Description:

Another dreaded meeting. Another time waster leaving many participants unsure of what the meeting was about or why they were asked to attend. Do meetings have to be this way?

No, say meeting researchers Emily and Dick Axelrod. They've whittled down their 60+ years of combined experience in helping institutions large and small plan and execute meetings into a precise, effective system called the Meeting Canoe. Dick and Emily provide tactics and guidance to help you run your next meeting better. Bring your most vexing meeting problems to this webcast and walk away with ideas you can use the very next hour.

Topics include:

• Rescuing the discussion
• Redirecting when the meeting derails
• Recapping decisions and everyone's to-dos
• Handling participants who show up late or leave early
• Preventing the discussion from hardening into conflict

About Dick Axelrod

Dick Axelrod co founded The Axelrod Group, Inc., a consulting firm that pioneered the use of employee involvement to effect large-scale organizational change. He now brings more than thirty-five years of consulting and teaching experience to this work, with clients including Boeing, Coca-Cola, Harley Davidson, Hewlett-Packard, Kaiser Permanente, and the National Health Service in the UK. Dick is faculty at the University of Chicago's Masters in Threat and Response Management Program, and American University's Masters in Organization Development Program. He recently received The Excellence in Teaching Award, from the University of Chicago. Dick authored Terms of Engagement: Changing the Way We Change Organizations, and co-authored You Don't Have to Do It Alone: How to Involve Others to Get Things Done, which the New York Times called "the best of the current crop of books on this subject." His book is Let's Stop Meeting Like This: Tools to Save Time and Get More Done became available in August 2014. Raised in Chicago, he now resides in Wilmette, Illinois with his wife Emily. They are the proud parents of Heather and David and doting grandparents of Zach and Andy. Dick is a long-suffering Chicago Cub's fan.

About Emily Axelrod

Emily Axelrod believes in stretching organizations so they can unleash their creativity and knowledge and that honesty, relationships, communication, and engagement are key factors in change. Emily is cofounder of and principal in the Axelrod Group, Inc., with her husband, Dick.

For more than 30 years, Emily has used strategic visioning, work redesign, team development, and good-old common sense to build sustainable, fun, and dignified enterprises. Her clients include the Barrington 220 school district, Boeing, British Airways, the Calgary Health Authority, CAPE, First Union Bank, HSB, Intel, the Parliament of World Religions, and ThyssenKrupp AG, to name a few.

Emily uses her southern spirit and wit as a highly sought-after speaker and coach and has presented to a variety of organizations, including the Organization Development Network, the American Management Association, the Human Resources Planning Society, and the London Strategic Planning Society. She is also a guest lecturer at Benedictine University and in the University of Chicago's Leadership Arts program.

Emily coauthored You Don't Have to Do It Alone, which the New York Times called "the best of the current crop of books on this subject." She is a contributing author to The Change Handbook, The Flawless Consulting Field Book, and Future Search in School District Change, as well as a number of articles.

Emily holds an MA in education from the University of North Carolina and a masters of social work from Loyola University. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Dick. They have two children and two grandchildren.