Business Meeting

We've decided by consensus that consensus is good. In In Defense of Troublemakers, psychologist Charlan Nemeth argues that this principle is completely wrong: left unchallenged, the majority opinion is often biased, unoriginal, or false. It leads planes and markets to crash, causes juries to convict innocent people, and can quite literally make people think blue is green. In the name of comity, we embrace stupidity. We can make better decisions by embracing dissent. Dissent forces us to question the status quo, consider more information, and engage in creative decision-making.

If you’re like most of us, you openly admire and, maybe, secretly envy those who can stand fearlessly in front of a crowd and deliver an inspiring speech effortlessly. But what if you could be one of these chosen few? What if you could make your message clear and powerful and turn passive listeners into excited followers? Yes, you can do it even if you’re introverted. If you think that you’re “just not cut out for public speaking”, stop and think again. Don’t let your amazing ideas wither away unheard.

Meetings have become a pain point for millions, wasting time, money, and energy. But in reality, meetings are at the heart of effective organizations. In Make Meetings Matter, business consultant Paul Axtell reaffirms the importance of meetings and reimagines them using the vital foundation of conversation. With real-life examples and actionable advice, this revolutionary book will teach you to redesign meetings to achieve results, move projects forward, and build relationships that make remarkable work possible.

How often do you walk away from a conversation feeling really heard? That it moved the people in it forward in some important way? You’re not alone. In his practice as a designer, Fred Dust began to approach conversations differently. After years of trying to broker communication between colleagues and clients, he came to believe there had to a way to design the art of conversation itself with intention and purpose, but still artful and playful.

Facilitating with Ease! has become the go-to handbook for those who lead meetings, training, and other business gatherings. Packed with information, effective practices, and invaluable advice, this book is the comprehensive handbook for anyone who believes meetings should be productive, relevant, and as short as possible. Dozens of exercises, surveys, and checklists will help transform anyone into a skilled facilitator, and clear, actionable guidance makes implementation a breeze.

Every day at work, people do three things: talk, listen, and pretend to listen. That's not surprising when you consider that the average attention span has dropped to 8 seconds. To break through, says high-stakes communications expert Paul Hellman, you need to focus on your audience, be slightly different, and deliver with finesse.

Understand common forms of communication and improve confidence when speaking in front of others. You can be a great communicator in any situation. This audiobook delves into the common forms of communication and explains what skills make a good communicator and have confidence when speaking in front of others.

Leaders must earn the license to lead. Not by expertise, authority, or title alone, but by influence. In Communicate to Influence, you will learn the secrets of the Decker Method - a framework that has been perfected over the past 36 years. Ben and Kelly Decker add fresh insights to these proven principles so you can ignite change and inspire action.

The 25 Minute Meeting goes beyond "cut to the chase" and shows you how to take back your work day with smarter planning and more productive action. Meetings have become a de facto way of working, and as they pile up and stretch to interminable lengths, they eat up our days and sink productivity - if they are poorly planned and run. Done well, meetings are short, sharp, productive affairs that provide critical time and space for the interactions that drive business forward.

Here Roger Dawson explains the ins and outs of power negotiation—a process with its own secret rules and procedures. Knowing these rules will enable you to negotiate intelligently and honestly—in sales and in any other area of life. Power negotiating is not what you think. It’s an art and a science for reaching an outcome where both parties feel that they’ve won. This densely packed and easy to understand book will give you a wealth of information

Milo Frank shows you how easy it is to get your point across in 30 seconds and get what you want. Whether you are writing a letter or memo, making a speech, asking for a raise or promotion, making a point, or closing a sale, How To Get Your Point Across In 30 Seconds Or Less is an invaluable training tool for both business people and professionals. You will be amazed at your enhanced effectiveness when you discover how to use the 30 second message to get exactly what you want.

The author of Last Train to Paradise tells the riveting story of Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the bloody steelworkers’ strike that transformed their fabled partnership into a furious rivalry. Set against the backdrop of the Gilded Age, Meet You in Hell captures the majesty and danger of steel manufacturing, the rough-and-tumble of the business world, and the fraught relationship between “the world’s richest man” and the ruthless coke magnate to whom he entrusted his companies. The result is an extraordinary work of popular history.

Too much valuable time is wasted in meetings. Often little advance planning takes place, resulting in productivity drains rather than productivity gains. It’s time to think like a ninja. With realistic and practical advice, this book shows how to reduce the amount of time you spend in meetings and ensure that the ones that you do attend are genuine opportunities to collaborate and get things done.

This audiobook was created based on Clayton Christensen's landmark book The Innovator's Dilemma. This was Mr. Christensen's synopsis of his book for the Harvard Business Review. The audio tracks listed here cover the key elements of Mr. Christensen's book. This audiobook emphasizes the Idea in Brief "Does my organization have the right resources, processes, values, and team to innovate?" Then it covers the right structure for your specific type of innovation.

There's no question that executive-level conversations are difficult ones. When we surveyed managers about executive conversations, 90 percent said these conversations are harder, and an overlap of 20 percent said that they are significantly harder. Executives are a tough audience. Luckily they are also a predictable one.

Now you can learn how to give a TED-style talk to achieve your personal and business goals. How to Deliver a TED Talk provides more than 100 invaluable tips - everything from opening with an explicit statement of audience benefits to framing your idea as an action-outcome response to a question worth asking. Whether you're presenting to an audience of one or 1,000, this book is an indispensable resource for any public speaker.

You believe in a good idea. You know it could make a crucial difference for you, your organization, your community. You present it, hoping for enthusiastic support. Instead, you get confounding questions, inane comments, and verbal bullets. Before you know what’s hit you, your idea is dead, shot down. It doesn’t have to be this way, say John Kotter and Lorne Whitehead. In Buy-In, they reveal how to protect good ideas and win the support needed to deliver valuable results.

No one ever goes into an argument intending to lose. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that every single person on the face of the planet—every man, woman and child—has, at some moment or another, tried to win an argument. Because arguments are everywhere. Whether it is in the comments section on Facebook, or in the Houses of Parliament, or at the dinner table. We cannot escape the human urge, need, and—yes—desire to argue. But arguing itself tends to get a bad rap. It’s blamed for everything from political polarization to marital breakdown.

Are you a Simplifier or a Multiplier? Every great entrepreneur is primarily one or the other, and identifying which you are adds deeper insight and meaning to the way you instinctively create value. Once you know who you are, you can find the perfect collaborator: your opposite. Simplier-Multiplier collaborations lead to unprecedented breakthroughs and results, and give you the freedom to focus exclusively on what you do best.

The ability to listen and communicate effectively are vital skills, enabling us to motivate and influence people in our personal and professional lives. But all too often, we’re our own biggest roadblock. In The Art of Facilitation, Tina Frey Clements teaches you to master the art, (and even science) of facilitation and use it to your advantage. With more than 25 years of experience as a professional communicator, she shares tools and techniques to successfully deliver your message to any audience, from the board room to the classroom.