Why Meetings Matter

This book will change your mind forever about that "useless" meeting you are forced to attend. Paul Axtell emphasizes that meetings are vital to the work of successful organizations--we need to master the skill sets for designing, leading, and participating in meetings. A consultant with more than 30 years in the business, Axtell outlines 8 strategies with a host of compelling ideas you can put into action immediately. This is a book for the manager who recognizes that meetings are at the core of the work you do, the supervisor who wants to be wonderful to work for, the employee who wants to contribute as much as possible, the project leader who wants every team meeting to add velocity to the project. Meetings are essential. So let's make them work.

What makes for a great meeting? As a leader, how can you keep discussions on point and productive? In How to Run a Meeting, Antony Jay argues that too many leaders fail to plan adequately for meetings. In this bestselling article, he defines the characteristics that contribute to success, from keeping formal minutes to acknowledging junior staff first. These guidelines will help you get demonstrably better results from every meeting you run. Since 1922, Harvard Business Review has been a leading source of breakthrough ideas in management practice. The Harvard Business Review Classics series now offers you the opportunity to make these seminal pieces a part of your permanent management library. Each highly readable volume contains a groundbreaking idea that continues to shape best practices and inspire countless managers around the world.

Make every minute count. Your calendar is full, and yet your meetings don’t always seem to advance your work. Problems often arise with unrealistic or vague agendas, off-track conversations, tuned-out participants who don’t know why they’re there, and follow-up notes that no one reads—or acts on. Meetings can feel like a waste of time. But when you invest a little energy in preparing yourself and your participants, you’ll stay focused, solve problems, gain consensus, and leave each meeting ready to take action. With input from over 20 experts combined with useful checklists, sample agendas, and follow-up memos, the HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter will teach you how to: Set and communicate your meeting’s purpose Invite the right people Prepare an achievable agenda Moderate a lively conversation Regain control of a wayward meeting Ensure follow-through without babysitting or haranguing Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, from a source you trust. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

This innovative book argues that meetings are a crucial feature of modern organisations, demonstrating that, contrary to popular belief, meetings are what define, represent and maintain organisations.

Meetings should matter. No one wants to be called in for a meeting that could've been an email. No one wants to sit in a meeting where everyone's distracted or talking over each other. If you're going to attend or lead a meeting, don't you want it to...well, matter? Meetings are a chance to initiate a conversation with your teammates. You can communicate information with them that wouldn't have the same hold digitally. You can foster new relationships with your coworkers, and learn from their new ideas and perspectives. So why do so many people dread meetings? Because they're doing them all wrong. Change the way people think about meetings. Transform their opinions by holding a meeting that is efficient and productive, that is open and communicative, that is useful and important. Revolutionize the definition of a meeting. Learn to make them matter. Paul Axtell affirms the importance of meetings, and he redesigns them using the vital foundation of conversation. With real-life examples and actionable advice, he shows you how to design meetings for results, lead them to achieve agendas that move projects forward, and even allow time for building the relationships that make working together in a remarkable way possible. Based on his award winning efficiency training, this book will revolutionize the meeting—moving it from that dreaded obligation to a powerful way to get things done in business and in life.

Preface -- Setting the meeting stage -- So many meetings and so much frustration -- Get rid of meetings? no, solve meetings through science -- Evidence-based strategies for leaders -- The image in the mirror is likely wrong -- Meet for 48 minutes -- Agendas are a hollow crutch -- The bigger, the badder -- Don't get too comfortable in that chair -- Deflate negative energy from the start -- No more talking! -- The folly of the remote call-in meeting -- Putting it all together -- Epilogue: trying to get ahead of the science' using science -- Tool: meeting quality self-assessment -- Tool: sample engagement survey and 360 feedback questions on meetings -- Tool: good meeting facilitation checklist -- Tool: huddle implementation checklist -- Tool: agenda template -- Tool: guide to taking good meeting minutes/notes -- Tool: expectations assessment -- Acknowledgments -- References -- Index

This practical guide details ten key principles that will profoundly change the way you think about, organize, and lead the meetings that matter most. Rather than trying to change anyone's behavior, Weisbord and Janoff show you how to change the conditions under which people interact. By doing less, you help others do more. With examples from around the world, and practical tips and exercises in every chapter, Don't Just Do Something, Stand There! gives you many new techniques for helping people discover common ground, make productive use of dissension, and take responsibility for action.

Meetings should matter. Even and especially when those meetings are taking place online. No one wants to be called in for a meeting that could've been an email. No one wants to sit in a meeting where everyone's distracted by whatever else is happening on their screen, everyone is lost in the weeds, or people continue talking over each other. If you're going to attend or lead a meeting, don't you want it to...well, matter? An update to the original "Make Meetings Matter", this work is tailor made to help consumers get the most from every meeting — virtually! Meetings are a chance to initiate a conversation with your teammates. Not simply check a box on an agenda. You can foster new relationships with your coworkers, and learn from their new ideas and perspectives. So why do so many people dread meetings? Because they're doing them all wrong. Change the way people think about meetings. Transform their opinions by holding a meeting that is efficient and productive, that is open and communicative, that is useful and important. Paul Axtell affirms the importance of meetings, and he redesigns them using the vital foundation of conversation. With real—life examples and actionable advice, he shows you how to design meetings for results, lead them to achieve agendas that move projects forward, and even allow time for building the relationships that make working together in a remarkable way possible. Based on his award winning efficiency training title "Make Meetings Matter" and updated for the virtual meeting experience, this book will revolutionize the meeting—moving it from that dreaded obligation to a powerful way to get things done in business and in life.