It's Done!

In Where the Action Is, Elise Keith shifts the work conversation from how to minimize time spent in meetings to how to make this essential business activity productive and enjoyable. In all my years facilitating group conversations, this is the first time I’ve found a book about meetings that provides a taxonomy of meeting types - what kind of collaborative work do we need? - and guidance for determining a purpose, structure and audience for each type. Drawing on the latest research as well as practical experience, and numerous stories drawn from real work, Elise makes a strong case for the value of creating settings for effective interactions and transactions. For leaders at all levels, facilitators, and consultants in small and large organizations where business performance depends on the collaborative engagement of knowledge workers, this book is a must-read. I’ve recommended pre-ordering to my colleagues and clients.

Diana Larsen, executive manager, consultant, speaker, and facilitator
author, Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great; Liftoff: Start and Sustain Successful Agile Teams; Five Rules for Accelerated Learning; “The Agile Fluency Model: A Brief Guide to Success with Agile.”

Who hasn't day-dreamed through a time-wasting meeting, wishing there were a better way? There is, and it isn't magic. This book laid it all out for me with amazing detail and clarity. The why and the how to structure your meetings; laced with science, psychology, human nature and real-world business needs. Meeting science and implementation techniques in an interesting and (dare I say) entertaining style. Reading this book is time very well spent - was your last meeting?

Scott McGrath, Chief Operating Officer at OASIS-Open

I am honestly bowled over by the wisdom, practical tips, readability, and overall incredible usefulness of this book.
As a meeting facilitator and facilitation skills trainer for the past 25+ years, I can say, unequivocally, that Where the Action Is just may be the best book I have ever read on the topic of meeting design and facilitation. Using concrete examples and impeccable logic, Elise Keith proves the point that we don't necessarily need fewer or shorter meetings, but we need much better meetings. This insightful book shows how it's done. If you apply the tips and techniques you'll find here, I can almost guarantee that the quality of your meetings will improve exponentially.

Nancy Settle-Murphy, facilitator, cross-cultural trainer, and author of Leading Effective Virtual Teams: Overcoming Time and Distance to Achieve Exceptional Results

Despite the rapid digitization of all work aspects, meetings remain an essential part of our human collaboration. Keith’s book is the first lucid guide to elevate the quality and effectiveness of every meeting in the digital age. Implementing its recommendations will recover significant value to your organization. It’s time to heed her advice and make meetings work.

Fadi Chehadé, Partner, Abry Partners, former President & CEO, ICANN

Elise Keith understands meetings at such a high level. And, she has translated these understandings into a truly compelling book chock full of great insights and advice. This book will serve as a fantastic resource to managers and leaders alike.

Steven Rogelberg, Ph.D, winner of the 2017 Humboldt Prize and author of The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead your Team to Peak Performance

Where the Action Is provides a comprehensive exploration of why meetings are where work should happen… and how to make this a reality. Many of the recommendations will cause you to question just what you are doing in meetings right now. (For example, “in a meeting that works, the team focuses 20-30% of the meeting time on the beginning and end phases (p.64).” Most of the book’s recommendations rely on a structural rather than behavioral approach to running meetings. My decades of meeting experience have taught me that structure is where the secret to great meeting resides. But meeting structure can be hard to see. This book makes structure clear and useful to anyone running meetings.
Where the Action Is includes advice for meetings in general, and for addressing specific meeting situations. Read it and keep it handy for ongoing reference.

Richard Lent, Ph.D.
author Leading Great Meetings: How to Structure Yours for Success

Like businesses, communities of faith suffer when bad meetings get in the way of working effectively to achieve their mission. Indeed, some of the challenges Ms. Keith describes are exacerbated by the fact that churches and similar organizations rely heavily on volunteers--volunteers who may bring more willingness than skill to their leadership, volunteers who can easily opt out or burn out, and "volunteers" who may never volunteer in the first place if meetings seem like a waste of time. Where the Action Is offers many useful tools to help faith communities examine, evaluate, and improve their meetings.

Siri Harding, Elder Reedville Presbyterian Church

If you aspire to fun, productive and efficient meetings you can either learn by trial and error, inflicting much pain on your organization along the way, or benefit from the tips on design and execution Elise Keith lays out in her excellent new book Where the Action Is.

Neal Bastick, CEO MeetingSphere, Inc

Elise Keith has given us a very practical look at why we get stuck believing meetings are a waste of time and how to create meetings that are productive, engaging work experiences. She takes the reader through each meeting stage, showing you how to plan, structure and lead productive meetings. Chock full of stories, tips, and tools, this very readable book is a superb guide to meeting effectiveness. If you lead, plan, or attend meetings this book is for you.

Dick and Emily Axelrod, founders of The Axelrod Group and authors of Let's Stop Meeting Like This

Passion, drive and knowledge will not set you apart. The ability to lead meetings will. Where the Action Is explains how it's done, making this a must-have resource for anyone looking to advance their career. Ms. Keith has done the research for you. Now it’s up to you to put it to work.

Paul Axtell, President at Contextual Program Designs and author of Meetings Matter: 8 Powerful Strategies for Remarkable Conversations