Consensus Through Conversations: How to Achieve High-Commitment Decisions

by Larry Dressler

Whether you facilitate meetings for a living or simply as part of your job, you’ve surely found yourself “standing in the fire”—at the center of a group that is polarized, angry, fearful, and confused. Veteran facilitator Larry Dressler has found that what makes the crucial difference in these situations is the leader’s presence. You have to master a way of being that allows you to remain effective no matter how hot things get.
Dressler shows how to cultivate six “stances”—mental, emotional, and physical— that will keep you steady, impartial, purposeful, compassionate, and good-humored,. Drawing on his own experiences and the insights of thirty-five distinguished practitioners, he helps you keep your cool and make the kind of inventive, split-second decisions these pressure-cooker situations demand.

Genres: Business

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Marilyn]

Easy read, good pointers on facilitating closure.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Read

[Susanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book that gives a hands on guideline about how to facilitate the process of consensus decision making for groups.

[Joel Meador · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think a re-organization into lists (even if that is cargo culting) might have helped this, but overall fast read and lots of useful things to think about.