“Let’s take this offline.”
I’m 30 minutes into a meeting when someone says those words for the third time. By the end, we’ve hit our scheduled hour, produced zero decisions, and spawned at least three follow-up meetings. Nobody seemed bothered because “let’s take this offline” sounds collaborative and efficient, like we’re protecting the group’s time by not diving into details that only concern a few people.
But here’s what struck me: this would never have survived in a meeting with a minister. Not because ministers are smarter, but because they’re short on time and have no patience for performance theatre.
Here are three things ministers said that stayed with me which we can learn from.
Invite only the people needed to make the decision
The minister walked in, frowned at the 18 person huddled in the small meeting room, and asked ” Who actually needs to be in this room?” Awkward silence. The director tries to continue: “Well, everyone should understand how this works…” Minister cuts him off: “That’s not what I asked. Who absolutely needs to be in this room?” Five hands go up slowly, uncertain. Minister nods at the other 13 people: “Thank you for your time, we’ll send you the summary.” 13 people file out looking relieved. Meeting restarts with 5 people. Decision made in 18 minutes. Done.
The minister forced a question nobody else wanted to ask because asking it feels rude, like you’re saying some people don’t matter. But the truth is, he just saved 13 people from wasting time sitting in a meeting where they had no input on the decision. When you let meetings bloat because you don’t want to exclude anyone, then spawn side meetings to “protect the full group’s time,” you’re just wasting more time.
Get to the decision before everyone runs out of time
A Permanent Secretary walked into a briefing room where a team had prepared a 30-slide deck on regional cooperation. Before the presenter could click to slide two, the PS said: “I read this last night. What decisions do you need from me today?”
The presenter froze. He’d built a careful narrative designed to walk leadership through 30 slides. Suddenly he had nothing to hide behind. After collecting himself, he said: “We need you to raise this proposal with your counterpart at your next working trip.” The PS asked three questions. The team answered all three in under five minutes. PS said: “Approved. Send me the talking points ahead of my trip.” Everyone left knowing exactly what to do next.
Here’s the thing about sitting through all 30 slides to be polite: you’re being kind to the presenter and unkind to everyone else in the room. The three people who needed that decision are now waiting another week because the meeting ran over and there’s no time left to discuss next steps. The presenter just learned that a good presentation is one that gets to the decision fastest, not one that fills the time.
Give leaders a recommendation instead of a menu of options
An intelligence team was presenting options to our minister. Minister listened to the whole presentation then says “That’s not a recommendation, that’s a menu. Which one do you think we should do and why?” The director tries to hedge: “Well, it depends on what risk appetite leadership has…” Minister cuts him off: “I’m asking what YOU recommend based on your analysis. You’re the expert on this, not me. Stop giving me options and tell me what you think is right.”
The director takes a breath: “Option B. Strong enough to signal we’re taking this seriously but doesn’t overcommit resources we might need if three other situations escalate simultaneously.” Minister: “Why didn’t you lead with that?” The director: “I didn’t want to presume what decision you’d make…” Minister: “You are paid to have an opinion. Give me your best judgment and I’ll tell you if I disagree.”
Once someone stakes a position, the conversation shifts from “what should we do?” to “is this the right call?” That’s a faster and more fruitful conversation.
Here’s what this means for you
Leaders: If meetings are the bane of your life, forward this to your leadership team and see if they can be ruthlessly efficient at meetings, just like ministers do. Because every time they let a meeting meander, they are training your team that performative talking is acceptable, even when nothing moves forward.
Individuals: If you want to stand out, start pitching your deck as if your bosses will ask these questions. And if you’re a participant, start asking these questions, respectfully. Do these things consistently, and leaders will start seeing you as someone with strategic judgment who protects the room’s time, not just someone who shows up and blends into the wallpaper like a backbencher.
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