Dealing with Meetings You Can't Stand: Meet Less and Do More

by Rick Brinkman

The proven process for making the most of every business meeting--from the coauthor of the international bestseller Dealing with People You Can't Stand

From Dr. Rick Brinkman, one of the bestselling masterminds who made Dealing with People You Can't Stand a little less painful--and a lot more productive--comes the much-needed cure for that time-wasting, headache-inducing, soul-sucking plague known as meetings. This proven step-by-step method addresses the most common problems that derail a meeting: preparation, people, process, and time.

Dr. Brinkman provides key insights into the human behaviors that lead to unsuccessful meetings, along with psychologically-based tactics for addressing them. You will learn how to:

- get rid of unnecessary meetings
- start and end on time
- develop and execute an effective agenda
- address disruptive and problem behaviors
- balance participation so assertive people don't dominate and passive people say what they really think
- eliminate tangents and maintain focus
- ensure effective follow-up

This practical and easily implementable process applies to in-person as well as virtual meetings of any size. Filled with helpful checklists and change-making strategies, Dealing with Meetings You Can't Stand will turn the most boring conference room into a fast-moving model of efficiency, energy, and enthusiasm. You need not suffer in a meeting ever again.

Genres: Business

224 pages, Paperback

Published May 22, 2017

Reviews

[Ell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could distribute a copy of this book to everyone in every office I walk into! It is a bit of a game changer for meetings and general office politics. Who hasn’t encountered the tank, the grenade, the know-it-all, the winer, etc.? Author Rick Brinkman breaks down what makes people behave as they do in certain scenarios and discusses the best ways to curtail their negative behavior for more productive meetings. The suggestions for utilizing individuals to fulfill three essential roles in facilitating a successful session are helpful and insightful. Does everyone need to come to the table? I would recommend reading this thoughtful, useful and practical book to find out. Many items in this book can also be applied to improve the general office environment and be used in your personal life as well. I give it a solid 5 stars.

[Ilana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been there at least once, you've been there probably too: those neverending time consuming meetings, when doodling is the only answer you have for the wasted time doing nothing. At least, you improve your creativity level, while your meeting is going nowhere. Maybe you were yourself the one who asked for a meeting without having any clear plan in mind and tortured your co-workers to your incoherent, time-killing babbling.
All of you would definitely appreciate the tips and inspiration shared in this book by Rick Brinkman, whose special skill is to help busy business people and their employees to save time and be more organised for the benefit of your business productivity. It offers practical tutorials suited for various types of meetings and assignments, including by recommending when exactly you better decide not having a meeting at all.
Recommended to small business owners and entrepreneurs, human resources consultants and managers as well as anyone who really wants to end up the cycle of those meetings 'you can't stand'.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book actually had some pretty good ideas that I'm going to try to implement where I work. Some of them were pretty standard (such as "start and end on time"), but others were creative and I think could be very useful (the agenda setting procedure and format, for example). As with most of these types of books, I do wish there was more about how to actually implement this (aka get people to go along with it and get managers to actually do it).

*Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, provided by the author and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Mukesh Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone of us is either a participant in a meeting or the organiser. We spend so much time in meetings that are badly organised. This book brings a fresh set of ideas about how to make our meetings more focused and give us the tools to drive the kind of results that we want from these meetings..

Highly recommended...

[Srinivasan Nanduri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author has divided the trouble spots in attending / facilitating meetings into 4. Namely - preparation, people, process and time.

- Needs a clear agenda
- Not less or not more people than needed for the meeting
- People doesn't talk during the meetings but have a lot to say after (process)
- Start on time and end on time

[Alina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Received a "free copy" from Netgalley. What was this supposed to be? What I received was some nonsense short story about two lovers vs the Natzi army. Not an actual book but more like a clickbait?

[Joel Kong]

Great book for handling quick and effective meetings in most settings. Efficient, time saving and productive for any sales and marketing person or corporate level management meetings.

[Amanda Cottrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fresh perspective on meetings

[Dora Okeyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've been to a meeting or two and never gained much from it then this book is what you ought to read. The author takes a look at what's involved in a meeting from the people, place, agenda and even the preparation that went into the meeting. His tone of writing is both friendly as it's astute and you'll learn a new thing or two. For me it was the importance of a preflight checklist, where I have to know the reasons for calling for a meeting and to whom it'd be relevant. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. Every reader who has been called to a meeting at some point in their life would enjoy this book, and it's also a wake up call on productivity for leaders and bosses.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

#DealingWithMeetingsYouCan'tStand,meetLessAndDoMore #NetGalley

Very well explained the strategies to take during the meetings to pass the message and avoid conflicts.