Managing meetings effectively is vital in the fast-paced, complex environment of the modern workplace. However, direct scholarly attention to work meetings is still limited, making an understanding of what makes meetings successful elusive. In this article, we examine the particulars of successful and unsuccessful meetings from a participant's perspective. Employing a conceptual mapping approach, we analyze open-ended statements collected from meeting participants to identify three broad themes associated with meeting success: (1) participant learning and development; (2) the coordination of performance, including the creation of links between meeting episodes; (3) and the development of common understanding and alignment among attendees. By more fully taking these themes into account, managers can be better equipped to design, organize, and manage their work meetings successfully.

Focusing on promoting success rather than preventing failure can be a powerful tool for achieving one's goals at the bargaining table. Across two studies, the authors find that 'promotion-focused' negotiators pay greater attention to their goals than do 'prevention-focused' negotiators. Attending to goals not only leads negotiators to strive for and achieve them, and thereby accrue more advantageous distributive outcomes, but it also prevents them from simply settling for minimally-acceptable outcomes and compromises. A 'promotion regulatory focus', defined in the article, leads negotiators to discover mutually beneficial trade-offs and achieve solutions optimal for both parties.