Plan for the Messy Parts: How a Pre-Mortem Keeps Meetings on Track

Some meetings are straightforward: you’re brainstorming, making decisions, or aligning on next steps. Then there are the other meetings. You know the ones:

• High-stakes decisions with competing priorities.
• Tough topics that stir strong opinions.
• Group dynamics that feel like walking a tightrope.

These meetings can get messy. People talk over each other, discussions derail, and nothing gets done.

Here’s the secret to handling them: a pre-mortem.

A pre-mortem isn’t about predicting failure—it’s about planning for what could go wrong so you can keep the meeting focused and productive.

What’s a Pre-Mortem?

You’ve probably heard of a post-mortem: an analysis of what went wrong after the fact. A pre-mortem flips that idea. Before the meeting, you ask:

• What could go wrong during this meeting?
• Where might we get stuck?
• How can I plan ahead to prevent or address those issues?

It’s a simple but powerful way to prepare for challenges, especially when you’re dealing with contentious topics or tricky group dynamics.

When to Use a Pre-Mortem

Not every meeting needs a pre-mortem. Save it for meetings that are:

1. High-Stakes: Decisions that carry big consequences (e.g., budget planning, roadmap prioritization).
2. Contentious: Topics where you expect disagreement or strong opinions.
3. Complex: Discussions with lots of moving parts or unclear solutions.
4. Historically Messy: Groups with trust issues, unresolved tensions, or a history of unproductive meetings.

How to Run a Pre-Mortem (Before the Meeting)

Here’s how to prepare for the messy parts and walk in ready to lead with confidence:

1. Identify What Could Go Wrong

Think about the people, the topic, and the history. Ask yourself:

• Who might dominate the conversation?
  • Is there someone who tends to talk over others or take up too much airtime?
• Where might disagreement derail us?
  • Are there competing priorities, strong opinions, or unresolved tensions?
• What topics might cause confusion?
  • Is the scope of the meeting unclear? Could the group get stuck debating details?
• Where could the group lose focus?
  • Will tangents or unrelated discussions pull us off track?

Example: You’re leading a meeting to finalize next quarter’s priorities.

• What could go wrong:
  • One person dominates the discussion with their preferred project.
  • The team argues about priorities without a clear framework.
  • The group runs out of time before assigning action items.

2. Plan Your Responses

For each potential challenge, decide how you’ll address it.

Why This Matters: Pre-planning gives you tools to respond calmly and effectively when challenges arise. Instead of reacting in the moment, you’re ready to steer the meeting back on track.

3. Seed the Shared Workspace

If you anticipate a messy or contentious discussion, set up your shared workspace to provide structure:

• Add clear guiding prompts:
  • “What’s the impact of this decision?”
  • “What are the trade-offs we need to consider?”
• Include time-boxed sections to help the group stay focused.
• Create a parking lot section for unrelated but important topics.

Example: For a contentious prioritization meeting, your Miro board or Google Doc might include:

• Columns labeled “High Impact,” “Low Effort,” and “Trade-offs.”
• A dedicated “Parking Lot” for off-topic ideas to revisit later.

4. Decide on Ground Rules and Share Them

Set the tone upfront by sharing ground rules at the start of the meeting. Keep them simple and aligned to the challenges you expect:

• “We’ll use time-boxing to keep discussions moving.”
• “Let’s aim for curiosity over certainty—this is about exploring solutions together.”
• “If an idea doesn’t fit today’s scope, we’ll park it and revisit it later.”

This creates psychological safety by framing the structure as helpful, not controlling.

Facilitating the Messy Parts: In the Meeting

Even with a pre-mortem, you’ll need to adapt in the moment. Here’s how:

• Interrupt Dominators Gently:

  • “Thanks for that insight, Alex. Let’s hear from others who haven’t spoken yet.”

• Refocus When Discussions Spiral:

  • “This is a great point, but let’s bring it back to our goal for today. What do we need to decide right now?”

• Use the Parking Lot:

  • “That’s important, but it’s outside today’s scope. Let’s add it to the parking lot.”

• Revisit the Goal:

  • If tensions rise, ground the group: “We’re here to decide X by the end of this meeting. Let’s focus on getting there together.”

Example in Action

You’re leading a high-stakes meeting to decide which Q4 projects will move forward. Here’s your pre-mortem plan:

Potential Problems:

1. Strong personalities dominate the conversation.
2. The group debates endlessly without landing on a decision.
3. Tangents derail the discussion.

How You Prepare:

• Introduce a prioritization framework: score ideas on “impact” and “effort.”
• Time-box the discussion: “We’ll spend 10 minutes scoring options, then 10 minutes narrowing to the top 3.”
• Use a shared workspace with prompts like:
  • “What’s the business impact?”
  • “What resources will this require?”

During the Meeting:

• Redirect dominators: “We’ve heard a lot from one side—what do others think?”
• Keep the group on task: “Let’s aim to score these ideas in the next 5 minutes.”
• Use the parking lot for tangents.

The result? The group stays focused, discussions are balanced, and you leave with clear decisions.

Plan for the Messy Parts

Messy meetings don’t have to spiral out of control. A pre-mortem helps you anticipate challenges, prepare responses, and lead with confidence—even when things get tricky.

Here’s the formula:

1. Identify what could go wrong.
2. Plan your responses.
3. Set up the shared workspace to provide structure.
4. Use ground rules to set the tone.

In Part 7, we’ll bring everything together and wrap up this series with a “zero to hero” checklist for meeting facilitation.

Because meetings that matter don’t happen by accident—they’re designed for success, even when they get messy.

Ready to tackle the toughest meetings with confidence?
Let’s build systems that keep your team on track and productive.