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Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable…About Solving the most painful Problems in Business

Everyone dreads the monthly/weekly/daily staff meeting. Endless minutes or hours go by in the same progression, droning on an on. I was once asked to be a part of someone else’s staff meeting. Three hours that I will never get back in my life with a boss that wouldn’t let anyone else participate in the meeting. Wow.

Death by Meeting is a masterful, yet simple way of looking at meetings in a different way. It operates under the simple construct that if you do different things, you get different outcomes, and for most meetings that is a blessing. Once again, he uses a fable to illustrate how the mind numbing meeting can become the key to company-wide success. His formula is simple: Create specific meeting types (he says there are four types); Encourage debate, and; Allow discussion between participants.

Fables have been used throughout history to get a point across without sounding preachy. From “Who Moved My Cheese” to “Fish” and “Leadership and Self-Deception”, it has proven to be a very effective way of teaching. While some may not appreciate the use of a fictional story, I think it makes for an enjoyable journey. After reading this book you will have a clear understanding of how meeting can be more productive. Once implemented, the dreaded Monday morning meeting will never be the same.

Author:

Patrick Lencioni

Publisher:

Jossey-Bass

Published:

2004

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