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

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

• ISBN13: 9780195308419
• ISBN10: 0195308417
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-09-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Breaking Robert's Rules is the long awaited guide to effective, efficient, and-perhaps most important-non-acrimonious group decision making. Features: Explains the specific problems that prevent a group's progress, Gives solid advice on how groups can move forward without resorting to "majority rules", Outlines the five key steps toward consensus building, Includes a one-page "Handy Guide" and a case study demonstrating how ideas can also be applied in a corporate context, Perfect for formal groups such as committees and boards, as well as informal groups such as church groups, social clubs, neighborhood associations, and ad hoc committees. Book jacket.

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. He is Founder of the Consensus Building Institute, 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), and an experienced mediator.
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	p. ix
Introduction	p. xi
Overcoming the Tyranny of the Majority and Other Problems Associated with Robert's Rules of Order
Why Break Robert's Rules?	p. 3
What is Consensus?	p. 18
Getting the Right People to the Table	p. 41
Assigning Tasks and Leadership Responsibilities	p. 61
The Importance of Facilitation	p. 83
Confirming that Agreement Has Been Reached	p. 114
Crafting "Nearly Self-enforcing" Agreements	p. 133
Overcoming the Barriers to CBA	p. 154
The Five Essential Steps in the Consensus Building Approach (CBA)
Convening	p. 169
Assigning Roles and Responsibilities	p. 173
Facilitating Group Problem Solving	p. 176
Reaching Agreement	p. 181
Holding Parties to Their Commitments	p. 185
Appendices
Convincing Others to Use the Consensus Building Approach-A Checklist	p. 191
Suggested Ground Rules	p. 198
Being a Good Facilitator	p. 201
General Robert Goes to Town Meeting	p. 203
Consensus Building in the Workplace	p. 206
Handy Guide to the Five Essential Steps in the Consensus Building Approach (CBA)	p. 214
Background Readings	p. 216
Index	p. 219
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