Amazon.com
Disciplines like strategy, leadership development, and innovation are the sexier aspects of being at the helm of a successful business; actually getting things done never seems quite as glamorous. But as Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan demonstrate in Execution, the ultimate difference between a company and its competitor is, in fact, the ability to execute.
Execution is "the missing link between aspirations and results," and as such, making it happen is the business leader's most important job. While failure in today's business environment is often attributed to other causes, Bossidy and Charan argue that the biggest obstacle to success is the absence of execution. They point out that without execution, breakthrough thinking on managing change breaks down, and they emphasize the fact that execution is a discipline to learn, not merely the tactical side of business. Supporting this with stories of the "execution difference" being won (EDS) and lost (Xerox and Lucent), the authors describe the building blocks--leaders with the right behaviors, a culture that rewards execution, and a reliable system for having the right people in the right jobs--that need to be in place to manage the three core business processes of people, strategy, and operations. Both Bossidy, CEO of Honeywell International, Inc., and Charan, advisor to corporate executives and author of such books as What the CEO Wants You to Know and Boards That Work, present experience-tested insight into how the smooth linking of these three processes can differentiate one company from the rest. Developing the discipline of execution isn't made out to be simple, nor is this book a quick, easy read. Bossidy and Charan do, however, offer good advice on a neglected topic, making Execution a smart business leader's guide to enacting success rather than permitting demise. --S. Ketchum
Book Description
The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results . . . whether you’re running an entire company or in your first management job
Larry Bossidy is one of the world’s most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they’ve pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.
After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world’s most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn’t just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.
Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a “vision” and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.
The leader’s most important job—selecting and appraising people—is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there’s a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.
Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He’s been putting the ideas he writes about in
Execution to work in real time.
Download Description
The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results... whether you're running an entire company or in your first management job
Larry Bossidy is one of the world's most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they've pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.
After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world's most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn't just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.
Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a "vision" and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.
The leader's most important job -- selecting and appraising people -- is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there's a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.
Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He's been putting the ideas he writes about in Execution to work in real time.
Customer Reviews:
Universal truths presented but people views flawed.......2007-10-05
I thought there were many good take-aways in this book. Was it all original? Of course not. Most management books are saying the same things with a slightly different twist. I've got a bookshelf full of them. However, it seems that humans are so often incapable of remembering the fundamentals and have a tendency to overcomplicate things thus history repeats itself over and over.
The tone of the book regarding people gave me a little pause. Although I do think they were spot on in their assessment of how many companies do succession planning (not at all or incorrectly), it does seem to advocate that everyone needs to be a mini-Jack Welch type persona. I've worked in a company managed by ex-GE guys and believe me, they don't have it all figured out. I think organizations will benefit by having a mix of skills. Some people are better doers and others are better thinkers. Some superstars are good at both. It takes all types.
execution 101.......2007-08-22
I did receive this book in an executive seminar; read it over couples of nights, a simple book with day to day tips to make things happen.
A must read for any one how dreams to become a successful executive and a reality check for those already there.
Beyond Talk.......2007-08-20
So many times in this marketing-focused world, we do very well at the talking but not very good at the walking. Many of us have seen amazing sales presentations . . . only to realize that the promises would never be met.
This book engages us in the discussion about how to do what we promise. It helps us to go beyond the sales presentation and really design a process by which we can follow through, build relationships and live a life that is full of integrity and trustworthiness.
Prime Example of Mediocraty .......2007-08-11
This book did very little for me. Largely, the book is unoriginal and simply restates ideas already presented in tons of business leadership books. This book might as well have been written for the sole purpose of patting prominent CEOs, namely Jack Welch, on the back. You would be better served to bypass this one and just go read something by Welch on leadership.
Practical business.......2007-07-27
I teach MBAs. Its well known in the field that MBAs are very competent in analysis but not so good in implementation. The reason for this is that most professors who teach business have never actually worked in business and are research analysts. They teach analysis because they are excellent in that area. I worked in business 10 years before becoming a professor. I teach my students about implementation and they are interested. This is a book about implementation at the CEO level. I'm thinking of using it as a supplementary executive MBA text.
Amazon.com
With first-chapter allusions to martial arts, "flow," "mind like water," and other concepts borrowed from the East (and usually mangled), you'd almost think this self-helper from David Allen should have been called Zen and the Art of Schedule Maintenance.
Not quite. Yes, Getting Things Done offers a complete system for downloading all those free-floating gotta-do's clogging your brain into a sophisticated framework of files and action lists--all purportedly to free your mind to focus on whatever you're working on. However, it still operates from the decidedly Western notion that if we could just get really, really organized, we could turn ourselves into 24/7 productivity machines. (To wit, Allen, whom the New Economy bible Fast Company has dubbed "the personal productivity guru," suggests that instead of meditating on crouching tigers and hidden dragons while you wait for a plane, you should unsheathe that high-tech saber known as the cell phone and attack that list of calls you need to return.)
As whole-life-organizing systems go, Allen's is pretty good, even fun and therapeutic. It starts with the exhortation to take every unaccounted-for scrap of paper in your workstation that you can't junk, The next step is to write down every unaccounted-for gotta-do cramming your head onto its own scrap of paper. Finally, throw the whole stew into a giant "in-basket"
That's where the processing and prioritizing begin; in Allen's system, it get a little convoluted at times, rife as it is with fancy terms, subterms, and sub-subterms for even the simplest concepts. Thank goodness the spine of his system is captured on a straightforward, one-page flowchart that you can pin over your desk and repeatedly consult without having to refer back to the book. That alone is worth the purchase price. Also of value is Allen's ingenious Two-Minute Rule: if there's anything you absolutely must do that you can do right now in two minutes or less, then do it now, thus freeing up your time and mind tenfold over the long term. It's commonsense advice so obvious that most of us completely overlook it, much to our detriment; Allen excels at dispensing such wisdom in this useful, if somewhat belabored, self-improver aimed at everyone from CEOs to soccer moms (who we all know are more organized than most CEOs to start with). --Timothy Murphy
Book Description
In today's world, yesterday's methods just don't work. In Getting Things Done, veteran coach and management consultant David Allen shares the breakthrough methods for stress-free performance that he has introduced to tens of thousands of people across the country. Allen's premise is simple: our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective productivity and unleash our creative potential. In Getting Things Done Allen shows how to:
€ Apply the "do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it" rule to get your in-box to empty
€ Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations
€ Plan projects as well as get them unstuck
€ Overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed
€ Feel fine about what you're not doing
From core principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done can transform the way you work, showing you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down.
Download Description
"""The personal productivity guru"" (Fast Company) delivers powerful methods that vastly increase your efficiency and creative results-at work and in life In today's world, yesterday's methods just don't work. In Getting Things Done, veteran coach and management consultant David Allen shares the breakthrough methods for stress-free performance that he has introduced to tens of thousands of people across the country. Allen's premise is simple: our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective productivity and unleash our creative potential. In Getting Things Done Allen shows how to: Apply the ""do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it"" rule to get your in-box to empty Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations Plan projects as well as get them unstuck Overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed Feel fine about what you're not doing From core principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done can transform the way you work, showing you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down."
Customer Reviews:
If you are not already naturally organized, then his process would be excruciating torture to you........2007-10-10
#1 if you are not already naturally organized, then I can only expect you will toss this book in the rubbish bin because his process would be excruciating torture to you. It is an in-depth, deep clean.
If you are already naturally organized and yet feel you are not truly maximizing the effort you are putting into it, then this is well worth the time to read.
I easily related to this book and took away a few productive processes. It is over all a helpful book on organizing beyond the ubiquitous to do list. He has clear steps to get stalled projects moving forward. Hammering the point that the frustrations you face in getting things done are in actuality your lack of dealing with the hard question of what is the next physical action I need to take with this to deal with it. That may very well be toss it in the rubbish or Make a phone call...
Unfortunately, more often than not his example of the next action step is make a call... I started to cringe half way through the book whenever he wrote "Finally, when it's time to actually do an action, LIKE MAKING A CALL..." Towards the end of the book I was saying out loud and laughing "What is our next action step... Oh, of course make a call!"
That one criticism aside, I am trying his tickler file concept and do find it useful. I have implemented his mind sweep to organizing myself before the week so as to be prepared to face all of the inevitable interruptions and schedule changes with ease while accomplishing my weekly objectives. Although, in my case frequently the next action step is "turn off the phone, IM and email" so that I can work.
It's That Next Step that Matters..........2007-10-09
David Allen's concise and useful guide is built largely on the idea that, while people "think" in terms of entire projects, human action can only be practically applied to one aspect of a project at any one time.
In order to be effective, and work intelligently,we must first diligently construct our catalog of things that "need" doing and then proceed to priortize them in terms of their relative importance. This is only list making, however the act of breaking each project down, in order of importance, into discrete action steps is a more complex intellectual process, and is where we often fail. It is not a complex concept, but even the very intelligent lose sight of it under the pressures of life and work.
I found it interesting that many of the key points emphasized by Allen were articulated by Earl Nightingale, a famous radio commentator, decades ago. They are no less true today. The difficulty is forming and maintaining the habit structure that enables us to be masters of work, rather than slaves to unfinished business.
Bob Moffit
Retired Executive & Industry Consultant
If you have deadlines, you need this book.......2007-10-03
I have an associate who can't meet deadlines. I give him a deadline and set it two weeks before the project is needed. Doesn't matter. He won't make it. So I bought him this book. "No more projects until you read this," I told him.
He read it. He's not missed a project deadline yet.
People who have their own businesses, generally have deadlines and projects. Things have to be done by a certain time. If nothing else, we have to have our income tax in by midnight April 15 in the U.S.
But many people put things off and that creates stress. Stress for the person who procrastinates and stress for those who depend on him or her. We all need a time management system.
This book will help you to clear out your clutter. It will help you to know how to handle a project, to break it up and work at it in a way that's effective for you.
Highly recommended.
Read the full version first, use abridged audio for review.......2007-10-01
While the abridged audio CD version of Getting Things Done makes a perfect refresher tool for those who read the full book originally, too much detail and background is missing for this to be someone's first introduction to the GTD method of time management. Unfortunately, the unabridged audio won't be widely available until 2008.
Overall, the GTD system has a lot to offer. It's "open source" and "platform-independent," meaning you can use as much or as little of it as you want and adapt it to whatever organizational system you already like or are forced to use by circumstance--Outlook, FranklinCovey, 3x5s, whatever. Yes, it pretty much comes down to making a to-do list, but GTD's approach adds the subtle differences that make the lists actually effective reminders and trackers, rather than an overwhelming mess o' stuff to get done. If you've ever written something down on a list and then never looked at it again, give GTD a try.
This book will change your life.......2007-10-01
I first bought this book about 6 months ago, and it has improved my life incredibly. Even if you don't follow every one of his suggestions, or choose not to employ David Allen's GTD system, at the very least you'll gain a much greater understanding of stress-free productivity, effective workplaces, and the bottlenecks that prevent people from achieving their full productive potential.
It certainly took longer to set up my system than the "2 days" Allen continuously mentions in the book, but even while you're setting up and fine-tuning your personal system, you begin to get a sense of that "stress-free productivity". Now, my system is running smoothly, and I've been able to control my numerous projects with greater efficiency and effectiveness.
Most importantly, having a system in place will enable you to focus on your greater goals. I work in two startup companies, but I've always had a dream of being involved in local politics; now I'm also helping coordinate a grassroots political campaign in addition to my 9-5 commitments. You may want to spend more time with your family or significant other, go golfing, start a new business venture or take up a new hobby. This book can give you the system and the structure to allow you to pursue whatever life goals you have, and I consider it an invaluable life resource. I've recommended it to many of my friends and family, and they've experienced similar results.
Average customer rating:
- Instant Classic - Top Shelf
- All hype, no protein
- Trust is Fundamental in Relational Management
- The Ultimate Trust Model
- Author Lost My Trust Immediately, So Why Would I Listen To Anything He Has To Say?
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The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything
Stephen M.R. Covey , and
Rebecca R. Merrill
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 074329730X |
Book Description
From Stephen R. Covey's eldest son comes a revolutionary new path towards productivity and satisfaction. Trust, says Stephen M.R. Covey, is the very basis of the new global economy, and he shows how trust—and the speed at which it is established with clients, employees and constituents—is the essential ingredient for any high-performance, successful organization.
For business leaders and public figures in any arena, The Speed of Trust offers an unprecedented and eminently practical look at exactly how trust functions in our every transaction and relationship—from the most personal to the broadest, most indirect interaction—and how to establish trust immediately so that you and your organization can forego the time-killing, bureaucratic check-and-balance processes so often deployed in lieu of actual trust.
Customer Reviews:
Instant Classic - Top Shelf.......2007-10-08
Within minutes of reading this book I knew it was going to be great. The book explains how trust is the driving force behind all efficient, successful businesses. Covey gets into different types of trust and some self assessments to determine what areas the reader is strong or weak in. The book can be applied to business, community and family. Without a doubt it goes on the short list of powerful, life-changing books!
All hype, no protein.......2007-09-19
Lots of anecdotes about the author's years in the business world. The author testifies that trust is great and makes things work. Little of substance in this book.
Trust is Fundamental in Relational Management.......2007-08-24
Trust may be the missing ingredient for the relational management model to succeed, but Trust (confidence + credibility) is an outcome, not an input. To get a Trust outcome requires the right inputs and in this book, the next generation's spokesperson for the Covey dynasty, Stephen M. R. Covey, tells us what trust means as well as provides plenty of examples of how important trust is when it comes to delivering business performance.
M.R. uses the "ripple effect" metaphor with Self at the center and waves rippling from the inside out to describe the "5 Waves of Trust." Using this metaphor, the first trust wave is Self-Trust (credibility driven), then comes the Relationship-Trust (consistent behavior driven) wave, an Organizational-Trust (alignment driven) wave, a Market-Trust (reputation driven) wave, and finally a Societal-Trust (giving back or contribution driven) wave.
Staying with the emphasis on managing `Self' first, Covey then provides the substance of the Self-Trust wave; the 4 cores of Credibility - integrity, intent, capability, and results. For the Relationship-Trust wave he identifies 13 critical behaviors. With the remaining trust waves, the dialogue continues the book's main theme - understanding the cost of mistrust and the value of trust - as it discusses organizational alignment, market reputation, and societal contribution. As M.R. says, "the dividends of trust can significantly enhance the quality of every relationship on every level of your life". If you doubt that, read this book.
The Ultimate Trust Model.......2007-08-23
I speak around the world on building Trust in Selling. "The Speed of Trust" gives you a roadmap on how to master trust and the real economic value of trust.
Stephen gives you insights that anyone can use in their quest to excel at building trust in business relationships.
The Speed of Trust gets to the core roots of integrity and how 'trusted' leaders and organizations thrive.
Everyone should make the time to read this book."
Joe Heller, Trust Cycle Selling
Author Lost My Trust Immediately, So Why Would I Listen To Anything He Has To Say?.......2007-08-01
I checked out this book from the library, read the 1st chapter - then immediately put it by the door so I could return it the next day. Why? Mr. Covey has no credibility himself. At least not with me. Here's why.
The 1st Chapter is basically his How I Learned About The Importance Of Trust saga. The problem is that it's an unintentional unmasking of a narcissist. His only admitted mistake in establishing trust with the Franklin side of the Franklin-Covey merger is his assumption that all the Franklin people were as well-informed on how great he is as the Covey people.
Mr. Covey then proceeds to take things further by showing how stricken he is with Rich Offspring Disease. He expresses shock that anyone assumed he was in top position at Covey just because of his name. Apparently Mr. Covey wants us to believe that he was interviewed for his job at Covey by people who had No Idea he was related to THE Covey family. Please.
Mr. Covey is one more person who has been handed the keys to the corner office without having to earn it first. His family is free to do that if they like. However, swallowing his insistence that he would've had the job even if he hadn't been related is too much to swallow.
A man who can't admit he's gotten breaks in life is not a man who can be trusted. Nor is he a man who knows much about trust. At least that's my opinion.
I guess we're also intended to believe that Mr. Covey got his book deal the hard way - soliciting agents and publishing houses with an unsolicited manuscript, with no help from or trading on the connections of his famous author father. Just like J.K. Rowling.
Does someone who trades in these delusions sound like he understands real, lasting trust and credibility?
Amazon.com
"The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life," writes Malcolm Gladwell, "is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do." Although anyone familiar with the theory of memetics will recognize this concept, Gladwell's The Tipping Point has quite a few interesting twists on the subject.
For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanize the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a "Connector": he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere "wasn't just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston," he was also a "Maven" who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day--think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you.
Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell's closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, The Tipping Point is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that "tipping point," like "future shock" or "chaos theory," will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows--or at least knows by name. --Ron Hogan
Book Description
"The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life," writes Malcolm Gladwell, "is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do." Although anyone familiar with the theory of memetics will recognize this concept, Gladwell's The Tipping Point has quite a few interesting twists on the subject.For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanize the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a "Connector": he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere "wasn't just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston," he was also a "Maven" who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day--think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you.Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell's closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, The Tipping Point is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that "tipping point," like "future shock" or "chaos theory," will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows--or at least knows by name. --Ron Hogan
Customer Reviews:
Interesting, but..........2007-10-10
I read this while traveling, and was able to absorb Gladwell's viewpoint despite airports and hotels and the general on-the-road melee. However, while the theories and case studies Gladwell presents are fascinating, he fails to demonstrate the practical applications of his assertions. His Afterword makes clear that some of his readers have gone on to apply his approach in various ways, but it is their ingenuity and not any "on the ground" practical insight from Gladwell that is the cause. It will be interesting to note if his positions notably influence any policymakers, of if the world in general, despite his bestseller status, continues with its status quo mindset. No doubt if that is the case, Gladwell will enlighten us with a book about the reasons for that phenomenon too. It will be interesting reading.
Rigo's TEST REVIEW........2007-10-09
Test review. It looks like a good book to analyse how modes start and get spread.
A Paradigm Shift For Business and Life.......2007-10-05
This is one of the books that "skates to where the puck is going" instead of where the puck is at. A must for business and anyone studying the sociology of man.
Timothy KendrickPTSD: Pathways Through the Secret Door
Development of Trends!.......2007-10-02
This book presents an interesting thesis for the parameters under which a new trend is construed. The flu, for example, can be held in check for a long time without being an epidemic. But suddenly, once some threshold is crossed in terms of number of people infected, things get much worse very quickly. Gladwell's premise is that in addition to applying to viruses, this type of pattern is observed in many other situations. The book is filled with far-reaching examples, from the resurgence of Hush Puppies shoes to the popularity of Sesame Street to an epidemic of teen suicides in Micronesia.
Perhaps the most well-known example described is the rapid fall in crime levels in New York City in the mid-1990s. Murder rates fell by 64.3% in a five year period, with other types of violent crimes dropping by 50%. This happened after years of steady increase. Gladwell argues that the factors conventionally cited as causing the improvement (improved policing, declining crack use, and aging of the population) are not sufficient to explain the suddenness of the change. All three factors included gradual shifts in behavior, and yet the drop in crime occurred very rapidly. Gladwell makes a convincing argument that the police in New York put into place certain conditions that suddenly "tipped" the crime epidemic, sending crime rates into a decline.
So, what are the parameters of dramatic change?
Gladwell quotes the following three laws: -
1. The law of the few
2. The stickiness factor and;
3. The power of context
The law of the few says that there are exceptional people out there who are capable of starting `epidemics'. All you have to do is find them. The lesson of stickiness is the same. There is a simple way to package information that, under the right circumstances, can make it irresistible. All you have to do is find it. The lesson of the power of context is that we are more than just sensitive to changes in context; we are exquisitely sensitive to them - what really matters is the little things.
The book includes a collection of case studies. These include Paul Revere's ride, which alerted American colonists to activities of the British garrison and led to the War of Indepence and the success of New York in reducing crime by cleaning the subway cars.
He then explains the significance of the number 150. "The figure of 150 seems to represent the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship, the kind of relationship that goes with knowing who they are and how they relate to you. At a bigger size you have to impose complicated hierarchies and rules and regulations and formal measures to try to command loyalty and cohesions. Below 150 it is possible to achieve the same goals informally. In smaller groups people are a lot closer. They're knit together, which is very important if you want to be effective and successful in community life. If you get too large, you don't have enough work in common."
The conclusion is that when groups or organizations reach 150 they should split and operate in smaller numbers, and he gives examples of organizations that have done this.
Although not intended as a management book, The Tipping Point
has many lessons for managers and organization development consultants.
The book in itself may be described as a tipping point.......2007-09-28
Why does a product suddenly become successful, whereas another does not? This is a good empirical question, and for me, one that is so original that I had not considered it hitherto. This book had been `on my reading list' for some time, having heard several recommendations for it. The ideas about what defines a `tipping point' are clearly defined and well explained, with products or examples that many can identify with.
The examples are the key. In essence, Gladwell describes a `tipping point' as the moment a good sales campaign becomes a phenomenon, and takes examples to illustrate the three salient items; it is contagious, little changes have big effects, and it is not something gradual, but extremely dynamic.
Gladwell takes these, and analyses them further, in his three laws. These concern the individuals involved, how `sticky' or contagious the idea / product is, and the context in which it is presented. Each is described in detail, with real people introduced (not `Bob' or `Sarah' but Mark Alpert and Tom Gau, being but individuals to illustrate the types of individuals).
The book is very readable, and it makes good common sense. Gradwell brings together lots of strands of research, and introduces some very appealable people. The people and situations are selective, but they had to be. They back up the basic premise of the author (no surprise there, then). But in total, the book has a roundness and totality about it.
Examples used are exclusively American, but so is Gradwell! He has also helped to bring rather dusty research into the mainstream of business life and collective consciousness. People now use the language of the research Gladwell describes to define when a product is becoming part of the mainstream of life. After the `Innovators' come, in order, `Early Adopters', the `Early Majority', the `Late Majority' and finally ` Laggards'.
The material is not new; the research in many cases was available before, and the market-place examples were there for all to see. Gladwell has distilled this into a little gem. I should have read it before. Reading it in 2007 will make a difference to the way that I see change. I may even be able to influence how change affects those in the circle around me, thinking back to the central core of `The Tipping Point'.
Peter Morgan (morganp@supanet.com)
Amazon.com
Paper or plastic? Neither, say William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Why settle for the least harmful alternative when we could have something that is better--say, edible grocery bags! In Cradle to Cradle, the authors present a manifesto calling for a new industrial revolution, one that would render both traditional manufacturing and traditional environmentalism obsolete. Recycling, for instance, is actually "downcycling," creating hybrids of biological and technical "nutrients" which are then unrecoverable and unusable. The authors, an architect and a chemist, want to eliminate the concept of waste altogether, while preserving commerce and allowing for human nature. They offer several compelling examples of corporations that are not just doing less harm--they're actually doing some good for the environment and their neighborhoods, and making more money in the process. Cradle to Cradle is a refreshing change from the intractable environmental conflicts that dominate headlines. It's a handbook for 21st-century innovation and should be required reading for business hotshots and environmental activists. --Therese Littleton
Book Description
A manifesto for a radically different philosophy and practice of manufacture and environmentalism
"Reduce, reuse, recycle" urge environmentalists; in other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. As William McDonough and Michael Braungart argue in their provocative, visionary book, however, this approach perpetuates a one-way, "cradle to grave" manufacturing model that dates to the Industrial Revolution and casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it uses as waste, much of it toxic. Why not challenge the notion that human industry must inevitably damage the natural world, they ask.
In fact, why not take nature itself as our model? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we do not consider its abundance wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective; hence, "waste equals food" is the first principle the book sets forth. Products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new-either as "biological nutrients" that safely re-enter the environment or as "technical nutrients" that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being "downcycled" into low-grade uses (as most "recyclables" now are).
Elaborating their principles from experience (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, the authors make an exciting and viable case for change.
Customer Reviews:
Great bookI.......2007-10-09
I'm a student so it's really hard for me to find time to read books that aren't required for a class. No time! Anyway, great book, easy to read and compelling ideas. Definitely recommended.
A pleasant read.......2007-09-24
Definitely would recommend this to anyone who would like to learn about how societies will/should change to conform to the processes of nature. Significant change need to occur to shape a planet where humans can survive for a longer duration (than the current forecast). This means alleviating environmental threats that were initially caused by our own doing.
A must for anyone developing products.......2007-09-19
This book put a new light on the manufacturing process. I am currently studying to be an engineer, and upon reading this book, I feel I have gained important insight into how to ethically create products. The focus of the book is to show that being "less bad", as the current way of thinking promotes, is not the right mentality to have. Instead the book proposes that products need to be looked at in a renewable sense, that is, how can it be completely reused to make something new when its useful life has been spent (hence Cradle to Cradle and not Cradle to Grave). I found the book to be very inspirational and look forward to applying its ideas in my career.
2107: "You People Lived in Filth!" - A sort of book review of Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart's Cradle to Cradle.......2007-08-18
One hundred years isn't a long time. Yet, in the last one hundred years we can account for radical changes in the expectations that we - in the West at least - have concerning the standards of the food we eat and the conditions that we live in. We readily expect that our waste will neatly leave our homes, our malls, our schools, workplaces, and public spots en route to some place where it disappears from sight and smell forever. In fact, we rarely think about whether our waste ends up burnt, buried, or recycled, nor whether the food we dine on is thoroughly inspected and safe. We can think back to 1907 as a period in which there was nothing in the way of food safety standards (though a movement in that direction was initiated as a result of Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle, which was published that same year). Nor was there any notion of labor rights, environmental protection, and many of the sanitation procedures that we often take for granted nowadays.
Looking back through history ever further, to the crowded city streets of Paris, London, or Rome in the 17th and 18th century, reveals a more distasteful reality of how people lived. The blood of slaughtered animals, along with human excrement and other waste flowed through the sewers of these magnificent cities. "How did people live like this?" we might wonder. We shutter to think about living in such conditions, which allowed for the rapid spread of pestilence and sickness, not to mention unthinkable stench. While this may still be the experience of too many in the developing world, a signal of the progress and greatness of the modernized West has been our ability to escape the condition of living in our own waste.
Yet I've wondered recently how those living in 2107 will look upon the collective condition of the world as it stands today? Will they think that we live in filth? Despite the fact that we can split atoms, fly space crafts around the solar system, cure many illnesses, make electricity from the sun's rays, and communicate with each other in a myriad of digital ways, I wonder if they will ask why we still chose to live in our waste? I think that they will find it extremely perplexing that a society as developed as ours, who has the self awareness and knowledge about the harm that we inflict on ourselves and for posterity - not to mention the multitude of living systems that we are embedded in - refused to develop a different course for humanity.
When I say that we live in filth I mean that we continue to choke on unsafe air from the cars we drive and the outdated and dangerous ways that we engage in mass industrialization. I mean that we continue to produce millions and millions of consumable products made from an array of unsafe chemicals that we know little about and which we simply burn or bury after we use them one or two times. I find it so perplexing that industry continues to spends so much time and energy developing products that will only be used for a small fraction of time by consumers, yet will spend hundreds of years in landfills (I'm thinking especially of the enormous amount of plastic packaging that most products come in, only to be discarded immediately).
We dump many of the items that we have no more use for into ever expanding landfills that are getting closer and closer to the places we live and the sources of water we eventually come to drink. We are, in effect, living in our own waste. We put zero amount of effort into thinking of ways to design the same products that we rely on daily so that they are not harmful for humans or the environments in which we live. Scratch that, we have the technology and the know how for making safer and better products, however we lack leaders (both political & business) with the will, courage, and vision to bring humanity into the next industrial revolution. The first industrial revolution centered on extracting resources from the Earth (with little thought of replacing them) and putting these resources through production processes that have amounted to harming both human and non-human life for many years to come. The next industrial revolution will be about reengineering the production of consumer goods so that the stuff we make is in accordance with our natural environment. It will be about plastics that are biodegradable and the eradication of materials that are not. It will be about more intelligent approaches to designing buildings, which will utilize natural light, wind patterns, and the surrounding ecosphere to produce happier places to work and live, and which no longer rely on burning fossil fuels for cooling, heating, and sanitation. It will be about re-conceptualizing how we design, plan, and imagine the cities that most of humanity has come to chose to live in.
I'm currently drinking a soda out of a plastic bottle made from polymers derived from petroleum. This bottle, which not only is derived from the most contested resource of our time (though clean water is quickly taking its place) will be intact for those living in 2107 to view and touch as an artifact of an era which may be known in the future as one of reckless disregard, ignorance, and waste. Even the popular notion of recycling many of the products that we use only serves to slow down the rate in which we are harming ourselves. Recycling for many products is really a process of downcycling - a term coined by Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart in their book Cradle to Cradle. The process of recycling a product essentially causes it to loose its quality each time it is put through the recycling process (assuming that individuals keep recycling each new plastic reincarnate). Even though I will recycle this bottle, and it will become another plastic product again, it will eventually have to be disregarded after going through a few recycles. Alas, we are really just slowing down the rate by which synthetics eventually reach our waste graveyards or incinerators. In addition, while it is thought to be a socially responsible activity, the process of recycling releases into the atmosphere dangerous toxins emitted by the burning of plastics during the recycling process.
What is radically different about the world from 1907, or 17th century European cities, is that we fully understand the consequences of continuing down the path we are on. Furthermore, we have the knowledge and creative ideas of how to alter that path. What we lack, sadly, is the will to cause massive social change in how we consume and live. McDonough and Braungart's text urges product designers, city planners, and architects to approach their designs with the future of humanity in mind. Interestingly, they are not saying that we need to save the planet, for the planet will still be here long after homo sapiens has expired. Their message is that we need to save ourselves from the harm we are inflicting on ourselves. Their cradle-to-cradle philosophy urges designers to make products that can easily be disassembled after their use and put back into the production cycle as something else. In this sense, products should have an immense shelf life, being able to become that same product again or easily transformed into some other consumer product. The idea is to rid ourselves of the current approach to production which is based on a cradle-to-grave approach: extract resources from the Earth to make consumer products which are then discarded (thrown away) into landfills or burnt up in incinerators, expelling unknown synthetic chemicals into the ecosphere which we rely on for life.
It's time for us to recognize that the approach to mass production and living brought on by the industrial revolution is antiquated. If anything, it's insulting that humanity has yet to update itself from what seems to be such an archaic paradigm of not only how we make things, but what are relationship ought to be with the multitude of living systems that we are embedded in. All other living species exist in an interdependent cyclical system in which their "wastes equals food" for some other set of beings. It's high time that we apply this age old and ubiquitous principle to how we manufacture and produce all the things that we need to live as well.
This book is amazing - 6 stars.......2007-08-12
If you care about ecology and if you ever wondered how humanity can live in a harmony with the nature - you must read this book.
Imagine plastic container that you are encouraged to throw away - it contains no toxins, biodegrades and serves as nutrition for soil... Imagine the car you give back to the manufacturer who gives you instead a newer model, then manufacturer takes apart the old car piece by piece and infinitely reuses the parts... And so on... This book is made out of plastic that can be printed on over and over again...
Average customer rating:
- True to it's title
- Things Fall apart audio
- Things Fall Apart
- All you never wanted to know about yams... and other such things.
- It Drags
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Things Fall Apart: A Novel
Chinua Achebe
Manufacturer: Anchor
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Things Fall Apart (Cliffs Notes)
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ASIN: 0385474547
Release Date: 1994-09-01 |
Amazon.com
One of Chinua Achebe's many achievements in his acclaimed first novel, Things Fall Apart, is his relentlessly unsentimental rendering of Nigerian tribal life before and after the coming of colonialism. First published in 1958, just two years before Nigeria declared independence from Great Britain, the book eschews the obvious temptation of depicting pre-colonial life as a kind of Eden. Instead, Achebe sketches a world in which violence, war, and suffering exist, but are balanced by a strong sense of tradition, ritual, and social coherence. His Ibo protagonist, Okonkwo, is a self-made man. The son of a charming ne'er-do-well, he has worked all his life to overcome his father's weakness and has arrived, finally, at great prosperity and even greater reputation among his fellows in the village of Umuofia. Okonkwo is a champion wrestler, a prosperous farmer, husband to three wives and father to several children. He is also a man who exhibits flaws well-known in Greek tragedy:
Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children. Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the forces of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw. Okonkwo's fear was greater than these. It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.
And yet Achebe manages to make this cruel man deeply sympathetic. He is fond of his eldest daughter, and also of Ikemefuna, a young boy sent from another village as compensation for the wrongful death of a young woman from Umuofia. He even begins to feel pride in his eldest son, in whom he has too often seen his own father. Unfortunately, a series of tragic events tests the mettle of this strong man, and it is his fear of weakness that ultimately undoes him.
Achebe does not introduce the theme of colonialism until the last 50 pages or so. By then, Okonkwo has lost everything and been driven into exile. And yet, within the traditions of his culture, he still has hope of redemption. The arrival of missionaries in Umuofia, however, followed by representatives of the colonial government, completely disrupts Ibo culture, and in the chasm between old ways and new, Okonkwo is lost forever. Deceptively simple in its prose, Things Fall Apart packs a powerful punch as Achebe holds up the ruin of one proud man to stand for the destruction of an entire culture. --Alix Wilber
Book Description
This is Chinua Achebe's classic novel, with more than two million copies sold since its first U.S. publication in 1969. Combining a richly African story with the author's keen awareness of the qualities common to all humanity, Achebe here shows that he is "gloriously gifted, with the magic of an ebullient, generous, great talent." -- Nadine Gordimer
Customer Reviews:
True to it's title.......2007-09-22
It is amazing how a novel first published in 1959 about a Nigerian village, pre-colonization, still has relevance today. Talk about transcending time as well as cultures! Chinua Achebe is a magnificent story teller. I love authors who have the ability to transport me to worlds that seem so different from my own.
Okonkwo was a man that was obsessed with masculinity and the "power" of being masculine. Although I could see how harsh, abusive, and unyielding Okonkwo was towards his family, oddly I felt sympathy for the man. He was the product of his environment and culture. Apparently his callousness was worsened because of his fear that he should become like his father ----- a man with no title, in his culture, the equivalent of being a woman.
How many of us struggle to balance the new with the old? And how often do we question or all out resist changing times.... be it attitudes or ideas, advancements in technology, religion, policies, music, etc. Most of us reach a certain age where we would prefer our traditions be left alone. In some instances there should be no room for compromise, but in other instances perhaps there truly is improvement/advancement to be gained.
Okonkwo's struggle is exactly that. He strives to leave behind a proud legacy. However, he makes bad decisions along the way. The more he tries to make things right the more it seems that misfortune comes his way. He's angered and confused about the changes that come upon his village but that combined with his pigheaded demeanor make for a disastrous result. It's a good book to take up beyond school required reading. Achebee gives his readers a great deal to consider.
Things Fall apart audio.......2007-09-11
My son had a senior project to do over the summer, he had to read this entire book and the first day back to school, he had a test on it, my son does not do well on reading, he can read great, but he has trouble remembering what he read, so I thought if he listened to it being read to him, he could follow along better, well he did, and he done well on his test and essay, I would recommend this product to anyone with similiar problems as my son has with reading.......
Things Fall Apart.......2007-09-10
My son needed this book for school and we received in time for school. Great service!
All you never wanted to know about yams... and other such things........2007-08-08
I had to read this for my high school advanced English class. I regret ever having picked it up. I feel very lucky that my brain was not fried after reading The-book-that-should-not-be-named. In short, if you want to read a bizarre book about African people and yams, then read this book. If not, go read something else.
It Drags.......2007-08-07
While the story itself is useful in giving a student the right mindset for African studies, the story itself lacks much of the marvel of other historically-based books. While the book is pointed towards lower-classmen in high school, the true audience should be college, where adults can completely analyze and idnetify the key points and emotions of the story.
Average customer rating:
- Some People Have No Sense Of Humor
- Nothing quite as frustrating as an extended intellectual misfire
- THIS BOOK DOES WHAT IT SAYS IT WILL ! !
- Disappointed
- a great book
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An Incomplete Education: 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned but Probably Didn't
Judy Jones , and
William Wilson
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
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ASIN: 0345468902
Release Date: 2006-04-25 |
Amazon.com
You'll find everything you forgot from school--as well as plenty you never even learned--in this all-purpose reference book, an instant classic when it first appeared in 1987. The updated version takes a whirlwind tour through 12 different disciplines, from American studies to philosophy to world history. Along the way, Judy Jones and William Wilson provide a plethora of useful information, from the plot of Othello to the difference between fission and fusion. It's not a shortcut to cultural literacy, the authors write in their introduction, but it's an excellent "way in" to the building blocks of Western civilization: the "books, music, art, philosophy, and discoveries that have, for one reason or another, managed to endure." Think of it as finishing school for your brain; study up and you'll gain a lifetime's worth of cocktail conversation--as well as a new list of books you simply must read.
Book Description
When it was originally published in 1987, An Incomplete Education became a surprise bestseller. Now this instant classic has been completely updated, outfitted with a whole new arsenal of indispensable knowledge on global affairs, popular culture, economic trends, scientific principles, and modern arts. Here’s your chance to brush up on all those subjects you slept through in school, reacquaint yourself with all the facts you once knew (then promptly forgot), catch up on major developments in the world today, and become the Renaissance man or woman you always knew you could be!
How do you tell the Balkans from the Caucasus? What’s the difference between fission and fusion? Whigs and Tories? Shiites and Sunnis? Deduction and induction? Why aren’t all Shakespearean comedies necessarily thigh-slappers? What are transcendental numbers and what are they good for? What really happened in Plato’s cave? Is postmodernism dead or just having a bad hair day? And for extra credit, when should you use the adjective continual and when should you use continuous?
An Incomplete Education answers these and thousands of other questions with incomparable wit, style, and clarity. American Studies, Art History, Economics, Film, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, Science, and World History: Here’s the bottom line on each of these major disciplines, distilled to its essence and served up with consummate flair.
In this revised edition you’ll find a vitally expanded treatment of international issues, reflecting the seismic geopolitical upheavals of the past decade, from economic free-fall in South America to Central Africa’s world war, and from violent radicalization in the Muslim world to the crucial trade agreements that are defining globalization for the twenty-first century. And don’t forget to read the section A Nervous American’s Guide to Living and Loving on Five Continents before you answer a personal ad in the International Herald Tribune.
As delightful as it is illuminating, An Incomplete Education packs ten thousand years of culture into a single superbly readable volume. This is a book to celebrate, to share, to give and receive, to pore over and browse through, and to return to again and again.
Customer Reviews:
Some People Have No Sense Of Humor.......2007-09-14
People who pan this book can't seem to grasp the fact that a reference book doesn't have to be dry and boring to be informative. Not only does this book provide a wealth of information about everything from chemistry to classical music, it is also laugh-out-loud funny!
I bought the first edition of this book years ago, and I still refer back to it often for the simple joy of reading it. I learn something new every time I pick it up.
Highly recommended!
Nothing quite as frustrating as an extended intellectual misfire.......2007-08-12
I appreciate brevity. Seems to me most commentary and analysis goes on too long. That was my attraction to this title, but that's not the problem here. Every topic is handled concisely though often not very effectively. The problem here is a twisted central view that produces sheer nuttiness like this books anachronistic take on Freud. I wish I had more time to elaborate, but, suffice it to say, you WILL be disappointed. This book is about a dozen re-writes from something worthwhile, and I wish I'd looked the reference section over a little more rigorously before wasting my money on this tome.
THIS BOOK DOES WHAT IT SAYS IT WILL ! !.......2007-08-03
I had given this book 4 stars in an earlier review, but AFTER READING OTHER REVIEWER'S COMMENTS (below) I am upgrading my rating to 5 STARS !!
I think that people need to read the book's introduction to see what the book is SUPPOSED to do before they slam it.
No, the book isn't going to be exhaustive or complete. How can it be? It's only one book and it's not even that thick!
The idea is just to learn enough of someone else's subject so you can navigate and know what they are talking about. You will need to read about it in more detail elsewhere, but at least this book will help you get started.
I did not find any SIGNIFICANT factual errors in the book. Perhaps in a book that attempts to cover all knowledge of the known (and unknown) world there might be an itty bitty error here or there, but I did not notice any. One assumes the authors used appropriate consultants for certain subjects. In the subjects that I am trained in, there were no errors.
Also, I did not find the authors to be condescending, nor did the humor interfere with my learning. In fact, my enjoyment and learning were increased.
That said, I would have to agree that completely serious, humorless people will not be happy with this book.
Disappointed.......2007-07-29
"Should have learned" is the key phrase in my review. Should have learned according to whose opinion is the question? This authors, apparently in order to sell books. I ordered this book, reviewed it and then returned it. It is packed with factual information, but 90% of it is irrelevant and you will never have the use for it. I am an elementary school teacher and I bought this to use as a reference for tid bits of information here and there to engage my students. There is nothing engaging about this book.
a great book.......2007-07-26
It doesn't fill in every gap, but it offers a chance to get some learnin' from two interesting, opinionated intellectuals.
Book Description
A Mormon in the White House? is the first book on Mitt Romney, his unusual faith story, and his viability as a Republican presidential nominee. Inside are exclusive interviews with the governor, his family, and closest associates, mixed with candid conversations with some of the country's shrewdest political observers and Christian leaders. Radio host and blogger Hugh Hewitt sets out to explain Romney, his faith, and the importance of that debate in a headline-making and election-shaping opening shot in the campaign before the campaign.
Customer Reviews:
A Mormon in the White House.......2007-09-16
This is one of the best books I have ever read since I have been studying about the candidates for 2008 President. Mitt's qualifications are excellent except the concern of his religious background. This book helps me to recognize him as a human being-- a noble citizen, just like anyone else in the country. I love this book. It gives a very specific explanations about Mitt. I highly recommend every American read this book if he/she really cares about the future of his/her country.
A Mormon in the White House.......2007-09-04
An excellent insight into the man running for President, his character and his qualifications. It is very positive presentation. Before discounting this candidate, every voter should read this book.
A Political Advertisement - Nothing More.......2007-08-30
A far more interesting book would be the Top Ten political issues Mitt has flip-flopped on to win the Republican nomination (granted, it may be difficult to narrow the list down to 10!).
A smart and slick politician, Mitt Romney is.
A man of principles and integrity, Mitt Romney ain't.
I LUV THE GOV........2007-08-29
Absolutely! And so does my mom.
I once said, I don't love the Gov, when I lived in Massachusetts for 13 years. I have since changed my views 180 degrees. The transformation has come about gradually and no one has tried to change my previous affiliation through argument. When Romney says Massachusetts is a blue state, I can verify that he is telling you the absolute truth!
A few years before I moved to Georgia, I met with others in my community about a local business that I had had dealings and was terribly upset, wanted to join others in speaking out, etc. The business was in Belmont, the town where Mitt Romney and his family live. I said something negative about him and a gentleman who was sympathetic to my grievances said simply that he was a good man and that he had done a lot for the community, the schools, one of his children knew one of his kids, but he didn't try to coerce me or argue and the subject was changed. That sort of response had a big impact on my thinking. I think back on that a lot. I could 'count the ways' for you of how I have come to the conclusion that I will not vote for a Democrat for President in 2008, but the real icing on the cake has happened since I moved to Georgia. Frankly, the Democrats scare me these days what with Jimmy Carter's racially provocative book titled Peace, Not Aparteid implying the embattled, bloodied jews are racist, etc. etc. and finally Nancy Pelosi getting cozy with the most rabid terrorist regimes in the Mideast. Those two let fly the foulest, foul balls, that any truly American umpire would not only end the inning, but end the game.
The world is too dangerous right now to have such delicate matters as terrorism and peace be influenced by people whose motivation is political power and front page photos and news interviews. The Hank Aaron home run for me for the Republicans and Mitt Romney in particular was a few years back when I either heard or read that Mitt Romney was good friends with Benjamin Netanyahu. I thought they went to school together, but actually Romney was studying at Harvard getting his MBA/JD degree while Netanyahu was at MIT studying architecture.
This book is written by a christian friend of Romney's and, of course, is written to influence votes and so is biased in that regard. However, my mother and myself have not really heard anything out of Romney's mouth to make us uneasy, and the more we hear and see him speak, the more impressed we are of him. He is quietly confident and is inspiring. He has made his millions turning companies around and getting them to succeed financially and not by playing the stock market and thereby forcing companies to fold.
I was surprised and pleased by the interviews the author had with two doctorate in theology students who reasoned why a christian could vote for a Mormon who's theology is a bit off. To me, he has lived what he believes, and in my mind, has lived the christian life as Christ taught. His record is spotless, and I'm convinced he could handle the Presidency. My mother always has commented on how that job takes a toll on whoever has it. You can see how they age so much in four years, and Bush these days looks pretty bushed. He's had a rough time with this congress.
Anyway, I do love the Gov and do your homework. I'm going to this time around and expect to see some more reviews from me about Giuliani and McCain and maybe Thompson. I consider myself now an independent!
good book about great candidate.......2007-08-29
Hewitt if fair and balanced in his analysis of Mitt Romney's candidacy. The book is about more than just Mormonism, it addresses many of Romney's strengths and weaknesses as we approach these upcoming elections. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about Mitt Romney
Book Description
Framed with both humor and compassion, the book defines the top ten characteristics that illuminate the minds and hearts of children with autism. Ellen's personal experiences as a parent, an autism columnist, and a contributor to numerous parenting magazines coalesce to create a guide for all who come in contact with a child on the autism spectrum.
Customer Reviews:
Good book but could be an article.......2007-10-05
The author says the book was originally an article she wrote. She got a huge response and made the article into a book. I think the desired effect of the book isn't probably any better than an article. The ten things are good ones, but maybe not enough for a book. This is a worthwhile book if you are new to working with kids with autism/autism-like features. It is a worthwhile book if you are a parent have feel like you have no clue how to interact with your child (though you do -- use your heart, do what you feel led to. Pray. God will help). As far as learning anything earth-shattering -- no. It is common sense.
Great Quick read.......2007-10-03
This book is a great way to help family and friends learn more about Autism. The book is fast and informative. Anyone can understand it's concepts and empowers people to do something for those affected by Autism in their life.
A Keeper.......2007-10-02
It hasn't been that long since I discovered that Sam has some form of Autism, still not clear what form although I definitely have some strong opinions, but this is the first book I picked up that addresses children and autism specifically.
I am reminded of when I had a stillborn baby.
I had to take my time before I could read anything about stillbirth. It was too painful for a while to even crack open a book.
That is how this has been, there has been quite a bit of grief associated with this realization, so when I began to read Ellen Notbohn's book the tears began to flow because I knew I had found a kindred spirit. The first big distinction she makes, as reviewers have noted, is that my child has autism, he is not "autistic." He is not the disorder. He is Sam, still perfect little Sam, who just so happens to have autism. It is not just semantics and word order, it is state-of-heart.
This invaluable resource gives a short-nuts-and-bolts approach in the beginning and then embellishes with detailed ideas and suggestions for living this life with your child.
I kept thinking, "If I had read this last year, I would have recognized Sam in the pages, we wouldn't be in this educational quagmire we are in..." and then I remembered another very important tidbit in the book.
Patience. Patience. Patience.
There are numerous gems in this title. I wish I had read it years ago, so I could recognize this possibility in my child.
It is highly engaging, practical and easy to follow. I will share it with other family members so they will understand how to relate to my little boy.
A Great Read!!.......2007-09-04
Get it! Read it! This was a wonderful book that put so many things into perspective for me. I have ordered more copies to give to grandparents and my child's teacher. Excellent book!
A good resource for educating friends and family.......2007-08-26
This book is a good, quick read. It provides a broad overview of the typical symptoms associated with ASD. I don't know if I'd rush out and buy a copy for everyone I know, though. Some chapters explain extreme cases of the disorder. I would read it, then maybe recommend certain chapters to friends and family based on your child's individual personality. Maybe even make notes about your child in the margin and then pass the book around. Since ASD is really different in every child, it's hard to make an exact description of the "Ten Things" they'd want you to know. However, the author does make a good attempt, and she presents the information in a way that is easy to understand.
Book Description
In her first two books, Byron Katie showed how suffering can be ended by questioning the stressful thoughts that create it, through a process of self-inquiry she calls The Work. Now, in
A Thousand Names for Joy, she encourages us to discover the freedom that lives on the other side of inquiry.
Stephen Mitchell—the renowned translator of the Tao Te Ching—selected provocative excerpts from that ancient text as a stimulus for Katie to talk about the most essential issues that face us all: life and death, good and evil, love, work, and fulfillment. The result is a book that allows the timeless insights of the Tao Te Ching to resonate anew for us today, while offering a vivid and illuminating glimpse into the life of someone who for twenty years—ever since she “woke up to reality” one morning in 1986—has been living what Lao-tzu wrote more than 2,500 years ago.
Katie’s profound, lighthearted wisdom is not theoretical; it is absolutely authentic. That is what makes this book so compelling. It’s a portrait of a woman who is imperturbably joyous, whether she is dancing with her infant granddaughter or finds that her house has been emptied out by burglars, whether she stands before a man about to kill her or embarks on the adventure of walking to the kitchen, whether she learns that she is going blind, flunks a “How Good a Lover Are You?” test, or is diagnosed with cancer. With her stories of total ease in all circumstances, Katie does more than describe the awakened mind; she lets you see it, feel it, in action. And she shows you how that mind is yours as well.
Customer Reviews:
A thousand ways it's fabulous.......2007-09-15
I usually buy these kinds of books but then only read the first and last chapters. I not only read this entire book, I truly enjoyed it. She's the real deal, Ms. Byron Katie. I've never attended a workshop of hers, but I feel like I know her already. And her exercises have really started to change my life.
Striking insight into the mind of a woman who lives beyond attachment.......2007-09-05
Mindfulness practices and philosophies often say, "Be happy, and accept what Is. Be present." *cynical snort* Easy to say, impossible to do. The Devil is daily life. Sure, the Dalai Lama is serene. He meditates seven hours a day, has all his physical needs provided for by others, and needn't deal with any daily details. And he's celibate--no spouse to help him get dressed ("Oh, Tenzin, surely you're not wearing the maroon robes, again!"), and no teenage kids. Who couldn't be serene with that gig?
What's remarkable about Byron Katie is that she's serene in the midst of the modern, 21st century world. She has kids, a husband, an ex-husband, and an international business.
In this book, she attempts to put into words what it's like, living in her world. Yeah, she talks about life and death and grand universal concepts. Yada yada yada. There are a thousand masters who'll tell you about that.
Katie offers something infinitely more valuable: a glimpse into daily life. What is it like to get out of bed when you're not attached to thoughts like "I have things to do?" What thoughts go through her mind? How about when she does the dishes? Or when she trips on her way to answer the front door? What if she's mugged at gunpoint? Or her child dies? Or what if she's struck by a degenerative eye disease while writing the book? How does that change (or not) her world?
Some of her perspectives on life are familiar. Some are vastly different from anything you've heard. Yet her world makes sense, and even though I'm not there yet, it sounds like an infinitely joyous, loving world worth living in.
If Katie isn't a truly free, non-attached woman, she does the most convincing imitation I've ever heard. Buy the audiobook for a look into her world.
This book does NOT teach you The Work, her method of inquiring into your thoughts to reach this state of joy. For that, check out her book/audiobook Loving What Is, which includes facilitation sessions with real people using The Work.
Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life
The Real Deal.......2007-08-25
Katie is the Real Deal, a clear mind experiencing heaven on earth and living with absolute integrity.
Her previous book, "Loving What Is", is the textbook which tells you in disarmingly simple terms how to get there yourself. In my opinion, it is the Alpha and Omega of all truth texts.
A Thousand Names For Joy gives a further glimpse into what life is like in that clarity. It gives me furth
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