Most logo projects slow down for reasons that have nothing to do with drawing. The work moves quickly when four things are decided before the first concept, and crawls when they are discovered halfway through.
Decide who approves
A design needs one approver, or a small group that agrees in advance who has the final word. When five people each hold a veto, every round produces a new direction and nothing converges. Name the approver in the brief and let everyone else feed comments through them.
Write down where the logo will actually appear
A logo that has to work on a 16 pixel favicon, an embroidered cap and a 12 metre shopfront is a different problem from one that only appears on a website. List the real placements, including the awkward ones, before concept work begins. It is much cheaper to design for the smallest size first than to discover it after everything is approved.
Collect what exists, including the messy parts
Send the current logo files, even if they are low resolution or the only copy is inside a PDF. Send the colours and fonts you already use, and note which of those are licensed and to whom. A designer who can see the real material will tell you honestly what can be kept and what has to be redrawn.
Agree on the number of rounds, and what counts as one
Two rounds means two consolidated sets of comments on one chosen direction, not two chances to restart. Writing that down removes the most common source of friction in a project: one side counting revisions, the other counting directions. Put the number and the definition into the brief, and add how extra rounds will be quoted if you need them.
Prepare one sentence about the audience
Not a brand workshop, just a sentence: who buys this, and what they need to believe before they do. A logo cannot say everything, and a sentence about audience is usually enough to choose between two directions without another meeting.