Product Description
The result of Creative Health Care Managements 25 years experience in transforming patient care, this book provides health care leaders with a practical approach for transforming their care delivery system into one that is patient and family centered and built on the power of relationships. Relationship-Based Care provides a practical framework for addressing current challenges and is intended to benefit health care organizations in which commitment to care and service to patients is strong and focused. It will also prove useful in organizations searching for solutions to complex struggles with patient, staff and physician dissatisfaction; difficulty recruiting and retaining and developing talented staff members; conflicted work relationships and related quality issues. Winner of the 2004 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award.
Book Description
"Action inquiry" is the process of transformational learning that individuals (and even whole organizations) can undertake to better assess current dangers and opportunities, act in a timely manner, and make future visions come true. Through short stories of leadership and organizational changes in the areas of business, politics, health care, and education, this book illustrates how this process can increase personal integrity, improve relationships, and lead to company profitability and long-term success.
Customer Reviews:
Unique ideas that work, but some shortcomings...........2007-02-03
ACTION-INQUIRY is a great book with lots of useful concepts. The editorial and other reviews focus on the content and I won't repeat a lot of that. However, I have some other comments to make that may be useful and I can describe my experience applying the ideas in daily life.
The authors introduce the idea that every action is an inquiry and every inquiry is an action. The premise of the book is that you need to be in inquiry in every moment at different levels to make the best choices and approach decisions with full awareness. This is a useful concept and it is illustrated throughout the book with many real-life business examples.
As a former director in a large company, I can say that these are practical ideas that if applied could be very transformational to an organization. The challenge is to really impliment them and not just pay lip service to the concepts. This must begin with the leaders. If they don't buy into the model, it will be difficult to get other people onboard, but not impossible. The book is about each individual being a change agent through action-inquiry.
What I didn't like about the book is that I found there were too many examples to illustrate the same basic concepts, there was also quite a bit of repetition of concepts and an unnecessary use of jargon where plain everyday language would have done just fine.
I think this book could have been half the length and been just as effective. I also think the author could have presented his ideas more clearly and concisely. In places, he uses different language for the various levels of inquiry and this tends to make the flow more confusing than it has to be. In the next revision, it would be good to see some of these issues addressed.
However, I still recommend this book to business and other leaders. In fact, it is useful for anyone who wants to live with more awareness and choice through tuning into various levels of inquiry in the midst of action. Basically, we are talking about taking a systems approach to life where we have practices that give us access to better quality feedback. This is the essence of the book.
"Action inquiry" is the process of transformational learning .......2005-08-05
Action Inquiry offers a fresh approach to helping individuals and organizations learn in the midst of the cut and thrust of daily action. Bill Torbert and Associates detail a highly accessible process for transforming power into action. Through real-life examples, they illustrate how action inquiry increases personal integrity, relational mutuality, company profitability, and long-term organizational and environmental sustainability.
The Art and Science of Transformational Leadership.......2004-08-02
Does everyone in your organization do the best they can, as they see it, yet the organization still fails to achieve its desired results? Action Inquiry shows why this often happens and how to convert this seeming paradox into a transformational change, taking everyone and the organization to the next level of performance.
Whether we look at the level of the individual, project, organization, network, or society, we each follow a path of development over time. For example, I think about the world in a different way today than I did when I was 10, 20 or 30. Likewise, my organization sees the world different after 10 years of success than we did as a startup. Based on over forty years of observation in the field, Bill Torbert and his associates find that we often get stuck in early levels of understanding of the world, even as we grow older. While it's obvious that it is appropriate to act like a teenager when you are 16 and not when you are 30, when we apply this same developmental logic to organizational life, the authors find that most organizations get stuck in early levels of development (like the teenager) that were appropriate in the first years and not in later years.
To show us what can be done about this and its implications, the authors provide many examples of how the action inquiry approach helped these individuals and organizations grow to the next level, taking on a broader understanding of the reality that faced them, which led to greater value being created for all.
We can see that the evidence is mounting: those leaders who understand and work with an action inquiry approach to leadership and development create significantly more value for their organizations in the short term for the long term, sustainably. Based on rigorous theory and scientific evidence, this is the art and science of transformational leadership for leaders who can handle the truth.
Book Description
You start a conversation with someone you manage, a conversation about a project that could be going better. You want to improve their performance and think you know what they should do. You estimate the conversation should only take a few minutes, yet somehow 45 minutes later you're still going around in circles. Sound familiar?
Unfortunately, improving human performance involves one of the hardest challenges in the known universe: changing the way people think. In constant demand as a coach, speaker, and consultant to companies around the world, David Rock has proven the secret to leading people (and living and working with them) is found in the space between our ears. "If people are being paid to think," he writes, "isn't it time the business world found out what the thing doing the work, the brain, is all about?"
Supported by the latest groundbreaking research, Quiet Leadership provides, for the first time, a brain-based approach that will help busy leaders, executives, and managers improve their own and their colleagues' performance.
Quiet Leadership is for the CEO who wants to be more effective at inspiring his or her leadership team, but has just a few minutes each week to speak to them. It's for the executive who'd like to get a manager to plan more effectively, but can't seem to work out how. It's for the manager who wants to inspire the sales team, but isn't sure how to do it. It's for the human resources professional who is ready to take on changing the culture of a whole organization. It's for the parent or caregiver who wants to reach new levels of communication and understanding with their family members.
Quiet leaders are masters at bringing out the best performance in others. They improve the thinking of people around them—literally improving the way their brains process information—without telling anyone what to do. Given how many people in today's companies are being paid to think and analyze, improving our thinking is one of the fastest ways to improve performance.
Quiet Leadership offers a practical, six-step guide to making permanent workplace performance change by unleashing higher productivity, new levels of morale, and greater job satisfaction. Above all, Quiet Leadership will give you the clarity and strength that comes from mastering and using powerful insights that teach you to perform and succeed, at the highest level.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Leadership Book.......2007-07-08
Quiet Leadership provides guidance for leaders who have busy schedules but still want to be able to provide valuable, effective guidance to their staff in an efficient manner. Many times, we don't teach people how to work out problems and how to think outside of the box, this book gives leaders and managers guidance on how to change their behavior to accomplish this task in an easy, non- threatening manner that is efficient an effective.
The book is designed to assist people who have busy schedules, but still want to provide effective, high quality feedback and professional development for employees. The techniques are based on research on how the brain functions and how to make the changes become permanent.
I found that the brain-based research helped me to understand why these strategies help leaders change their staff's behavior through listening, talking through an issue, allowing the staff member to come up with a solution that works and finally through following up with the staff member and ensuring accountability. This book is an excellent resource for people who have personalities that are fairly laid back and wants encourage others to attain their full potential.
I liked the fact that the author advises the leader to stop giving advice, rather ask questions and listen to the other person to truly understand the issue and work collaboratively to come up with a solution that will work. In addition, the book explains how to do all of this in a non-threatening manner that encourages collaboration in the workplace.
The book is designed to read over a long period of time and the author expects that the reader works to include the activities into their daily life to embed new habits into the reader's behavior patterns. The activities are very valuable and eye-opening to do. The principles in the book are even more effective for busy people because the author teaches you how to effectively provide guidance and leadership in very shirt periods of time, no more than 30 minutes per session.
I liked the fact that the author addressed issues relating to students and working in groups. I am a teacher and also manage a staff for after school programs. The book goes into some detail about how to use these principles when working with unique groups which is a very helpful thing.
The Leading Edge of Leadership.......2007-01-25
Quiet Leadership is the best book I have read for tying the most recent advances in neuroscience to leadership behaviors, particularly coaching. Having worked with leadership and coaching for a long time, and just recently starting working with neuroscience, I am personally thrilled to see all of these tied together. I strongly believe that the use of neuroscience in all aspects of business will grow rapidly, so this is a very timely contribution. It is worth reading just for the first sections.
However, the coaching methodology of the Six Steps is too complex for me -- too many steps and substeps. These sections still have some value, particularly the ties to neuroscience, but I would recommend skimming those sections.
Thought Leadership.......2007-01-09
As a professional project manager, the ideas in this book strike a real chord. So many books on leadership spend their time cataloging the attributes and behaviours of good leaders, but offer no advice as to how to implement for ourselves a leadership style that is authentic and appropriate. To anyone who has to manage people in a day to day, pressured environment the advice in this book is very welcome. In particular the emphasis on allowing people to work things out for themselves makes a lot of sense, as well as the focus on insight as the energising mechanism. The information on neuro-science is a bit of a distraction: it may or may not be true, and so runs the risk of detracting from some simple and profound messages. Even just to consider that everyone is thinking differently and therefore having a different experience is, on reflection, self evident, and doesn't need experimental validation. As Einstein explained, the real breakthrough comes from the insight, the experimental validation may never come. There is plenty in this book to help those who would like a bit of help, and, apparently, really annoy those who don't.
Gimmick, not a revolution.......2006-11-30
To summarize, instead of the promised revolutionary concept the author delivers a promotion for his latest gimmick. After reading the "meat" of the book, a business-savvy reader can almost "taste" the author's vision: dozens of slick consultants from David's own Results Coaching Systems, Inc. "helping" innovative executives to transform their organizations. While the scholastic value of this book is minimal, it does raise the reader's awareness of the new research correlating human brain activity with job performance and motivation. I just wish someone with less business interests and better academic credentials has written about the topic.
Had promise, but..........2006-09-02
Quiet Leadership - David Rock
I bought this book encouraged by some of the positive reviews it received, and by the promise of the title, Quiet Leadership. I have long felt that effective leadership can be accomplished in "quiet", humble, and non-demonstrative ways and I was looking forward to the author's insights and contributions toward this leadership approach. This book disappointed me.
Mr. Rock presents his leadership development approach as six steps. Well enough. But when you actually read through chapters describing the six steps, you soon realize that his approach is more like twenty or so steps as each basic step is further broken down into sub-steps and in some cases, "models". A powerful aspect of good books on leadership is to present ideas, even if they are already well-known principles, in a simple and/or motivating manner. This book does not do this. Mr. Rock's approach is tedious and unnecessarily complex, and I found it hard to maintain my focus while reading the individual chapters.
Mr. Rock supports his approach by findings in neuroscience. This impressed me as superfluous. For, example, I think most astute, aware individuals understand that people bring different experiences and points of view to a situation. Now, from reading Mr. Rock, I understand that is because people have different and unique neural "maps". Ok, what's special about the neuroscience's insight here? Neuroscience is undoubtedly a complex field and most likely still has a long way to go before we understand everything there is to know about the workings of the brain. The assuredness and precision of Mr Rock's "findings" just don't seem appropriate to this kind of science as applied to leadership.
I gave the book an overall, 3 rating for some good material on effective conversational styles captured in the chapters entitled, Speak with Intent, and Dance Toward Insight (two of the six steps). I could not be more generous with my rating because of the overall complexity and the less than compelling presentation of the author's insights.
Amazon.com
Stemming from research in their previous book, Managing for Excellence, David Bradford of Stanford University and Allan Cohen of Babson College have developed a new "leadership system" based on reciprocal behavior between managers and subordinates. In Power Up: Transforming Organizations Through Shared Leadership, they diagram this model and show corporations how to adopt it. Blasting the fundamental assumption that leaders are responsible for everything within a company (and any unit therein), they suggest that management actually is the responsibility of everyone and offer ways to encourage such behavior even when resistance exists.
Book Description
"Cohen and Bradford give both leaders and followers the tangible tools they need to create high performance. Their transformational leadership system is both sophisticated enough to capture the realities of life in today's organizations and simple enough to be immediately useful to managers in any part of the world. This book will be read, re-read, and sent to bosses everywhere."--Rosabeth Moss Kanter, author of Rosabeth Moss Kanter on the Frontiers of Management
"In Power Up, Bradford and Cohen not only convincingly argue the benefits of leading by building a shared responsibility team, they also describe in detail how to do it. Loaded with many powerful examples and detailed cases that bring their concepts to life, this book will inspire any leader."--Jerry Porras, coauthor of Built to Last and Lane Professor of Organizational Behavior and Change, Stanford Business School
"Traditional assumptions about the roles of managers and subordinates are barriers to long-range success . . . Bradford and Cohen provide practical insights into how to transform the leadership systems of modern business organizations, and these insights should be shared among employees and managers at all levels."--Yotaro Kobayashi Chairman and CEO, Fuji-Xerox
"Post-heroic leadership and shared responsibility teams have made a big difference in how we operate at Autodesk. Power Up is critical reading for every manager in high-tech." --Carol Bartz President and CEO, Autodesk
"Power Up's message is clear: in today's business arena, global players must rely on shared leadership, not a single voice. Post-heroic leaders place responsibility where the knowledge is: at every level. Siemens is committed to this new way of working."--Dr. Heinrich von Pierer President and CEO, Siemens
Countless articles and books have called for an end to "heroic," command-and-control management. In principle, at least, business has heeded that call. Acknowledging the need for employee leadership and shared responsibility, companies worldwide have invested heavily in every variety of employee-empowerment program. Yet, such reform efforts seldom have any lasting effect, and managers and subordinates quickly slip back into old follow-the-leader patterns of thinking and behaving.
Does this mean that the skeptics were right all along? Are participative management, self-directed work teams, and other popular empowerment programs just part of a futile effort to change "human nature"? Not at all, say David L. Bradford and Allan R. Cohen in this practical follow-up to their international bestsellers Managing for Excellence and Influence Without Authority. They show conclusively that to believe this grossly underestimates human capabilities and sacrifices any chance for success in today's fiercely competitive global marketplace.
Drawing upon close observation of successful leaders and followers, Bradford and Cohen reconceptualize shared leadership to show how it requires tough and decisive behavior from managers and those who report to them. The authors provide a blueprint for making it work personally and in your organization, whatever your position or formal power.
Exercising their critically acclaimed talent for translating complex concepts into actionable advice and guidance, they show how to create a dynamic, supercharged organizational culture of shared responsibility. Using many real-life examples and vignettes, the authors reveal the mind-traps that keep organizations locked into outmoded concepts of leadership. A pathbreaking contribution to the new leadership from two pioneers in the field, Power Up arms managers with the concepts and tools to release the potential of employees for greater heights of productivity and performance.
Customer Reviews:
God is in the details and this book captures the key ones.......2004-03-17
I am biased in my report in that I know the book intimately. I can only say that I am aware of no other leadership book that has captured the correct essence of where human leadership is and where it could go.
Yes, read the stories, and the author's words, but I challenge you to look beyond all that they have thankfully given us as simple stories and realize the potential of the type of leadership that they call post-heroic leadership. Forget the label of this leadership they communicate and instead listen to underlying message of Power Up.
John P. Kotter once wrote a poem that goes something like this..."beyond the yellow brick road of naiveté, past the muggers land of cynicism, there lies a narrow path whose entrance is hard to find and poorly lit. Once found staying on such a path is even harder. Undertaking such a path is a moral undertaking. We need many more to take such a path...many, many more." Power Up describes a way that might help you see your way down your own path better and a way that is good for all mankind.
I have always said that this book will never be a best seller, because that just means that a lot of people read it, but I believe that hundreds of thousands of years from now it will still be revered as a great work in promoting the understanding of improving human leadership. It will get there I think, because of those few souls who read it and understand.
I will fight by your side if your purpose is good, and I follow you if your path is pure.
Focus,
Thundering Eagle
ugh!.......2002-02-07
This book is one of the worst business books I have ever read. The authors are clearly on the gravy train trying to sweep up some more consultancy dollars.
This book basically breaks leadership up into two schools, the heroic school and the post-heroic school. The way it works is really simple. Anything bad, belongs in the heroic school, and anything good is post-heroic! WOW! This book is very one-sided and does not even try to entertain the notion that the most effective style of leadership can vary depending upon the situation. It continuously hammers home a certain style of leadership never exploring the situations where different approaches are effective.
I strongly recommend that if one wants to learn and think about leadership, read about leaders!....and by the way, the kind of leaders that we all admire do not even fit into this post-heroic category! This idealistic kind of approach recommended by academics lacks practical real-world substance, and only has value in a classroom.
I am considering using this book to prop up my dining table!
Can't be this simple?.......2001-09-26
The authors make the impossible seem very possible in this excellent book. The differences between heroic and post-heroic leadership is well defined through stories involving real people. Can an organization switch from heroic to post-heroic leadership, sure, but it is not easy. Somehow this book and its ideas make that ideal a bit more reasonable. Only for managers and leaders who are ready to go out on a limb and turn everything they thought they knew upside down. Good luck.
Book Description
The Change Leadership Group at the Harvard School of Education has, through its work with educators, developed a thoughtful approach to the transformation of schools in the face of increasing demands for accountability. This book brings the work of the Change Leadership Group to a broader audience, providing a framework to analyze the work of school change and exercises that guide educators through the development of their practice as agents of change. It exemplifies a new and powerful approach to leadership in schools.
Book Description
Many recent books have attempted to address the "crisis" in the mainline church. Anthony Robinson here makes a significant — and in many ways unique — contribution to this discussion by bringing his personal insights as a pastor to bear on the issue of renewing congregational life.
Writing from twenty-five years of experience in four congregations of differing size, location, and ethnic makeup, Robinson prescribes concrete changes in the practice of ministry that have been tried, tested, and lived out to great success. At the heart of his framework for church renewal is what he calls "cultural change." According to Robinson, technical or programmatic change is not sufficient to address the needs of the day. He argues for changing the very culture of mainline congregations, which involves recognizing and fostering their particular gifts and genius rather than trying to remake them into something they are not. His fruitful strategies for renewal touch every aspect of congregational life, from personal spiritual formation to church leadership.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent resource for mainline church leaders.......2007-06-03
A no-nonsense analysis of the predicament of and opportunities for old mainline churches as their leaders seek to do faithful ministry in a post-modern American culture.
Helpful, though not necessarily groundbreaking.......2006-08-12
Another book, similar to some others that I have reviewed, that articulately describes the challenges confronting us in the postmodern world, the ways that congregations need to be transformed, and the leadership skills that are necessary for the task.
Robinson argues that we need the following transformations: from worship as talk about God to worship as experience of God; from Christian education to Christian formation; from givers to receivers who give; from board culture to ministry culture; from community organization to faith-based ministry; from democracy to discernment; from budget as end to budget as means; from fellowship to hospitality; and from passive membership growth to active membership growth.
Robinson didn't say a whole lot that I thought was new and different from a number of other books I have been reading recently, but on the other hand the more I wrestle with the changing world and the more I read books like this, the greater clarity I achieve about the task that lies ahead, and my role in it.
Transforming Congregational Culture.......2004-03-20
As an Elder in a Presbyterian church which has been undergoing cultural changes in the past 5-10 years, I found Mr. Robinson's book facinating. It is an easy read and it lays out so many changes that my own church has witnessed. After reading the book and finding out that Mr. Robinson lives in Seattle, I plan on visiting his church when I am there visiting my son and granddaughter. I also plan on getting other members of the church together for a book discussion and try to implement some of the suggestions layed out in the book.
Book Description
Praise for Vital Factors
"Each story in this book provides a real-world example of the importance of finding ways to continually focus on and perfect your vital factors as a means to be successful in business and in life.Vital Factors brings to life the MAP process to help you figure out what really matters as you seek to enhance your personal life or to transform your business."
--Kerry Killinger, chairman and CEO, Washington Mutual
"When I first became CEO I was inundated with constant interruptions and distractions. Then I discovered the MAP process. MAP forces you to focus on those core issues that drive an organization and eliminate the extraneous. Vital Factors shows the reader how to overcome these challenges through the stories of people who succeeded."
--John V. Shields, chairman emeritus, Trader Joe's Company
"Vital Factors brings to life the power of concrete concepts that create consistency and results.I entrenched myself in these MAP principles early in my career, and years later I used them to develop my leadership team and transform our organization."
--Joseph V. Haggerty, chief operating officer, United Way of America
"Vital Factors?captures the winning formula to run any size business or organization. The real-world examples--provide insight that will help you grow as a leader and advance your career. It is mandatory for all of my senior leaders."
--David Berman, vice president of worldwide?sales and service, WebEx Communications, Inc.
"Vital Factors is a valuable tool for all leaders and teams. It has provided our organization with a simple disciplined process to transform our business from being 'action focused' to 'results focused.' Vital Factors is now part of our culture and used by every employee; the linkage to results is incredible. Focus, discipline, communication, and accountability are driving positive results!"
--Sharon Stein, senior vice president, Ceridian
Customer Reviews:
Vital Factors tells the story but falls short in teaching the subject..........2007-02-12
Vital Factors is a wonderful promotional piece about the benefits of MAP's business consulting success as told through the stories several of it's clients. The stories are quite inspiring in terms of the dramatic results the individuals and organizations achieved subsequent to the implimentation of the MAP process. However, I found myself wanting for more of a text book understanding of the MAP steps as they are best applied. For example, I would have preferred more of a case analysis of the methodology of MAP's determination of a business' Vital Factors and how those were identified and subsequently measured.
I recognize that all improvement comes through a feedback loop where efforts are measured against results and then adjustments to future efforts are made to optimize outcomes. While MAP distills that process down the book doesn't really get into the meat and potatos of their approach, leaving me wanting for something more to learn from. Guess I'll have to call MAP to learn more. Maybe that's what they wanted all along...
There will be little (if any) organizational vitality without individual vitality.......2006-12-07
Like the human body, each organization has "vital factors" and it is important to know what they are and how to monitor and protect them, especially when attempting to transform any organization from what it is now to what will improve and strengthen it. In this volume, Lee Froschheiser and Paul Chutkow introduce their reader to MAP (Management Action Programs) which they characterize as "a powerful system of business management and personal growth." It consists of six basic functions: Leading, Communication, Planning, Organizing, Staffing, and Controlling. Expect no head-snapping revelations nor do the authors claim to offer any. Rather, the substantial value of their book is derived from understanding and then effectively applying the Vital Factor process which they explain and illustrate with rigorous precision.
The authors assert that the best-run companies share a common set of attributes and virtues. These they list on pages 6-7 and are essentially the same as those identified by others such as Jim Collins, Andrew Hargadon, Jason Jennings, and Alfred Marcus as well as by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman. For example, personal as well as organizational goals are clear, specific, and measurable; people, strategy, operations, and competitive marketplace are in proper alignment; continuous improvement at all levels and in all areas of operation; and decisions are based on "outside-in," customer-centric perspectives. In this volume, Froschheiser and Chutkow cite research conducted by Eric Gillberg and his associates which reveals that "companies are like people: each was unique, each had its own distinctive DNA, each had its own particular set of defining strengths and weaknesses. Moreover [key point] each company had its own unique - but often hidden - set of vital factors, the critical elements that would either hold that company back or propel it to success."
In this instance, in terms of alignment, the challenge is recognize the strengths of each individual and then apply them to tasks appropriate to those strengths. In fact, Marcus Buckingham is among those who support this leveraging of talents and skills against work to be done while suggesting, also, that managers should concentrate on increasing strengths rather than wasting time struggling to eliminate weaknesses. Specifically, how to do that successfully? Froschheiser and Chutkow offer the MAP system whose foundation consists of Vital Factors and business fundamentals, "the daily blocking and tackling that winning companies do better than their competitors. MAP is an ongoing process that, when implemented well, produces all those attributes and virtues that [Gillberg's] team found in the best-run companies."
As I read this book, I appreciated learning much more about how the transformation of an organization (regardless of size or nature) must occur - and indeed, can only occur -- simultaneously with the transformation of those who are involved in it. Credit Froschheiser and Chutkow with a brilliant explanation of how and why MAP is such a powerful system of business management and personal growth. With comparable brilliance, Collins has discussed companies which made a "leap" from good to great and he and his research associates also learned a great deal about once great companies which became only good and then mediocre. Obviously, there are significant differences between and among those companies that "leap" as well as between and among those that deteriorate...and especially between the two groups...but all of these companies share at least one factor in common: their "health" as an organization is determined almost entirely by the "health" of their people. The ROI on initiatives which achieve and then sustain the mental, physical, and emotional vitality of everyone involved in a given enterprise is incalculable. What Lee Froschheiser and Paul Chutkow offer in this exceptionally practical book will guide and inform such initiatives.
Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out Michael Ray's The Highest Goal, James O'Toole and Edward E. Lawler's The New American Workplace and O'Toole's Creating the Good Life, and Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths And Total Nonsense co-authored by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton.
Vital Factors is enormously valuable at 3 levels.......2006-11-23
Vital Factors is one of the most useful works I have seen. Having been in executive business positions for over 30 years, having taught in universities, and having enjoyed the chance to coach team members in hundreds of community, business, and university activities, I am struck by the blending, the welding done in this book.
Much of what I see in Vital Factors is long-time proven leadership, management, and success fundamentals. For me, what breathes life into Vital Factors is the brilliant blending of known success factors with the discipline of the MAP processes. The pathways made clear through real-life stories make Vital Factors even more extraordinary.
Vital Factors and the MAP processes are wonderfully valuable to me at 3 levels:
.....In business
.....In coaching, and
.....In my personal life
I recommend this work as a brilliant blend of proven success factors with wonderfully valuable MAP processes.
Vital Factors.......2006-11-17
Fascinating book! I particularly enjoyed the personal stories of people and organizations who have used the management system described in the book. I have been in senior positions in business for quite some time and it never ceases to amaze me that one can always learn from the experiences of others. A lot of the stories were about people in smaller companies who do not have internal groups responsible for organizational development. I am recommending the book to my son-in-law, who is in just such a position.
Amazon.com
The lure of this book's promise starts with the assumption in its title. Possibility--that big, all-encompassing, wide-open-door concept--is an art? Well, who doesn't want to be a skilled artist, whether in the director's chair, the boardroom, on the factory floor, or even just in dealing with life's everyday situations? Becoming an artist, however, requires discipline, and what the authors of The Art of Possibility offer is a set of practices designed to "initiate a new approach to current conditions, based on uncommon assumptions about the nature of the world."
If that sounds a little too airy-fairy for you, don't be put off; this is no mere self-improvement book, with a wimpy mandate to transform its readers into "nicer" people. Instead, it's a collection of illustrations and advice that suggests a way to change your entire outlook on life and, in the process, open up a new realm of possibility. Consider, for example, the practice of "Giving an A," whether to yourself or to others. Not intended as a way to measure someone's performance against standards, this practice instead recognizes that "the player who looks least engaged may be the most committed member of the group," and speaks to their passion rather than their cynicism. It creates possibility in an interaction and does away with power disparities to unite a team in its efforts. Or consider "Being the Board," where instead of defining yourself as a playing piece, or even as the strategist, you see yourself as the framework for the entire game. In this scenario, assigning blame or gaining control becomes futile, while seeking to become an instrument for effective partnerships becomes possible.
Packed with such examples of personal and professional interactions, the book presents complex ideas on perception and recognition in a readable, useable style. The authors' combined, eclectic experience in music and painting (as well as family therapy and executive workshops) infuses their examples with vibrant color and sound. The relevance to corporate situations and relationships is well developed, and they don't rely on dry case studies to do it. Indeed, this book assumes the emotional intelligence and desire to engage of its reader, promising access to the rewards of that door-opening notion--possibility--in return. --S. Ketchum
Book Description
In their playing you hear not only precision, color and balance, but thunder, lightning and the language of the heart. This is what the Boston Globe said about a performance by conductor Benjamin Zander with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, but it could apply equally to the Zanders' inspirational book, the product of a synthesis of the diverse worlds of the symphony orchestra and cutting-edge psychology.
The Art of Possibility offers a set of breakthrough practices for creativity in all human enterprises. Infused with the energy of their dynamic partnership, the book joins together Ben's extraordinary talent as a mover and shaker, teacher, and communicator, with Rosamund Stone Zander's genius for creating innovative paradigms for personal and professional fulfillment. In lively counterpoint, the authors provide us with a deep sense of the powerful role that the notion of possibility can play in every aspect of our lives.
The Zanders' deceptively simple practices are based on two premises: that life is composed as a story ("it's all invented") and that, with new definitions, much more is possible than people ordinarily think. The book shifts our perspective with uplifting stories, parables, and anecdotes from the authors' personal experiences as well as from famous and everyday heroes. From "Giving an A," to the mysterious "Rule Number 6," to "Leading from Any Chair"-the account of Ben's stunning realization that the conductor/leader's power is directly linked to how much greatness he is willing to grant to others-each practice offers an opportunity for personal and organizational transformation.
The Art of Possibility provides a life-altering approach to fulfilling dreams large and small. The Zanders invite us all to become passionate communicators, leaders, and performers whose lives radiate possibility into the world.
Rosamund Stone Zander is a family therapist and a landscape painter. Benjamin Zander is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a professor at the New England Conservatory of Music.
Based on the principles developed through the authors' unique partnership, Mr. Zander gives presentations to managers and executives around the world and Ms. Zander conducts workshops for organizations on practicing the art of possibility.
Download Description
The Art of Possibility offers a set of breakthrough practices for creativity in all human enterprises. This inspirational book is a synthesis of Rosamund Stone Zander's knowledge of cutting-edge psychology and Benjamin Zander's experiences as the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Infused with the energy of their dynamic partnership, the book joins together Ben's extraordinary talent as a mover and shaker, teacher, and communicator with Rosamund's genius for creating innovative paradigms for personal and professional fulfillment. In lively counterpoint, the authors provide us with a deep sense of the powerful role that the notion of possibility can play in every aspect of our lives. The Zanders' deceptively simple practices are based on two premises: that life is composed as a story ("it's all invented") and that, with new definitions, much more is possible than people ordinarily think. The book shifts our perspective with uplifting stories, parables, and anecdotes. From "Giving an A" to the mysterious "Rule Number 6" to "Leading from Any Chair"--the account of Ben's stunning realization that the conductor/leader's power is directly linked to how much greatness he is willing to grant to others--each practice offers an opportunity for personal and organizational transformation.
Customer Reviews:
inspirational.......2007-09-28
This book continues to change my life. I loved their key phrases to remember their ideas. I suggested it to many of my teacher friends and people on our board of education - where money is so tight and so many cuts are being made -this book inspires you to the many possibilities you can create.
Reshaping the "box".......2007-09-06
This book is thought provoking and stimulating. It is not an easy read, but definately gives you the tools to seek new ways of viewing almost any situation in a more positive light. I highly recommend this to anyone who is ready to not to merely think outside of the box, but reshape their box entirely.
No change without leadership.......2007-08-27
There is no change without leadership at all levels. This book is a good introduction into the principles of transformational leadership. Creating Possibilities for others such that they are touched moved and inspired. The leadership theory is based on leading oneself not others and focuses on who you are being not what you are doing. This is not a book about manipulative Machiavellian techniques rather it's about creating free choice for others where they are inspired by the possibility you have created.
A personal growth book for the nearly-jaded.......2007-08-16
I've been reading books for years now that are designed to inspire and lead one toward personal growth in relationships, in the workplace, in life in general. I'm a junkie for this kind of book, and therefore I've become somewhat jaded as well, never really expecting anything new but always hoping. What a delight, therefore, to be utterly surprised by THE ART OF POSSIBILITY. This book delivers! The Zanders' approach is revolutionary, shining real light amongst the plethora of jingoistic motivational books that abound these days. There is nothing self-centered or bumper stickerish or rah-rah cheerleady in this book. It has real depth, it never skims the surface or lets us off the hook. Benjamin is conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Rosamund is a painter and therapist. They bring their stunning creativity and imagination into real life -- their lives -- and show us how we, too, can compose and conduct our lives, paint our future. It's an exciting book, one that I've now read three times and underlined and highlighted and excerpted onto sticky notes for my computer and mirror and calendar. No wonder they are being called on to speak to leading business and professional groups.
The Art of Possibility.......2007-07-10
I would recommend this book to anyone in a leadership position. It is not only inspiring, but practical. It offers insights into effective communication.
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