Customer Reviews:
5 Stars but poorly structured for a book on structure.......2007-02-14
Excellent content but poorly structured for a book on structure. Ms. Minto must like to sell consulting services with her book.
Superb content, poor presentation.......2006-05-11
I read the Pyramid Principle in 1995 and dutifully trained myself to use it, with a little help from a class with Ms. Minto.
The hardest part was realizing that the Pyramid Principle isn't about forcing your current writing into Minto's structure; it's having the courage to tear your argument apart and recraft it if you can't support it in a properly constructed pyramid.
It took effort and practice to master, but it was well worth it. My writing has been widely published, and my articles are often praised for their clarity. The clarity comes from Minto, plain and simple.
They should pipe this into a hospital room to save on anesthesia.......2006-02-07
It is VERY slow going, but you *do* get the impression that this is an important skill to have. The tips are good, and the examples are easy to comprehend. I dont think they should wait until you're in business to learn this. They should teach the Principle in highschool!... if you could stay awake long enough to learn it.
You Must Practice What You Read.......2006-01-09
I purchased this book primarily because it was referenced by several authors of other Mckinsey books that I've read. I was taken aback by the price of the book but I'm of the school of thought that great ideas need not come in large packages. As like many of the other reviewers, I found this book a tough read and had to break it down into smaller bite size readings. What I did that help me tremedously was build a Pyramid chart capturing the SCQ ---Answer using sticky notes. Once built, I was able to easily see the ideas she was presenting and was able to clarify my thinking and writing substantially.
For years I struggled with getting my ideas out of my head and onto paper coherently. Now, I have a great tool that speeds this process up and get my point across succintly.
Hard to find, hard to read, expensive, puts you to sleep, but brilliant and unique! A must read!.......2005-09-26
After an exhaustive search, I ordered this book directly from the author. Make sure to get the more recent 1996 edition, not the 1987 edition.
The book is awesome in that it applies concepts in a way that I haven't seen anywhere else!
I haven't finished the book yet, it is painful to read, partly because Minto doesn't always apply her own principles! However, there are many great diagrams, and the examples cited are entertaining. For example, she provides examples of "intellectually blank assertions".
I force myself to read a chapter in the book each month. It is painfully intellectual, and sometimes puts me to sleep. But many great books are that way.
I bought the book to help me with my business proposal writing. This book is well worth it, especially for all consultants and business people.
Book Description
In Five Key Principles of Corporate Performance Management, Bob Paladino shares his decades of experience to provide proven, real-world implementation insights from globally recognized and award-winning organizations. You’ll discover what today’s Fortune 100 companies are doing right, and how to implement their enterprise techniques and strategies within your own organization to maximize success.
Customer Reviews:
Five Key Principles is meaningful and actionable.......2007-08-20
Mr. Paladino has incorporated CPM theory, practical application, professional experiences, and proven practices from a variety of top-notch organizations into one concise book. CPM novices and experts alike will find the content meaningful and actionable.
Excellent Practical Advice for Implementing CPM in Your Organization.......2007-08-20
Five Key Principles of Corporate Performance Management (CPM) is an excellent book for you if you are looking to improve business performance by installing CPM processes and tools or for refining your existing processes and tools. While so many books talk and remain at at a high level, and make no mistake the five key principles provide a strong model for implementing CPM, Bob Paladino provides real-life examples that show the model has been proven and tested. The examples also serve to help customize your implementation of the the five key principles for the unique challenges and strengths of your organization.
Five Key Principles of Corporate Performance Management builds and extends on the proven Kaplan/Norton Strategy Focused Organization methodology. If you are interested in vastly improving your corporate performance using proven methodology and information gathered from real-world implementations, I highly recommend this book.
Real-World Experience TrumpsTheory Every Time.......2007-08-12
So many of the business books available today are written by authors with little practical experience to back them up. It's very easy to come up with a theoretical approach to improving business performance. The problem is, most theories don't account for the realities of the business environment that only real-life, in-the-trenches experience teaches. Instead of selling an approach to performance management developed in an academic or theoretical environment, Bob Paladino has instead brought to this book real-world examples of how actual companies, by applying his five key principles, have achieved measurable and ongoing success. The book is straight-forward, and offers a broad-enough cross sampling of case studies that the reader is able to find commonality to which they can link their own efforts at performance management. Clearly not a one-size fits all approach, but rather practical advice from someone who's been there before, and succeeded at achieving measurable and lasting results.
A Collection of Fascinating Case Studies.......2007-08-08
Bob Paladino adeptly utilizes award winning companies to illustrate the implementation of the 5 Key Principles. The easy to follow exhibits and best practice sidebars included provide additional support and illustration to the cases.
Bob emphasizes the importance of a dedicated CPM office, as well as tips on dealing with corporate silos and cross functional cooperation to address the key concepts necessary to reach strategic goals.
This book is an outstanding reference and primer for both executives, consultants, and students to better understand the necessary practices to achieve process excellence and ultimately financial success.
Highly recommended .......2007-08-06
Whether you have been engaged directly in organizational performance management for years or are seeking an introduction to the topic, this book should be extremely valuable. It is clear that the author has many years of "hands on" and practical experience yet he also puts forth a comprehensive and excellent conceptual model of performance management.
The book is both stimulating and a fun read. While other books may go into a great amount of detail on particular aspects of performance management, the author stays at a level that holds the attention of the reader while providing ample real life examples to make the material understandable.
This is probably the first book to complete the circle of organizational performance management in such a comprehensive manner. What I found especially helpful was that the author taps into the knowledge from a variety of quality and performance management organizations.
Highly recommended.
Book Description
The Anatomy of Successful Problem Solving
How do great leaders solve problems differently from the rest of us? In
Breakthrough Thinking you will learn the seven steps consistently used by those who solve problems most creatively. By taking an analytical approach, Nadler and Hibino discovered that there is a specific method used to successfully make decisions that is both teachable and duplicable. This program is now presented to you in this volume.
"Finally, we have a beautifully lucid book which tells you how to get from here to there—how to get to 'excellence.'"
—Warren Bennis, co-author of Leaders
"I've used
Breakthrough Thinking now for a few years and have found it transformative. It really is a different paradigm of thinking that leads to powerful changes in the way I look at problems and how I practice organizational change."
—William Chandon, Organizational Competency Building, Corporate Knowledge Program, Computer Sciences Corporation
"I have had a 'breakthrough experience' after reading
Breakthrough Thinking. I want to thank both Professor Nadler and Professor Hibino for the thought-provoking ideas presented in the book."
—Dick Keller, president, Kellerco
Customer Reviews:
Not quite a breakthrough.......2004-01-18
It's fair to say that the breakthrough touted by the authors occured quite some time back - I don't think that any of the 7 principles suggested could be said to be new or even that they are brought together in a new framework.
Regardless, if you haven't used these principles before then it is likely to be something of a breakthrough. The authors present a remarkably well planned overview of the steps needed to come to creative solutions to problems.
Many readers are likely to find hints of De Bono, Senge and even some NLP in the reading. That shouldn't detract from the book though - it brings some rather disparate structures together to achieve an extremely beneficial approach to thinking and problem solving.
4 stars because it could have been edited down by 50 pages without detracting from the message.
Many thanks to Professors Nadler and Hibino.......2003-01-07
This is an excellent book. It is well written. The authors have excellent credentials and convincingly outline the seven principles of creative problem solving in the most lucid terms.
Readers will find that many of the individual ideas, concepts, considerations and perspectives are familiar. However, as Proust stated, the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. Professors Nadler and Hibino show that you, and any group that you are part of, can significantly increase your chances of achieving breakthroughs if you adopt a certain approach to solving problems and making decisions. It is a purpose-directed approach. The focus is on the solution, not the problem.
They proceed to outline this approach in some detail. It includes a holistic set of steps to guide your use of the seven principles. They also describe a number of optional tools. When adapted to your own style and circumstances, and used in context, these tools really do maximise your chances of achieving breakthroughs e.g.
· `Exploration and expansion of purposes' enables you to creatively find the right problem to work on
· `Solution after next' helps to unfetter the team's creativity, to rise above current limitations, wrong assumptions and misconceptions - whether conscious or subconscious - and to ensure that today's solution is future-oriented and innovative
· `System matrix' facilitates a comprehensive consideration of all aspects of a solution thus maximising the chances of successful implementation
The thinking skills outlined in this book and ensuing practice can serve you well for the rest of your life. These skills are so fundamental, they can be beneficially applied in countless ways and in countless situations - both business and personal.
I first read this book six months ago and have no hesitation in recommending it.
Nothing new!.......2002-11-30
This book is incredibly tedious to read. I don't agree with previous reviewers that its worth the slog. There was nothing new or innovative in the concepts extolled in the book - this is just another methodology to get you from A to B (or maybe A to C if you adopt the Solution After Next principle). Like all methodologies, you can very quickly lose sight of where you're going because there's so much involved in working your way through the 7 principles. Also, didn't anyone else find the idea of the System Matrix overkill? I mean you could spend months working on a System Matrix before you got to move onto the next stage - an onerous task in the extreme. If you want to read this book, go ahead - it won't do you any harm. You may feel as excited about it as previous reviewers here. I guess all I'm saying is that its not for everybody.
A Book Every Problem Solver and Decision Maker Should Read.......2002-05-09
Stephen Covey observed the main problem we face often is not the problem itself but how we see it. Breakthrough Thinking, like Why Didn't I Think of That? - Think the Unthinkable, changes the way you approach problems by challenging your old perspectives and giving you new tools for obtaining deeper, clearer insights into problems and decisions at hand. This ia a book to place on the shelf where you keep your most prized works, the ones you reread over and over again.
Solve Problems More Effectively.......2001-06-20
I'd have to agree with the majority of other reviews here: this book is definitely a "reader and keeper." Yes, it is somewhat hard to get through; the writing style isn't easy, but it changed the way I thought about projects in my business. The seven principles have broad applicability in solving life's problems. I first read this book in 1991 and I've re-read it a couple of times since to refresh myself on the concepts.
Book Description
To hand down the wisdom he had gained from years of battles, more than two millennia ago the famous Chinese general Sun Tzu wrote the classic work on military strategy, The Art of War. Because business, like warfare, is dynamic, fast-paced, and requires an effective and efficient use of scarce resources, modern executives have found value in Sun Tzu's teachings. But The Art of War is arranged for the military leader and not the CEO, so making connections between ancient warfare and today's corporate world is not always easy. Now, in Sun Tzu and the Art of Business, Mark R. McNeilly shows how Sun Tzu's strategic principles can be successfully applied to modern business situations. Here are really two books in one: Mark McNeilly's synthesis of Sun Tzu's ideas into six strategic principles for the business executive plus the entire text of Samuel B. Griffith's popular translation of The Art of War. McNeilly explains how to gain market share without inciting competitive retaliation ("Win All Without Fighting"), how to attack a competitor's weak points ("Avoid Strength and Strike Weakness"), and how to maximize the power of market information for competitive advantage ("Deception and Foreknowledge"). He also demonstrates the value of speed, preparation, and secrecy in throwing the competition off-balance, employing strategy to beat the competition ("Shape Your Opponent"), and the need for character in successful leaders. In his final chapter, McNeilly presents a practical method to put Sun Tzu and The Art of Business into practice. By using modern examples throughout the book from GE, Microsoft, ATandT, BMW, Southwest Airlines, FedEx, and many others, he illustrates how, by following the wisdom of history's most respected strategist, executives can avoid the pitfalls of management fads and achieve lasting competitive advantage. Even though down-sizing continues to increase corporate competition, and new technology constantly changes the playing field, the basics of business and strategy remain essentially unchanged. Sun Tzu and the Art of Business illuminates the fundamental strategic principles, providing lessons every manager must know to succeed today.
Customer Reviews:
Practical application of a classic book on strategy.......2004-08-04
McNeilly's book is a terrific introduction on how to apply the principles taught by this classic book on strategy.
As a marketing representative for my company, I use these principles everyday, in order to win business, and frustrate my competitors.
I always recommend McNeilly's books as a starting point to anyone wanting to learn about strategy.
Pragmatic Look @ Sunzi's (Sun Tzu) Principles of Strategy........2004-08-03
Mr. McNeilly book on Sunzi (Sun Tzu)is one of my favorite books on practical strategic application. ...
As a sftwr developer-prjct mgmt consultant, found his ["Six Strategic Principles"] to be pragmatically effective in any strategic challenges. ...
Also, technically abstract enough where the reader(-implementer of the ["Six Strategic Principles"]) can devise their own spin to their own strategic challenges. ...
The examples that are introduced were efficient enough for me to understand. ...
Have successfully utilized [McNeilly's Six Principles] for different strategic scenarios (i.e., market research, product development, close quarters negotiation, etc.).
McNeilly's book is one of those few books that's worth re-reading once a year for a mental refresher course. ... (Yes! This Cardinal does re-read this book once per yr.)
Have recommend this book to my assoc(s). Also, given away many copies of this book to those who are interested in Sunzi Strategic Principles.
Overall, I find his writing to be extremely sharp; his ability to explain how to apply Sunzi (Sun Tzu) principles to military conflict and business is nothing short of extraordinary.
Recommend this book to anyone who is serious about strategy.
Entertaining read, but unsatisfying.......2003-02-24
This book doesn't seem to be too detailed in it's examples and explanations. The basic principles are given, but there is not enough about the actual successful applications of these principles. I felt frustrated throughout the book when he would continually make references to a brief overview of a military event to prove his point or when he mentions "a well known company." The "well known companies," he would use these as support for his arguments/theories on how to apply them in business. He would say how the companies did this and that, and brought about certain results. I was left so frustrated because I wanted DETAILS! I wanted to know who these companies were and see for myself what happened and what significance it had to the company. Sadly, he hardly gives you any of this.
You are better off reading books written by Executives(active or retired). They will give you a perspective that is more pragmatic and more 'ordinary' if you will. And don't make shortcuts, actually read 'The Art of War' if you care about this topic.
Great book for people w/o a business sense!.......2002-08-30
Ignore the first review of this book - it seems to be by a person who's not read it, but feels that they know what it's about.
I'm finding this book an ESPECIALLY great read, coming from a non-business point of view.
If anything, I'm an engineer, and this book clearly lays out things that make you think "hmm, that's plainly clear, but I would have never realized it".
It doesn't give you answers on how to run your own business, but it gives you the methods for finding them.
highly recommented
You must read it!.......2002-06-07
The Art of War (the traduction is included in the book) in itself is very interesting. Even if it was written more than 2000 years ago, you can still learn from those principles.
The work made by Mark K McNeilly helps the reader to apply the greats principles ot Sun Tzu works in modern business life. The six principles are related to strategic management and really make sense.
It's clear and interesting. You must read it!
Book Description
You have an individual style that's all your own. It's reflected in how you look, act, even in how you learn. Now, there's a management book written specifically for the way you learn best. Whether you prefer to listen, see, read or act, you'll find the learning style or combination of learning approaches that appeal to you within this innovative, streamlined text and media-driven package. EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT, 3e blends intriguing visuals and an engaging story-telling approach with proven learning features that delve beyond mere memorization. You'll explore individual and group decision making, ethical practices, self-assessments that inventory your personal management abilities, and more. New videos provide behind-the-scenes management insights from well-known organizations or explore short scenes from major motion pictures that demonstrate management principles in action. The EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT Online multimedia resource offers award-winning study modules, audio lectures, author video tutorials, and self-quizzes to ensure you're ready for the next test. The new integrated ThomsonNow™ for Management online learning system helps you efficiently manage and complete homework, with personalized learning paths that maximize study time as you focus only on the areas most challenging for you. With EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT, 3e you won't just learn, you'll live the management experience.
Product Description
Instructor Required Material This COMPLETE textbook includes not only the paperback copy textbook new, but also contains the Online Edition. This is a complete interactive study guide with quizzing functionality that reports to the instructor. This text also has animated figures and graphs that bring the print graphic to life for deeper understanding. The complete text is available word for word online as well, so you do not have to bring the print copy to class or with you as you travel. We sell our products to students at a 25% discount for the NEW and complete textbook package. What do students say about the Atomic Dog Online Edition? Survey Results 80% of students found that the end-of chapter quizzes helped them review and prepare for exams. Among students using the Online Edition, 72% found that interactive figures (animations, video, audio) made concept easier to understand than images or text. Among students using the Online Edition, 82% found that studying with the online text improved their overall learning experience.
Book Description
Strategies for intelligent risk-taking, from a former professional high-diver and corporate workshop leader
Customer Reviews:
Excellent, inspirational, intelligently thought out.......2007-02-07
I met Bill Treasurer when he came to one of our Writing Salon writing workshops. Immediately I was impressed by his quiet confidence, by his willingness to just try things and see what happened. Then I read his book, and realized that his stability and enthusiasm were based on strong philosophical foundations. He talks about his philosophy of risk, and why it is vital for a happy and fulfilled life, in a way that anyone can understand and be inspired by. He sets out what you can do in practical steps, with questions that help you assess where you are on the spectrum of healthy risk-taking.
I had made a life-changing decision a few years before I read the book. While I am very happy with it deep down, I question it constantly because the details of life can be tough. Bill's book helped me focus on what's truly important in leading a happy life, and helped confirm my gut feeling taht the decision was correct. It helped me to put aside the distracting complaints and whining that sap my energy and confidence, and embrace the risk and the flavor and excitement it brings to living.
I recommend this book to anyone: anyone contemplating a risk, anyone who feels that a risk that keeps inviting them to take might just be too risky, and anyone who has taken a risk and questions whether it was worth while.
Right Risk: 10 Powerful Principles for Taking Giant Leaps with Your Life.......2005-07-17
You would think that stunt performers are the ultimate risk takers. Speaking as a stunt performer in Hollywood, let me tell you that there are all kinds of risks. Bill Treasurer taps into all of them.
Certainly my colleagues and I have few fears tackling physical obstacles, however when it comes to financial risks, emotional risks or other personal risks that are considered outside the box, OUR box, we share the same fears as any. I've recommended this read to my colleagues to give us insight into why we do the crazy things we do, but also to help us attack fears that hold us back from succeeding in all aspects of life.
So, don't think you are the only scaredy-cat out there. We come in all packages and we all need a little help from time to time. Thanks, Bill, for putting your thoughts on paper for all of us to share.
Thought-provoking!.......2005-02-01
From the first pages of this book, I found myself reading more and more slowly. This book made me think. I was forced to assess my current status, and challenge what my I believed had been my real "risks" in life. Now I realize I play it safe. A lot.
This book came at a point where I was making a change in my career, and it helped me think about what I want to do and how to get there. I particularly liked Bill's concepts of Golden Silence and having a personal mantra. Sounds a little "groovy", I know, but these concepts are effective.
Armed with my new mantra ("challenge the assumption") and my high-lighted copy of Right Risk, I feel ready to be courageous as I face a career change. Thanks, Bill!
This book is a good risk.......2004-11-03
Bill Treasurer's book came along at a great time for my husband and I. I have never thought of myself as someone willing to take risks or even enjoy the prospect of a risk. I have always sought the shelter of safety. Reading "Right Risk" helped us understand that we need to evaluate taking risks in the same way I might look at an investment. That is, find my comfort zone and then stretch it a little.
For us, the message of the book became particularly relevant when we were considering a move to another state. There were all sorts of reasons - all related to safety - why we should stay put. But "Right Risk" helped us to evaluate all of the things that we might gain and to put value on those. Bottom line, we took the risk and have been rewarded.
"Right Risk" is a great book to help you particularly as you contemplate a life-changing decision. It is well worth the time to read.
Just in time.......2004-09-10
After a head on collision two years ago, I doubted my ability to recover and whether I would ever walk again. Reading "Right Risk" provided me with the impetus to move forward by taking many risks from finally driving a car again to returning to work at a time when jobs are hard to come by.
Right Risk has helped me focus on what's important in my life from my family to friends and making contact with relatives that I haven't seen in many years. I can relate to the nine limiting scripts as I have experienced most of them. It's good to know that I am not alone.
Right Risk is a well written book, and I encourage everyone to read it, as we are all exposed to some sort of risk each and every day of our lives, and we need to know how to overcome our fear of risk. Accolades to Bill Treasurer.
Average customer rating:
- Conscious Capitalism is a must for the new century.
- Just in time! Healing our malignant business procedures.
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Conscious Capitalism: Principles for Prosperity
David A. Schwerin
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ASIN: 0750670215 |
Book Description
Conscious Capitalism shows how the principles of ancient wisdon are directly relevant to modern day business. Drawing on thirty years of financial and executive experience, Schwerin addresses contemporary issues faced regularly by people worldwide. Personal experiences, corporate field trip, and interviews with top executives bring both the anguish and the triumph of our business world to life. Conscious Capitalism's most significant contribution is its practical integration of formerly enshrouded principles with todays's frenetic world of investing and commerce.
A finance specialist's view of economics AND wisdom
Applies principles of ancient Egyptian wisdom to modern business situations
Good balance of personal anecdotes and in-depth research/business case studies
Customer Reviews:
Conscious Capitalism is a must for the new century........1999-08-13
In 'Conscious Capitalism' David Schwerin goes beyond what we normally consider business ethics. He gives his readers a deep spiritual foundation for values in business, something that we've rarely seen in the twentieth century but that will surely be crucial for the twenty-first century.
Author David Schwerin is that rare combination of successful businessman and esoteric scholar. And this combination makes for a fascinating book, both instructive and insightful, and with compelling examples and stories.
If any reader wants to know what spiritual and ethical business will look like in the future, this is the book to read. We can't recommend it highly enough!
Just in time! Healing our malignant business procedures........1998-05-30
David Schwerin has brought fresh, new insights into a business model primarily concerned with power and greed to one based on caring and ethics. His years of experience and his wisdom and understanding propose a timely new model which will provide healing to each individual touched by business procedures. His personal illustrations and documentations have added power to his ideas. The inspiration and dedication to these new principles is peppered with humorous subtitles and phrases. While proposing an ideal model, the book also gives practical illustrations and specific guidelines to effect change. It takes us from self-defeating practices to a winning archetype. A great inspiration!
Book Description
This book provides a synthesis of the theory of decision making and its practical application in decision analysis. It gives an up-to-date account of the subject, and is intended for both students and specialists, and as a handbook for those who need to apply decision analysis in practice. Part 1 provides a detailed guide to the principles of decision theory. The authors introduce the literature on key ideas such as value theory, subjective probability theory and utility theory, and assess how these ideas, developed for individual decision makers, may apply to decision-making within organisations. Part 2 deals with the various strategies and techniques employed in decision analysis, and the application of decision theory in particular, documented cases. The authors also appraise the validity and usefulness of these procedures of decision synthesis. The book will be of interest to students and teachers of the theory and practice of decision analysis, and to psychologists, economists and operations researchers in universities and business schools; it will also be invaluable as a handbook to these and to professional managers in business and government, and to management consultants.
Book Description
Most people think meetings are all too often a waste of time. But Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff say that’s only because of the way most meetings are set up and run. In Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There! they offer ten principles that will allow you to get more done in meetings by doing less. The key is knowing what you can and can’t control. You can’t control people’s motives, behavior, or attitudes. That’s one area where most meeting leaders’ attempts to "do something" actually end up doing nothing at all. But you can control the conditions under which people interact, and you can control your own reactions. Based on over 30 years of experience and extensive research, Weisbord and Janoff show exactly how to establish a meeting structure that will create conditions for success, efficiency, and productivity. And, equally important, they offer advice for making sure your own emotions don’t get in the way — for knowing when to "just stand there" rather than intervene inappropriately, unproductively, or futilely.
Customer Reviews:
An absolute "must-read" for business leaders, human resource personnel, and group managers of all fields........2007-09-03
Don't Just Do Something, Stand There!: Ten Principles for Leading Meetings That Matter is a practical guide to organizing and leading productive business meetings. Rather than fruitlessly try to change someone's behavior, Don't Just Do Something, Stand There! emphasizes the importance of changing the conditions under which people interact. Packed with techniques for helping people discover common ground, apply dissent to positive and productive use, and promote responsibility through action in oneself and others, Don't Just Do Something, Stand There! is both insightful and inspirational. "Act when you hear people make statements so emotionally charged that they put themselves at risk of being isolated or labeled... Sometimes people jump in to challenge the statement, putting the speaker on the defensive. The temptation is to let the antagonists have it out while everybody watches.... You can do better. What is needed now is neither confrontation nor a search for 'truth'. Rather, you need to head off the split so that people keep working. The best way to do that is to get an informal subgroup for the risk taker... Usually we discover they have a spectrum of frustrations. Speakers see that they are not alone. Frustration is OK. Confrontation is avoided. Everyone has new information on where others stand. The group moves on." An absolute "must-read" for business leaders, human resource personnel, and group managers of all fields.
A must have for new and experienced facilitators.......2007-08-14
There are very few people anywhere who know more about how to lead and run groups than Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff. Twenty years ago they designed Future Search Conferences. Since then they have used these conferences to work with businesses, organizations, communities and diverse cultural groups around the world. Even more importantly, they have trained hundreds of other people to lead and run these conferences. Unlike other books that teach you about group techniques for your tool kit, this book talks about the person carrying the tool kit. The authors share what they have learned about the skills you need for group work: how to become conscious and discern the energy and spirit in groups; how to develop a positive attitude; how to create workable boundaries and structures; how to sense changes and transitions; how to handle confusion and chaos; how to respect the self-organizing capacity of groups; how, to determine how, when, and if you should intervene; how to build positive relationships in a group; and how to foster and support emerging visions. It's all in the book-in plain language, descriptive images and meaningful stories. If you lead or run groups, regardless of the process, or even if you are simply a participant in a group and want to help your group become more effective, this book, based upon years of practical experience, will prove invaluable.
Powerful tool for facilitating meetings.......2007-08-13
I have just stepped into the world of facilitation six months ago after switching from Investmente Banking to Human Resources at my company. My personal interest consists in helping people find insipration in their places of work, and this book was a powerful guide since it starts stating that we don't have to teach anything to anybody; rather, it focuses on describing how to set appropriate conditions so that people can be able to cooperate, one meeting at a time.
Keeping Hope Alive, One Meeting at a Time.......2007-07-14
This book is much more than a menu for how to run meetings more effectively, although yes, it is filled with strikingly simple and practical steps to make a gathering of any kind more humane and productive. But in a deeper context, it embodies a particular theory and philosophy of leadership and planning that recognize that every person does the best they can with what they have, and that people come equipped with the capacity for extraordinary cooperation if given a chance to use their own experience and wisdom. Moreover, it is based on a set of principles that synthesize a century of research on the conditions and structures that are most likely to bring out the best in human beings, regardless of nationality, politics, culture, and other boundaries. It provides the reader with tools to create an environment and energy level that celebrate the magnificent diversity of our species and, at the same time, enable the discovery of common ground and shared aspirations. Such a balance between honoring diversity and discovering common ground provides the foundation for previously unlikely action to make the world more just and peaceful. As I reflect on my 30 years as a physician, public health leader, and public servant, I now realize, after reading this remarkable book, that remarkable outcomes are indeed possible when people gather and engage in the higher level of dialogue and conversation represented here. The principles, exquisitely described in this book, provide powerful guideposts for creating humane public policy and systems. More, the application of these principles can pave the way for effective grassroots programs that continue for years. By demonstrating that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results when given the time and space to work from their own experience and uniqueness, Weisbord and Janoff make a major contribution to the urgent challenge to keep hope alive in our troubled world.
Don't Just Sit There, Read This Book!.......2007-07-09
As someone who has followed the work of Marv Weisbord and Sandra Janoff for a long time, I was not sure what they would have to say here that was new. So I was delighted and amazed to see the fullness and depth of their understanding about meeting management and facilitation. They make clear here why our conventional assumptions about how to get important things done with groups of people (not merely run common meetings) are way past outmoded. Then they give you specific techniques for managing others and managing yourself whenever people gather to do to useful work. If you ever expect to get anything done in a meeting, this is the (actually quite short) volume for you.
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- The Next Global Stage: The Challenges and Opportunities in Our Borderless World
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- The Psychology of Trading: Tools and Techniques for Minding the Markets
- The Structure and Dynamics of Networks: (Princeton Studies in Complexity)
- The Structure of Economics: A Mathematical Analysis
- Trading for a Living: Psychology, Trading Tactics, Money Management
- Unlimited Wealth: The Theory and Practice of Economic Alchemy
- Value-at-Risk: Theory and Practice
- Zapatistas: Making Another World Possible: Chronicles of Resistance 2000-2006
Books Index
Books Home
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