Monthly product review

The monthly business review is a 90-minute meeting on the [first/last] [day] of every month. The leadership team attends. Its job is to spot what's drifting before it becomes a quarter-killer, and decide what to do about it.

That's the whole job. Not status updates. Not round-robin presentations. Not a recap of the month. Spot drift, decide.

Here's how it works in practice.

Two days before the meeting, every function head writes a one-page pre-read — what your numbers are doing, why, and what you need from the room. The CFO compiles all of those into a single packet and sends it 48 hours before the meeting or each person upload their document inside Nova.

Everyone reads it before walking in.

The meeting itself opens with 15 minutes of silent reading. Yes, silent. Nobody talks.

Everyone re-reads the packet and writes their questions and comments directly into the doc. Then we walk OKR signal, then metrics, then we spend the bulk of the meeting on the 2-3 issues that actually matter. We close by logging action items and rating the meeting 1-10.

That's it. Same structure every month. Same time. Same place. The structure doesn't change.

If you're an attendee, your job in this meeting is in three places: the silent read (engage with the doc, write your real questions), the OKR signal if you own a KR, and the issues dive (if a topic is in your area, be ready to identify what's actually happening and commit to a path forward in the room).

Five rules. They're how we make the meeting work.

1. Pre-read or no participation. If you didn't write your page or read the packet, don't attend. We're holding this line. Without it, the rest is theater.

2. Inputs over outputs. When you write your page, focus on the metrics that predict next month, not the ones that summarize last month. Revenue is a result. Sales calls per rep is a cause. We want causes.

3. Status updates die in pre-read. If something doesn't need a decision from the room, it goes in the pre-read and stays there. The meeting is for what writing can't do — debate, decide, commit. If you find yourself wanting to "walk the team through" something, write it instead.

4. The biggest thing gets the most time. We don't give every function equal airtime. The issue that matters most this month gets 40 minutes. Everything else is supporting cast. This will feel uncomfortable the first few months. Push through it.

5. We score the meeting at the end. Two minutes. Each person rates 1–10. If we're under 8, we name one thing to fix next month. This is how the meeting stays sharp instead of slowly rotting back into theater.

What this means for you, week to week:

A single paragraph. Not a deck. Each function head writes one or 2 paragraphs — the metrics that matter, what the numbers are doing, why, and what they need from the room.

RULES:

Summarise these pre-reads in one view (1-page pdf). List what shipped, which launches are due for a verdict, which metrics are off target and why each team thinks so, and any issue that shows up in more than one team.

🔥Very importantly, all launches mentioned—along with notes on results and the verdict given—will be compiled into a table, with the most urgent launches needing attention at the top and the healthy ones at the bottom.

First fifteen minutes, no one talks. Everyone reads the packet (or re-reads it) and writes their questions and comments directly here and make specific suggestions inside the doc. This is the Bezos move — and it's the single most important change you can make.

Overall, give a verdict on the launches you own and are observing, indicating whether to Keep, Improve, or Remove. "Too early" is allowed once, and "At risk" can be used if you would like to discuss a potential 💥risk or blocker.

If you are tracking multiple launches under one entry and would vote to remove one but keep another, select Remove as the primary verdict and add a note specifying which one should be removed.

The most important part. The room works on whatever is most stuck: a number heading the wrong way, a launch that missed, a blocker between teams. 👉✍During the conversation, add a quick note about decisions made regarding what to remove, keep, improve, or pause, as well as any issues that have been raised. Add a note here as each product launch and initiative is mentioned to maintain a log of decisions

Summarize the launch score, outline the issues and challenges, detail the decisions made regarding what to keep, improve, or remove, and include 1–2 potential opportunities, tactics, or considerations for the team in a single-page document.

Action items from today, plus a check on action items from last month's review. Each one with an owner and a date, and any change to the roadmap added to the decision log.

Each person rates the meeting 1–8. Anything under 6 gets a sentence on what to fix next time.

A single paragraph. Not a deck. Each function head writes one or 2 paragraphs — the metrics that matter, what the numbers are doing, why, and what they need from the room.

RULES:

Summarise these pre-reads in one view (1-page pdf). List what shipped, which launches are due for a verdict, which metrics are off target and why each team thinks so, and any issue that shows up in more than one team.

🔥Very importantly, all launches mentioned—along with notes on results and the verdict given—will be compiled into a table, with the most urgent launches needing attention at the top and the healthy ones at the bottom.

First fifteen minutes, no one talks. Everyone reads the packet (or re-reads it) and writes their questions and comments directly here and make specific suggestions inside the doc. This is the Bezos move — and it's the single most important change you can make.

Overall, give a verdict on the launches you own and are observing, indicating whether to Keep, Improve, or Remove. "Too early" is allowed once, and "At risk" can be used if you would like to discuss a potential 💥risk or blocker.

If you are tracking multiple launches under one entry and would vote to remove one but keep another, select Remove as the primary verdict and add a note specifying which one should be removed.

The most important part. The room works on whatever is most stuck: a number heading the wrong way, a launch that missed, a blocker between teams. 👉✍During the conversation, add a quick note about decisions made regarding what to remove, keep, improve, or pause, as well as any issues that have been raised. Add a note here as each product launch and initiative is mentioned to maintain a log of decisions

Summarize the launch score, outline the issues and challenges, detail the decisions made regarding what to keep, improve, or remove, and include 1–2 potential opportunities, tactics, or considerations for the team in a single-page document.

Action items from today, plus a check on action items from last month's review. Each one with an owner and a date, and any change to the roadmap added to the decision log.

Each person rates the meeting 1–8. Anything under 6 gets a sentence on what to fix next time.

A single paragraph. Not a deck. Each function head writes one or 2 paragraphs — the metrics that matter, what the numbers are doing, why, and what they need from the room.

RULES:

Summarise these pre-reads in one view (1-page pdf). List what shipped, which launches are due for a verdict, which metrics are off target and why each team thinks so, and any issue that shows up in more than one team.

🔥Very importantly, all launches mentioned—along with notes on results and the verdict given—will be compiled into a table, with the most urgent launches needing attention at the top and the healthy ones at the bottom.

First fifteen minutes, no one talks. Everyone reads the packet (or re-reads it) and writes their questions and comments directly here and make specific suggestions inside the doc. This is the Bezos move — and it's the single most important change you can make.

Overall, give a verdict on the launches you own and are observing, indicating whether to Keep, Improve, or Remove. "Too early" is allowed once, and "At risk" can be used if you would like to discuss a potential 💥risk or blocker.

If you are tracking multiple launches under one entry and would vote to remove one but keep another, select Remove as the primary verdict and add a note specifying which one should be removed.

The most important part. The room works on whatever is most stuck: a number heading the wrong way, a launch that missed, a blocker between teams. 👉✍During the conversation, add a quick note about decisions made regarding what to remove, keep, improve, or pause, as well as any issues that have been raised. Add a note here as each product launch and initiative is mentioned to maintain a log of decisions

Summarize the launch score, outline the issues and challenges, detail the decisions made regarding what to keep, improve, or remove, and include 1–2 potential opportunities, tactics, or considerations for the team in a single-page document.

Action items from today, plus a check on action items from last month's review. Each one with an owner and a date, and any change to the roadmap added to the decision log.

Each person rates the meeting 1–8. Anything under 6 gets a sentence on what to fix next time.