Don't Just Do Something, Stand There!: Ten Principles for Leading Meetings That Matter [Paperback]

Don't Just Do Something, Stand There: Ten Principles for Leading Meetings That Matter
The title, Don't Just Do Something, Stand There, caught my attention and knocked me off balance. As a member and leader of a number of organizations over the course of 76 years, I have often been referred to as an "activist." The reverse of the title has been almost a mantra of mine. If something needs to be made right, is it not my job to do something? Anything less is a kind of cowardice, and I become an accomplice to the wrong-doing. You would think I would know better, but
the problem seems to be getting worse. The book came my way none too soon.
In college at Penn State, in the 50's, William Werner, a literature professor, said to me in an aside, "There are two reasons to read: one is the confirmation of something you already are familiar with and appreciate; second, is the thrill of new experience." His comments have stayed with me throughout these many years better than the contents of the course in The European Novel that I took with him.
I did find much in the book that I already know and apply, drawing from psychology, group dynamics, organizational development, etc. and presented in a readable, user-friendly manner. My copy is full of notes in the margin of comments like "yes," and of exclamation marks. And for sure, there was also much that was new, again drawing from the same fields, but with practical examples that made the reading alive and here and now, and answered questions that had come to me a moment earlier. The authors have years of hands-on experience throughout the world in their work, and have done their homework, learning from and sharing relevant research in the field.
What surprised me was a third dimension that emerged - a challenge to some of the ways I have come to work, both employed and as a volunteer. Is it too late to teach an old dog new tricks? I hope not. For example, one of the things I loved was in the section, Principle 4 - "Let People Be Responsible." I quote from the anecdote on page 78, "Legitimizing Opposition In A Tense Community Meeting." The issues were so contentious that the sponsor had hired security people to head off potential violence. At the start of the meeting, Lisa, the meeting manager, carefully set up the structure of a number of ground rules. For example, "We are here because we want everyone's ideas, even those you may consider 'wrong' or 'silly.'" During the meeting, one person rose and spoke in a way that attacked the facilitator verbally in an attempt to derail the meeting. The group was flabbergasted and told him to sit down. Lisa now invoked the ground rule she had established in setting up the structure for the meeting. This is how she responded.
"This is what Jim is thinking right now, and you are not required to agree or disagree with him." By using the ground rule to cushion her own shock and to support the dissenter, she defused the attack and the people returned to the task.
The book is full of hands-on examples of this kind that bring you right into room in experiencing the "Ten Principles for Leading Meetings That Matter." Eighteen useful and delightful illustrations by Jock Macneish are sprinkled effectively throughout the text.
Weisbord and Janoff's book, Don't Just Do Something, Stand There, has been, on all counts, a kind of tonic for me. The book has helped me - in this third half of life - to move from wanting to learn more skills of what to "do" - to beginning to experience a "letting go" and to move into allowing a to "be" - a just stand there. In effect to trust, and use the group more fully.
I recommend Don't Just Do Something to anybody who ever said, "Oh, no, not another meeting," and also to the folks like me who look forward to the next one.

Dr. Robert E. Young, Associate Professor, Eastern Virginia Medical School [retired]
676 words

As someone who has followed the work of Marv Weisbord and Sandra Janoff for a long time, I was not sure what they would have to say here that was new. So I was delighted and amazed to see the fullness and depth of their understanding about meeting management and facilitation. They make clear here why our conventional assumptions about how to get important things done with groups of people (not merely run common meetings) are way past outmoded. Then they give you specific techniques for managing others and managing yourself whenever people gather to do to useful work. If you ever expect to get anything done in a meeting, this is the (actually quite short) volume for you.

This book is much more than a menu for how to run meetings more effectively, although yes, it is filled with strikingly simple and practical steps to make a gathering of any kind more humane and productive. But in a deeper context, it embodies a particular theory and philosophy of leadership and planning that recognize that every person does the best they can with what they have, and that people come equipped with the capacity for extraordinary cooperation if given a chance to use their own experience and wisdom. Moreover, it is based on a set of principles that synthesize a century of research on the conditions and structures that are most likely to bring out the best in human beings, regardless of nationality, politics, culture, and other boundaries. It provides the reader with tools to create an environment and energy level that celebrate the magnificent diversity of our species and, at the same time, enable the discovery of common ground and shared aspirations. Such a balance between honoring diversity and discovering common ground provides the foundation for previously unlikely action to make the world more just and peaceful. As I reflect on my 30 years as a physician, public health leader, and public servant, I now realize, after reading this remarkable book, that remarkable outcomes are indeed possible when people gather and engage in the higher level of dialogue and conversation represented here. The principles, exquisitely described in this book, provide powerful guideposts for creating humane public policy and systems. More, the application of these principles can pave the way for effective grassroots programs that continue for years. By demonstrating that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results when given the time and space to work from their own experience and uniqueness, Weisbord and Janoff make a major contribution to the urgent challenge to keep hope alive in our troubled world.

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