experts. Exclude everyone else.
• Output: A formal technical decision or an updated process document.

C. The Retrospective (Post-Project)

• Purpose: Systemic process improvement. Focus on “How the work was done,” not just “What was done.”
• Timing: Immediately after a major Production Batch completion, an NPI milestone, or a sprint close.
• Format:
  1. Keep: Successful, repeatable behaviors to standardize globally.
  2. Stop: Inefficiencies or obstacles to eliminate.
  3. Start: New tools or operational protocols to pilot.

The Top Management System (Company Level)

Executive leadership operates on longer systemic horizons (Monthly/Quarterly) and focuses on resource allocation, overall financial health, and strategic risk mitigation.

A. Weekly Operations Sync (Tier 2)

• Purpose: Synchronize major departments for the next 5-10 operational days.
• Organizer: COO / Operations Director.
• Focus: Variance Analysis. Discuss only Red/Yellow failing metrics (e.g., Yield drops, Schedule slips).
• Output: Finalized Production Schedule for the week; Allocation of shared factory resources.

B. Monthly Business Review (MBR)

• Purpose: Review overarching system health, consolidated financials, and multi-week operational trends.
• Organizer: CEO.
• Agenda:
  1. P&L Review: Allocated Budget vs. Hard Actuals.
  2. Quality Trends: Systemic, lingering issues (e.g., Repeated Supplier defect rates).
  3. People: Strategic headcount planning, burn-rate, and cultural health.
• Output: Officially revised financial forecast; CapEx (Capital Expenditure) approvals.

C. Quarterly Business Review (QBR)

• Purpose: Set the strategic direction for the next 90 days.
• Agenda: Retrospective of previous quarter -> Current Market Context -> Strategy Setting.
• Output: Finalized, highly quantifiable Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for all departments.

Execution: The Decision Tracking Loop

Decisions vanish in email threads. A Single Source of Truth (SSOT)—a shared, live document or dashboard—must exist where all official meeting outputs are permanently logged.

The Protocol:

1. The “Loop Back” (First 5 Minutes):
   • Open the SSOT on screen.
   • Review all “Open” actions from the previous meeting.
   • Mark them as “Done” or “Escalate.” When an item is stalled, re-assign or unblock it immediately.
2. The Commitment (Last 5 Minutes):
   • The Scribe reads back the newly established Action Items.
   • Chair: “Owner A, the data report is due by Tuesday. Agreed?”
   • Owner A: “Agreed.”
   • Scribe: Logs the binding entry in the SSOT.

DOR (Decision/Owner/Resolution) Log Template:

ID	The Item / Formal Decision	The Owner	The Due Date	The Status
01	Decision: Enforce IPC-A-610 Class 2 for Client X.	QA Mgr	N/A	Ratified
02	Action: Order specific SMT stencil for new layout.	Eng. Lead	Oct 15	Open

Final Baseline Checklist

The Component	The Standard / Requirement
Meeting Invite	Must explicitly include Agenda and Goal. Sent 24h prior.
The Scribe	Mandatory. Rotate the role. Never the Chair.
The Artifact	Use a Shared Live Document. No static email minutes.
The Loop Back	First 5 mins: Review previous actions ensuring accountability.
Attendance	Mark non-essential staff as “Optional”.
Start/End	Start on time. End 5 mins early for transition time.
Preparation	Manager reviews WLR-OT. Exec reviews Variances.