Book Description
DO YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO WHAT YOU DO BEST EVERY DAY?
Chances are, you don't. All too often, our natural talents go untapped. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths.
To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced the first version of its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in the 2001 management book Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book spent more than five years on the bestseller lists and ignited a global conversation, while StrengthsFinder helped millions to discover their top five talents.
In its latest national bestseller, StrengthsFinder 2.0, Gallup unveils the new and improved version of its popular assessment, language of 34 themes, and much more (see below for details). While you can read this book in one sitting, you'll use it as a reference for decades.
Loaded with hundreds of strategies for applying your strengths, this new book and accompanying website will change the way you look at yourself -- and the world around you -- forever.
AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY IN THE NEW & UPGRADED EDITION OF STRENGTHSFINDER 2.0
(using the unique access code included with each book)
* A new and upgraded edition of the StrengthsFinder assessment
* A personalized Strengths Discovery and Action-Planning Guide for applying your strengths in the next week, month, and year
* A more customized version of your top five theme report
* 50 Ideas for Action (10 strategies for building on each of your top five themes)
* The more user-friendly StrengthsFinder 2.0 companion website, with a strengths community area, library of downloadable discussion guides and activities, a strengths screensaver, and a program for creating display cards of your top five themes
Customer Reviews:
Dinamic Strengths.......2007-10-01
I found the Strengths Finder 2 to be a great, dinamic tool to helping my team find their talents. The good thing about this version, compared to Now Discover your Strengths is that it has guidelines and activities you can do to change the talents into strengths.
Find and Maximize your strengths...fast.......2007-09-24
Great product for anyone wanting to know themselves better. Especially helpful for job seekers or people in transition.
StrengthsFinder Opinion.......2007-09-23
This is great investment! The price is very low and value of the information provided is very high. The best $15 I ever spent.
Optimal Solution for Understanding Yourself.......2007-09-23
I've been a senior leader of several organizations, and consequently have been exposed to a gauntlet of industrial psychologists, personality tests, intelligence tests, leadership training, cultural orientations, yada yada.
This book/body of knowledge/tool does 2 things extremely well. By well, I mean in an optimal way measured by the degree of understanding relative to the time investment. First, for an investment of maybe an hour at minimum, and an additional few hours to explore the guidance and begin to consider the implications and choose new behaviors, etc. you get, in my opinion, the best single, and correct perspective about yourself than any combination of the other methods mentioned above, period. It is not just directionally correct, like a horoscope type paragraph that would be true for anyone who read it, but rather a set of desciptions of your strengths that just "nail it" and descibe you as you know yourself. It tells you about yourself in a way that you can understand, regardless of whether you or anyone who is around you has ever articulated it.
The second thing it does well is offer a rational and empirically validated framework that is just long overdue. It is a simple truth that has been so elusive. It addresses a major reason why leadership is so rare in business - the modern organization strangles out your ability to contribute by trying to fix what you will likely never be much good at, or hate doing even if you end up with some level of proficiency at it.
Get it, read it (25 minutes) and take the online test (35 minutes). If you are like me and the 50 people around me who've infectiosuly taken and immediately recommended this thing to their inner circle of friends and family, you will absolutley find value in it. But like anything, an idea or a tool is only as good as it is put to use. A master craftsman never blames his tools. Remember to act on it and that is something for which only you can be responsible.
Fascinating but Now What?.......2007-09-19
This was an in depth test that I think actually produced accurate results. It was interesting to see where I fell and to read the descriptions of the categories. I think the test was most likely right. So, it was fun and it was somewhat informative...now what? Overall the book didn't give me that much insight on the different categories and the suggestions in some cases contradicted each other. I think it is useful to use in conjunction with additional career books or counselors. It is important to understand your strengths and this may or may not help. Alone, however, I do not think it is enough to give much to the reader.
Amazon.com
Disciplines like strategy, leadership development, and innovation are the sexier aspects of being at the helm of a successful business; actually getting things done never seems quite as glamorous. But as Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan demonstrate in Execution, the ultimate difference between a company and its competitor is, in fact, the ability to execute.
Execution is "the missing link between aspirations and results," and as such, making it happen is the business leader's most important job. While failure in today's business environment is often attributed to other causes, Bossidy and Charan argue that the biggest obstacle to success is the absence of execution. They point out that without execution, breakthrough thinking on managing change breaks down, and they emphasize the fact that execution is a discipline to learn, not merely the tactical side of business. Supporting this with stories of the "execution difference" being won (EDS) and lost (Xerox and Lucent), the authors describe the building blocks--leaders with the right behaviors, a culture that rewards execution, and a reliable system for having the right people in the right jobs--that need to be in place to manage the three core business processes of people, strategy, and operations. Both Bossidy, CEO of Honeywell International, Inc., and Charan, advisor to corporate executives and author of such books as What the CEO Wants You to Know and Boards That Work, present experience-tested insight into how the smooth linking of these three processes can differentiate one company from the rest. Developing the discipline of execution isn't made out to be simple, nor is this book a quick, easy read. Bossidy and Charan do, however, offer good advice on a neglected topic, making Execution a smart business leader's guide to enacting success rather than permitting demise. --S. Ketchum
Book Description
The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results . . . whether you’re running an entire company or in your first management job
Larry Bossidy is one of the world’s most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they’ve pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.
After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world’s most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn’t just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.
Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a “vision” and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.
The leader’s most important job—selecting and appraising people—is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there’s a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.
Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He’s been putting the ideas he writes about in
Execution to work in real time.
Download Description
The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results... whether you're running an entire company or in your first management job
Larry Bossidy is one of the world's most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they've pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.
After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world's most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn't just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.
Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a "vision" and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.
The leader's most important job -- selecting and appraising people -- is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there's a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.
Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He's been putting the ideas he writes about in Execution to work in real time.
Customer Reviews:
Universal truths presented but people views flawed.......2007-10-05
I thought there were many good take-aways in this book. Was it all original? Of course not. Most management books are saying the same things with a slightly different twist. I've got a bookshelf full of them. However, it seems that humans are so often incapable of remembering the fundamentals and have a tendency to overcomplicate things thus history repeats itself over and over.
The tone of the book regarding people gave me a little pause. Although I do think they were spot on in their assessment of how many companies do succession planning (not at all or incorrectly), it does seem to advocate that everyone needs to be a mini-Jack Welch type persona. I've worked in a company managed by ex-GE guys and believe me, they don't have it all figured out. I think organizations will benefit by having a mix of skills. Some people are better doers and others are better thinkers. Some superstars are good at both. It takes all types.
execution 101.......2007-08-22
I did receive this book in an executive seminar; read it over couples of nights, a simple book with day to day tips to make things happen.
A must read for any one how dreams to become a successful executive and a reality check for those already there.
Beyond Talk.......2007-08-20
So many times in this marketing-focused world, we do very well at the talking but not very good at the walking. Many of us have seen amazing sales presentations . . . only to realize that the promises would never be met.
This book engages us in the discussion about how to do what we promise. It helps us to go beyond the sales presentation and really design a process by which we can follow through, build relationships and live a life that is full of integrity and trustworthiness.
Prime Example of Mediocraty .......2007-08-11
This book did very little for me. Largely, the book is unoriginal and simply restates ideas already presented in tons of business leadership books. This book might as well have been written for the sole purpose of patting prominent CEOs, namely Jack Welch, on the back. You would be better served to bypass this one and just go read something by Welch on leadership.
Practical business.......2007-07-27
I teach MBAs. Its well known in the field that MBAs are very competent in analysis but not so good in implementation. The reason for this is that most professors who teach business have never actually worked in business and are research analysts. They teach analysis because they are excellent in that area. I worked in business 10 years before becoming a professor. I teach my students about implementation and they are interested. This is a book about implementation at the CEO level. I'm thinking of using it as a supplementary executive MBA text.
Book Description
Mark Twain once observed, “A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on.” His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus public-health scares circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas–business people, teachers, politicians, journalists, and others–struggle to make their ideas “stick.”
Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? In Made to Stick, accomplished educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath tackle head-on these vexing questions. Inside, the brothers Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the “human scale principle,” using the “Velcro Theory of Memory,” and creating “curiosity gaps.”
In this indispensable guide, we discover that sticky messages of all kinds–from the infamous “kidney theft ring” hoax to a coach’s lessons on sportsmanship to a vision for a new product at Sony–draw their power from the same six traits.
Made to Stick is a book that will transform the way you communicate ideas. It’s a fast-paced tour of success stories (and failures)–the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass of bacteria to prove a point about stomach ulcers; the charities who make use of “the Mother Teresa Effect”; the elementary-school teacher whose simulation actually prevented racial prejudice. Provocative, eye-opening, and often surprisingly funny, Made to Stick shows us the vital principles of winning ideas–and tells us how we can apply these rules to making our own messages stick.
Customer Reviews:
Too sticky to put down!.......2007-10-06
It's all in the details. Well worth the investment - especially if you need to make your message 'stick.'
Get Your Story Straight And Revolutionize Your Marketing.......2007-10-05
Jake, a young entrepreneurial friend of mine in the IT industry , was not seeing the results he expected from numerous and inventive marketing strategies. He had tried online, print and direct marketing with marginal results. His business wasn't faltering but wasn't soaring either. So after a slew of marketing books he came across this one- and it was all I was hearing about from him until I read it myself and the light bulb clicked.
Just like you were interested in Jake's story other people like stories, they want to relate to you and your product but if they can't they will find a company that they can relate to.
Chip and Dan Heath give great examples every chapter on how to improve your "Stickiness" with simple strategies. The most important being their coined,
"SUCCES" acronym:
S simple - don't lose your core message in a lot of pomp and circumstance
U unexpected - make your idea jump out and grab people's attention
C concrete - keep it easy to grasp vs. mind boggling statistics or huge numbers
C credible - is your idea believable?
E emotional - people react to emotion and it creates an empathetic bond
S stories - story telling is an age old form of communication
I have been able to use "Made To Stick" concepts in my business with great results. I used to feel that stories in real estate investing wouldn't interest anyone but I knew from the book that stories were useful, if not crucial, in creating and growing a business. Now by using my customer's concrete feedback blended with their credible testimonials and sprinkled with a little emotion I am able transmit their core experience (what they got out of working with us an how it translated to their bottom line) to reach a greater audience.
Entertaining.......2007-10-01
This is a fun book, full of useful communication ideas. If you are in marketing or communications there is likely little here that is new. However, for the general reader this is a clear, simple summary of techniques to help you get your points across. They have the traditional way to remember their seven major ideas: SUCCESS. For example, the first "S" is to keep it Simple. This is actually better than it sounds because they drill down on the need to find your core message and they give you some ideas about how to do that. You can pick it up at the airport and it is short enough to read crossing the country.
Great Purchase.......2007-09-27
This was a terrific book at a great Amazon price!The book gives a tutorial on creating catch phrases that are impressive and memorable. I read it for use in my teaching ... we do want our students to remember things! My husbannd read it for use in his business, specifically for marketing and advertising. I saved $10 per copy at Amazon.
Fantastic! One of my favorite books of all time!.......2007-09-24
This is now one of my favorite books of all time. If you liked The Tipping Point and/or Blink, you'll love this one! Well written with lots of useful lessons and stories. I'm going to read it again as well as sign up for a training that the author is offering in Hartford on November 13th.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Effectively managing personnel--as well as one's own behavior--is an extraordinarily complex task that, not surprisingly, has been the subject of countless books touting what each claims is the true path to success. That said, Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton's Now, Discover Your Strengths does indeed propose a unique approach: focusing on enhancing people's strengths rather than eliminating their weaknesses. Following up on the coauthors' popular previous book, First, Break All the Rules, it fully describes 34 positive personality themes the two have formulated (such as Achiever, Developer, Learner, and Maximizer) and explains how to build a "strengths-based organization" by capitalizing on the fact that such traits are already present among those within it.
Most original and potentially most revealing, however, is a Web-based interactive component that allows readers to complete a questionnaire developed by the Gallup Organization and instantly discover their own top-five inborn talents. This device provides a personalized window into the authors' management philosophy which, coupled with subsequent advice, places their suggestions into the kind of practical context that's missing from most similar tomes. "You can't lead a strengths revolution if you don't know how to find, name and develop your own," write Buckingham and Clifton. Their book encourages such introspection while providing knowledgeable guidance for applying its lessons. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
Unfortunately, most of us have little sense of our talents and strengths, much less the ability to build our lives around them. Instead, guided by our parents, by our teachers, by our managers, and by psychology's fascination with pathology, we become experts in our weaknesses and spend our lives trying to repair these flaws, while our strengths lie dormant and neglected.
Marcus Buckingham, coauthor of the national bestseller First, Break All the Rules, and Donald O. Clifton, Chair of the Gallup International Research & Education Center, have created a revolutionary program to help readers identify their talents, build them into strengths, and enjoy consistent, near-perfect performance. At the heart of the book is the Internet-based StrengthsFinder® Profile, the product of a 25-year, multimillion-dollar effort to identify the most prevalent human strengths. The program introduces 34 dominant "themes" with thousands of possible combinations, and reveals how they can best be translated into personal and career success. In developing this program, Gallup has conducted psychological profiles with more than two million individuals to help readers learn how to focus and perfect these themes.
So how does it work? This book contains a unique identification number that allows you access to the StrengthsFinder Profile on the Internet. This Web-based interview analyzes your instinctive reactions and immediately presents you with your five most powerful signature themes. Once you know which of the 34 themes -- such as Achiever, Activator, Empathy, Futuristic, or Strategic -- you lead with, the book will show you how to leverage them for powerful results at three levels: for your own development, for your success as a manager, and for the success of your organization.
With accessible and profound insights on how to turn talents into strengths, and with the immediate on-line feedback of StrengthsFinder at its core, Now, Discover Your Strengths is one of the most groundbreaking and useful business books ever written.
Customer Reviews:
Strengthsfinder is a powerful tool.......2007-10-01
I have not yet read any of the book, but bought it for the key to taking the online Strengthsfinder assessment for a graduate class in career and workforce development. (NOTE: MAKE SURE TO BUY A NEW COPY OF THE BOOK IF YOU WANT TO GET AN "UNUSED" KEY TO TAKING THE STRENGTHSFINDER ASSESSMENT ONLINE.)
The assessment alone was well worth the price of the book. Structuring one's professional development or career pathing around one's strengths (instead of around one's weaknesses) is an energizing way to invest in one's work self. If you only take the assessment and never read the book, you will have gotten your money's worth.
Regarding the book, my professor tells me it goes a good job at applying the Strengthsfinder to the work world and management.
book.......2007-09-21
great product. exactly as stated it would be. great book. very uplifting!
If you want to know your strengths.......2007-09-21
I read this book and took a class on it, there are coaches that are trained all over the world that will help you discover and use your strengths in every day life. Loved this book. They even have a book for every age, (young students, adults, and college age)
Go straight to the last chapter and forget the rest.......2007-09-20
Very dissapointed as to what the title leads you to believe about the book. Though the authors have done a tremendous amount of research, it flaws in 2 major issues which it forgets:
a) the profile though quite specific, is similar to other profiles out there
b) 90% of the book is about why we should concentrate on our strenghts. Now lets face it, if you are a small business person like me who wants to grow his business, i already understand that i should be concentrating and exploring my strenghts and that of my organisation. I dont think i need to go thru the majority of the book to learn the concept.
If you are a small business owner like me who wants the "how to", just read chapter 7 which goes to practical issues. If on the other hand you have nothing else to do, then yes do go ahead.
Marketing Excellence-Yes! New Information-?.......2007-09-19
This book is an excellent illustration of the Gallup Organization's ability to market data as "knowledge". Today we seem to be so enamored of huge statistical databases that we assume better conclusions come from analyzing more information, in newer and more complex ways. When I finished reading this book, and taking the online "Signature Themes" profile evaluation I was struck by the enormity of my tranquilized obviousness. Everything I "learned" from this book I already knew, other than the valuable marketing lesson of how they got me to buy it!
Amazon.com
This grandfather of all people-skills books was first published in 1937. It was an overnight hit, eventually selling 15 million copies. How to Win Friends and Influence People is just as useful today as it was when it was first published, because Dale Carnegie had an understanding of human nature that will never be outdated. Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to "the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people." He teaches these skills through underlying principles of dealing with people so that they feel important and appreciated. He also emphasizes fundamental techniques for handling people without making them feel manipulated. Carnegie says you can make someone want to do what you want them to by seeing the situation from the other person's point of view and "arousing in the other person an eager want." You learn how to make people like you, win people over to your way of thinking, and change people without causing offense or arousing resentment. For instance, "let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers," and "talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person." Carnegie illustrates his points with anecdotes of historical figures, leaders of the business world, and everyday folks. --Joan Price
Book Description
YOU CAN GO AFTER THE JOB YOU WANT...AND GET IT! YOU CAN TAKE THE JOB YOU HAVE...AND IMPROVE IT! YOU CAN TAKE ANY SITUATION YOU'RE IN...AND MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU!
For more than sixty years the rock-solid, time-tested advice in this book has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives.
Now this previously revised and updated bestseller is available in trade paperback for the first time to help you achieve your maximum potential throughout the next century! Learn:
* THREE FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUES IN HANDLING PEOPLE
* THE SIX WAYS TO MAKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU
* THE TWELVE WAYS TO WIN PEOPLE TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING
* THE NINE WAYS TO CHANGE PEOPLE WITHOUT AROUSING RESENTMENT
Customer Reviews:
Life's a Stage..........2007-09-30
Wow..."A Reader" seems extraordinarily bitter...
Every day you go to work, you are on a "stage"...as in "It's show time, folks!" The working world is highly competitive, and a necessary tool to all but guarantee your success is deception. This book/author teaches the art of deception. Whether or not the reader chooses to use this information to his/her advantage is a matter of personal choice.
This book has a purpose, and successfully presents that purpose, hence the four-stars...
BORING.......2007-09-18
...I put the book down after 3 chapters, and haven't picked it back up since. Go with "7 Habits..." by Covey and/or "The Four Agreements" (Author skips my mind)
Impressive!.......2007-09-09
I finally can win many friends and influence people! Another bestseller that I recommend - How to be a Super Hot Woman: 339 Tips to Make Every Man Fall in Love with You and Every Woman Envy You
Interesting book.......2007-09-09
We dont realize that many people want the same things that we do.I purchased this book to become more social. I have learned more than I expected.
Great!.......2007-09-09
Timeless advice and a charismatic delivery make this book enjoyable and likely to be acted on and revisited throughout your life. It will open your eyes wider, and give affirmation to mankind. Some reviews are all rah-rah, but I find the book is at times gleefully manipulative and uses only the best examples of its principles in action -- there's no guarantee you will make that sale, or that person will become your friend -- but it is worthwhile information and certainly is inspiring. It's definitely worth the price, and if you order through Amazon, it was a five star shipment for me.
Amazon.com
Blink is about the first two seconds of looking--the decisive glance that knows in an instant. Gladwell, the best-selling author of The Tipping Point, campaigns for snap judgments and mind reading with a gift for translating research into splendid storytelling. Building his case with scenes from a marriage, heart attack triage, speed dating, choking on the golf course, selling cars, and military maneuvers, he persuades readers to think small and focus on the meaning of "thin slices" of behavior. The key is to rely on our "adaptive unconscious"--a 24/7 mental valet--that provides us with instant and sophisticated information to warn of danger, read a stranger, or react to a new idea.
Gladwell includes caveats about leaping to conclusions: marketers can manipulate our first impressions, high arousal moments make us "mind blind," focusing on the wrong cue leaves us vulnerable to "the Warren Harding Effect" (i.e., voting for a handsome but hapless president). In a provocative chapter that exposes the "dark side of blink," he illuminates the failure of rapid cognition in the tragic stakeout and murder of Amadou Diallo in the Bronx. He underlines studies about autism, facial reading and cardio uptick to urge training that enhances high-stakes decision-making. In this brilliant, cage-rattling book, one can only wish for a thicker slice of Gladwell's ideas about what Blink Camp might look like. --Barbara Mackoff
Book Description
Blink is about the first two seconds of looking--the decisive glance that knows in an instant. Gladwell, the best-selling author of The Tipping Point, campaigns for snap judgments and mind reading with a gift for translating research into splendid storytelling. Building his case with scenes from a marriage, heart attack triage, speed dating, choking on the golf course, selling cars, and military maneuvers, he persuades readers to think small and focus on the meaning of "thin slices" of behavior. The key is to rely on our "adaptive unconscious"--a 24/7 mental valet--that provides us with instant and sophisticated information to warn of danger, read a stranger, or react to a new idea. Gladwell includes caveats about leaping to conclusions: marketers can manipulate our first impressions, high arousal moments make us "mind blind," focusing on the wrong cue leaves us vulnerable to "the Warren Harding Effect" (i.e., voting for a handsome but hapless president). In a provocative chapter that exposes the "dark side of blink," he illuminates the failure of rapid cognition in the tragic stakeout and murder of Amadou Diallo in the Bronx. He underlines studies about autism, facial reading and cardio uptick to urge training that enhances high-stakes decision-making.In this brilliant, cage-rattling book, one can only wish for a thicker slice of Gladwell's ideas about what Blink Camp might look like.--Barbara Mackoff
Customer Reviews:
Not in a blink.......2007-10-02
I was about to buy the book, since the subject and the assumed hypothesis look appealing and interesting. Then my Amazon friend Conan wrote a rather lukewarm review and I delayed the purchase. Then I found the book on my daughter's shelf. Thanks to Conan for saving my money.
I borrowed the book and read it. In a blink I thought it was as interesting as it had promised. It took me more than a blink to find out, that it does not deliver: you learn some interesting anecdotes about marriage predictions and about malpractice suits (my other Amazon friend Joe Neuschatz will be interested) and such things, but you never really get nearer to understanding what the alleged special rapid intelligence process really is.
The book reminds me a bit of the style of articles in Der Spiegel: journalism well short of science. Sometimes entertaining, but mostly disappointing.
entertaining, educating analysis of snap judgments (but it's no The Tipping Point).......2007-09-29
A few years ago, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a very entertaining book, The Tipping Point. He had a central thesis, and while it was plausible, I wasn't particularly convinced. BUT Gladwell is one of the best writers around at making psychology experiments and other social science studies fascinating and accessible, so the book was interesting and fun to read.
That brings us to Blink, in which Gladwell seeks to demonstrate that our split-second first impressions can be incredibly insightful but that sometimes they are not, and how we can train ourselves to move toward the insightful side. The book is not particularly convincing (even less than Tipping) on the final aspect of the thesis that we can train ourselves to do better. But along the way, he presents fascinating cases of how these snap judgments can be right on (and why they're wrong when they are). The research isn't quite as interesting as in The Tipping Point, but I was still engrossed, entertained, and instructed.
For an example of a psychology writer who also makes research fascinating and accessible (and funny) but is much more convincing on his hypothesis, read the excellent Stumbling on Happiness, by Harvard psychology professor Dan Gilbert. He also reads the audiobook himself and does a fantastic job.
Despite my critiques, this was still good enough that I'll read whatever Gladwell gives us next.
A new way of seeing.......2007-09-29
In the blink of an eye we gather huge amounts of information. The author, Gladwell, likens our brains to giant computers capable of processing lots of data in a flash. I found it fascinating how we can use this information either for survival purposes and / or we can apply our intuitive knowledge to any given situation. The author coins the term "thin slicing" to explain the process of applying one's intuition. He states that we are often suspicious of trusting this intuition because it's so quick and easy, even when it's on target. He relays experiments where instantaneous "thin slicing" has amazing results, sometimes in life and death situations, but also explains what can cause the skillto fall short. The reason often being that we are not truly living in the present moment.
Two books that easily guide one into the present moment are Ariel and Shya Kane's "Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment" and "How To Create A Magical Relationship". These refreshingly fun and practical books effortlessly get the reader into the present moment where enlightenment resides. In an instant life can become brilliant and magical. Both of these intelligent books have shown me that life needn't be hard work in order to be amazing.
Will change the way you think you think.......2007-09-29
I am a cop, and this book has helped my put the way I make decisions into an almost tangible form. It has changed the way I look at what is going on around me, and has helped me find ways to hone my automatic reactions. I second-guess myself less and less, and in turn is making my life easier. I am able to pick up the little warning flags that are everywhere when you look. You have to have an open mind when you read this book, or you will not get anything out of it.
Don't believe the hype.......2007-09-27
I'd like to echo the thoughts of other reviewers who've said Blink is merely a collection of anecdotes on how snap judgments can help us or harm us. Though interesting reads, these stories don't teach us anything we don't know already about intuition - Sometimes your instincts hit the bullseye and sometimes they fall completely off target. How do we know which instincts to trust? I was hoping Gladwell would provide an answer to this question, but found he really didn't.
Product Description
Learn to do what you love and love what you do with The 8th Habit, the long awaited follow up to Stephen R. Covey's #1 best-selling The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey believes there is a great yearning, in both individuals and organizations, to discover their true "voice," to matter, to make a difference, to find greatness. The 8th Habit can help you acquire a new mindset and the tools—a new habit—to find your voice and your passion. When you do that, you feel more fulfilled and engaged with the world around you and, consequently, with your role in that world.
Customer Reviews:
Pioneering Infromation/Knowledge Based Management Concept.......2007-10-03
As a Senior People and Technology Management Consultant, I too have been frustrated by my voice, and the voice of others, not being heard.
I have also advocated that old Industerial Management techniques can not be applied to an Information/Knowledge Worker Based Management Era with emphessis on Empowerment, Teamwork, and Communal Efforts.
With 25+ years of management in startups and major corporations, I have realized that Mr. Covey's 8th habit, is the foundation to manage and lead greatness, innovation, empwerment, and super effectivity.
Ideas and concepts presented here, including the "Indian Talking Stick" are in agreement with some of the best management and leadership best practices such as the "HP Way", Dale Carnegie, and others.
There are also outstanding examples and suggestions to solve leadership problems.
A must reading!
Bruce Razban,
President/Founder, Razban Internet International,
Silicon VAlley, CA, USA
Habit for Humanity.......2007-09-30
Find your voice and inspire others to do the same. That's habit number eight. To find your voice there must be a conscience-based unity of mind, heart, body, and spirit. As an example, for a person to be fulfilled at work s/he needs to be able to use his/her talents and gifts (Mind), must be passionate about the work (Heart), must be paid fairly (body), and the work must have meaning (Spirit).
After explaining how to achieve personal voice, Covey shows how to achieve and institutionalize organizational voice. It requires the following:
1) Modeling - or setting an example to develop trust.
2) Pathfinding - creating a vision/mission, values, and strategic goals.
3) Aligning - changing structures, systems, processes, etc. to match the pathfinding.
4) Empowering - unleashing people's creativity and various other capabilities.
The concept of the Indian walking stick as a means of communicating and resolving conflict as well as the trim tabbing analogy for bringing about change are also well worth the price tag.
It's not "The Seven Habits," but it's really hard to go wrong with Covey. He genuinely seems to be focused on helping others improve in order to make the world a better place. Actually, the seven habits do weave their way in and out of this book. It also includes quite a few inspirational stories to include the father who leaves his son with the following advice on his deathbed, "Don't do life like I did. I never made a difference." For the first time the son realizes that he wanted his success to reach higher than him.
Nick McCormick - Author, Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager
Finding Identity for Self and Others.......2007-08-27
As with most of the Covey books, there are nuggets of wisdom hidden within this book, the challenge is to find them. The 8th Habit, (defined as `Find Your Voice and Inspire Others to Find Theirs'), attempts to teach one basic paradigm: That people are whole people - body, mind, heart and spirit. But its focus is on the voice. When this `voice' is defined (on page 5) by Covey as the nexus of talent, passion, need, and conscience, it is easy to relate to this foundation element of human nature - our calling or individual identity - from which our contribution to relationships (work or personal) flows.
After getting this identity piece, what may not be so easy to relate to are the next 323 pages of Covey speak, although there is an interesting discussion on the 4 intelligences - Physical, Mental, Emotional, & Spiritual - woven thru the chapters, and Appendix 2, which contains a literature review of leadership theories, was interesting! This book is recommended for those with the time and patience to pan for gold nuggets in a meandering and slow moving stream.
Stephen Covey did it again!.......2007-08-17
This is the perfect book to follow The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Read this book, get your Voice heard.
Surprised by the punch Covey still has.......2007-08-08
I expected to be underwhelmed by this volume. "More of the Covey machine," I thought. I was wrong. This book can reach a part of you that's beyond what you can get to by applying the first 7 habits. "Life changing" is an understatement.
Amazon.com
We've all been there: We know we must confront a coworker, store clerk, or friend about some especially sticky situation--and we know the encounter will be uncomfortable. So we repeatedly mull it over until we can no longer put it off, and then finally stumble through the confrontation. Difficult Conversations, by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen, offers advice for handling these unpleasant exchanges in a manner that accomplishes their objective and diminishes the possibility that anyone will be needlessly hurt. The authors, associated with Harvard Law School and the Harvard Project on Negotiation, show how such dialogues actually comprise three separate components: the "what happened" conversation (verbalizing what we believe really was said and done), the "feelings" conversation (communicating and acknowledging each party's emotional impact), and the "identity" conversation (expressing the situation's underlying personal meaning). The explanations and suggested improvements are, admittedly, somewhat complicated. And they certainly don't guarantee positive results. But if you honestly are interested in elevating your communication skills, this book will walk you through both mistakes and remedies in a way that will boost your confidence when such unavoidable clashes arise. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
Members of the Harvard Negotiation Project--which brought you the mega-bestseller Getting to YES--show you how to handle your most difficult conversations with confidence and skill.
Whether you're dealing with an underperforming employee, disagreeing with your spouse about money or child-rearing, negotiating with a difficult client, or simply saying "no," or "I'm sorry," or "I love you," we attempt or avoid difficult conversations every day. Based on fifteen years of research at the Harvard Negotiation Project, Difficult Conversations walks you through a step-by-step proven approach to having your toughest conversations with less stress and more success. You will learn:
how to start the conversation without defensiveness
why what is not said is as important as what is
ways of keeping and regaining your balance in the face of attacks and accusations
how to decipher the underlying structure of every difficult conversation
Filled with examples from everyday life, Difficult Conversations will help you on the job, at home, or out in the world. It is a book you will turn to again and again for advice, practical skills, and reassurance.
"Does this book deliver on [its] promise of an effective way through sticky situations, whether 'with your baby sitter or your biggest client'? It does."-- The New York Times
"These talented communicators blend a daunting array of disciplines into highly readable and practical advice."-- Booklist
"Brilliant. . . . I've already re-read most of it. I'm using it. What more could a reader ask?"-- Tom Peters
"Emotional Intelligence applied to life's tough moments."-- Daniel Goleman
Download Description
"What is a difficult conversation? Asking for a raise. Ending a relationship. Saying ""no"" to your boss or spouse. Confronting disrespectful behavior. Apologizing. Conversations we dread, and often handle clumsily as a result, are part of all our lives: in boardrooms and family rooms, across the negotiation table and the dinner table. Now, Difficult Conversations teaches us how to handle these dialogues with more success and less anxiety. How does it work? Based on fifteen years of research and consultations with thousands of people, Difficult Conversations pinpoints what works. The authors discovered that regardless of context, the same small but crucial errors are what trip us up--and a few key adjustments can make all the difference. * The role of emotions--ours and theirs * The impact of what is said and what is not said * Why admitting our mistakes will put us in a stronger position * The truth behind the myth that women are better at expressing their emotions than men * How to respond productively in the face of personal attacks Who is this for? Filled with examples from everyday life, Difficult Conversations is certain to be an instant and lasting classic for families, neighbors, bosses, employees, customers, tenants, landlords, psychologists, teachers, and more. Who are the authors? Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen teach at Harvard Law School and at the Harvard Negotiation Project. They have consulted to countless businesspeople, governments, organizations, and communities including all parties to the negotiations on constitutional transition in South Africa; school teachers in Medellin, Colombia; and community leaders and the police department in Springfield, Massachusetts. They lecture throughout the world and have written on negotiation, conflict resolution, and communication. Bruce Patton is co-author of Getting to Yes."
Customer Reviews:
Will you ever have a hard conversation? Sure, you will! Read this book first........2007-09-21
This little book can be a great help. We all have avoided conversations we knew were going to be difficult. Often not talking made things worse, so as things became intolerable we had the discussion and things got even worse. These authors break down the inner structure of difficult conversations and how we often mishandle them. They then show us the ways in which we can turn this into a constructive process that brings more understanding, greater cooperation, and learning that will help avoid repeating the difficulties in the future.
Certainly, I can't recap the whole book in this little review, but I especially like their concept of three conversations happening within each difficult conversation. They are the debate over what happened, the feelings conversation, and the identity issues. In the what happened conversation the problem is that each side assumes it knows the truth, that they know the other party's intentions, and that they know where and how to assign blame. Of course, all this is a fiction and a waste of time. It does nothing to fix the situation or improve the process to avoid the problem in the future. The book then shows you how to have a constructive approach to the same problem. Excellent stuff!
The authors are part of the Harvard Negotiation Project and has a foreword by one of the authors of the famous book, "Getting to Yes". The book is concise, but full of very good information. I recommend it very much.
Reviewed by Craig Matteson - Ann Arbor, MI
Difficult converations.......2007-09-17
this book is well worth the read,
it is easy to get throught, and does not repeat itself.
You want to read the whole book.
nancy carlson
great read.......2007-08-27
This book is used as a textbook at the Harvard MBA. Good tool for those messy conflicts
Best Book on Communication.......2007-08-24
This is the most useful and comprehensive compendium of effective, research validated, communication concepts I have ever seen in one book. Useful for anyone who speaks with other humans, especially significant others, business colleagues and teenagers. If you are a coach, this reading is required. Difficult ideas presented in a way that makes them easy to understand and easy to apply.
Quality of Life Must Read.......2007-08-04
Difficult Conversations, by Stone, Patton, and Heen, is a foundational book in the literature of holding difficult conversations in purposeful ways. I have read it often and use its principles in my teaching and in daily life. Underlying its principles is the simple understanding that we can get better at listening, talking, and acknowledging what is actually going on in our relationships; that we create the reality of our lives by the ways in which we talk about it; and that one conversation at a time, we can choose to work with the energy of conflict instead of avoiding it. There are many good books on this topic. I suggest reading them all, starting here.
Judy Ringer is the author of Unlikely Teachers: Finding the Hidden Gifts in Daily Conflict
Book Description
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind reveals the missing link between wanting success and achieving it!
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to get rich easily, while others are destined for a life of financial struggle? Is the difference found in their education, intelligence, skills, timing, work habits, contacts, luck, or their choice of jobs, businesses, or investments?
The shocking answer is: None of the above!
In his groundbreaking Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, T. Harv Eker states: "Give me five minutes, and I can predict your financial future for the rest of your life!" Eker does this by identifying your "money and success blueprint." We all have a personal money blueprint ingrained in our subconscious minds, and it is this blueprint, more than anything, that will determine our financial lives. You can know everything about marketing, sales, negotiations, stocks, real estate, and the world of finance, but if your money blueprint is not set for a high level of success, you will never have a lot of money—and if somehow you do, you will most likely lose it! The good news is that now you can actually reset your money blueprint to create natural and automatic success.
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind is two books in one. Part I explains how your money blueprint works. Through Eker's rare combination of street smarts, humor, and heart, you will learn how your childhood influences have shaped your financial destiny. You will also learn how to identify your own money blueprint and "revise" it to not only create success but, more important, to keep and continually grow it.
In Part II you will be introduced to seventeen "Wealth Files," which describe exactly how rich people think and act differently than most poor and middle-class people. Each Wealth File includes action steps for you to practice in the real world in order to dramatically increase your income and accumulate wealth.
If you are not doing as well financially as you would like, you will have to change your money blueprint. Unfortunately your current money blueprint will tend to stay with you for the rest of your life, unless you identify and revise it, and that's exactly what you will do with the help of this extraordinary book. According to T. Harv Eker, it's simple. If you think like rich people think and do what rich people do, chances are you'll get rich too!
Download Description
"
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind reveals the missing link between wanting success and achieving it!
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to get rich easily, while others are destined for a life of financial struggle? Is the difference found in their education, intelligence, skills, timing, work habits, contacts, luck, or their choice of jobs, businesses, or investments?
The shocking answer is: None of the above!
In his groundbreaking
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, T. Harv Eker states: ""Give me five minutes, and I can predict your financial future for the rest of your life!"" Eker does this by identifying your ""money and success blueprint."" We all have a personal money blueprint ingrained in our subconscious minds, and it is this blueprint, more than anything, that will determine our financial lives. You can know everything about marketing, sales, negotiations, stocks, real estate, and the world of finance, but if your money blueprint is not set for a high level of success, you will never have a lot of money -- and if somehow you do, you will most likely lose it! The good news is that now you can actually reset your money blueprint to create natural and automatic success.
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind is two books in one. Part I explains how your money blueprint works. Through Eker's rare combination of street smarts, humor, and heart, you will learn how your childhood influences have shaped your financial destiny. You will also learn how to identify your own money blueprint and ""revise"" it to not only create success but, more important, to keep and continually grow it.
In Part II you will be introduced to seventeen ""Wealth Files,"" which describe exactly how rich people think and act differently than most poor and middle-class people. Each Wealth File includes action steps for you to practice in the real world in order to dramatically increase your income and accumulate wealth.
If you are not doing as well financially as you would like, you will have to change your money blueprint. Unfortunately your current money blueprint will tend to stay with you for the rest of your life, unless you identify and revise it, and that's exactly what you will do with the help of this extraordinary book. According to T. Harv Eker, it's simple. If you think like rich people think and do what rich people do, chances are you'll get rich too!
"
Customer Reviews:
Highly recommended!.......2007-10-06
T. Harv Eker has written an excellent book that makes you look into yourself to help identify what is holding you back from achieving your financial goals. In reading this book, you challenge your assumptions about yourself and he makes you think if you are truly willing to do what it takes to be rich. Extremely worthwhile and I will pursue additional materials and opportunities to hear Mr. Eker speak.
Mind Over Matter.......2007-10-01
The key to achieving any goal is to mentally determine that it can be done and that you will accomplish it. This book will help you develop the mentality that will increase your odds of gaining wealth. That quest starts out with a bit of house cleaning. The author first helps you to unlearn all of the bad habits that are holding you back financially. After that foundation is laid, he goes on to layout his philosophies the mind set needed to get rich.
I was uncomfortable with his references to the "universe." He seems to use this term in place of God. I've never heard people speak in that way. Otherwise it is a great read.
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind .......2007-09-28
Harv Eker has hit the "nail on the head" with this exciting, upbeat, and challenging "How to" for those of us that want to break out of the poor mentality. I have read many books on this subject but Harv brings new insights into a well writen about arena. He has "passion" about his ideas and suggestions for mastering the inner game of Wealth. My wife and I have both read this book and go back and re-read many time. Good STUFF!!
Very Interesting.......2007-09-19
This book is not about how to invest in the market or any get rich quick scheme. It is a holistic approach to how successful people think and do. Although the topic is about having money, it first questions how you feel about having money. The first part is quite interesting as it gives various examples of how, through conditioning, we have opinions which have been formed at an early age, about money. There are NLP ties throughout this book.
Then Eker introduces 17 "wealth files" which each have various strategies, illustrations and comparisons for those that earn money and those who don't. The message is still clear that you must go and take action as nothing is going to simply fall into your lap. That being said, it begins with the mindset first.
This book is well written, and is a fast read. It is also equipped with many great one liner's, metaphors and stories.
Eliot Hoppe
Author - Selling: Powerful New Strategies for Sales Success
You get to say how it will go..........2007-09-11
This is an awesome read for anyone. It is especially poignant for those who know they have what it takes to make it big; but continue to not master whatever it is that they need to get there. These ideas and concepts can be applied to life; not just creating wealth. T. Harve Eker does a great job of relating to his audience in easy going everyday terminology.
I have been quoting this book since the very first day I listen to the CD. This is a well done first rate book; buy it for your Dad, your Mom, your Brother, Sister; anyone that you care about.
Book Description
The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: artists, inventors, storytellers-creative and holistic "right-brain" thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn't. Drawing on research from around the world, Pink outlines the six fundamentally human abilities that are absolute essentials for professional success and personal fulfillment-and reveals how to master them. A Whole New Mind takes readers to a daring new place, and a provocative and necessary new way of thinking about a future that's already here.
Customer Reviews:
Art Teachers Summer Read.......2007-09-10
Great book to read while I consider my level of burnout. It was interesting and made me want to find out more. I would like to implement some of his straegies with my high school art kids. Thanks.
Faster than you think.......2007-08-28
We are undergoing enormous change and at a pace that seems to be getting faster all the time. This book is an invaluable tool for all of us if we know how to use it properly. He is pointing us in the right direction - now it is up to us to go and do something with the advice he has provided. I loved this book and would strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to have a whole new life.
Excellent tool for personal excellence........2007-08-15
What I love is when a book isn't just conceptual; it's practical. A Whole New Mind fits that bill nicely.
Dan Pink does a great job of not only laying out the essential principles to a well-rounded, complete way to bring your best to work, but he also gives excellent examples and resources to learn from and develop your capabilities.
Well researched, a great read, entertaining, and immensely useful. I highly recommend it.
Thought Provoking.......2007-08-14
What a fascinating take on the age of "Abundance, Asia and Automation." Pink's reflection on what these three realities mean to today's young people and what their future may be has really changed my outlook on my children's future. Among the most important and affirming things that Pink says is that we need "an artist in every room." Amen to that!
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.......2007-08-12
Thought provoking. Right on in describing the transformation that our global economy is moving towards.
Books:
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- The Great Bust Ahead: The Greatest Depression in American and UK History is Just Several Short Years Away. This is your Concise Reference Guide to Understanding Why and How Best to Survive It
- The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co.
- The Lean Pocket Guide
- The Lean Pocket Guide
- The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More
- The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course In Finance for Non-Financial Managers
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
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- America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
- Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Business Ethics and Society
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- A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
- Workbook on Cointegration
- Autobody repairing and repainting
- The Great Recession With a Postscript on Stagflation
- The Year of the Intern
Motivation & Self-Improvement
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