Synopses & Reviews
In today’s competitive business world, people at all levels of an organization are spending more and more time in meetings. However, many participants are becoming frustrated and dissatisfied when they attend meetings that are poorly run, directionless, and ultimately a waste of time.
Glenn Parker and Robert Hoffman have written the definitive handbook for conducting quality meetings. Whether your next meeting takes place in a small conference room with team members, via a teleconference with people from around the world, or at an off-site location, Meeting Excellence provides the tools you need to ensure that your meeting will be both efficient and productive.
Meeting Excellence is a comprehensive resource that provides a wide range of ready-to-use tools that have been developed and tested by a meeting initiative within Novartis Pharmaceuticals. It is based on years of research observing team meetings, examining existing meeting documents, and conducting a number of intensive individual interviews in the U.S. and Europe. This important book offers the information and tools needed to prepare, facilitate, and follow up on all your meetings. Step by step, Meeting Excellence shows how to
- Create an action-focused meeting agenda
- Ensure that everyone participates in discussion
- Deal with disruptive and inattentive people
- Develop a climate of trust among meeting participants
- Create and deliver effective meeting presentations
- Stay on track to achieve your meeting goals
- Achieve clear communication during a multicultural meeting
- Liven up a dreary and unproductive meeting
- Close your meeting on an upbeat and positive note
- Get action on team action items
- Improve meeting communications with line management
- Evaluate your meeting quickly and effectively
- Choose among various web-based meeting tools
In addition, Meeting Excellence is filled with specific suggestions and templates that can be used immediately to improve the planning, facilitation, and closing of your next meeting.
Review
"Parker and Hoffman have delivered a long overdue guide to one of the most troubling events in organizational life--the meeting. They have captured the essence of the meeting and guide the reader on a journey to meeting excellence by providing tools, tips, and techniques that take us well beyond anything done so far. I highly recommend this book to every leader at every level in every organization."
--Dick Kropp, vice president, human resources, Cape Cod Healthcare
"With staff located in offices throughout the world, our organization is continually facing challenges in communicating and coordinating activities. Making the most of our virtual meetings and squeezing every possible benefit out of the few face-to-face gatherings we have is critically important to the success of our operations. Meeting Excellence is a superb resource for all managers seeking to make their staff gatherings as effective and productive as possible."
--Nathan Grey, national vice president for international affairs, and special assistant to the CEO of the American Cancer Society
"Whether you lead, facilitate, or participate in meetings, this book by Parker and Hoffman is packed with extremely useful and often novel tips and techniques to make your experience before, during, and after meetings more productive and enjoyable. I'm confident that the more readers use these authors' practical insights, the less complaints they will have about their own meeting experiences."
--Joe Toto, director, leadership development and learning, Becton Dickinson
"Meeting Excellence is what millions of managers around the world have been seeking--a clear, powerful tool box for planning and facilitating effective meetings. This book will assuredly save your organization countless hours of wasted, frustrating time that it presently spends in unproductive, boring meetings."
--Michael J. Marquardt, president, Global Learning Associates
"Every person who leads meetings should have a copy of Meeting Excellence. The tools--which cover just about every aspect of preparing for, facilitating and following up on a meeting--are brief, practical, and easy-to-use. I recommend it without reservation."
--Michael Doyle, coauthor, How to Make Meetings Work
Synopsis
Meeting Excellence is a comprehensive resource that provides a wide range of ready-to-use tools that have been developed and tested by a meeting initiative within Novartis Pharmaceuticals. It is based on years of research observing team meetings, examining existing meeting documents, and conducting a number of intensive individual interviews in the
U.S. and
Europe. This important book offers the information and tools needed to prepare, facilitate, and follow up on all your meetings. Step by step,
Meeting Excellence shows how to
- Create an action-focused meeting agenda
- Ensure that everyone participates in discussion
- Deal with disruptive and inattentive people
- Develop a climate of trust among meeting participants
- Create and deliver effective meeting presentations
- Stay on track to achieve your meeting goals
- Achieve clear communication during a multicultural meeting
- Liven up a dreary and unproductive meeting
- Close your meeting on an upbeat and positive note
- Get action on team action items
- Improve meeting communications with line management
- Evaluate your meeting quickly and effectively
- Choose among various web-based meeting tools
About the Author
Glenn Parker works with organizations to create and sustain high-performing teams, effective team players, and team-based systems. He is the author of fifteen books, including the best-selling
Cross-Functional Teams and
Team Players and Teamwork.
Robert Hoffman is executive director of organizational development for Novaratis Oncology.
Table of Contents
Preface vii
PART 1: PREPARING FOR THE MEETING.
1. Is This Meeting Necessary? 3
2. Preparing for Your Next Meeting 5
3. How to Prepare an Action Agenda 11
4. Defining Team Meeting Roles 16
5. How to Integrate a New Member 21
6. When a Member Leaves the Team 24
7. Establishing Your Team’s Ground Rules 28
8. Components of a New Team Kick-Off Meeting 32
9. Planning an Off-Site Meeting That’s On Target 37
10. Your Opening Act: Setting the Tone for an Excellent Meeting 42
11. E-Mail Excellence 45
PART 2: FACILITATING THE MEETING.
12. Meeting Time Management: When to Meet, How Long to Meet, and When to Take a Break 51
13. Staying on Track 55
14. How to Get Effective Participation 59
15. Building a Foundation of Trust 66
16. Communicating in a Videoconference 69
17. Teleconference Tips 73
18. Achieving Clear Communication in a Multicultural Meeting 77
19. How to Make a Decision 83
20. Presenting at a Team Meeting 93
21. Resolving Conflicts in a Team Meeting 103
22. Responding to Nonverbal Communication 108
23. Managing Meeting Monsters: Dealing with Difficult Behavior in Team Meetings 112
24. Serious Fun at Team Meetings? You’re Kidding! 118
25. Eating Well = Meeting Well 130
PART 3: CLOSING AND FOLLOWING UP ON THE MEETING.
26. Ending Meetings On Time and On Target 137
27. Meeting Evaluation: A Two-Minute Drill 139
28. Meeting Evaluation: A Five-Minute Activity 141
29. Meeting Evaluation: A Ten-Minute Assessment 144
30. Meeting Notes: Capturing the Essence of Your Meeting 147
31. Getting Action on Action Items 150
32. After-Meeting Actions 153
33. Managing External Communications 156
PART 4: RESOURCES.
A. Web-Based Meeting Tools 167
B. The Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings 171
C. Are You a Meeting Marvel? A Self-Test for Meeting Participants 181
D. What Would You Do? Problem Situations for Meeting Facilitators 184
E. Meeting Excellence: Your Final Exam 190
F. Annotated Bibliography of Meeting Resources 202
About the Authors 207
Index 209