Rating: 
Summary: We have seen it work
Review: Mr. Lencioni has a keen understanding of people and organizational issues. His greatest contribution continues to be formulating simple, practical frameworks for addressing issues that plague organizations. Bad meetings are one of those persisent, nagging problems that haunt effectiveness. The correlation of meetings to the different types of TV shows/movies makes it easy to see the two fundamental problems with meetings.Having worked for years as business coaches with CEO's and executive teams around a meeting structure very similar to the one proposed by Mr. Lencioni we can state that it produces results within organizations. We have seen executive teams increase their effectiveness in short time through the disciplined approach to a meeting structure aligned wtih the framework in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Death by Bad Writing
Review: The premise of the meeting structure that the author proposes could be summed up in one page. Instead, the "fable" continues for over 200 pages. The meeting structure is interesting, though not a new idea at all. Read the executive summary and skip the rest.
Rating:
Summary: Skip the feeble, er, fable
Review: The story lacks life and is poorly written. What could have been an engaging 20-page short story ended up as dozens of 3-5 page chapters in large type with wide margins. You'll find yourself skimming for substance which you won't find until at least half-way through. Read the executive summary, don't waste your time on the rest.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling title, interesting parable, weak close
Review: The title is provocative and will probably sell books. The parable of a software game firm in Monterey struggling with ineffective meetings makes for a reasonably readable, well-scripted (except for "our data is inconclusive." p. 184) and intriguing story. "Death" has the air of "Disclosure" without the sex, as Yip Software allows itself to be taken over (cashing in -- a decision that probably warrants more attention than do the other matters in the book) and then scrutinized by a bigger firm. There is a late twist in the seemingly diabolic machinations of the larger firm and the catalyst to the correction in team decision making is imbued with a needless obsessive-compulsive, Tourette-like malady that allows him to have a psychological excuse -- when he is off his meds - to speak up at the meetings. The parable reads well enough and early on reminded me of John Cleese's marvelous training film, "Meetings, bloody meetings." The original video was so good when it was made almost thirty years ago that Video Arts updated it -- with almost the exact same script and several of the same actors-- ten years ago. "Death" is more current. But Cleese in both versions got it right, better, and funnier than Lencioni. He viewed team meetings as akin to a court proceeding or a trial. The analogy worked. Effective meetings need critical thinking, not groupthink. The Senate report on the CIA is only the most recent example of no one taking a critical stance as partial information and unreliable data accumulate. But conflict does not seem to be the appropriate remedy for premature or inappropriate consensus. Lencioni is right: Real consensus is difficult if not impossible. But constructive critical thinking is better than conflict (or obsessives off their meds) to make a meeting effective and "interesting". Getting people to feel passionate about their work and their firm is important yet passion does not come from interesting meetings, picnics or stock vesting plans. The passion needs to come from somewhere else. Cleese's film emphasizes the need to prepare and inform in a way that Lencioni apparently rejects for weekly "tactical" meetings: No agenda, says Lencioni. Lencioni uses an imaginative Holloywood metaphor to illustrate different types of meetings -- there are sitcoms, movies and miniseries parallels for meetings -- but this doesn't really work out for me in the end. The parable comes to an abrupt end and then Lencioni moves to a more formal, structured teaching style and my interest that had been waning disappeared. I prefer "Death by chocolate" myself.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful not crucial
Review: There are many problems which arise in the work place; budgeting, marketing, development, training, and the list goes on. Where are these problems addressed? Meetings. How a company recognizes these problems and develops strategies to improve upon their current status can turn a surviving company into a thriving one. In Death by Meeting, Patrick Lencioni, tackles a challenging issue facing a multitude of companies, how to run an effective and efficient meeting.
Lencioni does away with the "how to", "listen to what I say approach", but instead creates a business fable, where the company is fictional, but its problems are real. The name of the fictional company is Yip, and Casey is the CEO. Casey, despite being an innovative, creative, hard-working CEO lacks the skills to run an effective meeting. As the fable continues Casey is faced with losing his job. Yip goes public, and the company which bought them is thinking about replacing Casey. It will take the hard work and research of a certain assistant and Casey to turn Yip's executive meetings from useless to productive.
Lencioni uses his fable as a medium to illustrate how to effectively run meetings. The strategy and formula Lencioni weaves within the tale are crucial tools many businesses need to implement to create a more sound and smooth meeting. Lencioni understands the problems meetings can pose, and offers critical information on how to overcome those problems. Save you and your business. Read Death by Meeting.
Rating:
Summary: One of the 5 Most Valuable Business Books I've Ever Read
Review: We spend incredible amounts of time in meetings and so few are remotely productive. As the CEO, you know that your team has to have meetings, but you search for opportunities to cancel one and let your team focus on other things that you know will be a lot more productive. Until Now... This book turned my whole view of meetings upside down and gave me a simple, clear plan for managing meetings going forward. We just implemented the changes and everyone on my team loves the new way we do meetings. My entire team now swears by this meeting format and approach. Pat's plan is so simple and makes so much common sense, you start to wonder why no one was running their meetings this way before. I'm going to give this book to my best business contacts, because I know that this will be one of the best gifts that they have ever received.
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