Professional Resources Books

What a great read. I found it very helpful to have a great set of references that are organized by topic. This book would be an ideal one for the Kindle--especially if it could be continually updated (the references stop to the year of publication). If you are eager to expand your coaching horizons, I think this is an excellent resource. Also, chapter six is a fabulous model for framing coaching issues. So far, one of my favorite books!

Frederic M. Hudson wrote this exhaustive reference manual and survey of the field of coaching primarily for coaches and aspiring coaches. He focuses on teaching the best practices in coaching and conveying knowledge, extensive resources, thorough book lists and professional programs. The real message underneath all this data is that a good coach is the ultimate human resource. If you're a coach, you'll benefit from the book's thoroughness. If you're unfamiliar with the field, it's a textbook for understanding many facets of professional coaching and its impact on people and organizations. We recommend Hudson's book particularly to coaches, and also to those who want to learn more about coaching, human resource managers, business libraries, and executives who are recruiting coaches or team leaders. Just forget the idea that all you need to know you learned in kindergarten; to thrive, you need to keep learning continuously. Just ask a coach.

The author has been working with adult developement and coaching since earning his PhD in the 60's. Hudson shows us how the field of coaching relies on the work from a variety of disciplines. He provides many sources from these disciplines to help aid coaches when working with specific groups or specific problems. For anyone building a strong foundation in coaching, this is a great reference book to have handy on your shelf. It's especially useful for newly-trained coaches who might need a deeper understanding of their profession or a good way to avoid reinventing the wheel.

I have read several books about coaching and generally enjoy them alot. This book however was a big disappointment. Really it only contains list after list of suggested reading. That is all it is. I would really estimate that no less than 75% of the book is made up of "Basic library suggestions". Terrible.

As a Life Skills Coach, based in Melbourne Australia, I am always on the search for coaching texts that will enhance my professional skills and coaching knowledge. 'The Handbook of Coaching' is with out a doubt I believe one of the most valuable coaching resource materials I have discovered. Hudson has covered a great deal of material, yet the insights into the various areas of coaching, methodologies and foundations of coaching, are supported by an excellent bibliography section, relevant to the end of each chapter.

The author's writing style is clear and only uses jargon relative to the context, ensuring a novice to the coaching practice feels immediately able to grasp key concepts. This is the value that managers, HR personnel and coaches alike will gain from the book...ease of understanding and practical.

It is a how to book and refernce guide that sets out to (and I daresay achieves)to establish a relationship with its reader; as a handbook of this nature should.

The life transition model that Hudson introduces, acknowledges the validity of adult hood problems, as being more than mere extensions of our child hood challenges. It acknowledges also the process of transition versus the static nature of a changing event.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Senge's book correctly identifies the sustainability challenge, gives a bit of history about how we got where we are and then establishes a framework for companies, individuals, governments and others to follow in order to tackle the problem. He provides lots of examples of sucesses in the area of sustainability and gives a good amount of detail about specific initiatives that have yielded results. Well-written and provocative. I work in this area and he gave even me reason to rethink some of my ideas.

I am a fan of the Society for Organizational Learning's approach to large organizational and social challenges. This book closes the loop on the learning's of Senge's entourage which span from The Fifth Discipline and the practical Field books to Presence. Now in The Necessary Revolution each author's unique experiences in teaching and guiding many fellow travelers along the road towards a more sustainable way of life are blended together in a coherent whole.

This book captures the process of leading organizations on the journey towards sustainability without losing the necessary personal and spiritual touch that is so necessary in leading multi-dimensional sustainable changes within complex organizations. This is certainly a book to be used in business schools because while it teaches some administration of the sustainable organization, it also teaches the value of disruption and the disruptive innovation process, and how to guide and meld such strategies.

I have been fortunate to have known personally, Brian, Sara, and Joe, and to have learned much as a result of their efforts through workshops, seminars and the Sustainable Enterprise Academy. I am very pleased to see so much of the essence of these efforts condensed in this volume. There are now many books on approaching sustainability through enterprise, organizations and society, but The Necessary Revolution enters new territories through the experience and rigor of the authors.

At the end of this review following the links to other recommended books, I specify why this book receives four stars instead of five. Shortly I will load several images that will augment my written review, a couple of them recreated from this book, a couple my own original work.

I found this book absorbing, and while I recognized many many areas where the authors could have identified and respected the work of others more explicitly, I also found this to be the single best book for a manager of any business, any non-profit, any educational institution, any citizen advocacy group, with respect to the changing paradigm of business from industrial era obsess on profit and waste wantonly, to the information era of integrated full life cycle with total transparency of all costs (social, environmental, and financial) and ZERO footprint on Earth and society. There is ample original work from the authors, and this book is priced just right as a vehicle for energizing groups of any kind.

Following from my extensive notes:

+ A handful of top global businesses "get it" and have been pioneering footprint free zero waste business model: BP, GE, Coca-Cola, Dupont, even Nike.

+ Non-governmental organizations (NGO) know more about local needs and the emerging marketplace (four billion of the five billion poor, I am very disconcerted to see the business world "writing off" the one billion extreme poor) than any market "intelligence" firm.

+ With credit to Jared Diamond, I read for the first time about the unreal financial reality "bubble," and the "real real" world bubble that is catching up with it. See John Bogle's book below for a deeper explanation of how the financial mandarins have stolen one fifth of the value and misdirected the Main Street economy while doing so.

+ Although I have read Stewart Hart's work, this book helped me appreciate in detail his Sustainability Value Matrix.

+ Other "big ideas" by others that are integrated into this book include that of civil society stakeholders; ethical consumerism, stabilization wedges (Palala and Socolow),ladder of inference (an anthropological practice), peacekeeping circles, requisite organization, and law of limited competition (Daniel Quinn)

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

1. Industrial Waste (USA wastes 100 billion tons a year, 90% of inputs)

2. Consumer/Commercial Waste & Toxicity (of 8B/year, 5B not absorbable)

3. Non-Renewable Resources in Sharp Decline

4. Renewable Resources down 30-70% and in some cases close to extinction tipping point (fresh water, topsoil, fisheries, forests)

THREE GUIDING IDEAS:

1. No viable path neglects future generations

2. Institutions matter

3. Real change must be grounded in new ways of thinking (see Durant below, capstone lessons from their ten volume history of civilization was that the only real revolution is in the mind of man, and that morality has a strategic value of incalculable proportions).

THREE AREAS OF BUSINESS CONCERN:

1. Energy & Transportation

2. Food & Water

3. Material Waste & Toxicity

THREE PRE-REQUISITES FOR NEW THINKING:

1. Seeing Systems Within Systems (Full Cycle Closed Earth)

2. Collaborating Across Boundaries (No one has it all)

3. Creating & adjusting instead of problem solving in isolation

SIX BASIC IDEAS:

1. Natural system encloses social and economic systems

2. Industrial system must operate in that context

3. Regenerable resources have harvest limits

4. Non-renewable resources are finite.

5. Waste is a cancer on the Earth

6. Socio-cultural community is the vessel for change

THREE SKILLS FOR CREATING THE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE:

1. Convening diversity of viewpoints

2. Listening to all, avoiding advocacy

3. Nurturing relationships over time and above money

EXPLICIT INCENTIVES FOR GOING GREEN:

1. Save dollars internally

2. Make dollars externally

3. Provide customers with competitive value

4. Sustainability as point of differentiation

5. Shape the future of your industry, win market share

6. Become a preferred supplier for giants like Home Depot

7. Change image and brand for better (70%+ of market value)

The book is full of examples of successful change implementation, and includes a number of "toolbox" pages that could be made into a protable booklet or distributed broadly across corporate networks.

I was struck throughout the book with the value of this work in identifying specific personalities and specific companies who could be drawn into the broader holistic work of emerging meta-strategic networks such as Reuniting America, the Transpartisan Institute, and Earth Intelligence Network. Two women in particular jumped out as future global leaders on the order of Lee Kuan Yew and Nelson Mandela:

1. Vivienne Cox of BP

2. Lorraine Bolsinger of GE

I put the book down deeply impressed with its concluding sections, and thinking to myself: China, CHINA, CHINA! That is the center of gravity for getting right on a massive scale in the near term.

Other important books NOT mentioned by this book:
The Story of Civilization by Will Durant with The Lessons of History (Complete in 10 Vols. plus The Lessons of History which was written by Durant to accompany the 10-volume set)
Organizational Intelligence (Knowledge and Policy in Government and Industry)
The Knowledge Executive
The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism
High Noon 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks)
The New Age of Innovation: Driving Cocreated Value Through Global Networks
One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace

I resolved to rate this book as a four for the following reasons, in relative order of annoyance:
1) Crummy index for what could have been a brilliant REFERENCE book, not just an orientation book for leaders that do not read a lot. This index is SO BAD it fails to list all the individuals mentioned, and completely blows off numerous key phrases (e.g. sustainability wedges) that would be in any properly created professional index.
2) No literature search and total isolation from the major literatures of Collective Intelligence, Wealth of Networks, Organizational Intelligence, Integral Consciousness, Closed Systems Engineering, Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, and so on.
3) Understandable use of the iconic name of the lead author, but in all probability actually written by the other four authors.
4) Really marginal reference section and no bibliography (even more valuable would have been an annotated bibliography).
5) Absolutely clueless on the means of visualizing and using world-class visualization to create compelling multi-dimensional mental images (this is not to say I am any better, just that they missed a chance to be "the" reference work for the next seven years).

Bottom line on the deficiency: I read very broadly, and am increasingly distressed at the continuing isolation of authors from one another's work. It's time every work of this importance do a proper job of connecting to other works.

This is one of the most interesting and important contributions of 2008 to the vital area of sustainability thinking. MIT's Peter Senge is well known for deep analysis of organizational effectiveness (that can be challenging to read). He applies the same "systems thinking" found in his best-selling book, "The Fifth Discipline", to the multi-dimensional problem of unsustainable industrialization to reveal the real drivers and not merely the symptoms of the core problems. Yet in this fresh, face-paced book, Mr. Senge takes a more "story-teller" approach to illustrate how we as a society can accomplish much more in our efforts to find more sustainable practices working together than working in a wary isolation.

He uses many examples of successful collaboration between industry, brands, NGO groups, government and individuals. This is the new charter for effectiveness. As Wired magazine rightly said this year: "Global warming is too important to leave to environmentalists alone to solve." Government and business are in the best position to lead large-scale sustainable change and must take more and more ownership.

I help lead sustainability programs for a major athetic brand, and we would never dream of collaborating around performance technology innovations. Yet, increasingly, we and my peers at other brands throughout the industry have been actively collaborating around many sustainability initiatives - even making ideas and patented technologies that solely benefit the environment available to others. We work with NGO groups to better inform our strategies and they are always willing and helpful to collaborate (as some of them say, we would rather work in partnership than take you to court!). We are working to develop common mreasures and standards to drive supply chains toward more sustainable production and better equip the consumer for informed choices regarding environmental impact. Senge's book is all about such collaboration - in product companies, energy sector and the built environment.

No longer perceived as a fad or gimick, sustainability and eco-thinking are now evolving to necessary(and perhaps even survivability) strategies to insure this generation's children will have a world worth inheriting and similar opportunities than us adults have had living quite well off the resouces of the planet. Peter Senge shows us how to get there by developing shared awareness of the problem and working effectively across boundaries of all kinds. A main audience he wrote this book for is the grass-roots visionaries who have "gotten this" long ago and who work quietly but surely as the dynamic change-agents for a more sustainable world. A intellectually savvy and notable contribution to the topic that reads remarkably well. 5 stars.

The Necessary Revolution: How Individuals and organizations are working together to create a Sustainable World. (TNR)
Value of TNR: The theme of TNR is that we must shift beyond being reactive in our solutions approach, merely seizing short term solutions, and move to deep thinking to really make a difference. I strongly agree. The book includes many stories of what organizations and individuals are doing to try to be more proactive. The "Take, Make, Waste" mode of the last 60 years is no longer viable and some folks are digging deeper in their thinking and getting beyond symptom solutions. It is the right message but with insufficient thinking on the part of the authors on what it would really take to accomplish that deep thinking. They fall into the same trap they are critiquing, working in a problem-solving mode with humans doing less harm and letting nature restore itself, but with just a more sophisticated version than they challenge.
Shortfall: The authors point out that what got us into the mess we are in is working from a Cartesian view of reality that sees the world as things divided into parts and pieces that are not connected. As a result we have outsourced solutions by specialty, allow the problem creator to side step the deep dive to get to the underlying causes. However, TNR is working with an approach to Systems Thinking based on the Study of machines and computers that originated at MIT with Jay Forrester in the Engineering and Cybernetic Systems School in the 1950s. Forrester moved to the Sloan Management School and took his Systems Dynamic Theory with him. It is still a part of the Sloan School and has been adopted by the SOL Sustainability Consortium unrevised from its computer science basis and applied directly to human systems. It is true that Systems Thinking is needed to get us past the current crisis but one based in and developed from understanding artificial intelligence in computers and the working of machinery is just as limited as the element Cartesian model that positioned us for the current challenge. Even though the authors open with the Einstein quote, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we create them," they fail to see that that is the mind that created the form of system thinking is still the one they are using for the most part.
One of the greatest shortfall of the book is the banalization of the term regenerative and equating it with renewable, as in renewable resources and restorative, as restoring a wetland to its original state--or letting nature do it. This comes from the way of thinking about Systems itself.
The least encompassing type of Systems Thinking is what I call, Causal Systems Thinking or Cybernetic Systems Thinking because it is based in Cybernetic Studies and Science coming from Computer Science fields and Industrial Engineering applications to machinery based on non-living metaphors applied to Living Systems. Causal loops are an incomplete and often inaccurate way to describe human and social systems since they imply a single connecting or steam of causes back to an original cause. Even Forrester said that feedback loops do not apply to open systems, which Living Systems are because feedback loops are based on repetitive behavior and refer back to actions of the past and control those directly for the future. In open systems, the actions are independent of past action. (see Principles of Systems, Jay Forrester, 1979) www.wholebusinessblog.wordpress.com

I bought this book based upon a positive review I read in Usenix's Login magazine. I've used OpenBSD for some minor things, but never really used it on any long term basis. I recently ordered the 3.8 release CDs and am interesting in delving further into it.

With that backdrop, I bought this book. Overall, I think this book is pretty good.

Along with some others who have read it, after having read it--I share some reservations about the title. I'm not so sure "Secure Architectures with OpenBSD" should be the title. It may be a bit misleading.

I'd this is more of a OpenBSD manual or guidebook than a book on building a "Secure Architecture". It is the book you really want to have at your desk if you deal with OpenBSD regularly (and a lot of it is good for any Unix-based system).

I like this book and it definately is a quality book, though I wonder if some people may have been mislead by the title.

Before buying this book you need to understand a few facts about it:

- at first glance the title may lead you to believe it's about securing OpenBSD - it's not. It is about using an inherently secure operating system, OpenBSD, to its best advantage.

- you will need to be an experienced UNIX or Linux (or ideally OpenBSD) system admin to get the most out of the content.

- it is intended to be used in conjunction with OpenBSD man pages; as noted by another reviewer this book aggregates a lot of OpenBSD documentation, making it a convenient reference.

Because OpenBSD is more than a little different from other *NIX variants, and because it is cantankerous with respect to installation and configuration, the material in this book will save a lot of time and reduce the learning curve for anyone migrating to the OpenBSD environment. Reasons for this migration include the enhanced security by default and the inherent stability of this operating system.

Chapters 3, 4 and 5 are good places to start to get up-to-speed in OpenBSD because they thoroughly cover installation, basic use (especially with respect to the not-so-standard filesystem layout), and basic default services. All of Section II is essential reading for those new to OpenBSD. Among the topics covered are user admin (almost identical to other *NIX variants), pre-compiled third party software packages (unique to OpenBSD, especially with respect to ports tree), and other administrative tasks and operations. Section III, advanced features, is also essential and will greatly reduce the learning curve.

Overall this is an exceptionally well-written book that covers everything you need to know about OpenBSD from installation, and administration maintenance perspectives.

About a year ago I read and reviewed Michael Lucas' excellent "Absolute OpenBSD." That book covered OpenBSD 3.2 and the CURRENT of that time, pre-3.3. Palmer and Nazario's "Secure Architectures with OpenBSD" (SAWO) addresses OpenBSD 3.4, which at the time of writing is just behind the current release (3.5). Lucas' book is an excellent introduction to OpenBSD by a relative outsider; SAWO is a more detailed discussion by insiders. Each has its strengths and I highly recommend both.

My favorite aspect of SAWO is its coverage of the internal workings of certain aspects of OpenBSD. Ch 4 features an enlightening walk-through of the /etc/rc script. Ch 13 not only describes how to use the ports tree, it explains how that system of software installation works. In some cases the authors reach beyond subjects strictly associated with OpenBSD, such as compilers (ch 21) and CVS (appendix A and elsewhere). As OpenBSD relies heavily on widely-used open source tools for standard administration, I welcome these discussions.

I also congratulate the authors' decision to focus on practical aspects of OpenBSD administration or functionality. Ch 3 gives installation advice for non-i386 hardware users. Ch 17 explains how to enable STARTTLS. Ch 22 shows why Pf is superior to many or most commercial firewalls. Some of the material can even be applied to the other BSDs, like the coverage of mergemaster in ch 31 or the advice on using IPv6 in tandem with IPv4 in ch 28.

I only have a few critiques of SAWO. Ch 27 (VPNs) was a little terse and hard to follow. I didn't think the authors needed to address applications like Snort (ch 30), when entire best-selling books are written about that very topic. I did not see a single diagram in the whole book. A picture speaks a thousand words, especially when explaining IPSec modes!

The second edition of SAWO will have plenty to add, including coverage of spamd, Common Address Redundancy Protocol (CARP), and pfsync. I suggest BSD users of all types take a close look at SAWO and consider supporting the OpenBSD project by purchasing books like this and official OpenBSD CDs.

This book is a raw front-to-back walkthrough of the OpenBSD operating system targeted a systems administrators. There are no diagrams or pictures anywhere in the book. It consists entirely of Courier type shell work with terse exposition to hold it together.

I can recommend this book if you are a Systems Administrator for OpenBSD and you are looking for something to guide you through the morass of commands in a step by step manner. And even then, I think you should look at the book in person first to make sure that it covers the topic you are interested in adequately.

I should have read the other reviews:
"at first glance the title may lead you to believe it's about securing OpenBSD - it's not. It is about using an inherently secure operating system, OpenBSD, to its best advantage."

Fair enough. As an introduction to OpenBSD for those with experience with other Unix systems, this is a great book. But I can read the man pages and other documentation. I wanted a book that discussed a way to build secure networks with OpenBSD as one component.

The chapter on VPN setup is the best that I have seen on that subject. But otherwise, it's a walk-through of basic installation and configuration.

I also purchased "Building Firewalls with OpenBSD and PF", and it is more what I was looking for: less about OpenBSD itself, and more about how to apply the system to protect your network.

The author does an excellent job of pushing the reader to get engaged with their work / co-workers and to not be scared of displaying emotion. Down with the sterile arms length work environment and up with sincerity and high energy dedication. I especially like the discussion of building a high performance team where the author says "My strategy is to always build teams around the highest performers and let them set such a blistering pace that the mediocre performers can't hide and chose to go someplace else where they're more comfortable." A great book for people looking for a positive jolt of career energy.

I'm a sales trainer and, from a calloused standpoint, don't believe that there is anything really, really new in the world of sales. What's left is the ability or strategy of finding your passion and setting or staying on a course of success. I believe Frank Pacetta is all about that.

I've had the pleasure of meeting Frank and his family and can attest to the fact that this man "walks his talk"! As he says, if you're spending a little too long in the shower or can't read this book, you need a change!

Pacetta's book is a real winner! Of course there is nothing new in the area of sales, motivation, or inspiration. What is new is the way it is all arranged. And Pacetta arranges his material with wit, honesty, humor, and a blatant attack on the basics. Back to basics is what every professional needs. We get so caught up with our careers and lives, that we stray from the basics; the basics of business, customer relations, employee development, etc. I read this book from cover to cover and loved every page. BUT, did anyone else notice all the typo's? I have never read a book with so many typo's and grammatical errors. It got to the point where it was humorous. Several in each chapter... but it was still a great book and worth every penny. It is especially a must read for those in top level management!

I had the privilege of attending one of Frank Pacetta's presentations last month and enjoyed it so much that I bought his latest book. His passion and no-nonsense style has really inspired me to help in eliminating the "ho hum" in our organization or move on to a place that has that "passionate attachment" towards its employees.

Thanks for a great book Frank!

"Stop Whining" is the same old management book with a different cover and title. I bought it to get some new material, but there is nothing here that hasn't been written before. The entire book revolves around one point: treat others (employees and customers) like you would want to be treated. A vital concept but hardly original. The author is smart using todays hot business buzz word, "passion" in the title, however this material has little spark. The title caught my interest, but having invested money and time into this book leaves me feeling short-changed. As a reader I want fresh ideas not redundant material.

I bought this thinking since it was a 2008 edition it would be up-to-date on the latest materials and techniques. Not. This is essentially the year 2000 edition and does not address the composite bentonite-hdpe systems that are common today. I was also looking for some technical details on how a bentonite system should work but only a few overview-type comments were in the text.

Most of the drawings are clear and useful, but the black and white photos are small and sometimes hard to discern what is being depicted.

All in all, this book is a useful resource but not worth the high price being charged.

EDIT: On Page 2.58, author states: "Clay swells 10-15 percent of its dry volume under maximum wetting." This is incorrect, should be 10-15 TIMES, not percent. At 10-15 percent, bentonite would not work.

This book does not contain much information on wood-framed buildings. It focuses primarily on concrete and masonry structures, with some information on EIFS systems. As an architect, I bought the book as a resource for drawing construction details. I found that the index was hard to use (sparse) and it was difficult to find specific information on certain building transitions (window flashings, for example). I'm sure the book would be helpful to someone looking for information on large-scale commercial waterproofing solutions, or in-depth discussions regarding sealants. I needed a book that was a bit broader in scope.

While too many other books present only a portion of information on the topic, in this book it is obvious that the author has extensive experience in the field and leaves no topic regarding waterproofing untouched. What makes this book a great resource is ability of the author to associate the text with sufficient detail drawings or photographs for each of the waterproofing areas presented. Waterproofing is not a topic that can be described in words only and this book is the only one that makes sure a reader at any level of knowledge in the waterproofing field can understand the necessary concepts involved. This book has been a great resource for the maintenance work of building management whenever we have a waterproofing related issue arrise. I imagine that if architects or engineers would make better use of such a book in the design phases of a project, buiding owners wouldn't have so many related problems while operating the facility. The chapters on leak repair have saved us many headaches and dollars!

This is the first book that offers a complete guide to any waterproofing related subject. Even better it offers a great chapter on finding and resolving leaks when they occcur. THIS CHAPTER IS WORTH THE PRICE OF THE BOOK ITSELF! Anybody in the design, engineering or construciton fields needs this book on their bookshelf. Finally somebody has got this subject right!

This book could make a waterproofing expert out of anyone! It offers complete and detailed information on every imaginable topic about waterproofing, restoration and even testing for leaks. The best part about the book's structure is that it provides answers and information for the simplest to the most difficult of waterproofing situations. The author has made great use of details from manufacturer's detail drawings and job site photographs to explain how to properly install and inspect waterproofing systems. I got to this page through his web site that even lets you ask questions if the book hasn't answered them - what a GREAT IDEA!

This book is a major wake up call. Having been deeply suspicious of personality profiling during most of my professional life, and very critical of most of the leading methods - Patrick and Dee Dee Aspell gave me my first introduction to the Enneagram and it has changed my whole perception of how to get inside other people's worlds. While the book may be short of academic snobbery it (a GREAT PLUS) and short of complex jargon (a GREATER PLUS) for many so called 'experts' in the field - it is superb for people who simply want to understand people. Academic excellence written in an easily accessible style. Perfect. This book started an exploration of the Enneagram for me, which I now use extensively in my professional work, and I always come back to this book for straight forward, practical insights into how people tick.

A good book - clearly set out. I have to disagree with the negative review on this page. The white space, simple layout is a huge bonus for users who do not want to wade through page after page of padding. Authors take note.

I think this must be the Aspell behind the brilliant Aspell-Gilpin Profile which led me to search for more on the authors. If so, it seems the Aspells are the real thinkers behind the system. This book gives much less information on the types than the on-line version and I got confused by the fact that the personality types were given different names but it was useful background reading. The on-line version also dispenses with the enneagram 'star' and makes it easier to follow.

Fellow Brit Gilpin has written Unstoppable People which is worth a read and is much better than most of the motivational writing that I have read.

This book has almost everything you always wanted to know about understanding yourself and others in both the professional arena and in your personal life. There are many books about the Enneagram and many of them have a lot of information to plod through before getting to the heart of the message. The beauty and power of this book lies in the authors' abilities to capture the essence, the bottom line, of the nine personality types in clear and concise, phrases, and charts.

It only takes a couple of hours to read this book to get a vivid mental portrait of who you really are. Not only that, you can also get a clear picture of how you can most effectively and efficiently grow and develop yourself. And as for improved relationships with others, a whole new world of celebrating others' differences and strengths can open up.

The authors Patrick and Dee Dee Aspell say the Enneagram is a cutting edge system that "describes nine personality types and professional styles of thinking, feeling, acting, and relating." But there's even more than that. This book provides a framework for the appreciating and empowering of personal and professional styles. From this vantage point, it can be a springboard for a person and/or team to grow in many areas of development.

This book tells you the next steps you can take so you can eventually have all the strengths of all nine types in your reach.

Like me, perhaps in reading this book, you will also have many "a-ha" moments of deep insight and a feeling of new vistas opening up in front of you. The pages of this book seem to exude a real feeling that you can immediately put this information into practice in some area of your life, professional and/or personal.

Although there's a chapter for each personality type to be discussed in depth, the summary charts in the appendix are well worth the price of the book. You can almost read these charts and in a few moments figure out what type you and others are. But that's not a good idea. It's strongly suggested that a person complete an Enneagram Inventory and Profile test to determine his or her type. On page 111 of the book is information on how to order this self test.

THE ENNEAGRAM PERSONALITY PORTRAITS, Enhancing Professional Relationships by Patrick J. Aspell and Dee Dee Aspell, is an easy-to-read and very understandable introduction to the Enneagram personality system. It is unique in its business friendly approach to personal and professional development. The terminology, the application, and the physical appearance of the book and companion workbooks all lend themselves easily to the business environment.

The book describes the personality traits along with work, leadership, and thinking styles. This description immediately focuses in on those interested in using this system at work to become more effective. The description then goes on to include beliefs and principles, and motivation which appeals to the total person approach of self improvement. Finally the section on personal and professional development brings the work and personal aspects together in an easily applicable prescription for greater growth and effectiveness.

In the relationship section, Aspell and Aspell clearly explain how each type relates and communicates with others, how they engage in conflict management, and how to develop rapport with each personality type. After reading how each type relates and responds to others, one has a much better grasp of how to communicate with others both at work and at home.

The Summary Charts of Key Traits and Techniques for Matching Behaviors and Words for each type are quick reference guides in better understanding self and others. They bring very intricate and intellectual information together in a format that is user friendly for the beginning as well as the advanced Enneagram student.

The positive and empowering style of writing enables the reader to see gifts as well as challenges of personality in a accepting way, and points to directions of growth and decline as dual sides of life and personality that lead a person either toward a more fulfilling life, or toward a less fulfilling life. They liken the process to a description by Carl Jung termed "shadow and light", and point out how often the characteristics are the same - "they differ only in the degree to which they are exhibited in a particular situation."

Claudette Keller Director, Self Empowerment Services

This 30,000-foot review of personality profiles suffers from a severe lack of depth and practical application. The authors manage to turn what should be a 5-page magazine article into 125 pages through the use of generous font-sizes, spacing and margins.

The text truly has no redeeming qualities. Definitions and characteristics of nine personality types are reasonably clear, but information/techniques on identifying which type you are (or your coworkers) is totally absent. Strategies for managing interrelationships are left out, except for a comment that "understanding types and managing relationships is important." Duh.

The lack of accolades on the back cover further should remind one that this book is best avoided. A major disappointment.

Some good ideas- very short lasting group activities. Childish worksheets included, seem more appropriate for developmentally delayed than older adults. Most adults cognitively impaired enough for these to be appropriate for would not be able to write or offended by coloring.

Wonderful resource for those who work in nursing homes and with an elderly population. Great exercises to get people talking. Can be adapted for use for individual sessions as well.

Clinicians and caregivers alike will find this a very useful and helpful tool.

This book provides a good starting point for reminiscence groups with older adults. I find many of the exercises, however, to be infantilizing and in need of modification before use in a group.

I would highly rocommend this book for those who work with people in nursing or retirement homes. I found this book very helpful in getting older adults to express their feelings and share stories from their pasts. This helps to build community with the other people in the group. It also helps build self esteem and friendships with others. Ms. Link has done an excellent job of presenting opportunities through these exercises to help chaplains, ministers, social workers, etc. to be able to offer encouragement and help to our older adults. This book is well worth the investment!

The extensive coverage of every aspect of manufacturing planning and control, such as pegging, back-flushing, phantom BOMs, etc. makes this book the indispensable companion for any manufacturing professional, whether the user of the manufacturing module of ERP or an implementer.

Instead of buying the David Vitale APICS 50 minute series, buy this book. I have been in the software business for several years but did not know anything about MRP II. This book is a comprehensive resource that is also well-organized. Also, it is a good reference book for those who are more familiar with MRP I and MRP II. You don't have have MRP knowledge or experience to read this book but being from a manufacturing background is extremely helpful. This book has resulted in me being well equipped to partnering with the manufacturing division to implement the chosen software package (keeping in mind that my lack of knowledge is not in software implementation but is in MRP II/manufacturing shop floor activites).

The book is an excellent supplementary reading for preparing for APICS CPIM examination. This book has made my preparation for CPIM a lot easier as it covers the entire APICS body of knowledge in a single volume. You don't have to search for another book on MRP or manufacturing. It is also a handy reference for all MRP/ERP/SCM professionals.

Was expecting a great book about MRP II but just didn't cut out to be on just MRP II. Too much other information were placed there that should have belonged to another chapter. Quite confusing with all the acronyms that were randomly placed in the text. This book assumes that you have read other MRP II books. Definitely not a primer on MRP II.

My search for MRP II study and reference material ended with this book. This 585-page HANDBOOK OF MRP2 is the most comprehensive text on the subject. It starts with the basics of manufacturing and builds an exhaustive knowledge base for MRP2 students and practitioner. After reading this book you are well prepared to learn the Manufacturing/Production Planning module of any ERP/SCM package.

Because this book covers manufacturing right from strategic planning level to the shop floor, it helps as a primer as well as advanced reference not just for ERP users/implementers but also for SCM learners and practitioners.

The highlight of the first chapter is an exhaustive and lucid coverage of assemble-to-order manufacturing and mass customization. This is the best sourcebook for learning mass customization, product configuration, and planning bills of material.

Material requirements planning is covered in utmost detail in the 2nd chapter. The working of the entire manufacturing module is covered in this comprehensive chapter. Every relevant acronym is explained.

The next 7 chapters cover topics like Strategic and Business Planning, Sales and Operations Planning, Demand Management, Master Production Scheduling, Bill of Material, Capacity Management, and Shop Floor Control. Each topics is covered in a very concise and precise manner. The logical organization of topics in the book and the flow makes learning an extremely complex subject like manufacturing far more easier than one can ever imagine.

The last three chaptrers introducing ERP, SCM, and CRM are rather disappoining in content and coverage. However, the topics covered in this book are indispensible prerequisites for learning ERP and Supply Chain Management. Overall, this book can help you master MRP2, even if you don't know the basics of manufacturing planning.

I saw the title of this book and picked it up - we are trying to build web services via SOAP at my company and we are not migrating to .NET for a while yet. The book proved worthy of it's title. This book covers modern implementations with legacy technology. Thank you to the authors. I suspect that there are quite a few companies out there that, like us, need to see VB6 references for a while yet (Microsoft has seemed to replace their VB6 documentation with VB.NET documentation on their site).

I recommend this one!

This is a decent Wrox book. Not the jumble of pages stacked together that you get most of the time, but a well rounded compendium of nice to know things for the casual VB Developer. I say "casual", because when it comes to professional programming, you really shouldn't have to read (again) about doing some basic ADO stuff or creating an install package. Three stars for this book because it's good, but not written for a professional developer...

I saw the title of this book and picked it up - we are trying to build web services via SOAP at my company and we are not migrating to .NET for a while yet. The book proved worthy of it's title. This book covers modern implementations with legacy technology. Thank you to the authors. I suspect that there are quite a few companies out there that, like us, need to see VB6 references for a while yet (Microsoft has seemed to replace their VB6 documentation with VB.NET documentation on their site).

I recommend this one!

This is a very thorough compendium of essential information for Visual Basic 6 developers. All of the authors are developers themselves and understand their subject matter thoroughly. You'll find a wide range of helpful information including SQL, COM+, XML, SOAP and much more. You'll even find step-by step information on how to deploy your Visual Basic applications using Visual Studio Installer and Wise Installation System. A great reference book that you'll pull off your shelf again and again...

Being a fan of the Wrox series, I was not disappointed with the latest Professional Visual Basic 6 book. Even though .NET technologies carry the current industry momentum (for MS-based development), there will always be a place for VB 6 within the Enterprise. In my case, for example, I will always have a need to use VB6 for certain clients who are either unwilling or slow to adapt to the newer technologies (namely, .NET) for any number of business reasons.

The authors of this book have done a very good job of bringing together some of today's hottest technologies under one cover. Experienced VB developers will find the chapters within a practical reference (if not a valuable introduction) to modern APIs, such as ADO, COM+, MSMQ, XML, and SOAP. In the short time that I've owned this, I have already pulled it off of the shelf to reference the text and examples on several occasions.

Having said that, though, there is only so much that can fit into any one book, so it does not serve as an absolute reference manual for any single technology.

The book comes with a CD that contains the usual source code from the book, plus 10 Case Studies and 5 Wrox titles in PDF format. Just a technical note, though: I couldn't open the PDF files using Acrobat Reader 4.05, but a simple upgrade to the latest free version resolved that problem.

This is a nice book for anyone who owns or plans to own a business, and is seeking more than just financial rewards. Lots of companies are sharing their wealth with the rest of the world, but not many take the time to write a book about how it can be done, and how rewarding it can be. I found this book to be inspiring and entertaining.

This is the Tom's of Maine Tom Chappell. His story picks up after Tom's has become just another profit seeking business infested with MBAs and looking at the bottom line. It seems that Tom is disallusioned, depressed and goes searching for personal answers by enrolling in Harvard Divinity School. His search helps him and his wife bring the company back to the environmentally and socially conscious organization they began. His story gives some insights and suggestions on how to achieve this mind set turn around in any corporate structure.

The Soul of a Business, though lesser known than many of the myriad of business advice books, does a better job than any other in giving a foundation from which to work.

The business guru often spends an entire book telling us how to treat others. Chappell tells us what basic principles he found that led him to this position of responsible commerce.

Shelves are full of books offering cliches and platitudes on why why ethical behavior leads to a better company and eventually more profits. However, Chappell's book goes back to the root question - why should we as individuals or companies seek one kind of relationship over another? In other words, what should guide us in how we treat each other?

For a book that delivers far beyond simple diagrams and behavior modification tricks, a book that provides the philosophical foundations of Buber and Edwards to guide us in how we should interact with our employees, customers and community read Chappell's book. I ended up owning both paperback and audio tape.

This was a wonderful book to read. After reading it I felt as though I probably know its author pretty good. Not as a friend or someone I'd necessarily like to be friends with, but he seems to be very open about his past, his present, and his beliefs. I am sure that what he discloses in this book will help any wanta-be entrepreneur or small to medium sized business owner rethink whether he or she is leading his or her company in the right direction. I highly recommend that entrepreneurs give this book a read.

Some of the issues addressed are as follows:

1. Will the mission of the company allow the company's leader to enjoy a reasonably good state of mind or conscience?
2. What does a CEO have to do at work to feel fulfilled?
3. Is the CEO of the company a happy and fulfilled person?
4. Are people who work at the company happy at work?
5. Does the company interface well with the community in which it operates?
6. Does the community appreciate the company?
7. Do people trust one another who work for the company?
8. Does much discrimination exist at the company?
9. Is the company all about profits, or not?
10. Is competition good?
11. Is winning always good?
12. Is there more to life than making a buck?

The above issues are just the first 12 that came to mind while I was writing this review. There were many more, but I'm not going to list them all here. The above issues are representative of the content of the book. Maybe the book provides answers, and maybe it doesn't. But the book is great because it reminds business people who are caught up in the rat race of making a living that there is more to business than just making a buck. What comes to mind is: joy, happiness, success, family, friends, and a legacy. Is the business damaging the world, or helping to make it a better place?

I would have enjoyed the book more if the author had not started off explaining what the book "was not." And I would have had a more positive image of the book if the author had not mentioned that he got a lot of his theory from the Harvard Divinity School. There was no need to bring the Gospels into the "story." There is no question that things that can be learned from studying the Gospels are wonderful, but the same things can be learned from other sources. So why throw a religious slant on the issues? I think the book would have been more forceful if religion had be left out entirely.

I enjoyed hearing about the author's wife, but I would have enjoyed hearing more about her thoughts on helping to run the company she and her husband co-founded. I felt a little cheated not hearing a woman's perspective on some of the issues. After all, the author points out that women should be included in management decisions, and that his wife's in fact were.

For those of us who have had difficulty reconciling our personal desires to make a difference with our career demands to turn a profit, this book connects. It's a study in managing value complexity and speaks well to the enormous rewards of striving for a goal much higher than improving ROE. Not all of us can take the same route as does Tom Chappell, but, if we're to be truly fulfilled by our business lives, we must find our own way to his destination.