Breaking Robert's Rules The New Way to Run Your Meeting, Build Consensus, and Get Results

by Susskind, Lawrence E.; Cruikshank, Jeffrey L.

• ISBN13: 9780195308365
• ISBN10: 0195308360
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Every day in communities across America hundreds of diverse groups hold meetings where they spend their time engaged in shouting matches and acrimonious debate. The procedures that most groups rely on to reach decisions were first laid out as Robert's Rules more than 150 years ago. These arcane rituals, based mainly on majority rule, usually produce a very dissatisfied minority that expects to raise its concerns, again, at the next possible meeting.

Author Biography

Lawrence E. Susskind is the Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning at MIT and head of the Public Disputes Program at Harvard Law School. An experience mediator, he is Founder of the Consensus Building Institute and author of Dealing with an Angry Public: The Mutual Gains Approach to Resolving Disputes (with Patrick T. Field) and The Consensus Building Handbook (with Sarah McKearnan and Jennifer Thomas-Larmer).
Jeffrey L. Cruikshank is an experienced editor, the author of numerous of interest to managers, and published novelist. His first book collaboration with co-author Susskind was Breaking the Impasse, published in 1987.

Table of Contents

Illustrations/Tables	ix
Introduction	xi
Part 1 Overcoming the Tyranny of the Majority and Other Problems Associated with Robert's Rules of Order
1 Why Break Robert's Rules?	3	(15)
2 What Is Consensus?	18	(23)
3 Getting the Right People to the Table	41	(20)
4 Assigning Tasks and Leadership Responsibilities	61	(22)
5 The Importance of Facilitation	83	(31)
6 Confirming that Agreement Has Been Reached	114	(19)
7 Crafting "Nearly Self-enforcing" Agreements	133	(21)
8 Overcoming the Barriers to CBA	154	(15)
Part 2 The Five Essential Steps in the Consensus Building Approach (CBA)
Step 1: Convening	169	(4)
Step 2: Assigning Roles and Responsibilities	173	(3)
Step 3: Facilitating Group Problem Solving	176	(5)
Step 4: Reaching Agreement	181	(4)
Step 5: Holding Parties to Their Commitments	185	(6)
Appendices
Appendix A: Convincing Others to Use the Consensus Building Approach—A Checklist	191	(7)
Appendix B: Suggested Ground Rules	198	(3)
Appendix C: Being a Good Facilitator	201	(2)
Appendix D: General Robert Goes to Town Meeting	203	(3)
Appendix E: Consensus Building in the Workplace	206	(8)
Appendix F: Handy Guide to the Five Essential Steps in the Consensus Building Approach (CBA)	214	(2)
Appendix G: Background Readings	216	(3)
Index	219