How to Make Meetings Not Suck: Tips and Tools for an Effective Meeting Process

A 2014 Harris Poll involving over 2000 people found that almost half of the respondents indicated that they would rather do any unpleasant activity (e.g. go to the Department of Motor Vehicles) than attend a project “status meeting.”

A recent survey by Salary.com found that “too many meetings” was rated the number one time-waster in the office by 47% of respondents. One analysis estimates that the cost of meetings in the US alone is $1.4 trillion per year, equaling close to 10% of the US GDP.

Every day in the US there are fifty-five million meetings, and a substantial percentage of them are inefficient time-wasters. To address this problem of meetings that suck, this book is designed to be a practical guide for managers and leaders who want to maximize the effectiveness of time spent with their teams and colleagues.

This book will help you improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the meetings that you run.

• Status meetings
• Tactical meetings
• Strategic planning meetings
• Problem-solving meetings
• Project team meetings
• Informational meetings
• Social connection meetings

This easy-to-read practical guidebook is focused on the mindset, skillset and toolset for running meetings with step-by-step guides on various techniques.

The authors are both facilitators at the world-renowned Center for Creative Leadership where they work with senior executives to help them be more effective in their leadership. In their own businesses they’ve worked with teams and executives at companies like Subaru, T. Rowe Price, NASA, National Grid, and the US Joint Special Forces University.

Jonathan Vehar along with co-writer Cathi Brese Doebler wrote a book on running effective meetings in 1996 to support a course offered by the Creative Education Foundation. Since then, he’s worked in organizations in performance management and product management/development, co-launched start-up companies, and facilitated thousands of meetings as an external facilitator, consultant and trainer. At the world-renowned Center for Creative Leadership, he’s taught senior executives to be more effective leaders at companies that include: Stellantis, Subaru, T. Rowe Price, National Grid, Cardinal Health, the Tennessee Valley Authority, NASA, and the US Joint Special Forces University. Jonathan wrote Manage your Boss, and co-authored More Lightning, Less Thunder: How to Energize Innovation Teams and ghost co-authored three books under the Dale Carnegie and Associates brand: Lead: How to Build a High Performing Team, Speak: How to Overcome the Fear and Horror of Public Speaking, and Connect: How to Build Trust Based Relationships.

Cathi, along with co-writer Jonathan Vehar wrote a book on running effective meetings in 1996 to support a course offered by the Creative Education Foundation. Since then, she’s worked in organizations in performance management and product management/development running thousands of meetings, launched start-up companies, and facilitated thousands more meetings as an external facilitator, consultant and trainer. As a trainer at the world-renowned Center for Creative Leadership, she works with senior executives to help them be more effective leaders. Clients include: Stellantis, Subaru, T. Rowe Price, National Grid, Cardinal Health, the Tennessee Valley Authority, NASA, and the US Joint Special Forces University. Cathi wrote Ditch the Joneses, Discover your Family: How to Thrive on Less than Two Incomes. Jonathan wrote Manage your Boss, and co-authored More Lightning, Less Thunder: How to Energize Innovation Teams and ghost co-authored three books under the Dale Carnegie and Associates brand: Lead: How to Build a High Performing Team, Speak: How to Overcome the Fear and Horror of Public Speaking, and Connect: How to Build Trust Based Relationships.