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
From the Inside Flap
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.
