Running Meetings

by Harvard Business Publishing

Whether you're new to running meetings or a seasoned executive with no time to waste, leading effective (and even pleasant!) meetings is a must. Running Meetings guides you through the basics

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Leadership, Management, Self Help, Productivity, Audiobook

112 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2014

About the author

Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) is a publisher founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit, independent corporation and an affiliate of Harvard Business School (distinct from Harvard University Press), with a focus on improving business management practices. The company offers articles, books, case studies, simulations, videos, learning programs, and digital tools to organizations and subscribers.
HBP consists of three market units: Education, Corporate Learning, and Harvard Business Review Group. Their offering consists of print and digital media (Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review Press books, Harvard Business School cases), events, digital learning (Harvard ManageMentor, HMM Spark), blended learning, and campus experiences.

Reviews

[Jerzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

* p.23: Assign roles to participants to keep them engaged (and ensure that they show up, and that they are punctual!) Facilitator, scribe, timekeeper, expert, "contributor"

* p.37: For some kinds of input, you need to avoid groupthink. In that case, *don't* hold a meeting; just send a survey or email request for input.

* p.51: Keep a visible "parking lot" list of issues to deal with after meeting, so critics don't derail it.

* p.56: "Remember the golden rule of management: praise in public, criticize in private."

* p.63: Always send a follow-up note right after the meeting. Summarize main points, and remind attendees *who* needs to do *what* by *when*.

* p.79: If the point of meeting is to make a decision, be up front (even before meeting) about how it'll be made. Majority vote? Group consensus? Boss takes everyone's input but decides afterwards alone?

* p.85: For virtual meetings, moderating it well is crucial. Assign roles in advance, and involve everyone during the meeting, to ensure nobody's just tuned out quietly (or overshadowed by most vocal talkers).

[Alessio Eros · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains very useful points that every meeting organiser and attendee should keep in mind before participating in a meeting.

[Melissa Hinnen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little guide full of helpful tips for preparing, leading, and following up. The book offers templates and checklists as well as ideas for dealing with difficult situations.

I think is would be great book for a new manager or someone who is looking to strengthen his/her leadership.


The two most helpful ideas to me were to include no more than 8 people if the objective is to make a decision. Also assign different people to take on specific roles. Asking someone to be the facilitator is a good way to build leadership. It could also help balance a volatile participant by asking them to make sure all side are heard. Giving people jobs ensures that people will be on time.

[Electra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really informative, concise and well written. It covers all salient points about running meetings and would serve well both the seasoned manager and the novice.

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Running Meetings" from the HBR 20 Minute Manager series is a rudimentary and short introduction to facilitating meetings.

The book is fairly comprehensive but takes a "one size fits most" approach. As such, it does not present anything new or innovative. Additionally, the book is slightly out of date for the current Zoom era, although it does address a limited number of issues concerning remote attendees.

The biggest limitation of this book is that since it is an introductory work with limited scope, its contents will be familiar to most meeting facilitators. As such, this book is probably best suited for absolute beginners or facilitators who need to review topics they have not worked with for some time.
An additional feature, well worth mentioning, is the inclusion of the "Sources" and Learn More" sections which provide references to highly useful books and materials fo a more advanced nature.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some sound advice on how to run effective meetings as well as pre-empt any barriers or difficult scenarios. A good read for new managers or meeting facilitators and equally for those more experienced. There are some good reminders in there that should make you question a few things:

1. Is a meeting really necessary?
2. Are the people involved well informed prior to the meeting so that it is fruitful
3. Follow ups - post meeting, are we allowing ourselves time to do the tasks or things we committed to during the meeting.

All in all digestible and easy read, and as always very practical reminders and advice.

[Dhruv Sharma · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading this I thought why I picked up something like this 🤔. The topic itself says you can’t find anything here which you don’t know.

Do you really expect to read something which is not obvious and pretty basic these days.

However I learnt couple of terminologies we don’t use In our office but more or less this was not worth reading.

There are few things which are Academic, not practical.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most informative part of this book is on page 20 where it helps you to identify the invite list to a meeting. The rest of the book is common sense.

[Farshid Houshmand · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief summary of the concept, nothing too special but good.

[XWXH020 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine.

[Héctor Iván Patricio Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Consejos efectivos y concisos para llevar bien la juntas. La clave principal: la preparación.

[Nick Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must for our Zoom-centric culture right now :-D

[Mark Stapel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notes in Note

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy and quick read. While it reinforced most pints made by meeting books, I did get a few new nuggets. I would recommend!

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good advice. As with much published by HBR, this is geared towards larger corporations than my small business, but some of the advice was helpful to me none-the-less.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Few tips on how to run successful meetings, task delegation and properly following up after the meeting.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best part of this book? The cover! Herding cats is definitely what you want to avoid when running meetings!

[Aman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice concise book :)

[Derek Forrest Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

short and to the point

[Michael McAndrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you were mentoring someone and they had never ran a meeting before. This wouldn’t be a bad resource to give them.

[Aaron Delgadillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great compilation of what is necessary to run efficient meetings.

[Mark Robison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but readable and filled with valuable information. If you have to lead meetings, this will be helpful. I liked it enough that I got all the other books in the HBR 20-Minute Manager Series (discounted as a single Kindle title). Grade: A-

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book 3.5 stars. It's essentially a list of items to check when scheduling and facilitating a meeting, including inviting the right participants, sending reading material a few days ahead of time, having an agenda, and recording meeting minutes.

[Aaron Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, succinct, to-the-point.

[Roselle]

Well structured guide. Pricey yet very useful.

[Rona Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Naaah.

[ehsan karimkhani · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتابی کوچک و با چگالی بالا
برای مدیریت بهتر جلسات کاری

[Rebeca Núñez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Útil, breve, con muchas buenas ideas y aplicables.

[Matthew Mechtly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet guide to running meetings in any organization.

[Victoria Chin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick easy read with helpful tidbits.