What do you think?
Rate this book
No Fail Meetings
'No Fail 5 Steps to Orchestrate Productive Meetings (and Avoid all the Rest)' is a physical resource to help you plan & execute meetings that win, and avoid ones that don't. With meeting agenda templates, scripts for backing out of meetings, and wisdom on how to conduct your meetings, you can almost guarantee productive meetings for you and your team. Let this proven 5-step system for meetings revolutionize how your meetings are done.
124 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2018
20 people are currently reading
810 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
June 26, 2018
This book is an extremely practical book. It's clearly intended to be a fast read, with tips on how to lead meetings without a lot of fluff or theory. It succeeds in that goal.
With books like this, I can sometimes tell how useful or helpful it is by how many lines I highlight. I did a lot of highlighting in this book. Like a surgeon, Michael Hyatt tells us what to cut and what to build. There is a lot of good wisdom that I'll draw out of that.
I work in the world of the church, not the business world, so there are some things that don't apply quite as well to me. For example, we do a full-staff meeting every two weeks. It is a standing, "check in" meeting. And sometimes it can feel frustrating because there are not clear action items that come out of the meeting. But there is still value in gathering as community and hearing about what we are working on. Face to face, in situations like that, works better than e-mail or slack.
But there is good stuff in this book, and while the resources in the back of the book, or available on his web site, are not things we'll just use as is, there are definitely things we'll take and adapt.
He said somewhere (maybe in the introduction?) that this is the first in a series of leadership/management books. I'm going to look forward to reading the rest.
With books like this, I can sometimes tell how useful or helpful it is by how many lines I highlight. I did a lot of highlighting in this book. Like a surgeon, Michael Hyatt tells us what to cut and what to build. There is a lot of good wisdom that I'll draw out of that.
I work in the world of the church, not the business world, so there are some things that don't apply quite as well to me. For example, we do a full-staff meeting every two weeks. It is a standing, "check in" meeting. And sometimes it can feel frustrating because there are not clear action items that come out of the meeting. But there is still value in gathering as community and hearing about what we are working on. Face to face, in situations like that, works better than e-mail or slack.
But there is good stuff in this book, and while the resources in the back of the book, or available on his web site, are not things we'll just use as is, there are definitely things we'll take and adapt.
He said somewhere (maybe in the introduction?) that this is the first in a series of leadership/management books. I'm going to look forward to reading the rest.
April 27, 2020
1. DECIDE
Is the meeting necessary? If so, what type and format should it be?
2. SCHEDULE
Who needs to be there? What’s the right time and length for the meeting?
3. PREPARE
What’s a results-driven agenda?
4. MEET
How to make the most of the conversation in the meeting?
5. FOLLOW-UP
What action items need to be assigned? How to keep people accountable?
AEIO - Achievements Expectations Initiative Ownership
Ask the right questions, you don't need to know everything.
1. Ask open ended questions
2. Get behind the assumptions
3. Get both sides of the story
4. Ask follow up questions
5. Get comfortable with dead air
6. Help people discover their own insights (ask not tell)
7. Understand the difference between facts and assumptions
Is the meeting necessary? If so, what type and format should it be?
2. SCHEDULE
Who needs to be there? What’s the right time and length for the meeting?
3. PREPARE
What’s a results-driven agenda?
4. MEET
How to make the most of the conversation in the meeting?
5. FOLLOW-UP
What action items need to be assigned? How to keep people accountable?
AEIO - Achievements Expectations Initiative Ownership
Ask the right questions, you don't need to know everything.
1. Ask open ended questions
2. Get behind the assumptions
3. Get both sides of the story
4. Ask follow up questions
5. Get comfortable with dead air
6. Help people discover their own insights (ask not tell)
7. Understand the difference between facts and assumptions
August 13, 2018
Simple, clean, practical. Not life-changing but very helpful.
March 21, 2019
No Fail Meetings is a practical book filled with helpful tips to make meetings more productive and eliminate some of the reasons why so many people don't like them.
As a church leader, I would recommend this to every leader who runs a meeting because people have such limited hours to volunteer for the church, that when we run ineffective or unoptimized meetings that use too many of their hours, they are unable to serve in other hands-on ways.
As a church leader, I would recommend this to every leader who runs a meeting because people have such limited hours to volunteer for the church, that when we run ineffective or unoptimized meetings that use too many of their hours, they are unable to serve in other hands-on ways.
February 26, 2019
Easy read and practical! Helpful book if you run or attend a lot of meetings.
June 5, 2020
An easy read highlighting thoughts and perspectives of effective meeting management.
September 1, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. I worked through a chapter a day and it was a quick read that was insightful and provided practical application for work. Will probably need to reread once a year to brush up.
January 24, 2023
This book is 1) practical, 2) easy-to-read, 3) on point for its outline of how to achieve better meetings. Highly recommend to anyone who attends or facilitates, or wants to attend or facilitate meetings, with two notable critiques.
I am a facilitator and facilitate about 20+ hours of meetings a week, and do it well. I follow the same basic steps that Michael outlines in this book to prepare for, hold, and follow up on meetings. However, I think there Michael needed to say more in the “Program” section of agenda design to truly help people facilitate, or in Michael’s words “lead,” productive, outcome-driven meetings that will transform organizations. I do believe that if folks followed these steps and listened to feedback, they’d be better than 80% or more of the facilitators I have interacted with but no transformational (at least to anything but productivity and bottom line).
Michael leans heavily into mechanistic language that views organizations as machine and depicts bosses as accountability totems. His writing on aspects of organizations and how meetings interact is one-dimensional. The type of culture that these underlying assumptions about the way teams/organizations/people operate in organizations can, in my opinion, be draining and potentially deadly within organizations. I find Michael’s writings here dissonant from what I know about his company—that the team there enjoys their work and lives in a dynamic balance of well-being. My second, and last, critique of the book, then, is that the framework of the 5 steps to no-fail meetings may be solid but all of Michael’s ideas within those steps aren’t. My suggestion: take the framework and flex it to fit your cultures, but avoid imposing the corporate-ish machine paradigms.
I am a facilitator and facilitate about 20+ hours of meetings a week, and do it well. I follow the same basic steps that Michael outlines in this book to prepare for, hold, and follow up on meetings. However, I think there Michael needed to say more in the “Program” section of agenda design to truly help people facilitate, or in Michael’s words “lead,” productive, outcome-driven meetings that will transform organizations. I do believe that if folks followed these steps and listened to feedback, they’d be better than 80% or more of the facilitators I have interacted with but no transformational (at least to anything but productivity and bottom line).
Michael leans heavily into mechanistic language that views organizations as machine and depicts bosses as accountability totems. His writing on aspects of organizations and how meetings interact is one-dimensional. The type of culture that these underlying assumptions about the way teams/organizations/people operate in organizations can, in my opinion, be draining and potentially deadly within organizations. I find Michael’s writings here dissonant from what I know about his company—that the team there enjoys their work and lives in a dynamic balance of well-being. My second, and last, critique of the book, then, is that the framework of the 5 steps to no-fail meetings may be solid but all of Michael’s ideas within those steps aren’t. My suggestion: take the framework and flex it to fit your cultures, but avoid imposing the corporate-ish machine paradigms.
October 18, 2020
I enjoy reading Michael's books. They are straightforward and include simple, practical advice gleaned from his personal experience. This one is no different and while I may have eventually come to the same conclusions on how to improve meetings, this has jump started my new approach. By focusing on the 5 steps (decide, schedule, prepare, meet, and follow-up) and intentionally making an effort to stop wasting time and money, I believe I will be a better leader and my meetings will be more productive. I think these are steps anyone can apply and in doing so we can move the needle on bad meetings. I highly recommend reading this book and using it to honestly evaluate the meetings you lead and participate in.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2022
If you know me, then you know I'm a fan of Michael Hyatt and his productivity tools and hacks. If you hate (most) meetings like I do, then this little gem is a necessary read. Hyatt takes the reader through a five-step process to have better (more productive meetings). It's simple but can transform the way you schedule and lead meetings. He even includes some nice meeting and agenda templates as resources for you.
This book is for any leader or executive whose calendar is overwhelmed with meetings. Please note, the price point for the book on Amazon is a bit steep for its size. So if you can find a good book summary for it, then I would suggest it. But if you find it a little cheaper elsewhere, grab yourself a copy.
This book is for any leader or executive whose calendar is overwhelmed with meetings. Please note, the price point for the book on Amazon is a bit steep for its size. So if you can find a good book summary for it, then I would suggest it. But if you find it a little cheaper elsewhere, grab yourself a copy.
November 1, 2025
Not the most revolutionary book I have ever read, but did include some valuable insights and concepts. Some of my key takeaways were:
-Remember that you can say No to meetings
-Have more walking meetings. Forward ambulation helps with thinking creatively.
-Leverage AI summary tool for action items during a meeting. "Action item noted for Person A to follow-up on Item B".
-Success isn't about having all the answers, rather about asking the right questions
-When mentoring others, Ask. Don't tell.
-Be okay with dead air - let others fill the silence with their input
-Remember that you can say No to meetings
-Have more walking meetings. Forward ambulation helps with thinking creatively.
-Leverage AI summary tool for action items during a meeting. "Action item noted for Person A to follow-up on Item B".
-Success isn't about having all the answers, rather about asking the right questions
-When mentoring others, Ask. Don't tell.
-Be okay with dead air - let others fill the silence with their input
June 13, 2018
Michael Hyatt's No Fail Meetings provides practical guidance to planning and executing productive meetings. While none of the content is new or groundbreaking, the step-by-step approach combined with real-world examples makes it easily digestible and actionable. The inclusion of meeting agenda and note templates in the Reference section is also convenient. I will be using some of the approaches and tactical actions in this book in planning and executing my meetings going forward.
July 9, 2018
Fast, practical and straight to the point. I enjoyed this book very much! Very good tips and resources to help you see a different side of meetings - being able to evaluate whether you are needed or not.
I enjoyed it and look forward to my work team implementing this in all our future meetings.
I enjoyed it and look forward to my work team implementing this in all our future meetings.
July 27, 2018
This is a tremendously easy book to read; gives some quick refresher ideas on how to manage your meetings with access to some great resources. I probably wouldn’t pay $20.00 for the book; this is a great $9.99 book that you can read in a day or two an immediately apply it to your work. A lot of common sense items here.
Worth a read if you are finding your meetings are stagnant or suck!
Worth a read if you are finding your meetings are stagnant or suck!
September 7, 2018
Great book, written well, and full of great insight. I've been struggling with accountability and value in meetings. As of today, I'm implementing much of what Michael lays out for us. Time will tell. It's up to me as the leader to set the tone and pace. Needing to have better meetings? Start here.
September 26, 2018
Absolutely fantastic! A quick read with so much power. Already want every one in the office to read it because our meetings can be so unproductive. He gives some great practical advice and excellent resources. A must read for anyone who attends or leads meetings - it could dramatically change your work culture.
January 3, 2019
Great book for anyone where meetings can make or break your day. Michae Hyatt has created a thought-provoking "fast-read" as to how to best manage meetings from attendees, location, agenda, follow up, etc. Stop wasting time and increase productivity by following some of the suggestions in No Fail Meetings. One more tool to being a better leader!
December 21, 2019
This is a great book! Whether you are just beginning to organize meetings or you have sat through thousands of painful meetings, he gives great insight in ways to start to influence your environment. It is well organized and easy to follow through the process. I would highly recommend as a gift to anyone working in a job that brings them around to meetings on a frequent basis.
December 29, 2020
Great insight and practical help for the leader, executive, and employee.
I serve as an office assistant and we seldom have staff meetings (fewer than 5 employees). I also serve on the ministry staff at my church, which is also small in number. I plan to use the tools, tips, and insight to help me be a better staff member and team leader in the areas I find myself employed as well as volunteer efforts. Everyone working together makes the organization WIN!
I serve as an office assistant and we seldom have staff meetings (fewer than 5 employees). I also serve on the ministry staff at my church, which is also small in number. I plan to use the tools, tips, and insight to help me be a better staff member and team leader in the areas I find myself employed as well as volunteer efforts. Everyone working together makes the organization WIN!
June 14, 2018
Whether you are a seasoned leader or just starting out, this is an excellent resource for you and your team. It will help you be more effective as a meeting planner/leader or a better participant. Wish I had this resource earlier in my career and ministry.
June 16, 2018
I found this little book to be helpful. As one who leads meetings, I found multiple ways I can lead better and make meetings more useful and profitable for those who participate. The practical advice can be immoderately implemented. I will recommend this book widely.
July 7, 2018
This very short book has some great tactics and tips for running better meetings. It’s a quick read and worth the time for anyone looking to cut out unnecessary meetings or improve the ones they have.
July 15, 2018
Basic and practical tips on how to run effective meetings. This is the book that I wish everyone would read before sending me the meeting invite. The list of annoying meeting behaviors (AMB) is right on target.
July 29, 2018
Great read- short and to the point. The resources/templates are very helpful. Also appreciate the decision approach for determining the need for a meeting. Helpful quick reference- glad a picked this up!
August 28, 2018
This book is brief but to the point. Though there is nothing really earthshaking in this book, the no-nonsense approach helps provide clarity about what makes meetings fail and how to make them worthwhile. Good suggestions and resources in the appendix.
February 24, 2019
Many practical tips for how to get more out of your meetings.
I think the most helpful takeaway for me from this book is asking: "Is this meeting necessary?"
- If no, get comfortable saying no to unnecessary meetings.
- If yes, come properly prepared to lead the meeting and follow them.
I think the most helpful takeaway for me from this book is asking: "Is this meeting necessary?"
- If no, get comfortable saying no to unnecessary meetings.
- If yes, come properly prepared to lead the meeting and follow them.
August 3, 2019
Another wonderful short, yet poignant book by Michael Hyatt. I have read three of his other books and have not been disappointed with any of them. I certainly found things in this book that are actionable in any organization.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2020
Fast read—got it done during a hair stylist appointment, in fact. Picked up a couple of good thoughts about agendas. I don’t have an inordinate amount of meetings in my life so I was mostly looking for ideas around the meeting time itself, and this served that purpose.
June 21, 2020
I’m a big Michael Hyatt fan. His book Platform was something I’ve referenced over and over again. This book is going to proof itself to help me update the meetings for the team I lead. Can’t wait to put these ideas into practice.
June 22, 2018
Great tools for upping your meeting game.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews