Organizations Books

If you are looking for a book to explain how to plan and implement a special event, this is the book for you. This book explains what to do and what not to do, so that your organization can get the most money out of your event. You can read it straight through or just go to certain chapters to get the information that you want. Also, don't let the celebrity/high society examples turn you off. What is in this book works even if you don't have access to a celebrity or society connections. I used what is in this book to raise money for my local Lions Club. Don't get any other book for special events--Black Tie Optional is the guide for special events.

At last! This book answers all the difficult "how to" questions for the fund-raiser for a non-profit organization. Every possible problem is anticipated and discussed, and reasons for doing and not doing are offered. Most organizations spend more money raising funds than they collect, and Harry Freedman explains where the hidden costs are and how to avoid them. Freedman seems to know what you are thinking and he will tell you why what someone else does may not be the right event for you. There is something in this book for the veteran fund-raiser or the eager new volunteer.
--Andrew Kevorkian
Public Relations Consultant

You can read it in one sitting but should read it again and again. It is simple, to the point and tells us the kind of people we could become. Well worth the read.

This book I read in the begining of the school year. It is a great book. Whan I say great I realy mean great. The things that the mother teresa would toatly amaze you. She lives with the poor helped people with sickness and took care of abanden babies. you should read this book and find out more about it infact I would recomend it a lot.(you SHOULD read htiss book)

R. Scott "Scooter" Hall has a grip on the jugernaut that is Citizen-Generated Media. He wraps himself around the enigma and straightens out the curve ball associated with daily static communication to make sense of the nutty, everyday e-comm that bombards us from the buzzer. R. Scott is the man. I eagerly await the brilliant light he eminates upon the shuck and jive of todays bloggers.

James M. "Jacksone" Watry Jr.

The Blog Ahead
I'm not a geek. I don't get the Internet. But I am a reader, a writer and teacher by trade, and a blogger. I have enjoyed the advantages of the easy, open communication of the Internet. It's not overstating the matter to say the Internet has helped people make and remake themselves.

R. Scott Hall's new book The Blog Ahead (Morgan-James 2006) places the Internet as I experience it--as my private public library and party-line phone system--in the context of a communications revolution that is almost on a par with the Gutenberg printing press.

Instead of top-down communications, we have horizontal communications. Formerly, if I had a story to tell or sell, I had to go through the old-fashioned system of pitching the story to an editor, waiting for consideration and feedback, writing it, submitting it to the editor, and waiting for publication. That could take days. Whether or not my story received air time depended completely on the editor.

Now I'm the boss. I create, publish on a blog or post to some public forum, and reach an audience and receive feedback. The reach and effect of my work depends on the whims of the entire world, which means there's a lot of competition. If my product is garbage, there's a highly literate online community of thinkers who won't hesitate to let me know. If it has appeal, that audience will tell me that too.

This community has integrity by nature, according to Hall, so it's self-correcting. People want solid information up front and presented well. If they bump into something that doesn't meet expectations, prepare to hear about it.

This really brings an end to anonymity. It's not true that we're anonymous when we're online. That's a myth. Stat counters, guestbooks, and other forms of data collection programming track our activity all over the place. Call it an invasion of privacy or call it marketing, but you are never alone when you're online. So, if you enter the online world, be prepared to have something to say, say it well, and sign your name. Hall has no time for anonymity. If you can't accept feedback and you won't sign your name, you jeopardize the integrity of the online community. You won't be tolerated, either.

There is a survival-of-the-fittest element to all of this. We self-sort the good stuff from the junk. We survive based on the quality of our material and our drive to be heard. This is a revolution.

The book reads like a blog in some ways with its links to web sites that are leading the way in this new form of communication. Hall's anecdotes about the effects of blogging on political campaigns and corporate public relations--read, accountability to the public--are fascinating. Better yet are the stories about the role of ordinary people in breaking news stories because, well, they know what's going on.

I recently used some YouTube videos in a college English literature class lesson. I was making the point that even these videos are texts that affect our understanding of the world and therefore how we read and write. Specifically, I used two interviews between a minister and a banker who formerly lived in Lebanon. One student asked, "If this guy knows so much, how come he's not on TV?"

Exactly.

It was a beautiful moment. What about the integrity of your own thoughts based on your own experiences? Why are the less important than the big thoughts of the guy who happened to be walking by the bigger camera? Money still talks in the mind of so many of us. What a big idea, though, that we can talk to each other directly and maybe learn something.

Hall's book is a good read, and it's fun. It's even out-of-date in some places, even if it is a new publication. Its greatest value is in documenting the paradigm shift in communications and predicting trends in future communication. It will be fun to stick around and see if he's right.

R. Scott Hall, a direct marketing strategist and online business expert, is the founder of Online Mavericks and the Citizen Generated Media blog, and is based in New York, NY. Online Mavericks helps entrepreneurs as well as established companies maximize their market presence, product/buyer focus and effectively blend both offline and online efforts.

"Board Members Rule is an essential read for those who want to transform their board membership into an opportunity to exercise strategic leadership in promoting the mission of the agency."
- Emily Murase, San Francisco Department on the Status of Women

"Zimmerman Lehman have once more produced a hands-on practical board manual, Board Members Rule, that will benefit both the experienced and inexperienced board member."
- Phillip Kilbridge, Habitat for Humanity San Francisco

"Board Members Rule is chock-full of excellent advice and practical techniques for the proactive board member. Tons of resources, references, tables, forms and exercises will ensure that all boards govern effectively."
- Tim Hallahan, Stanford Law School

Lehman and Zimmerman draw on their extensive background in community organizing and public policy to demonstrate the power of strategic advocacy in affecting change and implementing a nonprofit's mission.
- Norman A. Constantine, University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health

Any reader who ever observed an institution become ridiculous, be it university, church, political party or office committee, will laugh out loud at Paul Levitt's humorous story about Bogus U. As a mafia gang member accidentally becomes president of a university and changes the policies for the better, we laugh (knowingly?) at the subterfuge involving a champion football team (if only...) and a question of tenure for an incompetent but potentially influential professor. We enjoy the intigue among administators--for power and sexual conquests. We laugh at parallels between University politics and the mafia. This book offers a bawdy, funny read about all of us who are compromised, all of us who ever served on a faculty or even a committee. It is a funny and scathing look at hypocrisies, rationalizations and absurdities. You are invited to read it--and smile.

To University of Colorado Professor Emeritus Peter Michelson's characterization of this work as 'a delightful romp through the sins of everyone's alma mater,' I wish to add that only insofar as the main institutional target of this trenchant satire is representative can it be thus generalized. The cover art, settings, and scathing indictments of the faculty and administration compel the conclusion that this work is a trenchant and effective satire on the university where its author has taught and serially chaired the English and Writing departments for the past 45 years or so, not counting sabbaticals -- namely, the Univerity of Colorado. During those years, the makeup of the student body has changed from two-thirds out-of-staters to at least 80% Colorado residents, but the nature of the school seems little changed from 1968, when it was featured as a playboy institution by the magazine of that name, which cited the Drama department's production of Shakespeare's Macbeth that featured totally nude witches. Graduating students invited to faculty parties are known to have commented on the lack of intellectual conversation. Anyone jogging at six in the morning is likely to see the adulterers returning home. Its passion but lightly disguised, this novel is a damning but highly readable and enjoyable indictment of American higher education as embodied in one thoroughly portrayed institution.

The title is a misnomer: Although the authors do indeed suggest how to "break through the chains of organizational structure", they provide an enlightening explanation of four different types of boundaries (vertical, horizontal, external, and geographic) which give definition to any organization. They do not advocate the total elimination of these boundaries (which is impossible, anyway); rather, they suggest how to rearrange them so that an organization can thrive. For the authors, there is what they call "A New World Order":

"In living organisms, membranes exist to give the organization shape and definition. They have sufficient structural strength to prevent the organism from dissolving into an amorphous mess....Like a living organism, the boundaryless organization also evolves and grows, and the placement of boundaries may shift....Because the boundaryless organization is a living continuum, not a fixed state, the ongoing management challenge is to find the right balance of boundaryless behavior, to determine how permeable to make boundaries, and where to place them."

This brief excerpt from the first chapter correctly suggests the purpose of this remarkable book: To explain HOW to meet that challenge. The material is presented within four parts plus a conclusion. The first explains how to achieve "free movement up and down" by crossing vertical boundaries; the second explains how to achieve "free movement side to side" by crossing horizontal boundaries; the third explains how to achieve "free movement along the value chain" by crossing external boundaries; and in the fourth part, they explain how to achieve "free global movement" by crossing geographic boundaries." Then in the Conclusion, the authors discuss "Making It Happen: Leading Toward the Boundaryless Organization." The authors also include a series of six questionnaires. By completing each in sequence, the reader is able to determine (a) where her or his organization is now located relative to "the boundaryless paradigm", and (b), what is needed to eliminate the "gap" between where it is now and where it should be.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to read The Boundaryless Organization Field Guide. It contains a wealth of hands-on set of diagnostic instruments, exercises, and tools as well as a disk with presentation slides in Powerpoint format.

The fieldbook is written in a very user friendly way. It provides information that can be used in various ways - presentation slides, workshops, surveys and inteviews. Each tool is explained in great detail - how to use it and the intended purpose. I borrowed a copy from our corporate libary and liked it so much I will order my own personal copy!

This is a superb book. It is scholarly yet passionate, courageous yet level-headed. The book argues that the Solidarity labor movement in Poland in 1980-81 was created by workers of the Gdansk shipyards rather than by Warsaw and Krakow intellectuals. However, the intellectuals supplied self-serving interpretations of Solidarity, and these were accepted as fact. Goodwyn shows that ever since the failed bread strikes in 1956, 1970, and 1976, the workers of Poland continued to devise methods by which to oppose the communist regime. In 1980, they succeeded: the so-called "occupational strike" in the shipyards made it impossible for the police to disperse the workers, while a system of human couriers allowed workers from various enterprises (as many as 370 factories, at the end of August 1980) to communicate when telephones were cut off by the communists. Finally, in August 1980, the workers presented to the government the centerpiece of all their demands: the demand for free labor unions. This was a move which the government of Soviet-occupied Poland did not expect. Polish intellectuals in Warsaw advised against it. The workers stood firm--and the government yielded. For a year, there was jubilation in Poland. But at Moscow's bidding, the Soviet-controlled government in Warsaw arrested thousands of Solidarity leaders in December 1981. For seven years, Poles lived under martial law. Under martial law, hundreds of people were tortured or "merely" beaten, thousands lost their lives because elementary medical help was impossible to obtain.
In later chapters, Goodwyn points out that it was "citizens' committees" and not the Solidarity labor union that produced delegates to the Round Table talks. Among the delegates, the intelligentsia members were overrepresented (195 out of some 240 delegates), while the workers who created Solidarity had a few dozen delegates. Since that time, the Warsaw intelligentsia was disproportionately credited with creating and aiding Solidarity, whereas worker activists slid into oblivion. The situation further worsened when factories began to close down because of restructuring, and millions of working men and women lost their jobs. The intelligentsia kept theirs: white collar workers were not much affected by restructuring of steel mills, shipyards, and cotton mills.
A magnificently lucid tome that provides real insights into the workings of democracy. If you are concerned with the erosion of democratic institutions in the United States, read this book.

As a student in Larry Goodwyn's social movements class, I have been reading this book to study his philosophy and methodology. It's incredibly interesting and enlightening, and sure to infuriate anyone with a vested interest in the convential wisdom about movement building in general and Solidarity in particular. I'd recommend it to anyone who can get their hands on a copy (& let me know if you can!)...

Wow, Mr. Bennett has knocked the ball out of the park with this book. If you want to be successful and happy then this book is for you. How many individuals do you know that have acquired monetary success and yet they are unhappy? Without the, "Creating Meaningful Life Experiences" their equation for success is missing a key value. Clearly the expression itself says it all, and as humans we are wired to include this as part of our existence or we are truly never happy.

Looking forward to your next book!

Cigargatorfan

What a great find! This business book is informative, yet in an easy-to-read style. I usually don't like to read business books, but even I enjoyed this. There were lots of "lessons" I can apply to my day-to-day job (upper management), yet the book was not overwhelming. A good, solid book. Would be applicable to all levels of managers.

Shortly after reading "The Breathing Organization" I left a management position with a consulting firm that was saddled with a toxic culture and no prospects of achieving anything extraordinary. This book inspired me to start a new company that actually adheres to the wise principles it espouses. I truly believe that my colleagues and I are destined for great success together by following the blueprint laid out in this insightful and inspirational book. The culture, environment, and mindset that we have created together are enabling us to fully utilize our collective talent and human potential. The company's initial success has been stunning. I wholeheartedly recommend "The Breathing Organization" to anyone looking to build a successful and truly rewarding business today.

Mark Bergethon
Sage Fundraising Solutions
www.sagefundraisingllc.com

Recieved item on time, right when we were told it would arrive. Book in very good condition.

I am a Master's in School Counseling student. This is the recommended theory for school counselors. I will use this as a reference in school and once I begin working in the field.

As a student looking to become a high school guidance counselor, I found this to be one of the best texts from both a practical and educational point of view.

It focuses on the real issue of counseling, how to meet the needs of the client. Each explanation is backed by popular theories, yet the focus remains solution based.

The key to the book is how to be a catalyst in change utilizing the client's perspective of the problem. The authors have done a wonderful job of explaining the school practitioner's role as a catalyst, or an instrument of change.

Too often, I believe counselors try to fit the client into a preconceived box of neurosis. In fact, this book counters that train of thought and shows the reader how to address the client's problem as a unique opportunity to enable the client to find his/her own solution.

I highly recommend this book to students, practicing counselors, parents and teachers.

If you work with children and adolescents and also wish to apply solution-focused thinking to the school context you must read this book. Each page offers highly practical and clear to understand ideas. Incredibly, I would say that it appeals equally to the novice and experienced solution-focused worker. Excellent indeed. Furthermore, John Murphy's workshop presentation, based on the content of the book, is an unmissable experience, worth attending.