Performance Books

Easy transaction, book in condition it was described and received it on time...would buy from seller again.

When someone reviews statistical information about human factors in air accidents, it is very easy to find that under the label "human factors" there are many different and heterogeneous things.

The real way to know what is the importance of human factors is an in-depth analysis of many accidents without accepting the generic "human factors" as an explanation. That is exactly what authors make with several accidents explaining beyond NTSB analysis why crew behaved in a way that, finally, drove to an accident.

The book shows a model of analysis and that is very useful for investigators or air safety experts in general. However, the application of that kind of analysis to many other accidents -all of them, if possible, instead of a few ones- should be extremely useful not only to avoid new accidents but to design new planes, new SOPs and new training models.

The conclusion we could extract is as follows: At this moment, we are not extracting all the possible knowledge from an accident. The book explains how to go further.

It reads like a thesis but is full of great analyses beyond the "official" accident reports. Most aircraft accidents are attributed to "pilot error." Here, the authors dissect the human factors in several accidents and delve into human fallibilities and technical traps which make us all prone to error.

The authors have applied insights from cognitive psychology to nineteen flight-crew-related accidents. In place of the dry narratives of accident reports, we are presented with compelling three-dimensional accounts in which pilots are routinely faced with time pressure, the need to make judgments under uncertainty, and rare but potentially lethal system failures. In examining each accident, the authors attempt to reconstruct the mindset of the pilots, and place the actions of the crew in the context of the flow of events. In contrast to other reviews of accidents, the authors avoid the phrase "the pilots should have...". Instead we are gently encouraged to understand how skilled and professional operators can come to make mistakes in circumstances that are unforgiving of error.

Through the lens of cognitive psychology, the aviation industry becomes a massive human performance laboratory, in which hapless operators are faced with situations and problems produced not by experimenters, but by the complexities of the system of which they are a part. The authors take pains to counter the common presumption that catastrophic accidents must somehow result from extreme acts of villainy or incompetence. In this book, we repeatedly see how accidents often arise from combinations of everyday problems and situations.

By the end of the book, some fascinating patterns begin to emerge. A surprising number of the accidents involved apparently simple slips and lapses. Additionally, the majority of accidents occurred on approach and landing, and most of the accident flights were running late. The failure to go-around from an un-stabilized approach is a common theme in the accident scenarios.

On a minor note, a few more illustrations and diagrams would have added some variety to the text, and more extensive quotations from cockpit voice recordings may have helped. Overall however, the book provides a useful compendium of case studies that will be of value to industry and academia. Airline training personnel in particular will find much that is useful in this book.

Out of approximately 10 million air carrier flights annually in the US, only about 50 involve a major accident. That may not sound like much, but those accidents consist of events like these: a Continental Airlines flight that landed without its landing gear deployed in Houston; an American Airlines flight that suffered loss of control at 16000 ft.; and another American Airlines flight that hit some trees while attempting to land, the culmination of a series of small, individually insignificant errors. These are some of the examples scrutinized in detail, drawn from a large population of accidents in which human error was a major factor. This book makes fascinating reading - providing pilots and aviation professionals with a new perspective on crew error, and the general public with a new way of looking at the whole aviation system and how safety issues are considered.

The authors dissect these accidents in a way that the airline industry has not attempted in great depth before. Rather than stopping at the facts and a conclusion of "crew error", they ask why highly skilled flight crews, with thousands of hours of flying experience, make mistakes and erroneous judgments with horrifying consequences. The common reaction after an accident is that the crew was not sufficiently skilled, otherwise they would not have made the error. The authors start with a different assumption: they assume that the crew was as good as any other crew that could have been chosen, and from that starting point, their illuminating analyses lead them to consider some very interesting psychological and operational factors that underlie these accidents.

To do this, the authors draw on their expertise on how the human brain works (memory systems and decision-making apparatus) and their complementary expertise on aviation and operations. The authors are all affiliated with NASA; two of the them are research psychologists, one of them was a major investigator with the primary transportation investigative arm of the government, the National Transportation & Safety Board, and all of them have extensive experience with aviation safety.

The book covers 19 accidents, devoting a chapter to each. Two additional chapters at the end provide statistics and a summary of the common themes and factors the authors uncover as contributing to these accidents, along with some prescription of possible countermeasures. When an airplane is involved in an accident, the National Transportation & Safety Board performs thorough investigations - these include interviews with the survivors, forensic evidence, the data from the black box, etc. The investigators produce a report that lays out the facts and their judgment of the causes of the accident.

The studies in this book take these reports as a starting point, and go down paths that the NTSB never ventures (their charter does not permit that). Each of the accident chapters is constructed to provide first a factual recount of the event and the NTSB conclusions. From here the authors identify the most significant events leading up to the accident, and for each event in turn, provide an analysis that mixes operational knowledge with cognitive functioning.

This is not a Michael Crichton thriller, but those familiar with aviation will easily be able to follow the details as they are stated in factual, non-judgmental manner, and will see into the deep causes of the events that led up to the final accident. Readers who are already familiar with aviation terminology will find the book easy to read (do you know what "LOFT" and "windshear" mean?). At the end, the very helpful glossary covers both aviation and cognitive psychology terms so that readers of all levels of industry expertise or interest can enjoy this useful study.

A must read for any performer - athlete, musician, dancer, actor, etc. Re-Reading this in 2007 makes you realize how far-seeing this book was - research and practice of the last 30 years validates every aspect.
Not only that, it is extremely practical. The authors provide many exercises, drills, tips, etc. for putting their theories to work.

dinosaur training lost secrets of strength and development by brooks d kubik and maximum performance imagine that totally functional

The other reviewers are correct, this book is the tops and needs to be reissued in the 21st century. I remember when there were large stacks of these in paperback in many stores that sold new books. I mistakenly thought "Maximum Performance" would always be available. Unfortunately, the book publishing business has changed in dramatic ways that do not always serve the needs and interests of the book purchasing public.

I had not referred to "Maximum Performance" in many years and a few months ago unexpectedly saw a good copy in a used book store. That refreshed my memory. I did not buy the used copy because I thought I had a good copy, but when I returned home I learned that it had become water damaged. Alas, when I returned to the used book store the copy I'd seen had been sold. Still, I read through my water damaged and slightly smelly copy of Morehouse's "Maximum Performance" and decided that even a discolored and odoriforous copy was better than no copy. It remains in my library in a sealed plastic bag until the book is re-issued or I can find another copy.

Regardless of the specific physical activity, whether you are teaching about sports or coaching them, whether you are interested in improving your own physical performance or interested in avoiding injuries in your own physical performance, in sports or at work, this book has a lot to offer you. I was working on a Fire Department and EMS ambulance service when I first read this book and was quickly able to apply much of the advice to daily working tasks. My skills in lifting patients and lifting fire hose, performing CPR and climbing ladders, all improved with a little thought and rehersal as suggested in Dr. Morehouse's excellent book. By following Dr. Morehouse's advice I also ended up playing quarterback on our fire department football team even though I was by no means the biggest or strongest player on the field.

At the time, Dr. Morehouse was a pioneer in the field and developed an incredibly successful record training Olympic caliber athletes as well as spacefaring astronauts. He set the standard with "Maximum Performance" and it is a treasure that is missed and needs to be reissued in the 21st century.

I had a hard time finding this book, but it was definitely worth it! The books concentrates on giving physiologically sound advice, which is often at odds with intuition. For example, the the author explores how "trying too hard" may hamper performance, along with how to optimize anxiety levels for your sport. I keep rereading this book, and there is always something new there. I've read other sports books, but none that actually gave me this amount of directly applicable tips.

This is a superb quide to fitness that debunks scores of myths about exercise that totally surprised me. Morehouse is a clinical physiologist and conducted years of experiments with athletes strapped to monitoring equiment as they exercised. For example, he discovered in the lab that traditional sit-ups or crunches are not particularly effective, and found that a reverse sit-up -- slightly bending backwards from a sitting position -- was much more effective and less injury prone. As a result, his recommendations for exercise are simple and safe and truly geared for every level -- minimum maintenance, maximum performance and specific-sport training. This book is so much better and more insightful than the bulk of fitness books that came after it. If you can find it, buy it.

Berman early on tells you that this is not a "how-to" book. It's not. But it is a book that explores playing the piano in depth in a clear, understandable manner. I've taken piano lessons for four years now and this book shows me what's ahead for me and, most importantly, that learning is doable. If you have some knowledge of music and piano playing you will love this book. No one who wants to excel at playing the piano should be without this book. Most excellent.

Very often when musicians, especially performers, attempt to write about music they lapse into a pseudo-poetic and philosophical tone that, although seemingly charming to the uninitiated, remains unworthy of the serious scholarly and academic environment to which the musical community, particularly in North America, aspires. To offer one example I shall quote one of Mr. Berman's illustrious predecessors - Heinrich Neuhaus:

"polyphony expresses in musical language the highest union of the personal and the general, of the individual and the masses, of Man and the Universe, and it expresses in sound everything philosophical, ethical and aesthetic that is contained in this union. It fortifies the heart and the mind." - The Art of Piano Playing

This is a lovely sentiment, to be sure, but what does it actually mean? Mr. Berman, to his credit, avoids such purple prose in his book. He provides us with an objective and highly informed guide to dealing with the issues that arise in attempting to teach or play the piano and the wealth of great music written for it, as seen through the eyes of one of his generation's most respected pianists and teachers. Of course my purpose here is not to criticize past books on the subject, or even to compare them in any detail. As Mr. Berman himself illustrated in a memorable seminar at Yale University, changes in pianists' approaches to a given body of music cannot be seen as developmental in a scientific sense. It is not that one generation of pianists has more insight into a given piece than did the preceding generation, but simply that each generation has a slightly different set of musical priorities which govern the kind of information they seek out about a piece and the way in which they choose to apply it. Books like Neuhaus' "The Art of Piano Playing" and the two or three others which, together with Berman's "Notes from the Pianist's Bench", make up the highest achievements in this field of study, serve to represent the musical preoccupations of a particular era, just as the finest pianists of a given era do the same through their performances and recordings. Perhaps in another twenty or thirty years a new generation of pianists will once again need their own book on piano playing and teaching which addresses their unique preoccupations. Until then I am certain that "Notes from the Pianist's Bench" will serve as an invaluable guide to students, teachers and even professional pianists of this era who are interested in better understanding the best examples of performance practice in our time and the timeless art of piano-playing.

Vadim Serebryany, pianist

During the years that I had been very fortunate to be able to study with Mr. Berman, I found the countless lessons and the experiences of hearing his concerts to be constant sources of ideas and inspiration. Personally, "Notes from the Pianist's Bench" not only crystallized and revived a lot of the ideas for me, but it also offered me much needed inspiration since I began working independently. The chapters included in the part titled "In the Practice room" ought to be very helpful for any practicing pianists; Mr. Berman's insight into the piano technique, whether it concerns sound and touch, or articulation and phrasing, is always incisive and realistic. I personally find the advice offered in the second part of the book titled : "Shaping Up a Performance" to be particularly indispensable. Chapters such as "Technique of the Soul" and "The Art of Teaching and the Art of Learning" are genuine, thoughtful gifts from an artist. Mr. Berman has shared with us in his book a refreshing and intriguing landscape of music-making via piano playing. "Notes from the Pianist's Bench" is warmly recommended without any reservation.

Imagine you are a piano student playing a Haydn sonata for your professor. In the slow movement your teacher conjures up a Classical opera aria as an illustrative example, complete with specific characters, and even ventures to invent an imaginary reconstruction of the opening: "Dio, che guar - da [rest] tut - ti gli~a - man - ti [rest] ..." Chances are that you are among the lucky chosen ones in the class of famous Russian-American pianist Boris Berman.
Your level of playing (and your budget) do not allow you to study with a professor of international stature at Yale University? There is no need for despair. Professor Berman has crystallized his most nourishing ideas in an astonishingly eloquent and lucid manner. "Notes from the Pianist's Bench" is his highly informative, rational book of advice geared to the undergraduate and graduate piano student. Unlike those dry and overblown piano methods of early German theorists (Deppe, Breithaupt, Tetzel, Martienssen) Berman's prose is striking a perfect balance between the philosophical and the practical, between the erudite and the anecdotal, the comprehensive and the concise, imagination and realism, elementary and advanced; and it can definitely be comprehended by the educated layman, last not least thanks to the many highly appropriate musical examples.
Unlike Heinrich Neuhaus, the legendary Russian teacher of Richter and Gilels, who opens his "The Art of Piano Playing" with a deliberation on the artistic image (idea, vision), Berman's musical notes do not drop too far off the pianistic bench in the first part of this book. In fact he starts there where most diligent students hopefully find themselves presently: in the pratice room. But what a practice room this is! While yours (and mine) consists of four naked white walls with a big black piano in it, Professor Berman's practice room is a laboratory of experimentation and consideration. His enormous experience in performance practice, spanning all styles from harpsichord to Cage, allows him to approach a topic from several angles at the same time. Berman is especially afraid of exaggeration and dogmatic advice and believes our faults to be the extension of our virtues: "My biggest hesitation about writing this book has been a fear that my advice will be misinterpreted or carried ad absurdum. Guided by the teacher, a young musician must learn to use common sense, both in making interpretive decisions and in deciding on appropriate physical actions to realize them."
Naturally this approach should be recommended to the modern passive student craving for simplistic recipes and instant solutions. Berman: "Being a good student is not as simple a task as one might think. The objective of one's studies should be to become an artist, not to perpetuate one's status as a student. With some students I have the feeling that they fall in my lap as a piece of clay: `Here I am, mold me.' In some cases such an attitude is a reflection of the individual's general passivity, and in others it comes from being accustomed to spoon-feeding by their previous teacher."
It is quite obvious that Berman himself is familiar with the specific cultural background of ethnically diverse students. Consider his lesson to a student from Beijing who lacked an understanding of polyphonic texture: "[...] I made the analogy with perspective in painting, but this concept was completely unfamiliar to her, probably because she did not have much experience with Western-style painting. To make my point, I showed her two pictures of birds, one a Chinese drawing and the other a Western landscape. I asked if she could tell me which birds in the first picture were closest to the viewer. That she was unable to do so was not surprising, because perspective was not a component of the artistic system of the picture. The student had no problem in answering the same question in relation to the second picture. Then I tried to explain how the Western artist created the impression of certain objects being farther away than others by making them smaller in size and-very important-more blurred than those in the foreground. In music, I said, we also present the background smaller (that is, softer) and more blurred (that is, less articulated)."
To the advanced reader the unusual degree of common sense in Berman's carefully calibrated advice may sometimes appear "over-informative." Too much neutrality can obscure a powerful vision. There are moments, I feel, where too much common sense can be an obstacle to the creative initiative of a sensitive student. Neuhaus observed that young pianists of genius go through phases of exaggeration because they have to experience the range and the limitations of their power. But these shortcomings are more than made up for by the second part of the book ("Shaping up a Performance"). Some of the real gems of the book are hidden in these chapters, especially Berman's adaptation of Stanislavsky's psycho-technique and "unbroken line" to musical performance.
I strongly recommend this book to the amateur. If you are a professional it is a must read.
In case you haven't read them, I'd like to draw your attention to two other books in this field: Russell Sherman's "Piano Pieces" (aphoristic reflections `laden with culture and atmosphere') and Seymour Bernstein's more methodical "With Your Own Two Hands" (emphasis on practicing and discipline).

Rolf-Peter Wille

I've been teaching piano full time since 1981. I am constantly reading material to learn about performance practice as well as other musical matters.

If I had to recommend one book to either students or teachers of piano this would be it. It covers a wide range of practical and interpretive matters in one very readable and unintimidating volume.

Boris Berman proves to be a knowledgeable yet down to earth teacher who is able to cover a lot of ground without merely glossing over the territory. There is so much food for thought here that can nourish pianists for a long long time.

Highly recommended!

As a 3 day a week exerciser, I found this book to be of great help! In particular, it helped me to correct some bad exercising habits/techniques that I had developed. I've noticed a marked reduction in lower back pain as a result of incorporating the workout tips into my regular routine. The book also helped to dispell some common exercise myths. I would recommend this book to anyone -- from the weekend workout warrior to the professional athlete -- who is interested in reaping all the healthy benefits of exercising. There's something in this book for everyone whatever your fitness level!

Over this past year, I have had several set backs starting a fitness routine resulting in injuries. As a working professional and mother of two, it's challenging to carve time out for fitness. I am looking for optimal results with limited time. Peak Perfmance Fitness is a great resource for developing a solid fitness foundation. Jennifer Rhodes has a gift for providing practical, simple explanations for how to prevent injury and develop an effective fitness plan. The diagrams and step-by-step instructions are a real value add!

I love this book! Maintaining proper alignment, and therefore helping to prevent injuries, and chronic pain, is so much more important than mere aesthetics. Anyone who has suffered an injury that affects one's mobility can attest to this. This book will show you how to keep your body healthy and well-aligned, for long-term health. She writes in an exceptionally clear fashion as well, and the way she explains how your body is supposed to move is brilliant easy to understand. Fantastic. I hope she writes another book, she's very dynamic.

As a female approaching 60, I have attempted many fitness programs only to be interrupted by an injury. I was intrigued by Jennifer Rhodes' book, Peak Performane Fitness, because she emphasizes fitness without injury or strain. After reading through Jennifer's book, I now understand why my attempts to improve my health through exercise have failed. I have developed a beginners program using the guidelines in her book. My focus is on improving my overall posture, along with cardiovascular exercise. In partiular, I highly recommend the foam roll referred to in Chapter 4 for spinal alignment. Jennifer has the knowledge and experience to provide good tools for exercise without injury and the suggested exercises with illustrations make it simple for one to follow. I am now looking forward to an ACTIVE retirement.

I am a 32 year old guy. I've been playing soccer, tennis, and golf almost all of my life. Over the past three years though, I've been plagued by recurring injuries to my knees and shoulders. I assumed my body was simply weakening with age, and couldn't take the blows like it used to. Luckily, I found Peak Performance Fitness before I put myself out to pasture! This easy to read book explained how my pain was actually due to years of "microtrauma"- continual irritations caused by poor alignment of my body causing me to torque and stress my muscles and joints in ways they just weren't meant to take. Clear illustrations gave me an understanding of how my body can and should work in harmony, with small changes in my lifestyle and exercise regimen. The book stepped me through the crafting of a workout, custom made to strengthen and realign my trouble spots. Within a few weeks, I could already feel my power and confidence improving. Ms Rhodes's book is an essential read for anyone who wants to keep their body working efficiently and looking and feeling great.

Cash Flow and Operating Earnings can be made
statisically correct or Hours and Unit Data
will tell you the reasons why not.

I am a retired math teacher who started my own business. I can't believe what some arithmetic calculations within an excel spreadsheet revealed about my business. On a daily basis, I was given everything I needed to know about my sales activity.

As a market executive I could not believe what the bench marks told me about my retail business. It is a must for any company.

Profit and Stock value linked to weekly sales. This is a book with data destined to replace EPS for the entire Financial world.

A practical, simple and revolutionary solution to managing or evaluating any business! The author provides not only a framework for a new, simpler and more effective way of measuring operational performance on a weekly basis but also, provides detailed examples to fit any business model. An easy read and well worth one's time.

As a CPA in Public Practice, I found that the "Value Performance Framework" laid out in Alexander's book very adaptable to the small business perspective. It's a very good read and I often refer back to it during my small business engagements.

Public Company CFO - I have made this a must read for each of my direct reports. This book takes what many have made overly complex and turns it into a real tool to use within the company in driving improved performance. Logically outlines the concepts in terms that are easily understood by both finance and non finance managers. The use of detailed examples, defining key terms and providing working/tailorable templates enables the reader to accelerate real value creation. For a public company it is a valuable enabler for the finance team and it allows functional managers to see the connections between their actions and building value for our shareholders

I am a mid level manager in a Fortune 500 company. I found Jack's book to be an excellent resource for understanding Value Creation and how to quantify Value Creation to non-finance people within the organization. Jack does a great job of explaining the concepts in an easy-to-read style. It's a "must read" for lower and mid level managers in today's business environment.

I've used this book repeatedly since I purchased it a couple of months ago. It is both an excellent reference source and, more importantly, a mechanism for action for all managers that contribute to a company's performance.
The dashboard concept provides easily understood and asimilated performance data for every level of management. The book provides a step by step approach that if implemented corporate wide, must increase awareness and forms the platform for sustained value creation.
The spreadsheet examples on the attached disk are easy to customize to your own situation and take all the pain out of getting started.

All vehicles have dashboards and those manufactured in recent years have dashboards with gauges which measure more than engine temperature, miles driven, available fuel, etc. Those within the dashboard in my wife's Honda Pilot, for example, measure tire pressure, the temperature outside, and the current percentage of oil efficiency. It also has a built-in compass. I thought about all this as I recently read Wayne Eckerson's Performance Dashboards and Jack Alexander's Performance Dashboards and Analysis for Value Creation. If viewed as vehicles, all organizations need means by which to measure, accurately, performance at all levels and in all areas of operation. Burn rate is analogous with consumption of fuel, as are the costs of replacing customers and valued employees analogous with the costs of repairs necessitated by neglect of scheduled (preventive) vehicle maintenance. Comparisons can also be made in terms of alignment and torque. The performance of organizations as well as of vehicles can be measured accurately; only then is it possible to minimize or, better yet, eliminate waste of available resources.

In Performance Dashboards and Analysis for Value Creation, Alexander does a brilliant job of introducing and then explaining what he calls the "Value Performance Framework" (VPF) which will enable those who execute it effectively to link and then drive both performance and value. Within his crisp and eloquent narrative, he focuses on performance dashboards and Excel models which are included in a companion CD-ROM. They are identified in the book with a CD-RM logo. As Alexander explains, the dashboards and spreadsheets are intended as working examples for use after appropriate modification to each reader's own circumstances (i.e. resources, needs, and objectives). I hasten to add that the VPF can be of substantial value to any organization, whatever its size and nature may be.

After discussing "the single greatest challenge in creating an effective measurement system" in Chapter 1, Alexander carefully organizes his material as follows:

Part One (Chapters 2-4): Creating Context and Covering the Basics

Excerpt: "Typically, more can be learned by understanding why firms differ on key [valuation] measures than by selecting a peer group that shares common characteristics. A much richer picture is framed by comparing [and contrasting] your firm to market averages and several best-practice companies in addition to a peer group. Further, the use of a broad set of [valuation] measures, with appropriate benchmarks, would help to avoid the level of valuation errors that were made in the recent stock market bubble." (Page 58)

Part Two (Chapters 5-10): Linking Performance and Value

Excerpt: "There are hundreds of potential measures to choose from to measure different aspects of operating effectiveness. Great care must be exercised in selecting the measures that are most appropriate to a firm at a specific point in time. The performance dashboards must reflect key business priorities. The measures should be evaluated periodically and revised to reflect ever-changing priorities and conditions. It is also critical to provide balance to ensure that a focus on efficiency is not achieved at the expense of quality, customer satisfaction, or growth." (Page 142)

Part Three (Chapters 11-13): Driving Performance and Value

Excerpt: "The single most important factor for achieving success with a [Performance Measurement Framework] is to create context for the measurement system. This is achieved by creating linkage among strategy, performance management, process and quality initiatives, financial performance, and shareholder value. It is also critical to integrate and link operating measures to financial measures and then to shareholder value measures. The time spent in establishing this linkage will improve understanding and ultimately the effectiveness of the framework." (Page 232)

Those who share my high regard for this brilliant book are urged to check out the aforementioned Performance Dashboards written by Wayne Eckerson as well as Joseph Bower and Clark Gilbert's From Resource Allocation to Strategy, Jeanne Ross's Enterprise Architecture as Strategy, Henry Chesbrough's Open Business Models, Dean Spitzer's Transforming Performance Measurement, and Ram Charan's Know-How.

Wally Bock's Performance Talk is a must-have for managers of all levels, in all industries. I currently am in management at one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and have truly valued Bock's down-to-earth, story telling approach to management. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about, as well as striving to improve, his/her own management style.

10 May 2006:

Performance Talk is, in my view, a minor masterpiece, maybe even
a future classic.

For years I trained supervisors and first line managers all over the USA. So, I know whereof I speak.

Wally Bock capture, engage, and reveal every possible point of friction a new manager faces.

He clarify the challenges all new managers endure.

He delineates principles, postures, and practices that yield more effective performance. Performance by the manager and performance
by subordinates.

Burt Dubin, president,
Personal Achievement Institute

____________________________________________________

Managing people is difficult. Through story dialogue Bock's book introduces the reader to topics which strengthen management skills. Key points are absorbed without having to take notes or study the material. Reminders and resources highlight concepts and are located throughout this concise book. For in depth study, workbooks and learning aids are conveniently available on the web site. Performance Talk supplements other courses on management and self-development with a painless and easy to read format.

I normally stay away from (a) books on leadership and (b) business books written in story form. But Wally is one of the smartest guys I know, and this little book is surprisingly entertaining and useful. Unlike other books on leadership which are ponderous and dull, this book is fun and motivating.

If you are in the business of managing people then this book is a must read. "Performance Talk" is easy reading, a little over a 100 pages, and a book you will not want to put down. This book needs to be in every Manager's tool box and should be required reading for ALL Supervisors regardless of the industry or profession they work in. "This stuff really works!"

Good information, presented in a light fun manner. Great intro to objectives book. Only thing keeping it from a 5 is it was a little long for the actual amount of info presented if you have previous knowledge on writing well-structured instructional objectives.

This book is the easiest read I've had in studying education. It is a "choose your own adventure" in education. Read about how to write instructional objectives and then turn the page to find out if you understand what you've read. Very simple and to the point. You don't need any other book to help you write objectives!

This book is a quick and enjoyable read. The content is very easy to understand. Through the use of humor and skill testing questions, Mager has made learning fun! As a student, I survived many of the poorly written objectives that Mager describes in this book. It was nice to realize I wasn't the problem...the objectives were! I look forward to using this guide to develop clear, concise objectives so students can focus more on the joy of learning and be more successful at it.

Very straight-forward and easily digestible read. Step-by-step instructions will have you creating meaningful objectives, which translate into meaningful instruction.

Written by the patron saint of trainers everywhere, Robert Mager provides a quick, humorous and easy-to-understand read in what is the heart and soul of training--objectives.

This book offers the readers choice solutions or answers. The reader then turns to the page choice to see if she selected the right choice or not.

Another essential about this book is besides being less than an afternoon read, it is essential to review time and again when you are writing instructional objectives.

Buying this should be one of your objectives!

Many organizations struggle with the implementation of the balanced scorecard. It is rumoured that about 70% of these projects fail. There are many reasons given for this, like wrong timing, no commitment of the organization, inadequate IT etc. These failures are a shame because, as the book Quest for Balance shows, the use of a good PMS helps organizations obtain better results! So we should concentrate more on the reasons for PMS-failure and the things we can do to make these successful. This book concentrates on the human factors which influence this success. These factors are still too often ignored, probably because humans are so hard to deal with. Based on case study research the author has discovered which factors are the most important, like visible commitment of top management and a firm belief in performance management. Also management styles are discusses. With this book the failure rate of BSC-implementations surely must go down.

Many organizations struggle with the implementation of the balanced scorecard. It is rumoured that about 70% of these projects fail. There are many reasons given for this, like wrong timing, no commitment of the organization, inadequate IT etc. These failures are a shame because, as the book Quest for Balance shows, the use of a good PMS helps organizations obtain better results! So we should concentrate more on the reasons for PMS-failure and the things we can do to make these successful. This book concentrates on the human factors which influence this success. These factors are still too often ignored, probably because humans are so hard to deal with. Based on case study research the author has discovered which factors are the most important, like visible commitment of top management and a firm belief in performance management. Also management styles are discusses. With this book the failure rate of BSC-implementations surely must go down.

Many organizations struggle with the implementation of the balanced scorecard. It is rumoured that about 70% of these projects fail. There are many reasons given for this, like wrong timing, no commitment of the organization, inadequate IT etc. These failures are a shame because, as the book Quest for Balance shows, the use of a good PMS helps organizations obtain better results! So we should concentrate more on the reasons for PMS-failure and the things we can do to make these successful. This book concentrates on the human factors which influence this success. These factors are still too often ignored, probably because humans are so hard to deal with. Based on case study research the author has discovered which factors are the most important, like visible commitment of top management and a firm belief in performance management. Also management styles are discusses. With this book the failure rate of BSC-implementations surely must go down.

Andre de Waal manages to prove the importance of the human element as a critical success factor for using performance management systems (PMS). In this book he gives a clear overview which factors are important and how managers can use them. He uses very interesting case material to support his views. This book is not only for managers that want to set up a new PMS but also for managers that already use a PMS and struggle with it. A book that every manager needs to read and use in practice!

In every implementation project the most difficult part is dealing with the human factor. It isn't so difficult to technicaly implement a balanced scorecard but getting people to actually use it always turns out to be the most difficult part. This book researches which elements we have to take into account to make sure that managers will use the balanced scorecard. Seeing that the scorecard is one of the most popular management tools of the last decade this is very important. The book provides useful advice as well as proof that using the scorecard indeed helps a company get better results. This is good news for everybody.

If you only buy one book to get started with your youth storytellers, buy this book. Judy and Kevin have included absolutely everything you need to get a group started and to keep it growing. There are sample letters to parents, suggested weekly goals, excellent activites, and ideas for evaluating what the students learned along every step of the way.
There is no reason to spend valuable time reinventing the wheel. Just pick up Judy and Kevin's book and get started.
Activities are well defined, goal oriented, and kid friendly.
This book is not just for beginners! The student tellers who have been part of the storytelling club for 3 years remain challenged by the variety of activities in the book. They love the energy of the activities!
Raising Voices keeps storytelling with youth fun for both the students and sponsors.

Simi and Cordi have given us a treasure of activities, resources, and ways to organize the teaching of storytelling. From the Table of Contents to the Storytelling Resources the book is written with clarity and excellent organization. The extensive activities and reproducible pages make it easy and exciting to plan classroom instruction. This is a step by step program with lots of room for imagination and creative planning.

As a storyteller and teacher, I have discovered the benefits that storytelling can bring to literacy instruction as well as other subject areas. Sima and Cordi generated a step-by-step framework for introducing storytelling to youth, which includes information, resources and games. The numerous benefits of using storytelling with children increases motivation, exposes them to public speaking and fosters a child's natural talent for sharing stories. My favorite introductory activities are the "ME bag" and "Hello BINGO". Check them out!

Maybe I'm just a wee bit biased, since I get mentioned in the acknowledgements, but even if that weren't the case, Judy and Kevin have done an incredible job of putting together THE resource guide for anyone interested in helping cultivate the next generation of storytellers. Whether you work with kidtellers in a school, church, community setting or another venue, this book is worth every penny it will cost you.

I've coached kidtellers at both the middle school and elementary school levels for about eight years, but Judy has been at this three times as long at her middle school. Her years of experience, along with Kevin's insights as the advisor to a high school telling troupe, are invaluable for any of us just starting in this venture. From the logistics of how to promote involvement, stories to tell, managing your resources, arranging opportunities for telling experiences and many things you never even considered, it's all in the pages of this book.

There are a very few other books out there that address the concerns of those working with youthtellers. The books by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss, along with Len Cabral's storytelling book for kids, have long been among my favorites, and will continue to be. However, none of them covers the many aspects of actually organizing your troupe, helping it to grow and celebrating it's success quite like "Raising Voices." Of particular interest is Judy's approach to recruiting adults in the community and training them to become story coaches to the tellers. Not only does this allow the kids more frequent opportunities to rehearse and refine individually, it develops relationships across generations, something that is in danger of dying in our culture today.

If I had to limit myself to only one book to help me in my journey as a coach of young storytellers, this would be it.
Judy and Kevin have truly filled a niche with this volume!

I am thrilled with this newest addition to my storytelling library. As a professional storyteller and story coach I know I will turn to this valuable resource again and again. It sparkles with insight, wisdom and every basic tool you could possibly need to nurture your own Storytelling Troupe.

This concise and comprehensive hands-on guide is written with clarity and conviction. I predict it will become one of the bibles of storytelling, one which storytellers and teachers will turn to again and again. A must have for anyone interested in storytelling and passing on the ancient art of Oral Tradition!