5 comments about Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery.

1. The author should have replaced the "Christian" with the world "psychological" in his title. He is deliberate in tricking you into reading it though. He should be honest and less cowardly and just say so in his title. I'm sorry I wasted my $8.30. I could have read some of Elijah Muhammad's old writings, from where he obviously got much or all of his "views." Even Muhammad would admit that he used anti-Christian language and anti-white racism to get our attention, so we would eventually do for ourselves. I actually would not give this book a star, but I had to or else Amazon wouldn't let me list my review.



2. Dr. Akbar managed to capture so many issues that black people face today. Not only did he state the issues, but he also provided us with solutions or means of breaking the chains. After reading this book I was enlightened, devoted to change, share the information and make a difference in the lives of black people.



3. I was a little reluctant to give a review of this book. My hesitation was due to the mixed emtoions I had after finishing it. One part of me wanted to go out and ask my "white" brothers and sisters if they even care about what is going on in the minds of their "black" brethren and how, even though they were not slave owners themselves, most of them continue to personify the self-proclaimed superiority that was the staple of the horrible act of slavery. Yet, on the other hand, after recognizing that I could be moved to such a thought I came to a profound realization: though I have come a long way from te ghettos of New Orleans, I still see myself as a victim to some degree. Brothers and sisters, I am here to tell you that we are not victims. This book, though insightful, reinforces and, I believe, indirectly gives validity to the feeling of victimhood that plagues the black community. So, Why did I give it four stars? Well, in order to understand the actions of today one must be willing to look back to the seeds that were sowed that day before. This book does that. But it does not say that we are not victims. YOU, brothers and sisters, are not victims! Again, this book is insightful, but it is easy for one to fall into the pits of anger after reading it. Right now, our race does not need any more anger. What we need is love, and that is something that victims are usually incapable of giving themselves and/or the people around them.



4. This is an excellent book. Reading this book gave me new insight into what is going on with our youth (African-American) in many inner-city neighborhoods. The results of the "slave" mentality is still very much alive today.



5. There are dozens of great reviews for this book and I don;t have much to add. Just check it out. You won't regret it.

5 comments about Attitudes of Gratitude: How to Give and Receive Joy Everyday of Your Life.

1. A lot has been said about having a "positive attitude," but this is one of the first books I have read that actually shows you how to accomplish this and experience life as a series of everyday miracles. I love this book and have given it as a gift several times. A must read.



2. This book looked great from the reviews, so I decided to reserve it at the library to see if I thought it was worth purchasing. I was really excited when it was ready for pick up! I've just sat down with it tonight, however, and I'm really kind of disappointed... keep in mind this is coming from someone who has struggled for more than half her life with depression and anxiety - who has read the books and talked to professionals about problems and life and all that. This book didn't tell me anything I hadn't heard elsewhere.
   
   To me this book seemed like a whole lot of "You should be grateful for simple things..." as opposed to, "This is how you can be grateful for simple things." I, personally, don't need someone telling me a list of things to be grateful for... I need someone to tell me *why* to be grateful for them... in a manner that is actually passionate and compelling. Why is life such a wonderful gift, why should I be moved by a rainbow, or a flower, etc.
   
   The book is broken down into 5 "chapters", all filled with short 2 or 3 page stories. In one of the parts towards the beginning, the author talks about how worry, stress, etc., are bad for us... while gratitude and joy are good. It's not worded exactly like that, obviously, but that is the basic premise, and it's something I think just about everyone knows already. Not much is said about how you can go about getting rid of that worry and stress, though. Well, actually, there is... we can get rid of it by being grateful, but nothing seems to tell you how to do *that*.
   
   In chapter 4, the stories start offering some suggestions. Most of them involve thinking of things you're thankful for... or thinking of ways you can improve your life to get things you want (not in a material but an emotional fashion). I didn't read anything about how to actually go about getting into the mindset of *being* thankful, or how to actually take the steps to *make* the improvements to your life.
   
   Reading this book reminded me so much of the "Just do it" attitude I run into everywhere. In many cases, a great affirmation... but sometimes it isn't that easy. Be grateful... for life, simple things, etc. It reminds me of how people often tell you to "stop it" when they hear you are anxious or depressed. It isn't a light switch that everyone can flip on or off at will. The author DOES know this, and acknowledges that you have to work at gratitude... but I am not one of those people who is helped much by self reinforced positive affirmations on a day to day basis. That seems to be the method this book suggests.
   
   Perhaps, if you're normally a happy person who has hit a rough spot... or if you're a person who can change easily... this book will help you. For anyone who has problems changing and needs really sound suggestions and things to practice that will do the job, I don't think I'd suggest this book. That's not to say this book is bad, I just find it average in the "help" it offers. If I judge it only among self-help books, I would say it is above average, because it's much easier and more fun to read.



3. This is a "must read" for all of us to keep our lives balanced with the blessings we have today.



4. I have personal knowledge that a convicted Rapist, Attempted Murderer is going to be selling a DVD called.....Attitude to Gratitude. Very concerned this will be mixed up with you beautiful BOOKS!



5. I have several autoimmune disorders. Unfortunately, chronic depression both runs in my family and is a symptom of one of my disorders, so I've struggled with depression on and off throughout my life. I do not, however, receive medication for my depression; instead, I manage it through exercise, a support group of family and friends, and positive thinking.
   
   One of my tools is Attitudes of Gratitude by M.J. Ryan. It's a smallish book that focuses on keeping a gratitude journal; it's been medically proven that people who regularly count their blessings are less likely to be depressed.
   
   Written in 1994, Attitudes of Gratitude is a sequel to the author's A Grateful Heart: Daily Blessings for the Evening Meal from Buddha to the Beatles. Each of the sixty chapters is a meditation on gratitude and practical ways to practice and maintain thankfulness in our daily lives. The author recommends only reading one chapter a day in order to let the stories and messages sink in. According to Ryan, since gratitude is an attitude as well as a practice, we should take enough time to integrate her learnings so we can truly possess them.
   
   Each of the individual chapters is opened by a quote on gratitude, and feature stories of various individuals who've overcome devastating medical diagnoses and divorces, personal obstacles, or other barriers to happiness. The readings are very brief (a page or two at most), so you have no reason not to be able to work one into a hectic day. Ideally, with practice you'll be able to take five or ten minutes for yourself to make a list of everything you're grateful for, from chocolate to loved ones to sunsets.
   
   If the sound of all of this is making you uncomfortable with touchy-feely New Age overtones, the book is written in a friendly and accessible manner. It is spiritual rather than religious; there are no cutesy angels or cloying illustrations of puppies and kittens. In fact, there are no illustrations to allow you a clear view of the idea of recognizing and expressing gratitude.
   
   This is a priceless gift for someone who is facing a rough spot, whether it's a recent medical diagnosis, a death in the family, or any event that temporarily robs someone of hope or joy. Attitudes of Gratitude showed me the power of positive thinking and expressing gratitude for what I DO have as opposed to what I think I'm missing or being deprived of, and has helped me to focus on the things I enjoy rather than what I'm not able to do or what I don't own.

5 comments about Bad Childhood---Good Life: How to Blossom and Thrive in Spite of an Unhappy Childhood.

1. The book contains good suggestions for a productive life, and useful ideas and concepts to overcome difficult life experiences, but only if the reader is ready to implement them. The author, by sharing her own challenging experiences at the end, validated for me that she understands and has lived and found a need for doing what is encompassed in the book.
   
   I have given a copy of the book to each of my children with an apology for the 'bad childhood' I gave them. I feel I made a honest effort to break the cycle and not pass on the things I had to live through to my children. I know I didn't succeed entirely, but I know the things I view as being the worst of my childhood were left in my childhood. I hope it gets them on their own road to full, happy adulthood. I'm glad the author took the time and made the effort to help others grow and progress and be happy.



2. I do not like Dr. Laura. I think she is mean. I have no idea why I picked up this book, but I am very glad I did.
   This is such a grounded and compassionate book. I've mostly focused on spiritual books for healing childhood pain, you know Wayne Dyer, Deepak, etc, but I needed this to really help me over the hump. I buy it for people all of the time, and get raves about it. I think what I love about this book is the characteristic Dr. Laura brutal honesty, but it is tempered with understanding and kindness. After reading this book, I am finally able to be completely honest with myself about what I can expect from my parents, (and others too), so that I stop trying to get a response that I'll never ever get. I'm much happier now that I have stopped trying to get "juice from a rock", as Dr. Laura says.
   I didn't have a "bad childhood", but I very much needed this book. Don't let the title sway you. If you are reading this review, you must need this book too. Get it.



3. This book has some great advice but it is sometimes expressed very rudely. She starts this book out excellently, explaining how isolation dehumanizes people. I loved the first half of this book, but then it got too negative. Most people who have moved on needed and received some empathy somewhere. For those who haven't, find others who can understand what you're going through and hear you out with a positive outlook. I found how to do this for myself and others when I read a great parenting book, Between Parent and Child. I also received empathy from people like this at my church. Oh, and for those who say Dr. Laura is advocating turning to the Christian God to heal, I saw quite the opposite at times.
   
   Jesus taught that forgiveness is essential; Dr. Laura disagrees.
   He taught that there are times to cut relationships off; Dr. Laura agrees.
   He taught us to love everyone, including Mom; Dr. Laura disagrees.
   He taught only those who deserve it should be thought of as family; Dr. Laura agrees.
   
   When she agrees with Christ, I don't think she means to. Minimal references to Christianity was in some of the quotes of real live experiences of those who have moved on to a "good life".
   
   In the back of the book, Dr. Laura shares some of her family life growing up, which I found very interesting.



4. I was scheptical when i ordered this book, When i started reading it I could not stop, After years of counseling, this book was the affirmation of what had happend to me and it was not my fault. Dr Laura is the best. This is the first book I read of hers, after reading this one I will buy more. I wish she would write another one regarding bad parenting and childhoods,



5. Perfect! Received very quick and it was in wonderful condition even with the book cover still on and lookin great.

5 comments about The Way: Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah for Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment.

1. "The Way" -- with a title like that you'd think you were purchasing your very own spiritual epiphany. In less than one hundred pages if I remember correctly.
   
   I actually picked this up when I was walking through the mall. I'd already been sort of curious about the subject, I've been studying Wicca and Buddhism for years and I'm always open to new ideas.
   
   So as you might be able to imagine, I with my new found interest, curled up in a chair and began reading about "The Way". Oooh.
   A mere 30 minutes later it was done. Nothing had been said in that thing that a teenager can't sit and think about on their own. For being a ten dollar book, this thing can seriously just as well serve as an intro to a much more thorough book. But then again that wouldn't make as much money. Had this been written out of passion it wouldn't have been so vague and brief.
   
   Don't waste your time on this, or on anything written by the Bergs.
   
   Kabbalah has a lot of great ideas and I still haven't given up hope, I'm still reading and looking for good writing. Someone give me something thought provoking and detail oriented.



2. 
   This is a very interesting book. I fully recommend it to anyone looking for spiritual answers. You may not agree with everything -- and that's OK. But take whatever you get from this book and simply make it yours. You don't have to become a follower of Kabbalah to put some of the ideas into practice. Try it. You may like it.
   
   Also recommended: "What Did Jesus Really Say, How Christianity Went Astray: [What To Say To A Born Again Christian Fundamentalist, But Never Had The Information]" by Peter Cayce



3. This book helps to develop personal relationship with God and find the way to Eternal Life. The person who gains Eternal Life has accomplished the goal of life. This book helps the humanity to accomplished the goal of life.



4. This was the first Kabbalah book that I read, definetely the right one, the subject being so new to me, since I am not Jewish, but Michael Berg writes so beautifully and it such simple words that I understood easily and so did my soul. It gave me a very good intro to Kabbalah, has beautiful stories about the Baalshemtov (a Tzadik, mystic, sage), it has the beautiful story about the white Angels, the black Angels and the grey Angels, after this story, I see dificulties in my life from a totally diferent perspective. This book talks about redemption, and God's mercy, and many more subjects that can only enrich your life!!! After this book I continue to read The Essential Zohar, the 72 names of God, which I meditate on frequently, and so on, the journey continues!!!



5. great book + great author = a perfect combination...even if i dont agree upon some of 'the way', it is indeed a great source for reference or personal library and spiritual quest...and although im not jewish, i know that i will flip the pages on a periodic basis ;)

5 comments about Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time.

1. Gerry Spence has a rather eloquent way of describing what charisma is: "Charisma is the controlled transfer of raw emotion."
   
   It seems the whole book revolves around his definition of charisma. Once you have raw emotion you could then use tools like visual aids (and the book goes into details of this sort but always reminding the reader to be real) and so forth to transfer raw emotion to someone else (or a jury), in a controlled way.
   
   It is the charisma that helps you present, persuade and prevail every place, every time, as the book's subtitle promises. And the book certainly transfers.



2. I listened to the audio book, which is long but wonderful! Once you get through the book you will have learned several very valuable lessons. Mr. Spence provides several approaches for winning your case and learing how to be genuine and convincing. He advocates an emotional and honest investment in your situation and he tells you exactly how to do it. It works, and although many of his cases give court room stories, anyone can apply it to their own life outside the court room. We often interrogate others while being interrogated in life. Check it out!!



3. Very deep and incisive



4. Spence gives many useful lessons. Listen to them with, as Spence puts it, your "third ear." Lawyers from all sorts of practice areas should listen and learn about "psychodrama." Listen. Feel your client's predicament. Spence gives new meaning to the teaching of Michael Tigar that "nothing you learned in law school teaches you to listen or to care."
   
   Spence has a fair amount of bombast. His cowboy style fits few people. But that's his point. This CD will help you find your own voice.
   
   As other reviewers have said, Win Your Case falters when Spence attempts to translate his trial lawyer strategies to other contexts. Certainly much of what Spence teaches translates in some ways to the boardroom, city hall, and other places. But Spence's useful examples in Win Your Case focus on trials of personal injury and criminal defense cases. Spence shines most brightly in those areas.



5. I was expecting to read insightful thoughts about how to win my case. What I didn't expect was to read insightful thoughts about how to enjoy my life and how to improve myself. And all that with a really smooth writing style that you find enjoyable to read for many hours.

5 comments about The Beauty Prescription.

1. So many of my patient's forget that you have to feel good to look good.
   This book helps to show you how to do both and is a very fun read, and that comes from a physician who sees complications and disorders of the mind and body every day.
   May take away some of my business... but it's worth it to me if folks finally get the message that beauty is not skin deep. Of course looking good does help the psyche as well... hey, maybe there really is a beauty-brain loop here! WELL DONE!



2. This is the perfect book because it gives you easy and practical ways to improve your general appearance which certainly improves your general mood. My wife read the book cover to cover and has recommended it to all of her friends. She especially loved the "beauty buddies" section, which reminded us how friendships are important in the connection to our look and well being. Perfect book! I suggest all husbands buy this for their wives.



3. Easy to read, interesting and insightful. I bought this book after seeing the women on Extra. It's well written so I was able to get through it in a weekend- inspiring!



4. The Beauty Prescription is a graceful and engaging account of the emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual elements necessary to address inner and outer beauty. The authors share personal anecdotes, clinical examples, and relevant research in an effort to address readers concerns about everything from skin care to the complexities of relationships. Doctors Ritvo and Luftman, representing the fields of psychiatry and dermatology, are able to approach this topic in an in depth manner which adds to the insights available from each field. I find this to be a profound and lively read and believe other women will as well. P. Brooke Alexander, MSW, LCSW



5. What a great combination these two docs are! They are the perfect prescription to help EVERY WOMAN learn to appreciate all of her assets and NOT TO FOCUS on her flaws. I feel a million times better about myself and am learning to remember to try to project that inner happiness because I know it makes me not only look better, but feel better too! Not everyone's lucky enough to be on Dr. Debi & Dr. Eva's patient list so many thanks to these talented, intelligent, insightful (and beautiful!) women for sharing their knowledge and experience with us fortunate readers.

5 comments about Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration.

1. R. Keith Sawyer's Group Genius is a fun read -- with great stories about Morse, Darwin, YouTube, Whole Foods, and Google, among others. Sawyer makes a compelling argument about how creativity and innovation come to pass. He writes about sparks and how they lead to great ideas. The book itself provokes sparks as you read along. It's hard not to be inspired by what he has to say, and to re-examine how you work with others or how you run an institution. The book rang particularly true from the perspective of someone who works in the information business, though I expect reading this book is time well-spent for almost anyone who cares about changing the world in virtually any way.



2. As befits its subject matter, this is a lively and innovative book, which uses many examples drawn from the worlds of jazz and improvisational theater, as well as from creative writing, cycling, banking and computer technology. Keith Sawyer doesn't stop at telling stories, though; he also supports his ideas with solid evidence. In well-organized chapters, complete with summaries and checklists, he debunks common beliefs about the nature of creativity - primarily, the myth that you need to be an isolated genius to succeed. Instead, he argues that innovation is most often the result of collaboration. Sawyer overreaches in some instances: He does not fully explain why some individuals are so much more creative than others in the same "collaborative web," or why some individuals can produce revolutionary ideas in relative isolation. However, that's a quibble, since Sawyer tackles a complex and slippery topic and comes up with some genuinely new insights. We recommend this book to managers and members of workplace teams, and executives who wish to encourage creative thinking.



3. The path to becoming more innovative often requires debunking a number of myths or commonly held beliefs. For instance, the idea that a lone genius is often responsible for an invention or innovation. In fact, most innovations or inventions spring from the combination of the work of many people. Edison did not create the lightbulb alone, nor did Al Gore invent the internet by himself.
   
   In his book, Group Genius, Keith Sawyer looks at the power of Group Genius, the impact of collaboration on creativity and innovation. Rather than rely on a single genius, we should be harnessing the power and knowledge of many people in our organizations. Through a number of interesting examples, Sawyer demonstrates how the power of collaboration increases the capability of the firm to generate more ideas and better ideas, and enhances the culture of innovation.
   
   Sawyer starts off the book with a few characteristics of creative teams:
   
   1. Innovation emerges over time
   2. Successful collaborative teams practice deep listening
   3. Team members build on their collaborators' ideas
   4. The meaning of an idea becomes clear over time
   5. Reframing the problem or solving a different problem
   6. Recognizing that innovation is inefficient
   7. Innovation emerges from the bottom up
   
   Although he presents these ideas early on, they don't receive enough exposition throughout the book. These concepts alone, however, are enough to chew on for quite some time.
   
   Sawyer divides the book into three sections, looking at how teams collaborate and how corporations collaborate. Yes, I know that's two sections. The third section is a little less defined and really looks at how we as individuals think and the mental models we use which provide frameworks which can limit our thinking and creativity.
   
   In the first section, on team collaboration, Sawyer demonstrates the power of improvisation as a method to improve problem solving and innovation. His argument is that too many rules and too much planning tend to choke out creativity and innovative problem solving. He provides several examples where groups were faced with significant challenges and had to improvise solutions on the spot. While improvisation is often inefficient, it can lead to better ideas and better results in some cases. Sawyer also describes "flow" - a concept that originates from research by Csikszentmihalyi. Flow is a heightened state of consciousness that occurs when:
   
   * People are working on tasks that match their skills
   * There's a clear goal
   * There's constant feedback as to progress and attainment of the goal
   * The person is free to fully engage in the task
   
   Research shows that "flow" is essential to creativity. Sawyer moves on to describe a number of conditions that need to exist for a team to achieve flow, using examples from sports teams to improv to major corporations.
   
   In the second section, the Collaborative Mind, Sawyer looks at successful innovators and people who were highly creative and seeks to determine how they got that way, and how "regular" people like you and me can become more creative. In this section there are a number of exercises to help you start reframing problems and step away from your usual perspectives and context.
   
   In the third section of the book, Sawyer looks at using the concepts of collaboration and group genius within an organization - how to organize for improved collaboration and innovation, how to build collaborative webs and how to collaborate with customers. In this section he offers some very useful ideas and approaches to use within any team or organization.
   
   Group Genius is an excellent book, because it combines theory with practice and practical guidelines. Too often, books about innovation and creativity are written from a purely academic viewpoint, with a lot of research and theory described, but not much information on how to put the information into practice, or from a very tactical perspective, suggesting a few tips or techniques or offering up some simple exercises. Sawyer does a good job of demonstrating the thinking behind his suggestions, but also presenting a number of actions that a team or corporation can take to become more innovative by tapping the collaborative genius of a team or the company. He uses a lot of examples, from improv actors to large corporations, but always within context. The section on the Collaborative Mind is interesting but really more focused on the individual and his or her creative capability, while the sections on team and organizational collaboration are focused on how your teams, groups and business units can harness the power of collaboration to achieve more creativity, better problem solving and generate better ideas.
   
   Some books about creativity are read once and filed on the shelf for occasional reference. Group Genius is a book that will be so dog-eared and so heavily used you may need more than one copy for your own use, and a number of copies for your co-workers as well. This is a book that can be used by an individual, a team or a business unit, with relevance for all of them. This book is my first introduction to Keith Sawyer's work, and I look forward to reading his other books after reading this one. I highly recommend it to anyone who is searching for ways to improve the collaboration, creativity or innovative capability of a team or company.
   
   Reposted from an original review on the Innovate on Purpose Blog.



4. CHRISTMAS TIP: For the CEO who has too much money, too little time, myopic solicitous subordinates, and some anxiety about the future, this book, together with Howard Gardner's Five Minds for the Future comprise the perfect Christmas gift. Print copies of my review of each and insert those inside each book's cover before wrapping.
   
   I have been interested in collective intelligence ever since Howard Rheingold and John Perry Barlow kicked my secret intelligence colleagues in the head back in 1992, when I first started to reform the secret world by introducing them to Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). Today, OSINT is converging with Collective Intelligence, Peace Intelligence, and Commercial Intelligence, which is an order of magnitude superior to the standard Business Intelligence (internal data mining and dashboards) and Competitive Intelligence (narrow focus on competition, not on customers or externalities including Wild Cards).
   
   This book, in my view is a Nobel-level contribution. If this author is not promoted to full Professor, he should move. This one book is a capstone book, a pioneering book, a summative work of extraordinary value to every leader, but especially for the asset managers, the hedge fund and pension fund managers, and the CEO's in the banking, communications, computing, education, entertainment, and publishing businesses, whose lunch is about to be eaten by Google unless they band together and force Google to the table.
   
   The author is gifted at combining serious education with solid examples and inspiring suggestion. I actually got goose-bumps on pages 25-28 as he described the USS Palau entering a complicated harbor without rudders or electricity or gyro-compasses. The humans instantly created a group mind and devised a shared solution for what used to be a complex and time consuming process. The goose-bumps are returning, just visualizing this (I am retired naval officer, among other things).
   
   The author begins with his appreciation for jazz and comedy improvisation to lay out a case against brainstorming per se, and in favor of innovation as a process that follows an extended conversation. He teaches us that creativity occurs in context, each individuals being sparked by others. He says that group genius can be nurtured and harvested, but not in the established ways. FUN is a required foundation.
   
   His early work focused on interaction analysis, but I would hasten to add that this must be from the age of Kindergarten up. As Howard Bloom notes in Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century, we will never solve the eternal conflicts until we are willing to intervene for a full generation--by the time kids are five they have a group bias, by the time they are 25 they are "locked in" to the cultural biases (e.g. Jews and Palestinians as monkeys or non-humans, BOTH sides have this culturally ingrained bias by t he age of 10).
   
   Although there is not yet a satisfactory work on how our existing pyramidal organizations are incapable of reform or renaissance, Jean Francois Noubel, on the web at The Transitioner, will have a chapter in my next edited work, and I hope his book comes out soon--I share with my libertarian and moderate Republican colleagues the view that both Congress and the Executive have become dysfunctional, as have most of our major corporations such as Exxon, and the time is right for a massive non-violent upheaval across the board.
   
   On this note see, for example:
   Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency
   Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It
   The Global Class War: How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future - and What It Will Take to Win It Back
   
   I am totally inspired by the author's discussion of how innovation cannot be planned (although planning helps), it must be nurtured and inspired, or more pointedly, ALLOWED TO HAPPEN. As the author of Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace documents so well, we beat the creativity out of our kids by the fifth grades, and most organizations consist of cattle, not free-running mustangs.
   
   I am impressed that the author properly and without excess recognizes his mentor, Mahaly Csikzentmihali with the concept of flow, defined at the time as consisting of four elements:
   
   01 Skills equal the challenge (too good is boring, not enough is frustrating)
   02 Goal is clear
   03 Feedback is frequent
   04 Free to concentrate fully
   
   The author has expanded this to ten conditions:
   
   01 Goal is clear
   02 Close listening by all
   03 Complete concentration
   04 In control
   05 Blending egos
   06 Equal participation
   07 Familiarity
   08 Communication
   09 Moving it forward
   10 Potential for failure
   
   The third section focusing on companies and on organizing for innovation is a "must do" task for CEOs and it cannot be delegated. This is one book each boss has to read for themselves, and not on a train--in isolation, totally concentrating on the words and ideas.
   
   "Bureacracy prevents innovation." This is so true. I gave up on the US Intelligence Community this year, after realizing that Buckminster Fuller had it right--instead of trying to help them as I have for fifteen years, I have to displace them with the Earth Intellligence Network.
   
   In part because of the author's wisdom, I have real doubts about the IBM Cognos deal. Certainly IBM can afford to expand into that marketspace by buying Cognos, but the question on my mind is this: Cognos is in Quadrant I (Knowledge Management) while all the innovation in happening in Quadrants II (Social Networking), III (External Information), and IV (Organizational Intelligence). I am pretty certain that for $100 million I could I could acquire or integrate the 100 key companies and build the EarthGame/World Brain within 5 years. So the question begs to be asked by those who own big blocks of IBM stock: can we get Cognos for $4B and spend the other $1B on first to market, in partnership with CISCO AON, with a totally integrated offering that makes every person on the planet a collector, producer, and consumer of commercial intelligence?
   
   This book is essential reading for acquisition, asset, and fund managers.
   
   The author's advice for CEOs (there is NO SUBSTITUTE) for reading the book:
   
   01 Keep many irons in the fire
   02 Create a Department of Surprise
   03 Build spaces for creative conversation
   04 Allow time for ideas to emerge
   05 Manage the risks of improvisation (including too many too much too fast)
   06 Improvise on the edge of chaos
   07 Manage knowledge for (toward) innovation
   08 Build dense networks (with hubs)
   09 Ditch the organizational charts
   10 Measure the right things
   
   I have a note in the fly-leaf: "This is one of the best thought-out, ably-presented, most useful (i.e. profitable) books it has ever been my pleasure to read." This is not over the top, given the number of books I have read, a quarter of which I have reviewed on Amazon, because I am focused on saving the planet with shared information and open, legal, ethical sense-making. From that perspective, along with "Five Minds," this book is the tip of the spear.
   
   The section on collaboration web work:
   
   01 Build on history
   02 Combine many small sparks
   03 Frequent interaction across boundaries
   04 Multiple discovery is common
   05 No one company can own web (Google hasn't realized this yet, for those who want to know more, find and buy "Google 2.0: The Calculating Predator" as offered online by Infonortics UK).
   
   Creating a collaborative society:
   
   01 Reduce copyright terms
   02 Reward small sparks
   03 Legalize modding (modifications)
   04 Free the employees
   05 Mandatory licensing (no icing of knowledge)
   06 Pool patents
   7. Encourage indcustry-wide standards
   
   Coincident with receiving my latest batch of books, which jumped to the front of my 40-book "awaiting review" pile, I received from Babette Bensoussan in Australia, co-author of Strategic and Competitive Analysis: Methods and Techniques for Analyzing Business Competition the following Old and New Rules (adapted from Betsy Morris in Fortune Magazine, 7 August 2006) that every CEO should print out and memorize:
   
   Old: Big dogs own the street
   New: Agile is best; being big can bite
   
   Old: Be #12 or #2 in your market
   New: Find a niche, create something new
   
   Old: Shareholders rule
   New: The customer is king
   
   Old: Be lean and mean
   New: Look out, not in
   
   Old: Rank employees, go with the A's
   New: Hire passionate people
   
   Old: Hire a charismatic CEO
   New: Hire a courageous CEO
   
   Old: Admire my might
   New: Admire my soul
   
   See my list on Collective and Commercial Intelligence for about 30 other recommendations. In relation to this specific book I recommend:
   
   The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
   The World Cafe: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter
   One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization
   
   See also my many lists and my own books. On balance, although Amazon does not let us organize our reviews yet (I read in 85 topical areas), if you select me as an interesting person (sorry), and THEN use the lists, my reviews pop to the top.
   
   I would love to get Keith Sawyer, Howard Gardner, Lawrence Lessig, and Cass Sunstein into a room together. If any of you can make that happen, let me know, I'll come at my own expense to moderate what could be the world's hottest new improvisational documentary.



5. After reading Keith Sawyer's interesting work for years, I added Group Genius as a required text in an Organization Design MBA class I teach. Students are evening students, middle managers to above. They represent all domains, IT, Finance, Engineering, Law, Accounting, Real Estate/Construction and other sciences as well. Following the addition of Group Genius, students began to turn in truly innovative work, creative and original, beyond anything I've seen in years of teaching. They recognized that this was no ordinary text but one they could apply instantly to their own group and team work. They wrote about using it immediately in the workplace, with extraordinary results. That's what I found too, in the classroom, among working people, extraordinary results.

5 comments about The Power of Focusing: A Practical Guide to Emotional Self-Healing.

1. For me this book is the clearest description I found of how to go about healing emotional wounds that our bodys hold. It really does give a way to respectfully access the bodys wisdom, and let ourselves move naturally towards wholeness.

   This book is easy to understand, based on though experience, and above all, useful.

   I have found Focusing personally invaluable, and this book makes the process accessable. I really can't recommend it too highly.




2. What I like most about The Power of Focusing, which I have reaad and re-read, is the author's observation that the essence of Focusing is your relationship with yourself. That is, living the Focusing attitudes by being gentle and compassionate with yourself. This is a perfect fit with my experience, both personal and professional (I am a psychologist). Living in the present moment with kindness and acceptance is perhaps the greatest benefit that I, and consequently those around me, have derived from Focusing.

   It is most helpful to share Focusing by having a recent book which contains the fruits of over 15 years of the author's teaching. The first Focusing self-help book, the classic by Eugene Gendlin, anchors the practice - it has a history. Now when I pass Focusing on, I can add Ann Cornell's book as an example of the living tradition of Focusing, one of the ways it has developed since Gendlin's book was published in 1981. It is an excellent illustration that while there are Focusing basics, such as the attitude of respect, there is always something new to learn and more applications in using the process. For instance, I am a certified Focusing teacher, but one of my new learnings from this book was a clearer concept of what "guiding" is. Addtionally, Ann Cornell's examples are very good illustrations of the concepts she is teaching. One of my favorites is "Matt," because it shows how Focusing can combine in a useful way with other factors when one is making a major decision.

   Finally, from a marketing standpoint the book is very attractive and has great endorsements on the cover. I hope there is a 100th printing!




3. I first read Eugene Gendlin's original book on Focusing and found it tremendously helpful and life-changing. But finding this additional resource on Focusing was a wonderful gift because this book clarifies and gets to the heart of how you can really make Focusing work for you. The author states concepts simply but powerfully and addresses those very issues that were hard for me to understand in Gendlin's book. I felt like I just couldn't fail with Focusing after I read this book. She also has really, really helpful examples throughout the book. I have recommended this book to a lot of people, without reservation, and will continue to do so.



4. I read Gendlin's book two decades ago, and discovered this one a few years ago. So I've got quite a bit of experience with Focusing under my belt. This is a very powerful meditational discipline, but simple to learn and implement.

   It is particularly useful in sorting out dilemmas or problems where you feel ambivalent, are conflicted, or fear you have lost objectivity. Should you quit your job, leave your spouse, marry your girlfriend, change careers? Is your relationship with a spouse/friend/sibling/child frustrating you? Are you at your wits end with a boss or co-worker? Can't figure out how to express yourself to those you care about?

   I've found Focusing powerful because it is such a *fast* way of developing new insight and articulating what you really think and feel. And it feels good and may help you stay more aware of what matters to you during your day.

   I just recommended this book to someone who is almost a stranger but who is facing some big, confusing decisions. If that's where you are too right now, this book is worth taking a chance on.




5. Focusing is a life-changing technique of identifying what is really going on inside you. And Ann's book is a clear explanation of how to do the technique of Focusing. She is a remarkable teacher, able to both understand and explain significant nuances of the technique... nuances that can make the difference between success and failure in using the technique. A magnificent work. Bravo, Ann!

5 comments about Responsible Drinking: A Moderation Management Approach for Problem Drinkers.

1. How many people actually know what a standard drink is? Or, how much alcohol is safe to consume? Or what acceptable drinking behavior is? Very few. In our neo-puritan, abstinence-only society, there are few guidelines for sensible, pleasurable indulgence.
   
   Studies on abstinence-only sex education prove it a failure. Similarly, limited studies on abstinence-only treatment for drinking problems show it less effective than offering choice. Perhaps the message that one is "powerless over alcohol" undermines all efforts to exercise any form of reponsibility vis a vis drinking. It certainly provides a convenient excuse.
   
   If you have questions about drinking, but don't want alarmist dogma; if you believe human beings are capable of making responsible choices; buy this book!



2. AA is not for everyone, despite what you may hear. If the 12-step cookie cutter approach leaves a bad aftertaste, this book may help.
   
   It's true that one of the founders did drive drunk and kill someone. What one of the reviewers fails to mention is that it was after she had returned to A.A. and was practicing abstinence.
   
   A.A. does work. For about 5 percent of those try it, (according to AA's own studies), but there are alternatives for those not sold on the Big Book.



3. Anyone who has questioned or been surprised about the amount they drink will not feel alone after reading this book.



4. This book is an excellent tool for anyone concerned about their drinking habits, yet doesnt feel the need for AA.
   I believe it is beginning to help me make some lifestyle changes for the good.
   I highly recommend this book to anyone who has any doubts about their drinking or another family member or friend.



5. This is an extremely beneficial book for those who feel their alcohol consumption needs moderating. There are no judgement calls or hard sells, just honest, practical advice and alternatives for those who wish to implement them.

3 comments about Make Yourself Unforgettable: The Dale Carnegie Class-Act System.

1. What a great collection of CDs! Truly a great find!



2. I work where lots of new and old books and material come through every day. I MUST be very selective because I have free access to all kinds of goodies. This cd is a real gem. Real actionable information. I will be listening to these six discs for the next few weeks. They 're fun and they help to focus your mind on whats important and what can be powerful in your life.



3. 
   The Dale Carnegie audiobooks by Nightingale Conant tend to be too basic and common sensical, trying to repackage the" Win Friends Influence People", "Stop Worry Start Living", or "Public Speaking" principles in new bottles for the New Economy Age. Good endeavors, but tend to fail to provide the wow, useful new ideas.
   Bought "5 Essential People Skills", "Make Yourself Unforgettable", "Stand and Deliver", "Sales Advantage", "Dale Carnegie Leadership Mastery" and "Leader In You". All of them are newly recycled, repackaged, old ideas of Dale Carnegie's "Win Friends Influence People", "Stop Worry Start Living", or "Public Speaking". They are not as informative as other great audiobooks in the market like "Crucial Conversation", "Difficult Conversation", and "Articulate Executive" by which have more twists and new things to say about leadership communication and persuasive communication. If you need to buy audio books of Dale Carnegie, just buy Dale Carnegie's original, unabridged "Win Friends Influence People", "Stop Worry Start Living" audiobooks. Old too, but relatively more meat and better organized. Besides, you can get them from audible.com easily.
   
   Dale Carnegie & Associates really needs to hire more gurus or outside consultants to help update and upgrade their outdated content (not the principles!). When I showed those Dale Carnegie timeless principles to my 12 years old, he said they are too elementary and common sensical in the internet 2.0 Age. Like KFC, Dale Carnegie is an aging brand that needs rebranding and remarketing to stay relevant and practical to the readers or audience.