Organizations Books

I highly recommend the book! This book is a strong experienced based program that guides you through the Consulting Process. The tools are ready to use; I really enjoy that. I put this book on the same level as "Operational Profitability;Conducting Management Audits." John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Powerful Professionals is well designed for the specific needs of internal consultants. I enjoyed the book thoroughly. It's easy-to-use, providing lots of partical tools and advice. Organized into a user-friendly handbook, it covers everything from establishing your credibility to managing change and resistance.

Written with a healthy does of humor, there are plenty of practical, step-by-step models supported by checklists, worksheets, assessment tools, and examples--rather than long- winded discussions on theory.

I STRONGLY recommend this book for anyone dealing with the day-to-day challenges of an internal consulting organization.

There has been a glut of books on 'how to be a consultant' that have been published in the last few years. I have become frustrated with the increasing quantity and decreasing quality of such books. All that changed with my reading of "Powerful Professionals". Finally, a superb book! "Powerful Professionals" is grounded in experience that I can relate to, and offered excellent, immediately useable advice for me as a professional. I also liked the easy-to-follow formatting and mix of text and graphics. There is also the behind-the-scenes theory for us who like such stuff. Chapter 15 of the book is "Putting It All Together". Well, the author and editor certainly have put together an all-encompassing and all-powerful book for all professionals. Bravo! Books of this quality are not often found by me. But when I do find a high-utility book like "Powerful Professionals", it becomes a jewel in my collection.

This book is ideal for leaders who want to include everyone in the decision making process. It gives multiple ideas and suggestions of how to peacefully achieve your decision making goals.

Lacking confidence in your decision-making abilities? This book will help you achieve a high level of confidence to make faster and more effective practical decisions for your school.

CONTENTS: Preface; List of Tables and Figures; Setting the Direction; Decision Making Defined; Core Steps in Decision Making; Adapting the Core Steps; Use of Structuring Devices; Designing Your Own Road Map for Decision Making; Structuring Devices; Four Illustrative Cases; Team Facilitation Tips and Techniques; Warning Signs on the Road to Decision Making; This Stuff Works;

This book should be read by every supervisor, manager, superintendent, principal and CEO involved with making decisions. It is a simple, yet thorough process of decision making. Pages of structuring devices are provided to help individuals and groups walk through the decision making process. The structuring devices offer non-confrontational, effective methods of examining the mind set of the group, defining the problem, identifying solution criteria, developing solution possibilities, and selecting, then implementing, a solution. Highly recommend!

This an an excellent resource for presidents, boards of trustees and senior university administrators as they face the challenges of presidential succession planning and change. These are crucial times in higher education so particular attention needs to be paid to the planning for the departure as well as the selection and transition process.
I was very impressed with how the authors have captured and presented the important lessons for these transitions. Many of their recommendations are also applicable in the transition of other senior administrators.
It is well done and a must read.

This book is most informative about what occurs when institutions go through presidential transitions. It provides very valuable and useful information for Boards, outgoing presidents and incoming presidents. This is a very difficult and stressful time for an institution. There are right ways and wrong ways to do this. The experience of others can be extremely helpful. This should be a must read for all key individuals involved in a presidential transition.

This is an extremely useful book for those going through leadership transitions, whether as candidates, new appointees, or as trustees. Each chapter deals with a part of the transition process, using the authors' experiences, buttressed by theory, then adds accounts from presidents who decribe their own transition experiences (ranging from Harvard to community college). Although the book deals with higher education, it would be equally useful for those in corporate, K-12, or non-profit organizations.

James H. Lytle, Practice Professor, University of Pennsylvania

The process-focused organization differs from traditional organization in three ways: it designs end-to-end business processes; it measures and manages process level results rather than tasks; and it thinks in terms of customer goals, not localized functional goals.

This book distinguishes itself from so many others concern processes in that it presents a clear, well reasoned and structured road map to achieve the features and power of a process-focused organization. The approach also gives recognition to the broader system of the organization.

Gardner makes clear, from the outset, that process improvement, while powerful, is not the complete solution to performance management. Process improvement is not a magic bullet, it has limited applications, and it is not the final answer. Process improvement must be linked to organizational strategy, and consideration must be given to how to integrate process with organizational structures and systems, and how to proactively manage process.

Gardner's has produced a highly readable book that reflects this broad and rich understanding of his subject. The road map presented in this work is unique in reflecting an end-to-end orientation-not the components; it is not issue-based but is centered on the higher levels of organizational capability; and the map provides a pathway with clearly discernible steps, indicating where you are and what's ahead.

The book offers an operating model that describes key operating and structures and relationships; a road map to guide process improvement work; and a transformation strategy that combines the model and road map into a plan for navigating the journey to process focus.

This book is exception in its scope, depth and clear thinking. As a consultant in organization design and change (...) I believe this book will prove highly valuable to any enterprise seeking major, lasting process improvement. 230 pp.

Mr. Gardner's premise that organizations should be managed horizontally by processes instead of the traditional vertical method is long overdue. Once customer value is indentified, a PFO (Process Focused Organization) can concentrate on identifying, developing and tweaking value creating processes that lead to increased market share and improved profits. This is a must have how to book for any manager who wants to make their organiztion number one in their industry.

I can say a lot about this book, I can actually write a book about how good this book is. But I rather you spend your time reading it than my review. Simply put, I have been in this field for over 20-years and read many process books from many so called experts. But none of them come even close. If you are just starting, consider yourself an expert or anywhere in between, you owe it to yourself to buy and read this great book. I actually gave a few to my clients for X.Mas. I would like to personally thank Mr. Robert Gardner for writing this book and sharing his knowledge with us!

Mortaza Zainaleain EE, PMP, SSMBB
Prevail Services™ Profitability Engineering™ Consulting
President, Profitability Engineering™ Infrastructure Architect
Mortaza@PrevailServices.com

I took a grant writing class in college and this was one of the textbooks used. It's a good resource. It gives samples of different types of proposals, tells you how to write them, and also gives a list of resources. Pretty much a self-teaching book, you don't really need a class to use it.

This book offers specific examples, models, and step-by-step instructions on how to write all kinds of grants, from local and federal government programs to grants from private foundations and corporations. More than 300 Web sites are described, as is the use of search engines to develop better proposals. The authors also present scores of concrete writing examples and time-saving tips from successful grantseekers. (summary by South Texas Library System)
The author, Miner, has an online newsletter (Grantseeker Tips) as well, that I've subscribed to for years. Her advice is very practical and to the point. You can't go wrong with this book to guide you.

The general advice provided in this book is invaluable. After reading it cover to cover, I still revisit the main sections every time before writing an important grant. There are key bits of knowledge provided that will serve you well, and like EB White's "Elements of Style," Miner and Miner can be recommended without hesitation. Finally, this book is much more useful than both the "Dummies" grant writing book and "Foundation Center" guide.

After years and years of hearing the psalms in church and prayer, this wonderful new edition of the Book of Psalms truly brings them to fresh new life. Following scholarly guidelines that also attempt to convey the cadence and rhythm of what are essentially ancient songs of faith, this psalter is both well done and powerful. The artwork that is interspersed throughout the psalms is also very moving and meditative. Each psalm begins with a summary of the psalm that is helpful for prayer and meditation. The psalms are arragned for communal recitation, but they are also beautiful when prayed privately. From the forward and afterword, it seems that this particular version of the psalter is "experimental" with regard to ease-of-use for community prayer, and the authors encourage feedback about such use to help in a possible future "revision." If someone finds the psalms to be meaningful, heart-felt prayer, this psalter will only make them more so!

This is my favorite wedding present. My husband and I have been reading a psalm to each other every night for almost 25 years. We've gone through a lot of translations in this way, and this book meets our three criteria: (1) a lyrical translation (2) a text which fits on the narrow headboard of the bed and be lifted easily with one hand while lying in bed (3) a physical text which honors these ancient words of God. (The Abbey Psalter, for example, meets criteria (1) and (3) but not (2).) I don't mean to be flippant; this is not only a physically beautiful book, but one suited to daily use. A rare and wonderful gift.

This translation of the Psalms is by the ICEL (International Commission on Enlish in the Liturgy). Their goal is to provide a translation suitable for use in liturgy and personal prayer. This book takes that text and makes it "user friendly". This is done in several ways - clear type with sufficient white space, simple colored diamond-shape separators for separating psalm sections, interspering excellent black and white photographs in keeping with the meditative quality of the Psalms. The afterward provides a brief, non-technical introduction to the Psalms, their liturgical use, and the concerns in translating for liturgical use.

This, together with the companion volume for Canticles is highly reocmmended.

A practical guide which maps out an excellent strategy for any organization, business, or venture. In clear and engaging style the authors show how to improve one's personal relationship to work, family, and community. Intelligible on every page, this books works for those with time for a complete, sit-down reading and also for strap-hangers between subway stops. Here is deep thinking and personal experience applied with a spiritual attentiveness to true challenges. The reader is educated to think realistically about present problems, hard facts, and tough dilemmas in the rubric of uplifting hope. Hope is investigated as the best antidote to fear, and the authors avoid all of the swamps of New Age mushiness. Hope will put us on track. Bravo!

In a time when there are more "managers" (good or bad) than "leaders"; this book offers valuable insight into providing positive and realistic motivation for any organization. Any person who considering themself a leader should read this book and think about how various principles can be applied to their organization. This should be a "must-read"!

In their book, Putting Hope to Work: Five Principles to Activate Your Organization's Most Powerful Resource, Harry Hutson and Barbara Perry identify, and help us understand the inspirational value of Hope in the work place. While often thought of in the realm of vague spirituality or wishy-washy Pollyannaism, the authors clearly demonstrate that Hope, and its value within thriving, achieving organizations is anything but wishy-washy!

Stating that the "Hopes of an organization are consolidated in a company's belief in what you're trying to accomplish," they show how Hope within an organization is inevitably linked to the company's mission and vision - and where there is no vision, the people perish. The importance then, of a company's vision cannot be overstated. It's not coincidence that there is such a lack of "hope-talk" in the modern work place accompanied by a tangible sense of hopelessness.

While traditional management theory focuses on "driving out fear," pioneering authors Hutson and Perry compel us to focus on Hope instead, to "bring energy to the more life-enhancing side of the equation, creating more vibrant, creative, collaborative and successful workplaces."

Hutson and Perry identify the five principles of Hope - Possibility, Agency, Worth, Openness and Connection - and define Hope as "an orientation to a positive future that engages our heads, hearts and hands." When these principles are present - and sustained - within an organization, individuals and their organizations succeed.

In presenting their five principles of Hope, Hutson and Perry highlight research proving the effectiveness of Hope within an organization and provide detailed examples of how to evaluate and improve your skills as a leader fostering Hope within your organization or team. You'll learn who "Hopeful" leaders are, what they do, and how they keep their own Hope alive in times of difficulty or stress.

While some management books present theory alone, Hutson and Perry provide clear, useable tools to create and sustain Hope within your organization. Relying on their many years of management consulting and research, they feature real-life examples from a variety of industries. Combined with the tangible results presented from companies with cultures of Hope, led by "Hopeful" leaders, Putting Hope to Work is an inspirational and practical guide to implementing the power of Hope within your organization or team.

As both a business executive and an MBA professor, I found Dr. Shelton's book to be extremely helpful. The blend of science, psychology, religion and organizational development created a solid research-based theoretical foundation, and the action-oriented exercises at the end of each chapter were helpful for practical application. I highly recommend this book to leaders, managers, academics and those desiring to better integrate their personal values with their organizational life.

This highly readable and usable book introduces us to the world of quantum mechanics as underlying principles of our personal and business lives. Quantum Leaps actually presents hard science simplified with plenty of examples to show that the theories work. Quantum Leaps goes way beyond cheerleading readers toward bold acts. Because each of the seven skills is actually based in the new science of quantum mechanics that shows the way the universe really works, each of us can use the described skills of quantum thinking, acting, feeling, being, seeing, trusting and knowing with the confidence of using scientific instruments. Charlotte Shelton has done us all a favor by translating the mystery of the new science into the simplicity of skills to use every day. By doing so she has given us a vital new stepping stone toward the 21st century and an evolutionary step toward quantum living. Her fresh and elegant approach paints an encouraging future for all of us.

I sincerely wish that everyone would read "Quantum Leaps". If so there would be a "Quantum Leap" in individual and universal consciousness. She explains new scientific technology in a clear and easily understandable way. Her examples and explanations are excellent and clearly point out the necessity for a change in consciousness from the old Newtonian mechanistic to the world of today's Quantum Physics. This book is simplistic enough to be read by someone unfamiliar with current technology and it is also able to captivate the mind and imagination most erudite. Warning - pleased be advised that you may find yourself buying copies for your friends and stopping strangers on the street telling them to read this book.

The recurring theme today is transformation. Corporate transformation. Personal transformation. As I see this book, it's an insightful guide to understanding and leading change. It's a full book, with helpful color illustrations---the kind of manuscript that will consume a considerable amount of time to move through. It's a deep intellectual work, not a pop management publication.

Kilmann begins by focusing the reader on current conditions, then a comparison and comprehension of "two dueling paradigms" of where we are and where we're going. The new paradigm is explored using the language and concepts of quantum physics that will stimulate and challenge the minds of organizational development readers.

Most of the book is devoted to an exploration of eight tracks, organized by sections titled Quantum Infrastructures, Formal Systems, and Process Management. The sixth chapter, on Critical Success Factors, intertwines the corporate and the personal with an emphasis on consciousness and meaningfulness. Readers will journey through tracks on culture, skills, teamness, strategy-structure, rewards, gradual process, radical process, and the learning process.

A broad bibliography and index make this deep content book even more valuable.

The author puts organizational transformation into the context of a shift from the Cartesian-Newtonian to quantum-relativistic paradigm. He places, and links together, the study of organization and change initiatives into the context of cutting-edge transformations in physics, evolutionary biology, and the study of the brain/mind that are changing our view of reality.

The quantum organization is profiled by seven attributes including: inclusion of consciousness in self-designing systems; cross-boundary processes; and, internal commitment of active participants. Kilmann presents a five-stage process for closing the gap between the old and the new (i.e., quantum) organization.

The author delves into the primary change initiatives for achieving self-transformation consisting of quantum infrastructures, formal systems, and process management. Eight tracks are used to address these three components. These tracks concern: culture, skills, teams, strategy-structure, reward system, learning process, gradual process (continuous improvement on a unit level), and radical process (cross-boundary redesign on the macro level).

Self-awareness and growth are critical in the overall scheme. This emphasis on the individual makes this a highly unique work. Stern's Management Review Online (hrconsultant) finds this book to be fascinating, eclectic, and HIGHLY innovative in its approach to deep organizational change. The liberal use of full-color, lively diagrams greatly helps convey the meaning of key concepts.

The author has tried to bring together just about everything having to do with organizational transformation into one grand design; we believe he has been successful. For those searching for a different perspective on organization, out to 'push the envelop,' this is a book well worth your time. Highly recommended.

Dr. Ralph Kilmann's magnum opus, Quantum Organizations, should seriously be considered as a watershed moment in the history of organizational change management literature.

Dr. Kilmann, a best selling author, professor, and consultant to Fortune 500 companies and the Office of the U.S. President, lucidly and systematically busts through the traditional barriers separating business, science, and western philosophical thought to create a new paradigm likely to change the scope of how we view our careers and lives in general for decades to come.

On my book shelf, I have purposely placed Quantum Organizations next to Drucker's The Practice of Management, Peters' In Search of Excellence, and Grove's Only the Paranoid Survive. More importantly, it is also not too far away from De Tocqueville's Democracy in America, Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, and Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind. Quantum Organizations is that important to our culture and how we organize and adapt our businesses and lives for optimal performance and personal growth.

It is my guess that folks who won't take this book seriously are also those who are susceptible to fads, buzzwords, and quick fixes. It is also these exact same folks who seem to end up more vulnerable than most to strategic inflection points, layoffs, takeovers, and liquidation.

An added note, although this is an organizational change management treatise, career-minded individuals struggling with their jobs and lives after the events of 9/11/01 will find added depth and meaning after reading this work. Additionally, B-School graduates can utilize this work to fill some the void left as a result of academic specialization. Dr. Kilmann is particularly adept at connecting the silos of the liberal arts and sciences with "Business 101."

Although I have read several books about Padre Pio, reading his own words gave me insight into his personality and spirituality, which I have not found elsewhere. A truly memorable experience for anyone who is interested in the life and contributions of this new saint!

I read this book in one day! I couldn't put it down. This is a very inspiring and easy to read book.

A good reading for people from every walk of life. Wonderful guidance!