Book excerpt: "The Meeting Planning Process -- A Guide to Planning Successful Meetings" by Certified Meeting Professional Mary Jo Wiseman offers a common sense approach to managing the meeting planning process based on the knowledge and experience she garnered over a 20+ year career as a corporate meeting and event coordinator. The author's systematic approach to project management helped her to get and stay focused on the task at hand while handling multiple details, projects and deadlines throughout her career and she wants to share her secrets for success with others. The author firmly believes it is NOT just one person who makes a meeting or event happen, but rather a well led TEAM of dedicated, enthusiastic, talented individuals who come together to do what they do best to help organizations EXCEED PROGRAM OBJECTIVES and make them SHINE. It is the PROCESS or system used to get started that can either keep you on track or send you off the rails. This Guide offers a practical overview of the entire planning process for people just starting out in the business or meeting planning veterans alike, and offers keen insights and valuable tips to help CREATE the perfect EXPERIENCE for their audience by staying true to the basic elements of the planning process. It is intended to lead people through the proper steps and the sequence of tasks involved in planning a meeting such as: Establishing a Planning or Design Team; Developing an Overall Plan; Budgeting; Site Selection; Communications; Contract Review and more. The Guide also includes handy templates developed by the author -- a Meeting Time Line; Overall Plan; and Request for Proposal as well as descriptions and diagrams of possible room set-ups.