Performance Books

I loved this book because it explains in simple, easy to understand language the complex topic of subconscious programming. The stories and examples clarify the concepts and the author's wonderful sense of humor allows the information to get through to me. Dr. Rodger's obvious thorough understanding of her subject allows her to explain it clearly. I'm going to recommend it to all my friends.

Beyond Counterfeit Leadership was published almost 10 years ago. Frankly, I had not heard of the book until a fine public relations director from Executive Excellence mentioned it in a phone conversation and offered to send me a copy for review. In a nutshell, I am deeply impressed with this outstanding book. First, the foreword is by Warren Bennis and what he has to say is a powerful indictment of the obvious lack of leadership today in all segments of our society. His foreword entitled, Where Have All the Real Leaders Gone? is a compelling and humbling introduction to what follows in the remainder of the text.

Author, editor and CEO Ken Shelton writes from the perspective of 30 years of personal experience and observation. The author admits he has been too cloistered and silent in the past on this topic. Shelton wrote this book as a "coming out" to challenge counterfeit leaders. He coins the phrase "Counterfeit Leadership" to describe harmful characteristics, and a cultural disease afflicting our organizations and families today. It is a destructive pseudo leadership that appears strong and capable on the outside. But beyond the façade it is corrosive, self-centered and harmful nature that ultimately betrays and alienates others. Unfortunately, our society lauds many counterfeit leaders who hold positions of power or high visibility as cultural "heroes" even when they are impostors or shallow frauds. Our media gives counterfeit leaders a lot of attention and prominence. Because of this, they can appear as very persuasive and attractive. To become an authentic leader means we must "wage war on the bogus elements in ourselves, our organizations and our societies."



The purpose of this book probes into the heart of our own values. Shelton did not conceive this book as only an examination of organizational structure. He states, "Please understand my bias: that authentic leadership of self, of personal relationships, and of family units is as important as leadership of business and government organizations - and that those domains are not mutually exclusive." This is important because the author believes we are all composites of both authentic and counterfeit leadership. Since we have strengths and weaknesses we fall somewhere on a continuum between both types.



Beyond Counterfeit Leadership outlines six degrees of counterfeit leadership on a continuum beginning with insecurity. Shelton maintains that this insecurity is at the root of counterfeit leadership growing from a lack of love and self-identity. Each of the following five degrees build upon each other and deepen this incapacitating leadership. In contrast, authentic leadership is also presented as six steps or stages of growth beginning with emancipation. It is difficult for growth to occur when an individual is enslaved by dependency and addiction. The eighteen chapters in the book present six sections, or six progressive steps toward greater authentic leadership. Each step is written clearly with solid analogies and real world examples.

At weLEAD we are asked to review many books on the topic of leadership. I personally have read over 60 the past few years. Beyond Counterfeit Leadership is a masterpiece that has not received the attention it deserves. I personally believe it should be a textbook in every leadership and ethics class taught in the nation.

Governance is one of many buzzwords floating around the corporate and information technology worlds today. For many people, it may rank right down there with compliance. But the reality is that governance has been traditionally viewed as essential to corporate viability and survival. But the question is whether strong governance should be the end game, or the starting point for a new model. In Beyond Governance: Creating Corporate Value through Performance, Conformance and Responsibility (John Wiley and Sons, 2005, 336 pages), Martin Fahy, Jeremy Roche, and Anastasia Weiner argue that governance alone will not cut the mustard, and that a new model is needed.

In this book, which should challenge most readers' conventional thinking, the authors set out to set governance on its ear. They do this by arguing that governance alone is not the answer, and that the new model needs to be built on performance, conformance, and corporate responsibility. The succeed on many levels that, if their model is accurate, has many implications for companies, customers and vendors alike.

What readers need to take from this book is that traditional roles such as finance and accounting have changed and are constantly evolving. For people in these professions, they need to understand this and adapt. For software vendors, the paradigm has to shift from one of lowering costs, because corporations are past that stage, and focus on how their products need to demonstrate how they add to strategic, integrated value. For Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and internal auditors, the authors discuss risk assessment and risk management at length.

What I found most interesting is that the authors are writing what IBM and Lotus Software have been saying for going on 20 years now: collaboration and workflow are an essential cog in this model. In fact, as much as IBM has been criticized by Industry analysts and their own business partners for their Workplace strategy, it is clear from my reading of this book is that they "got it" a long time ago, and many of their competitors still do not "get it". Their challenge now is to clearly articulate it in relation to the model presented.

I do not know if I was comfortable with the authors' discussion of corporate responsibility as it represents a very Euro-centric view of corporate responsibility through the promotion of sustainable economic development in the Third World. I am not saying I disagree with their views, it is just that this might be a harder sell in the United States.

Who Should Read This Book?

This book has many potential audiences who really should read it. CEOs, CFOs and CIOs should read it an embrace at least some of the concepts in their strategic thinking and planning. Internal and external auditors should read it to better understand the big picture. And finally, software vendors should read it to understand what they need to do and where they need to go to create strategic value with their products.

The Scorecard

An Eagle on a Long Par 5

Many management books prescribe one management method as the cure-all which would resolve all problems. Others suggest that one management philosophy is the only one appropriate for a given organization. This book suggests that there are several basic management philosophies, and that organizations go through different cycles with a different managerial approach being correct for each stage in the cycle. The best managers are those who are able to determine the best approach at a given time, use it until it is no longer needed, then switch to the appropriate new strategy. I could have wished for more depth, but still found the book worthwhile. I'd also like to have seen more on becoming a "master manager", but that seems to have been reserved for another book!

This book is a must for any student, teacher, or artist concerned with American theatre. Shank details the work of a number of prominent theatre artists who purposely set out to test the boundaries of theatre as an art form. (thus the title, BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES) He also includes the work of a number of lesser-known, though no less important, groups and individuals.
The book contains a number of quotes and detailed descriptions of performances, but the greatest thing about it may be the amazing collection of photographs! Be forewarned: some of these photographs are quite explicit and NOT for the faint of heart. Though they document everything from multiple body piercings to full frontal nudity, they are not gratuitious, but rather support one of Shank's central assertions, that contemporary alternative theatre is largely a VISUAL form.

I loved the design of this book, with its multiple viewpoints and formats in each chapter. There's the short opening dialog illuminating the issues at hand, the standard narrative, lots of useful tables and visuals, a sample slide presentation to educate others, and profiles of practitioners. Very rich. Then there's the reference section with a cornucopia of additional resources organized around how much time you have availabe: an hour, a day, or a week. I had a great time exploring these. Finally, it's a very insightful report on the state of the field (human performance technology)and the most critical issues and questions we must confront going forward.

A gentle book that leads the reader down pastoral landscapes. Highly recommended for those who seek a simpler outlook on life.

This is the most complete compilation of research on biodata avaliable and should be the starting point for anyone interested in biodata. Biodata is examined from a theoretical as well as an applied perspective. The validity of biodata is examined with consideration given to criterion, content, and even construct validity. Pratical concerns addressed include item generation and emperical keying.

one of the best books ever written on bob evans. the man is a true icon that know how and when he wanted things done.

For most people who do BDSM or any of its components, the motivation is fun and hot sex. For Bob Flanagan it was a way to exploit the body that was betraying him through illness and make himself as much of a master of it as he could be. Six interviews are the bulk of the book -- each accompanied with pictures from his life. This is also a brief collection of his art and an interview with his partner. Three years after this book, Bob Flanagan's body would give out and he would pass into a better world where I hope that the only "pain" he feels are those that are good for him. It is a moving and distrubing account of his struggle with illness and his attempts to make the world more aware of and accepting of others like himself.