Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable...About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business

Like many business books, this one too suffers from a lack of scientific backing. Perhaps this topic doesn't lend itself to much rigorous research. Nonetheless, I believe the formula this book presents for structuring company meetings is solid and worth trying out for at least a couple of months.The idea of having different types of meetings, each centered around a specific context, seems logical. While this approach may increase the number of meetings you have, it could potentially lead to higher productivity for your entire team.As I mentioned earlier, the author doesn't provide much evidence to support his ideas. He claims that his scriptwriting experience and love for movies inspired his approach, so only time will tell if it will work for your organization.

This is easy to admit--I cannot improve on Patrick Lencioni's fast-reading, get-the-four-big-ideas-immediately book. So, I'll just quote him in this review.But first...here's a Pop Quiz! Everyone stand up. OK...now remain standing if your job requires you to attend at least one meeting a week. OK...now remain standing if you are in a minimum of five meetings a week (staff meeting, one-on-one meetings, etc.). I know...everyone is still standing. But now...remain standing if you have ever read a book, attended a workshop, viewed a webinar or had coaching on effective meetings management. (Anyone still standing?)My top book pick in my "Meetings Bucket" is this book--but I've never fully reviewed it here. So...listen to Lencioni talk about "Sneaker Time" (pages 251-252):"Most executives I know spend hours sending email, leaving voice mail, and roaming the halls to clarify issues that should have been made clear during a meeting in the first place. But no one accounts for this the way they do when they add up time spent in meetings."I have no doubt that sneaker time is the most subtle, dangerous, and underestimated black hole in corporate America. To understand it, it is helpful to take a quick look at the basic geometry of an executive team within the context of an organization."Consider that an executive team with just seven people has twenty-one combinations of one-to-one relationships that have to be maintained in order to keep people on the same page. That alone is next to impossible for a human being to track."But when you consider the dozens of employees down throughout the organization who report to those seven and who need to be on the same page with one another, the communication challenge increases dramatically, as does the potential for wasting time and energy. And so, when we fail to get clarity and alignment during meetings, we set in motion a colossal wave of human activity as executives and their direct reports scramble to figure out what everyone else is doing and why."Remarkably, because sneaker time is mixed in with everything else we do during the day, we fail to see it as a single category of wasted time. It never ceases to amaze me when I see executives checking their watches at the end of a meeting and lobbying the CEO for it to end so they can `go do some real work.' In so many cases, the `real work' they're referring to is going back to their offices to respond to e-mail and voice mail that they've received only because so many people are confused about what needs to be done."It's as if the executives are saying, 'Can we wrap this up so I can run around and explain to people what I never explained to them after the last meeting?' It is at once shocking and understandable that intelligent people cannot see the correlation between failing to take the time to get clarity, closure, and buy-in during a meeting, and the time required to clean up after themselves as a result."Whoa! That hits close to home! Good stuff. So get the book, read his leadership fable (in the classic Lencioni style) and begin religiously implementing his four kinds of meetings: 1) Daily Check-in, 2) Weekly Tactical, 3) Monthly Strategic and 4) Quarterly Off-site Review.

Putting aside for a moment the absolutely ridiculous, far-fetched dramatized story that takes up three-fourths of the book, this book's recommendations are apparently what happens when someone has only taken one screenwriting class (as the author admits) and has never worked as an actual, professional screenwriter. What makes a movie interesting isn't conflict just for the sake of conflict, but specifically an objective, an obstacle, and high stakes. An endless argument can be just as boring as status updates.But this is a moot point. We don’t go to work to be entertained. We go to work to get paid, and to get paid, we have to get shit done. Suggesting that we sow conflict to keep each other entertained is just bizarre. You know what would be REALLY entertaining in a meeting?? If the boss confessed to having an affair with someone else in the room and then a dude was shocked because HE was also having an affair with that person and then the boss pulled out a gun and shot him. Pretty exciting! But not a productive meeting!I kept wanting to scream at the author, "OBJECTIVES!!" The meetings I've been to that have been horrible have been so because it wasn’t clear what the point was, or my presence wasn’t necessary for attaining their objectives. Whether there's conflict while attaining objectives in a meeting or not is irrelevant. If people get in a room and immediately agree on everything such that they can proceed with their work, that's a super boring movie, but an interesting, productive, worthwhile meeting. If someone “mines for conflict,” they shouldn’t do so for fun but in a genuine attempt to flush out opposing ideas that may have an effect on the outcome of the objective.By contrast, if someone in a meeting is rattling off details about things I have nothing to do with, that’s bad not because it’s boring per se or because it has no conflict but because I have nothing to do with it. It’s a waste of my time. It doesn’t help me advance any objectives.I cannot believe this book is as widely praised as it is. The "story" is absurd, and, as best I can tell, just a paean to male privilege. (A male executive assistant! Can you imagine? Tee hee! And of course, being male unlike other EAs, he basically takes over the company! The dude would have been fired immediately for pulling this shit, but instead everyone listens to him raptly? Give me a break. Don’t quit your day job, Lencioni.) Most of the recommendations only brush up against the real heart of the issue with meetings but are ultimately off the mark. Ugh!

If you've ever lead a meeting, and wondered if it was successful, or perhaps doubted it's success, this book is for you. through it's consumable anecdotal strategy, it walks the reader through a journey that is consumable, while allowing reflection.I highly recommend this.

Patrick Lenconi's fable style of writing appeals to me as it is not weighty and academic and thus much more accessible. Through a serious story set in business he outlines his vision of how to make meetings much more effective and...enjoyable. There is not a great deal of complexity in his theory that underpins the fable, and there shouldn't be as that would conflict with his vision.This will appeal to anyone who has struggled though a meeting and walked away wondering what they got out of it. It will also appeal to those who have run such meetings.Consider this tale a timely reminder that trying to achieve too much in one place often means that not much is achieved. Through focusing on what is realistic, and not being afraid of conflict, meetings can be productive sessions that drive business forward and improve colleague relationships.

Provides clarity and practical ideas on how and why we should have more meetings - and even more important - BETTER more EFFECTIVE meetings. Having in the past been in quite a few ‘ dull , dead ,boring and aimless meetings ‘ I must admit that I bought this book with some reservations but at the end - I can honestly say - very impressed !

The book does exactly what it says - tells an engaging fable which encourages you to think creatively about how to improve your meetings. The key theme I will remember is "which would you prefer to go to a meeting or a film?" The book explains why we usually answer "film" but should be answering "meeting".I am currently working through how I can improve the participation and outcomes from my regular team meeting.If you need to improve meetings you run, or those that you are part of then this book will give you very helpful ideas to do it, and a fable to use to explain your reasons as you try to take colleagues with you.

How many of us think that meetings are meaningless, waste of time "activities"? ALL!This book shows how managers, leaders - US - need to wake up and get the most out of these gettogethers and make it actual activities. I have been buying this book to all my friends and bosses; finally I am in a position to put this in practice myself!Many thanks Patrick for making this book an enjoyable read!

Have not been able to put this book down. Have implemented the four meeting structure suggested in the book. Can relate very much to Will in this and also faced simular barriers when setting up a weekly tactical meeting. After a few attempts I think we are now on to a winner.