The word "meeting" hides enormous variety. A go/no-go decision, a brainstorming session, and a 1:1 performance check-in have almost nothing in common — except that they all show up as the same rectangle on a calendar. That is the problem. When you do not name what kind of meeting you are running, you cannot structure it, time-box it, or evaluate whether it worked. You end up defaulting to 30 or 60 minutes for everything and hoping for the best.
The first step to running better meetings is recognizing that different meetings have different jobs. A decision meeting needs options on the table and authority in the room. An alignment meeting needs shared context and explicit confirmation. A creative session needs open space and permission to diverge. Treating them all the same is why so many meetings feel pointless.
Below are 14 meeting categories. Every meeting you attend fits into one of these. When you create an invite, name the category. When you receive one without a clear purpose, ask which type it is. That single question changes the entire dynamic.
Why this matters for 25/50
The 25/50 framework works because shorter time constraints force clarity. But clarity starts before the clock does. If the organizer does not know whether they are running a decision meeting or an information-sharing meeting, no amount of time discipline will make it productive.
Name the type. Set the goal. Then apply the time constraint. A 25-minute decision meeting with the right people and a clear set of options will outperform a 60-minute meeting where nobody knows what kind of meeting they are in.
A meeting without a named purpose is a meeting without accountability. Name the type and everything else follows.
How to use this list
- When you create an invite, include the meeting type in the description. "Type: Decision Meeting" at the top of an invite instantly sets expectations for everyone.
- When you receive an invite without a clear purpose, reply with: "Which type of meeting is this?" It is a respectful question that forces the organizer to clarify the goal.
- When you audit your calendar, label each recurring meeting by type. You will likely find meetings that mix multiple types — those are the ones that run long and leave people confused.
- When a meeting tries to do two things at once, split it. A meeting that is half status update and half decision-making will do neither well. Run the information share async and use the meeting time for the decision.