Successful Meetings: How to Plan, Prepare and Execute Top-Notch Business
Meetings
by Shri Henkel
Was $24.95 - Now Under $18
Available February 2007
Pre-Order Now
What People Are Saying ----
“At last! A book that breaks through and shows us in an
easy-to-read manner how to put on successful meetings attendees will truly
value. Watch out corporate America – your meetings will never be the same
again!”
James Adonis,
Employee Engagement Expert and Speaker
Author of “Love Your
Team: How to halve your employee turnover in less than 90 days!”
www.jamesadonis.com
****
Taking Meetings
To A New Level, March 26, 2007
Change is difficult. Much as we love new ideas and new technology, changing to
respond to innovations, competitive threats and opportunities is often seen as
an arduous process. People who can manage change are leaders who command respect
and admiration within their organizations.
Meetings are a key part of managing change. Whether you are brainstorming,
planning or presenting results, more often than not you will be doing it in a
meeting as part of a group process. Understanding what makes a meeting a success
will help you create vibrant, productive forums where you can achieve common
objectives.
"Successful Meetings" teaches you the art of creating a successful meeting.
Whether it's arranging the room, inviting the right people or using the right
technology, Shri Henkel takes you step-by-step through the process of running
any type of meeting and provides valuable insights along the way. If your
meetings aren't motivating, or worse yet, if they are "good enough", you need
this book. Read it and your commitment to excellence will be well rewarded.
****
Everything you
need to know about meetings, March 24, 2007
This book could help anyone create a successful meeting. I've had meetings
before where only 3 people show up on time (out of 15 invitees!) and I didn't
know what to do. If I had read this book then, I would have known how to
encourage prompt arrival prior to the meeting and wouldn't have had that
problem. I really like the section on how to set up the room. At my office, most
of the meeting rooms are already arranged, but if I took the time to rearrange
the chairs, it would have a dramatic effect on the participation. Overall, this
book provides a great overview for how to lead a meeting that gets results. It
covers the basic logistical issues as well as tips for encouraging
participation, leading brainstorming sessions, who you really need to invite
(and not invite), and ideas for resolving personal conflicts between
participants. Henkel provides checklists and forms to make the planning process
easy and fool-proof. Also, the writing style is simple and easy to understand,
including many lists that help clarify the topic. The section on icebreakers is
very useful, especially if you are leading a meeting for people that don't
always work together as a group. Often, these icebreakers can make for a more
productive meeting since people are more likely to share their ideas with people
they feel they know. I would recommend this book to anyone planning on leading a
meeting (big or small). It will make a world of difference!
****
In-depth
strategies for Meetings for Success, March 22, 2007
Understanding what constitutes a successful meeting is a key element in any
business professional's life. Employing the strategies outlined by Shri Henkel
in her book, "Successful Meetings: How to Plan, Prepare and Execute Top Notch
Business Meetings", anyone can do just that. The clear and concise presentation
of the material in this book allows for an easy read. The author emphasizes the
fact that communication is key for any business, organization or family to reach
an informed decision and put some form of action in to play.
The book discusses
the initial need for and relevance of meetings and how you can evaluate whether
or not a meeting is needed. It then launches into a description of the types of
meetings, how to strategically plan a successful meeting, the elements of a
successful meeting and covers in great detail every aspect of a meeting
including follow-up. The information is both relevant and timely as it includes
portions on how to use the technological equipment and resources available to
enhance the meetings, through visual aids, use of the Internet and emails, etc.
Using case studies,
diagrams, pictures and illustrations, and tables makes it also very enjoyable to
the reader who is very visual. Paying close attention to detail and supplying
links and other cost effective resources for the professional meeting planner as
well as the general public, Shri Henkel has created a thoughtful and useful
toolkit. I would highly recommend this book for office managers, meeting
planners, community and faith based organizations and those members of the
family reunion committee. Taking into consideration the costs associated with
conducting a successful meeting, this book helps you to maximize your time and
others effectively.
****
Very informative, March 20, 2007
Shri Henkel has done very well with this book, in that she lists and explains
all the typical stages of planning and holding an effective meeting. This book
covers all stages of a meeting from the planning stage and whether or not a
meeting is necessary through the logistics of setup and what type of meeting you
are trying to hold. To ways to get the group involved in the meeting and the
defining characteristic of an effective meeting, how to get the things done that
the meeting was called for. She covers how to ask for help and get it, from
recruiting coworkers to share the responsibilities of the meeting with, to
asking for feedback from a completed meeting.
It was very
informative for me to see a successful meeting broken down into all of its
components. This allowed me to see what I already knew and those things that I
knew were missing, but not quite what they were. This book is written from the
point of view that would be beneficial to both the novice and accomplished
meeting leader. It gives interesting ways to make sure things are going smoothly
and if not, suggestions on how to get the meeting back on track. While reading
this book, I definitely recognized room setups and strategies that have been
used on me as an attendee at those meetings where I thought the leader or
presenter did an excellent job.
Nothing like reading
a how-to book and going, "yes, I've seen that done," or "yep, I've seen that
done before but I didn't realize why it worked so well until now." Things like
that only solidify for me how well a specific technique works, and there are
multitudes of these experiences described in this book. I especially liked all
the charts and lists included in each section to help the novice meeting leader
stay on track. She has also written in a way that you feel she is talking with
you about the various styles or how not to do things. I enjoyed this as well
because I've read several "how-to" books where it read either very robotic like
instructions on how to put something together, or they read like the author is
talking at you or down to you. This book is a must read for anyone who is trying
to improve their meeting skills or are facing their first meeting!
****
Maximize Time,
Minimize Cost and Get the Most Out of Every Meeting
Tired of boring meetings that seem pointless from start to finish? Whether
you're leading or participating in a business meeting, it shouldn't be a painful
process. In Successful Meetings, Shri Henkel strips the business meeting down to
its bare bones, dissects and explains each and every aspect and builds it back
up to a productive, stimulating and effective gathering.
Meeting participants and leaders share equal responsibility in ensuring any
given meeting's success - but how is it possible to contribute your best without
the right tools? Ineffective business meetings are a waste of time, energy and
money. Thankfully, you won't have to suffer through one again after reading and
applying Henkel's innovative techniques in your business. Even the office rookie
becomes the shining star, once they are able to communicate their ideas
effectively, contribute and even steer the course of a business meeting.
Successful Meetings takes your meeting idea through initial and strategic
planning, setting the tone, injecting humor without straying off course,
stimulating participants, maximizing productivity and even measuring your
success afterwards.
I enjoyed the straightforward, no-nonsense style of Henkel's guide. The logical
layout guides the reader through each and every consideration possible, while
remaining surprisingly light and readable. I highly recommend this book to
anyone in business who will, at some point or another, engage in a meeting with
their coworkers, whether they are leading the meeting or simply taking part.
Every minute spent reading this guide is an hour you won't have to spend
twiddling your thumbs through another dry, directionless meeting.
