Introducing the meeting canoe—a core concept—and Clockman, a character

The Meeting Canoe (fig. P.1) is our blueprint for conducting effective meetings. It evolved from our work with Peter Block and Kathy Dannemiller in the School for Managing and Leading Change. One rule in the school was to teach line managers the skills needed to effectively design and lead the gatherings that are part and parcel of any change process. We needed a simple model that worked in organizations large and small as well as in factories, offices, and boardrooms.

The Meeting Canoe made its public debut when we coauthored You Don’t Have to Do It Alone: How to Involve Others to Get Things Done (Axelrod et al. 2004) with Robert Jacobs and Julie Beedon. Ron Thomas (director of the Northern Illinois Planning Commission at the time) said in his Amazon.com review of You Don’t Have to Do It Alone that the Meeting Canoe deserved to be a book by itself. So now it is.

Figure P.1 The Meeting Canoe

Enough already—it looks like you are never going to get around to introducing me. I’m Clockman, protector of the precious minute. Do you really think people care about why you wrote this book or whom the book is for? What people really care about is how to stop wasting time in meetings. When are you going to get on with it?

Now that you have met Clockman, a brief word about him. Clockman is a full-fledged crew member. He is an annoying and valuable character—just like some people in your meetings. Despite his shortcomings, we cherish him for the interesting things he has to say. He’ll be joining us in chapter 3.

We invite you to climb aboard for what we promise will be a challenging, exciting trip. Success will require us to pull together as we examine how to make meetings productive work experiences. Our journey has already begun. Join us on the next page.