In this episode of The Tech Leader's Playbook, Avetis Antaplyan welcomes back bestselling author and communication expert Chris Fenning, whose latest book Effective Meetings offers leaders a refreshingly simple framework to cut meeting time by 30% or more. Chris unpacks the hidden cost of poorly-run meetings—billions in wasted dollars, lost morale, and decision fatigue—and explains why the real issue is a lack of training, not bad intentions. Together, Avetis and Chris break down the deceptively powerful TPO method (Topic, Purpose, Output), showing leaders how to transform recurring time drains into high-impact, action-oriented conversations.
From the pitfalls of daily stand-ups to the myth of the “must-attend” calendar invite, Chris shares real-world stories, practical examples, and organizational case studies (like Shopify’s Chaos Monkey) that show how eliminating unnecessary meetings isn’t just possible—it’s urgent. Whether you’re a startup founder drowning in back-to-back Zooms or a Fortune 30 exec looking to sharpen your team’s focus, this episode is packed with actionable advice you can apply today.
Takeaways
TPO (Topic, Purpose, Output) is the foundational framework for running effective meetings.
A meeting invite with no context is like a court summons—rude and unproductive.
The #1 reason meetings fail? Lack of a clear purpose—not missing agendas.
“No agenda, no attendance" is a viable policy to filter out low-value invites.
Recurring meetings often lose relevance over time—reevaluate them regularly.
Many meetings should be emails—ask if the meeting requires real-time, multi-person input.
Decision-making meetings must include actual decision-makers or become planning sessions.
Multitasking in meetings is usually a sign people shouldn’t be there or are disengaged.
The “Inverse Time Rule”: if a topic only affects a few people, it should take minimal time.
Leaders should experiment: cut one-hour weeklies to bi-weeklies and watch productivity rise.
Post-meeting follow-ups are faster and clearer when the output is clearly defined.
Clarity is leadership—clear asks beat backstories and long-winded explanations.
Chapters
00:00 – Intro: The Meeting Problem
01:30 – Why Most Meetings Fail
03:15 – Topic, Purpose, Output (TPO) Framework
06:00 – Writing Better Meeting Invites
08:00 – The Power of Saying No to Bad Meetings
10:00 – Recurring Meetings: Fix or Kill Them
11:45 – When a Meeting Shouldn’t Be a Meeting
17:00 – How to Restructure Recurring Meetings
21:00 – Real Case Study: Cutting Meetings at Scale
25:00 – The Truth About Daily Stand-Ups
27:00 – TPO in Action: Before, During, and After
31:00 – AI’s Role in Meeting Efficiency
33:00 – Why Clarity is the Cornerstone of Leadership
35:00 – Helping Others Get to the Point Faster
42:00 – Goal, Problem, Solution: The Efficient Ask
45:00 – Why Experts Often Over-Explain
48:00 – What’s Changed Since Chris’s First Book
49:30 – Favorite Book Recommendation: The Culture Map
51:00 – Final Thoughts & Call to Action
Chris Fenning’s Social Media Link:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-fenning/
Chris Fenning’s Website Link:
Resources and Links: