Camera Rules SOP: Run Video Meetings by Which Way Information Flows

This is a Small Business SOP: a free, do-this-today standard operating procedure pulled from a real operator on the Unscripted Small Business podcast. This one comes from Alfred Poor, founder of The 75 Percent Solution, a former PC Magazine writer of over 20 years and a professional speaker who coaches executives and founders on how they come across online. The episode was recorded in March 2025.

His answer to the camera-on fight is simple to run: before the meeting, decide which way the information flows, then set cameras to match. Off for a broadcast, one at a time for status reports, everyone on for problem solving. Here it is as eight steps you can use on your next team call.

Alfred Poor quote: A default is a choice by itself. You're choosing not to change it.

The Play: One Line

Decide whether the meeting needs to happen, name which way the information flows, and set cameras to match: off for a broadcast, one at a time for reports, everyone on for problem solving.

Forced cameras tell your team you don’t trust them

Alfred’s pet peeve is the manager who makes everyone turn their camera on to prove they’re paying attention. “What does that tell the other people about your level of trust in them?” If you want to keep your best employees, he said, starting from “this is third grade and I don’t trust you” is probably not where you want to begin.

The other half of the problem is meetings that shouldn’t exist. Jeremy described a week at a past job when eight people in his office, eight in Boston and eight in California sat on one call from eight o’clock to lunch, ate lunch on the call, then ran three more hours. “So literally no work that wasn’t in the meeting was getting done by 24 people all at once.” Alfred’s reply is the rule under every step below: “Don’t do things by default, do them on purpose.”

The three ways information flows in a meeting

Alfred sorts every meeting by “how the information is flowing.” He said those three cover most scenarios, and one meeting can hold all of them.

From you

Broadcast

Everyone needs to be on the same page. You talk, they listen. Cameras can stay off.

To you

Status reports

People report on what they’re doing. Put them on camera one at a time.

Both ways

Problem solving

A brainstorm or a problem the whole group has to solve. Everybody on camera.

Jeremy offered his own three categories on the episode: a broadcast like a CEO’s quarterly update, a dialogue where two people trade information, and an open brainstorm. Alfred’s version sorts by direction instead, which is what makes it easy to set camera rules from.

The 8-step camera rules SOP

Every step comes from what Alfred said on the episode. Times are from the recording.

Decide · 06:53

Decide if it needs to be synchronous

“Just because we have this technology doesn’t mean you have to use it.” A lot of what lands on a call works just as well as an email or a Slack message. “If you don’t need to have it right away, then maybe there are other ways.” Otherwise you get the old joke: this meeting could have been a memo.

Respect · 06:53, 09:49

Check it against their time, not yours

Owners tend to ask what’s most efficient for themselves. Alfred’s question puts you in the attendees’ shoes: “how’s this gonna impact them? And is this the best use of their time?” A recurring slot doesn’t earn a meeting on its own. “But don’t do it just because that’s what we do on Tuesdays.”

Goal · 21:25

Name the goal before you send the invite

Ask “what’s the goal of the meeting?” Then name the direction: from you, to you, or both ways. “What’s the mode of communication going to be, and set up the meeting and camera use and all that stuff so that it’s appropriate for that.” Putting the camera plan in the invite is our suggestion, so nobody has to guess.

From you · 21:25

Broadcasts run with cameras optional

When you’re telling everyone something so they’re on the same page, “You don’t need to have their cameras on for that, right? You’re talking, they’re listening.” As a speaker, he pointed out, he doesn’t call the audience up on stage so everyone can stare at them.

To you · 21:25

Status reports go one camera at a time

When people report on what they’re doing, “Put them on camera one at a time. But again, you don’t need to have everybody on camera.” The person talking is on screen. Everyone else can listen.

Both ways · 21:25

Problem solving puts everybody on camera

A brainstorm, a problem to solve, or a session where you’re trying to use the whole group is the one case for full cameras. “Sure. Then put everybody on camera.” In his example agenda, that’s the moment he says “I want everybody’s input on this.”

Sequence · 24:24

Order a mixed agenda by mode

Most agendas mix all three, “So just be prepared.” His example runs in order: “here’s where things stand on this project,” then “Now I want to hear from the heads of each of the teams, give me a quick report,” then “Okay. Now everybody please turn your cameras on, because this is a problem we need to solve.” Broadcast, then reports, then the group work.

Trust · 21:25, 24:24

Never use cameras to police attention

If the only reason for a camera is to check that someone is listening, turn the rule off. Alfred calls it “a major cultural problem for a lot of companies.” The target he sets instead: “meetings that people want to attend.” “You’re not always going to succeed. But if you make the effort, you stand a much better chance of more success.”

A meeting planner you can fill in today

Copy this table or print the PDF. The first three rows follow Alfred’s example agenda. Replace them with your own.

Agenda item	Could it be a memo?	Flow	Cameras
Where the project stands	Maybe	From me	Off is fine
Quick report from each team head	No	To me	One at a time
The problem we need to solve	No	Both ways	Everyone on
Your item

Take the whole SOP with you

Two printable pages: the play, the three meeting modes, the 8 steps, a fill-in meeting planner and a checklist. No email required.

📥 Download the Camera Rules SOP (PDF)

Listen & read more from Alfred Poor

This SOP is distilled from Alfred Poor’s episode on the Unscripted Small Business podcast, recorded in March 2025:

🔊 Read the full episode recap: Alfred Poor on video meetings, be seen, be heard, lose the background
🌐 The 75 Percent Solution, Alfred’s site on coming across better in online meetings
🌐 alfredpoor.com, his personal site

The rest of the episode covers how you show up once the camera is on: his three rules of be seen, be heard and minimize distractions, why he frames himself like a TV news anchor, and the 20 to 30 dollar photographer backdrop he uses instead of a virtual background (price as of March 2025). That part is in the recap. If your team splits time between home and the office, Jessica Malnik covers that side in why hybrid work is the hardest. To write the meeting rules down so they stick, use the Simple Systems SOP.

Camera rules for video meetings: set them on your next invite

You don’t need a policy document to start. Take your next recurring meeting, ask whether it could be a memo, and if it can’t, label each agenda item from me, to me or both ways. Put the camera plan in the invite. A default is a choice too, so make this one on purpose.

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