Fixing Broken Meetings: A Manual on Meeting Rotten-osity, Deleterious Decisions, and Ineffective Implementation

Fixing Broken Meetings: A Manual on Meeting Rotten-osity, Deleterious Decisions, and Ineffective Implementation examines the myriad ways in which meetings regularly fail and how individuals and organizations can improve them through a model of identification, ideation, decision-making, implementation, and evaluation.

The collection is organized into eight parts, each featuring an opening description of a cartoon, summaries of articles and books, and links to longer pieces. Opening parts contain humorous material that illustrates the pattern of making fun of meetings and disparaging their utility; discussions related to decision-making; and coping strategies. Readers discover helpful tips for producing efficient meetings and building effective decisions. They learn about decision avoidance psychosis and examine why we, at all levels of the social organization, accept a flawed system that embraces meetings with latent functions. Closing parts cite valuable practices developed by the Meeting Masters and Decision Maestros and consider common issues related to implementation and evaluation.

An innovative and essential guide for the modern workplace, Fixing Broken Meetings is an exemplary resource for courses and programs in business and organizational behavior, as well as anyone interested in improving the functionality of meetings within their organization.

John Tropman earned his A.M. at the Crown School of Social Work and Social Policy and his Ph.D. in social work and sociology at the University of Michigan. He is the Henry J. Meyer Emeritus Professor of Social Work at U-M, where he continues to teach macro practice courses. He has also taught at the Ross School of Business in their M.B.A. Program and Executive Leadership Program, Notre Dame, USC, and the University of Houston.

Daniel Madaj earned a B.A. in creative writing and literature from the University of Michigan Residential College and worked at U-M for over 40 years as a senior administrator and editor, particularly at the Natural History Museum, the School of Social Work, and the Department of Linguistics.

Carolyn Gier earned her B.B.A. at Western Michigan University and M.S.W. at the University of Michigan. She is currently the CEO of Care Management Professionals, Inc.