2 comments about The Six Secrets of Change: What the Best Leaders Do to Help Their Organizations Survive and Thrive.

1. Michael Fullan has been working to discover change secrets for years allowing him to amass an extensive data base on the subject. His depth of understanding provides a unique view for the change agent of today. An intriguing aspect of the book is how Fullan goes beyond the work of Collins book Good to Great. If you are a fan of G2G you will appreciate the Six Secrets and how it moves change to the next level. This book will give you ideas to contemplate.



2. Fullan has the great ability to take the complexities of educational concepts and simplify them and provide accurate analogies, descriptions and examples that make the complexities accessible. The book is on target and a critical part of any principal, director's or superintendent's library.

5 comments about The Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the Leadership Powered Company.

1. In my reading of the "Leadership Pipeline," I found it to be a fascinating look at all levels of management, albeit a somewhat unconfirmable one. The purpose of the book seems to be to outline, then advocate what it calls "The Leadership Pipeline." Think of it like a long drainage pipe system, with six intersections symbolizing six transitions in management (each of which can run smoothly or become clogged based on managers values and behavioral traits), all the way from entry level employee to CEO. The book takes the approach that every entry level employee, if they possessed the drive and willingness to change can become the CEO of any company they choose. In fact, the book so strongly advocates this position that it maintains that this is the best way to create the ultimate CEO from the very first pages.
   
   It is this belief that I found to be somewhat irritating as I read through the book. The notion that an entry level worker based in sales with no degree could become a more qualified CEO than their more educated counterparts was a little hard for me to swallow. The Leadership Pipeline does not actually advocate replacing more educated workers with less educated ones, but it does continuously profess that the best way to groom a leader at any leadership level is to ensure that they have gained the experience necessary by following all of the steps of the leadership pipeline model which have come before it, and all of those steps should be taken within the same company. It seems almost as concerned with advocating the implementation of its own design as it does offering constructive criticism to better the current system of business management. The book also fails to take into account what happens to the worker who gets laid off due to corporate takeovers, mergers, etc.
   
   That said, it does offer a number of good points on how to become a more effective leader. The most important of which is how it dispels the notion that one can cling to the elements of their job which made them successful at previous management levels. At each level of management (the book professes) a worker must take a step back and re-evaluate what exactly their job at that level becomes. It offers means by which one can generate positive communication and feedback so that the manager can truly become an effective leader. The way it goes on to illustrate the key traits of successful managers at each "intersection" by way of useful real life examples and anecdotes was one of the books major strengths and helped the flow tremendously. The language in which the book is written is geared to any audience, and in light of the admittedly dry material, it made it run more smoothly.
   
   One of the biggest problems I had with the book was it seems to have been written for an incredibly limited audience. The advice it gives on how to eliminate management problems at most of the "intersections" could only really be applied by extremely high levels of management which few actually achieve. I must admit I am still an undergraduate college student so my perspective is limited, but I cannot imagine how a great number of the concepts in this book would be useful to anyone other than those in the realm of vice president or CEO, and even if the principals were appropriate to that audience, they would have to be a member of a global multi billion dollar corporation with similar levels of management and positions discussed in the book.
   
   In the end I give it a 3 out of 5.



2. This book gives you a thoughtful and reasoned look at the upward transitions process. It does an excellent job of outlining the needs and potential problems at each career stage. The advice is usable by three groups of potential readers.
   
   You should buy this book if you are a senior manager, human resources executive, or board member in a company of any size who wants to understand the dynamics of leadership development/succession planning in a large company. The book outlines several transitions and the changes in skills and attitudes that are needed at each one, along with relevant pitfalls.
   
   You should buy this book if you are a manager on an upward career trajectory and you want to learn what's ahead and what skills and attitudes you need to develop as well as what possible problems lie in wait. The chapter that describes your next transition will outline what you will have to do and what you will have to do better.
   
   You should buy this book if you supervise other managers and you want some insight into analyzing performance issues and helping your people develop.
   
   What are the negatives?
   
   This book is written for people in big companies. With the exception of a couple of pages early in the book, managers in small to mid-sized businesses will need to figure out how this applies to them. This is not a big issue because of the range of material covered and the clarity of the presentation, but it still will be irritating to some readers.
   
   The big company whose shadow falls across this book is General Electric. That's not a bad thing in itself. GE does a marvelous job of leadership development. What you have to watch for, though, are unstated assumptions that other companies have the same culture and values as GE, or even that values matter as much everywhere else.
   
   For example, the authors state that "formal training for first line managers is fairly common." That's not true in the majority of US companies today.
   
   The authors state that "managers who aren't cut out for this role should be put on an individual contributor track." But in many companies there is no individual contributor "track." Only managing others leads you to higher status and higher pay.
   
   While there is a lot of good material handling the various transitions, you won't find much on deciding who should be promoted in the first place. But that's the only significant gap I see in this excellent book. Judging who to promote is a key decision and a key component of the success of the promotion.
   
   The bottom line is that this is an excellent book, filled with material that can be used by people in many different situations.



3. The downside of this book is no color inside and few visuals.
   
   Great book for managing your own development 'climbing the ladder' of transitions because the book has defined competencies by level and examples, which you can consider for yourself & situation.
   
   MUST READ for aspiring HR managers and line managers serious about talent management. Should be in any HR degree curiculum !
   
   Know as "The Book" in response and solution to "The War for Talent", which unlocks the secrets of GE talent management.



4. The authros present a pretty good set of guidelines with dos and donts for forming leaders in th workplace and recognizinf those thay wont cutit and how to dispose/retransition them.



5. I really enjoyed this book - I was able to apply it to my own career and validate what it takes to move as well as use it with my teams to help them figure it out. It's clearly written and easy to apply in any large corporate setting.
   
   I wish they provided a table (Skills, Time Application and Values) for all the passages - not just the first one from an Individual Contributor to a first line manager. I had to construct those myself...
   
   Highly recommended!
   
   Ravi

5 comments about Teaching Outside the Box: How to Grab Your Students By Their Brains.

1. This book was just what I needed to begin teaching in the classroom. I am trying to be one of those teachers who do more than just "stand up in the front of the classroom and lecture all day". Great read!



2. Marx is back, this time he's wearing Dockers. In order to bring about rule by the proletariat, Marx said there were some obstacles in the way that needed to be abolished: Family, Religion, and Culture. Our public schools are doing everything they can to do just that!
   
   Family: We - are - family, Trotsky, Lenin, Pol Pot and me! From the tender age of 5 straight on to 18, liberal teachers have a death-grip on your children's psyche from 8:00 until 3:00! The Dems are already discussing legislation to create government daycare systems that could have your kids in their clutches straight out of the womb!
   
   Then they have these parent-teacher conferences that are frighteningly similar to $cientology confessionals, only they are not forced to talk into a pair of tin-cans! The teacher's grill them on a long list of subjects until the parent is so tired and wanting to leave that he/she will give into any/all of the teacher's demands!
   
   Religion: Mommy, why can't Johnny read (the Bible?) As long as man holds himself accountable to God and not man, the State can never truly own him! Take away God and man's highest authority will be the State! Yike stripes! The trial that began the menagerie was the infamous Everson v. Board of Education 330 U.S. 1. (1947). Which not only took prayer out of schools, but gone on to remove any mention of God!
   
   Culture: Hey, I've got the diversity pneumonia and the multi-culti flu! By smothering your child with every culture but his own, the State is in fact taking away his culture. By the time your child leaves school, he is so bewildered by this cultural bombardment that he may start chanting is Swahili!
   
   This small example taken from a popular education website will allow you to hear it from the horse's mouth!
   "Content must be complete and accurate, acknowledging the contributions and perspectives of ALL groups.
   * Ensure that the content is as complete and accurate as possible.
   o "Christopher Columbus discovered America" is neither complete nor accurate.
   * Avoid tokenism--weave content about under-represented groups (People of Color, Women, Lesbian, Gxy, and Bisexual People, People with Disabilities, etc.) seamlessly with that about traditionally over-represented groups.
   o Do you present under-represented groups as "the other"?
   o Do you address these groups only through special units and lesson plans ("African American Scientists"; "Poetry by Women") or within the context of the larger curriculum?
   o Do you "celebrate" difference or study, explore, and acknowledge it as part of the overall curriculum?
   * Study the history of discrimination in curriculum and ensure that you are not replicating it.
   o Are supporting stereotypes (learning about Native Americans by making headdresses and tomahawks) or challenging them (learning about Native Americans through resources by Native Americans)?
   o Are you supporting or challenging the assumption that our society is inherently Eurocentric, male-centric, Christian-centric, heterosexual-centric, and upper-middle-class centric?"
   
   Well, having exposed without question our Marxist public school system, let's take a look at its list of crimes!
   
   * Teachers should, in theory, present numerous sides of issues and give their pupils a well rounded education. Then why is it that they are all FORCED to become members of the NEA, a far-left lobbyist group!? The union even tells its members who to vote for! This sounds like racketeering to me. Let's use those RICO statutes!
   
   * In order to keep as many people as possible within their grasp, the NEA refuses to give vouchers to minorities so they can escape to the freedom of private schools!
   
   * Whenever a student shows any sign of individualism, unconventional behavior, or beliefs that are not endorsed by the State, they are prescribed mind control drugs such as Ritalin and Prozac!
   
   * The public school system puts so much stress on our children that they are beginning to lash out and shoot, bomb, and otherwise kill their fellow classmates!
   
   * Some teachers even engage in s-e-x acts with their students! In fact these cases are in the news all the time!
   
   * Check out this definition of prison and be mortified: "A public building used for the confinement of people convicted of serious crimes." That's what public schools are! Public buildings used for the confinement of people! But public schools are even worse because the children haven't even committed any crimes! Or maybe our government just assumes they will and this is a form of preemptive correction! Is the government proselytizing them to have a herd-like mentality.
   
   * This just in! Youth suicide rates up! Children would rather die than go to public school! In 1998, among youth ages 10 to 19 in the United States, there were 2,054 suicides! Those kids could have grown up to be doctors or great scientists but the public school system drove them to kill themselves!
   
   Your eyes are probably blinded by tears brought on by the long list of grievances I just listed. Therefore, I will give you a moment to wipe them from your eyes and regain your composure.
   All done? Good, because there's hope.
   
   Home schools- Parents, you don't need the government to do your job for you! You are more than capable of teaching your children everything they need to know, even more so as you can give your child 100% of your attention! Make sure you always have your child take part in activities with people their age, such as Church, sports, and home-schooling events so they are prepared for the world when they have graduated. Fathers, take your son to work and let him observe, when he gets a little older, begin some hands-on training. Mothers, don't just cook and clean for your daughters, have them cook and clean with you to provide hands on training. The opportunities for preparing your child for the rat-race, without government intervention, are limited only by your imagination and lack of initiative!
   
   The best part is, unlike school where they sit down all day and are filled with energy when they get home, your tykes will be tuckered out by the end of your hands on instruction, leaving you and your spouse ample free-time to get to work on making more independent thinkers!



3. I had high hopes when I purchased this book but was sadly disappointed. It really is a good book for either new teachers or those who work in urban settings. I am not new to teaching nor do I teach in an urban area so I was not able to put my reading to good use. I think there is an abundance of great advice for those new to profession so I would recommend this highly to them. If you have taught for several years you probably already implement the recommendations in the book. While some of the book could be applied to any grade level, most of it is geared toward middle or high school. This also was contrary to my personal needs but may be quite useful to others. So, new teachers, urban teachers, and teachers of grades 6-12 will probably find this book rather useful. Others might want to keep looking for something else that targets their needs more directly.



4. Thinking Outside the Box is hands down THE best teaching book I own (and I own a lot of theaching books). Johnson's straight-forward, friendly, yet pragmatic style make this an enjoyable and useful book. I plan on using all of the ideas that she has put forth. I will reread it as soon as I am finished! It's like having the best mentor spill all of her secrets. She also has helped me affirm my own teaching style. I am a young teacher and sometimes get the message that I'm too soft. Johnson's friendly yet in-charge teaching style is a refreshing change from the "Don't smile 'till Christmas" advice that I have received from other seasoned teachers. I normally don't write reviews but I had to recommend this book because it is so wonderful. A+



5. Like the author I entered teaching later in life. I brought some of my insights in managing people and motivating people with me. It helped to an extent because in teacher training courses you get none of it.
   
   The great thing about this book is the author actually gives examples and suggestions of what to do in real every day teaching situations. I teach outside the US and her ideas work fine. Kids are kids - no matter where you are.
   
   Sharing her triumphs and failures she actually seems to have looked deeper into the classroom setting and adopted her teaching to fit. That is why I recommend a change of the title. The ideas she suggests are not new ideas - just good people skills.
   
   I read Rafe Esquiths books and his come across a bit as "Look how good I am/was". This book is more of someone sharing and giving practical advice for you to use.
   
   Any univeristy student about to enter student teaching should read this book.

5 comments about The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life.

1. I love this book! I loved it when the first edition came out ten years ago -- and I love it even more now, with the new beginning and ending. I also love the CD that comes with the book -- the wonderful conversation between Parker and his colleagues. Parker puts into words what so many of us have felt -- and he does it exquisitely. He says that we teach who we are, that the teacher's identity and integrity are more important than any technique or method. Good teachers have always known that -- but we've begun to doubt our own knowing in this mean climate that has left way too many teachers behind. This book is the perfect gift for every new teacher-- as well as for those of us who struggle some days to remember the passion that brought us to teaching in the first place!



2. This new edition is a welcomed reminder of the eloquent and insightful invitation Parker Palmer issued ten years ago to educators to go inside themselves and rekindle the passion that originally drew them to teaching. I am delighted to know that in the past ten years this work has evolved to include others in professions of the heart--namely everyone. This is a profoundly thoughtful and engaging book for anyone.



3. This book is a gift to all dedicated educators. Parker Palmer's thoughtful text, The Courage to Teach, has been updated and expanded for this, his tenth anniversary edition. I love the CD that comes with it. I used this book in my graduate course last fall and my students really enjoyed reading it and discussing Palmer's ideas. One student commented, "From Parker Palmer I've learned how to think more critically....I find myself spending much more time thinking before speaking. Not just in class but in LIFE!" All of us who work in classrooms need to consider the impact of our words on others. This book is an excellent guide to understanding that it is not technique but one's identity and integrity that make a difference in the classroom.



4. If teaching is part of your life's work, then this is a must read. It is both spiritual and practical in its wisdom and demands for authenticity.



5. I loved this book. Parker Palmer is addressing something that other books and inservices don't and that is the integrity that's at the heart of all teachers. He offers advice and encouragement to those who care so deeply and give so much to their students.

5 comments about Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy.

1. This book is a grace note in an age of religiously fuelled hate crimes and suicide bombings. It is not only about how the Old Order Amish found it within themselves to forgive the killer of their young girls, it is also one of the best books on religion and ethics that I have ever read.
   
   If the reader learns one thing from the Nickel Mines school shooting, it is this: "the Amish commitment to forgive is not a small patch tacked onto their fabric of faithfulness. Rather, their commitment to forgive is intricately woven into their lives and their communities."
   
   The Amish take the Lord's Prayer to heart. If they themselves wish to be forgiven, they must forgive.
   
   "Amish Grace" gives an account of Charles Carl Roberts IV and the instruments of cruelty and death that he brought to the small Nickel Mines schoolhouse on October 2, 2006. But as the authors put it, the biggest surprise "was not the intrusion of evil but the Amish response." How and why the Amish forgave the killer in their midst is the main focus of this book.
   
   One of the contrasts I couldn't help drawing from this story was the Amish response to the murder of their children, versus the way John Walsh, dedicated host of "America's Most Wanted" reacted to the murder of his six-year-old son, Adam. Since that horrible day in 1981, Walsh has devoted himself to bringing criminals to justice, and has been instrumental in rescuing abducted children. In 2006 President Bush signed a new bill into law that changed how Americans protect their children against sexual predators such as Charles Carl Roberts IV. The law is called "The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act."
   
   If John Walsh had been Amish, would any of these good and necessary deeds have been accomplished? On a more personal level, were the stricken Amish parents better able than Mr. Walsh to live with their grief because they forgave their children's killer?
   
   In the course of writing this book, the authors develop answers to questions such as the above, from the Amish and non-Amish point-of-view. They don't preach. They don't resort to sociological mumbo-jumbo. They tell the stories of good people, who are also fallible human beings. They conclude that "Amish-style forgiveness can't be strip-mined from southern Lancaster County and transported wholesale to other settings. Rather, the lessons of grace that the rest of us take from Nickel Mines must be extracted with care and applied to other circumstances with humility."
   
   This is a thoughtful, well-written book.



2. This book is a moving portrait of the tragic shootings of Amish school children in Nickel Mines, PA. Above all, however, it an insightful view of Amish culture and faith, especially with regard to forgiveness. The book's spare and elegant prose was perfectly suited to the subject. I bought 2 additional copies as gifts for friends.



3. The mix of Amish background and history with the present gave me a much better understanding of the Amish,why they believe, and who they are.
   I wish I could have a commitment and devotion as strong as theirs. This book not only shows their strengths, but also their weaknesses, and how they cope with both. Anyone whether religious,or a non-believer should read this book so they can strengthen their own personal beliefs.
   
   Highly recommend for everyone interested in improving their own life.
   
   EJ



4. Sometimes kindness comes from the least expected of places. "Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy" is a look back at the shocking kindness shown by the Amish after a horrible tragedy in the Nickel Mines of Pennsylvania claimed the lives of ten schoolgirls. Shattering the stereotype of the Amish as a backwards people who condemn the outside world for their heretical ways, it's a refreshing look at a good, albeit unique type of people. "Amish Grace" is a refreshing tale of the good side of religion.



5. The authors examine all aspects of the amazing grace demonstrated by the Amish people in tiny West Nickel Mines, PA after the ghastly killing of five school-age girls by a distraught "Englishman". The Amish's version of Christianity, focused sharply on the Lord's Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount, tells them to forgive others, lest they be forgiven by God for their sins. Centuries of thinking and living this way make other reactions to tragedy almost unthinkable within the Amish community, though forgiveness does not erase grief. Christians may think differently about their interpretation of Christ's teachings after reading this book. Description of the killings themselves are mercifully brief, though still poignant.
   
   Very highly recommended to all readers.

5 comments about Silos, Politics and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable About Destroying the Barriers That Turn Colleagues Into Competitors.

1. Mr. Lencioni has captured the essense of corporate politics and create a compelling tale to explain strategies to reduce its impact on an organization. This book is definitely worth the few hours it takes to read.



2. In "Silos, Politics and Turf Wars," Patrick Lencioni uses his lesson-as-fable template to address the common, and challenging, issue of organizational silos. Written in an engaging and no-nonsense style, this book highlights the challenges posed by organizational silos...and the politics and turf wars that are often associated with such silos.
   
   Beyond the easy-to-read style of this book, I appreciate Lencioni's section on "The Model," in which the salient managerial points put forth in the book are called out in a specific and tangible manner.



3. This book provides solid practices and actions to identify and remove silos in organizations. It's filled with do-able actions in a context that gives examples and great team discussions.



4. What a great book on what actually happens in the corporate world. As a corporte director for a fortune 500 company, I find these "silos" at every turn. And once I recognize it, my interface with these departments take a different tactic from the normal interactions with "normal" groups. Indeed, this book solidified my viewpoint on staking out claims to certain areas and have help me to get beyond the hurdles they represent.
   
   I applaud the author for his insight and deep understanding of this annoying yet critical topic. I also appreciated that a large part of the book was in "story style", that is a good story creates images and for us Adult Learners, we need that extra help. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR - Author of Wingtips with Spurs



5. Certainly not the bible for anything, but I like the fact that this was a real scenario rather then a "by the numbers" type exercise. You can breeze through this in one sitting.

5 comments about Fighting for Your Marriage: Positive Steps for Preventing Divorce and Preserving a Lasting Love (New & Revised).

1. My husband and I read this book several years ago. We both thought it was the best book we're read on the subject of marriage and communication. I recently sent one to my sister and recommend it to anyone interested in improving their communication. Should be required reading for anyone getting married!



2. Wonderful book! It offers poitive, useful advice for couples either trying to save their marriage or enhance what they have.



3. My husband and I attended a marriage workshop on the military base we are stationed at and really enjoyed it. The books were great and if a couple is having marriage problems this book will help a great deal. I recommend this book for any couple!



4. This is a great book with a lot of practical application. The key is to honor each other by doing what it says.



5. I first read this as a newlywed and found the ideas invaluable. A decade later, it has helped many of the couples I counsel. This book is chock full of practical, easily implemented advice that will enhance any marriage.

5 comments about The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable.

1. 
   This is one in a series of "leadership fables" in which Patrick Lencioni shares his thoughts about the contemporary business world. His characters are fictitious human beings rather than anthropomorphic animals, such as a tortoise that wins a race against a hare or pigs that lead a revolution to overthrow a tyrant and seize control of his farm.
   
   In this instance, Lencioni focuses on a common business problem for or challenge to leaders: How to identify "a reasonable number of issues that will have the greatest possible impact on the success of [their] organization, and then spend most [their] time thinking about, talking about, and working on those issues." Presumably Lencioni agrees with Stephen Covey (among others) that executives tend to spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important. Of course, that sets a bad example for their direct reports. Viewed another way, some obsessions are productive...others are not. Extraordinary executives know the differences between the two types.
   
   Here's the fictitious situation. Lencioni introduces CEOs of two rival firms in the Bay Area, Vince Green (Greenwich Consulting) and Rich O'Connor (Telegraph Partners) who have quite different obsessions: Green's are best revealed within the book's narrative; Green's are directly or indirectly the result what could be described as Greenwich Consulting's organizational inferiority complex insofar as Telegraph Partners is concerned. There is an early and significant development when O'Connor - struggling to cope with the pressures of trying to balance his family and his successful but demanding business - experiences what Lencioni characterizes as an "epiphany": the recognition of four basis activities ("disciplines, really") that guide and inform his leadership of Telegraph Partners thereafter. "He never certainly suspected that [his list of what become leadership obsessions] would become the blue-print of an employee's plan to destroy the firm."
   
   Almost immediately, it becomes obvious that a new hire, Jamie Bender, "didn't seem to share the hunger and humility of his colleagues" at Telegraph Partners and that is a key point for reasons also best revealed within Lencioni's narrative. Recognizing the mistake, O'Connor must decide how to correct it. Over time, he and his colleagues become infected by what Lencioni describes as a "virus." What then happens - and does not happen - throughout the ensuing weeks allow Lencioni to dramatize both the importance of the four "obsessions of an extraordinary executive" to which the title of his book refers and the consequences when any one of them is compromised. He is a brilliant business thinker but he also possesses the skills of a master raconteur, introducing a cast of characters, conflicts between and among them, and then allowing "rising action" build to a climax (i.e. resolution) also best revealed within the narrative.
   
   Of special interest to me is a conversation between Bender and Green when Bender explains each of the four disciplines with which O'Connor is obsessed. This conversation occurs late in the narrative and indicates that Bender understands the four disciplines and yet is unwilling and/or unable to master and then follow them. (This strikes me as an excellent example of what Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton characterize as the "Knowing-Doing Gap.") Bender's explanation seems somewhat didactic to me but, nonetheless, serves as a means by which Lencioni can summarize his key points. He adds a nice dramatic touch when O'Connor appears at Green's office and there is a brief encounter between him and Bender before he and Green meet. Although they and other executives are fictitious characters, each is credible as a human being rather than as a literary device.
   
   As is Lencioni's custom in each of the other volumes in the series of "leadership fables," he then provides an "Organizational Health: The Model" section and supplementary material (Pages 139-180) whose value-added benefits will help his reader to make effective application of the lessons learned from the experiences shared by Rich O'Connor and his colleagues at Telegraph Partners as well as from what Vince Green finally realizes about himself and about the consequences of his own obsessions.
   
   Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out Patrick Lencioni's other "leadership fables" as well as Michael Ray's The Highest Goal, David Maister's Practice What You Preach, Bill George's Authentic Leadership and his more recently published True North, James O'Toole's Creating the Good Life, and Michael Maccoby's Narcissistic Leaders.



2. I have read or listened to a number of Patrick Lencioni's books. The fable format makes them entertaining, and the simple management principles ring true. I gave this four stars because it is eclipsed by another one of Pat's books that shares some of the principles and has a better story line to bring it home. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
   
   In the four obsessions book we learn that the secret of company success is
   1. Build and maintain a cohesive leadership team
   2. Be very clear about your message/mission/values
   3. Over communicate your message/mission/values thoughout the org.
   4. Set up systems that reinforce this organization clarity.
   
   Of course that are more details with the above (which I have paraphrased).
   
   Pat adds a helpful review of the model at the end of the fable. I really recommend this book!!



3. Although The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable was published in 2000 it is still the very best companion to Jim Collins' Good to Great. Lencioni's parable illustrates better than any other book the simple but powerful principles of building and maintaining a cohesive leadership team, creating organizational clarity, the importance of over-communicating organizational clarity, and reinforcing that clarity through human systems. This is a book that I read every year. It is one of my most "marked-up" books (the front and back flyleaves are covered with notes and quotes). If you haven't picked this one up you've missed one of Lencioni's very best.



4. Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive is Patrick Lencioni's second book written in 2000, again it is a fiction as well as a management book. The readers would be eager to know the obsessions of that very successful person. CEO is supposed to be rational and sensible. It is curious to note that such a person could be obsessed with anything. In fact, on very important issues, we had better be obsessed rather than let them off the hook lightly.
   
   The story looks like a novel involving commercial spies. It is a tale of two companies, similar in the industry they were in, their niche, their strength, their customers, their size, their strategy. It is a matter of management style which made differences in their culture and organization health. The story evolves around a virus which attacked a company. It set off suspicion and created a crisis. The story told the strength of a cohesive team of good organization health and how it fought off the virus. The virus revealed the secret of the obsessions to the CEO of the rival company who thought otherwise. You will guess the ending about the future of these two companies.
   
   The interesting part is the virus, who is the VP of HR, kind of like a very capable EO specializing in our professional area. The problem with him was that he did not participate actively in discussions, was not willing to share his views, and not wholeheartedly merged with the management team. He liked to hide himself and revealed his opinion last, and in a non-committal way. He appears to me as having the attributes of some civil servants. The virus was exposed as not being able to align with the culture of the company. I wonder if this is a sin for civil servant for not being able to align with the culture of the government, or the department, or the grade.
   
   The thrust of the story is the obsessions. They are actually very simple and concern the organization culture, its core values, its identity, direction, strategy and objectives. The obsessions are how the CEO took these in mind and action. He was obsessed with being cohesive, being clear, over-communicating and reinforcing. These are the four disciplines to be upheld.
   
   1st discipline: Build and maintain a cohesive leadership team - We all know that it is desirable to have team members working happily together. But the obsession went a step further of letting team members know one another's unique strength and weakness, openly engaging in constructive ideological conflict, holding one another accountable for behaviours and actions, and committing to group decisions. As a result, the cohesive and healthy team was able to fight off the virus which tried to contaminate the team spirit.
   
   2nd discipline: Create organizational clarity - Writing up vision and mission statements is a common practice in setting up the identity of the company and its long term goal. It was trendy a few years ago and everyone did it. The CEO of the rival company said it was mentioned in Build to Last which all management people knew well and could readily recite. But these statements are just empty slogans only fit for display as decoration on the wall. The obsession is to make these organizational identity, culture, strategy and responsibilities very clear, that action plans could be formed without confusion based on them.
   
   3rd discipline: Over-communicate organizational clarity - Over-doing anything is an obsession. But for issues as important as the organizational clarity, there is no thrift in over-communicating them. The obsessed CEO conveyed messages on organization clarity repeatedly on every occasion, using simple language to eliminate confusion and inconsistency, using multiple media to meet different level of reception, and cascading the messages down the ranks until the message was heard by all.
   
   4th discipline: Reinforce organizational clarity through human systems - At the end of the day, it is human that preserve or undermine culture. The CEO was obsessed with sustaining the health of the organization by making sure that the human systems were used to reinforce organizational clarity. All staff were tested and reinforced of their alignment with the organizational culture through the recruitment process, performance management, rewards and recognition, and dismissal.
   
   We all claim that culture is hard to change. But the reality is that culture is also hard to maintain. When the CEO found a culture that was good for the company, he was obsessed to preserving it, or seen the other way round, obsessed to changing the behaviour of the staff to align with the culture. Or you may say that he was changing other cultures or sub-cultures to align with his culture. This is very hard to do, and it really takes an obsessed CEO to keep the company on the track.



5. Patrick Lencioni, utilizing his engaging fable-as-lesson writing style, covers his view of the four "Disciplines" of a healthy organization in "The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive." The fable...and the "Model" underlying the fable...stresses the importance of clarity in a healthy organization.
   
   As in a number of Lencioni's other books, the simplicity of the framework covered in this book is stressed...as is the difficulty in actually implementing the framework.
   
   I found this book a worthwhile read due to its simplicity, its straightforward messages and its blending of a story with managerial ideas. Furthermore, I appreciated the fact that the principles espoused in the book are laid out in a manner that directly connects the managerial ideas to actions that can be taken within an organization.

5 comments about Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership (JOSSEY-BASS BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT SERIES).

1. My prof used it as a required text in the course I took. It's great! Through this book I can understand why things didn't work at my previous work experience at a higher ed. institution. I definitely recommend the book to everyone, including those who work at the social sectors as you'll understand why you need to use politics, pay attention to human resource and organization structure!



2. This is a required text for a class I'm taking. So I was pleasantly surprised that it reads like a business book. It provides great examples of concepts and real-world case studies. I'm really enjoying it.



3. I got this it was brand new. Now I am using it for my classes.



4. The book came in mint condition and at the specified time. Thank you for your product!



5. ordered wednesday afternoon, received book saturday!! in great condition. would definitely order from this seller again!

5 comments about The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: An Easy-to-Use Guide with Clear Rules, Real-World Examples, and Reproducible Quizzes.

1. MY HUSBAND AND I OWN SEVERAL PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN NEW JERSEY. WE HAVE MADE THE "BLUEBOOK" MANDATORY FOR ALL OUR STUDENTS. "JANE"-THANKS, YOU MAKE OUR JOB MUCH EASIER. BARBARA AND DANIEL R. DEL BAGNO--PRINCETON EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE--KENDALL PARK,NJ.



2. The rules and examples in this book are so clear and concise that I actually enjoy learning and reviewing English. Whenever my kids come home with a grammar, punctuation, capitalization, or homonym question, we grab The Blue Book, knowing we'll find a rule that will get us out of confusion. We love to challenge ourselves with all of the great quizzes provided also. I showed my children's teachers the book and now they are ordering it as a textbook for their classes. It takes hard work to make a subject seem easy. Jane Straus deserves high praise for achieving this.



3. The workbook's ease of use is what stood out the most for me. I enjoy a hands on approach and being able to test my newly acquired knowledge with the quizzes truly helps. She also presents a lot of extra information on her website for free [...] which is great for those who may not have the financial means to supply a classroom with books.



4. This book is ideal for anyone wanting to sharpen his/her English grammar skills. As a virtual assistant who does quite a bit of editing for my clients, I have used the contents of this book as a quick reference when something stumps me. Whether you are learning English as a second language or you are a writer or editor wanting to look up a little-known grammar rule, you will find that this comprehensive reference book is perfect for your needs. If you aren't sure if it will cover the topic(s) you're looking for, the author has the entire contents of the book online at grammarbook.com so you can take a look before you buy. This book has been a great help to me and several of my colleagues, and I would highly recommend it to others!



5. This book opens flat on the table for easy viewing. The index is very thoroughly laid out. I had seen this book on my writing workshop. They linked this book also to Amazon. Excellent book for any writing. I am writing a novel:THE ROCK OF NEREID
   and hope to sell it here on Amazon. I have been purchasing many GOOD grammar and
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   Vincent J. Arcuri