5 comments about Ready-to-Use Social Skills Lessons & Activities for Grades 7-12 (J-B Ed: Ready-to-Use Activities).

1. I love this book; It really encourages creative thinking and is a must for group work with adolescents. I highly recommend it!!!



2. This book has easily accessible lesson plans that develops useful social skills. It also serves incredibly well for impromptu lesson plans which can be expanded in other creative ways. good also for an advisory or with students struggling in terms of behavior within the school system.



3. this is an old-time structured lesson set, with slogans and (I thnk) dumb activities and artwork. I don't find it very helpful, especially for individual work. I can't imagine it does much more than nominally meet some requirement for addressing social skills for a whole-class presentation. You get what you pay for.



4. This book contains lesson formating and steps to follow when teaching. Some of the lessons would be better tailored for a small to medium sized group. Many of the lessons include a story to use to teach the students the social lesson.



5. I borrowed this book from a co worker to conduct classroom wide activities with kindergarten students. The students really enjoyed the activities and they didn't get bored, as the activities are very interactive and creative. If you purchase the prek-k version, you will not be disappointed.

5 comments about How Colleges Work: The Cybernetics of Academic Organization and Leadership (Jossey Bass Higher and Adult Education Series).

1. A highly theoretical text; Birnbaum takes the reader through a well-planned out dissection of the common systems and "loops of interaction" in a college or university setting. He mainly focuses on the division of power between administrators and faculty, and gives frameworks for how these groups may interact with each other, or within their group. Birnbaum shows the reader 5 fictional samples of institutions of higher education: collegial institutions, bureaucratic institutions, political institutions, and anarchical institutions. In his final section of the text, Birnbaum gives his idea of the ideal institution: the cybernetic institution, which encompasses characteristics of the four other types. I was a little disappointed that Birnbaum did not manage to tie up all the loose ends or to present a solid recommendation about how to create positive change in an institution of higher education. His theories of open and closed systems, dual control, and tight vs. weak coupling, however, are very insightful and well thought-out. A good basic framework.



2. I would grade this book as the 10 star must book for every CEO and would reccommend to eveyone who is genuinely interested in the business of higher education administration. The author deals with many types of power and this is, to my opinion, one of the brightest and essential parts of the book. I generally admire Dr. Birnbaum and enjoy reading his books very much. It is a great privilege and opportunity that AMAZON has this book and one can get the book. The other brights sides of this book have been reviewed and thouroughly studied by many professionals. The book has been in great demand at the universities where the highed EdAdmin is studied.



3. This book is one of the most interesting books I have read. it is written persuasively and in a clear language. That it uses hypothetical cases also makes readers clearly see what is happening on the ground practically.



4. The author provides a thorough discussion of the four basic organizational structures in higher education. What I found most helpful is that he also provides strategies to help academic leaders be efficient and successful in each of the organizational structures described.



5. Excellent overview of the various different college structures. Author worked hard to create analogies for how college systems were linked, but after getting into middle and later chapters the anlogies made some sense. A good introduction to, as the title says, how colleges work.

5 comments about Focus on the Good Stuff: The Power of Appreciation.

1. This was a delightful little book with a gentle reminder to be good to yourself. Stop being so critical of yourself and appreciate the fact that you are exactly who /what you were born to be. Appreciate Yourself !!



2. Great presentation on a worthwhile topic. If more of us focused on what's good around us ... people, events, society in general ... and then expressed that appreciation ... life would be so much easier. I don't remember who said it, but I love the quote: "What we think about, we bring about." Let's bring about more "good stuff" by focusing on and appreciating what we already have.



3. Mike Robbins has written a great self-examination book focusing on appreciating and being appreciated, especially from one's self. Anyone who thinks they could do better in those categories, or have a more pleasant life, should find Focus on the Good Stuff very worthwhile reading.



4. I had the pleasure of seeing author Mike Robbins at his recent appearance at the Learning Annex in NYC. I left the event impressed by the power of his message and the manner in which he delivers it. I then read this book and felt so good about the message the author is conveying.
   
   So many new authors and speakers have jumped on the bandwagon of the "Secret" and/or the "Law of Attraction." It is refreshing to see a new star emerging with a unique, basic, implementable message that could change the world if implemented. And, refreshing to see someone who seems so committed to walking the talk!
   
   Recent terrific books by Deborah Norville ("Thank You Power") and Robert Emmons ("Thanks") have similarly sounded the trumpet for the importance of gratitude, the cousin to appreciation. Mike's book is equally terrific with his strong point being the specificity of his wisdom on how to express appreciation in a manner such that it penetrates the thick skins hardened by a world of negativity.
   
   I highly recommend the book and I equally recommend that you partake in one of the author's workshops or speeches. As excellent as the book is, in person the author's message resonates even more strongly.



5. Buy this book, learn the methods and take action, and you will certainly bring more happiness and fulfillment to your life. I wrote pages of notes, and I use these methods everyday! Relationships are crucial for happiness and fulfillment. Learn to treat others and yourself better with "Focus on the Good Stuff."

3 comments about Youth Football Skills & Drills.

1. Got the book last week, read it over the week-end. First practice last night with the 8-9 year old team. I had prepared drills for the D-Line as I am D-Line coach.
   
   The defensive coordinator couldn't make it and there were only 11 kids at practice on defense because of vacations.
   
   I improvised with individual and group drills, that I picked up in the book, for 60 minutes. Kept the practice quick paced like Coach Bass said.
   
   Amazing! The kids were all into it. No talking and fooling around like usual because they're bored waiting their turn.
   
   I recommend it to any Youth Coach who is starting out or event with some experience.



2. If you have never taught / coached youth football before this is a step by step guide to running an efficient and productive practice session. Packed with specific drills for all the positions. Teaching / Coaching youth football is nothing like having been a player! I played peewee all the way through college and coaching is a totally different animal!



3. Even though I've coached for a couple of years, this book had great ideas for new drills and twists on old drills.

4 comments about The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to Reach a Changing World (J-B Leadership Network Series).

1. Alan Roxburgh has finally pulled together all the pieces that he has been writing about and teaching for a number of years. Some of this stuff he taught in a course I took with him 14 years ago at McMaster. He highlights the character required, the skills required, and the processes required, of pastors seeking to innovate toward the missionally-engaged congregation. There are far too many people using the term "missional" to signify whatever they want. Alan and the others in the Gospel and Culture Network are giving us principles, practice and definitions that do justice to what Newbigin meant when he started some of us using the term long before it became vogue.



2. I'll be usng this book for a class that I am teaching. It covers the basics of "missional church" all right, but the strength of the book is chapters 3-5, where a change strategy for adopting missional church paradigm is lifted up. The last chapters, on leadership, I found less helpful in part because it is grounded not to the experience of a church becoming "missional" but to the author's evaluation instrument. The authors acknowledge but underestimate the membership loss that comes from adopting the missional paradigm: they estimate 10 to 15%, without systemmatic research I have found closer to 50% loss in several cases in the UCC.



3. Having read many books on leadership, and having read a few on the missional church, I was very pleased to find this volume with a missional approach to leadership. The author asserts that this approach can be used in any church setting to give the congregation more of a missional church direction. Although the entire book is well-worth reading, the most intensive section is chapters 3-5. I recommend this one highly.



4. Excellent book to help guide a church into mission thinking and action. I recomment this for all leaders in a church that seeks to be "missional" in the true sense of the word.

5 comments about Hank Rosso's Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising (Jossey Bass Nonprofit & Public Management Series).

1. Whether you've been in the fundraising profession for 10 minutes or 10 years, do yourself a favour and read this book. It will make you proud to be part of the tradition of philanthropy. It will inspire and guide you. You will see yourself and the volunteers and donors you work with in a whole new light. Don't put it in your library. Keep it on your desk. The first time you read it, and you will read it joyfully from cover to cover, keep pen and paper handy. You will find yourself making a list of things you need and want to do. Achieving Excellence in Fundraising is thoughtful and thought-provoking. It is the place where the theory, practice, philosophy and spirituality of a great tradition meet.



2. Like many in the Jossey Bass series, Tempel's work is thorough and well-written, covering all important aspects of fundraising. A great introductory guide.



3. I'm disappointed in this textbook because it does not provide much bang for the buck. I believe that the text could have been half as thick, half as expensive and provide no less information than it does.



4. 
   I liked this book. It provided me with my introduction to the nonprofit world and fundraising for nonprofits back in 2004. It's not written by one person. And as a result, it is not tightly written. In fact, I think there are 27 different contributors to this book. Maybe I counted wrong? But this book is an excellent introduction to the ins and outs of fundraising in America as we know it today. It has 7 chapters:
   
   1. Fundraising: Context and philosophy
   2. Fundamentals of successful fundraising
   3. Building blocks for successful fundraising
   4. Sources of fundraising
   5. Successful fundraising methods
   6. Managing successful fundraising
   7. Ethics, stewardship, and the future of the fundraising profession
   
   I have read other books written by the following contributors to this book: Mal Warwick, Kim Klein, Kay Grace, and James Greenfield. And I've met and listened to Ted Hart who runs the nonprofit ePhilanthropy Foundation. I have gotten things from reading or listening to all these people. And my favorite fundraising book of all was written by Ms. Grace: Beyond Fundraising (ISBN: 0471707139). Kim Klein's "Fundraising for Social Change" (ISBN: 0787984558) comes in a close second.
   
   What I liked the most about this book was the quality of writing and the breadth of coverage. It talks about annual giving programs, captial campaigns, endowment campaigns, and planned giving. It also covers ethics that fundraisers should adhere to. There is a lot to the art and science of raising funds for nonprofits. And this book seems to touch on much of it.
   
   Don't expect to learn the specifics of how to do "an ask" in a major gift setting. Don't expect to be told how to manage a successful capital campaign, or to adeptly use the Internet as a fundraising tool. And I was happy there wasn't much if any coverage of grants and grant writing. Phew! But this book covers enough about everything that you can intelligently search out other books to supplement your read of this book. 4 stars!



5. This is a very deep book on fundraising and the content (short of the use of the internet) is very comprehensive. A very good reference and deep read.

5 comments about Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It, Revised Edition.

1. Credibility is a leadership book based on the thought that through honesty, competence, and valuing people, leaders can be most effective. When credible leadership exists, people have a strong desire to follow their leaders, not just because they have to, but because they want to. When employees are committed to their leader, they are committed to the success of their company as well.
   
   The book is easy to read and presents many interesting case studies and profiles of companies and leaders who apply this philosophy. Divided into sections, the book explains the six disciplines of credibility: discovering yourself, appreciating constituents, affirming shared values, developing capacity, serving a purpose, and sustaining hope. Useful applications of the theory and "next step" action plans are provided to help readers gain credibility in their own leadership roles. Unfortunately the book is a bit dated, as it was published in 1993.



2. Kouzes and Posner do a good job of outlining the importance of Credility to leadership, but this book could use a post-September-11 update. Especially in light of such serious and public, ethical bumbling as Enron and Global Crossing, the authors' advice often sounds candy-coated and overly optimistic. Developing credibility as a leader is a complex process, and is even more important in today's celebrity CEO climate. The book overlooks that fact that a leader can appear credible to one group but not to another, furthering divisiveness in an organization. (See American politics for more information.) But, the book does a good service by making us think about what it means to be credible, honest and ethical in business, which is something that is often deep below the surface of everyday operations. Aspiring to what is written in this book is an admirable goal for any leader.



3. Book is in great condition. No delivery issues to note.



4. Starting with the headline, 'Leadership is a Relationship'; Authors Kouzes & Posner demonstrate that Credibility is the foundation of any sound relationship, but particularly between leaders and their constituents. Using credibility to represent a combination of admired leadership characteristics - honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent, etc. - the authors of "The Leadership Challenge" declare the six disciplines of credibility to be:
   1. Discovering your self
   2. Appreciating constituents
   3. Affirming shared values
   4. Developing capacity
   5. Serving a purpose
   6. Sustaining hope
   The authors then devote a chapter to each of these disciplines, first providing definitional understanding, before outlining steps for developing the discipline.
   
   Although the original writing of this book is about 15 years old, the message is more important today than ever. As defined in this book, leadership credibility is much the same as `trust' in the recently published book, The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything by Stephen M. R. Covey. Both of the books should leave you with a clear understanding that; leadership is relational, this trust/credibility component is crucial, it all starts with knowing and being responsible for who you are, and purpose is its heart. Not a bad success formula for any relationship, business or otherwise. This book is recommended for anyone wanting to learn the underpinnings of relationships.



5. This book is excellent. That is not only my opinion, but the opinion of numerous colleagues who have read the book based on my recommendation. Trust (credibility) is an absolutely critical attribute for an effective leader. This book covers all the bases with regard to gaining, maintaining, and restoring credibility. I highly recommend this book to everyone who is in any position of leadership.

1 comments about Student Success in College: Creating Conditions That Matter.

1. This book is a must for anyone who is or plans to work in higher education. It is a good read for those who want not only to discover "what works" in academia but also seek real world examples of institutional excellence.

2 comments about Organization Development: A Jossey-Bass Reader (The Jossey-Bass Business and Management Reader Series).

1. This was one of the texts used in my Organizational Development course in my MBA program. It packed a punch since it was a large reader, but had Readers Digest versions of very important OD related readings almost in a Reader-style (for those of you familiar with purchasing readers for class). All of the readings were beneficial, and by authors who are the fathers of the field. I highly recommend this for reference reading (look at the number of pages, its not a quick read) and for teaching organizational behavior type courses.



2. 
   The scope and depth of coverage of an especially important business subject in this volume are unsurpassed by any other single source of which I am familiar. (There are 952 pages of material provided within 47 entries, followed by References, Name Index, and Subject Index.) I acknowledge that I have not read all of the entries selected and edited by Joan V. Gallos, who also provides an excellent Introduction and contributed an article, "Reframing Complexity: A Four Dimensional Approach to Organizational Diagnosis, Development, and Change" (Pages 344-362). Rather, I carefully reviewed the table of contents and selected those of greatest interest to me, some of which I had read previously. I suspect that many others will take the same approach.
   
   Gallos organizes the organization development (OD) material within eight Parts.
   
   The OD Field: Setting the Context, Understanding the Legacy
   The OD Core: Understanding and Managing Planned Change
   The OD Process: Diagnosis, Intervention, and Levels of Engagement
   OD Consulting: leading Change from the Outside
   OD Leadership: Fostering Change from the Inside
   OD Focus: Organizational Intervention Targets
   OD Purpose and Possibilities: Seeing the Forest for the Trees
   OD And the Future: Embracing Change and New Directions
   
   Here are several of the articles I had read previously:
   
   "Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail" John P. Kotter
   "Enlist Others" James Kouzes and Barry Posner
   "Business Strategy: Creating the Winning Formula" Edward E. Lawler
   "The Leader's New Work: Building learning organizations" Peter M. Senge
   "Knowledge-Worker Productivity: The Biggest Challenge" Peter F. Drucker
   
   Here are other articles I read for the first time:
   
   "What Is Organizational Development?" Richard Beckhard
   "Teaching Smart People How to Learn" Chris Argyris
   "Team Development" Glenn M. Parker
   "Emerging Directions: Is There a New IOD?" Robert J. Marshak
   
   I share these merely to indicate my own interests but also to suggest the variety of perspectives among the business thinkers. Of course, it remains for each reader to select those entries that are of greatest relevance to her or his own needs and interests.
   
   Credit Joan V. Gallos for making excellent selections and then for organizing the material so well. To repeat, the scope and depth of coverage of an especially important business subject in this volume are unsurpassed by any other single source of which I am familiar. Bravo!

2 comments about Talent : Making People Your Competitive Advantage.

1. 
   There is no knowledge leader I admire more than I do Ed Lawler. In this book, he makes what I consider to be his most important contributions thus far to our understanding of how to gain and then sustain a competitive advantage by finding, hiring, and retaining the right talent with the right structures, systems, processes, and practices in place. Only then can organizations "perform so well and change so fast that they string together a series of temporary advantages." Lawler asserts (and I agree) that "fewer and fewer companies can be successful by practicing an old-school bureaucratic [structure-centric] approach to management." What does he recommend to decision-makers in most (but not all) organizations? The human capital centric (i.e. HC-centric) business model. What does it look like? "To begin with, it is important to understand what its core is. Above all else, an HC-centric organization is one that aligns its features (reporting systems, compensation, division and department structure, information systems, and so on) toward the creation of working relationships that attract talented individuals and enable them to work together in an effective manner." As Dave Ulrich observes in the Foreword, "While talent is necessary, it is not sufficient. Successful management in today's business world requires attention to both talent and teamwork, individual ability and organization capability. Lawler captures both."
   
   Ulrich goes on to suggest that the Star (business) Model identifies the organization features about which choices need to be made - about strategy, competencies and capabilities, structure, processes, rewards, people, and identity -- to create an HC-centric organization so that its systems are aligned and integrated. Otherwise, they cannot drive and implement the given strategy.
   
   Unlike in a bureaucratic, structure-centric organization,
   
   1. "Business strategy is determined by talent considerations, and it in turn drives human capital management practices.
   
   2. Every aspect of the organization is obsessed with talent and talent management.
   
   3. Performance management is one of the most important activities.
   
   4. The information system gives the same amount of attention and rigor to measures of talent costs, performance, and condition as it does to measures of equipment, materials, buildings, supplies, and financial assets.
   
   5. The HR department is the most important staff group.
   
   6. The corporate board has both the expertise and the information it needs to understand and advise on talent issues.
   
   7. Leadership is shared, and managers are highly skilled in talent management."
   
   However, every organization is a "work in progress." Although these seven attributes may describe an organization today, but that by no means ensures that they will be true of it tomorrow. Hence the meaning and significance of Lawler's reference to stringing together "a series of temporary advantages." They can be achieved only if there is sufficient talent and if the right structures, systems, processes, and management practices are in place to develop and retain that talent while attracting whatever other talent may be needed. The extent to which an organization is and remains HC-centric will determine the extent to which it will not only achieve but sustain a decisive competitive advantage.
   
   What Lawler provides in this volume is a combination of information and counsel that will help decision-makers to determine whether or not their organization should be HC-centric. Then, if the choice they make is affirmative, Lawler's book will guide and inform their efforts to design, build, and then manage such an organization. Throughout his narrative, Lawler correctly reminds his reader of the difficulties of doing that. "Structures need to change, and practices need to change, but even that is not enough. People inside and outside the need to change the way they think about the organization. The organization needs to become recognizable from all angles as HC-centric." People change organizations, books don't. (The author or co-author of more than 40 books himself, Lawler is well-aware of that.) Moreover, unless there is high involvement in the transformation process, at all levels and in all areas of the given enterprise, the ultimate objectives cannot be achieved. And as Marshall Goldsmith insists, "what got you here will not get you there." That is the essence of Joseph Schumpeter's concept of "creative destruction." That is why, after Reggie Jones selected Jack Welch to succeed him as CEO of GE, he told him to "blow it up."
   
   In this context, I am reminded again of the fact that, like species, businesses are involved in a process of natural selection. Those that do not adapt to changes are doomed to deteriorate and eventually perish. Talent is needed to design, implement, and sustain an HC-central organization. Moreover, as talent needs change, there must be a shared mindset within the given organization that enables it to recognize and then respond appropriately to those changes. Obviously, Lawler cannot provide a "blueprint" nor serve as the "general contractor." His book is best viewed as an "operations manual" for decision-makers as they decide whether or not to adopt the HC-centric business model -- or perhaps what he characterizes as a "global competitor approach," also thoroughly explained.
   
   However, Lawler acknowledges that either approach is not the right choice for some companies, notably those "that operate in industries where the work is relatively low-skilled and low-value-added...The work in these industries makes it very difficult to create an environment where individuals can add significant value, and therefore where an HC-centric approach to management is likely to be successful." For them, a "bureaucratic, structure-centric approach" will probably be sufficient...at least for a while. But in a world that becomes "flatter" each day, that won't be long.
   
   Those who share my high regard for this brilliant book are urged to check out Lawler's earlier books, notably The New American Workplace (co-authored with Jim O'Toole) and Built to Change: How to Achieve Sustained Organizational Effectiveness (co-authored with Chris Worley). Also Dean Spitzer's Transforming Performance Measurement: Rethinking the Way We Measure and Drive Organizational Success as well as Enterprise Architecture as Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution co-authored by Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, and David Robertson.



2. I've had the pleasure of working with Professor Ed Lawler on the launch of "Talent." Personally, I found this book to be both simple in its storytelling while detailed in its valuable ideas. Professor Lawler does a wonderful job mixing in real world corporate examples of how leaders can shape their company (and their behavior) to best maximize their most pressing competitive advantage - people.
   
   From Michael Dell's self-evaluation process to Whole Foods public salary disclosure, Professor Lawler uncovers some of corporate America's best talent practices. In my estimation, "Talent" is a must read for any executive or manager who is ready to actively tap into a company's human capital. And doing so is a must today.