Two pizzas

I have been reading a lot on what it takes to run a productive meeting.  One of the most important considerations is the size of the invite list - according to an article by Paul Axtell published a few years ago in Harvard Business Review, the most productive meetings have fewer than 8 people attend.  He writes, "There is a tipping point beyond which the quality of the conversation begins to erode."  If too many people are invited to the meeting, there is never enough time for everyone to participate in the conversation.  When the group becomes too large, some people tend to clam up and not say anything, or when they do say something, they are more guarded.  Large group meetings tend to increase the likelihood of "social loafing", which is the tendency for some individuals to exert far less effort in a group compared to when they have to work alone (see my post, "Social loafers on a free ride" for more on this point).  Finally, if the goal of inclusivity is to increase group diversity, adding to the invite list can and usually does backfire due to something known as the "common information effect".  Basically, whenever we are in a group, we tend to focus primarily (and at times, exclusively) on things we have in common.  Larger groups only increase this tendency.

Whether an invite list of only eight individuals is a hard and fast rule is probably not as important as making sure that the individuals who attend actually contribute.  In general, if you are inviting someone to a meeting only so that they are "kept in the loop", it's probably better not to invite them and to communicate with them afterwards.   In general, (see "How to know if there are too many people in your meeting", also from Harvard Business Review), when you are putting together the meeting attendance list, give careful consideration to include individuals from the following key categories:

1. The key decision makers for the issues involved

2. Individuals with information and knowledge about the topics under discussion

3. Individuals who have a commitment to or stake in the issues

4. Individuals who need to know about the information you have to report in order to do their jobs

5. Anyone who will be required to implement any decisions made

One trick is to follow the so-called 8-18-1800 rule.  If you have to solve a problem or make an important decision, invite no more than 8 people to the meeting.  If you want to brainstorm about an issue, or if the purpose of the meeting is to provide updates (though I would argue that there are better ways to disseminate information than in a meeting), you can go as high as 18 people.  Finally, if the purpose of the meeting is to rally the troops, go for 1,800 people or even more!

Amazon supposedly uses the so-called "two pizza rule".  Jeff Bezos reportedly once said, "If you can't feed a team with two pizzas, it's too large."  I guess that also depends on how big of an appetite everyone at the meeting has though, right?  The bottom line is, bigger is not always better!