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Read This Before Our Next Meeting: The Modern Meeting Standard
How many times have you dreaded going to a meeting either because you viewed it as a waste of time or because you weren?t prepared. Dread no longer: Read This Before Our Next Meeting not only explains what's wrong with ?the meeting, ? and meeting culture, but suggests how to make meetings more effective, efficient, and worthy of attending. It assesses when it's necessary t...more
Kindle Edition
Published
(first published August 3rd 2011)
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Pittampalli prescribes a new way of doing meetings because of the amount of time and money that organizations waste in pointless meetings. His method involves more individual decision making before a meeting as well as memo writing which means that the point of the meeting is to bring conflict to a decision that has already been made. He does, however, say that some meetings are meant to brainstorm, and, in those cases, one should not come to a decision before the meeting begins.
Overall, I found...more
Overall, I found...more
Interesting idea. The writing is brisk, focused on the idea and delivers its message well. I'd like to really commend the author on this. I hope that more ebooks take advantage of the medium to deliver nonfiction in its best form (namely as short as possible to get the message across). This is what earns the book stars. However, I'm not sure that the author has really thought through all the purposes of meetings. On important purpose that the author does not address is the need for administrator...more
This is short book, or manifesto, as the author calls it, that is quite to the point, and it is basically a how-to-guide for what Al Pittampalli calls the Modern Meeting.
I give it 3 out 5 stars, as it is not bad, but not revolutionary either. Most of the ideas in the book are ones that I've heard or read about before.
- Have a clear agenda
- Only invite people that really need to participate in the meeting
- Set a start and end time for the meeting
I also felt that there was a little bit of repeti...more
I give it 3 out 5 stars, as it is not bad, but not revolutionary either. Most of the ideas in the book are ones that I've heard or read about before.
- Have a clear agenda
- Only invite people that really need to participate in the meeting
- Set a start and end time for the meeting
I also felt that there was a little bit of repeti...more
This was a quick read, and written from an interesting perspective. The author is trying to get the point across that meetings are generally a waste of time and effort. Instead, he advocates a "modern meeting" where the purpose of the meeting is to make decisions and act on them. The modern meeting is focused, only includes people who have a stake in the decision, and requires participants to be prepared. The thing that made the perspective of this book interesting to me is that it reads as if i...more
It was...ok.
I like the concept- meetings can be a giant waste of time, especially when people aren't prepared. I question some of his recommendations then; sending emails (or memos, as he insisted in calling them) in place of briefing in meeting themselves requires very strong written communication skills, which organizations may or may not have. It doesn't cut down on the amount of noise, either. It just shifts it from in-person to email. So I guess we'll soon need modern memos to go with our...more
I like the concept- meetings can be a giant waste of time, especially when people aren't prepared. I question some of his recommendations then; sending emails (or memos, as he insisted in calling them) in place of briefing in meeting themselves requires very strong written communication skills, which organizations may or may not have. It doesn't cut down on the amount of noise, either. It just shifts it from in-person to email. So I guess we'll soon need modern memos to go with our...more
I was really excited to read this book because I too am a victim of constant meetings, many that are a complete waste of time. I was very disappointed with the content and the repetitiveness of this book. I ended up skimming the last third of the book because it was just restating earlier sections. Now I feel that the author has wasted my time just as he says meetings do. Wasn't his book supposed to help us recover wasted time? I found that his approach will work for about a third of the meeting...more
A decent call to arms for people who want to shake up their organizations and their meeting structure.
The author doesn't name the company he works for (a valid concern) and only uses a couple examples of other companies, so a lot of the content feels vague and unfocused. Much of the path to a better meeting structure (a "Modern Meeting") relies on changes in attitude, not concrete steps. And the author admits several times this would be an easy practice to backslide on.
But there's still a lot of...more
The author doesn't name the company he works for (a valid concern) and only uses a couple examples of other companies, so a lot of the content feels vague and unfocused. Much of the path to a better meeting structure (a "Modern Meeting") relies on changes in attitude, not concrete steps. And the author admits several times this would be an easy practice to backslide on.
But there's still a lot of...more
I was rather disappointed with this book. As a professed meeting hater, I had hoped for more subtle practical advice on either getting more from meetings or on how to "tactfully" address the bad meeting offenders.
What actually comes across from the author, while possibly offering a worthwhile strategy, is more like a revolutionary demand reminiscent of the socialist manifestos of the mid-20th century. The decree that his is the only way and that any who oppose him are antiquated, idiotic and sho...more
What actually comes across from the author, while possibly offering a worthwhile strategy, is more like a revolutionary demand reminiscent of the socialist manifestos of the mid-20th century. The decree that his is the only way and that any who oppose him are antiquated, idiotic and sho...more
Very short book about getting the best use out of meetings in the office. I must admit, this book was better than i expected it to be, and after starting it with tongue very firmly in cheek I found myself being drawn in by its advice. Written from a very idealistic point of view, it advises, essentially, that you only ever have a meeting in order to ratify a decision, and shifts the focus from meetings to memos. I'm not entirely sure that this isn't just shifting the burden of responsibility wit...more
This is a flawed book if only that it really only applies to either small groups/companies or top-level people where meetings can actually do something if done right. As someone who has to try very hard to find any good, productive meetings he's been involved with on a whole, as opposed to being things that could be figured out in an email chain or even independently, I was hoping for this to be something different. So while it's unfair of me to rate a short book based on it not being what I wan...more
Big takeaway/reminders:
Inspirational images: what if our meeting rooms were as focused as a surgical theater or restaurant kitchen? Yikes!
1. Be more confident when presenting an idea. Even if lousy, it will give others a great opportunity to offer improvements. But stating the proposal at the top of the meeting gives immediate focus and direction to the conversation. And so, it moves things along.
2. Prep your people in advance for the conflict they need to resolve or the action plan they need...more
Inspirational images: what if our meeting rooms were as focused as a surgical theater or restaurant kitchen? Yikes!
1. Be more confident when presenting an idea. Even if lousy, it will give others a great opportunity to offer improvements. But stating the proposal at the top of the meeting gives immediate focus and direction to the conversation. And so, it moves things along.
2. Prep your people in advance for the conflict they need to resolve or the action plan they need...more
Some sensible realisations and some smart, though not easy advice to make meetings productive again and not suck the real work out of work. Al's recommendations are really about changing culture one little action at a time. Not easy to do, but worth a shot I'd say.
Taking the hour to read this book made me realise that, even in my small organisation, we regularly underprepare, invite too many people and are too quick to suck people into a meeting potentially disrupting the rest of a productive da...more
Taking the hour to read this book made me realise that, even in my small organisation, we regularly underprepare, invite too many people and are too quick to suck people into a meeting potentially disrupting the rest of a productive da...more
Always love the Domino Project manifestos, but this one left me wanting. I am all in with his Modern Meeting concept of getting rid of informational meetings and the like. What I was hoping for was more practical ways to get out of meetings and how to get others on board as well. I feel like the 4 Hour Work Week was much better at that.
That being said, it took all of 2 hours to read and had great concepts on what an effective company could look like with these types of meetings. Still worth it,...more
That being said, it took all of 2 hours to read and had great concepts on what an effective company could look like with these types of meetings. Still worth it,...more
This was a colossal waste of time. Almost as much time as a really bad meeting. Yes, we know, meetings are broken and they waste time. There is too much MBA and CYA to really achieve anything. But for 90% of the people who have to attend meetings, there is nothing of practical application in this book. While there were cute moments (i.e., meetings as "weapons of mass interruption") there is not enough in this book to warrant anything other than a memo. Which the author is bold enough to suggest...more
Good, quick read about getting things done and not letting meetings stand in your way.
Some takeaways:
* Great decisions always involve risk and risk scares people; it's natural for great ideas to get attacked or, worse, ignored. I can think of no single great innovation that has ever happened without the presence of opposition.
* Meetings are toxic because they break workdays into a series of work moments. Achieving flow, the state in which we do our best work, can take long periods of focus. I...more
Some takeaways:
* Great decisions always involve risk and risk scares people; it's natural for great ideas to get attacked or, worse, ignored. I can think of no single great innovation that has ever happened without the presence of opposition.
* Meetings are toxic because they break workdays into a series of work moments. Achieving flow, the state in which we do our best work, can take long periods of focus. I...more
Ever since I started reading this book I have been recommending it to colleagues. i couldn't even wait to finish it before giving it the so needed WOM (word of mouth).
I don't know about you, maybe you remember the good old days, but I as a 35 year old have never known anything else than unproductive meetings that served more as watercooler gangs then productivity tools. And ever since reading this book I declined several meetings because they didn't meet the requirements laid out in this book an...more
I don't know about you, maybe you remember the good old days, but I as a 35 year old have never known anything else than unproductive meetings that served more as watercooler gangs then productivity tools. And ever since reading this book I declined several meetings because they didn't meet the requirements laid out in this book an...more
Holy batman this is awful. The spirit of the book is, predictably, how to enhance your business life by having better and fewer meetings. In the spirit of the book’s intent, this should be a three slide deck and not the padded out, near content-free drivel that it ended up being. Read the far superior Rework instead of this.
Side note: The Domino Project better jack up the quality of it’s output or their published books won’t be on my reading list ever again. Lite versions of great books, re-issu...more
Side note: The Domino Project better jack up the quality of it’s output or their published books won’t be on my reading list ever again. Lite versions of great books, re-issu...more
Reserving the right to upgrade my rating if I find this book radically changes my workplace...it's a simple manifesto of what meetings *should* look like in the modern workplace, versus what they *do* look like. He's got some interesting ideas that could definitely carry change with them, but there definitely appears to be room for those changes to become more cosmetic and less functional. I appreciate Pittampalli's philosophy, though, and would be curious to see what it looks like when implemen...more
As someone who is responsible for calling meetings, I was interested when this popped up on the Kindle Daily Deal and grabbed it primarily due to the low cost vs. someone recommending the book to me.
While I agree that modern meetings often don't produce the outcome or actions that you hope they will and this book did provide an alternative way of looking at meetings, it wasn't an end all be all usable guide to change, but a peice of information that could be somewhat incorporated into an overall...more
While I agree that modern meetings often don't produce the outcome or actions that you hope they will and this book did provide an alternative way of looking at meetings, it wasn't an end all be all usable guide to change, but a peice of information that could be somewhat incorporated into an overall...more
The theory behind the modern meeting is noble and there are certainly aspects of it I would implement but realistically in most organizations it would require restructuring the entire organizational structure. The author is in fact asking us to do that but of course we do live on the real world. To me what would really make this book come alive is if there was an a companying book on how to best traffic and sort through work emails as that seems to be key to making modern meetings possible.
This is one of those free short lesson books. I read it in less than 30 minutes but don't feel that I learned much new. It seems as if this book is for those not familiar with meetings or for those with no idea on how to make their meetings better. The seven principles of good meetings are common sense but rarely used. Have a meeting - tell me something new; give me reason to argue my opinion; allow me to shadow the burden of failure; stick to the agenda; and be finished already.
Quick read, was free on Kindle for a limited time so I grabbed it and finally found some time to read it. It is more of an essay than a book. You will likely find yourself nodding in agreement throughout. It makes sense and is mostly common sense to small companies and startups. The people who should really read this book are all of the managers and executives in large companies.
A quick read that gives some good tidbits for "fixing" what is wrong with meetings. This was a good reminder of how not to waste the time of my own people. I really wish that it had addressed in more depth how one can handle required meetings that are repetitive and non-productive, particularly when they involve a lot of higher level administration. Not attending is not an option.
I didn't agree with this 100% of the time. I do think that some discussions that involve more than two people are valuable and not just brainstorming. I do have meetings all the time, but most (!) of them are valuable in the current group I'm in.
I have been in groups that suffer from exactly what this book is talking about. I'm not entirely convinced the "modern" meeting is a cure all though.
I've asked a couple of people I know to also read it and give me opinions about how much of this should...more
I have been in groups that suffer from exactly what this book is talking about. I'm not entirely convinced the "modern" meeting is a cure all though.
I've asked a couple of people I know to also read it and give me opinions about how much of this should...more
This book has 2 great ideas and lot of filler. Just like many of the meetings it claims to want to disrupt and change. The basic idea is to separate idea generating meetings with decision meetings. Leaving the former longer and the latter shorter would cause less disruption and allow for more productivity. There.... now you don't have to read it :).
Al Pittampalli argues that "Modern meeting works only alongside a culture of brainstorming...the brainstorm is so crucial to the success of the Modern Meeting, giving the system balance."
Al Pittampalli and Seth Godin will discuss the book via free webinar:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_bl...
Al Pittampalli and Seth Godin will discuss the book via free webinar:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_bl...
Solid info, but a bit repetitive. A little limited in its scope and lacking in concrete detail.
I downloaded it for free on my Kindle. I don't think I would pay for this to be honest.
Meetings do need to be fixed. I'm not sure that this book is enough of a guide for the powers that be.
I downloaded it for free on my Kindle. I don't think I would pay for this to be honest.
Meetings do need to be fixed. I'm not sure that this book is enough of a guide for the powers that be.
If this were 1/3rd its size, it would be quite excellent. Unfortunately it suffers from repetition to make it book form. Nevertheless, most of its recommendations, while obvious to those who actually do work for a living versus talking about doing work, are enlightening for the "meeting" crowd.
All right I'm convinced that typical meetings suck and should either be avoided or improved. (I was convinced of that before opening the book - in fact that's WHY I wanted to read the book.) Some practical tips, sample agendas, and a description of an actual "modern meeting" would be helpful. It didn't really deliver on its promise.
I definitely learned a couple things about hosting an effective meeting. I wish I could give this book to all whose meetings I attend (some are excruatingly painful). I am definitely willing to lend this out! OH, and I find I do run meetings according to many of these strategies which makes me feel better.
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