Reviews (16)

Great before an interview!!!!
I purchased and read this book a couple of years ago, only a few days before interviewing for a promotion at work. It caught my attention from the beginning and I couldn't put it down. During the interviewing process I answered many of the questions from info. that I had read out of (Becoming a Person of Influence.) I feel it was a major part of my getting the promotion. There were two others being interviewed that already had titles above mine and later ended up working for me. I have since purchased a number of copies of this book. I give one out to every new employee I hire, in which I'm putting in a supervisory role. It is an inspirational book along with educatinal. I would recommend it to anyone in a leadership role, work or otherwise. It is also a good rescource to go back & review now and then. It helps you stay on track as a supervisor or manager in business.

Life time guidance on how to influence people effectively
I bought this book about 3 weeks ago. Once I started reading this book, I know I can't stop reading it until I reach the final page.

In this book, John taught me on how to relate myself to others effectively. It is like I am going through a self-discovery session on some very basic elemments in human relations.

In this book John has challenged us on how to achieve Pareto Optimality in forming human relationship with one another. He doesn't leave us just as that. He has underlined the principles for all of us to refer to as at when the situation requires us to do so.

John's principles must be put into practise as the benefits are enormous not only to the practitioners but the recipients as well. I am convinced regardless of what field a person is in, this book will be a useful guidance.

Look for his other books, don't buy this one
Please consider my suggestion before you decide to buy this book.
I recommend you consider buying his other two books instead of this one.
"The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership"
"The 21 Most Powerful Minutes In A Leader's Day"

|-POSITIVE-|
I can't say anything positive about this book, I was shocked to see this author repeat same information written in other Maxwell books.

|-NEGATIVE-|
I read 5 of his books on leadership, and they all share very similar information. If you read his other books, you will not find any new ideas here. This book badly repeats what's in his other books, and its written by some guy Jim. The writing style of his other books are much better as well. I advice that you don't buy it, just look into his other books I mentioned above.

Irresistibe Approach!
Maxwell's Book is a no doubt a unique approach towards creating an irresistible personality empowering impact on others through Influence. The author offers ready reckoner tips with simple ways to influence others through positive interaction and attitude to boost up the image. Worksheets at the end of the book are great insights to put theory into practice. It sure has leadership tactics of nurturing others and having faith in people who are on the roll. Understanding is the key towards healthy relations and developing leaders. Listenening method has a proven effect of influencing others. The author suggests serving sub-ordinates and impressing them with influence to get the better results and become a person of integrity. Influencing is an art and no wonder, this comes with a positive attitude and a positive approach, anyways. A good pick.

Good Read, Would Like to Have Seen More Biblical Examples
Maxwell's book is filled with many excellent suggestions, including how to:

1. Nurture others
2. Understand others
3. Reproduce leaders
4. Developing leaders
5. Become a person of integrity
6. Mentor others
7. Listen to others and actually increase your influence.

Maxwell clearly states that integrity is the key to leadership. He also spends time on how true leaders are to spend time positively impacting others instead of clamoring for attention and personal power over others (if you want to be a true leader, learn to serve others).

However, I must honestly say that I would have liked to have seen more examples of biblical characters in leadership roles mentioned. As a Christian, I like to see see how relevant the Bible is to everyday living (including leadership). Since Maxwell is a pastor, he is well qualified to share from the Bible and his own ministerial experiences on principles of leadership.

All in all, a good read with many good summaries of improving leadership qualities. However, if you are looking for a book with more mention of biblical examples (Moses, Noah, Abraham, David, etc.), I suggest Henry and Richard Blackaby's "Spiritual Leadership". ... Read more

Book Description

New and revolutionary ideas and perspectives on the central management issues of tomorrow by the man Warren Bennis calls "the most important management thinker of our time."

In this major new work, Peter F. Drucker discusses how the new paradigms of management will change our basic assumptions about the practices and principles of management. Drucker explains "The New Information Revolution" discussing the information an executive needs and the information an executive owes. He examines knowledge-worker productivity, and he writes about the ultimate challenge of managing yourself and meeting the new demands on the individual in a longer working life and an ever-changing workplace.

Incisive, challenging and mind-stretching, Management Challenges for the 21st Century combines the wide practical experience, profound insight, sharp analysis and enlightened common sense that are the essence of Drucker's writings.

Reviews (50)

How to Manage a Company Full of Knowledge Workers
Drucker's covers a spectrum of topics which is not easily organized, but his wealth of experience (first business book written in 1939, this one written 60 years later) makes it worth reading regardless.

"One cannot manage change. Once can just be ahead of it." (pg 73)

An outline might look like this:

1) For starters, people must understand that a) Management does not only pertain to business. 90% of organizations are the same. b) There is no such thing as a RIGHT ORGANIZATION. The organization fits the task. c) In the knowledge economy, you cannot manage people. Only lead them. d) Management focus is external, not internal. "Management exists for the sake of its institution's results." (pg 39)

2) For knowledge workers, money is not enough. They require a challenge for motivation and must believe in the company mission to really perform. It is the quality of their work, not the quantity that matters.

3) Management needs to clearly define WHAT SHOULD BE DONE, rather than HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE. For manual labor, HOW matters because there are minimum quality requirements. For knowledge work, quality is a given.

4) Increasingly a company's comparative advantage will be its ability to attract and retain the most talented people. Likewise, knowledge workers should be treated as a capital asset, not as a cost.

5) Successful companies have a culture of organized abandonment. People are encouraged to abandon what does not work. It is innovation in motion. Opportunities are fed and problems starved.

6) The new Information Revolution is about concepts, not data. Going forward, IT will focus less on the T (Technology) and more on the I (Information). Once again, it is a question of quality ~ not quantity. Likewise, the ultimate test of any information system is that there are no surprises.

7) Since knowledge workers have a long working life (evidence, the author), they must actively manage their careers. To achieve this, Drucker gives straightforward advice: Know yourself. What are my strengths? How do I perform? What are my values?

8) Everyone should develop secondary interests (volunteer work, different job, hobbies) to challenge, and motivate themselves. Do not get stuck mid-career without any alternatives.

Six Major Factors of Knowledge Worker Productivity.
Peter F. Drucker writes in the Introduction, "...this is not a book of 'predictions,' not a book about the 'future.' The challenges and issues discussed in it are already with us in every one of the developed countries and in most of the emerging ones (e.g., Korea or Turkey). They can already be identified, discussed, analyzed and prescribed for. Some people, someplace, are already working on them. But so far very few organizations do, and very few executives. Those who do work on these challenges today, and thus prepare themselves and their institutions for the new challenges, will be the leaders and dominate tomorrow. Those who wait until these challenges have indeed become 'hot' issues are likely to fall behind, perhaps never to recover. This book is thus a Call for Action."

In this context, in Chapter 5 of this invaluable book, Drucker focuses on knowledge worker. He says that "the most important, and indeed the truly unique, contribution of management in the 20th century was the fifty-fold increase in the productivity of the 'manual worker' in manufacturing. The most important contribution management needs to make in the 21st century is similarly to increase the productivity of 'knowledge work' and the 'knowledge worker.' The most valuable assets of a 20th-century company were its production equipment. The most valuable asset of a 21st-century institution, whether business or nonbusiness, will be its knowledge workers and their productivity."

Thus, he defines six major factors determine knowledge worker productivity as follows:

1. Knowledge worker productivity demands that we ask the question: "What is the task?"

2. It demands that we impose the responsibility for their productivity on the individual knowledge workers themselves. Knowledge workers have to manage themselves. They have to have authonomy.

3. Continuing innovation has to be part of the work, the task and the responsibility of knowledge workers.

4. Knowledge work requires continuous learning on the part of the knowledge worker, but equally continuous teaching on the part of the knowledge worker.

5. Productivity of the knowledge worker is not-at least not primarily-a matter of the quantity of output. Quality is at least as important.

6. Finally, knowledge worker productivity requires that the knowledge worker is both seen and treated as an "asset" rather than a "cost." It requires that knowledge workers want to work for the organization in preference to all other opportunities.

He argues that each of these requirements-except perhaps the last one-is almost the exact opposite of what is needed to increase the productivity of the manual worker.

Highly recommended.

Another Great Book
Drucker is a master at Business management and a great visionary, this book is a must for anyone planning for the future--CraigAdams.net

Challenging Read!
An experienced Author's presentation 'Management Challenges for the 21st Century' is a challenging and an inspiring Read. Since years, there has been drastic changes in social and economic levels. Management requires re-shaping the business strategies from time to time. Peter offers new paradigms of management with thoughtful implementations of strategic ideas to face the critical areas, weaker spots, problems, practises and how to face in the 21st century. Slightly for the genius minds, the book demands deep business sense and profound knowledge. Management needs to indepth recognising strengths and analysing on performance, clear goals on how to achieve quality work, motivation and getting quipped with innovation. Peter argues that management will increase the productivity of the knowledge worker and with the global competitiveness, he focus on re-definition of corporate performance. Peter offer lessons with the major chapters like 'Management's New Paradigms, Strategy, The New Certainties, The Change Leader, Information Challenges, Knowledge-Worker Productivity, and Managing Oneself for the new waves. In the chapter 'The Change Leader', he clearly motivates the leaders to be ahead of times by starving the problems and feeding opportunities. The uncertainties can be overcome with change in accepting new and abandoning old patterns of management and make an increase in productivity. The Knowledge worker chapter is to enhance productivity piloting to fresh new innovative ideas. Managing oneself is a thorough learning guide as Peter leaves no room in grooming the new age management leader. An Outstanding Book for Read n Digest especially to all generation next leaders and a Must Read for existing Management CEO's to cope up with the change - Change before the Change!

A beautiful management mind!
Peter Drucker has a beautiful mind, forever fresh and overflowing with innovative thoughts. This book, published just as the master of management began his tenth decade of life, shows him at his perpetual best. The text carries with it the sweeping knowledge, deep experience, and astute analysis that a reader might expect from Drucker at this point in his life. But you will find no timid conservatism, no holding on to safe ground here. Drucker has made a lifelong habit of leading the way in business thought and this book confirms that he just can't help himself.

In contrast to the typical business book which is 200 pages too long, every chapter and every page of Management Challenges for the 21st Century relentlessly tweaks the noses of bad assumptions while focusing our attention on the future. Drucker pulls together diverse trends and forces to map out the truly new management challenges. His first chapter, "Management's New Paradigms" argues that organizations (or what ManyWorlds calls "business architecture") will have to become part of the executive's toolbox, yet we continue to operate on outdated assumptions about the role and domain of management.

Fortunately much recent management thinking explicitly challenges one assumption pulled apart by Drucker: The idea that the inside of the organization is the domain of management. This assumption, says Drucker, "explains the otherwise totally incomprehensible distinction between management and entrepreneurship". These are two aspects of the same task. Management without entrepreneurship (and vice versa) cannot survive in a world where every organization must be "designed for change as the norm and to create change rather than react to it."

Although Drucker is intent on uprooting old certainties and focusing organizations on constant change, he does not leave the reader without a compass. In the second chapter, "Strategy-The New Certainties", Drucker says that strategy allows an organization to be "purposefully opportunistic" and explains five certainties around we can shape our strategy. While other writers have addressed a couple of these, too little attention has been paid to some of the inevitabilities analyzed here, including the collapsing birthrate, shifts in the distribution of disposable income, and the growing incongruence between economic globalization and political splintering.

The book's third chapter, "The Change Leader", gives Drucker's unique perspective on the need for 21st organizations to be change leaders. "One cannot *manage* change. One can only be ahead of it." Change leaders have four qualities. They create policies to make the future which means not only continual improvement but *organized abandonment* - a practice still almost unknown in practice. Contrary to typical company reactions, change leaders will starve problems and feed opportunities. For Drucker this means, in part, having a policy of systematic innovation and - in tune with recent calls for new budgetary practices - having two separate budgets to ensure that the future-creating budget is not stopped off in difficult times.

Strong as the first chapters are, I found the other chapters of this book even more incisive. The reader may come away with the sense that many of Drucker's points are obvious, but will realize that they only *became* obvious after hearing them. In his chapter on "Information Challenges", Drucker gives his own, historically-rich, controversial, and provocative take on our current information revolution - the fourth such revolution, he says).

The man who coined the term "knowledge worker" has no shortage of fresh thoughts in the chapter on "Knowledge-Worker Productivity", and has profoundly important things to say in the final chapter on "Managing Oneself". Management Challenges for the 21st Century is, of course, essential reading for aspiring manager-entrepreneurs in these confusing times. As for aspiring business writers, I can only say: Read it and weep! ... Read more

Book Description

Have you tried to follow the old rules for success and found that they don't work anymore? Have you already achieved professional and personal success but secretly fear that you have accomplished everything that you ever will? Do you have a cherished dream that you want to realize? If so, please listen.

In this life-changing audiobook, sought-after personal coach and extreme athlete Rich Fettke doesn't just lead us down the path to success, he shows us that it can be easier and, yes, more fun. By applying the lessons he has learned from extreme sports in his sevenpart program, he shows us that learning to take risks is as important as doing your homework. Using quizzes, captivating stories, and specific step-by-step strategies, he explains how you can:

• Create your own "luck"
• Develop the courage for change
• Use partnerships and alliances to expand possibilities
• Make fear your friend
• Get -- and stay -- in the Zone

Reviews (42)

Definitely worth reading - it'll make success more enjoyable
I love the way Rich Fettke throws out the old rule book that focuses on "working hard" to succeed. EXTREME SUCCESS gave me a new outlook on how to achieve my goals and enjoy life's journey with a lot less struggle and much more fun! This book is not just about success; it's about developing a great attitude/perspective on life. It's filled with practical, do-able, ideas and inspirations that make it a book I will grab and apply to my life on a regular basis.

Fettke's use of the term "extreme" makes perfect sense. He shares wild stories from his extreme sports background as metaphors (like bungee jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge and skydiving form 14,000 feet) that lead into many great ideas he's learned from his clients on how to take your life to the highest level - to the "extreme" if you will.

Gain Without Pain
This warmly and clearly written book is an excellent guide to personal success. It contains self management skills that are transferable to any area of life. Calling on his personal experiences, his training and experience as a Life Coach, and his participation in extreme sports, Rich Fettke lights the way toward success with less struggle. He uses metaphor, powerful questions, inspirational quotes, and strategic steps to motivate and educate. The book is full of valuable tools and strategies, such as "Creating your own luck", "Working with a partner", "Applying your strengths to your weak areas", "Dancing with your fear", and "Staying in the challenge Zone." As a Life Coach, I can highly recommend EXTREME SUCCESS, sure to help each reader create a life of success, joy, and balance.

Sweet Success
As a professional personal coach I found Rich Fettke's "Extreme Success" an excellent resource for tips and techniques for use with my clients (not to mention myself!). My favorite is his idea of dealing wtih fears that inhibit us from doing the things we need to do to move forward in our lives. Called "dancing with your protector," it's an imaginative and powerful way to reframe the obstacles in our lives in a way that can actually propel us forward with a greater liklihood of success.

I host a radio program in Seattle called "The Working Life!(tm)" and have interviewed Rich about his book. I found him to be engaging and sincerely interested in helping all of us to make the most of what we've been given in this life. If we can do that--really do that--then our success will not only be extreme, but sweet.

Your Perscription for Struggle Free Success
Far too many people imply that success has to be a struggle.
Rich accesses that success can be fun and easy. It's all
about knowing what you want, putting fear aside, and
just going for it!

With a warm and friendly style, Rich shares strategies on
how to conquer fear, craft a vision of your success, create
balance, build momentum, and take action to achieve your dreams!
Grab a pen, because he's packed lots of great coaching
tools right in the book.

My favorite "aha's" came from the balance wheel and visiting
your future self. Get it and fasten your seat belt,
because it will put you on the fast track to success!

How far can you get by going it alone?
Many small business people and managers I work with hold on so tightly to the notion that self-reliance and hard work is what allowed them to achieve their success. That may be true to some extent. It's also a big reason why they sought out a professional personal coach. Somehow, they realized that something was holding them back. Fettke shows us what they've been missing -- the ability to create powerful partnering relationships and collaborate. Fettke shows us how to develop key alliances and leverage the help of other people. He gets you thinking about who and how others might give you what you need to achieve more with less effort. There are many people who can help, certainly not just coaches. Almost all great things, and great people, are built with the help of others. The quicker one discovers this simple idea, the faster and farther one will fly. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (3)

Why buy?
Hey Henry from Hong Kong...News flash...copying this tape set is illegal!! That is why you should buy it. Besides it is a great set of interviews.

library availability, but the quality is 5 stars.
Alright, i gave it a one star.
However, the quality itself is 5 star.
WHY?
Simply because this cassette tape set can be
borrowed in the library!! Why the hell would
you like to BUY it!? it is only around 3 hours
listening and you want to buy it!?
Borrow it from library and simply copy the tape
using the hi-fi!

CANI! and 2 Great Interviews
2 of the interviews here(Coach Wooden & Stephen Covey) are the best things Robbins has ever done. The interviews come across as down-to-earth and basically off the cuff. There is humor and Robbins' admiration and respect for both these men comes across clearly and adds to the tapes benefit. ... Read more

Book Description

Are your words working for you?

You say something at a meeting and it is ignored; then when someone else says the same thing, everyone embraces it as a marvelous idea. You devote yourself to a project, but don't get credit for the results. You give what you think are clear instructions, but the job is not done, or done wrong. Sometimes it seems you are not being heard, not getting credit for your efforts, not getting ahead as fast as you should.

Now, Deborah Tannen brings to the workplace the same voice, eye, and insight that made That's Not What I Meant! and You Just Don't Understand bestselling classics. In Talking From 9 to 5, she explores the special world of work -- where we spend countless hours with people we may not understand or even like, and where the way we talk determines not only how we get the job done, but how we are evaluated for our efforts. Offering powerful new ways of understanding what happens in the workplace, from the simplest exchanges to the complex contemporary issues of the glass ceiling, Tannen explains a variety of conversational styles and reveals how each of us can develop the flexibility and understanding we need.

Since the publication of You Just Don't Understand, Tannen has been told over and over, "Your book saved my marriage." Talking From 9 to 5 will have the same dramatic impact on those who are struggling with co-workers, jobs, and companies, and will help entire companies as well as individual women and men thrive in a working world made up of increasingly diverse workforces and ever-more competitive markets. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Analyzing the Communication Skills of the Opposite Sex
I feel that this book was very informational and useful with many instances in my life. It really gave me an insight to the reasons why people act how they do, and it made me comprehend my boyfriend and friends more. I have misunderstood them many times, and after reading parts of this book, I have realized what went wrong.

Deborah Tannen has effectively shown the differences between the communication styles of men and women. Although it doesn't tell either sex how to better their communication styles to close the gap, the book uses many examples of situations that people have encountered and can relate to which will help them better understand things that have happened in their life. It answers a lot of questions for a lot of people. This book is fairly easy reading, but you have to be mature to understand what is being said. If anyone is having problems with the opposite sex, then I strongly recommend this book.

Yakk...
First, it would be nice to explain, that this book is targeted to (a) women, (b) women suffering from the lack fo self-confidence, (c) women suffering from the lack of self-confidence and comfortable with blaming men for sexism on a working place. It's just too much time spent on sexes relations instead of real communications problems. Of course, difference of male and female styles of communication is a problem, you have to keep in mind, but this is not the ONLY problem. Reading the review on a boook I expected advice on improving my communication skills, not to hear a bunch of regular feministic stream of accusations of the business world. It's just misleading, useless and very unpleasant. So if you want feminist propaganda, this book is for you, if you really want improve your skills, go somewhere else.

Good explanation of male/female communication differences.
This is a useful, interesting, provocative description of differences between men's and women's speech behaviors. Tannen takes an essentially socio-cultural stance in explaining the reasons for these differences. Not only does she present coherently her ideas, her speech is crisp and animated; thus, it is a delight to listen to her. This audio is an excellent introduction to Tannen's work on this subject. I ask students enrolled in my Gender and Communication course to listen to this edited tape in lieu of purchasing the book, as this proves to be an efficient alternative to reading the entire book. For instructors similarly inclined, I recommend purchasing two or three copies to be placed on reserve in the university library.

The book by Deborah Tannen is enlightening!
Not only I did I personally enjoy the content of this book, but I sincerely wanted my boyfriend, co-workers, and family to read it as well. Her insight is easily applied to everyday life and I appreciate her many references demonstrating her research instead of "pop psychology."

Deborah Tannen is not only highly respected by her colleagues in linguistics and communications around the world, but respected by readers everywhere! ... Read more

Book Description

The Innovator's Dilemma takes the radical position that great companies can fail precisely because they excel at the commonly accepted practices of good management. It demonstrates why outstanding companies like Xerox, IBM, Sears, and DEC that had their competitive antennae up, listened astutely to customers, and invested aggressively in new technologies still lost their positions of market dominance. And it shows companies today how they can avoid a similar fate. Drawing on patterns of innovation in a variety of industries, the author argues that good business practices-such as focusing investments and technology on the most profitable products that are currently in high demand by the best customers-ultimately can weaken a great firm. He shows how truly important, breakthrough innovations, or disruptive technologies, are initially rejected by customers who cannot currently use them. This rejection can lead firms with strong customer focus to allow their most important innovations to languish. The fatal disability in these firms is their failure to create new markets and find new customers for these products of the future. As they unwittingly bypass opportunities, they open the door for more nimble, entrepreurial companies to catch the next great wave of industry growth. Many companies now face the innovator's dilemma. Keeping close to customers is critical for current success. But long-term growth and profit depend upon a very different managerial formula. This book will help managers see the changes that may be coming their way and show them how to respond for success. ... Read more

Reviews (125)

Great Book About Business Strategies, Must Read for Managers
Comment: This review is done as a class project for the San Jose State University MBA e-commerce course by Ji Luo.

Dr. Christensen's book offered me a fresh perspective into looking at how large established business failed. As the author explained it, the standard process that governs sound management could be the same one that destroys the company. I found his use of graphics and quantities data sufficient as well as very useful in understand concepts such as the S-curve and the value networks. The detailed analysis shows that the author has done quite a bit of research into the topic and that makes the data more credible to me. His writing style is very easy to understand and organized. First few chapters go into how disruptive technology can destroy a company if not harnessed. His later chapters list guidelines on how to avoid the pitfalls. These guidelines are followed thoroughly by many case studies and quotes from industry leaders. While company's policies shouldn't be based on a few guidelines and the situations in a person's particular industry may find the guidelines hard to follow, the author's particular views are irrefutable and should at least be considered by the managers. It's really exciting to see him link the same principles to so many varying industries from high tech to low tech. The overarching principle of sustaining technology and disruptive technology and how a company should embrace it could be applied to any large established industry.

People who are interested in the business world should read this book and should especially be read by top managers in large corporation because many of them are ultimately responsible for success or failure of implementing disruptive technology. However, this is not a perfect book. I am a bit skeptical as to whether these rules apply to medium sized companies or companies with low margins. Therefore, my opinion is that the guidelines listed here really only applies to large organization with a lot of resources to divide. Also, The author sometimes repeat his points more than he should. He tends to concentrate so much on the hard disk drive industry that he left less room to get into deeper analysis into other industries.

Overall, I think this is a great read for anyone interested in business and wondered about how large companies such as Montgomery Wards could go belly-up or why Digital Corporation disappeared from our vocabulary.

A "must own" for managers and business executives
This is the best book on strategy I have ever read (and I've read a few in my time). In his book, "The Innovator's Dilemma", Clayton M. Christensen, business professor at Harvard, explains why established firms fail, more often than none, when confronted with disruptive technologies.

Disruptive technology is different from radical innovation. Such technology initially proposes attributes that are not valued by current, mainstream customers. The technology is initially attractive to a small market segment -- making it unattractive for larger firms. Therefore lies the innovator's dillema: how to allocate resources to developing a technology that will target a smaller market and at lower margins.

Thoughout his book, Mr. Christensen develops a framework for managers and executives (also valid and valuable for consultants and analysts) to be able to resolve this dillema.

If you are to read only one book on business this year, the Innovator's Dillema should be it.

The reviewer is a certified management consultant and earned his MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University and completed the Wharton School Multinational Marketing and Management Program. He is also a Professional Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering from the University of Toronto.

Good introduction to a nice Theory
Not quite as easy to read as I would have liked. Christensen describes some very interesting & plausible theories, but is somewhat confined into employing the computer disk industry as the rapidly changing example which both demonstrates & proves his theories, and its not necessarily the most exciting case material. Other products only get a minor look-in.

What I did like is how he covers the footnotes at the end of each Chapter - so if they don't interest you, you can skip over them, but if they do interest you, then you don't have to struggle to the back of the book. I wish more authors & publishers would use that technique.

One quibble - given his Economics background - of course there are plenty of graphs, and 99% of them are straight lines - there are no time dependent variances in his world.

Read this before you read the Innovators Solution.

Driven by disks
Clay Christensen combines the science of empirical research with the art of organizational behavior in his best-selling "The Innovator's Dilemma." The book provides tangible advice on how to foster innovation within a corporate environment. His case studies draw from the successes and failures of American companies within numerous industries (disk drives, excavators, motorcycles, software). Christensen's strong points include a creative presentation of data, lucid writing and frank admission that the advice in his book is not a one-size-fits-all panacea for management challenges. But a heads-up to readers: perhaps 50% of the book centers on the disk-drive manufacturing industry. Although the lessons learned in hard drives are interesting, a more balanced approach would have been welcome. "The Innovators Dilemma" is a well written management how-to, in the same league as classics by Peters or Hammer. The book seems to be written for managers in large organizations, but entrepreneurs will probably find the material just as beneficial.

Fantastic book for anyone . . . especially business students
This was a fantastic book. I began reading it less than half way through the MBA program I am in and I was amazed at how many of the arguments others were making in class fell apart. This book helped me better analyze several aspects of many of my classes and I only wish I would have read it sooner.

I continued on and read the Innovator's Solution, and while I thought it was also a good book, I got much more out of the Innovator's Dilemma, though I still recommend both of them. ... Read more

Book Description

How can you tap into the tremendous benefits of teamwork in the workplace? The authors of this take-charge audio tell you how as they combine real-life examples with solid, managerial advice. Learn how to analyze the dynamics of teamwork while laying out the ground rules for achieving high-performance goals where you work. A timely work no one in business or government can afford to miss. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

A strong working guide to team development and support.
This book is the result of research into why teams are important, what separates effective from ineffective teams, and how organizations can tap the effectiveness of teams to become high-performance organizations. Liberally citing research efforts in 47 specific organizations, Katzenbach and Smith share their insights into what makes teams work.

They emphasize teams as an important part of a three part cycle leading to a high-performance organization: a) shareholders who provide opportunities, b) employees who deliver value, and c) customers who generate returns. The performance targets in the high-performance organization are multidimensional, impacting all three cyclic contributors. Teams provide real benefits to employees, the result being an impact throughout the cycle. If employees increase the value they deliver, customers will increase the return, allowing shareholders to increase the opportunities available to employees.

Central to the thesis is their defini! tion of team, concentrating on "a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable." [45] The distinction is far more than semantic. Working groups who do not share all of these characteristics are not to be considered teams. "Unlike teams, working groups rely on the sum of 'individual bests' for their performance. They pursue no collective work products requiring joint effort. By choosing the team path instead of the working group, people commit to take the risks of conflict, joint work-products, and collective action necessary to build a common purpose, set of goals, approach, and mutual accountability" [85]

Katzenbach and Smith aren't completely negative toward working groups. On the contrary, they cite numerous situations in which the working group offers the most effective approach. But for turning ourselves into high-performanc! e organizations, the limitations of working groups must be ! overcome, and the power of teams must be harnessed, through increased risk. "People who call themselves teams but take no such risks are at best pseudo-teams." [85]

THE WISDOM OF TEAMS describes a Team Performance Curve that correlates team effectiveness against the performance impact of the team, resulting in the organizational path from working group, to pseudo-team, to potential team, to real team, and ultimately to high-performance team. The working group describes the organization of least team effectiveness, although not without performance impact. The performance of working groups, in fact, can be very effective owing to the individual contributions of the group members.

The pseudo-team - high team effectiveness, but usually less performance effectiveness - "has not focused on collective performance and is not really trying to achieve it." [91] The result is an organization that produces fewer results because of the forced team interactions. Th! e members are actually slowed down compared to the contribution they would make without the team overhead - as members of a working group. "In pseudo-teams, the sum of the whole is less than the potential of the individual parts." [91]

The "group for which there is a significant, incremental performance need, and that really is trying to improve its performance impact" [91] is the potential team. Higher up the Performance Team Curve in terms of both team and performance effectiveness, the potential team can be extremely effective when targeted at a problem or process for which a team approach makes sense. Unfortunately, in addition to the results attributable to individuals on the team, the increased performance brought about by the potential team is largely attributable to luck. Still lacking from potential teams are the commitment to a common purpose and working approach, as well as the mutual accountability inherent in real teams.

Finally, the high-p! erformance team "is a group that meets all the conditi! ons of real teams, and has members who are also deeply committed to one another's personal growth and success." [92] With a little reflection, any of us who has ever experienced working on a high-performance team knows it. We also quickly recognize how rare such opportunities have been. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS is a guidebook to creating a high-performance organization built around high-performance teams.

Teams must have the right blend of complementary skills, including technical or functional expertise, problem-solving and decision making skills, and interpersonal skills. "It is surprising how many people assemble teams primarily on the basis of personal compatibility or formal position in the organization." [48] The authors warn, however, that too much emphasis can be placed on skill mixes too early in the team process. In their research, they "did not meet a single team that had all the needed skills at the outset. (They) did discover, however, the power o! f teams as vehicles for personal learning and development." [48] As long as the right team dynamics are present, the necessary skills will materialize or develop.

The authors focus specific attention on the creation of teams at the top. "Team performance at the top of the organization is more the exception than the rule." [217] They cite several specific misguided beliefs that they find lead to lessened team effectiveness at the top: 1) the purpose of the team can't be differentiated from the purpose of the organization, 2) "membership in the team is automatic," [218] 3) the role of each team member is predefined by their functional position in the organizational hierarchy, 4) executives spending discretionary time on team activities is inefficient, and 5) the effectiveness of the team depends only on open communication. "This (last) all-too-common misconception equates teamwork with teams." [221]

These beliefs create obstacles to effecti! ve team performance. "The most practical path to build! ing a team at the top, then, lies not in wishing for good personal chemistry, but in finding ways for executives to do real work together." [230] Katzenbach and Smith are citing these problems particularly for the top, although they apply just as well to teams throughout the organization. Their prescription for breaking through these obstacles includes "carving out team assignments that tackle specific issues," "assigning work to subsets of the team, "determining team membership based on skill, not position," "requiring all members to do equivalent amounts of real work," "breaking down the hierarchical pattern of interaction," and "setting and following rules of behavior similar to those used by other teams." [230-234]

Katzenbach and Smith have provided a quick-injection standards program for teams. For quality professionals attempting to improve processes in their organization model, the authors have provided mater! ials at all three levels. Their definition of team - with its focus on complementary skills, mutual accountability, common approach, and shared goals - can be used as the basis for a Teams Policy Statement.

Making use of this book in our organizations will allow us to move beyond calling a group of people a team hoping it will motivate and inspire them. It allows us to move forward toward high-performance organizations with a process-based approach to continuously improving team effectiveness.

Why and How to Work in Teams
A good balance of case studies, step-by-step procedures, and advice for people who want or need to work in teams but are accustomed to working in organizational "stovepipes" or matrix organizations. People who have successful experience working in Integrated Product Teams and Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD) Environment will find the principles and processes familiar. This book dates back to 1992 and reads a lot like a Harvard Business Review article, only of book length. The Department of Defense used this book as a source reference for their IPPD guide, and Integrated Product Teams have "taken off" since that time and are integral to DoD acquisition programs today. Nevertheless, this book is still worthwhile. The DoD did a thorough job of taking the "how to" information from this book and expanding on it to great detail. The mistake they made was to leave out the "why." The case studies, omitted by DoD, really put you in the middle of successful teams to the point that they will make you want to be on a team like the ones in the book. That is the missing element when converting an organization to a team-based work environment... step by step instructions are not enough. To succeed, the team members have to want to work in this difficult but rewarding manner. That is the main value of this book: it puts you in the picture and makes you want to succeed at teaming.

Complete waste of time
This book is a complete waste of time. In 40+ years I have never seen a published piece of work that is this poorly written. There is no way you can draw any conclusion about team effectiveness from the disjointed, incomplete cases prsented. Before these authors create another disaster I would recommend that they take a basic writing course. The book would only been midly anoying had the author understood how to form a basic english sentence.

My recommendation - rather than buy this book just throw your money in the garbage.

Good book, solid content
This book does not present any real "revolutionary" ideas that will blow you away with originality, what it does do is lay out the things that make teamwork work. Since so much in business nowadays requires teamwork, the book has a valuable and timely message. Recommended.

Boring
The message: real teams are good. The authors rave about all the great things a well functioning team can accomplish and give several examples.

The authors set out to figure out what makes a real team and how people that put these together do it. It is a worthwhile purpose. The problem is that the "insights" revealed are old and rather useless. For example, the authors found that teams that had clearly stated goals performed better than teams that had not agreed on common goals. If this is news to you, you should buy the book.

1 star out of 5 ... Read more

Book Description

"The Oz Principle describes what we’ve all suspected —

that it isn’t just America in crisis, but the American

character. The good news is that Connors, Smith, and

Hickman also describe the ‘yellow brick road’ we must follow

to rebuild the dominant qualities required to achieve

success."— Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven

Habits of Highly Successful People ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Funny thing...this really works!
I was fortunate enough to be captivated by the title of this book when it first appeared in 1994. I read, enjoyed, and applied the principles of this book in my own professional and personal life. Before saying anything more, I strongly recommend this book to anyone who thinks there is room for improvement in their own life. If you believe you can be a better person by becoming more accountable for all your thoughts, feelings and actions, then you need to read this book. The concepts are not subject to the vagaries of time and society. They are simple truths and common sense.

Rereading the latest edition of The Oz Principle has helped cement its rightful place among "easy to read books that pack an impactful message."

The book follows a metaphor with which we are all familiar. This metaphor allows us all to see how easily we get caught in the role of the victim and how easily we play and perpetuate the blame game in our lives.

The Steps to Accountability are placed before the reader in a way that invites him or her to see a situation for what it really is, own his or her role in that situation, solve the challenges presented by the situation and then to finally proactively act on the situation and do whatever needs to be done.

I have recommended this book to hundreds of people over the years. I have yet to have anyone tell me it was a waste of time to read. Most of the time, people tell me how easy it was to read and grasp the concepts within it.

This is truly one of the few books that has proven its worth professionally and personally over time. I rank it among the top ten best books written on how to get the most out of life.

If you believe in personal integrity, if you believe in honor and virtue in the workplace and home, if you think there is room to improve and grow in your life, then this book is for you. You will always be accountable to yourself. Find out how to make the most of your time.

Reversing cultures of fear, blame, avoidance and dependency.
Using the Wizard or Oz as a metaphor, the authors convey the idea that a culture of victimization weakens people. The power to overcome victimization and achieve success lies within oneself. For an organization to succeed, employees must become willing to accept individual accountability. The book provides an approach to changing individual attitudes and shows how individuals can implement leadership and a culture of accountability in their own organization. Key action steps of the principle in taking accountability are: see it (the issue); decide to own it; personally work to solve it; and individually commit to do it. This book zeros in on a crucial issue offering a pragmatic approach that links individual and organizational success. The idea of a culture of accountability can be seen as the flip side of the all-to-common cultures of fear, blame, risk avoidance and dependency.

Revised, Updated, and Invaluable
In this revised and updated edition, the co-authors share with their reader what they have learned since their book was first published in 1994. Then and now, their objectives are the same: "...to help people become more accountable for their thoughts, feelings, actions, and results; and so that they can move their organizations to even greater heights. And, as they move along this always difficult and often frightening path, we hope that they, like Dorothy and her companions, discover that they really do possess the skills they need to do whatever their hearts desire."

In this volume, Connors, Smith, and Hickman invoke once again a core concept of a "Line" below which many (most?) people live much (most?) of the time. Theirs is the attitude of victimization: They get stuck on a "yellow brick road" by blaming others for their circumstances; they wait for "wizards" to wave their magic wands; and they expect all of their problems to disappear through little (if any) effort of their own.

What to do? Connors, Smith, and Hickman explain (step-by-step) how to Live Above the Line by assuming much greater accountability for whatever results one may desire. This can be achieved through a four-step process:

"See It": Recognize and acknowledge the full reality of a situation

"Own It": Accept full responsibility for one's current experiences and realities as well as others'

"Solve It": Change those realities by finding and implementing solutions to problems (often solutions not previously considered) while avoiding the "trap" of dropping back Below the Line when obstacles present themselves

"Do It": Summon the commitment and courage to follow through with the solutions identified, especially when there is great risk in doing so

How easy it is to summarize this four-step process...and how difficult it is to follow it to a satisfactory conclusion. (When composing brief commentaries such as this, I always fear trivializing important points.) Connors, Smith, and Hickman have absolutely no illusions about the barriers, threats, and challenges which await those who embark on this "journey" to accountability.

As they indicate in this new edition of their book, they have accumulated a wealth of information during the past decade which both illustrates and reconfirms the importance of making a personal choice to rise above one's circumstances and assume the ownership of what is required to achieve desired results. This is precisely what Theodore Roosevelt had in mind when praising "the man in the arena" and what W.E. Henley asserts in the final stanza of "Invictus":

"It matters not how straight the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul."

Organizations are human communities within which everyone involved must somehow balance personal obligations to themselves with obligations to others. For me, the interdependence of these obligations best illustrates the importance of the Oz Principle: "Accountability for results at the very core of continuous improvement, innovation, customer satisfaction, team performance, talent development and corporate governance movements so popular today." Connors, Smith, and Hickman go on to observe, "Interestingly, the essence of these programs boils down to getting people to rise above their circumstances and do whatever it takes (of course, within the bounds of ethical behavior) to get the results they want," not only for themselves but also for everyone else involved in the given enterprise.

Connors, Smith, and Hickman cite Winston Churchill's admonition, "First we shape our structures, and then our structures shape us." Were the Steps to Accountability easy to take, if everyone lived and labored Above the Line, there would be no need for this book. There is much of value to be learned from L. Frank Baum's account of the perilous journey which Dorothy and her companions share. What they finally realized -- and so must we -- is that, to paraphrase Pogo, "We have met the Wizard and he is us."

Positive Progress!
"We tried for several years to make some basic changes in our Global Manufacturing Group and just couldn't get there. We finally internalized the concept of the accountability process as defined in The Oz Principle. It has really turned us around in the direction we wanted and we're now making the progress we've been trying to make for years."
Bill Smith
Executive Director
Global Manufacturing Services,
Eli Lilly

Managerial Effectiveness
"The Oz Principle has really made accountability very easy to understand and has improved our effectiveness in obvious ways. Our entire organization has not only embraced the concept, but has also made it our culture to operate Above The Line. Most importantly, The Oz Principle made it very easy for a new representative joining the organization to quickly understand what Pfizer Pratt Pharmaceuticals is all about, both in terms of our culture and how we operate as a group."
--Dick Reggio
Vice President, Sales
Pratt Pharmaceuticals,
A Division of Pfizer, Inc. ... Read more

Book Description

If you’re having a baby, you read What To Expect When You’re Expecting.If you’re considering law school, you read One L. And if you’re thinking about working for yourself, you read Free Agent Nation—Daniel Pink’s contemporary classic about leaving the corporate rat race.

Widely acclaimed for its engaging style and provocative perspective,Free Agent Nation has helped thousands transform their working lives.Now the paperback edition of this business bestseller features an all-new section: a comprehensive 30-page resource guide that explains the basics of working for yourself (how to get started, where to find health insurance, how to market yourself) and includes 101 Free Agent Survival Tips culled from successful solo workers nationwide.Hip and hopeful, Free Agent Nation will change and your thinking – and maybe even change your life.Read it today to free yourself tomorrow. ... Read more

Reviews (45)

exceeded my high expectations
Free Agent Nation exceeded my expectations, which were high to begin with. This is not just a drawn-out version of Pink's classic cover story in Fast Company. It reflects extensive research and provides many surprising insights and interesting predictions.

This is not a book you can polish off in an hour or two. It is difficult to convey in a brief review the depth and richness of Free Agent Nation.

Pink demonstrates that free agents are a large and growing share of the work force. He describes some of the economic forces contributing to this phenomenon, but he finds that free agents themselves explain their reasons for leaving the corporate world in psychological terms: a desire for freedom, authenticity, accountability, and flexible concepts of success.

Pink shows that free agents have their own unique perspectives and solutions to such challenges as security, workplace relationships, career advancement, and work-family balance. For example, he describes the way that peer networks are providing the type of career support that formerly came from within large corporations.

Whether you like it or not, the gravitational forces between individuals and large corporations are weakening. In the future, how will business be re-organized? How will the economy function? Daniel Pink asks the big questions, and he comes up with a lot of fascinating answers. I expect Free Agent Nation to become the most talked-about nonfiction book of the year.

The Other Side of the Coin
Having been a member of the "free agent nation" since 1987, I read Daniel Pink's book with interest. There is no question that the American work force is undergoing what may be its most significant transformation since the migration from the farm to the factory one century ago.

The author spent a year traveling the country talking with hundreds of these workers. The portrait that emerges is the death of what William H. Whyte, Jr. named "the organizational man" in his 1956 book of the same name. Replacing him or her is the free agent, the home-based business, temp, freelancer or independent contractor. The lure of freedom, authenticity, accountability and self-defined success are luring workers from their cubical farms, stock options and regular paychecks into a life, the author dubs, "of meaning."

There is another side to this migration. Changes in three areas will be required before this migration becomes a powerful demographic influencing the economy and the nation:

1. Tax Changes
2. Access to Capital Markets
3. Attitudes

First, amend tax codes have to give the free agent the same status as the business he or she left. Benefits need full deductibility and ease of implementation. If the country benefits from independents building businesses, the capital gains tax needs to stop being a political football. It makes no sense to sacrifice to build a business unless there is a carrot at the end of the trail. A reduced or no capital gains tax is a powerful inducement.

State tax departments need to stop looking at independents as training grounds for their new agents. I have better things to do with my time than wet-nurse agents-in-training on a fishing expedition.

Second, open capital markets to the free agent. Capital, if available, is expensive for the individual businessperson. Bank loan officers do not or will not understand the difference between pre-tax and after-tax income. Finders access outrageous fees for equity capital.

Pink cites David Bowie's raising $55 million in 1997 collateralized by his song publishing and album royalties as an example of new financing opportunities available to free agents. For those of us who are not as successful David Bowie, this market place is closed. Democratic financial markets to finance startups, expansions and improvements are a necessity if the move to a free agent nation is to become a serious alternative to the bedrock of American work - the large corporation.

Lastly, social attitudes need to change. For a free agent nation to work concepts of the workday and workweek need to change. The free agent works when there is work. Vacations represent an opportunity cost.

Being a free agent is not an easy life, but one I will never leave.

Not much more than cheerleading.
Ok¡K.I am not a part of FAN (Free Agent Nation) ¡Kbut as someone who is interested in striking out on my own, this book did not offer much beyond cheerleading. What was said could have been told in far fewer pages. I expected more than just anecdotal research and feel good stories. At the end of every chapter is ¡§The Box¡¨ in which the author includes a summary ¡§The Crux¡¨, a paragraph called ¡§The Factoid, ¡§The Quote¡¨ and lastly ¡§The Word¡¨ which is just a way to get me to recall buzzwords and phrases I¡¦d rather forget, such as Thanksgiving Turkey Model, Free Agent Infrastructure, HOHO, FAN Bonds as well as others.

Many of the footnotes were based off newspapers and magazines, or sources listed in the text appear to be secondhand, or credit was somewhat misleading in the text. For example in Chapter 2 the author gives credit to ¡§Wells Fargo (Bank) study ¡K.¡¨ to give it more credibility but when you look in the footnotes it give the lead credit is given to the an advocacy organization the National Federation of Independent Business along with Wells Fargo. In reviewing their website the research is on NFIB¡¦s letterhead with Wells Fargo also supporting the publications. In his chapter, ¡§The New Time Clock¡¨ on page 105, the author lists studies by the Families and Work Institute and another by a NYU economist and a University of Pennsylvania colleague, but upon further review in the footnotes he lists the sources as a Los Angeles Times article and another in Business Week. The impression is given that he did not read or analyze the original research.

Without defining what a Free Agent is beyond an individual, temp, micro-business it was easy to make a leap and estimate 33 million free agents. If I am a stay at home spouse who sells a few things on eBay, or have a couple of garage sales every year; am I part of Free Agent Nation. I see many hardworking, entrepreneurial, networked free agents everyday, but not at Starbucks or Kinko¡¦s. Each morning as I pass the Home Depot near my house I see many free agents; not many have cell phones, buy high priced coffee, speak English, or have a car. It appears the huge market of what we call ¡§day laborers¡¨ here in California was not included in the author¡¦s FAN census or demographic statistics.

There were few good tips or ideas in the book about health insurance, taxes, and education but the opening dialog in Chapter 17, Putting the ¡¥I¡¦ in IPO: The Path Toward Free Agent Finance¡¨ was a bit laughable. The chapter begins with two different dialogs for a FAN business owner seeking a $50,000 loan from his local ¡§traditional¡¨ bank and another dialogue were the same business owner goes to a financial federation for Free Agent Electricians. Whereas the traditional bank turns him down the Federation of Free Agent Electricians proposes to float him a $50,000 bond. Although this is a fictional account the author does describe why it is impossible today due to regulatory restrictions, the credit risk involved in floating an unsecured bond, or the fixed and marketing costs of floating the bond. While Michael Milken did lend money to the ¡§shaky, or the sagging¡¨ as far as I know he only floated public traded bonds to public traded companies.

As the back cover endorsement by Tom Peters states ¡§Twenty ¡Vfive years from now we¡¦ll still be discussing this book¡¨, I only wish there was a better book out there to discuss. This book is one reason why I read few business books these days; rah, rah.

FAN is talking about me ... and us
I've worked as an employee for ten years (5 government, 5 corporate) and have had my own microbusiness for the last seventeen. This book tells it like it is. Now I know why I'm so addicted to personal technology - these are the modern-day equivalents of the tools of production that Marx wrote about. These are the tools of liberation.

I'm an amateur futurist keeping up with big-picture books on social trends since starting with Alvin Toffler's Future Shock in the late sixties to The Third Wave, Free Agent Nation and the Cluetrain Manifesto and many books in between. FAN is a very good book. As a microbusiness owner, it helps me understand myself and my situation better. It gives me LOTS of ideas and inspiration to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves in this time of transition and economic challenge.

I started my business 17 years ago after reading a great book called Maverick Career-styles: The Way of the Ronin. The writing was on the wall even then - in the mid-eighties. I was willing to take a chance and strike out on my own after ten years of traditional employment because that book gave me a way of seeing that I might be more secure as a wiley and agile independent professional than I would be as a corporate drone in this new world we are living in. Dan Pink speaks my language! Well-written, entertaining and valuable read.

I just got this, and am looking forward to reading, but
I had to point something out. Prior to my current career, I was a freelance musican. Every freelancer I know has been living this book their whole careers.

One other reviewer described the point of one chapter as "teams of highly skilled specialists come together to produce a creative product only to disband until the next opportunity draws them again." This describes most concerts/performances/recording sessions ever done.

Being a Free Agent may be a growing idea in "traditional" business, but in the music biz it's been a way of life for generations. And it was part of why I stopped depending on it for a living. No matter how jazzed you are about your work, if you're spending most of your waking time handling all the minutia that lives around the periphery of the act of work itself, it can be all consuming, no matter how fulfilling.

Compared to being a freelancer, having a corporate gig for the past ten years has been a cake walk. Not having to handle payroll taxes, paying for health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, having paid vacation, having training paid for, working from home once in a while, not having to reinvent my work relationships every few weeks/months/years - those are all pluses for corporate work.

I know, the steady corporate job is going the way of the dinosour, and I accept that, but let's not forget all the things we got from them that we didn't have to deal directly with, but will now. For those who don't have "hustle" in their genes, it's going to be a tough go. ... Read more

Book Description

DIFFICULT DOESN'T MEAN IMPOSSIBLE

We've all encountered them: the bullies, the wet blankets, the yea-sayers that never come through. More often than not, we're left fumbling for words, stumbling toward the door...frustrated, enraged or just plain depressed.

Dr. Robert M. Bramson, a psychologist and management consultant, will show you that it is possible to remain sane, dignified and optimistic when dealing with even the most Difficult People. With these lively, insightful dramatizations, you'll learn how to:

* Identify difficult types, from the too-good-to-be-true to the too-hot-to-handle, from the perennial gossip to the eternal clam. * Master the step-by-step procedures that will neutralize any negative or hostile encounter. * Understand your own style of thinking and how it affects your ability to deal effectively with each type.

Maybe you can't turn "Gloomy Gus" into "Pollyanna"...but with the help of Dr. Bramson, you'll prevent the difficult from becoming impossible -- and end "relation frustrations" for good! ... Read more

Reviews (9)

the real difficult person is inside you
Most people have difficulty in dealing with certain personality types. An inability to deal effectively with others can cause very serious problems in morale, job performance and self esteem. It has been said that most problems related to losing one's job has more to do with human relations than with job performance per se. As a person who has been fired many times, I can attest to that statement. I've seen incompetent people keep their jobs, but I've seen several people (myself included) lose their jobs over inter-personal conflicts which seem silly in comparison. The more one is able to resolve and or avoid conflicts, the more successful they will be in the long run.

This book divides difficult people into seven different types namely "hostile-aggressives", "complainers", "silent and unreasponsives", "super-agreeables", "negativists", "know-it-all experts" and "indecisives". Each type of behavior is explained and real-world examples of each in action are given. The forte of the book is how it explains how to cope effectively with each type. In my dealings with others, I've found that the coping advice given is right on target. Chances are, any type of difficult person will fit into one of the aforementioned categories. If not, they will be a variation or a combination of two or more of them. The coping methods given in the book are not always easy to implement because they require a lot of practice and may require a great deal of courage. This isn't a book to just read once, the methods must be studied and practiced if you wish to benefit from it.

One of the most interesting things I've discovered when reading this book is that I have fit into some of the categories of difficult people at times. The more effectively I can learn about and fight my own difficult behavior, the easier it will be for me to deal with others who possess the same traits. Regardless of how much one knows about dealing with difficult people, it can still be a battle to implement the methods given in this book. Therefore, coping with difficult people is not about using some simple trick, it's all about confronting the difficult person within each of us.

Don't Be Defeated By Those Difficults
Deal more effectively with those difficult people in your life with this practical, easy to implement advice from Robert Bramson. I found this handy little reference guide so useful that I included it in the suggested reading list of my own book titled, Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life by JoAnna Carey.

Excellent
Good techniques...but sometime you can come across such difficult people--nothing works. Still this book tells good stuff.

Great Book!
extremely detailed explanation of how situations are and how people react, i extremely recommend this book to anyone who has problems with difficult people. A great book, and an author who really knows what he's talking about. I would give it 6 stars if i could :).

Excellent Resource
Usually I don't like books of this sort because I find them simplistic. Admittedly this book is written for a general audience, but the author still makes an effort (and succeeds, in my opinion) in distinguishing between people who fit in to one of his types and people who can be difficult at times, but don't quite fit in a specific category. I never had the feeling of "oh, that could be anyone." And the techniques he gave to deal with difficult people were concise and easy to use. He really focuses on the fact that we can't change others, we can only change how we chose to respond, which is vital. A very positive, encouraging, readable book. I've already noticed a difference in my relationships after only a few weeks. ... Read more

Book Description

Over 2 million copies sold!Used by thousands of companies and hundreds of business schools!Required reading for anyone interested in the Theory of Constraints.This book, which introduces the Theory of Constraints, is changing how America does business.The Goal is a gripping, fast-paced business novel about overcoming the barriers to making money.You will learn the fundamentals of identifying and solving the problems created by constraints.From the moment you finish the book you will be able to start successfully addressing chronic productivity and quality problems. ... Read more

Reviews (189)

Informative and Entertaining
Told in first person in the form of an entertaining novel, Goldratt's "The Goal" is a popular book that explores ideas valuable to managing numerous business situations. We are placed into the life of plant manager Alex Rogo as he faces an immediate production crisis and the threat of plant closure. During a business trip, he has a chance encounter with manufacturing guru Jonah.

Rogo's dialogue with this teacher as he wrestles with his own plant and it's manufacturing problems serves up a rich body of material that requires no background in manufacturing or assembly line processes. It remains interesting even as inventory management, assembly throughput, and bottleneck analyses take place in his quest to keep his plant in business. The use of a hiking trip to discuss fluctuations and dependencies as a scout troop progresses through the woods is superb, making "Herbie" a recognized name among many manufacturers. The book also provides a valuable illustration of the importance and impact of "choosing what to measure," that is, which numbers (production data) one should track to determine the effectiveness of an operation.

Reading "The Goal" is well worth the time for anyone managing a business. Its principles are far-reaching and applicable in a wide variety of situations. Given its popularity, you can pretty much bet that your competitors have read it.

The Goal: Book of Plenty or Plenty of Book?
The main objective of the text is to present Goldratt's theory of constraints. The story is meant to present what would otherwise be a boring and dry text in an easy to read, interesting format. As stated in "Here today, wrong tomorrow" by Daniel Butler, many of these types of books are not even opened, much less read. Goldratt actually adds a compelling story, making the book much more palatable, and also better showcasing the natural flow of the theory of constraints. The story is also inspirational, as it details a man who saves his factory and his marriage at once, as well as the moment when he took a six-pack on the hill to overlook his town trying to sort his thoughts. Those real details make Alex much easier to identify with, and make the book a much more interesting read. The inter-office politics and the scout trip are also two really good areas of the book just for the entertainment value. The late night escapades with co-workers are also mildly fun to read, but I especially liked the way that Goldratt hinted at Alex developing feelings for a co-worker before getting back with his wife. A plot twist like that is far more than I expected from the book by simply looking it. I would recommend this book to any students interested in learning about the fundamentals of the theory of constraints or managerial accounting in general. The fluidity of the book (I read it in about 2 days, a shockingly fast rate of page turns for an assigned book) and the general principles behind the book make it a good choice for an introduction to accounting, or at least far better than a textbook. I would also recommend this book to a manager just because knowledge is power. The theories prescribed in this book may or may not work for an individual corporation, but it is at least worth a read because the said manager's company could really benefit from implementing such a system. If the company would not benefit from it, the manager still read a pretty good book.

I stopped ready after 33 pgs. & found reviews and summaries
The concept is good. But the