the.com/briefing
A meeting designed to make sure no one can later say they weren't told.
means A short session where someone in the know passes essential information to people who need it before they act.
from From 'brief' meaning short or condensed, which traces back to Latin 'brevis' (short) — the same root behind 'abbreviate' and 'brevity.' A legal 'brief' was originally a condensed summary of a case for a lawyer or judge; 'briefing' grew out of that sense of compressing what someone needs to know into the shortest useful form, especially in military use where lives depended on getting the gist fast.
- origin
- military term, trickled into every office by 1960s
- real purpose
- transfers blame, not just information
- ideal length
- inversely proportional to how long it actually runs
- golden rule
- shorter than the meeting about the meeting