Death by Meeting
by Patrick Lencioni · first published 2004
67% recommend22% neutral11% critical
Why HN recommends it
Short fable about a fictional company that runs meetings badly, with practical guidance on structuring different meeting types; suggested as an accessible business read for newcomers and non-tech readers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Casey McDaniel had never been so nervous in his life. In just ten minutes, The Meeting, as it would forever be known, would begin. Casey had every reason to believe that his performance over the next two hours would determine the fate of his career, his financial future, and the company he had built from scratch. "How could my life have unraveled so quickly?" he wondered. In his latest page-turning work of business fiction, best-selling author Patrick Lencioni provides readers with another powerful and thought-provoking book, this one centered around a cure for the most painful yet unde
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2009–2025The Deadline
Tom DeMarco
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 96 recommend · 9 mention6 recommend · 96 recommend
2018–2026Accelerate
Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, Gene Kim
Recommended by 31 · mentioned by 3831 recommend · 38 mention31 recommend · 3831 recommend
2010–2025Business model generation
Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur
Recommended by 33 · mentioned by 4133 recommend · 41 mention33 recommend · 4133 recommend
2016–2026The DevOps handbook
Gene Kim
Recommended by 22 · mentioned by 3322 recommend · 33 mention22 recommend · 3322 recommend
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Patrick Lencioni
Recommended by 44 · mentioned by 5444 recommend · 54 mention44 recommend · 5444 recommend
2009–2026High Output Management
Andrew S. Grove
Recommended by 116 · mentioned by 161116 recommend · 161 mention116 recommend · 161116 recommend
2013–2026The Phoenix Project
Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford
Recommended by 166 · mentioned by 270166 recommend · 270 mention166 recommend · 270166 recommend
2007–2026Crossing the Chasm
Geoffrey A. Moore
Recommended by 106 · mentioned by 171106 recommend · 171 mention106 recommend · 171106 recommend
…Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive [7]The Deming Management Method [8]Creativity Inc. [9]The Wisdom of Teams [10]On Communication [11]On Managing Yourself [12]The Art of Facilitation [13]Death by Meeting [14]Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning [15]Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business 1. https://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Fac... 2.…
on “Ask HN: What are the best textbooks in your field of expertise?” ↗…school activities may be great too. Things where she can help organize events and fundraisers and really contribute to a group. As for my favorite books on business I would suggest for a 13 year old: "Death by Meeting" The author describes a fictional company that is terrible at conducting meetings until the main character comes and helps address the issues. I know she's not really running meetings at the moment so…
on “Ask HN: Best Business Book For a 13-year-old Girl?” ↗Got a new job in May so slowed me down, but got through around 8 this year. I'm a Lencioni fan: Death by Meeting -- Describes 3 types of meetings Getting Naked -- Describes how to consult I'm also a Marshall Goldsmith fan: What Got You Here Won't Get You There - Once you get beyond a Director level with some…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2015?” ↗…Fable https://www.amazon.com/dp/0787960756/?coliid=I12MQNI6MIK6JR&... High Output Management https://www.amazon.com/dp/0679762884/?coliid=I2G1Y1JLPP55SY&... Measure What Matters https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525536221/?coliid=I1G6EQRC0QYPE1&... Death by Meeting https://www.amazon.com/dp/0787968056/?coliid=I38A8AYMZGSLYZ&... Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1455554790/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...…
on “Ask HN: What makes a good technical leader – any recommended books?” ↗…anything faster - Anything You Want (Sivers) How to talk to humans - Difficult Conversations (Stone) - how to talk to humans - Never Split the Difference (Voss) - every conversation is a negotiation - Death By Meeting (Lencioni) - short fable - anything else by Patrick Lencioni Prioritization and focus: - The One Thing (Keller) - prioritization - Deep Work (Calport) - focus - Indistractable (Li) - focus See also…
on “Ask HN: What makes a good technical leader – any recommended books?” ↗Check out the "Death By Meeting" by Patrick Lencioni for his take in a non-tech scenario.
on “The business case for fewer developers in meetings” ↗"The greatest myth that exists about meetings is that they are inherently bad." -- Patrick Lencioni in "Death by Meeting" The real problem is not meetings themselves, but that most meetings are run ineffectively. Contrary to what one might expect based on the title, "Death by Meeting" recommends having more meetings, but…
on “Meetings are Toxic” ↗…three 8.the brain that changes itself 9.broken windows, broken business 10.change or die 11.change your toughts, change your life 12.citizen marketers 13.confidence 14.confronting reality 15.dance of change 16.death by meeting 17.dynasties 18.the education of an accidental CEO 19.Einstein 20.Execution 21.felling good together 22.the fifth discipline 23.flawless consulting 24.flight plan 25.fooled by randomness 26.fountain…
on “Ask HN: Must Read Books” ↗…Team Player". Read it many years ago, and I still use it as a basic framework when I interview candidates (in a nutshell, you want someone humble, hungry, and smart). I personally wouldn't recommend "Death by Meeting", though. Maybe it's just because it didn't resonate much with me, so YMMV.
on “Ask HN: Fictional business books like The Goal” ↗