Customer Reviews

Breakthrough Business Meetings: Shared Leadership In Action

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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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!

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.

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.