Press Release Resources
Complaints about meetings abound. Plenty of people have tried to offer solutions, but authors Dick and Emily Axelrod have created and field-tested a six-step system for meetings where productivity thrives rather than dies. By incorporating the same principles that make video games so engaging, the Axelrods’ new book, Let’s Stop Meeting Like This: Tools to save time and get more done, details their proven system for making meetings energizing, enjoyable, and extremely productive—the Meeting Canoe.
Let’s Stop Meeting Like This
Innovative companies across a wide variety of industries use the Axelrod’s Meeting Canoe to save time and get more done. They have found a better way to meet and now Let’s Stop Meeting Like This shows you how to design every aspect of your meetings–from the way you greet people at the beginning to how you wrap up at the end.
This system goes far beyond typical attempts to improve meetings with agendas and Band-Aid solutions. The Meeting Canoe is a seismic shift in the way you view, use, and participate in meetings.
In six steps, your meetings can become places where concrete plans are made, tasks are accomplished, connections are strengthened, and projects move forward. The Meeting Canoe adapts to changing conditions and improves meetings as small as informal chats to those as large as multi-day work sessions. Like a real canoe, it fosters collective effort so everyone has their paddle in the water and is engaged throughout each meeting.
Click on cover for high-resolution image
Richard Axelrod, MBA
Raised in Chicago, Dick teaches Crisis Leadership in the University of Chicago’s Masters in Threat and Response Management Program. Dick authored the award-winning Terms of Engagement: New Ways of Leading and Changing 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.” Dick is the recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Chicago. He remains a long-suffering Chicago Cubs fan, which explains his optimistic spirit.
Emily Axelrod, MSW, MAT
Emily believes in stretching organizations so they can unleash their creativity and knowledge. Emily uses visioning, work redesign, team development, and good old common sense to build sustainable, fun, and collaborative enterprises. Emily co-authored 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, Future Search in School District Change, and numerous articles. She serves on the board the Organization Design Forum. Emily brings her southern spirit and wit to everything she does.
Click on a photo for a high resolution version
DICK AXELROD
EMILY AXELROD
Dick and Emily Axelrod have been on numerous interviews in print, audio and video. Visit the Video & Audio page to listen and watch a sampling of some of their recent appearances.
Recent Press and Online Sightings
YOYOMEETING
Useful tips from Dick about how to run your next business meeting.
READ AT YOYOMEETING >
THE ENTERPRISERS PROJECT
Dick and Emily talked with Stephanie Overby about how to use five neuroscience-based tactics to run meetings that are less painful and more productive.
READ AT THE ENTERPRISERS PROJECT >
LEADERSHIP FREAK
The Leadership Freak outlines How to Love Your Next Meeting in 5 Easy Steps.
READ AT LEADERSHIP FREAK BLOG >
FORBES
Dick Axelrod chatted with Kevin Kruse about 3 Steps to End Your Meetings the Right Way.
READ AT FORBES >
FAST COMPANY
Based on an interview with Dick Axelrod, Stephanie Vozza shares “three big ways to make meetings more enjoyable and productive” in her article How to Make Meetings Better, Faster, and More Fun.
READ AT FAST COMPANY >
INC
Ilan Mochari shares insights from Let’s Stop Meeting Like This to help assess if meetings are broken–and provide the proper techniques to fix them–in his article Ask These 12 Questions to Help You Hold More Productive Business Meetings.
READ AT INC >
Real Simple
Dick and Emily Axelrod are two of the experts included in this article to help you read a room like a pro.
READ AT REAL SIMPLE >
Expansion
An interview with Emily and Dick Axelrod en español in Expansion, the leading business magazine in Mexico.
READ PDF OF ARTICLE >
READ ENGLISH TRANSLATION >
Blogging on Business
Bob Morris shared this extensive interview with Dick and Emily Axelrod on his site.
READ PART 1 AT BOBMORRIS.BIZ >
READ PART 2 AT BOBMORRIS.BIZ >
Tanveer Naseer Blog
Dick Axelrod wrote a guest post at the request of Tanveer Naseer titled Do Your Meetings Crackle Or Flat Line?.
READ AT TANVEERNASEER.COM >
CausePlanet
Wonderful post by Denise McMahan at CausePlanet about the Meeting Canoe. Includes excerpted interview with Emily and Dick Axelrod.
READ AT CAUSEPLANET >
NY Times
The Workologist, aka Rob Walker, includes Dick Axelrod’s helpful feedback in a follow-up post Peer Review: More Meeting-Repair Tactics (scroll down after clicking link to read).
READ AT NY TIMES >
Forbes
After 20+ years of meeting facilitation, Kevin Kruse writes about some of the new ideas he learned from Let’s Stop Meeting Like This in How to Run a Great Meeting.
READ AT FORBES >
Switch & Shift: Human Side of Business
Emily Axelrod wrote an article for Switch & Shift titled 5 Questions to Create a Compelling Purpose for Change.
READ HERE >
Bruce Rosenstein Blog
Bruce Rosenstein asked Dick Axelrod to elaborate on the major points of Let’s Stop Meeting Like This in his post Three Questions for Dick Axelrod on Let’s Stop Meeting Like This.
READ AT BRUCEROSENSTEIN.COM >
Metro New York
After interviewing Dick and Emily Axelrod, Lakshmi Gandhi shares 8 ways to run a dynamic and productive business meeting.
READ AT METRO NEW YORK >
knowledge et al
Paul Corney wrote this interesting post on his blog, knowledge et al, titled A canoe, a pieris japonica, and a conducive space: key ingredients for special and productive meetings.
READ AT KNOWLEDGE ET AL >
Strategy+Business
Theodore Kinni wrote about Dick and Emily Axelrod’s Method for Holding Better Meetings.
READ AT STRATEGY+BUSINESS >
Money For Lunch with Bert Martinez
Dick and Emily Axelrod were recent guests on the Money For Lunch Blog Talk Radio program with host Bert Mertinez.
LISTEN AT MONEY FOR LUNCH >
Switch & Shift: Human Side of Business
Dick Axelrod wrote an article for Switch & Shift titled How to Change Your Company Culture One Meeting at a Time.
READ AT SWITCH & SHIFT >
Seapoint Center for Collaborative Leadership
Dick Axelrod wrote a guest post for Jesse Stoner titled Make Your Next Meeting as Engaging as a Video Game.
READ AT SEAPOINT CENTER >