While we may mock and laugh at the kind of briefing processes we find ourselves in as designers, it is also shockingly pathetic how we choose not to do anything about it. Are we way too jaded? Is the process to change the process just not worth it?
Whatever it is, the situation you find yourself in, is probably just as much your fault as it is the client's.
If only more clients watched this video instead.. 'The Art of Web Design' by PBS.