Meeting Design

      For Managers, Makers, and Everyone

      By Kevin M. Hoffman

      Two Waves Books

      an Imprint of Rosenfeld Media, LLC

      540 President Street

      Brooklyn, New York

      11215 USA

      On the Web: twowavesbooks.com Please send errors to: [email protected]

      Publisher: Louis Rosenfeld

      Managing Editor: Marta Justak

      Illustrations: Matt Sutter

      Interior Layout Tech: Danielle Foster

      Cover and Interior Design: The Heads of State

      Indexer: Marilyn Augst

      Proofreader: Sue Boshers

      © 2018 Kevin M. Hoffman

      All Rights Reserved

      ISBN: 1-933820-38-1

      ISBN 13: 978-1-933820-38-5

      LCCN: 2017934295

      Printed and bound in the United States of America

      Kevin: Marta suggested that I should dedicate my book to you.

      Angela: You should write “Thank you for not divorcing me during the writing of this book.”

      Kevin: That’s funny, but what if something happens to us down the road? That’s like having a tattoo of an ex’s name. Been there, done that.

      Angela: True.

      Contents at a Glance

       Foreword

       Introduction

       Part 1. The Theory and Practice of Meeting Design

       Chapter 1. How to Design a Meeting

       Chapter 2. The Design Constraint of All Meetings

       Chapter 3. Build Agendas Out of Ideas, People, and Time

       Chapter 4. Manage Conflict with Facilitation

       Chapter 5. Facilitation Strategy and Style

       Chapter 6. Better Meetings Lead to Better Organizations

       Part 2. Designed Meetings

       Chapter 7. Get Started with Beginning Meetings

       Chapter 8. Chart the Course Using Middle Meetings

       Chapter 9. Find Closure with End Meetings

       In Closing

       Index

       Acknowledgments

       About the Author

      Contents and Executive Summary

       Foreword by Jeff Gothelf

       Introduction

      Meetings aren’t doing the work they should be doing.

       Part 1. The Theory and Practice of Meeting Design

      Frame, build, optimize, facilitate, and measure meetings that do a job.

       Chapter 1. How to Design a Meeting

      Think like a designer about the gatherings already taking place.

       Chapter 2. The Design Constraint of All Meetings

      Design conversations to work effectively within limits posed by the human brain.

       Chapter 3. Build Agendas Out of Ideas, People, and Time

      How much content can be covered? How many people can you invite? How much time will this agenda take?

       Chapter 4. Manage Conflict with Facilitation

      Build from a classic definition of facilitation that works in any organization, and find productive conflict that moves things forward.

       Chapter 5. Facilitation Strategy and Style

      Sometimes, great facilitation can be as simple as asking the right question. But other times, a facilitator may need to adapt.

       Chapter 6. Better Meetings Lead to Better Organizations

      A meeting is a window into a group’s culture. Assess that culture, build a new one, and introduce changes through better get-togethers.

       Part 2. Designed Meetings

      A collection of meetings designed to produce outcomes and decisions.

       Chapter 7. Get Started with Beginning Meetings

      Start a project or process with gatherings