There was a marked difference between Budget Meetings and Category Reviews at Procter & Gamble when I was there.
Budget Meetings
Budget Meetings were brand teams' main planning meeting with their head of marketing. Months of preparation when into these two hour meetings. Brand Managers and their internal and external teams were expected to have one page talking points ready to answer almost any conceivable question about their business – most of which got asked.
Category Reviews
Category Reviews with the CEO were much more focused. The Category Manager and his or her team submitted their annual plan a week in advance. This submission was limited to a five page memo and up to 12 pages of attachments. At the review meeting, the CEO would ask 2-3 questions which were debated in depth.
Both of these impacted the important because what was important was different in the different meetings. Budget Meetings were training exercises on thorough analysis and preparation. Thoroughness was the key. Category Reviews were about fundamental strategic choices. Hence, these focused on the 2-3 issues with the most impact.
Implications
Be clear on what change you're trying to make. Remember the old admonition not to confuse activity with progress. As you're managing change, make sure people are focusing their efforts on things that impact the important.
