Book Description
In just the last few years, traditional collaboration—in a meeting room, a conference call, even a convention center—has been superseded by collaborations on an astronomical scale.
Today, encyclopedias, jetliners, operating systems, mutual funds, and many other items are being created by teams numbering in the thousands or even millions. While some leaders fear the heaving growth of these massive online communities, Wikinomics proves this fear is folly. Smart firms can harness collective capability and genius to spur innovation, growth, and success.
A brilliant guide to one of the most profound changes of our time, Wikinomics challenges our most deeply-rooted assumptions about business and will prove indispensable to anyone who wants to understand competitiveness in the twenty-first century.
Based on a $9 million research project led by bestselling author Don Tapscott, Wikinomics shows how masses of people can participate in the economy like never before. They are creating TV news stories, sequencing the human genome, remixing their favorite music, designing software, finding a cure for disease, editing school texts, inventing new cosmetics, or even building motorcycles. You'll read about:
• Rob McEwen, the Goldcorp, Inc. CEO who used open source tactics and an online competition to save his company and breathe new life into an old-fashioned industry.
• Flickr, Second Life, YouTube, and other thriving online communities that transcend social networking to pioneer a new form of collaborative production.
• Mature companies like Procter & Gamble that cultivate nimble, trust-based relationships with external collaborators to form vibrant business ecosystems.
An important look into the future, Wikinomics will be your road map for doing business in the twenty-first century.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book to Read.......2007-10-02
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
As I refresh my professional career for the second decade of the 21st Century, I decided ro read this book, and I was not wrong. This is a most read book for everyone that's looking to stay relevant in the digital economy and the disrupting collaboration paradign. I highly recommeded.
Good, but not critical enough and scores high on the buzzword-meter.......2007-09-12
The book gives a quick tour of the new collaborative ways in which people aggregate and process information. It points out that collaboration can also be applied to produce new 'stuff', outside of software and even applying to manufacturing. It makes for interesting reading for people who a) know something about open source and want to know about its business implications and b) managers who don't know about open source/collaboration but would like to.
It is, imho, less interesting for those who want in-depth answers to the real thorny _business_ problems around open-source. I.e. How to make money at it, if you want to. It hints at important questions such as rewarding the community at large, not losing the family jewels as you open up, etc. Unfortunately, it never quite gets down to specific recommendations beyond "you have to find the right mix of proprietary vs. open source IP".
Not to criticize it overmuch. Wikinomics often jars your thinking with insightful nuggets. For example, it cites Goldcorp as the example of a mining company which opened up its secret prospection data to outsiders. Wikinomics, probably rightly, uses that as a counter-intuitive example of enlisting external help for a type of company that never shares that kind of data. Hmmm, why not share? If the prospection data applies to land on which only your company can operate, isn't that a pretty safe gamble? I don't know, really, but the point is that the anecdote makes you think of things differently. Same with IBM's success at getting a new OS (Linux)almost for free, while gathering goodwill from the community and genuinely collaborating. How far Big Blue's embarrassing anti-trust proceedings seem now...
Less helpful is Wikinomics' recurring use of cherry-picked anecdotes by sector, rather than a broad analysis of various businesses. First of all, it rarely compares its chosen 'smart companies' to their competitors. Yes, BMW is opening up. Does that make their cars any better? How is their stock doing? vs. Toyota? How is their reliability? How innovative are their cars?
Red Hat is a huge success story in Linux, but its dominance also highlights the relative failure of other Linux vendors. No explanation is given for that - network effects? first mover?
I would have welcomed some case studies of failures for big corporations in opening up. What caused those failures? What can be learned from them?
Google is also cited as a big example of openness. That is only partially true and could have served to highlight the necessary(?) split between proprietary information and public openness. Google opens up its APIs and the search is certainly free. I am a big fan myself. However, they have not chosen to release much code back to the community (cf. MapReduce) , mostly by sidestepping the GPL because they don't distribute their software. Their choice, and probably motivated by good business logic. Apple also walks a fine line between leveraging open source and keeping its business very much a secret.
This is just the kind of case studies Wikinomics could sink its teeth into, but it spends way too much time gushing over all the boundless possibilities of collaboration.
Conclusion: a good eye-opener but take it with a grain of salt. Note that my perspective is that of a developer interested in open source _and_ business profits.
An interesting read........2007-09-04
I liked this book, and it opened my eyes to many other "community-driven" technologies/companies. While I thought a lot of the ideas were very "common sense", it was well written, and had some great anecdotes. I recommend this book for anyone interested in social networking, building communities, etc.
The community is the company.......2007-09-02
Wikinomics is about opening your company to the world where communities come together, individuals share ideas, intelligence, peer produce, innovate; the communities are driven primarily by self-motivation or respect from peers. The idea is awesome; the authors are right that this is a new era; some of the most successful companies in the world use wikinomics; the most successful Internet companies are based upon it. The companies cost is dramatically cut, they become trustworthy, and individuals create what they want.
But the book is almost irritating to read. They paint a world where wikinomics is practically perfect, where the communities created by the company are utopian, and the companies who refuse the wikinomic ideology as evil. According to the authors, the companies that don't jump on the bandwagon will ultimately fail because they can't compete with speed and innovation that wikinomic companies can produce (compare wikipedia with any encyclopedia).
The reality is the communities created are often not egalitarian. Digg is a good example -- the community is driven by a faction of a top 100 users who control the front page content, any article or comment outside the digg mindset is quickly buried, and websites have been created where you can pay to get dugg.
In addition, the book ignores wikinomic companies who have failed completely or to a large extent (amapedia, a million penguins, la times wiki editorial, the thousands of 2.0 clones) and they give the reader no idea how to start a successful web 2.0 company. The book is also too long and each chapter adds little to the last. The entire book is read in the first chapter.
While I feel companies opening up to the world is an awesome concept and many of the ideas in the book are right, I would have preferred a more balanced book which makes this book unsatisfying. In the end, I still question whether wikinomics is just a bubble going to burst.
Required reading for Strategic Thinkers.......2007-08-29
In this interesting and example filled book, Authors Tapscott & Williams explore how convergence of the New Web (technology) and the Net Generation (demographics) have reduced transaction costs within the knowledge economy (or the knowledge element of the industrial economy) to create or allow for mass collaboration. Citing four (4) principles underlying this mass collaboration - openness, peering, sharing, and acting globally - they identify seven (7) trends that are transforming existing business models and challenging leaders to create entirely new business models.
1. Peer Production - building intellectual property bit by bit thru open source
2. Ideagoras - buying and selling solutions to problems / research
3. Prosumers - new product design by consumers/users (think hackers)
4. New Alexandrians - sharing science / thinking on a massive scale
5. Platforms for participation - global stage for partnering to create value and build new businesses
6. Global plant floors - transport technology across borders/organizations for local fab labs
7. Wiki workplaces - really workspaces, where playgrounds replace more traditional business processes
While one may argue with the distinctions between these seven, somewhat overlapping trends, the authors provide ample examples to stimulate thinking and help the reader see how this new world might be integrated into current business models or force us to create new ones. This book is recommended as required reading for anyone responsible for strategic thinking - for themselves or for their business.
Book Description
When You Talk, Are People Changed?
Whether you speak from the pulpit, podium, or the front of a classroom, you don’t need much more than blank stares and faraway looks to tell you you’re not connecting. Take heart before your audience takes leave! You can convey your message in the powerful, life-changing way it deserves to be told. An insightful, entertaining parable that’s an excellent guide for any speaker, Communicating for a Change takes a simple approach to delivering effectively. Join Pastor Ray as he discovers that the secrets to successful speaking are parallel to the lessons a trucker learns on the road. By knowing your destination before you leave (identifying the one basic premise of your message), using your blinkers (making transitions obvious), and implementing five other practical points, you’ll drive your message home every time!
âLong ago, in a galaxy far, far awayâ¦â
âOnce upon a timeâ¦â
âIn the beginningâ¦â
Great stories capture and hold an audience’s attention from start to finish. Why should it be any different when you stand up to speak?
In Communicating for a Change, Andy Stanley and Lane Jones offer a unique strategy for communicators seeking to deliver captivating and practical messages. In this highly creative presentation, the authors unpack seven concepts that will empower you to engage and impact your audience in a way that leaves them wanting more.
âWhether you are a senior pastor with weekly teaching responsibilities or a student pastor who has bern charged with engaging the hearts and minds of high school students, this book is a must-read.â
Bill Hybels
Senior pastor, Willow Creak Community Church
âA very practical resource for every biblical communicator who wants to go from good to great.â
Ed Young
Senior pastor, Fellowship Church, Grapevine, Texas
âTo communicate effectively, you have to connect. Andy has been connecting with people for years, and now he’s sharing his insights with the rest of us.â
Jeff Foxworthy
Comedian
INSIDE LEFT FLAP
In Communicating for a Change, Andy Stanley shares the seven imperatives that define his approach to challenging people’s minds in order to change their lives: Determine Your Goal Pick a Point Create a Map Internalize the Message Engage Your Audience Find Your Voice Start All Over
These seven concepts will simplify your approach to communication and transform your sermons, lessons, and presentations into powerful life-changing experiences for your listeners.
Story Behind the Book
Andy Stanley and Lane Jones are on staff at one of America ’s largest churches, North Point Community. Leaders of thousands of people, they regularly speak in front of large groups. They also listen to numerous speakers and know the disastrous effects of a poorly delivered message. This book is the result of their efforts to make public speakingâone of the most common fear-inducing activities known to mankindâsimple, easy, and even enjoyable, so that God’s messages will readily produce the life-changing results they should.
Customer Reviews:
go on a journey.......2007-09-21
This book is great for pastors and teachers. It is useful instruction for mapping out a message. It gives you five things to place before you every time you put together a message (they are now taped to my computer screen). I wasn't too interested in part one -the fictional "Ray" character story; however, I can see how it would be helpful to others. I really believe Andy is not only one of the best communicators of our time, but he also is one of the best teachers for pastors and church leaders. If you like this book, you might check out a similar book called Seven Practices of Effective Ministry.
quality book, great content.......2007-08-31
This book inspired me to approach verbal communication in a new way. It's an easy read with practical an applicable content.
a must for public speaking.......2007-08-23
andy stanley is a master at public speaking. he does have a secret to his success and reveals it in a concise, simple way. i wish every speaker / preacher followed the techniques described in this book
A must read preachig book.......2007-08-16
This is an excellent book on preaching by Andy Stanley. The book is easy to read with clear ideas on how to improve the flow of a sermon. His ideas of the ME-We-God-You-We outline is wonderful and engaging. He emphasizes making each lesson a "one pointer". Andy certainly engages in the narrative style of preaching, but expands the technique into some new territory. I would recommend this book to any of my preacher friends. Some of the best thoughts were taking time to connect with the audience, flow to application, and developing the tension to cause people to want to listen. In the next few weeks, I look forward to developing some lessons with these thoughts in mind.
A must have if you want to reach your congregation.......2007-08-02
This book is extremely insightful, and easy to read--in the typical Andy Stanley style. I bought it because I couldn't figure out why Stanley's preaching hit home with me every time. I'd listen to other Pastors, and it just wasn't the same. This book offers an inside look to how he prepares, structures his messages, and the general philosophy behind his preaching. It is very practical, challenging, and outside the box. I've used his insights with great success over the past year, and I've passed the book on to may church leaders that I know. Enjoy!
Product Description
When you subtract the amount of hours you sleep, work, and commute, you probably don't have more than one or two hours a day to do what you would like to do and that's if you have the money to do it. Don Failla has been teaching his simple network marketing method which allows anyone to learn how to own his or her life by building a home-based business. It doesn't require selling, and the best part is, it won't take much of your time. The 45-Second Presentation That Will Change Your Life is a virtual training manual on network marketing, designed to teach you a step-by-step plan for building a profitable, sustainable network marketing business. Network marketing is a system for distributing goods and services through networks of independent distributors. This guide not only unlocks the secrets of successful network marketing, but it provides the method to sponsor people in your organization using Failla's "45-Second Presentation." With nearly four decades' worth of instructions and insights from Failla, The 45-Second Presentation That Will Change Your Life provides you with the essentials for building and maintaining your lucrative home business.
Customer Reviews:
Great for new Network Marketers.......2007-09-06
We are new to network marketing and wish we knew about this book sooner. We would have found a good network marketing business sooner. Very informative and easy to read. Recommend everyone read this book to understand what network marketing is about.
The first four chapters could be all you need!.......2007-06-11
Clear, concise, "been there" instruction on how to explain the most powerful message in network marketing! Have many friends making 5 figure incomes per month who claim this book changed their lives and got them to that level. Am believing it will do the same for me and my team! Strongly recommend!
quick and easy read.......2007-05-23
This is a quick and easy read with valuable info. It gives a common sense approach to building a successful network marketing business.
study this one.......2007-01-09
This is the concept of Network Marketing that should excite those who want more than a straight job in life. This is the step by step study of what happen when you tell someone about a great product, then they tell two, then they tell three, etc. Study what they show you and you will succeed in telling the story of Network Marketing to anyone who wants to listen.
Book Description
The Power of Appreciative Inquiry describes a new strategy that inspires people and brings about a higher performance level in any organization. This method encourages people to study, discuss, learn from, and build on what works well when they are at their best, rather than focusing on what's going wrong.
The theory, practice, and spirit of this approach to organizational change is described in plain language. The authors provide guidelines for defining the change agenda, initiative, or project; forming the "steering team"; and launching an organization-wide kick off. Case histories demonstrate how organizations can attain sustained positive change by studying their strengths.
Customer Reviews:
A Life-Changer for Me.......2006-12-12
Appreciative Inquiry is a process that I feel is one of the most powerful there is for - as the subtitle of this book says - offering a practical tool to create positive change. It's easy to talk in abstract terms about change and improving the world, but it isn't often we come across a way to actually make it happen in concrete terms. AI is one of those tools. This book offers a very thorough guide to the history, mindset, methodology and diverse potential use of this powerful process. In addition, it was instrumental in the startup and methods that I now use in my own coaching, consulting and training firm. It was both an inspiration and a way of approaching the world that has helped me grow tremendously.
The right balance of principles and methodology.......2006-11-03
As an OD professional, I own a dozen different books on AI. This book is the one I most frequently buy for my business leader clients because it offers a great balance between principles and methodology. The clear writing, ongoing case examples and useful tips make "The Power of Appreciative Inquiry" a powerful resource for consultants and managers interested in putting AI into immediate practice.
Appreciative Inquiry.......2006-09-28
This is an excellent book. It is very readable while it explains the theory and foundations of AI. There are examples of its use in the for profit and non profit world. I have been involved in strategic planning for several year with non profits and this is one process that folks get excited about. I would highly recommend this book and "The Appreciative Inquiry Summit" to get a practical outline on how the process can be put into practice with groups and organziations.
Inspiring and Practical.......2006-05-03
As a professional organization development consultant for over 20 years, I have found The Power of Appreciative Inquiry extremely helpful, not only in change consultation but in many other aspects of working with human systems. I recommend it highly.
beware of the positive reviews.......2005-06-17
I bought this book, and it is full of really obvious statements that are not backed by any meaningful examples. A requirements based analysis would have been a lot more useful.
Book Description
The need for effective communication, public outreach, and education to increase support for policy, collective action and behavior change is ever present, and is perhaps most pressing in the context of anthropogenic climate change. This book is the first to take a comprehensive look at communication and social change specifically targeted to climate change. It is a unique collection of ideas examining the challenges associated with communicating climate change in order to facilitate societal response. It offers well-founded, practical suggestions on how to communicate climate change and how to approach related social change more effectively. The contributors of this book come from a diverse range of backgrounds, from government and academia to non-governmental and civic sectors of society. The book is accessibly written, and any specialized terminology is explained. It will be of great interest to academic researchers and professionals in climate change, environmental policy, science communication, psychology, sociology, and geography.
Book Description
Why is the gap so great between our hopes, our intentions, even our decisions-and what we are actually able to bring about? Even when we are able to make important changes-in our own lives or the groups we lead at work-why are the changes are so frequently short-lived and we are soon back to business as usual? What can we do to transform this troubling reality?
In this intensely practical book, Harvard psychologists Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey take us on a carefully guided journey designed to help us answer these very questions. And not just generally, or in the abstract. They help each of us arrive at our own particular answers that can solve the puzzling gap between what we intend and what we are able to accomplish. How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work provides you with the tools to create a powerful new build-it-yourself mental technology.
Download Description
With an inspiring mix of organizational analysis, worksheets, and sample dialogues, the authors of this revolutionary new technology for personal learning, leadership, and organizational change, show how all managers and executives are actually leading "language communities". The workplace, they reveal, is a community where certain ways of talking are encouraged and others made apparently impossible. But by using the seven new workplace "languages" presented in this book to reveal the underlying feelings and motivation in one-to-one and group discussion at work, leaders can concentrate individual and social energy to transform communication and culture in the workplace.
Customer Reviews:
A simple and profound method for achievement.......2007-02-17
This book presents a simple worksheet to help you analyze your resistance to change. Once completed, you will understand the inner conflicts that hinder your personal and professional development despite your best intentions. Of course, simply understanding these conflicts isn't enough, so the authors present methods to understand the usefulness of your resistance, eliminate your judgement around it, and harness its power for change.
This method has helped me overcome my greatest dissatisfaction at work and I've experienced amazing results. I must warn, however, that despite being simple it entails quite a bit of self observation and continued effort. But this in itself is a huge asset.
I highly recommend this book for anybody experiencing even the slightest dissatisfaction at work or in life.
Finally Understanding Change Resistance as Useful Information.......2006-07-11
Imagine getting so much perspective on habits you're not happy about that you can actually keep your commitments to yourself. Using language structure as both the diagnostic and the cure, Kegan and Lahey offer up a fresh guide to creating sustainable change.
While it is designed to be used for workplace issues, it can also be used in other aspects of life. This book is clear, well-written, and so easily accessible it can even be used as a workbook. In fact the authors recommend a study group, and give clear steps to applying the model and specific case studies of participants who have successfully used it to create change. The significant difference between this and all other "managing change" books is a respectful recognition of competing commitments. That is, we don't need to conquer resistance, we need to understand it as a legitimate and experienced based reluctance designed for self-protection. Only then can the source and the solution be brought to light. This way of thinking is a treasure.
A great break down of common problems.......2005-08-02
I love the analysis of the way we communicate breaks down common misconceptions. This book shows the things that create negative responses and reactions. I think that while it shows ways to change, very few people actually change. I plan to use these concepts with my employees and see if it has an impact. My supervisor told me about this and advised trying it out with a partner first. I can see ways that I and others I work with fall into patterns that can be changed.
Judy
Superb treatment of the subject.......2002-07-02
The authors do a wonderful job of tying the science of languages and communication to the business of work and life. Filled with great examples from the world, it is easy to understand and digest.
Recommend also: "The Leader's Guide: 15 Essential Skills" (Ponder) and "7 Habits" (Covey)
Like a mirror to see yourself in.......2002-06-22
This book does for business leaders and their teams what the 7 Habits (Covey) did for individuals back in the 90s, but it goes a step forward: it's packed with case studies. I won't add to the discussion about the Seven Languages for Transformation, since my fellow reviewers have already gone into extensive detail about them. The key concept that the book left me was the idea of diving into conflicts to have them "solve" you, as opposed to running away from them or trying to solve them. The basis for this idea has to do with the learning opportunities that a conflict has to offer, and the opportunities of self-discovery to dig out blatant inconsistencies between what we say we care about and what our language and actions actually shows.
Overall, the book is a very easy read, whether you do it in order to seriously implement its suggested methodology (and it is one serious set of ideas it carries) or just as a mirror to help you laugh at your so-called professional commitments.
Customer Reviews:
Difficult, insightful book.......2007-09-21
I found this book even more difficult than the already challenging "Structure of Magic" but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The detail and precision that is gone into describing the unlimited power of words and communication is just what is needed in the wishy-washy world of self-help. Consider it more of a text book than a fun/easy read like Tony Robbins, and definitely start with "Structure of Magic" before going into this one.
Are you a mind reader?.......2007-08-08
If you are interested in knowing how psychiatrists effect life altering change, then this book is for you. As you may know, the authors modeled the life altering strategies of successful psychiatrists, such as Milton Erickson, Perls, and Virginia Satir.
I was rather intrigued, when reading this book to notice a strategy of Virginia Satir. In one of her dialogues with a patient, when the patient explains a perceived issue with another person, she repeatedly challenges his thinking by asking 'Are you a mind reader?'
I now ask myself the same question on a regular basis. Sometimes, I ask other people that question too. If you think about it, that is a very good perception changing question unless, of course, you are a mind reader.
Another book I recommend in this field is Mind Lines by L Michael Hall, which has an extensive list of change patterns, and My voice will go with you, which is a book of the therapeutic teaching tales of Milton Erickson.
If you were to find this review helpful, please click yes.
Truly A Classic.......2007-07-15
Though not an ease read, The Structure of Magic II as well as The Sturcture of Magic I are a must read for anyone interested in the healing magic that is done by therapists. This book takes the foundation created in book I and demonstrates how it is used in therapy. Bandler and Grinder have truly studied the masters of therapy and added their own unique and brilliant skills to create a very useful guide to doing therapy.
The Structure of Magic: A Book About Communication and Change (Book 2) by .......2007-01-03
This series is for the serious in depth learner and student of NLP. These are not self help books for the casual reader they are the kind of book most of us read a chapter of and then have to digest, read again, as these are text books..real text books.
That said, if you want to really understand communication then you want to read them, these boys are the big guns. You want to sell more real estate, read Tony Robbins, you want to be a great therapist, start here.
Both Structure of Magic Books are powerful but: masterpieces, but..........2006-03-06
Structure 1 is well written, clear and concise, but Structure 2 is subtle and intense like a slow moving train that gets fast and fun at the pace you like. Both are informative books, don't get me wrong. But Structure 2 shows that communication and movement within communication is thwe basis of life. Whether its commuincating to your muscles to walk or do whatever, talk to another person, whatever requires communication at any level. In fact these books, I'll say are the spirit-voice of what it takes to live efffectively or the beginnings thereof of understanding that. Structure 1 tells you the map is not the territory, structure 2 tells you how to use the territory with the directions if you have the basic understanding given in 1 of what maps and territories are really for. The questions are asked in 1, the queastions are answered in 2. Anyhow, as Arthur C. Clarke said, technology only seems magical, when you haven't developed up to its level yet. That's what it all comes down to, development and The Structure of Magic Books show that. Step by step, understanding by understanding until you can put it together yourself in its proper order within the territory, and not just on a "silly" map. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. more than that, that's my understanding and I'm growing past it to understand and undertake ever more and ever better. Hats off to Bandler and Grinder and all of their associates, I'm not saying they're the end or the beginnings, but they are an important part of that grand puzzle being solved called "existence and life". But eah person must put it all together for themselves, that's what The Map is Not The Territory means, I know. All right, happy reading if you buy em'!
Captain Josh/Joshua Clayton
Product Description
Don and Nancy Failla are a success story and they enjoy a lifestyle most people can only dream about. For over 39 years they have been helping people build their own successful home-based businesses. Don has authored and sold over 4 million copies in 24 languages of his book The 45 Second Presentation That Will Change Your Life. He has also produced numerous tapes and seminars teaching others how to own their lives. Nancy is C.E.O. of fun and works as a network marketing trainer and a motivational speaker. Don and Nancy have been married for 41 years and have two sons and five grandchildren. Together they have created a complete line of network training tools, not to mention they have built their own personal down line from 4 distributors to over 200,000 in less than 10 years. Currently over 3,500 new distributors are added to their organization monthly! Their system works.
Customer Reviews:
MLM, this book says it like it is.......2007-05-13
The book does a very good job at both explaining MLM and teaching you basic methods to become a successful recruiter. I was shocked at how open it was about the goal being not to sell products to real customers but, rather, to recruit recruit recruit.
Not my thing, as I prefer to find a business opportunity that actual customers want to purchase; vs being involved with something that puts the focus on recruiting rather than retailing. But if you feel differently then this book is for you.
Great Book!.......2007-04-06
This book was a real eye opener for me. Great book for anyone who is starting or struggling with network marketing. The type of book you want to read again. I strongly recommend it.
How to build a large successful multi-level-marketing organization.......2007-02-08
Great material, wonderful handbook for MLM professionals.
this material shows you how to share and what to focus on.
it is building my team into a multimillion dollar enterprise.
I LOVE IT
Very Good Book on MLM.......2006-12-26
If you're serious about network marketing, you need to read this book....Mike Stokes
The 45 Second Presentation That Will Change Your Life.......2006-08-14
The book is very informative & educational. I'm so glad that I put forth the effort to purchase it because it will help me with my home-based business.
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
When a company decides to make a major organizational changewhether it's a new emphasis on customer service, quality management, restructuring or downsizingmanagers must get the message through to front-line employees, and enlist their support...or the changes will create more turmoil than progress.
Written for busy managers at all levels, Communicating Change offers specific prescriptions for effecting successful change centered around three guiding principles:
- Conveying the message through supervisors
- Communicating face-to-face
- Making the changes relevant to each work area
In addition, a variety of helpful forms, checklists, sample communications, and surveys help managers to quickly put these principles into action.
Customer Reviews:
common sense communication improvements.......2007-01-18
I work as a Communications Specialist... sounds impressive, but really it is all about listening...and this book gives real world examples and steps for improving how you communicate change in your company. Perhaps I enjoy it because it supports my own theory that a chat or memo from the CEO is nice, but who is the guy/woman? really?...the immediate supervisor is the one I interact with everyday... that person is the key to clear communication and the conduit to change.
This is an easy-to-read book, presenting clear practical solutions.
Packed with Knowledge !.......2005-02-23
Nearly every CEO of a large corporation believes that words directly from his or her mouth will inspire front-line employees. Five decades of research show just the opposite, explain consultants and authors T.J. and Sandar Larkin. Their investigations emphasize the importance of communicating change through low-level supervisors, a group that has more credibility with front-line workers. They maintain that CEOs must go beyond simply telling supervisors what to do; they must also listen to these key employees and empower them by taking their suggestions seriously. The authors provide plenty of real-world examples to bolster their case. We recommend this clearly constructed argument to CEOs and to anyone charged with communicating with large numbers of employees. This engaging treatise, a classic, is ready to persuade its next crop of managers.
Good reference.......2003-11-22
My line of consulting has a lot to do with change management and communicating change so this was a good book to refer to for additional ideas and tools for the toolkit. One of the chapters that sticks out in my mind is the one that talks to how people prefer to hear certain types of messages (e.g. from their direct mananger, through an email, at an all hands meeting etc) The author uses actual data from surveys to back up his ideas which I fpund helpful - not only in helping me recommend certain vehicles for communication but also convincing others. Good resource.
A superb book.......2000-06-11
I'm an academic--a professor of corporate communication--and this is one of the few books I recommend to students in this area. Larkin bases every one of his assertions on applied research in organizational communication--very refreshing from the "I did it in my organization, so it must work in your company" perspective of most business authors. Larkin also completely shatters myths around traditional corporate communication practices (e.g. the executive should communicate directly to employees around major change areas), and bases such assertions on research in the area *plus* his own consulting experience (of which he has a great deal). My students also loved this book. If you buy one book on employee/corporate communication, this is the one.
Breath of fresh air.......1999-12-22
After years of being force-fed communications theories that didn't work, it was a real joy to see reality documented. The solutions presented are too simple to be acceptable to anyone more interested in documenting "quality" than running a business. These "rules" help: they work in practice (when was the last time you heard that about a communications theory?): and they will change your world.
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