Organizations Books

I have been a development professional for over twenty years, but Mr. Poderis' book has been, and continues to be, right at reach on my desk as his insights and encouragement have been key to my success as a developmen director of a large arts organization.

A more than handy, practical, reference tool which is timeless and always relevant.

Often fund-raising experts understand an organisation's structure well enough to keep it
a float. Tony Poderis, understands the passion and personalities behind the story of each of his non-profit clients / institutions. Tony's insight positions him to get inside their mission as well as the motivations of prospective funders. It helps FUNDERS to GIVE in a way that catapults the financial futures and visibility of non-profits.

"It's a Great Day to Fund-Raise" is utterly brilliant in several ways:

A manual for Trustees.

A companion to non-profit directors.

A crucial first step for prospective board members.

A guide for current board members.

A conclusive resource for FUNDERS helping them to identify non-profits in key areas mentioned in this book.

"It's a Great Day to Fund-Raise" helps non-profits raise more than funds, they gain and raise genuine friends, who will love and care for them through thick and thin.

Wendy Cheltenham

Tony Poderis reminds all of us who have ever been development officers that it's not rocket science. In his words, "It's just hard work." He's right.

Poderis's "Nine Basic Truths of Fundraising" are worth the price of the book alone. But then he goes on to tell us chapter and verse just how to organize a development department, run a fundraising campaign, and work with volunteer leadership.

With over 30 years of fundraising experience, Poderis knows what he writes about. He's done it all and run a major operation as development director for the Cleveland Orchestra.

Newcomers and old hands alike will derive tremendous benefit from this book, and every board member should read the Nine Basic Truths.

This just could be the best book ever written on fundraising.

The problem with Tony Poderis is that he is terribly tardy in writing "It's a Great Day to Fund-Raise!" If I had read it 20 or so years ago, when he should have written it, I would have avoided some of the blunders he warns against. I wouldn't have taken nearly so long to become effective as a fund raiser. And I wouldn't have quite so many gray hairs today, each earned in the hard school of "experience." But (sigh) he wrote it only recently. Of course, there is a good reason for the interminable wait: Tony first had to rack up an incredible 20 years as director of development for The Cleveland Orchestra, where he was responsible for the largest annual institutional fund-raising campaign in Cleveland. Oh, and toss in another four or five years subsequent consulting experience, as well. I note, with some satisfaction, that the author has even more gray hairs than do I -- each one earned, no doubt, in the same "school." As evidence, I present Exhibit A: the picture on the cover (there's Tony standing before, of all things, an open bank vault!). That experience shines through in the book. His simple, pragmatic writing style patiently mentors the reader in the art of effective fund raising. The reader may be new to the field, where a book like this is invaluable and where I suspect Tony directed his focus. Or the reader may be well-experienced, where the book reaffirms lessons learned and truths well tested. Did I use the word "pragmatic"? "It doesn't take a genius to raise money," he states early on. "The process is a combination of common sense, hard work, preparation, courtesy, commitment, enthusiasm, understanding, and a belief in what you are selling." See? As expected, the book starts with goal setting and leadership (Chapter 2). But this is not an academic "text." Rather, the author reaches into his bag of experiences and pulls out the time a board trustee got up and announced, "What we need is more endowment. We ought to have a $50 million endowment campaign." Gulp. Wasn't his hair dark brown just before that? This guy has been there. Done that. That's where mentors come from. Well, actually, Tony starts even sooner than goal setting and leadership. Chapter 1 covers the Nine Basic Truths of Fund-Raising. Here's one: "You don't wait for the 'right' moment to ask; you ask now." I loved that one. How many fund raisers are captivated by the word "cultivation," so much so that they don't seem to understand that fund raising also requires "reaping," too? I often wonder how many fund raisers, were they farmers, would leave their carefully cultivated crop to wilt in the field, season after season? Tony's "Nine Truths" are as close to "theory" as he gets. After Chapter 1, he moves methodically through what it takes to succeed. Chapter 2, on goal setting and leadership, is quickly followed by an admonition to "know your organization" (Chapter 3); creation of a general development plan (Chapter 4); funding sources (Chapter 5); prospecting for donors (Chapter 6); rating and evaluating prospects (Chapter 7); annual campaigns (Chapter 8); endowment campaigns (Chapter 9); capital campaigns (Chapter 10); sponsorships and underwriting campaigns (Chapter 11); developing a campaign plan (Chapter 12); preparing for a campaign (Chapter 13); managing a campaign (Chapter 14); assessing and reviewing a campaign once it's over (Chapter 15); and developing the development team (Chapter 16). Clearly, this is a useful book that I'd wholeheartedly recommend for the fund raising professional -- new or seasoned. But it is also ideal for any other person involved with an organization's fund raising. Tony's simple, straight-forward, no-nonsense style will be welcomed by board members, volunteers, and others who will appreciate being able to get through it over a couple of evenings or a weekend.

This is a great product that will really help your family. I think one of the best things about it is the peace of mind you get when you realize you are saving your family from the awful task of dealing with all of your little slips of paper as well as your possible death. It even helped me organize my own finances better. I highly recommend it! J. Lindsay

No one really wants to think about their death or the death of a loved one, but in today's complex world, you must. Think of all the various pieces of information that make up your life: keys, passwords, account numbers, policies, statements, valuables, etc., and try to imagine your most beloved family members trying to find and make sense of all of that days after your death.

Now, add to that the stress of planning a funeral without knowing what someone's true wishes are. After someone dies is not the time to be trying to figure out if he/she wanted to be buried or cremated; it's too overwhelming.

The author has provided a comprehensive resource. You might not need every page, but you will find value in the pages of your book and someday your family members will thank you for taking the time to put everything down in writing for them. I already bought copies for my family members and can't recommend this book enough.

This book pulls both facets of your life -- your final wishes and the basic details of your day-to-day operations - into one, easy-to-access reference tool.

An outstanding tool that allows me to gather all the thoughts, wishes, records and important details of my life now and my wishes and needs as I get older into a simple record book. I was able to get a comprehensive start in an hour! Now I can add things in a minute or spend more time on larger topics.I promised them I would get everything together, and now I have finally made a meaningful start. So comforting to know that my family members will have such clear access to the threads of my life, whenever I need the help...or they do.

It's hard to ponder the unthinkable: a parent dying or losing a spouse. But when it happens, you don't want to spend grief-filled days tracking down papers and guessing what the person wanted with their affairs/assets. Mark Gavagan has created the perfect organizer that every household should have. It's a comprehensive collection of forms and decision points to manage one life's affairs--before or after death. It's well organized, easy to follow and asks many questions I never thought of. I picked it up and am planning to send copies to my parents, in-laws and family members. While I can't see them needing every form or section, this easy-to-read guide will get them organized and ready just in case. You may have a will and life insurance, but I suggest this tool is the next thing you should get for smart estate planning.

From a deceptively slow start, this book weans the reader through the basics fundamentals of lean and leaves one adequately armed with sufficient knowledge of said concepts at the pulsating end. It serves as an excellent introduction for the lean novice and a great refresher for the self-proclaimed lean expert. The most amazing part of this book is the excellence in simplicity. This is a book truly for all levels within any given organization. Brian Leonard has shown his quality in this publication. Such an easy and precise lean read is a must for your collection.

I think people are able to learn a topic much faster if they can either see the topic in action or at least envision it clearly. This is only the third book I have read on lean and the two other books I read also used examples but they were both from auto manufacturing. I work in a hospital and had trouble envisioning lean in the other two books because I have no clue what goes on in car manufacturing! Because this book used examples that do not require me to be a veteran in manufacturing I was able to make a connection between lean and what it means in at least a basic sense. I was not swamped with language that only further confuses me. I did notice a couple of minor flaws in the print on 2 pages. Nothing major and I'm assuming that is a printing company screw up. But even so, it was a very good book and I do recommend it. I'm now passing it around the office and so far we all seemed to learn something from it. This reminded me a little of the book Who Moved my Cheese about change in the work place but not quite as simply written. There was more to the story and more information but it was simple enough to understand. I wish the author had explained smed more though. He touched on it briefly, the basics I guess, but I'm still not entirely clear on smed. If anyone can suggest a book on smed and how it can be used in a hospital let me know.

Finally a book on lean manufacturing written for someone without a Phd! Well, not exactly lean manufacturing but lean anyway. I read the book over the course of 2 days and feel I have a good idea of what lean actually is. This book will not leave you an expert but if you have no clue what lean is and want to understand the bare bones of it I do recommend it. We were just told after our company was sold that we are going lean. The new management gave us copies of this book and suggested that we read it through a couple of times just to get us ready for what they said was a big change in culture and a new way of doing our jobs. They first gave us another book but honestly it was too complicated. I read 2 or 3 pages then put it down. They then gave us copies of this book. I thought it was all going to be about layoffs. That's the only thing I had really heard about lean so at first I was a little fearful. As it turns out only a few people, poor performers, were let go and the rest of us I think will have a better chance of fitting into the new lean company thanks in part to this book. The author did a good job of explaining things in a way that myself and my coworkers were able to follow.

Most of the books I have "tried" to read on this topic are a bit tough to get through and are not written with the employees in mind. This will prove a great tool for preparing employees and managers alike for improving productivity and quality. Another great quality is the readability. It reads like a short story, still delivers the information effectively, and is even quite entertaining. I like the fact that this book is written in story form, in a simple setting, and is not written specifically for manufacturing. It follows a lemonade stand run by two children and their parents which ends in a chain of stores as a result of thier lean approach. Despite the simple setting and story I must admit that I do now have a better grasp on what lean manufacturing is about. It proved to be an interesting perspective on lean. Much of the information is really eye opening. Other points in the book made me think "Why didn't I think of that?" After reading this book I have decided to pick up copies for my employees. It is a one-day read and described lean in a way that will make sense to the hourly employees. We are planning to go lean and this should give our employees an idea of what to expect. I do not recommend this book for "advanced" lean training though, but do give it a thumbs up for learning the basics. If you are looking for complex terms and definitions this is not the book for you. I am now kind of wondering if using the lemonade stand idea might be a good idea for an offsite lean training idea. Worth considering I suppose.

I was captivated from the first page to the last. This gripping tale of evangelical artisans struggling to adapt to an emerging capitalist culture while keeping their producerist principles in 19th century Baltimore kept me up way past my bedtime in order to finish it. Even Dr. Sutton's footnotes are well worth reading!

This is the most informative and well-written book I've ever read. I was captivated by it from beginning to end and I think that William Sutton is the greatest history writer of all time. Buy this book! It's a classic!

Having borrowed this book twice from the library I have just now decided to buy a copy to keep in my bookshelf. This is an excellent book, and one which owes a good deal to E. P. Thompson's ground-breaking "Making of the English Working Class" in its method of historical analysis. In other words instead of relying on boring statistics and trends to explain the history of the common people it focuses on the people themselves and the actions that they took. This makes it interesting for the reader who is thus able to identify and empathise with the historical figures that Sutton describes. This is history as it should be written, a human story, about ordinary people and their lives, and how they reacted to events that seemed beyond their control.

The book itself examines how craft workers in Baltimore faced the challenges posed by industrial capitalism. How they saw their livelihoods being undermined by its cheap goods and the actions they took in response. In a sense it describes how the true Republic was lost. It also looks at the role that their religion played in that struggle. This is indeed a "peoples' history".

Writing history in this way, Sutton joins other excellent American historians like Ronald Schultz, Sean Wilentz, Bruce Laurie, and the late Christopher Lasch. All of these are well worth reading if you want to know how the common people lived before the crass materialism of modern capitalism stamped itself on American history. This history reconnects one to an older and more just and moral American Republic now sadly lost to corporate greed and warmongering. The American people are indeed well served by historians of this calibre.

Dr. Sutton effectively brings Jacksonian Baltimore to life in this morality tale that has become a cult classic. Dr.Sutton is indeed the greatest history writer ever in addition to being the rawest history teacher in the world. Journeymen for Jesus changed the way I thought about Jacksonian Baltimore and for that I am forever indebted to the master, Dr.Sutton.

After reading a number of trendy books on knowledge management, this is the second one with a good theoretical framework. It is not a HOW TO..book (the subtitle is not very informative). It is the fruit of solid analytical thinking. Boisot uses the information space, built from the variables 'codification, abstraction and diffusion'. With this framework he gives an original insight into many organizational aspects, like organizational learning, competences, information technology and organizational culture. I have choosen the book for the course I teach at the University of Amsterdam (Culture and Competences in Changing Organizations), after reading it with red ears.

It would be difficult to over-estimate the value of this book. It is very important contribution to our understanding of how to build and manage knowledge assets and, in particular, the rules by which knowledge gains and loses value and 'travels'.

It is directly useful to business people who have to wrestle with strategies for managing knowledge. It is also a formidable piece of analytical architecture that links the management of knowledge assets to economic theory and learning theory. Considering the depth and range of the original thought packed into it, the book is surprisingly readable, partly because of the clarity and relevance of the examples with which the author illustrates his concepts.

Perhaps of widest importance is the clarity and precision of the definitions offered, in a field in which the definitions have been notably 'muddy'. One of the things I have gained from reading the book is a much clearer 'mental model' of what knowledge management is all about, its dynamics and linkages, and what is happening at various stages in the development, codification and diffusion of knowledge.

Because of its depth, density and range, absorbing the content requires real effort, but the effort is very worthwhile. It has several different audiences.

Knowledge managers: Those directly responsible for knowledge management will want to read and understand this book in full.

Business Strategists: The book provides a coherent and well argued rationale for developing strategies around the exploitation of the value in knowledge assets, based on the clearest explanation of the dynamics of knowledge value creation and dissipation that I have seen.

Managers of Organisational Change: Anyone concerned with organisation change also needs to understand the underlying concepts for their relevance to strategies for learning and to the shaping and linking of organisational structures.

Economists: Chapters 2 - 4 provide economists with a re-conception of the production function around data as a factor of production, and an explanation of the nature and dynamics of information value that is both challenging and important in integrating the realities of information and knowledge value into economic theory.

Those with a more peripheral or general interest in knowledge management should at least read: * the Preface, which is a 2 1/2 page masterpiece in the expression of the central concept in a compressed form, * pages 12 - 14 and 18 of the Introduction and * they should scan Chapter 3: The Information Space (I-Space) to understand the author's three dimensional construct and its use. J-C Spender's short Foreword is also valuable in putting Boisot's work in context with other work, particularly Nonaka and Takeuchi's The Knowledge Creating Company.

If general readers are tempted to go further, they will find an extraordinary range of thought-provoking concepts along with quite a lot of material that may be familiar from other writers: Boisot's primary aim is to get us to think differently about our world and to recognise that much of our current thinking about information and knowledge is grounded in the very different world of the energy based economy. He provides an alternative framework that is rigorous, persuasive and practical.

As a futures researcher at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Research I have read tons of books on the information society. No one - absolutely no one - has been as powerful and innovative as Max Boisot's. He handles the most important aspects of information and knowledge and synthesizes them in one outstanding theory: The Information Space.
The framework generates insight after insight. After my absorption of it, I simply can't resist using it in my own research and consulting. It has for example helped me evaluate business plans and think about different subjects as national strategies on education, e-communities, trade associations, innovation strategies and the philosophy of social sciences.
Read this book and learn to think about the emerging society!

The decision to read a book, any book, is an exercise in cost-benefit-analysis, usually conducted under conditions of uncertainty (Boisot, 1998). This review strives to mitigate this uncertainty and instigate you to read it!

Boisot delivers a genuine new perspective on knowledge assets quite distinct from the existing knowledge literature. First he states that knowledge is embedded in physical objects (public knowledge -like a pack of Marlboros - understood as a pack of cigarettes of a certain quality and length), in documents, and in individual brains. He builds a three dimensional Information-space consisting of codification (codified - uncodified), abstraction (abstract - concrete), and diffusion (diffused - undiffused). Plot these elements on three axes of a three dimensional rectangle and you got Boisot basic mental model. In this box (I-space) the movement of knowledge results in the Social Learning Cycle (SLC). The SLC consists of 6 phases, respectively Scanning, Problem Solving, Abstraction, Diffusion, Absorption, and Impacting. This model fundaments subsequently the rest of the book in which he illustrates the value of knowledge, two learning theories (the N-learning strategy - hoarding knowledge and S-learning strategy - sharing of knowledge), culture in relation to knowledge (identifies the centripetal culture - tunnel vision and the centrifugal culture - promotes learning), core competence and strategic intent, the impact of IT on knowledge and finally applies I-Space on two companies, Courtaulds and BP oil exploration business. The theory Boisot used to build his model and arguments are very fundamental - deep-rooted in classic philosophy-, economy-, and chaos and complexity theories. However the major added value provided lies in the massive multifaceted range of examples offered, very intelligent and smart entrenched.

Knowledge as keyword in the Amazon search engine generates more than 9000 books. However the number that fundaments the basic knowledge theory infrastructure doesn't exceed 25. There are essentially only a few you want to read the rest is all derived from this small number. Boisot book (next to Nonaka & Takeuchi) is certainly one that falls in the in the 25 cluster in view of the fact that it's an outstanding unique mental model clarified by smart examples. Downturn of his theory that's it very difficult to apply in a practical situation, nevertheless read it (absorb and exploit) and capture valuable `knowledge' on knowledge theories.

I keep coming back to this book for my business practice because it touches on important topics and the "white elephants" we don't like to talk about in corporations. The case studies and stories illustrate some alternative ways to think and act at work to bring back the human dimension. It is a book one can take action on to start meaningful conversations that people are hungry for in the workplace.

As one of the earlier authors to espouse the benefits of 'spirit' in business leadership, Russ Moxley challenges the 'executive-as-leader' model by offering a 'partnership-as-leadership' model. In this two-part book, Moxley first demonstrates how traditional (command-and-control) leadership negates "who we are", both as leaders and as followers. Then, in Part Two, he discusses how both leaders and followers must change in order for organizations to tap into and benefit from spirit - find meaning and purpose in what they do. Leaders must first tap into who they are rather than think about what or how they (leaders) do things. Once self (identity) is found a leader must: tend to the process, participate fully, and refuse to be 'the' leader. Followers must learn to: choose courage, be present, and avoid crowning the bosses.

This is not a how-to book, but a thoughtful discussion that contains nearly as much personal reflections as it does stories of actual leadership situations. It is easy to digest and can be recommended for an evening read by a warm fire, when reflecting is the desire.

Dennis DeWilde, author of
"The Performance Connection

Our struggles in the American workforce cause us to focus on reforms, programs, additional training and tougher evaluations. Worthy efforts, but those still don't fix the problems. Russ Moxley has captured in an easy to read, thought- and heart-provoking book, vital characteristics and behaviors which have the potential to solving some of those issues. I have observed in many organizations the three (3) practices that will create dispirited organizations. Those descriptions alone are worth the price of the book and if addressed, have the potential for transforming a workplace. The five requirements for a new model of leadership will create spirited thoughts and conversations for all who read it! There are very important lessons in this book. You'll be glad you read it, and you will have new insights into how to create a spirited workplace.

Leadership & Spirit by Moxley (brought to you by those folks at the Center for Creative Leadership) manages to be clear, engaging, and concise with an economy of words that borders on simply being beautiful. No fluff or padding here. It's sprinkled with quotes from all aspects of life that highlight and explain a particular process or idea (i.e. courage, coercive power, spirit, team partnership, etc...). Most importantly, this is not more pop psychology, New Age spirituality, or academic business theory. It simply and subtlety touches timeless truths without demeaning them or reducing them to blandness. While not written down to anyone, it has somehow brought to life the simple wisdom we know lies under the surface of complexity. If you're "there" or get some of it (ref: the simple sayings of Chauncy Gardner in the old Seller's movie "Being There"), this can help you get more of it. The vision thing ... `maybe not as elusive as we think! If Covey is too wordy and leaves you frustrated about how to get "there", if you admire the courage of a nay-saying Morton Thiokol engineer, or if you appreciate pithy references to people like Coach Phil Jackson, physicist-theorist David Bohm, philosopher Ken Wilber, or business leadership prognosticators Warren Bennis and Peter Senge or are just looking for inspiration and suspect that our species is moving out of coercive behaviors for dealing with life's challenges, then this book could be for you.

I ordered this book for the Pastor of my church at his request. He has started reading it and is enjoying the information given. When I ordered the book, it only took 3-4 days to get delivered and even thought it was a "used book", it looked brand new to me. Thanks for the fast delivery.

This book powerfully impacted me as the cell administrator of our church. Joel's message in this book has found it's way into a majority of my teaching of both the new and existing cell leaders. If you're looking at becoming a cell church, this book will be a great asset to you. It will give you practical information, but (in my opinion) more importantly, it will inspire you. I couldn't put it down.

Joel Comiskey has written many books on cell groups and cell churches. In my opinion, this is the most practical. It is particularly helpful for laying the foundation of a new cell ministry. God is showing us that small group settings allow for deeper discipleship and rapid church growth. However, before we can multiply cells, we need to equip our leaders. It isn't about the quantity, it is about quality. I highly recommend this book to all those who are looking to start a new cell ministry. The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few. Let God begin to multiply cell group leaders within your church.

This is an excellent in depth tool for church leaders who want to reach their communities for Christ. This hands on, nuts and bolts approach will inspire you to do exploits for the Kingdom of God.

Like a hammer and a wrench, this book is a must have in every church leaders tool box.

Buy them and give them out to pastors everywhere.

This book was recommended to me by our Lead Pastor for the ministry internship that I am doing with him. We are working through the book, chapter-by-chapter. I have been in church leadership for over 20 years and could have greatly benefited from this book if it were available back then. I'm thankful that it is available now for us. It's a must read for seminary students and professors and anyone currently in church leadership or aspiring to church leadership.

I have read this excellent book by Anderson, Personally I want to say that this book is excellent and extraordinary. Because of his insight and scholars background plus his background of practical ministry that make this book became awesome. Beautiful insight and the richess of his experience make this book easy to read and nice. I encourage to all Christian leader to read and apply this principle in this book, this is a book for the future leader in this generation and to the next generation. Thanks and God bless you.

This was a great book. I thought of many mistakes I've made in the ministry.

This book is a steal! Where [can] you get in one place such practical wisdom from a successful, significant, and sacrifical pastor like Leith Anderson. He successfully combines an understand of character and comptence, with a conviction that great leaders have both.

He successfully juggles the practice of pastoral ministry with the ability to write and speak about the broad spectrum of pastoral ministry. Leith is one of the top five communciators about pastoral ministry in North American today.

One quote sums up the book: "Leadership is figuring out what needs to be done and then doing it." [51]

When you read Leadership That Works you are not hearing primarily about the success story of Wooddale Church, you are hearing about the principles of leadership that actually will work for you in your place of ministry.

I can personally testify to the validity of Leith's ministry having heard him speak, engaged him in dialogue, visited with him in his own church for worship, and seen his authentic ministry at work.

I found this book fit well within my companies culture(Prosper) Many points from the book could and should be used to inspire employees, in every department and level, to take ownership of innovation.

Jeff has a seven-step process to help you "creativize" yourself, your teams and your organization. Many Case studies and assessments will help a company find a way to engage all of their people demonstrate ownership for innovation in all aspects of their responsibilities.

We use many of these ideas in our company currently, however it never hurts to reinforce the principles.

It was worth the money by 10 fold!

Devin Willis

This is a comprehensive guide to assessing the strengths and weakness of organizations, and how that analysis is critical to utilizing the strengths to create innovative products and business practices. I found the case studies, of GM, Pixar, and Time Inc.'s Real Simple magazine, to be particularly valuable. Jeff DeGraff and Shawn E. Quinn present a seven point plan that is scalable to any size organization, and that can be used in part or in whole.

The fact is that innovative leaders are lurking in every organization, doing their magic by flying under the radar and need to be elevated into prominence and acceptability. The world is littered with the ghosts of companies that were incapable of change. Innovation only pays in the future, and this book is chock full of charts, exercises and checkpoints to take your company there!

With its variety of insightful cases and stories, 'Leading Innovation'
delivers on its promise of helping readers understand the tensions
within organizations that hinder growth and change. A number of useful tools are included which can be readily applied to most organizations.

As a physician and administrative leader within a major health system, DeGraff and Quinn's words are on point with the demands we face regularly as we continue to grow as an innovative health care organization.

This book gives resourceful, stimulating, and yet practical and attainable possibities to an often problematic issue. The artful solutions proposed are set in a nice paradigm to illustrate the seven steps in a condensed version, the reader can see the quantum result prior to the detailed interpreation of the process. A delightful read for anyone looking to stretch their creative legs.

This book was surprisely quick and easy to read yet very thorough. Any church or small business would benefit from reading this book. It's model is similiar to great world class companies, but is unique with it's theological links. It also recognizes the problems that happen in any small company...even churches....! It recognizes too everyone's desire to work in a place and do things we are passionate about!...Worthwhile for the entire staff to read!

George Cladis has written a great book--the best I have found on team-building in the church. It is an easy read, very practical, filled with a lot of good ideas. I found his chapters on team covenants and on creating a visionary culture particularly helpful.

Cladis has learned a lot in his pastorates about teamwork--and teaches those principles well. He motivates me to want to build a strong team--not be a lone ranger in the pastorate. And he gives lots of ideas on how to do so.

What a breath of fresh air to see one with such an innovative, entrepreneurial spirit coming from a traditional mainline denomination. This book does more than just exhort you to form teams, it tells you how to create a culture of teams that will make your church more effective for the Kingdom of God. This one has definitely made my top-ten list!

In Leading the Team-Based Church, George Cladis weaved together principles from theology, ecclesiology, sociology, and business to create a rubric for applying a team-based model for doing ministry in the church. Cladis's thesis is that the historic hierarchical organizational model of top-down, leader-directed ministry is inconsistent with the nature of God, the New Testament pattern of church ministry, and the needs of a postmodern culture. The cornerstone of Cladis's paradigm is his premise that the persons of the Trinity exist in perichoresis, that is, as a team comprising perfect unity, fellowship, harmony, love, and purpose. The perichoretic Trinity thus becomes the exemplar for team-based ministry in the church. Part 1 explored the theological underpinnings of God as perichoresis and outlined nine characteristics of postmodern society. The seven chapters of part 2 examined the seven forms of leadership reflected in the attributes of God's perichoretic nature in juxtaposition with the characteristics of post-modernism and how these lend credence to team-based ministry in the church.

Review and Reaction
Cladis's interpretation of the Trinity as perichoresis forged the basis of his understanding of team-based ministry in the local church. While not appearing in the New Testament, perichoresis is a compound Greek word literally meaning "circle of dance" (4). To Cladis the Trinity is a perfect team. For him, the perichoretic image of the triune Godhead provides a helpful way of viewing the church and its organizational structure. Specifically, the church should work in perfect harmony, equality, and purpose, thus reflecting the image of God.
Cladis further asserted that the perichoretic model of the Godhead most accurately reflects the demands of a postmodern society for flatten hierarchical organizational structures that value individual giftedness, equality, and collaborative efforts. Cladis suggested that modernism promotes rugged individualism to the exclusion of community. Church structures that reflect a modernistic mindset are less inviting to postmodern people who value participation in decision making, inclusiveness in action, and personal fulfillment. Perichoretic team-based ministry, therefore, provides a more appealing model for postmodern people.
Cladis overreaches his thesis by insisting that team-based ministries are "the most theologically and culturally appropriate method for church leadership today" (17). His premise is specious at best and arrogant at worst. Such an assertion casts immediate aspersions upon centuries of church history. If one accepts Cladis at this point, then any form of church organization not based on teams is not just inefficient, but incongruent with the very nature of God.
One can make the point that scripture does not provide a definitive model for church organization. Allusions to church organizational patterns in scripture are more descriptive than prescriptive. Even the language of church leadership varies within the New Testament--pastor versus elder versus overseer. First century Christians initially adopted the Jewish synagogue model because it was the one most familiar to them, but later developed organizational models that more adequately met their evolving needs. The early church organized its ministry efforts around the needs of its constituency (such as the addition of an incipient deacon ministry in Acts 6:1-6). Their efforts were more pragmatic than theologically informed. They simply acted to meet the needs of the day.
Cladis makes a better point that a team-based ministry more effectively meets the needs of contemporary postmodern believers. The seven team attributes of covenanting, visioning, culture creating, collaborating, trusting, empowering, and learning, detailed in part 2, forms the book's core strengths. Cladis discussed each attribute biblically and then related each to his perichoretic model. Occasionally, he provided insights from the business world and fictionalized church settings to illustrate the efficacy of a particular attribute. Cladis's frequent references to his perichoresis model and to Rublev's icon of the Holy Trinity were distracting and thoroughly unhelpful. One draws the impression that Cladis is attempting to baptize the business model of teams into the language of the church--an unnecessary effort to spiritualize the secular to make it more appealing to the sacred. If a team-based model for ministry works, and does not violate scripture, then employ the best of what the business world has to offer for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

Application
Cladis's seven characteristics of team-based ministry can fit well into today's church. Many are intuitively self-evident. The church exists in covenant with God and with one another. This covenant identity does not cease in staff meetings or in church council meetings. What healthy church does not want to have a unifying vision from God that creates a sense of purpose and provides meaning to its efforts? By in large, churches want to develop a cultural ethos reflecting it uniqueness as the people of God. Maturing church members want to contribute their gifts and talents toward a collaborative, trusting, empowering, and spiritually fulfilling mission. Many of Cladis's seven characteristics have an ethereal quality to them. They are better identified by the effect they achieve than the effort needed to achieve them. Nonetheless, they represent biblical ideals church leaders should strive to achieve in their ministry settings.
This reviewer has sought to apply these characteristics to a new preschool ministry team. The team of four mothers of preschool-aged children organized themselves around the mission to create a safe, secure, and satisfying nursery and preschool experience for children from birth through age three. The members have complementary skills and are highly motivated. The initial organizational meeting was unfocused because the members did not know how to work as a team. This pastor introduced the members to Cladis's seven characterizes for healthy teams. Some of the characteristics will take time to formulate, however the team was excited about the characteristics of vision, collaboration, empowerment, trust, and learning. The members embraced their vision of creating a top-notch preschool environment. They made a mutual commitment to work together to fulfill this vision. Only time will tell how well this new team can develop Cladis's characteristics.

Conclusion
Leading the Team-Based Church does what it needs to do. It provides a beneficial contemporary model for ministry leadership in a postmodern world. The old-style hierarchical pyramidal leadership model served the church well for more than one hundred years because it was how people were used to the world operating. It was sociologically consistent, fitting the prevailing worldview. The Medieval monarchical bishopric model worked a thousand years ago for the same reason--it reflected how people related to one another in a feudal society. Through the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Industrial Revolution, the way people viewed leadership changed. Each time this happened the church accommodated these sociological shifts and found the necessary theological support. Cladis does no differently. Sociological shifts notwithstanding, Cladis's seven attributes of team-based leadership are worthy characteristics for any church.