Organizations Books

This is the best work in theosis published in recent times. A must-have for any serious scholar or student.

As far as I know, this book is the best one stop read on this central Christian doctrine. All of theology, in its relation to humanity, is really a footnote to the reality of deification. But what does that really mean? Are we absorbed into God? Are we just made like him by decree? Or do we participate in the very life of God and yet remain distinct in our nature and personhood? How this was experienced and worked out in the early church is the subject of this most detailed book.

Based largely on Jules Gross' work (La Divination du chrétien d'après les Pères grecs), Russell begins by tracing the main points of Gross, adding the criticism that Gross failed to explain, and take into account, the content in which the Greek Fathers wrote and discussed theosis. He notes that although deification talk was common in many pre-Dionysian (6th century) theologians, they were not doctrinally consistent in their usage and meaning. It is finally with St Maximus the Confessor that the theology of deification is worked out systematically.

I am leaving tons of content out, but rest assured that if you have an interest in the topic from the Greek perspective, this is the book to get. But it is not a book for beginners. For that, you may find uncreated energy a useful primer.

Although Russell's focus is Greek theology, he does offer an appendix of Syrian and Latin Fathers on the topic, along with a brief discussion of modern authors on the subject, such as Rahner, Zizioulas and Mascall.

I would strongly recommend the writings of Valdimir Lossky, especially The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church and Orthodox Theology: An Introductionon this subject. For a great East-West discussion, See A. Williams' The Ground of Union: Deification in Aquinas and Palamas. As well, please see Deification in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition: A Biblical Perspective, Being With God: Trinity, Apophaticism, And Divine-Human Communion, Theosis: Deification in Christian Theology (Princeton Theological Monograph) and Deification in Christ: Orthodox Perspectives on the Nature of the Human Person (Contemporary Greek Theologians, Vol 5).

My other reviews are often on this topic, and you can find some gems there to further your exploration of the implications of the incarnation, death and resurrection of our Lord.

"The great Antiochene fathers never use the term 'diefication' at all. That is to say... we are gods only in a titular sense. ... Without the Alexandrian sotereological perspective, deification can only be presented as a remote eschatological event." Norman Russell, (pp. 237)

"I no longer desire to be myself, but to find myself transformed in You, so that there is no 'myself' but only Yourself. That is when I will be what You have willed to make me from all eternity: not myself, but Love." Thomas Merton





Deification, as participation:
"Far from implying a heretical notion of man's absorption into God, as Western writers sometimes assume, the term encapsulates a number of widely differing approaches to the doctrine of salvation. Among the Greek Fathers deification is expressed variously as filial adoption through baptism, as the attaining of likeness to God through gnosis and dispassion, as the ascent of the soul to God, as the participation of the soul in the divine attributes of immortality and incorruption, as the transformation of human nature by divine action, as the eschatological glorification of both soul and body, and as union with God through participation in the divine energies." Norman Russell

Deification, Biblical Foundation:
The two classic biblical texts quoted in support of deification are Psalm 82:6 ('I said, you are gods and all of you sons of the Most High') and 2 Peter 1:4 ('precious and very great promises have been granted to us, that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature'). The first of these texts (also quoted in John 10:34) was never a cause of controversy. There already existed a Jewish exegesis which applied the words, 'you are gods', originally to Adam and Eve, and then to those who kept the Torah, when Justin Martyr -the first Christian Father to quote them- used them as a gloss on the Johannine 'children of God' (1 Jn 3:1). If baptism makes us sons of God and the Psalm addresses us as gods and sons of the Most High, then baptism must make us gods. Divine sonship through baptism therefore brings with it the divine qualities of immortality and freedom from passion. The text is often appealed to by later Fathers to express how baptism incorporates us into Christ, making us gods by grace in contrast to Christ, who is God by nature. N. Russell, "Partakers of the Divine Nature" in the Byzantine Tradition

Russell's Masterful Thesis:
So far, I could not but quote the eminent patristic scholar whose mother nurtured in him a love of the Fathers, and his fellowship and scholarship kept the fire inflaming. This book is unique, while exploring the diversity of the patristic approaches from Irenaeus to Maximus the Confessor, Norman Russell offers an unparalleled and compelling study of the roots and the development of the doctrine, while expounding its genuine Alexandrine texts and themes, in two chapters: The Alexandrian Tradition I & II, masterfully linking its schools led by Clement, Origen, and Didymus with the champions of its Orthodoxy Athanasius and Cyril.
He then masterfully traces Origen's heritage of Divine transcendence and Soul ascent in his great Cappadocian students who accommodated them to Athanasius thesis of mediation of the divine Logos through deification of the logos flesh assumed from Mary.
In the historical culmination of his extensive study, Norman Russell reveals the eminence of his patristic scholarship, in 'The Monastic Synthesis,' delving gracefully from Evagrius Ponticus, The Macarian writings, Dionysius the Aereopagite, to Maximus Confessor.

Partakers of the Divine Nature: The History and Development of Deification in the Christian Traditions

Gnosis, Theophany, Theosis: Studies in Clement of Alexandria's Appropriation of His Background (Patristic Studies (Peter Lang Publishing), Vol. 5.)

I initially bought this book as I was curious about the differences between Eastern & Western traditions, particularly with the notion of theosis --the deification of man. This book goes far deeper, and covers pre-Christian practices (like Stoic thoughts, the deifications of Kings, Roman Emperors, that of private citizens who committed symbolic acts --such as Antinous, Hadrian's obsession, who drowned to "save" mankind and other sotirologies).
The book was initially Russell's doctoral thesis, which, as far as I can guess from the dates, had to have been completed when he was in late middle age. But he made it very readable, free of the theophilosophical jargon of similar texts. He still has quotes in the original language and it is a true piece of scholarship.

"I say,'You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you;" Psalm 82:6

"Those who partake of the divine nature do so through the promises of Christ who is God. Although the expression is different from Paul's, the content is not: participation in Christ wins incorruption and immortality." N. Russell



Deification in Essense:
Among the Eastern Church Fathers deification is expressed as filial adoption through baptism, and it is iterated that Abba Kyrillos VI (Coptic Patriarch, 1959-71) identified 'the light of baptism,' spotting any non baptized who reported for Eucharistic communion! His mystical company of the Desert Fathers taught that attaining likeness to God comes through Theo-gnosis (knowing God) and kenosis (self emptying). Catholic Mystics describe it as the ascent of the soul to God, the participation of the soul in the divine attributes of immortality. In Summa, it is the transformation of human nature by divine grace.
Although the first mention of deification as a concept was in Irenaeus' infamous exchange formula (God became man that man might become god), it was in Alexandria that the doctrine of deification was fully elaborated and extensively utilized in the defense of its Orthodoxy. Since J. Gross wrote his most comprehensive study of deification, "La divinisation du chrétien d'apres les Peres Grecs," in 1938, discussions of deification often suffer from insufficient historical context and from an obscurity about what deification precisely means and what process does it involve. This attitude has been recently amended by the outstanding Patristic scholar who wrote books about the Desert Fathers, Theophilus and Cyril.

Deification, Divinization, and Theosis:
Why did the terms, Deification, Divinization, and Theosis, based on the biblical expression 'partakers of the divine nature' present such difficulty, for most Protestants and Catholics? Why is the Eastern Orthodox doctrine of Theosis presently engaging the Coptic Orthodox Church, theologians and Clergy in a hot debate? Even when this Church, whose Alexandrine fathers Origen, Athanasius* and Cyril** respectively have initiated, developed and utilized it to defend Orthodoxy against heresies starting with Arianism, all the way to Nestorianism? While Athanasius declares, "The Word became flesh in order, both, to offer this sacrifice and that we, participating in His Spirit, might be deified," Cyril made it the over-riding motif of his Christological defense against the Diophysites. The Alexandrine Church doctrine that by the incarnation, human nature is deified and become participant in the divine nature was Cyril's favorite theme, that he iterated over forty times. Why was Divinization avoided by Apophatic mystics and Diophysite Theologians?
Russell compellingly distinguishes two of the Divinization opponents, "two kinds of writers: those who distinguished in an apophatic way between the essence of God and his operations or energies, and those who employed a Logos-anthropos Christology, which did not depend upon the concept of participation. It is noteworthy that writers of the Antiochene school do not quote '2 Peter 1:4'." Conversely, adds Russell, "the text was used by those who operated with a Logos-sarx Christology (Alexandrine Fathers) and with a doctrine (deriving ultimately from Origen) of a dynamic participation in God. Such a doctrine presupposed a theology which was personalist rather than essentialist, and an understanding of 'nature' which included the attributes of the living God."

Partakers of Divine Nature:
The above verse, quoted from 2 Peter 1:4, was altogether problematic. Used initially by Origen, whose initiatives formed the Alexandrian school, then by Athanasius few times, and later by Cyril repeatedly, but never used again until Maximus the Confessor, quoted only twice. Russell furthers his great book themes, expounding the history of Eastern Church Theology, asking himself, "Why was 2 Peter 1:4 popular with Cyril but not with Maximus (a student of Origen)?
Once he had embarked on his controversy with Nestorius, Cyril needed an alternative way of speaking about deification. Following in the tradition of Origen and Athanasius, he had such an alternative way to hand in the expression 'partakers of the divine nature'. His Christology is one in which the participation of the assumed humanity in the divinity of the Logos, is a key concept. He compares it with the participation of the faithful in Christ; 'corporeally' through the Eucharistic communion, and spiritually through kenotic life. Maximus, with a Capadocian / Dionysian (ps-Areopagite) background, did not participate in the 'Divine Partaking' tradition. While, his Neo-Chalcedonian Christology, revised, was still based on the concept of duality of natures, but in reciprocal communion, had no real appeal for the Petrine text. On the contrary, Cyril's anthropology is analogous to his Christology. Man attains the divinely graced life, not by participation in God as much as by synergy, a mutual reactive relationship between the Lord through Christ and those of the faithful.

Norman Russell on Divinization:
Norman Russell, wrote recently, in an enlightening essay entitled, 'Partakers of the Divine Nature' in the Byzantine Tradition, explaining and defending the Alexandrine based Biblical theology from Origen's First Principles, comparing to Maximus the confessor. He explains, "Among the Greek (speaking) Fathers deification is expressed variously as filial adoption through baptism, as the attaining of likeness to God through gnosis and dispassion, as the ascent of the soul to God, as the participation of the soul in the divine attributes of immortality and incorruption, as the transformation of human nature by divine action, as the eschatological glorification of both soul and body, and as union with God through participation in the divine energies. In Byzantine writers the emphasis falls on the Pauline aspect of filial adoption and incorporation into Christ, the sacraments becoming all-important as the means by which divine life is communicated to the believer."

In Appreciation:
In my long career as a Catechist and Commentator, it is my first time to be urged to write a review of a theology book without the book being at hand. In a telecom with the Nottingham Patristic, and Cambridge 'Coptic Orthodox' theologian, I proposed this great unbiased scholarly work as a reference for both debating Coptic parties on the subject. Dr. George Bebawi, then praised the Oxford scholar, associating him with the eminent Syriac scholar Dr. Sebastian Brock, and evaluated the book as a 'Doctorate Thesis', carefully reviewed for the benefit of intellectual Christians. His colleague Dr. Andrew Louth, has rightly wrote, "Norman Russell presents his subject with the assurance of a master ... He displays not just understanding of the material, but also a clear awareness of the field of patristic studies ... this is a masterpiece of what historical discussion of Christian doctrine should be: historically acute and theologically perceptive."

A Qualified Review:
"Norman Russell has given us a rigorous account of the historical development of the doctrine of deification and its technical terminology, and at the same time he has offered us clear conceptual categories for distinguishing different approaches to deification in the Christian tradition. The stated subject of this book is "Christian deification from its birth as a metaphor to its maturity as a spiritual doctrine" Daniel Keating

* On the Incarnation (De Incarnatione Verbi Dei)
** The Appropriation of Divine Life in Cyril of Alexandria (Oxford Theological Monographs)

Suzanne Mulvehill really provides an in-depth, soul-searching, inventory for those who wish to strike out on their own. When you've finished with the exercises, you'll know who you want to be and be prepared to get there. Not only good for up-and-coming entrepreneurs, but a means to finding peace in the business world for any reader.

ME
Madison, Wisconsin, USA

I have read many books on how to make the transition into entrepreneurship and THIS BOOK WAS ALL I NEEDED. The author is down-to-earth and realistic. She uses "real person" examples and problems, things that entrepreneurs will relate to. The exercises allow you to see things differently about your life and dreams, more than any other book I have read. This book is excellent!

I bought this book back in late 2004 - when I realized I could no longer work for corporate america. I wrote down short/mid/long range goals and launched my entrepreneurial journey. This book has and still is a roadmap for dealing with the many emotional challenges I've experienced along the way. I launched my business in spring 2005 while working full-time and left corporate america in spring 2006. To this day, I still consult Suzanne's book for advice. I'm so sorry it took me this long to acknowlege this author's great book.

The bottom line: When I have a doubt (ie., a lingering, negative thought) about my business I go to the chapter dealing with the root of the thought. After reading the chapter and thinking through the excercise, I always feel grounded and positive when I put the book down. I thank God for Suzanne and her work in writing such a great book.

I've recommended this book to three other entrepreneurs this past week. All three are dealing with the same emotional challenges I faced my first year in business.

We all have a still small voice inside of us. But we must allow ourselves to get quiet enough to hear it. It's not easy when we are so busy. Sometimes we are so busy being busy in order to avoid our inner voice.

Suzanne Mulvehill encourages us to trust more than we want to.
Once we uncover our Passion (uniqueness), see our Vision (plan) and Focus persistently we will experience true success.

Employee to Entrepreneur is the only book I have found that assists you to transistion from your current reality into your true reality physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Letting life take care of you, Suzanne reminds us.

Thank you Suzanne for encouraging us to Trust and Obey!

The format of this book makes it very user friendly;
I feel that the spaces left for me to fill in create a one on one atmosphere.
I see where my strengths are and am now able to identify the
areas of myself for me to improve.
This book said Now to me.
Do It Now.
Be It Now.
If you ever wondered if you could or should, you can
with this book to guide you.
Read it now and you will be getting far more than a book.

Picking up Fastrack Business Management is like making a phone call to a wise old friend. Fastrack offers understanding of a wide range of business dilemmas and offers a sage suggestion or two for resolving each of them. You won't find (irritating) chapter and verse here; you WILL find valuable advice for a host of today's thorniest business issues.

The BEST business book to come along - superior value and information for the business professional on the move. "Fastrack is extremely relevant to the critical issues facing today's leaders. It cuts through the typical business jargon with refreshing clarity and directness and is a timeless practical guide to making better decisions and improving the way you manage.

Fastrack Business Management is an interesting and enjoyable read. It is extremely substantive, with a wealth of helpful insights on subjects of interest to top and middle managers today. I would recommend it to anyone.

The BEST business book for the Millennium - superior value and information for the business professional who wants answers, fast. "Fastrack" is extremely relevant to the critical issues facing business today and cuts through the typical buzzwords with refreshing clarity and directness. It is a timeless practical guide to making better decisions and improving the way you manage. You will find the "Key Points" (at the end of each chapter) most valuable. Each lists a succinct summary of the author's important business tips you will refer to time and time again.

Fastrack is a great tool for managing your business. The book provides clear, cogent answers to the "big picture" questions that are difficult to grasp. The chapter on Globalization was especially helpful to AHN, which deployed several strategies with great success. A great read, jam packed with nuggets of wisdom from a guy who clearly knows what he's talking about.

I've read tons of Christian books and have known the Lord for 30 years now. It is wrong to use Jesus for provision when hearts do not understanding that God's kingdom is first. "Grace to Grow" clears up past false teachings about wealth and poverty. God desires for prosperity in our lives that his kingdom on earth might prosper. "Grace to Grow" is finally a truthful book about financial growth and how almighty God drives us to success in life by His grace and our knowledge of His truth.

As a Pastor of the average church I was always looking for practical books and methods to move beyond average. When I first came upon Neil's book I thought, "There is no way simply making room for increase could grow my average church." I decided to try it out in our nursery area. We simply added a separate room and to my surprise it filled up with in two weeks. We have since added four more child care rooms and in two years our children's department has grown exponentially. The practical application of spiritual laws in this book are amazing. Thanks!

This book is definitely worth your time and money. It has made such a diference in my personal life and in my church.

My Bible, my organizer, and The Seven Laws... by Neil Kennedy, are the three books that keep me on track. I am an organized person. I thrive on order, yet somehow there were certain things in my life that managed to stay in chaos. This book has helped me to continuously evaluate each area of my life and establish how to maintain order so that increase will come. It applies to my relationships, my home life, my church life, and my business life. It has been an awesome experience to apply these principles and see the increase come in my time, production, finances, and many other areas. It is an invaluable resource and I highly recommend it!

I had always heard that God wanted to give us increase. Or God wanted to give us the desires of our hearts. What I didn't get was why I had desired a Ford Expedition for years and I still drove an old Volvo wagon with a dent in the side. The thing I was missing was the seven laws of divine increase and order. As a mother I wouldn't give my children something that they haven't proven faithful with in the past. So why would my heavenly Father give me a new vehicle when I had two week old fries littering the back sit along with mail from the past month and school work covering the floor of my current car. Why would God want to increase my life with things I desired when I wasn't taking care of the things he had already blessed me with! This book is an eye opener to the steps we need to take to live a life that God will increase!

An excellent publication for all those who have desired to implement eastern theology and the soul's path into the corporate realm, but didn't have the tools or know how. This book is revolutionary in providing the practical tools to bridge this tricky terrain.
Apply the soul's work in an "acceptable" format that won't raise the eye brows of CEOs. Execute exercises that seem sincere and truly contribute to well-functioning individuals and organizations. Review organizational and personal experiences with the new perspective of eight steps of the change journey realizing that they do exist, and how you can work with each step for the best possible outcome.
Highly effective in my work as a consultant and organizational behavioral specialist.

Guiding Change Journeys is a masterful fusion of Eastern and Western wisdom,science and mythology presented with great insight,clarity and warmth.It is full of new ideas,tools and practical applications that are guaranteed to energize and re-orient your thinking and approach to organization transformation.

Rebecca Chan Allen has written a masterful book that bridges
ancient eastern wisdom and modern western organization problems.
The book illuminates both the practical and theoretical side of some of our greatest organizational issues, and supports leaders
in playing full rich transformational roles in organization change.

Finally!... A book providing both practical guidance AND sound theoretical reference materials for change leaders and organizational effectiveness practitioners. Chan Allen's book is clearly organized, easy to use, and accessible at whatever level of conceptual depth her reader wishes to work (or to start from). Her examples are creative, original and fun to use -- in both professional and personal contexts. I highly recommend this for organization development professionals and those interested in transformation methodology.

One of the greatest challenges an author can undertake is to write a book that is both theoretically complex and strongly pragmatic. Rebecca Chan Allen has accomplished this in Guiding Change Journeys. In combining the philosophical underpinnings and conceptual bases of a wide variety of organizational change strategies with practical approaches, examples, exercises and illustrations, she skillfully supports change practitioners in integrating Eastern and Western perspectives. Through her integration of stories from mythology and concepts from organization development, new science and wisdom traditions, Chan Allen takes us on an "Archetypal change Journey" based on Jungian archetypes, which describe enduring patterns of transformation.

In a spirit of integration, the book implies throughout that successful organizational change is dependent upon individual and group psychological approaches, conceptualized within a systemic framework. The author's intention seems ultimately holistic, in that she continually addresses issues of mind/body/spirit, whether individually or organizationally.

Though the book may seem esoteric and philosophically dense at times, it carefully balances the more theoretical introductions to each chapter with a plethora of practical examples and exercises, which bring the theory to life and make the concepts infinitely usable. The overall impression is a treasure-trove of ideas. The many insights, methods and resources are offered by the author as gifts, with the invitation to "tinker and improvise" in order to adapt them to one's own needs.

In this simple offering, Chan Allen summarizes the heart of her book as a journey of discovery - which may well alter the life of the change practitioner, as well as the very nature of his or her organizational context.

Harvey McKinnon's brilliant book literally delivers what it says on the cover. If you haven't got a monthly giving proposition you're already well behind, but this book will quickly get you back in front. If you are recruiting monthly donors, Harvey's book will help you to do it better. Harvey McKinnon is acknowledged around the world as the Pope of monthly giving. 'Hidden Gold' is a readable, entertaining, informative guide to the most lucrative fundraising activity of all, after legacies (bequests). You can't afford not to have it on your bookshelf, with at least two more copies circulating among your fundraising colleagues.

Harvey McKinnon's brilliant book literally delivers what it says on the cover. If you don't already have a monthly giving proposition you're already behind, but this book will quickly get you back in front. If you do already recruit monthly donors this book can help you do it better. Harvey McKinnon is widely acknowledged as the Pope of monthly giving. 'Hidden Gold' is a readable, entertaining and informative tour of the most lucrative area of fundraising after legacies (bequests). You can't afford not to have it on your bookshelf.

THIS IS A FABULOUS RESOURCE THAT tells all. I came away convinced that monthly giving will be successful for almost any non-profit. Perhaps more importantly, if a non-profit doesn't embrace this form of giving they will be losing dollars and donors to competitors. There are many wonderful examples and probably hundreds of useful ideas. The writing style is easy to understand, often quite witty, a rarity in martketing and fundraising books, and there's a perfect balance between practical tips and creative options. One of the best fundraising books I own, and I own a lot of them. It will be considered a fundraising classic.

I have dozens of how-to books on my shelves, for fund raising and marketing communications. Maybe 6 of them are imperishably valuable: quick, sensible, well-written, and backed by lots of experience. Harvey's new book is among that chosen few. I didn't know what monthly giving programs were and I'd never heard of Harvey McKinnon before a Canadian fund raiser I met at a conference started praising Harvey to the stars. The fellow was right! This book is perfect: practical, illustrated with examples from organizations of all sizes, clearly written, wise. I don't even do monthly giving (although I have clients who might). I still loved reading this book. You won't be disappointed.

The only question you need ask yourself is: Could my nonprofit prosper if it had a monthly, assured flow of gifts? Author Harvey McKinnon -- one of the world's more successful fundraisers and a pioneer who has established successful monthly-giving programs in organizations large and small, national and local -- provides reader-friendly, step-by-step instructions to help you mine the hidden gold in monthly donations. Practical, comprehensive, with excellent examples. Everything a how-to book should be.

This is a nice read for history books. A lot of information. This is also good for someone who is studying American Literature because it is a good background source.

This is a very good book for Church History. It is a single volume that is written on a fairly east-to-read level. If you've not read a Church History reference before, this would be a good choice with which to start.

Mark Noll's works are always good.

This book helps us to remember the Christian Heritage of our country. By studying the Christian Heritage of our country we can see how the secular history has played out too and how they go hand in hand. This book by Mark A. Noll helps to bring this rich history in an easy to read format. This book is also a great resource for research and to help with illustrations for sermons and Sunday School lessons.

I was required to read this book for a seminary class and instead of being intimidated or turned off by its over 500 pages, I found the book to be an extremely enjoyable read.

Noll describes the spread of Christianity from the Roman Catholicism of the 1500s to today's pluralism. Particulary enjoyable were the chapters on: the Puritans, The Great Awakenings, Churches in the American Revolution, Evangelical America during the Civil War, Intellectual Challenges to the Christian Faith in the Early 1900s, certain personalities (Billy Graham, Martin Luther King, Fulton Sheen), and the Southern Baptist Convention.

A very interesting read, I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in the history of Christianity in America!

Read and enjoy and do not be turned off by the size of the book!

This excellent, detailed history shows what was new about Christianity in the New World. It portrays the dramatic contrasts between official colonial churches and various refugee sects, with their different visions of how they might relate to each other. Where the first colonies, provinces or states usually had official state churches, Noll documents the issues of church relations on the borders or frontiers between these domains. Into these zones, dissidents of all stripes fled from state-backed religion. And in areas where no religious group had a majority, Noll records how people learned to meet their community needs and get along: "The result was a degree of interdenominational tolerance probably unknown anywhere else in the world at that time". (p. 89) Noll's statement may overlook the religious diversity of India or China, but for the Christian world it applied.

Of course Noll's book holds far more, and is of interest to people of every denomination in Canada and the USA. I was just most impressed by the explanation of how religion in North America escaped state control.

This book cuts through all the smoke that superintendents and principals have been giving me for years. Now, I know how to ask tough questions to make my school and school system better. This book wastes no words and is written so everyone can understand it. Cooperman may be an educator, but he talks to parents in clear language.

I sympathize with teachers and school administrators, really, I do. I know they are overworked and funds are tight and we expect a lot of them. And my son's future and (dare i say it) the future of this country is too important to just sit back and let the wheels grind on as they have.

Cooperman's book gave me strategies to make things different in my son's school. The bottom line of "How Schools Really Work" is that you have to ACT in order to make changes in your schools. I think I always knew that, but I wasn't really sure what the most effective course of action was. Cooperman's book completed the equation for me.

In easy, conversational prose, this former Commissioner of Education in NJ (during "Education Governor" Tom Kean's tenure -I have a feeling Cooperman had something to do with Kean getting that nickname!) opens the curtain and shows the inner workings of public schools; he debunks myths and offers countless practical and workable plans to help make a difference in your schools.

His caring for kids is evident, and like the former teacher that he is, Cooperman clearly wants to see his students (readers) succeed in their endeavors to change the educational system one school at a time.

If you really want to make a difference in your child's education, I highly recommend this book.

Knowing what was going on in my children's school was difficult. I kept getting the run around by the principal. No more! How Schools Really Work was a miracle for me. I know what should be happening and what is happening. A most helpful book if you want to improve schools. A step by step manual for parents and anyone who wants dramatically better schools

LOTS of practical advice on how to shake things up and get results in your children's schools. A real "how to" book for getting the most out of a public school experience. No quick fixes, although you can pick and choose suggestions as needed. And anyway, aren't your kids worth it?

The absolute best book I've ever owned on how public schools and public school officials operate. This is a must read for anyone interested in helping improve public education - whether it's for your own children or all the children in your community. Saul Cooperman, former Commissioner of Education in New Jersey, has done the lay person a huge favor by writing this book. It's simple and honest. I've taught public school, I've been a newspaper education reporter, I have children in public school, and I'm an elected member of a School Board in Virginia. This is THE book on understanding and coexisting with the public schools. Buy it now!

This stimulating work consists of nineteen insightful and engrossing essays that convey perspectives on the emerging forms of strategy and organization in the information age, focusing on knowledge as the competitive advantage. The contributors present thinking that is truly big picture, regarding the shape of today's and tomorrow's enterprises in a world that is changing at an exponentially increasing rate. This work delves into the new and emerging realities of the internal enterprise, corporate cooperation, and leveraging knowledge. In many cases the contributors talk about the experiences of their own organization; an enlightening and enlivening approach to gaining an understanding of this new, networked world driven by knowledge-the infinite resource. An enjoyable and informative collection of thoughtful writings. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, hrconsultant.com and Stern & Associates.

There are far too many books out there that focus on 'knowledge' as if it existed in a vacuum. These tend to be one person's opinion; a single 'flavor of the month,' if you will. This collection of essays explores the impact that the free sharing of information will have: changes in management, changes in employee relations, changes in the free enterprise system itself. As an unforeseen bonus, a very few of the articles are now a bit dated (the "Information Superhighway" article by the CEO of Bell Atlantic was doomed to be old as it was penned), a fact that only reinforces the tremedous speed of change many of the essayists speak to. The many references provide one the ability to more deeply research a particular area.

William E. Halal, editor, writes, "This book brings together the views of prominent leaders in the trenches of the Information Revolution to examine the revolutionary new principles for managing knowledge. Here's a quick overview of these confusing but exciting management heresies.

Principle 1: 'Complexity Is Managed Through Freedom': Success is no longer achieved by planning and control-but through entrepreneurial freedom among people at the bottom.

Principle 2: 'Cooperation Is Economically Efficient': Economic strength does not come from power and firmness-but out of the cooperative flow of information within a corporate community.

Principle 3: 'Progress Is Guided by Knowledge and Spirit': Abundance is not the result of material riches-but of understanding the subtle workings of an infinitely complex world.

There are the new laws governing institutions today, the economic imperatives that determine who succeeds and who fails, the keys to pioneering an unexplored frontier of boundless knowledge-The Infinite Resource" (from the Introduction).

In this context, Halal organizes this invaluable collection into three parts that each focuses on the principles outlined as below:

1. Halal writes, "Part I shows that today's hierarchical structures are being replaced by an emerging foundation of management based on enterprise. The complexity of a knowledge era has made our old command-and-control systems obsolete, and so entrepreneurial freedom is now crucial, not only in economic systems but also to permit free enterprise in organizational systems." Thus, authors of this part, S.Goldsmith, R.L.Ackoff, J.P.Starr, W.Gable, and M.Lehrer mainly focus on decentralized structures, self-supporting units, entrepreneurial freedom, internal competition, and accountability to clients.

2. Halal writes, "Part II illustrates how entrepreneurial organizations must also use cooperation to form collaborative communities. Knowledge differs from physical resources because it increases when shared, making collaborative working relations productive not only in strategic alliances but between buyer and seller, employee and employer, business and goverment, and other stakeholders." Thus, authors of this part, G.H.Taylor, R.E.Miles, J.Lipnack and J.Stamps, T.Holbrooke, and R.Oklewize mainly focus on virtues of teamwork, networking among internal units, shared knowledge, spherical organization, collaborative alliances, and corporate communities.

3. Halal writes, "Part III descibes the intelligent infrastructures now being built to guide this corporate community in creating powerful forms of knowledge." Thus, authors of this part, R.W.Smith, D.Walters, M.Malone, G. and E.Pinchot, R.Kuperman, and W.A.Owens mainly focus on global information networks, free flow of information, knowledge society, employee training, virtual organizations, strategic direction, and vision.

Finally, Halal writes that "the message my colleagues and I want to stress is that the world is entering such an uncharted new frontier, an epoch so fundamentally different that the old rules no longer apply. The conventional wisdom of the past must be replaced by concepts that conform with the new realities of infinite knowledge:

* Order can be best achieved-not through control and planning-but through entrepreneurial freedom.

* Strength comes-not out of power and firmness-but through cooperative community.

* Abundance flows out of-not material riches-but a subtle frontier of boundless understanding, meaning, and spirit."

Strongly recommended.

There are far too many books out there that focus on 'knowledge' as if it existed in a vacuum. These tend to be one person's opinion; a single 'flavor of the month,' if you will. This collection of essays explores the impact that the free sharing of information will have: changes in management, changes in employee relations, changes in the free enterprise system itself. As an unforeseen bonus, a very few of the articles are now a bit dated (the "Information Superhighway" article by the CEO of Bell Atlantic was doomed to be old as it was penned), a fact that only reinforces the tremedous speed of change many of the essayists speak to. The many references provide one the ability to more deeply research a particular area.

Dr. William E. Halal is a George Washington Universitybusiness school professor and expert on the Knowledge Economy. In arecent GWU conference, "Creating the New Organization," he brought together 17 representatives the public and private sectors to address how information technology has transformed their worlds, creating unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Their insights are shared directly with readers in this extraordinary and concise volume. "The Infinite Resource" refers to knowledge itself. Unlike raw materials, knowledge is inexhaustible: "the more you dispense, the more you generate," writes Dr. Halal. The marginal cost of duplicating knowledge is trivial and its value increases when shared. Halal writes: "Knowledge is the most strategic asset in enterprise, the source of all creativity, innovation, and economic value." That, in itself, is nothing new. Knowledge was no less "strategic" when mankind communicated via cave paintings. What has revolutionized knowledge over the past 15 years or so, however, has been extraordinary advances ["32 orders of magnitude"] in information technology. I can share my thoughts on this book with the world with the click of a mouse. And the world can return to my e-mailbox with critiques of my opinion. We now may draw "silicon paintings" for the enjoyment of audiences of 6 billion who never could have fit into those caves. Some bullet points serve to highlight the advances of the information technology age: + IBM itself once predicted market demand for computers to be 55. Worldwide. As of 1997, there were 1 billion computers in operation on planet earth. + In 1977, 50,000 computers existed in the entire world. In 1997, 50,000+ personal computers are sold every 10 hours. + Soon, 1 billion transistors will fit on a single chip: the entire computing power of NASA's Apollo Space Program will fit in a wristwatch.

It was, then, inevitable that the extraordinary advances in - and ubiquitous distribution of - information technology would in turn revolutionize the workplace. Dr. Halal breaks the presentations of his conferees into three sections: 1.) Creating the Internal Enterprise System; 2.) Forming a Network of Cooperative Alliances; 3.) Leveraging Knowledge with an Intelligent Infrastructure. The innumerable insights offered by Dr. Halal and his conferees would never fit in this review. Suffice it to say that the most successful organizations today long ago recognized that information technology created opportunities to broadly disseminate organizational information on the one hand and the more elusive [and hence invaluable] "tacit" or personal knowledge of their employees throughout their organizations, conferring upon all employees the ability to leverage all available organizational knowledge into innovations benefiting the organization, its employees, and its consumers. This leads the trend toward cutting-edge "mass customization." But it does not stop there. No sooner did organizations realize that they could unleash the power of knowledge internally than some recognized that the sharing of knowledge could greatly enhance relationships with customers, suppliers, and, yes, competitors which could be leveraged via coopetition - strategic alliances established to meet particular needs of individual clients at any one point in time. For decades, the rise of technology has created nightmarish visions of "1984" and HAL of "2001." Ironically, and perhaps - at first - counterintuitively, advances in information technology, by enhancing access of anyone in any organization with anyone else, anywhere, will make trust all the more important in public and private enterprises alike. Several conferees address the critical importance of disseminating all available information to employees to encourage innovation because, in fact, "the innovation cycle is now shorter than the planning cycle as customers are moving faster than companies' ability to manage." In short, if you cannot entrust your employees with your most sensitive information, you will be overtaken by another company that can. Another conferee notes: "Technology alone is inert. Trust develops and relationships crystallize in interactions over time and in moments of crisis. No trust without real relationships. No network without trust." It might, therefore, be one of the greatest ironies of the coming Knowledge Economy that technology will "re-personalize" relationships in the workplace while allowing all workers increased opportunities to make their own measurable [and thus rewardable] contributions to their organizations and alliances. Technology, as a tool, will free organizations and their employees from the more mundane business and governmental functions of measurement to engage their minds, individually and collectively, on an infinite course of creativity and innovation. Some provocative closing thoughts from this excellent book include the following insights from leaders of our continuing Knowledge Revolution: Bill Gates: "Two years is as far as long-term planning should go; anything beyond that is long-range dreaming..." General Electric: "The only way to be more competitive is to engage every mind in the organization." Ad agency Chiat Day: "Develop the ability to change faster than your competition or fail..." Dr. Halal: "The perfect company today is almost structureless. All that holds it together is its culture.

I cannot more highly recommend The Infinite Resource to all who are interested in understanding the enormous challenges, opportunities, and rewards - both personal and professional - to be realized as the Knowledge Economy reshapes our world.

Devane does it again! Co-author of the popular: "The Change Handbook"; he now provides us with a roadmap of breakthrough thinking in the areas of Lean Six Sigma and High Performance Organizations!
From the opening lines in the Preview we are invited into examining the crisis of improvement programs that face organizations today. The story concludes having introduced the reader into a unique journey examining the combinations and possibilities of these methods and what is fundamentally required of leadership. This book is masterfully written offering a balanced blend of theory, practicality and insightful breakthroughs, cracking the puzzle of achieving sustainable organizational results. The skilled OD practitioner will readily see the author's depth of expertise and scholarship displayed in the fields of change and leadership. He comfortably ties together the soft and hard skills necessary to accomplish what so many efforts fail to achieve and overlook in their improvement programs.
His main divisions of the book entitled, Practical Foundations and Pragmatic Practice, allow the novice to understand their working intentions and how to effectively apply them. The seasoned person will be able to jump in where they are most comfortable. His creative literary style, with a liberal combination of tables, charts, exhibits, figures, and war stories makes reading a pleasure and captures your attention. The repetitive structure within the Leader's Guide includes activity maps, leader to do lists, tool applications and pragmatic tips, allowing the reader to develop a rhythm in learning the principles and applications being discussed. The generous glossary and reference materials will greatly assist in allowing you to deepen your understanding or expand your resources in the field.
In addition, the book's companion website, www.LeanSixSigmaHPO.com, provides helpful supporting information for leaders serious about simultaneously addressing technical tool deployment and cultural aspects of large-scale process improvement efforts.

Most books I've seen on the topics of Lean, Six Sigma, and culture change suggest a one-size-fits all approach that is detailed by the author(s) in their specific book. Usually they are plugging one methodology that supposedly has universal application across all industries and all sized companies. Not so with this book.

This book, written for leaders, provides a succinct array of principles, general approach templates, and common traps for each stage of an improvement process. Rather than advocating detailed, sequential steps to take, the book offers up proven best practices and a general flow that leaders may, or may not apply based on their specific organizational circumstances. Another book I highly recommend that offers alternative approaches to improvement is Peter Pande's book What Is Six Sigma? A fixed, rigid improvement approach that is not customized to accommodate an organization's unique characteristics is doomed to expensive failure, and these two books get that concept.

Many books present the hard tools of Six Sigma. Many books present how to do change manageemnt, or the "soft side" of continuous improvement projects. This is the first book I've seen that provides leaders with a clear set of principles and a general approach for integrating hard and soft aspects of Six Sigma to achieve dramatic, sustainable results. The first third of the book presents concepts on Lean, Six Sigma, and High Performance Organizations. The final two-thirds of the book is organized according to the implementation stages of an enterprise-wide Six Sigma project. For each stage the book provides pragmatic tips on topics such as stage outputs, common traps, key large goup meetings, leader "To Do" checklists, counterintuitive elements, and leadership tools. In addition to the book's comprehensive coverage of leadership issues for large-scale process improvement, there's also an extensive reference section in the back that points leaders to other books and web-sites containing valuable leadership tips.

Readers should be aware that this book does not delve into detailed statistical tools that improvement teams use. Rather, the book focuses on leadership aspects so I would recommend another book like one of Breyfogle's for people interested in "hard tools" of Six Sigma.

I was pleased to find a leadership book for Lean Six Sigma that addresses both manufacturing and transactional improvement so I didn't have to buy two different leadership books as is necessary with detailed improvement tools for each. With shop floor and office examples from widely diverse industries like electronics assembly, pharmaceutical, retailing, environmental services, government, and financial services, this book presents ideas on how to lead the improvement of all kinds of processes. I was a bit surprised to see that many of the cases from other industries had direct applicability to my industry. I found the detailed advice on setting up an executive committee that meets regularly to evaluate the progress of all improvement projects to be especially useful. And by providing sample questions that executives can ask, the book helps executives ensure that improvement teams are proceeding in the right direction without having executives engaged in micro-managing.

This book is chockfull of golden advice nuggets for leaders of big changes in organizations. It shows how integrating the disciplines of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and High-Performance Organizations can provide a robust combination of quick short-term wins, significant long-term wins based on rigourous data collection and analysis, and sustainable gains based on increased employee motivation. I found the Leadership Checklists that were provided for each of the book's 5 phases of an improvement effort to be particularly helpful. The book provides an excellent reference for busy leaders as its organization, indexing, and exhibit list make it easy to quickly find specific topics of interest.