When I joined banking many years ago, I developed this simple playbook to become efficient in meetings and tasks. I called it the NEWT model. Today, I use it a lot as I interact with teams, founders, colleagues, etc. Using a text file in my laptop, I maintain order, chronicling outcomes of meetings, etc.
A physical diary keeps long-term actions which are seasonably broken down and moved into the text file. As the days go, I move things around the file. Every evening, I write down on a piece of paper what I have to work for the next day, making provisions for emergencies. You will always see a piece of paper on my desk!
This is the NEWT: after every meeting, I think through it before I move to the next thing. I quickly update the necessary files where necessary.
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- – Next action to be taken: what do I have to do next based on this meeting?
- – Extra factors of production required: what resources or people can help me make this a success?
- – Who owns the action: In all, which actions should I focus and concentrate and own?
- – Time to execute action: when do they expect me to revert with results?
If for any reason I could not make sense of some of these, I will quickly check with a meeting attendee or the host to ensure alignment. Sure, these days, I have people who help but the process remains.
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