Ideas: Books

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 thana 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.

In his book, Breaking Robert's Rules: The New Way to Run Your Meeting, Build Consensus, and Get Results , Lawrence Susskind and his co-author Jeffrey Cruikshank clearly spell out how any group can work together effectively. Written in a non-technical and engaging style, and containing clear ideas and instructions that anyone can understand and use, this one-of-a-kind guide will prove an essential tool for any group desperate to find ways of making their meetings more effective.

"Revolutionary. The authors provide a new framework that will radically change the way organizations make decisions and resolve conflicts."
—Warren Bennis, University of Southern California and author of On Becoming a Leader

Also available in these languages:

Japanese
Lawrence Susskind, Jeffrey L. Cruikshank, Hideaki Shiroyama,  Masahiro Matsuura
Introduction to Consensus Building: Public Policy Negotiation and Formation of Mutual Agreement 
Yuhikaku, 2008

Italian
Marianella Sclavi, Lawrence E. Susskind
Creative Confrontation: The Right to Speak, The Right to Be Heard
Et Al., 2011

Spanish
Lawrence Susskind, Francisco Ingouville
Beyond Majority Rule: A New Way to Run Meetings, Build Consensus, Improve Relationships, and Maximize Results for Everyone
Ediciones Granica, 2011

Chinese
Lawrence E. Susskind, Jeffrey L. Cruikshank,  Andrew Wei-Min Lee
Breaking Robert’s Rules: The New Way to Run Your Meeting, Build Consensus, and Get Results
Social Sciences Academic Press, China, 2008

Dutch
Frans Evers, Lawrence Susskind
It Can Happen! Governmental Negotiations With Lasting Results
MGMC, 2011

Portuguese
Lawrence Susskind, Jeffrey Cruikshank, Yann Duzert
When A Majority is Not Enough: A New Method of Collective Negotiation and Consensus Building
Fundação Getulio Vargas, 2008

Russian
Lawrence Susskind, Tsisana Shamlikashvili,  Arthur Demchuk
Management of Difficult Decisions in the 21st Century: Secrets to Building Consensus or Making Decisions That Satisfy Everyone
Interregional Consulting Centre for Management and Politics, 2009

French
Lawrence Susskind, Yann Duzert, Alain Pekar Lempereur
Facilitate Participation: A Good Process Gets a Good Outcome
Group Eyrolles, 2009