Meeting Cost per Decision Made

Measuring Meeting Efficiency: Cost per Decision

The ultimate measure of a meeting's value is not its duration or attendance -- it is the cost per decision made.

The Formula

Cost per Decision = Total Meeting Cost / Number of Decisions Made

Example Analysis

A 1-hour meeting with 8 people at $90/hr that produces 2 decisions:

Meeting cost:       8 x $90 = $720
Decisions made:     2
Cost per decision:  $720 / 2 = $360

Compare this to a 30-minute meeting with 3 people that produces 1 decision:

Meeting cost:       3 x $90 x 0.5 = $135
Decisions made:     1
Cost per decision:  $135 / 1 = $135

The smaller meeting is 2.7x more efficient per decision.

Benchmarking Decision Costs

While there are no universal benchmarks, you can create internal ones:

• Low-cost decisions ($50-150): Routine approvals, process tweaks, tool selections
• Medium-cost decisions ($150-500): Feature prioritization, hiring decisions, vendor selection
• High-cost decisions ($500+): Strategy shifts, large budget allocations, organizational restructuring

Reducing Cost per Decision

1. Pre-work: Distribute options and analysis before the meeting. Use meeting time only for discussion and voting.
2. Decision frameworks: Use structured approaches (DACI, weighted scoring, pros/cons matrix) to speed deliberation.
3. Time-box discussion: Allocate specific time per agenda item. When time is up, vote or defer.
4. Minimize attendees: Only the decision-maker and essential advisors need to attend.
5. Async pre-votes: For straightforward decisions, poll the group asynchronously and use the meeting only if there is disagreement.

Tracking Over Time

Record the number of decisions made in each meeting for a month. Calculate your average cost per decision, then set a target to reduce it by 20%.