Breakthrough Business Meetings: Shared Leadership in Action [Paperback]

Robert E. Levasseur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1994

Thousands of hours are wasted by American businesses each year in unproductive meetings. This definitive guide helps solve this problem by introducing a series of innovative new techniques for managing meetings and keeping them focused, productive, and efficient.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert E. Lavasseur is an organization change consultant, seminar leader and meeting management expert. He is a senior partner of Fox Consulting Group, Inc., an Annapolis, Maryland management consulting firm. Mr. Levasseur's professional career spans three decades and inclues engineering, management science consulting, corporate management, university teaching, organization consulting, public speaking, and writing. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media Corp; 1 edition (June 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558503951
• ISBN-13: 978-1558503953
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,495,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Careers > Vocational Guidance
  • #57 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Business Life > Communication > Meetings & Presentations

More About the Author

I am currently a doctoral faculty member at one of America's leading online universities. I have taught management classes in traditional or online classrooms at the community college, undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels in the US, the Caribbean, and Europe.

I am also the President of MindFire Press, which I founded in 2006 to provide resources for lifelong learning.

I have written five books, four of which are still in print.

When I was a full-time manager and consultant, I wrote Breakthrough Business Meetings: Shared Leadership in Action to help people run more energizing, productive meetings. A traditional publisher originally published this book.

More recently, I wrote three books for doctoral students and other thoughtful readers, which I self-published as print-on-demand books. Student to Scholar: The Guide for Doctoral Students is for doctoral students who want to get the most out of the time, money, and effort they invest in their doctoral programs.

Practical Statistics is for anyone who wants to learn basic statistics, but who finds the theoretical and mathematical approach of most books daunting.

Leadership and Change in the 21st Century: A Synthesis of Modern Theory, Research, and Practice is for thoughtful readers who are concerned about the state of leadership in the world and want to know more about what can be done to improve it dramatically.

The MindFire Press web site offers these books and related material for lifelong learners, whether they are in school or not at this time. However, the books are also available from the major online book sellers, such as Amazon.com.

At this time, I am working on several new books, courses, and reports for lifelong learners related to my areas of primary interest, which include leadership, change management, management decision making, management science, sports, and education, particularly doctoral study.

For example, as a fully certified golf teaching professional, I am working on a sequel to my one book, about golf, that is currently out of print.

I am also working on a sequel to my leadership and change book which explains how change really happens and what anyone can do to catalyze major change in his or her personal or professional life. As a registered Organization Development (i.e., Change Management) consultant, I have wanted to write this book for some time.

You can learn more about these and other resources for lifelong learners at my web site (http://www.mindfirepress.com/).

Feel free to email me at [e-mail] if you have comments or questions. I look forward to interacting with you.

Regards,

Robert E. Levasseur, Ph.D. (Dr. L)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pragmatic Leadership Tools and Techniques, February 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Breakthrough Business Meetings: Shared Leadership In Action (Paperback)

This book is an essential part of every manager's toolkit. It is the most pragmatic book I have ever read about conducting a productive meeting. The title is modest. In addition to providing me with a step by step guide for the best meetings I have ever led, over half the book is dedicated to the delicate art of managing group dynamics. Levasseur takes sophisticated behavioral concepts and makes them simple to apply in the toughest situations. He also offers great advice on how to design and conduct specific meeting types (customer advisory sessions, process redesign workshops, etc.) that tend to be non-recurring and require a creative approach. The author accurately points out that the techniques of dealing with human dynamics in a large group meeting also apply in less structured business situations, such as one-on-one feedback sessions. I give this book two thumbs up. The first thumb is up for the book's broad applicability, pragmatic style, and overall usefulness. The second thumb is up for its readability and relevant examples that bring the concepts to life. Not only have I read this book a number of times, I use it on a regular basis in my work. I've read all the books on meetings, and haven't found one better than Breakthrough Business Meetings!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensible Guide to Meetings, December 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Breakthrough Business Meetings: Shared Leadership In Action (Paperback)

We need to stop meeting the old fashioned way where the person who called the meeting thinks it's his or her meeting. In reality, whenever any group of people meet to discuss issues and solve problems, the meeting belongs to everyone who attends. In simple and elegant terms, this book shows you how to harness the people-power that is inherent in any meeting. Read it and apply it's principles and suggestions and the quality and productivity of your meetings will improve dramatically. As Professor Schein of the Sloan School knows, this book is both theoretically sound yet totally practical. It is an indispensible guide to meetings in the 21st Century.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical advice, February 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Breakthrough Business Meetings: Shared Leadership In Action (Paperback)

At last, a clear roadmap to designing a productive meeting. Written in a user-friendly manner, this book provides detailed instruction on how to plan for and how to facilitate meetings that actually produce results. Anyone who plans meetings, in whatever capacity, should read this book.