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- real world pm
- project management with your feet on the ground and your heart on it
- highly practical and thorough coverage
- Great book
- Best book I've found on Project Management
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The Art of Project Management (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly))
Scott Berkun
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ASIN: 0596007868 |
Book Description
The Art of Project Management covers it all--from practical methods for making sure work gets done right and on time, to the mindset that can make you a great leader motivating your team to do their best. Reading this was like reading the blueprint for how the best projects are managed at Microsoft... I wish we always put these lessons into action!" --Joe Belfiore, General Manager, E-home Division, Microsoft Corporation
"Berkun has written a fast paced, jargon-free and witty guide to what he wisely refers to as the 'art' of project management. It's a great introduction to the discipline. Seasoned and new managers will benefit from Berkun's perspectives." --Joe Mirza, Director, CNET Networks (Cnet.com)
"Most books with the words 'project management' in the title are dry tomes. If that's what you are expecting to hear from Berkun's book, you will be pleasantly surprised. Sure, it's about project management. But it's also about creativity, situational problem-solving, and leadership. If you're a team member, project manager, or even a non-technical stakeholder, Scott offers dozens of practical tools and techniques you can use, and questions you can ask, to ensure your projects succeed." --Bill Bliss, Senior VP of product and customer experience, expedia.com
In The Art of Project Management, you'll learn from a veteran manager of software and web development how to plan, manage, and lead projects. This personal account of hard lessons learned over a decade of work in the industry distills complex concepts and challenges into practical nuggets of useful advice. Inspiring, funny, honest, and compelling, this is the book you and your team need to have within arms reach. It will serve you well with your current work, and on future projects to come.
Topics include:
- How to make things happen
- Making good decisions
- Specifications and requirements
- Ideas and what to do with them
- How not to annoy people
- Leadership and trust
- The truth about making dates
- What to do when things go wrong
Customer Reviews:
real world pm.......2007-06-29
An easy and fun to read book, based on real life examples and experiences. While reading it, I got many tips from the book and apply them in my onw work.
project management with your feet on the ground and your heart on it.......2007-05-24
I really love this book!! I've read many books about how to run projects, to keep teams motivated, to be an effective leader, and I think this book compiles all of the above, plus it gives you a grounded point of view. There are no promises, only hard work and ways to improve your performance.
I've used some of the recommendations included in chapter 13: How to make things happen and, although is not a guarantee of success, I have accomplished some of my most difficult projects with it and the ones I didn't, at least I know why.
[...].
highly practical and thorough coverage.......2007-05-12
Reading this book is almost as good as having a highly experienced mentor help you manage a project. The book provides very thorough coverage with sound, practical advice. There is a good list of reference material as well. I have been a software developer for more than 25 years and have managed several projects and still found I learned a lot from this book. I wish it had been available years ago. The book also provided confirmation for many of my beliefs about which I disagree with my current project manager. I hope to use this book to help convince him to change. I will be managing my own project again soon and plan to use use this book to help me succeed. Every software developer should read this book even if they are not a project manager. My only very slight criticism is that the book is most helpful to software product projects, but I think even internal development projects should be run as this book explains.
Great book.......2007-05-09
This is a great book.
Filled with real-world wisdom, it prepares you for what to expect in the world of project management as a career option.
Especially usefull for people from software development background.
Best book I've found on Project Management.......2007-03-14
This is an O'Reilly publication, although it lacks their characteristic animal on the cover. It is a fabulous book. While most Project Management books focus on helping you pass the PMI test, this book is focused on real life and has extensive chapters on dealing with difficult situations and so-called "difficult people".
Book Description
Completely Updated and Revised
This revised edition of Peter Senge’s bestselling classic, The Fifth Discipline, is based on fifteen years of experience in putting the book’s ideas into practice. As Senge makes clear, in the long run the only sustainable competitive advantage is your organization’s ability to learn faster than the competition. The leadership stories in the book demonstrate the many ways that the core ideas in The Fifth Discipline, many of which seemed radical when first published in 1990, have become deeply integrated into people’s ways of seeing the world and their managerial practices.
In The Fifth Discipline, Senge describes how companies can rid themselves of the learning “disabilities” that threaten their productivity and success by adopting the strategies of learning organizations—ones in which new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, collective aspiration is set free, and people are continually learning how to create results they truly desire.
The updated and revised Currency edition of this business classic contains over one hundred pages of new material based on interviews with dozens of practitioners at companies like BP, Unilever, Intel, Ford, HP, Saudi Aramco, and organizations like Roca, Oxfam, and The World Bank. It features a new Foreword about the success Peter Senge has achieved with learning organizations since the book’s inception, as well as new chapters on Impetus (getting started), Strategies, Leaders’ New Work, Systems Citizens, and Frontiers for the Future.
Mastering the disciplines Senge outlines in the book will:
• Reignite the spark of genuine learning driven by people focused on what truly matters to them
• Bridge teamwork into macro-creativity
• Free you of confining assumptions and mindsets
• Teach you to see the forest and the trees
• End the struggle between work and personal time
Customer Reviews:
Fifth discipline.......2007-09-29
I have not read the book yet, but it came to me very fast. I was pleased with the service and I enjoy using Amazon.
Katrius
Must read.......2007-09-17
Any manager who wishes to develop the organization he works for must read this book. It is an excellent introduction to systems thinking within any type of organization.
The World is Knowledge Intensive.......2007-09-06
In addition to being a fan of Peter Senge, I'm also a great fan of the ultimate management guru, Peter Drucker, who got me thinking about "the learning organization" in his book, The Age of Discontinuity, when he said: "The world is becoming not labor intensive, not material intensive, not energy intensive, but knowledge intensive." I believe it, and thus, I was very receptive to Senge's thoughts in this book.
The central premise of my latest book, The Three Pillars of Sustainable Profit & Growth The Three Pillars of Sustainable Profit and Growth is this: the only sustainable advantage any firm can achieve in the future is the quality of the human talent it is able to recruit and retain. The knowledge they bring with them, and continue to acquire, is the key to their company's future growth and success.
Senge put it this way: "The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage."
Bottom line: I believe that managing knowledge in the contemporary business world is just as important as managing money. Successful companies of the future will clearly be seen as learning organizations, which Senge aptly defined as "a group of people who are continually enhancing their capability to create their own future."
Thought Leadership, and Breakthrough ideas.......2007-08-27
I found this book highly simulating but required heavy study to transfer the ideas into the working environment. I found the framework was incomplete especially around the issues of creating a learning environment. Senges' framework for Systems is best described in terms of 'systems dynamics' which leads onto a more developed theory by others on system complexity and emergence.
He describes what might be an end state without detailing how to get there, the later follow up field book on tools and methods now fills this gap neatly. Both books together are perfect.
This book sets out theory very well, it also provides Thought Leadership, Breakthrough ideas and Inspiration. Its well written and enjoyable.
Highly Reccomended!.......2007-06-05
Peter Senge provides a well organized analysis and discussion of 5 techniques and "disciplines" necessary for a successful organization. This is a highly recommended read for managers and those wishing to advance and build their organization. Peter Senge helps the reader understand how to build a successful learning organization using clear and everyday examples that are easy to understand. He starts by explaining the four proposed disciplines necessary to grasping his final and most important discipline, "Systems Thinking." While reading the book, many ideas Senge puts forward seem like common sense. However, as the saying goes, "common sense isn't so common" rings true here. Peter Senge shows that most people are unaware of these seemingly obvious ideas and disciplines proved in his many years of research. Everyone could learn a thing or two from this book and should try and read it if at all possible!
Book Description
Senge's best-selling The Fifth Discipline led Business Week to dub him the "new guru" of the corporate world; here he offers executives a step-by-step guide to building "learning organizations" of their own.
Customer Reviews:
Tools for creating a Learning Culture.......2006-09-11
Peter M Serge, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook
To quote the first few paragraphs at beginning of book:
Among the tribes of northen Natal in South Africa, the most common greeting, equivalent to "hello" in English, is the expression: Sawu bona. It literally means, "I see you." If you are a member of the tribe, you might reply by saying Sikhona, "I am here." The order of the exchange is important: until you see me, I do not exist. It's as if, when you see me bring me into existence.
This meaning, implicit in the language, is part of the spirit of ubuntu, a frame of mind prevalent among native people in Africa below the Sahara. The word ubuntu stems from the folk saying Umuntu ngumuntu nagabantu, which from Zulu, literally translates as: "A person is a person because of other people."
"I bow in honor and reverence that place within you where to the Universe resides, when you are in that place within you, and I am in that place within me, there is One." ~namaste
The five disciplines are at the CORE of a Learning Organization
1) Personal Mastery: expand your personal capacity and ability
2) Mental Models: see how our internal pictures of the world shape action and decision
3) Shared Vision: group commitment
4) Team Learning: group ability is greater than the sum of individual talents
5) System Thinking:
"When we try to bring about change in our societies, we are treated first with indifference, then with ridicule, then with abuse and then with oppression. And finally, the greatest challenge is thrown at us: We are treated with respect. This is the most dangerous stage." --A. T. Ariyaratne (Speech made at International Community Leadership Summit, Winrock, Arkansas, March 1983. This quote paraphrases and expands upon a well-known statement made by Mahatma Gandhi in his book Satyagraha in South Africa, 1982, 1979, Canon, Me.: Greenleaf books)
"An [organization] is not a machine but a living organism." --Ikujiro Nonaka /****
Fundamentals of epistemology: what is knowledge, the nature of knowledge, and what constitutes learning.
understanding is achieved after internalization.
Without experience, we cannot truly understand.
Internalization: transformation from explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge, habits and culture that we do not recognize in ourselves.
Innovation is a process to capture, create, leverage, and retain knowledge.
What is your belief? A belief about images of the world - you may call it a mental model - is a very subjective thing
information is the flow of a message, while knowledge is created by accumulating information. Thus, information is a necessary medium or material for eliciting and constructing knowledge.
The second difference is that information is something passive. When we switch on a TV set, information comes regardless of my commitment. But knowledge comes from my belief, so it's more proactive.
And the organizational knowledge or intellectual infrastructure of an organization encourages its individual members to develop new knowledge through new experiences.
This dynamic process is the key to organizational knowledge creation - that is, socialization (from individual tacit knowledge to group tacit knowledge), externalization (from tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge), combination (from separate explicit knowledge to systemic explicit knowledge), and internalization (from explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge) [...].
[...]
Three Guiding Ideas
1) The Whole. When you are pointing a finger at the problems, notice how many fingers are pointing back at you. If you fixed the symptoms and ignore the root causes, the problems have not gone away. Another way to look at this is treat the person, not the disease. Of course treat the disease if the patient is dying, but know that the patient will get sick again because the "root causes" are stil there.
2) Community. The self is "a point of view." "The essence of being a person is being in a relationship [with] other people." You will not believe this, but each person before you is there for a reason. The reason this person is there at this moment is for you to learn something about yourself. If you ignore the person, do not ignore or forget the lesson.
3) Language. The map is not the territory. We cannot contain every bit of information that comes to us in the world, so we have to create a "map of the territory" and then refer to the map for our information. By changing a person's map, we change their reality. Language is the map, not the reality.
enlightening concepts about leadership.......2005-10-26
It seems to me that The Fifth Discipline (the previous publication of the series) is more attacting to me. The second book can be more precise and concise in content. Generally speaking I still like these two books as a foreign reader.
The Fifth Discipline.......2003-02-08
This book is a collection of theoretical summaries, reports, analyses, and strategies all quite useful to anyone interested in generating some thinking and action around change. The team of five writers (Peter Senge, Richard Ross, Bryan Smith, Charlotte Roberts, and Art Kleiner) provide some original work, but also serve as editors to a vast quantity of material drawn from practitioners, theorists, and writers in the field of organizational improvement. According to Senge, "great teams are learning organizations - groups of people who, over time, enhance their capacity to create what they truly desire to create." (p.18) This book is really about creating and building great teams. The learning organization develops its ability to reflect on, discuss, question, and change its current and past practices. To do this, people and groups in the organization need to meaningfully pursue the study and practice of the five disciplines - personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking.
The learning organization - Senge's vision for the productive, competitive, and efficient institutions of the future - is in a continuous state of change. Four fundamental questions continuously serve to check and guide a group's learning and improvement (see page 49): (1) Do you continuously test your experiences? ("Are you willing to examine and challenge your sacred cows - not just during crises, but in good times?") (2) Are you producing knowledge? ("Knowledge, in this case, means the capacity for effective action.") (3) Is knowledge shared? ("Is it accessible to all of the organization's members?") (4) Is the learning relevant? ("Is this learning aimed at the organization's core purpose?") If these questions represent the organization's compass, the five disciplines are its map.
Each of the five disciplines is explained, and elaborated in its own lengthy section of the book. In the section on "Systems Thinking" (a set of practices and perspectives, which views all aspects of life as inter-related and playing a role in some larger system), the authors build on the idea of feedback loops (reinforcing and balancing) and introduce five systems archetypes. They are: "fixes that backfire", "limits to growth", "shifting the burden", "tragedy of the commons", and "accidental adversaries". In the section on "Personal Mastery", the authors argue that learning starts with each person. For organizations to learn and improve, people within the organization (perhaps starting with its core leadership) must learn to reflect on and become aware of their own core beliefs and visions. In "Mental Models", the authors argue that learning organizations need to explore the assumptions and attitudes, which guide their institutional directions, practices, and strategies. Articles on scenario planning, the ladder of inference, the left-hand column, and balancing inquiry and advocacy offer practical strategies to investigate our personal mental models as well as those of others in the organization. In "Shared Vision", the authors make the case for the stakeholders of an organization to continually adapt their vision ("an image of a desired future"), values ("how we get to travel to where we want to go"), purpose ("what the organization is here to do"), and goals ("milestones we expect to reach before too long"). The section offers many strategies and perspectives on how to move an organization toward continuous reflection. In "Team Learning", the authors rely mostly on the work of William Isaacs and others, and make a case for educating organization members in the processes and skills of dialogue and skillful discussion.
This book is enlightening and informative. It has already found a place on my shelf for essential reference books.
A follow up to the legend.......2003-01-27
The Fieldbook attempts at making the esoteric concepts of the fifth discipline more down to earth and contains a treasure trove of strategies, tools, methods and explanations on how to make the learning organization into a reality.
Thus people who have read The fifth discipline will gain the most from this book. It's a must read for people who want to make their organizations transition into a 'learning organization'
A second dose of Inspiration..........2002-02-09
Senge's second serving of the Learning Organization is filled with practical tips and real-life examples from companies and organizations that have embraced the teachings of the Learning Organization successfully.
The Book is a collaboration of several writers who do a superb job of unraveling the web that is the learning organization. At times, it may seem to the reader that the book is a labyrinth of disjointed concepts and ideas. However, if you have read `The Fifth Discipline' you will find no problems following the concepts introduced. In fact, you will even understand why the writers have chosen to introduce them in that fashion. If you have not read "The Fifth Discipline', do not despair, it will take a little longer to get `the whole picture'.
The Book is divided into 8 main sections:
1) Getting Started addresses the basic concepts and ideas of the Learning Organization.
2) Systems Thinking (the fifth discipline) - Many people have argued that Senge should have delegated the fifth discipline until the end, however, without Systems Thinking, your vision is disjointed and incomplete.
3) Personal Mastery covers the area of individual development and learning. The chapters here are among the most valuable in the area of self-growth and self-improvement.
4) Mental Models - These are the pictures that you have in your head which represent reality.
5) Shared Vision - You've seen the whole picture, you've developed and you understand how you see the world. Now you need to find a common cause with the rest of the people in your organization, something that you all work for.
6) Team Learning - As you work with other people in teams or groups, you need to pass the stuff that you have learnt and the wisdom you've acquired to others. At this stage, the learning is no longer that of the individual, but the group.
7) Arenas of Practice - (Self explanatory)
8) Frontiers - Where do we go from here.
If you are interested in development, learning, growth, leadership, gaining a competitive edge whether at an organizational or personal level, then this book is for you. In fact, I'd venture to say that this is book is for everyone.
Book Description
LEADERSHIP IS AN ART has long been a must-read not only within the business community but also in professions ranging from academia to medical practices, to the political arena. First published in 1989, the book has sold more than 800,000 copies in hardcover and paperback. This revised edition brings Max De Pree’s timeless words and practical philosophy to a new generation of readers.De Pree looks at leadership as a kind of stewardship, stressing the importance of building relationships, initiating ideas, and creating a lasting value system within an organization. Rather than focusing on the “hows” of corporate life, he explains the “whys.” He shows that the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality and the last is to say thank you. Along the way, the artful leader must:
• Stimulate effectiveness by enabling others to reach both their personal potential and their institutional potential
• Take a role in developing, expressing, and defending civility and values
• Nurture new leaders and ensure the continuation of the corporate culture
LEADERSHIP IS AN ART offers a proven design for achieving success by developing the generous spirit within all of us. Now more than ever, it provides the insights and guidelines leaders in every field need.
Customer Reviews:
Changed my Life.......2007-03-28
This book caused a "phase shift" for me. By that I mean, once I read this book, my whole fundamental attitude towards being a manager changed. I can't explain exactly how, but it was definately this book. This book is NOT a how to manual. You will not find tips and tricks on DOING the job of managing or leading. This book tells you what a leader is, what she does, what he thinks about, how she acts, etc. So expect to read parts of it over and over again. Expect to think hard about what Depree says. Expect to reflect deeply on who you are and what you believe in. It is that kind of book. I have read a LOT of books about management and this one was by far the best. Like I said, it changed my style fundamentally, from a more controlling, less trusting manager to one where (at least I hope) I inspire others to be their best. I now try to set high expectations and goals, and then teach others to reach them. Anyway, I've never met anyone who read this that didn't get something out of it. Enjoy!
Leadership Is an Art.......2007-03-14
The Depree book is an easy read that leaves you pondering your own leadership style as an educator. I particularly enjoyed the stories which really illustrated different leadership styles.
Ladership book.......2007-02-12
The book is a paperback as described. It was recieved within the shipping deadline as promised, infact it came a day early. It is the latest edition of the book as promised. I recieved what I was promised. It is a high quality product at a lower price than a retail physical book store. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SELLER!
Packed with valuable advice.......2007-01-19
Max has mastered the art of serving others, and insires us to live our lives the same. This was a very interesting read that has the potential to change your life. Take notes.
Smart!.......2006-11-08
Do not let the size of this volume fool you. This is no ordinary small book. This book is pregnant with some of the most fascination working principles of leadership.
There is something uncanny about this small book. I can't seem to put my hands on it. But I know that it is there, because I thoroughly enjoyed this small volume.
5 stars and counting!
Customer Reviews:
so slow.......2005-09-25
They said they would ship in 1-2 days. I got it 3 weeks later. Disappointed.
Book Description
The fruit of many years of personal experience and seminars on disciple making, this is an extremely helpful book for Christian leaders and laypersons desiring to have personal discipling ministries.
Customer Reviews:
The Lost Art of Disciple Making.......2007-08-16
wow, that book helped me to see things in the way i didn't see it before. very practical book, the one every Christian should read.
what i've been missing.......2007-06-02
There is nobody out there teaching us this stuff. This is what we as Christians have been missing. We have to fight to learn to disciple others effectively and this is one of the best books i have ever read and one of the best places to start.
Learn to be a disciple and train others to become disciples.......2007-05-09
I enjoyed this book, and have passed it on to another in leadership at our church.
The appendix alone is worth the cost of this book, giving suggestions for areas of growth for all believers.
Simple But Important.......2006-11-29
The concept of training Christians to be mature, reproducing Christians is not a new concept. Nor is it a concept that is controversial. Christians know that this is an important issue, taught and modeled not only by Jesus but by his followers throughout the New Testament. The problem lies in application. A healthy, disciple producing church can be hard to come by, and even in individual Christians' lives, the practice of discipleship can be a rare commodity. This book is valuable in that it outlines the biblical view on discipleship, but the book goes further in providing many concrete examples of how discipleship is to be pulled off. An appendix in the back is essentially a guide for discipleship meetings giving thirty important topics and the tools to be able to hold a bible study with each of these topics. A characteristic of the book that I especially appreciated and found helpful was the author's continual emphasis of the role of the Word of God in discipleship. This is the foundation for the theory of discipleship, and it is also the main tool that we use in actually performing discipleship. This book is refreshingly simple, yet challenging. It is challenging because there is amazing potential in doing biblical discipleship in our churches and in our individual lives.
The only negative I found in the book was one that I commonly struggle with when reading Christian non-fiction. At times the author appears arrogant, especially in the use of personal experiences. There was more than one story in this book about how some misguided individual was enlightened by the wise example of the author himself. This writing style always bothers me and always comes across as arrogant. Do not let this distract from the main thrust of the book, for the content of the book is valuable.
Yawn, I've read better.......2003-08-08
I hate to admit it, but I really had to force myself to read through this book. It was not that it had no value, for it did contain some help insights; but it was the third book I have read by a Navigator and they all sound alike. It is almost as if I am hearing a Navigator's commercial throughout each book. Eims basis premise, however, is sound: The church must rediscover the biblical principle of disciple making. Eims states with utmost clarity that programs and material cannot make up for the human element that is missing from so many churches today- one-on-one discipleship.
The book is chock full of practical advice about disciples making, from training objectives to leadership development. Eims tries to answer all the questions, so much so that there is a tendency to get bogged down in detail. One fault of the book is that it seems to be in a 1960's - 1970's time warp. The constant reference to evangelistic organizations that have long since peaked and now are struggling for their lives was distracting. Also, there was no mention of the dynamic of a Spirit filled church that will go a long way in helping disciple people. When people are really excited about the cause of Christ, there is a tendency to study on one's own and take personal responsibility for one's own spiritual growth.
Book Description
Churches that bombard people with too many "little ideas" can miss the Big Idea.
Community Christian Church embraced the Big Idea and everything changed. They decided to avoid the common mistake of bombarding people with so many "little ideas" that they suffered overload. They also recognized that leaders often don't insist that the truth be lived out to accomplish Jesus' mission. Why? Because people's heads are swimming with too many little ideas, far more than they can ever apply.
Customer Reviews:
High Impact.......2007-09-25
The Big Idea is helping our pastoral staff focus. The longer you're in ministry the more you need to focus. This book is really helping our dialog about what we are doing as a church. WE have the why nailed down it is the what and how that gets diluted. Ferguson makes an interesting case for little tuths and big biblical truths that must translate into action - helpful. Dan Boyd
Overcome Information Glut & Decision Paralysis at Church.......2007-08-17
I am an information junkie. I read newspapers, magazines, books, and blogs. I watch TV and listen to talk radio. I consider myself a well-informed guy. But being well-informed is not the same thing as being wise or effective. Indeed, too much information can paralyze our ability to make decisions.
Our churches often contribute to this glut of information. The pastor preaches on one topic, Sunday school teachers teach on another, the worship leader sings new songs with multiple verses, and the announcement guy rambles on with the church's upcoming events. No wonder parishioners get stuck in their spiritual lives. They have too much information to act on. They know more than they can do.
In their new book, The Big Idea, Dave Ferguson, Jon Ferguson, and Eric Bramlett tackle the topic of information-glutted, decision-paralyzed churches. They argue that churches should teach one big idea per week, and that this big idea should be reinforced in all the church's venues (worship services, Sunday school classes, and small groups). They demonstrate the multiple benefits of the big-idea approach. And they offer practical guidelines for how to implement this model of ministry in your church based on their own experience.
Do you want to make more and better followers of Jesus Christ? Do you want to see a greater connection between people's faith and works? Then, as The Big Idea's subtitle puts it, "focus the message" so that you can "multiply the impact." Teach your parishioners one thing a week. They can do more with less.
Great book, truly, I just want the moon.......2007-05-08
This highly practical book on not just preaching, but church-wide discipleship, is written by one of the leading, Biblically conservative churches today in the areas of creative communication, team-based ministry, evangelism and leadership development. Community Christian Church in Chicago is also recognized as one of the top five leading multi-site churches.
The authors make a clear case that most of our churches send anywhere from 30 to 100 messages a week as to what we want our people to respond to in their growth. Our Sunday services, alone, often send 20-50 messages. In The Big Idea, the authors make a case for focusing the message to one Big Idea throughout the entire worship experience for the week and asking for clear response to that one idea in all areas of our church. They convincingly make the case that, in the long term, better discipleship occurs if we can yield a greater application response to the messages being sent--so people are living what they know rather than knowing far more than they live.
Don't be intimidated by the author's success and size of church--they communicate very simply. Along the way they give suggestions for how smaller churches can begin to use some or all of what they share. This is not a book about a program, rather it is a book with lots of practical leadership process steps that can be gleaned from and subsequently contextualize to your own style, leadership and setting. You will quickly note this approach to communicating for discipleship is used by their multi-site mega church as well as church plants.
After reading the first two chapters, I thought this book would make it on my top 10 list of must read leadership skills books for pastors. By the end of the book it was still in my top 25 and probably top 20. While the book is well illustrated throughout, I was left longing for just a few more varied examples. I especially was hoping that the authors would deal more with expositional preaching from the perspective of using that style of preaching to demonstrate good personal spiritual disciplines as a way of modeling. They did a very short, excellent bullet point treatment of ways to approach topical preaching--though this was the primary area I wished for more detailed illustrations of each approach (even if the examples were simply web links to sermons that could be listened to so as to learn more about how to effectively construct each kind of approach). If the authors had more extensively illustrated some of these ideas I would be telling you this is the best book on discipleship and preaching I have ever read. As it stands, it is still a great book that is sure to provide you with helpful ideas you can begin to implement quickly.
Two Thumbs Up for The Big Idea.......2007-04-11
Dave Ferguson shares some great ideas and strategies in this book. I like it because it wasn't just a "here's how we did it" church growth text...there are some philosophical principles and transferable ideas. The way that they have outlined a planning process for ministry is really helpful.
Spectacular Book.......2007-04-11
If you are searching for a way to simplify what your families are learning in church and get everyone on the same page this book is for you.
Book Description
Think about the last time you tried to change someone’s mind about something important: a voter’s political beliefs; a customer’s favorite brand; a spouse’s decorating taste. Chances are you weren’t successful in shifting that person’s beliefs in any way. In his book, Changing Minds, Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner explains what happens during the course of changing a mind – and offers ways to influence that process.
Remember that we don’t change our minds overnight, it happens in gradual stages that can be powerfully influenced along the way.This book provides insights that can broaden our horizons and shape our lives.
Customer Reviews:
Leadership for Change.......2007-03-20
Howard Gardner, best known for his theory of intelligence, has written a thought provoking and intriguing book. The title of the book is somewhat misleading, as it deals more with leadership and communication, than with changing the behavior or personalities of individuals. Thus, if you are looking for a self-help book, a book on personal change, or a text on psychotherapies, then this is the wrong book for you. The book is more appropriate for political leaders, corporate leaders, or new supervisors, looking for some non-traditional ideas on the leadership process and on how to influence others. It may take some work to convert the ideas offered here into practice, but Gardner's book should prove interesting to those looking for some creative concepts that are not found in the typical business text on leadership.
Changing Minds: The Acadmics Viewpoint.......2007-03-09
A very boring book written by a true academic trying to help hands on people. I would suggest reading a book written by someone who actually influences people on a daily basis rather than this book which is written by someone who read about it somewhere else.
Start at the end.......2007-01-06
I recommend you skip the first part of the book and go straight to the epilogue. The book seems well researched and annotated. Gardner seems even handed about the subject, with no axe to grind. Mainly he presents a set of stories, and classifies the events in them according to frequently recurring phenomena (his 7 Rs) that inspire people to change their minds. I feel it's a step forward, but I had hoped for more. It's an old problem domain (one thinks of Aristotle's "Rhetoric"), and it remains mysterious. Most of the stories seem to revolve around faculties and universities and Harvard and Harvard alumni, sufficiently that I think Harvard Hubris taints it. Even if the ideas are good, and even if the stories support them, I'd prefer that Gardner get further out of the ivory tower, out of the Harvard parochialism, and into the real world. The ideas do seem valid, and I get the feeling Gardner knows much about how people think. But you probably should get "Selling for Dummies" if you wish to set sales records this quarter.
A Perceptual Map for Changing Minds.......2006-12-15
Whenever I meet new clients, they tell me that if they can just get those who disagree with them to agree they will have no more problems. Embedded in that observation is a belief that they have all the facts and have correctly interpreted those facts. A corollary is that anyone who disagrees is either misinformed or an idiot.
Usually, what I find instead is that my new clients have listened very well to what people have been telling them and haven't explained their own point of view very well. The right solution is usually to create a new solution together and implement as a cooperative team.
Somewhere along the way, the new clients forget the "us" and "they" mentality and wonder what in the world I did to help them. The eventual solution seems obvious in retrospect . . . and they forget that there was ever disagreement. That's how subtle the process of changing minds is. Except for the most self-aware, we just wake up one day with a new set of ideas. I'm reminded of the advertisement for FedEx where the leader asks for ways to cut costs. A shy man quietly suggests using FedEx. Everyone ignores what he says until the leader repeats the idea . . . and then everyone applauds. The shy man challenges the leader who defends himself by saying that he changed the hand gestures used to make the pronouncement . . . and that made all the difference.
In other words, we love to be in charge . . . even when someone else has changed our mind.
The whole process remains mysterious. After reading Changing Minds, those who find the process mysterious will continue to find it so. But those who have some insight into the process will find meta-models for structuring their strategies and tactics of persuasion and education.
The first 67 pages of the book encapsulate Professor Gardner's valuable work on cognitive thinking, including multiple intelligences, mental representations, and their interaction in six arenas of mind changing. At this point, many eyes would roll at the thought of such a complex matrix.
But Professor Gardner provides relief for the reader by using incredibly subtle stories to capture the primary ways to use multiple intelligences and mental representations to good effect in various mind-changing arenas.
To give you a sense of how subtle these stories are, Changing Minds has a precise example that I can apply to a mind-changing problem that I perpetually face, helping people appreciate the potential for 2,000 percent solutions (20 times better results from the same time and effort). Yet, I had to read the example a number of times before its power sunk in for me. I'm sure at some subconscious level I got the point sooner, but my conscious "aha" took a while. And I've read many of Professor Gardner's earlier books involving some of the same examples.
Professor Gardner is well known for having been the recipient of a MacArthur fellowship, the so-called "genius" award. With this book, I began to see for the first time the full range of his genius. It's impressive.
What's my advice for you? Read this book several times. Put it down and read it again in a year. In the meantime, read some other books about changing minds (on topics like negotiation, persuasion, story-telling, and so forth). Then, it'll all come together for you.
Seemed to be more interested in academics than practicality..........2006-11-14
I had pretty high hopes for the book Changing Minds: The Art And Science of Changing Our Own And Other People's Minds by Howard Gardner. It looked like it would be a good book for learning the art of, well, changing peoples minds. Instead it was an academic journey that I found difficult to draw applications from...
Contents: The Contents of the Mind; The Forms of the Mind; The Power of Early Theories; Leading a Diverse Population; Leading an Institution - How to Deal with a Uniform Population; Changing Minds Indirectly - Through Scientific Discoveries, Scholarly Breakthroughs, and Artistic Creations; Mind Changing in a Formal Setting; Mind Changing Up Close; Changing One's Own Mind; Epilogue - The Future of Mind Changing; Appendix; Notes; Index; About the Author
Gardner puts forth his theories of mind change based on three factors... four "entities" of mind change (stories, theories, concepts, and skills), six "arenas" of mind change (from nations down to one's own person), and seven "levers" of mind change (all words that start with "re", like reason, resources, and resonance). He uses a number of examples from history to show how ideas and people were able to move others from one mindset to another. On the surface, it sounded like an interesting premise that I could apply in my day-to-day activities. And at times, the writing almost succeeded. There'd be glimpses of the person behind the writing, almost as if there was a conversation going on. Then there'd be a retreat to academic analysis and pacing that made it a chore to slog through. His attitudes and preconceptions are also quite evident. For example, he seems to hold Darwin and his theories in high regard, while denigrating "fundamentalist" Christianity. Granted, this wasn't a book on keeping an open mind, but I didn't quite want to be labeled as ignorant if I don't happen to agree with him or hold the same views in life.
Someone who is heavily into academic theory or the study of the human mind might well find this interesting. But if you're a busy professional looking for practical insights to work with, this is going to be a real stretch...
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Book Description
Encourages and equips those in authority to master self-leadership principles and realize their full leadership potential.
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