Creators Books

This book is built around the proposition that we can all be more effective by making our efforts build on one another's rather than working at cross purposes. Most would agree with that point. You cannot build a bridge if another part of your group is demolishing what you have done.

The culprit when this kind of conflict occurs turns out to be a misunderstanding of what the common purpose is. So think of this book has a paean to, guide and workbook for overcoming the communications stall about your what your organization's purpose is.

Properly done, that purpose creates economic value. In a for-profit company, this means having cash earnings in excess of input costs and the opportunity costs of capital. For an individual, you can apply the same concept. In a non-profit organization, you can define economic value as creating benefits for those you serve in excess of their costs and the opportunity costs of the efforts involved.

Professor Thakor makes an intersting argument about why one should overcome this stall. He feels that this is the path to greater self-fulfillment. "Creating value is how we achieve self-fulfillment and realize our unique potential." He also argues that there are career advantages. Those who "get ahead fastest . . . with the [most] energy and enthusiasm, and are the happiest" are those who are highly successful in value creation. I didn't quite follow the argument on this point (which is not spelled out very much, except for stating the conclusions), but would have enjoyed learning more about his research in this area. Why is this so? Perhaps it is related to the joys of learning, creativity, accomplishment, and recognition.

To establish greater value creation, he starts with the reader. He poses questions for you to answer, whether you are the CEO or a file room clerk.

1. "What does value mean to your organization?

2. "What does value mean to you?"

3. "What are all the activities your organization is involved in that create value?"

4. "What activities are you engaged in that create value?"

5. "What is your organization's strategy?"

6. "What is your personal strategy in the organization?"

7. "How do you and your organization measure success?"

8. "How do you personally set your own expectations?"

9. "How fast are you at creating value?"

10. "What can you do to improve speed without compromising quality?"

The author identifies four major hurdles that must be overcome to improve economic value: a fuzzy sense of value and what creates it (thinking about market share while profits are killed); self-focused behavior that harms the organization (spending budgets to protect them for the next year); negative internal competition (sales contests that expand volume unprofitably); and functional operation focuses (trying to get costs down in ways that hurt customers).

To overcome these tendencies, Professor Thakor proposes getting the right balance of creativity, collaboration, control and competitive focus in each individual and function. He calls this the Wholonics Model, and provides a map as a way to illustrate the differences between where things are now and where they should be.

For example, procurement, manufacturing and finance focus too much on control and not enough on creativity. Sales, marketing, new product development, and distribution are too much on creativity and not enough on collaboration and control. Human resources needs to facilitate growth and reduce bureaucracy. Each function is treated separately in part of a chapter. This material lends a great deal of perspective to the arguments.

To round out the theme of self-fulfillment, the afterword encourages you to check daily for whether you are having fun, whether your value-creating efforts are being perceived and recognized in the company, and whether you are creating value faster than others in your company. This provides you with a personal scorecard for how you are doing, which can provide meaning to your work even if the organization isn't where it needs to be yet.

This book is quite complementary to The Balanced Scorecard and The Strategy-Focused Organization. While I prefer these two books for an overall look at how to create a stall-busting approach to improving organizational performance, I thought that Becoming a Better Value Creator did a better job of developing the issues from the perspective of the individual. Obviously, a book that combined both perspectives would be even better.

My suggestion is that you read these books in this order: The Balanced Scorecard first, The Strategy-Focused Organization second, and Becoming a Better Value Creator third. You should be better able to integrate the perspectives in these books after reading them in that order. To complete the individual perspective, I also suggest How to Be a Star at Work as the fourth book you read. If you are the CEO or other senior executive, you can skip that last book.

After you have finished with your reading and application of these many valuable ideas, I suggest that you consider how these points apply to your own family. What are all of your trying to accomplish together? How can you be more effective in achieving the results of that mutual support? What needs to be done that is not being done now? Who needs to do what? These perspectives would be good ones to add to a fine book like Relationship Rescue.

Have fun at and with your work!

This volume is one in the University of Michigan Business School Management Series. According to Thakor, sustained value creation depends on a mastery of five "secrets" of great value creators:

1. A clear definition of what value creation means to your organization and to you

2. A clear understanding of the multiple value creation perspectives and activities that exist at the individual and organizational levels

3. A clear understanding of the organization's strategy as well as a clearly defined personal strategy for success

4. A personal measure of success that exceeds organizational expectations

5. A mastery of speed without sacrificing quality

Thakor correctly stresses the importance of understanding what "value" means, both to you and to your organization. (Is your definition of "value" in proper alignment with your organization's definition of it?) Also, he stresses the importance of continually refining your personal strategy as well as continually improving your motivation to derive internal satisfaction from your efforts. Also, he offers a caution and then a recommendation: "No matter how well you are creating value, there is always somebody out there doing something better than you are. Find out what that something is. Learn that what makes these people better at it [hence more valuable] than you. Discover their `rules' and adapt them to your setting to improve your effectiveness."

Most organizations claim that their most valuable assets "walk out the door at the end of each day." Of course, the reference is to people -- human capital. Perhaps no employee is indispensable but some employees are most valuable than others. However harsh it may seem, employees who create no value have no value. Read Thakor's book. It can help you to create greater value for your organization and thereby increase and enhance your own value to that organization...while perhaps, in process, increasing and enhancing your appeal to other organizations. Think about it....

I have loved the narnia books all my life and found this new book very interesting because it told me about the authors childhood which made me feel that I knew him. The book is also a great romantic story about his friendship and then marriage to the author Joy Gresham.

As an avid reader since childhood of the Chronicles of Narnia, I was thrilled to read this wonderful biography of C. S. Lewis. The author paints a detailed picture of his privileged childhood in Belfast, Ireland, followed by unhappy years at English boarding schools.
I enjoyed reading about his many years at Oxford Univeristy, first as a brilliant student and later as a professor. His touching romance with American author Joy Gresham and her tragic death touched my heart.
This is a wonderful book and I recommend it to adults and young people. Cathy Gustavson, retired professor

This work, published in 1980, is perhaps the best introduction and summary of Stanley Jaki's ideas on the relationship between science, cosmology, and religion. It is considerably less dense than some of his other works and, as he tells us, was written specifically as a concise treatment of his views.

Each chapter provides a good overview of the topic at hand. For example, the chapter entitled "The Dogma of Creation" is particularly thorough. It is common to assert that the dogma of creatio ex nihilo is not found in the Old Testament but came about as a result of the influence of Greek thought. But as Jaki shows, the concept is at least implied in the opening chapter of Genesis. He provides a discussion of supposed similarities between Genesis and the Sumerian creation story Enumah Elish. He then surveys the New Testament and Gnostic literature and presents a fascinating discussion of the claim that creatio ex nihilo is a Greek idea. He quotes from Plato and Aristotle statements in which they unambiguously reject the concept. The chapter concludes with a discussion of Medieval, Jewish, Moslem and modern thought on the subject. Particularly fascinating is Jaki's discussion of the question of whether the doctrine may properly be called "Judeo-Christian" in light of certain strands in Jewish thought.

Cosmos and Creator, a best all-time favorite of mine, relates--among a multitude of wondrous ideas about existence--the theory that science progressed only under the aegis of Christian belief--whereas it halted under other cultures.

The history of science (Jaki's field) is therefore no stranger to religion, though both are distinctly separate disciplines. Nowhere else that I know will you find a distinguished physicist discusing science, and at the same time, philosophy and religion in rigorous loyalty to each.

This is an amazing book. It clearly, lucidly presents some very complex ideas....and pulls them all together to present the co-authors vision of what the "Shift in Consciousness" truly means, incorporating the latest information from quantum physics together with the ancient wisdom traditions.

I believe it is one of the most important books of this century. It is must reading in my opinion.

I first noted that Laszlo's 2008 "CosMos" was looking like an impressive step beyond his 2003 "Connectivity Hypothesis" plus his 2007 revision of his 2004 "Science and the Akashic Field." (The earlier version bothered me because it overlooked the Higgs boson that may or may not be observed whenever the Large Hadron Collider finally goes on line. The 2007 re-do showed I wasn't the only one who reacted that way; others were apparently able to prompt a quick revision that included his thoughts on it.) As a result, an engraved stone came into my mind. It said "Darwin's Doberman's, Dawkins and Dennett, are Dead Dogs." I laughed.

Then I noticed that no one had bothered to write a review yet and there were said to be 22 "used" copies available. By then I had read enough more to wonder if his co-creator of CosMos, Dr. Currivan, a mystic as well as archeologist and physicist, was introducing more problems than any mainstream scientists could tolerate ... so they must have tried to get rid of their copies FAST. I checked and it turned out that only 2 of those copies were truly used. The other 20 were noted as "new" in the "used" section. I felt better. Somebody bought one. Today, there are only 21 copies mentioned in the "used" category.

Before long I realized that Laszlo had cited the work and thoughts expressed by almost all of my favorite scientists, many of whom are respected by mainstream or nearly-mainstream folk ... Stuart Kauffman, Bruce Lipton, Dean Radin, etc. ... and it occurred to me that Laszlo and Currivan had done a better job than the usually ultra-brilliant Stuart Kauffman had done in his 2008 "Re-inventing the Sacred." Kauffman had seemed unaware of a basic, alternative assumption made by most esoteric doctrines. That is, Universal Mind is thought to have come here first, and matter/energy precipitates out of that, rather than the reverse (mainstream science)idea that matter comes first and mind/consciousness emerges later, out of highly evolved matter/energy systems. This idea makes me expect to find a Universal Mind/Consciousness ingredient list BELOW the matter/energy list on the reductionism track. Reductionism's OK by me if we realize that once we have dug deeper than the tiniest tad of matter/energy ... past the wee-est smidgeon of a particle that pops into virtual existence in the region of the so-called vacuum which Universal Mind has entered ... we will find ingredients of consciousness rather than those of matter/energy. All that EMERGES from bodies with brains is EXPRESSIONS of conscious experiences, not Consciousness itself.

Laszlo and Kauffman should get together... they and most of the others cited in CosMos. They can thus help the rest of us move farther and faster in the direction we scientists are already just barely beginning to go.

If those buzzwords appeal to you, you'll want to get your hands on this book and also Jeremy Leven's other book, "Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Sy Kasler, J.S.P.S.". Leven has a rare ability to drag his protagonist into the abyss of madness, and you, the reader, must follow. But there is something compelling about this descent; the journey is involving and, in its odd way, humorous. Definitely not for everybody, but those who like it will love it.

"Creator" was made into a movie in 1985, with Peter O'Toole and scripted by Jeremy Leven. The film was not without appeal, but they had to vastly simplify the rich structure of the book for translation to the screen. I'd advise reading the book, so you'll experience it as it was meant to be. Don't see the movie until after you've read the book.

For those of us that feel like we are living a real-life movie, or vice-versa, you'll love it. The movie was criminal, forget it. As for this book, if you can find it - read it.

A fine art deco and aviation history work in the best coffee table tradition.

But, while the preceding reviewer's ascii character sequence is clever (looks like the speedy Crusader plane flying right at you) it won't get you to a place in cyberspace where this tasty tome is available.

Paste this into google instead:

rareplanes

Happy reading and safe flying!

This is a great aviation history book. Lots of unusual aircraft pictures. Wonderful art deco design. A heartbreaking story. They don't make em like this any more. BUT!! It is still in print.

Paste this into Google and you will find where you can get it.

"=X=(_)=X="

Countless organizations cannot go where they want or need to because their executives' and leaders' thinking is too shallow. Strategic thinking is hard work; it requires a level of mindfulness to do the thinking that today's complex businesses and organizations require. In the midst of our hyper-speed culture, Dr. Leath unveils a simple, clear, pragmatic approach for developing the Strategic Mind that will change how you think about and run your business or organization - forever.

Jim Horan, President, The One Page Business Plan Company

Blake Leath proves once again that he is among the smartest people around. He is unafraid to take a stand in the book; often times shaking you by your shirt collar. The ideas and tools section of the book is especially useful. Even though you ought to read the whole book for a full understanding, there are cool stand-alone tools that you can use to amaze your friends and family -- not to mention their ability to enlighten you on ways to become a better strategic leader. Blake's unbelievably broad source materials leave you amazed at how much things change and how much they stay the same (see Socrates quote in Outcomes vs. Incomes).

Agreed, great way to catch up. Less expensive than hunting down the real deal and takes up less space in the closet. Includes all pages of the real issue including the Alt covers and letters to the editor. Engage way back machine (some advertisements too)!

The PDF format is high quality so you can zoom in very close. The only problem I had was that I had to zoom in to read the text which necessitated use of the pan tool to read the whole page (on 17", 4:3 monitor). This is totally resolved when using my 19" widescreen monitor).

Another small but bothersome issue is accessing the main menu once you are in an issue. I haven't figured out how to do it so I find myself using the "File" menu and loading the main menu from the "Recent Documents" command. Probably my fault anyway.

Why can't we download each issue like an MP3 for .99 or less? They might make more $$ and then I don't have to keep anything in my comic box.

Included are:
Vol 1 (issues 1-26)
Vol 2 (issues 1-15)
To Kill a King: Mini Series (issues 1-3)
King Zombie: Mini Series (issues 1-2)
Christmas in Louisiana (1 shot)
Guns for Sale (1 shot)
The Doom Patrol (1 shot)
The City (1 shot)
Bonus Material (Key Scenes Description, Cast of Characters, Synopsis, Cover Art)
Vince Locke Cover Art Gallery (10 pages)

The CD-ROM collects all the original Deadworld comic issues plus a couple of the mini-series as well. All at your finger tips on your computer. Re-live all the zombie stories and zombie gore that has made this a cult fan favorite.

By the middle of the last century, science had at last triumphed over superstition, and science had also, to a degree, put aside the notion that a Creator existed. However, many scientists see no reason to separate the two. Albert Einstein is famously quoted as saying, "Science without religion is blind, and religion without science is lame." This book contains ten thought-provoking essays from scientists who see evidence of design in the universe.

1. "To consider the evidence of purpose, we must define the meaning of cause, for purpose is final cause, one of the four types of cause by Aristole."
2. Final cause is the intended purpose of the maker of the of object
3. Formal cause is the maker's plan or blueprint for the object
4. Material cause is the raw material from which it was made
5. Efficient cause is the force applied to raw material that produces the object. Efficient cause or applied forces is not necessarily a denial of purpose. "When we humans make tools, the shaping forces (efficient cause) act upon the raw materials (material causes) under the direction of our intelligent design or blue print (formal causes) to the tool we intend on making (final cause). A formal cause may by a crystal structure or a parental strand of DNA. "In both human and natural causality, formal cause act as boundary conditions to constrain/direct the force of the efficient cause" - meaning a sphere of influence or intelligent constraint exists.
6. A scientific guess is not a fact: Material causes can't be responsible for creation. The Modern Synthesis of the 1940, stated, "Natural selection is a creator, it builds adaptation step by step." Evolution proponents guest on the means of creation and assumed they were absolutely right. The guess was 100 percent wrong. Lets look at the goals associated with creation. First, we must assume that a template goal or pattern of creation exists. Second, the purpose goal of the final causes does not care about the agent that acts in the gaps between natural processes, but rather, "one who directs them". Third, an immaterial entity acting as a cause for creation offers no proof of a creator. Fourth, if no purpose for creation can be derived than this is analogous to an autonomous material universe. Furthermore, a universe with intent is a universe where the material cause is the product of random and self-organizing patterns of material structures running simple cellular algorithms that form everything and the final cause will be both wise and intelligent. Fifth, we use mental templates or mental remembrances (analogous comparison) to recognize pattern and purpose. "In the case of human artifacts, we recognize purpose against a backdrop of natural purposeless events. We deduce complex formal causes from complex effects, which we detect against a background of alternative simple effects with greater probability." "Without template we can see no utility." Sixth, Asa Grey states, "On the other hand, an omnipotent and omniscient Creator ordains everything and foresees everything. Thus we are brought face-to-face with a difficulty as insoluble as is that of free will and predestination." "Ultimate cause does shape the whole show."
7. The argument of the blind watchmaker is no convincing. Richard Dawkins argues that intelligence is not need in formal cause. "In brief, all living things are the products of specific genomes." DNA, gene mutation, and selection create all the diversity of life. All the possible genetic messages are points in a single multidimensional probability space called genetic phase space. Variation is created as mutation randomly throws up new sequences and environmentally based selection accumulates those that are useful. The cosmos acts as the "blind watch maker". First, the biomorph program is not powerful enough to represent the genetic phase space and it conclusions therefore are incomplete. Second, the biomorph shapes, forms, and outcomes defy reality. Mutations never create new species and often do not survive in nature. Domestic breeding does not have the power or ability to create new species. The biomorph, random search in the GPS was neither predictable and in many forms possible. "The outcomes depend entirely on the characteristics of the probability space being searched." A human form cannot emerge in a sulfur-dominated environment, a non-carbon based atmosphere, or a non-ferrous core planet. The GPS probability of biomorph land was 10 ^ 15 power, whereas, the GPS of genome of the mammalian size (2.5 billion bases) contains 10^1,000,000,000 binary bits of information. Second, "The fraction of the probability space made available to selection each generation is much smaller in genetic systems. No matter how many offspring are generated, they clearly represent (search) a much small fraction of the GPS than the equivalent set of biomorph probes" Finding the next step in the trajectory of the GPS will be more difficult. Natural selection does not provide the mechanism to make the jump through the GPS. Evolution provides not concrete explanation of navigation through the GPS. Natural selection does not have the power necessary to achieve trajectory.
8. Biomorphs create impossible GPS trajectories. No biomorph necessarily dies without offspring; because the biomorph may be chosen as an "intelligent selector" that is using the program and thus, in biomorph probability space, no trajectory is impossible. In nature most mutants die. The acceptance of non-intelligent formal causes for biological morphologies depends on the existence and likelihood of viable trajectories across the GPS, reasonably probable trajectories that depend on the accumulation of minor sequences of change. However, isolated, viable spots in the GPS may exist with so many simultaneous specific point mutations to reach, that an intelligent formal cause would be the simplest explanation.
9. Fossils don't demonstrate sequential morphologies. Fossils appear fully formed with complete organs. The species does not change over millions of years in structure. "We don't know if viable locations in the GPS are uniformly distributed, continuous networks , or clumped and isolated." A goal seeking blue print is need for single cells to become an organ. Control systems in the body are necessary for organ formation. (See Cross Currents). The control system turn on and off organ formation; Mutation lack coherency necessary for organ formation. Organ formation is intelligent. Mutation and environment are noise in the system not formal causes. A major morphology would require a major change in the control genes and understandable in gene control or the species would not survive. Evolutionary explanations are a "field of dreams" and the least understood.
10. "Stephen Gould suggests that perfect adaptation achieved through neo-darwinian mechanism requires relentless slaughter, and is thus morally repugnant." A mutational search through GPS for a lineage path will be directionless and hardly reasonable if he is also assuming hat selection is directed. Divine intervention is the final cause.