Book Description

Now readers can approach the new millennium by incorporating Burkett's tried and true advice into their business world with this updated edition of the best-selling classic containing some of the actual study material used in Burkett's worldwide seminars. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Every Self Employed Person Should Read This Book!!
Although it is written from a Biblical perspective, EVERY self employed person needs to read this book. It is packed with common sense business principles which, in this world-gone-mad with secular humanism, most of us have lost sight of. It doesn't matter what your faith is... even an athiest would greatly benefit from the business principles taught in this book. It turned my little mom-and-pop business, and my life, around to the direction it should have taken in the first place.

Tested over Time
I read an earlier version 10 years ago and tried many of the concepts. They were straight forward and easy to understand. I just read the latest version and it stands the test of time.

I give away 12 a month
This book is so good that I give away 10-20 of them a month. I set people up in business and I send it to all my new dealers. Read it and you will know how GOD wants you to run HIS business.

Incorporating Godly Principles into "YOUR" business
I would recommend this book to business owners who seek to run their business by God's principles. There are several chapters covering, hiring, firing, suing, and probably most importantly tithing.

Not being a business owner however, I must admit it wasn't what I was looking for. If you're looking for a book on balancing your work and life while keeping God's will first- this isn't it. Nonetheless, it was a well written book; I'm interested in reading other books by this author.

Great for causing you to think!
As someone who is considering starting a business, it is great to consider contrary ways to what is shown as the "everybody does it" ways of stretching out vendors, and focusing on Integrity. I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone considering starting a business. ... Read more

Book Description

Playfully illustrated, this fun, easy guide for identifying personality styles provides insights as to why people behave as they do. Based on Don Lowry’s True ColorsÒ model, you will discover tips for understanding, appreciating and relating to each style. Lighthearted anecdotes convey concepts in “real life” situations, offering immediately useful methods for resolving conflicts, opening lines of communication, and enhancing personal effectiveness. Convenient reference lists and a set of color character cards are included for easy determination of your True Colors spectrum. The end result is a celebration of the uniqueness in yourself and others. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Get This Book!
If you haven't had the opportunity to actually see Mary speak, you have missed out on one of the most wonderful experiences in the world. She is bright, funny, engaging, and insightful...just like her book! This is one of those books that give you a laugh and insight on every page, and usually laughter at yourself when she reveals just how our True Colors affect our behavior.
I've had to buy other copies for people at my work, because they don't want to give back my copy!
All I have to say is GOOD WORK MARY!

Wonderful Personality Analysis Tool
I took the True Colors Workshop a few years ago and found it very enlightening. This book was a fantastic refresher! It really helps you to understand your own personality and how you relate to others. Especially useful are the sections on the colors under stress. It isn't really a substitute for the workshops because there is no facilitator to answer your questions and to help you with understanding all the colors of your personality but it does go into depth about the foundations of the True Colors theory. I thought it was great! I have ordered another to give as a gift to introduce a co-worker to True Colors. I think it can help her with all her interactions.

THE book to understand temperament styles
It is a great pleasure to recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand and appreciate themselves and others better. It is a great tool to "turn irritation into appreciation"

"Showing Our True Colors" is an exceptional book with explanations and examples of the four temperament styles. It is broken down into understanding your own color (temperament) and then explains how each of the four colors communicate. You are given concrete examples of how to understand and communicate with each of the four temperaments. You are also given examples of the characteristics of a temperament in stress (Characteristics of a faded blue, etc) and how to help "brighten" them. The cartoon characters are funny and to the point. They are great examples of the situation being discussed. It has been my experience that when I show someone this book they want to know how to get their own copy (there is no way they can get mine from me!!) Congratulations to Mary Miscisin for putting together this wonderful communication tool.

Showing Your True Colors
Fantastic!! Best personality coding book I have ever read!! Easy to understand and reads very quickly! She explains the different personalities using the color coding system of Blue, Green, Gold, Orange, with each color representing a different dominent personality. Easy to understand and to incorporate into everyday life. The example stories she gives in the book are fun to read and put it in the most simple form for relating to each personality. I found myself viewing people differently, in a more positive way, and figuring out just which color they would fall under. I work in a customer service business, and found the information in the book, helped me understand my co-workers as well as my customers much better!! Wonderful and motivational. Great reading for everyone especially if you are in contact with the general public or work in a large office. Highly recommend for everyone!! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Solid Effort!
Taylor Cox Jr. and Ruby L. Beale offer readings, case studies and structured activities for developing individual and organizational diversity skills. The readings often focus on specific groups, but the underlying ideas can easily be extended to others. By focusing on the economic benefits of diversity management, the authors make a persuasive case that these ideas are strategically relevant, especially for companies that are trying to compete in the global economy. Some of the ideas are complex and take some real study, but they are presented clearly and concisely. The book offers little original research, but that is not the authors' goal. They mean to unite existing research and to put those ideas into action - a task that they perform very well. We at getAbstract recommend this book to human resource professionals, managers who must handle diverse workforces (especially executives who work outside their home country) and anyone struggling with diversity in the workplace. ... Read more

Book Description

The Quick Guide to the 16 Personality Types in Organizations is written by leading experts in the theory of personality type and its applications. This booklet helps you develop your personal effectiveness within the workplace by providing two full pages of information about each of the sixteen personality types under the topics of Problem Solving, Leadership, Creativity, Teams, Stress, Learning, Career Mastery, and Personal Development. Also included is an appendix that will help you understand the eight MTR-i team roles.

The first page of each description includes information on understanding the specific personality type to help you shift perspectives to improve your relationships with others.The second page includes information on being that personality type to help you further your understanding of yourself. This format makes this booklet essential for employees in any organization who want to understand themselves better and work with others more effectively. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Great Desk Reference
This is a perfect book for someone to keep as a desk reference for the personality types. I found the information very valuable even though I own most other books on this subject. It is an outstanding reference for the types in an organizational setting.

Comprehensive and Concise---Perfect for Organizations
I found this booklet to be of extreme value compared to similar products. I used to buy a whole text to give to my clients before this came along. It contains some of the best material I have seen on the Myers-Briggs types. The fact that it has so many great contributors is a value-add. I would recommend this booklet to anyone using Myers-Briggs types in a professional setting. The booklet covers multiple topics including leadership, career development, creativity, stress, problem-solving, personal development, and learning. At first I was overwhelmed with the page count for the types, but after reading the content I was pleasantly excited and couldn't wait to show them to my customers. The book also includes some interesting new information about a new model---MTR-i---which is a team role model based on Jungian type. A very good value for the low price. ... Read more

Book Description

In this thoroughly updated edition of his classic book, Hargrove introduces you to Masterful Coaching, the method, Hargrove draws on his in-depth experience of coaching leaders at all levels gained since writing the first edition. The book provides guiding ideas, tools, and methods that will empower you on your own journey to Masterful Coaching. You will learn to empower people to transform who they are as leaders and at the same time their ability to produce results that were previously considered impossible by applying triple loop learning. This is about ripping the blinders off so that people see that who they are, the goals they set, and the plans they make, and actions they take are often part of historical winning strategies that are the source of their past success but that limit them from achieving what's possible or playing a much bigger game.

... Read more

Reviews (17)

This Book Makes A Difference
Mr. Hargrove has made the concept of "transformational learning" understandable in this well written and concise text. Masterful Coaching describes a process of thinking and coaching that leads to "being" versus "doing".

As a facilitator for a company that delivers adventure-based outdoor team building seminars, I was looking for a guide to help me make a real difference for my corporate clients; this book provides a structure for coaching that can have a profound and lasting impact.

My personal experience of participating in "transformational learning" seminars delivered by the Landmark Education Corporation, leads me to suggest that the maximum value of this book can be realized not just by reading, but by actually participating in a seminar or training program that gives one access to a trained "transformation coach". It was only after experiencing the distinctions of transformational learning on a personal level that I became effective at coaching others in transformation.

Transformational Coaching with the Enneagram
In his book, Masterful Coaching, Robert Hargrove distinguishes between "incremental learning" (single-loop), "reframing" (double-loop learning), and "transformational learning" (triple-loop). These distinctions (based on the original work of Gregory Bateson, and extended by Chris Argyris and Peter Senge) are important in business settings. Most development work with executives takes place at the incremental level (helping them to embody new skills and capabilities), sometimes at the level of reframing (challenging them to reshape their patterns of thinking), but seldom at the transformational level (creating a shift in context or point of view about themselves--a process I have referred to elsewhere as "stepping into a parallel universe"). My approach to working in organizations has been to incorporate the Enneagram with existing organization development, change, and leadership theory and practice. In consulting with and creating development plans for hundreds of executives, and working with numerous teams in organizations, I've had the advantage of observing all nine Enneagram types in a variety of business settings. And I have found the Enneagram to be the most powerful system for moving my clients to the level of reframing and sometimes to the transformational level.

Every coach should read this book!
In the last ten years since I started coaching managers and leaders, I have read almost everything out there on the subject. This book stands out! The distinctions Hargrove makes about coaching provide clarity, while being very useable and transferable to others. He also writes in a very readable style, and balances profundity and humor to get his points across. Some points that I found especially useful were:

How to generate a powerful coaching relationship by clarifying what each person needs to bring to the party. I found this extremely helpful in re-igniting an ebbing coaching relationship.

Hargrove writes that a leader needs to "be the source" of their impossible future or what it is that they want to create. He shows how to coach someone to do this.

Thinking drives behavior. Hargrove provides clarity and examples on how to coach people in a more profound and deeper way than the usual tips and techniques that novice coaches give.

Hargrove also writes about getting feedback for the coaching client by doing interviews rather than using the typical 360 degree feedback forms. He says, "If more than one person calls you a horse, saddle up!"

I recommend this book to coaches, managers and leaders who want to up the level of their game.

Fantastic revision of an already great book!
I found Hargrove's book inspiring, insightful, and useful. I had read his first book - which was pivotal for me in creating my own coaching business-- and have found that he has taken this work to another level-a very compelling, as well as easy read. The two parts that I found most applicable to my own coaching clients were his step-by-step approach to coaching executives and the part on creating a "laboratory" that fosters collaboration within a group. I was able to bring these principles to a client who was wowed by what we were able to generate for her business. I would recommend this book to any coach, internal and external to a company, as well as to any leader who wants to create an "impossible future."

An Excellent Guide Through the Field
Coaching has become a great buzz word. Everyone has or is a coach. I've wondered for years what coaching is really about. And now I understand. Any good professional - therapist, consultant,lawyer, clergyman, doctor, accountant - must spend part of their time moving clients from A to B. "Masterful Coaching" let's you know how to do that in a thoughtful and thorough way. Thank you Robert.

PS: Though many people don't like Werner Erhardt the person, the organization he built, and his marketing/sales tactics let's not throw away the fundamental soundness of the tools he shared. ... Read more

Book Description

Almost everyone has experienced the hurt and frustration of not feeling accepted, of being perceived as "different" and not fitting into the group. People who have good ideas that differ from conventional wisdom are often ignored or criticized for the very thing that makes them valuable to the organization—their creativity. Innovation often comes from the most unlikely places, and people in organizations need to break out of their "penguin suit thinking" to create a climate where new ideas can flourish.A Peacock in the Land of Penguins brings to life the challenges of birds of different feathers trying to work together through the engaging story of Perry the Peacock and the other exotic birds who struggle to be themselves in the conformity-minded Land of Penguins. This delightful fable humorously and memorably illuminates the importance of understanding and embracing the full range of perspectives that people bring to bear on their work.This expanded edition is enhanced with practical new tips, tools, quizzes, strategies, checklists, and resources for "teaching penguins to fly," including: o A Penguin’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Peacocks o Positive Penguinship: What Peacocks and Others Can Learn from Themo Avoiding Penguin Paralysis o How to Tell if You’re Becoming a Penguino Recognizing the Quack: A Guide to Penguin-Speako Case studies of how companies such as Kellogg, Chevron, and Chase Manhattan Bank have used the fable and its tools to transform themselves into places where employees feel fully self-expressed and appreciated. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Dealing with corporate culture in "bird-style"
As I grow up to involve with more complex problems, a mean to solve or just demonstrate the problem becomes simpler -fables or parables. Many parables came out. Mostly are "change-and-corporate" and "animal-related". Ranged from monkey (The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey, 0688103804), mouse (Who Moved My Cheese?, 0399144463), Fish! (0786866020), frog (Eat That Frog! 1583762027), and now it is the time for bird, peacock and penguins.
This book is about corporate culture (Penguins) and how to deal with the culture (by exotic birds, including a peacock). It is quite boring at the beginning and I found it's interesting about 1/3 of the book. After 1/3 of the book I keep debating myself if I should follow the penguin's rules or be an exotic bird. The author did good job to keep reader figure out what the story should go to.
The weak point of this book comes into 3 issues, book organization (after first half), the application parts (tip and trick), and theory behind story. After those exotic birds found Land of Opportunity, I feel like the author couldn't figure out how to end a story nicely. The author adding the tip &trick parts, which I found it's too mundane to add to this kind of elegant book, can also support this statement. Unlike other animal-parable story, this book has no principle to deal with the situation. Although it's not wrong, but if the author just rewrites the book with philosophy focused on other exotic birds' theory, it would make this book billion copies sold.
I recommend this book to the new comers who join century-found corporate. However, please read with warning and find other support books, such as Fish!. Otherwise, you will end up with another frustration experience as you're facing now.

Great Resource for Diversity Training
I am an attorney practicing labor and employment law and have used this book in diversity training. It is the best I have read, and believe it conveys the benefits of diversity in a simple and easy to understand way. All levels of employees, from rank and file to top executives, can (and in my experience do)relate to its message. ... Read more

Book Description

Global business demands and new technologies have created a virtual workplace for many companies, with employees and teams routinely collaborating from distant geographical locations on the road, from home, at client sites—even on the other side of the globe. The Distance Manager provides practical information and tools to help managers bridge the communication gaps created by geographical separation, and get peak performance from employees they rarely see.This handbook is perfect for sales managers, project team leaders, senior managers, and anyone who manages people at more than one location. Key topics include:
• Using e-mail, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing for maximum effectiveness
• Mastering the people skills required to manage from a distance
• Virtual team building, and strategies for managing multiple locations ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Highly Recommended!
Kimball Fisher and Mareen Duncan Fisher document the special skills needed for the new but increasingly common task of managing far-flung work groups. The approaches that they examine are becoming increasingly essential for all managers. Although they explore relevant technologies carefully, their human relations advice is probably more important. The Fishers emphasize the interpersonal and leadership skills that a manager needs to head a virtual team. If you read this book cover to cover, it can seem repetitive, since many of the rules and tips offered in one area overlap with those in other areas. However, the book is designed to allow you to review specific management challenges and technologies, and to ignore areas that are irrelevant to your situation. We [...] recommend this clear, practical work to anyone who leads virtual teams and to the telecommuters and freelance workers who report to them.

Ideas on Distance Management
This book presents a new approach to managing people from distance. It also gives clear examples and cases. This book is a must for managers who control their team from distance, either nationwide or global-wide. ... Read more

Book Description

Drawing from his many best-selling books and years of experience mentoring, John Maxwell offers Equipping 101, a concise collection of time-tested principles on how to equip those around you for service. In his trademark, straightforward style, this reference book is a “best of the best” from Maxwell on the subject. The pocket-size format delivers practical, timeless information in a convenient, take-along volume. Topics include:

• Why Do I Need to Equip Others?
• Why Is Equipping a Win-Win?
• What Does a Potential Leader Look Like?
• How Can I Invest in the Team for the Long Haul?

Book Description

A quick, clear way to learn about teamwork, with a useful framework for identifying critical roles of team players.
--Peter Block

This handbook will help you focus on what makes a good team player. It draws on stories of more than fifty team-driven organizations?including Xerox, Honeywell, General Motors, and 3M?to give you proven evidence of the qualities of high performing teams.

You'll discover:

• Four styles of team players critical to an effective, dynamic team
• The right balance of styles to create a productive team
• How to get team members to support, challenge, and inspire one another to achieve stellar results
• A useful framework for identifying team roles

Here's a practical guide for your team leaders and members who need to maintain their competitive advantage through teamwork.

... Read more

Book Description

Where a business was once almost invariably handed from father to son, it is now increasingly passed from a founder to a next-generation sibling team.Brothers and sisters own and run businesses together in relationships that can be characterized by strength, joy, love and supportor by dysfunction, disharmony and disaster.

This book is for business-owning parents who want to position their children for success as co-owners and co-leaders in their family business.It is for those children's wives and husbands who want to be supportive and yet not overwhelmed by the dynamics of the family into which they've married.And this book is for those who are or who may become part of a team of sibling owners or managers.Making Sibling Teams Work will help those who have accepted the responsibility of preserving and building a business to find success in their own generation while setting the stage for the generation to follow.

In Making Sibling Teams Work, you'll learn:

*How parents can improve the odds of next generation success by treating their children as a unit, challenging them to work as a team and resisting the temptation to intervene.

*How in-laws can prepare themselves for their roles and play them effectively.

*How brothers and sisters can gain the knowledge, skills and commitment to ensure successful working relationships.

*How to develop the necessary infrastructure of governance, policies, and procedures to provide the framework for planning, decision making and accountability.

*How to assure that Mom and Dad won't divide the sibling team.

*How to nurture positive personal relationships among siblings and their spouses.

*How to develop and articulate the sibling team's values and goals.

*How to prepare for the coming cousins' generation.

The second generation can be a very vulnerable time in the life of a family business.Making Sibling Teams Workwill show how teams can pilot a family business through this critical phase. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Worth reading
It's worth a read, but probably won't revolutionize your world if you've spent much thought on the topic. ... Read more

Book Description

Two training legends offer you a definitive team sourcebook!

The world's two best-known team-building facilitators bring you over thirty-five cutting-edge activities. You'll turn to this treasury of hassle-free, sure-fire games, exercises, and simulations time and time again.

"In keeping with the tradition of continuous learning about teamwork, Thiagi and Parker have hit a home run. Teamwork and Teamplay is a must-have for every training bookshelf."
--Harvey A. Robbins, co-author, Why Teams Don't Work

"I can think of forty reasons to buy this book: thirty-eight games and activities, each a gem--plus two of the best writers in the training business. I am truly impressed at how well each activity is designed and how easy the rules are to understand."
--Steve Sugar, author, Games That Teach; president, The Game Group

The game formats are varied: some short, some long; some icebreakers, some closers; and much more! A game selection matrix enables you to find a game that suits your situation. Plus, training legends Thiagi and Parker share with you their proven insights on effective teamwork and facilitation. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Together Everyone Achieves More
More is just what this phenomenal book of new and exciting trainings offers any aspiring and inspiring trainer. The trainings can be easily grouped and shared to produce high impact.

In returning from a weekend seminar of team building and communication courses, several trainings from this manuel helped to provide for a high-impact seminar with team-work problem solving, team interaction and production, opportunities for great transitional shorties between programs (adaptability is immense!) and communication inside the team.

Metcalfe, Our Team, ET, Escape from Gilligan's Island were among the courses used and combined with others throughout the seminar. Worthwhile trainings and with some ingenuity and creativity, easily adaptable to fit any size of audience!

I highly recommend this book for trainers looking to provide something new or something different in seminars on team work and communication.

I know I can't wait to implement more trainings from the book into helping others become better team players!

Thiagi done it again!
I met Thiagi few years ago when I was still in Bloomington, Indiana (when I was still a PhD student). I love his game and simulation seminar a lot. This book include a lot of his "tricks" and pratical guidelines for those trainers who would like to motivate the team sprit and so on. A highly recommend book

Well-Organized and Useful Resource
Being one of those relatively concrete-sequential, oldest child, ISTJ (for the Myers-Briggs aficionados) people, I started my consulting career a little wary of all these "touchy-feely" group activities that trainers use when working with groups. Well, times change and (maybe) people do, too. I have done a fair amount of group facilitation and training, and have found all kinds of activities to be very beneficial in getting people to identify, focus on, and move toward shared goals. Many trainers discount or are ignorant of the requirements of adult learners -- most adults won't sit still (literally) for traditional, classroom-style instruction for more than 45 minutes at a time.

This book is an excellent, concise, easy-to-follow resource for anyone working in either team building or team training environments. As explained in the book's introduction, team building "...increases the ability of an intact team to work together...," while team training "...increases the knowledge and skills of the participants in various aspects of teamwork and being a team player...." The book presents many exercises for each type of team experience.

Each of the 38 activities is organized in an easy-to-follow format that includes:

* purpose * team size (minimum/maximum recommended group) * required resources * time (to complete) * room setup * steps * debriefing * variations * templates, charts, overheads, as applicable

The book also includes appendices that sort the activities by primary use (team building or team training), time and participants, and by topic area (desired outcome or issue being addressed). These appendices make it easy to determine at a glance which of the 38 activities are most appropriate for a particular group or setting when designing training.

The value of the introduction bears emphasis. Many books have forgettable introductions; this book's introduction is an excellent short essay on the value, uses, and benefits of building and training teams. Read it slowly -- the authors make their points quickly. If you skim, you'll miss something important.

Whether you're a consultant or in-house trainer, regardless of organization size or mission, this book is a handy tool to improve the quality, participation, and outcomes from your groups training.

Splendid Team-Training Tool
Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan designs activities and games for training programs and to improve human performance. Glenn Parker is a team-building expert. When the two of them paired up to create Teamwork and Teamplay, they were able to offer 38 team-building and training exercises that work.

The value of this book begins with its introduction. Thiagi and Parker start by identifying 7 different types of teams and guidelines for using the activities. Those guidelines include steps to take so you are prepared to facilitate the activity, steps to take during the activity, and what to do after the activity is concluded.

Activities include skill-building in consensus-making (don't miss "Escape from Gilligan's Island" here!), ethics, motivation, team effectiveness, stages of team development. . .and more.

Thiagi and Parker include three indices at the end of the book: a topical index, a primary use (team-building or -training activity) index, and a time/number index.

Trainers, coaches, facilitators, and team leaders will find themselves returning to this book again and again. I have worked several of these games into my training sessions, with great results, and am eager to try even more. The activities are fun and groups find them engaging and energizing, and the learning points are solid. ... Read more

Book Description

Everyone who works with people is realizing that the old autocratic method of leadership simply doesn’t work. The way to win is to build a great team.

John C. Maxwell has been teaching the benefits of leadership and team building for years. Now he tackles the importance of teamwork head on, writing about teamwork being necessary for every kind of leader, and showing how team building can improve every area of your life.

Written in the style of the bestseller The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, this new book not only contains laws that you can count on when it comes to getting people to work together, but it tells them in such a way that you can start applying them to your own life today. And it’s illustrated with great stories of team leaders—and team breakers—from history, business, the church, and sports.

Reviews (14)

Developing Effective Teams in a Church Staff Setting
In a format that is similar to the "21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" Maxwell walks us through the essential elements of teamwork. He uses examples from business, ministry, sports and families to bring us principles for building and developing teams. In a style that is true "John Maxwell" he draws interesting and relevant stories from history and from current events to explain the "laws" that he has developed. Maxwell makes great points about how this fits many settings, including a church staff. Here's some examples; - From the "Law of Significance" chapter, "individuals play the game, but teams win championships." If a Sr. Pastor is not leading, each pastor just runs his own area of ministry. Very little communication, interaction, etc. So, it is very much like a professional team that has a lot of players, even great players, yet can't "win the championship" because they are not coached into being a cohesive team. - Under the "Law of the Big Picture" he says, "Members of a team must have mutually beneficial shared goals." Church staff members generally want to serve the Lord, but their understanding and implementation of the church's "mission statement" may NOT coordinated with each other, nor led by the Sr. Pastor. Maxwell goes on to say that the "goal" has to be more important than the "role," meaning the "power of the position." - "All players have a place where they add the most value" is the subtitle of the "Law of the Niche." This seems to be something that many pastors may not understand, but which DOES fit church settings quite well. We can have a great team with lots of potential, but "players" in the wrong "positions." As Maxwell pints out, we will not reach our potential this way. - The "Law of Mt. Everest" says that for each level (of difficulty) that a team reaches, a higher degree of teamwork is required. As a church is growing, they need to know that we don't just need more people, such as adding another pastor, but we need a stronger TEAM! -In the "Law of the Chain" he makes a side comment that "one of the differences between leaders and followers is action." An effective leader must take action. He can't hesitate and avoid "confrontation" SO MUCH that it freezes him. - The "Law of the Compass" says "Vision gives a team focus/direction and confidence." This is a truth that, but if it is not understood by the Sr. Pastor, can cause a staff to wander without the "compass." The leader also shouldn't surprise the team with a "new' (never before announced) direction. Maxwell says, "Great vision precedes great achievement.' - The "Law of Communication" says that teammates have to be constantly talking to each other. We "cannot be effective" if we don't talk regularly. "Interaction fuels action" is how Maxwell put it. True in any setting. - The "Law of the Edge" touched on several things that fit. The difference between failing or struggling teams and truly successful ones is often "the leadership." There are many great advantages to having effective leadership! Maxwell has said that "everything rises and falls on leadership." Finally, one of the things that Maxwell says is that "few people are successful unless a lot of other people want them to be." We can't be successful as loners or disconnected individuals, no matter how great our individual expertise or "potential" is.

This Book is Out of Touch
I recently read "The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork." Although the book has some valid points, it fails to grasp workplace reality from a subordinate team member's perspective and experience. (I was a team-oriented manager for 12 years and then became a team member. I was shocked at how I and other team members were treated by egocentric, domineering, and abusive bosses who weren't team-oriented. Recently, I've seen national surveys that verify that unfortunate reality.)

This book maintains an old-style "us and them" view of teams by assuming that management is mostly competent and benign, and that team members are often the source of problematic behavior. The book does this through such outdated concepts as "the weakest link" and "the bad apple," directed mostly at team members. Ironically, the places I've worked were the opposite: The employees were mostly decent, hard-working people and the managers were mostly incompetent.

This book uses too many back-slapping Forltune 500-type stories as well as sports and war stories to score its points. For example, Enron is cited glowingly as "One of The Best Teams in the World." Anyone who follows business news knows how ridiculous that view is!

The book title and content indicates that these 17 laws are indisputable. Yet, after reading this book, I can say that the title is arrogant; the book is too long on simplistic ideas and bravado, and too short on relevant, real-world understanding that would make a difference for most struggling teams.

This book is like so many others written by those in a management position for years. It lacks the current experience of "in the trenches" subordinate workers to be a credible work. The author even writes in Chapter 11: "I don't have a computer--I don't even know how to use one."

Save your money and take your fellow team members out for coffee. Have a heart-to-heart talk to smooth out your conflicts and problems. That will be a far better investment of your time and money.

17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork book review
In the 17 Indisputable Laws Of Teamwork, John Maxwell focuses on building a winning team using strategies based on interviews with some of the world's top CEO's. It is 265-page self-help type, in which he describes the 17 laws to be used as a guide by individuals in any setting, whether it is business or personal. Maxwell writes the book using simple language trying his best to connect with a large audience.
Maxwell breaks the book into 17 chapters in which each chapter represents a different law. In each, he includes the essentials for teamwork followed by suggestions and how to apply them. In each chapter Maxwell includes two main examples and then several smaller examples related to the topic.
Maxwell starts the book explaining the law of significance and writes that one is too small a number to achieve greatness. He works through every law although some of the 17 are quite obvious. Some are learned at an early age and some are just common sense not only for a "team player," but anyone, in any type of relationship. For example, law number 9 reads: The Law of Countablitly, teammates must be able to count on each other when it counts. This type of common sense information is spread evenly throughout Maxwell's book. Another example of Maxwell's not so unique language is written into law number 8: The Law of the Bad Apple. The subtitle then reads: Rotten attitudes ruin a team. This chapter's main point "Attitudes have the power to lift up or tear down a team," seem too obvious and make the chapter useless and boring.
Maxwell closes the book by explaining that good chemistry cannot occur until all 17 laws or strategies are applied. I feel this book was overall an easy to read guide with good examples and even better suggestions.

A Good Primer, but...
Got the Audio Tapes of this book and I am somewhat pleased. However, the author has that vaguely self righteous tone when he reads. It feels almost as if he has spent hours of practice trying to relate to us unelightened, but still can't get it right.

He effectively breaks down teamwork into logical and understandable parts, but unfortunately the parts seem very obvious. "Bad apples. Having a vision..." these are all very basic things that we are taught from early on in our social development. What Maxwell does is state the same things our kindergarten teachers told us..."don't let a bad apple spoil the bunch" But then he doesn't take us into the real world to tell us how to solve that problem. He gives us a great story of how he and friend ruined their high school basketball team with their bad attitudes, but he doesn't take the next step and explain how his coach or fellow players should have dealt with that situation. He basically ends by saying, "my friend and I shouldn't have been bad apples." Well, yes John, but you WERE bad apples, just as there will always be Bad Apples, what do you suggest we DO about it!

I look at the book as more of a good primer for a strategic meeting or a brainstorming session than any type of a helpful resource. These are the kind of seminars that give the seminar and self-help industry a bad name. They state what the ideal is, and what the brokeness is, but don't even give you a hint of how to bridge the gap.

Not Real Impressed
The book was a waste of a good [money]. It relied to heavily on cut and paste stories from the headlines and from history. It lacked heart. ... Read more

Book Description

This text employs a unique three-pronged approach of theory, application, and skill development to create the most practical leadership book on the market. It covers all of the traditional theory along with cutting-edge leadership topics. Applications develop critical thinking skills about the concepts. Proven skill-building exercises foster leadership skills that can be used in professional and personal lives. This three-pronged approach offers the greatest variety of learning material to meet each learner's unique needs. ... Read more

Book Description

Facing an explosion of workplace complexity, many executives choose a team-supported approach to organizational leadership over more traditional leadership models. Executive Teams provides both CEOs and senior team members themselves with an unprecedented set of insights and strategies they can use to build and maintain teams that live up to their full potential. Team members get ideas for: **Implementing strategy **Leading transformations **Changing organizational culture . . . and much more! " I strongly recommend [this book] to all those in charge of, on, or involved with executive teams."--Paul Allaire, chairman and CEO, Xerox Corporation Real-world case studies at Xerox, Corning, AT&T and other top companies to demonstrate exactly what executive teams are all about and detail the proficiencies CEOs must master to ensure their success. The range and depth of professional experience brought to Executive Teams makes it the most comprehensive, practically conceived work on the subject ever written. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An excellent and insightful collection of essays.
An excellent collection of essays that examines the reasons for and dynamics of executive teams. Explores the organization, chemistry and purposes of the team. Some topics include: the jobs of the CEO and COO; governance, importance of trust, conflict resolution, feedback, developing strategy, and leading strategic change teams. The essays in this work make many important observations. Of added value are effective summary tables. ... Read more

Book Description

The original edition of Mastering Virtual Teams offered a first-of-its-kind tool kit for leaders and members of virtual teams. Now, this revised and expanded second edition includes a CD-ROM packed with useful resources that allow virtual teams to access and use the book's many checklists, assessments, and other practical tools quickly and easily. The authors provide updated guidelines, strategies, and best practices for working cross-culturally and cross-functionally, across time and distance, to see a project through. The useful tools, exercises, and real-life examples show how anyone can master the unique dynamics of virtual team participation in an environment where the old rules no longer apply. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Another Human Resource Book with no Business case
I was disappointed by the lack of real world examples. Most of the examples were "human resource groups". Now, to be sure, there are many really fine checklists for managers included in this book. Although they are basic, most managers find them useful and thought provoking.
Unfortunately, as with most books on virtual teams, the authors have not focused on the critical operations which use virtual teaming: marketing, sales, program/project management. This book also neglects to leave the reader with a future focus --like: what is the new work and how will the businesses have to 'virtually' restructure or lose the "command and control" model of management.

Not great prose, but thorough coverage
Duarte and Synder provide thorough coverage of the tools and techniques required for effective use of virtual teams. The writing style is basic, here's-what-to-do stuff, offering 'x' critical success factors, abundant check lists, and tables comparing alternatives, such as video or electronic displays. From my experience, they are right on target for team leaders and team members.

Interspersed are jewels of wisdom. For example: communication and collaboration are the two most important factors in team success; sometimes it's better to wait until team members get to know one another as dependable and competent before initiating in-depth team building; trust depends on performance and competence, integrity, and concern for the well-being of others; information overload can slow down a team's decision-making process. I was pleased to find they documented that video conferencing requires a different skill set than running regular meetings.

I sometimes yearned for more real life stories and persuasive arguments, in other words, a less formulaic style. But that's my bias as a reader and not their intent.

Excellent overview of technology and techniques
The authors provide an excellent treatment of the problems associated with starting and maintaining virtual teams. An excellent concise presentation of working with differences in culture is presented. Many technology alternatives to facilitate group interaction and collaboration are also presented. The strengths and weaknesses of each technology are given for several different problem solving situations. I would recommend this book to anyone who must solve problems with others who are off site.

Great balance of high level strategy detailed operations.
The authors do a fantastic job of giving good high level strategy while giving useful detailed operational information.I have already found the content useful in my global virtual teaming.

Effective insight and suggestions for mid level practitioner
The authors provide a thorough review of research and best practices in managing distributed teams. They draw upon research and ideas from all relevant disciplines including organizational development, psychology, training, project management and several others. The insight they glean from those is quite impressive. ... Read more

Book Description

Virtual Teams That Work offers a much-needed, comprehensive guidebook for business leaders and managers who want to create the organizational conditions that will help virtual teams thrive. Each chapter in this important book focuses on best practices and includes case studies and illustrative examples from a wide variety of companies, including British Petroleum, Lucent Technologies, Ramtech, SoftCo, and Whirlpool Corporation. These real-life examples demonstrate how the principles identified in the book play out within virtual teams. Virtual Teams That Work shows how organizations can put in place the structure to help team members who speak different languages and have different cultural values develop effective ways of communicating when there is little opportunity for the members to meet face-to-face. The authors also reveal how organizations can implement performance management and reward systems that will motivate team members to cooperate across multiple boundaries. And they offer the information to determine which technologies best fit a variety of virtual-team tasks and the level of information technology support needed. ... Read more

Book Description

Walk through the tightly packed, hierarchically flattened corridors of America's businesses and what do you hear? Not the sounds of harmony. Instead, you'll probably hear the grumbles of irritation as people with wholly different ways of working, talking, and thinking have been tossed together side by side, cubicle by cubicle. It's the teeth-gritting sound of generations in collision.

Charlie, for example, is 61 and desperate for some clear, straightforward guidance from his 43-year-old boss Mary, who, in turn, is using her trademark heartfelt, buzzword-laden management style in an attempt to radically alter Charlie's work processes. Jane, meanwhile, the 29-year-old technical wizard of the team, sits sullenly in her cubicle, unimpressed with either of them, and they with her.

None of them understands the other. None of them knows how to communicate with the other. And it's causing headaches and havoc for managers trying to mold this hodgepodge of ages, faces, values, and views into a productive, collaborative group.

Now, with GENERATIONS AT WORK, there's clear, concrete help. Written by a team of distinguished cross-generational authors, this groundbreaking book supplies fresh, provocative insights and practical solutions for understanding differences, resolving conflicts, and managing effectively in today's age-diverse workplace. Both sweeping in scope and highly specific, the book gives you:

* Astute profiles of four distinct generations: Learn about the Veterans (b. 1922-1943), Baby Boomers (b. 1943-1960), Gen Xers (b.1960-1980), and the Nexters (b.1980-), including their demographics, the events that shaped their lives and times, predominant traits, work styles, and key messages to keep in mind when recruiting, developing, and motivating these members of your workforce. * Illuminating case studies in generational peace: Go behind the scenes of five major companies that treat generational mixing as an asset. * A powerful practice exercise: Solve the plight of Charlie Roth, a fictionalized manager facing a cross-generational crisis--then read how 7 outside experts tackled the problem. * Hardhitting answers to the 21 most frequently asked questions about managing in a multigenerational workplace--plus much more!

For anyone struggling to manage people who just don't see work (or life) the same way, GENERATIONS AT WORK helps you understand the gulf that separates the generations--and offers practical guidelines for building a harmonious workforce where people rally together for the organization, not against each other. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Useful for dealing with today's mined workplace
Whether you are the manager or the managed, today's workplace has some unusual demands in terms of generation conflict and change. In many ways, older workers feel slighted when their experience is discounted in the face of the technical expertise of younger workers. At the same time, younger workers make big mistakes when they rush ahead without considering that experience and what it can bring to the success of a diverse team. This book gives some good ideas for understanding what generations mean in terms of workplace cohesiveness -- or the lack thereof.

Managing Generations
This book, like others in its genre has insightful and fresh ideas for those faced with managing a divergent workforce. While these generational differences should be viewed as guidelines rather than stereotypes, it would be foolish to discount their relevance.. Although I have experience managing people with a variety of ethnic and educational backgrounds, this book helped me go beyond the usual management 'tricks' to better understand each employee's generation identity. This identity is indeed formed by the defining moments in their lives. It is clear that this identity is very real, and is developed over time. I would contend that political and religious affiliation will also influence an individual's personality, and effect their view on generational differences. While many of us share characteristics from a multiple generations, it's clear to that the events, news, music, even sports, of a given generation, shapes who we become. To deny this sociological reality would be a disservice to those who work hard to make the workplace (and home for that matter), more manageable.

A must read for any manager!
I've also had the opportunity to hear co-author Claire Raines speak on the topic of generational interaction in the workplace. If you have that good fortune, I suggest you go as well. Her grasp on how each genre of people fit (or don't) in the workplace is excellent and this knowledge has helped me in many management situations.

Wrong Population Data Equals Wrong Hypotheses
Wow! All demographic studies are based on population data. But this book is continually wrong in the most basic demographics! Throughout the book the authors state that the "the population of the United States was in a slow decline throughout the nineteenth century Births and immigration combined were failing to create the numbers necessary for simple replacement ..." Wrong! Try US Census or other historic data and look at the dramatic growth through both births and immigration! The U.S. population doubled four times between 1900 and 1900! This mistake begins on page 14 and is consistently repeated. Where are the editors? If the editors and authors are not just unfamiliar but absolutely wrong about population basics, why bother with the book? See Jim Pruitt's review below for other valuable comments.

Into the mind of your peers, employees, friends and families
Sterotypes not hardly. Inaccurate not hardly. What this book teaches you is how to identify with the person whom you are communicating. Life changing events are discussed that help you understand the ways and whys of a person. I often use this book to formulate a little Question/Answer with peers and students when teaching. I don't classify folks by their 'year' born - I classify them by events. Here are some questions I ask based on my reading of the book:

Where were you when you learned of pearl harbor?
How did you handle the depression?

Where were you when you learned of JFK being killed?
Where were you when the vietnam war ended?

Where were you when reagan was shot?
Where were you when the challenger blew up?

Where were you when windows 95 released?
Where were you on September 11th?

So - the book is well worth the money. Buy the hardcover - IT IS A KEEPER!! ... Read more

Book Description

What is this book about?

The addition of Crystal Reports 9.0 to Visual Studio .NET 2003 offers developers a reporting tool that allows you to turn almost any data into interactive, dynamic content through portals, wireless devices, and Microsoft Office documents. This code-intensive guide takes you step by step through developing reports and incorporating them into applications.

First, you gain a thorough understanding of how this version of Crystal Reports differs from previous versions and how it fits into the .NET platform. Then you begin creating reports and learn how to integrate them into both Windows and Web-based applications. You explore XML Web services, find out how to work with ADO.NET, and learn to use formulas and logic in your reports. Finally, you develop distributed reporting applications and discover how to deploy the applications you have created.

Packed with real-world examples of working applications, this comprehensive second edition provides a complete understanding of commonly used features, examples of integration with a variety of databases and platforms, and much more.

What does this book cover?

Here are some details on what you'll discover in this book:

• Advanced report design
• Methods for creating reports using the Expert
• How to integrate reports into Windows and Web-based applications
• Development and deployment of distributed reporting applications
• How to create XML Report Web Services and work with ADO.NET
• Tips for using parameters with Crystal Reports and customizing the report content at run-time
• Options for working with different data sources
• How to use the features contained in the properties, methods, and events associated with the Crystal Reports engine

Who is this book for?

This book is for programmers seeking a comprehensive guide to the functionality of Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET. You should have some experience with .NET and Visual Studio .NET. Some familiarity with Crystal Reports is helpful, although this update includes a large section on report design.  ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Am I missing something here?
I read the 2nd Edition. Many other reviewers thought the book was really good. Hm...it has some interesting ideas for additional, future work I would like to do, but ...
1. I found it to be rather disorganized. He jumps around a lot in the book, and sometimes it is hard to follow his examples. He tries to do two things at the same time: explain the different options in Crystal Reports and go through a detailed example (which doesn't cover all of the options).
2. I got off to a bad start in the book right away because he gives the .NET project the same name as the report, which confuses my version of Visual Studio .NET (2003 EA). In the sample code that can be downloaded from Wrox's web site, he uses a different name for the .NET project.
3. His explanation of cross tab reports is a joke (and has some mistakes in it). Fortunately, he uses a good example(s) for the cross tab report(s) and a reasonably intelligent person can figure it out.
4. He doesn't cover some of the "fun" stuff in report design like sizing and aligning report objects. He doesn't give you good tips for rapidly developing reports (other than using the report experts). He has written another book for beginners which I haven't read. Perhaps he covers some of these things there.
5. He could use more examples and more detail on subreports in his book. The reviewer from Singapore, for example, might benefit from that.
6. He does a very good job of reviewing the capabilities of Crystal Reports .NET versus the full retail versions of Crystal Reports like versions 9 and 10.
7. He does a good job of showing how to use Crystal Reports within the Visual Studio .NET IDE (which a lot of reviewers liked). However, he mentions the context menu for the report designer several times but never gives a screen shot of the menu in the book. One of the first things I did was to make a screen shot of that menu by doing a right click on the report I was designing.
8. Folks, if this is the best we can do, I plan to write my own book(s), beginner and advanced.

Hands Down The Best Crystal Reports.NET Book
I have been writing web applications using "Classic" ASP and notepad since it was first introduced with the early versions of IIS and have recently started upgrading these applications to ASP.NET after many months of soul searching. Part of my reluctance to upgrade these applications was that most of them were for simply displaying data and statistics, which I painfully created my own layouts for (as there was little alternative)

So when I saw there was a copy of Crystal Reports included with .NET, I decided to give it a try to see if I could actually use reports instead of presenting the data in my own format and bought this book to help me along.

I can not tell you what a difference that this book as made-- I quickly zipped through the report design part and got straight on to the integration with web forms and found that I could create and integrate a report in a fraction of the time it took me before to do a manual table layout. The book is the right size and is down to the point.

If I had one criticism, it would be that the coverage of report design didn't cover graph formatting in depth, but it did get me enough to get started.

This is by no means a reference book!
This book glosses over many of the critical details to get your reports running smoothly in .NET. It is a very, very basic tutorial...and that's it.

It's about the intersection of CR and .NET, not their union.
Page-for-page, I got a lot of value out of this book, and quickly (2 work days, cover-to-cover, running and tweaking the downloaded examples.). It concisely covers exactly what the title says it does - CR.NET - not stand alone CR 9, nor Enterprise. It addresses an issue that both Microsoft and Crystal/Seagate documentation have always given short shrift to in earlier versions of CR - how the tool (CR.NET) is intended to be used in the context of the larger IDE (VS.NET).

Still, the bad reviews here are somewhat valid. The important legacy issue of porting old CR 7 and 8 reports into CR.NET is not addressed - even though the topic would be germane to the subject matter. Also, while I haven't had any troubles using SQL Server stored procs in CR.NET so far, I have to agree that the topic is important and germane enough to deserve specific discussion. God help me for saying this about a Wrox title, but it would have been worth making it a little thicker to cover these topics.

And hey, it's nice to see Wrox taking the time to let one author write a thin, coherent book instead of rushing out the thick, incoherent collections of chapter-length articles that they usually do.

The Complete Reference
I am an old VB developer trying to make the transition to .NET. I bought the other crystal book (which is a back breaker) and found only a few pages of .Net. I picked this book up after having a read in the store and it fits the bill. I reccomend it. ... Read more