Organizations Books

When looking at the chapter headings of this book I thought they sure sounded interesting, and interesting they were. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the segments on the Bible, but the superb chapters on the 9-11 Terror attacks, War in Iraq,, our President and God, and the thorough coverage of the contentious politically hot topics of Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Abortion and Homosexuality certainly holds your attention too. This book is genuinely informative giving one a different understanding of the Bible and a better perspective on how religion influences our national political process one way or another. In summation, the 522 printed pages of this book is as the Author's preface states, being both informative and interesting reading, and it gives one a diverse insight about the Bible and Politics. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would recommend this book to everyone, because it is as good a book on religion and politics that you can buy.

While I am not a church-going Christian, I must say that I found this book to be very interesting, entertaining and informative. It is easy to read, even for the lay person. To me, it reveals one man's struggle to overcome his childhood beliefs after reality, maturity and experience has led him to other conclusions. Most people are not capable of such powerful growth during their lifetime. His way with words keeps the reader involved in what he has to say, and his knowledge of the subject is unending. Everyone to whom I have shown the book has expressed a desire to study it. In my opinion if more Christians were exposed to his moderate views, the world would be a better place.

I've read a lot of books about church, religion, and the Bible. I probably should say I've started to read a lot of those books and became so utterly bored that I did not finish many of them. I have read most of this book of 500+ pages in the week that I have owned it and have not read a boring page. Bob has thoroughly researched his topics and does a wonderful job of explaining things so that people who are not scholars can understand what he is saying. He adds a touch of humor in places and also relates his personal experiences that make the reading even more interesting and readable. This is a book you can pick up, read a chapter, a few pages, or several pages and then pick up again and not have to read 20 pages to remember where you were. You will refer to it often. If you are at all interested in religion and the Bible, this book book belongs on your bookshelf.

"An Evangelical Looks at the Bible, Church and Politics" was, and is, an outstanding book and a very interesting read. I am a Christian and believe the basic foundation of Christianity as described in the Bible. Since I was a child; however, I have had many questions that have gone unanswered. This book discusses many of these questions and led me to a better understanding. It also adds very interesting insight into religion and how politicians USE religion to promote their agendas. The book, about the Bible and Political issues, is well documented and holds your attention through all 500 plus pages and is a must read. A good buy!

Pam has written a delightful book with insights about Board, Staff and volunteer interactions. This book is a fabulous introduction to those who want to steer not-for-profits to greater relevancy.

What makes this work even more interesting is Pam's well crafted titles for the elephants she identifies. She, in effect, has created "spin-variation" titles and the writing in general has pizazz.

She has captured the major areas of crisis and challenge in organizations. There is only one area I have found that she has not addressed. It is the tough area that has to do with mental illness. No one really has a model to deal with this elephant.

What do you do if your boss is crazy? This is the case that happens in organizations all over the country. What do you do if an employee, as defined by the DSM, is plainly-speaking nuts. What happens if this employee undermines the boss, attacks stake-holders and clients?

This is an area that is covered certainly in a general way in her book. However, this issue needs detail and the recognition of being an elephant all its own.

Books on nonprofits often tend to be academic and not very useful for us in the trenches. This book is different - it clarified for me why getting things done is so difficult. There are so many doable nuggets, but the one that really hit home was the "vested volunteer elephant." I can't wait to put these ideas into practice!

This is one of those rare informational books that is written in a style that makes it enjoyable to read. I'm already finding myself quoting elephant quips at various non-profit functions and committe meetings.
It is also well organized with exhibits and examples that are easily accessed. Every non-profit CEO and board member needs to read this book. It will certainly stay on my bookshelf as a ready reference for tools and solutions.

I'm not sure elephants had to be part of this critical nonprofit management book, but it works ok I guess. I probably would have liked the book better if the author had used some other "convention" to make her book memorable. I think the book is definitely worth a read by members of nonprofit boards and possibly executive directors (CEOs) of nonprofits. I say probably with regard to CEOs because any CEO who knows anything about his or her job already knows everything that is written between the covers of this book.

When I read the front and back cover materials of the book it became apparent quickly that the author is a new management consultant to not-for-profits and this book is her professional "credibility piece" so she can charge a reasonable (if not handsome) consulting fee for her services. I smile when I write this because after reading the book I doubt anyone who can comprehend the book will need to hire the author since the book is very well written.

According to the author nonprofit organizations that are poorly managed suffer from five fundamental obstacles:

1. An unclear vision and mission
2. A detached board - one that does not relate to the organization
3. An incompetent board - one that fails to develop policy and strategy
4. Incompetent CEO, staff, and volunteers - performance is not demanded
5. Too much people-pleasing and not enough "get the job done"

I don't know whether the nonprofit sector is as bad off as the author suggests. My hunch is that it is, but I don't have the evidence to back up what I believe. I think that the author took a bold step by being as negative as she was about the nonprofit sector without providing more statistical data to support where she was coming from in making the general statements that she makes. She could have written the book to say that if a nonprofit suffers from the five obstacles mentioned above, THEN certain steps that she describes could be taken. But she did not write the book that way.

All in all, this is a great book and one that nonprofit management teams (boards and their CEOs) should read and use to improve the way they do their work. Major gift givers should probably read the book as well so they can better evaluate a nonprofit that is seeking a gift from them. 5 stars!

As one of the women in this book I must say Alice has done very well telling our stories! I was the youngest in the book and was humbled after reading the other stories. I am now 18 and in college still trying hard to carry on the story. I hope all of you who have read this wonderful story become inspired to do something to help others!

You will be amazed at what these women have done, accomplished or experienced. Each story is inspiring and unique. A true display of how one person can in fact make a difference.

Reflecting the lives of women with widely ranging careers and special interests, Ms. Anderson's book is at once both inspiring and motivating.

From women whose work involves teaching developmentally and physically challenged children and women committed to the rescue and humane treatment of animals, to women whose life work has been to provide career opportunities for other women, these thoughtfully written biographical profiles provide a pciture of diversity and dedication.

Thoughtfully researched and articulately written, Ms. Anderson's book would be an exceptional graduation gift for any young woman embarking on the exploration of her own career options. It is gratifying reading for anyone who finds inspiration in the lives and good works of others.

When we read of famous women there is always a sense of their accomplishments being something beyond what ordinary women like most of us could possibly do. This book looks at the work done by ordinary women that has made a big difference in some way. It would be a perfect book to have in classrooms where teens and preteen girls could use it as an inspiration. But it is also an inspiration to women of any age.

Alice Hellstrom Anderson features a great variety of women both in terms of their ages and in what they have done to contribute to society. Each woman was personally interviewed by Anderson. You will find women concerned about the underprivileged, world peace, world health, and more in this book. It is a wonderful resource and a great way to get in touch with how ordinary women are making a difference.

I use this as a daily reference for advice and sometimes just for a pick-me-up! Many interesting quotes and ideas.Open to any page in the book and let the ideas sink in as your day progresses.An excellent book.

These 2 quotes are not from the book, but are quotes about quotes:

"The wisdom of the wise, and the experience of ages, may be preserved by quotations" - Isaac Disraeli

"It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read a good book of quotations" - Sir Winston Churchill

This book is basically a collection of quotes. Some are extremely powerful and some are well-not so powerful. I'm a big believer in quotes, here are a few from the book:

On change, "Adapt or Die" The first 10 pages are about change and how business is constantly evolving and how those that can't keep up are doomed.

"Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration. Yes, sir, it's mostly hard work." - Thomas A. Edison

"A half-backed strategy well executed will be superior to that marvelous strategy that isn't executed very well." - Allan Gilmour, vice chairman Ford Motor Co.

"The only new thing new in the world is the history you don't know." - President Harry S. Truman

"Good leaders are curious; they spend a lot of time trying to learn new things." - Jeffrey Immelt, CEO, GE

There are lot of good inspirational quotes in this book. It's a good book to have on your desk and glance at time and again.

By Kevin Kingston author of, A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate

My blog: http://www.bloglines.com/blog/KevinKingston

The author provides pearls of wisdom on a plethora of complicated
business topics and decisions. For instance, we are asked to
anticipate or embrace change early. Ideally, this should take
place when things are going well. Sometimes, success breeds
difficulty in unlearning bad habits or undoing complacency.
Very often, the identification of key facts will precipitate
change. The author believes that customer service is part of the
job. We are asked to learn from failure rather than wallow in it.
Intuition is part experience and part talent; however, we should
act upon our best instincts or feelings. The preferred decision-
making process should involve the following:

- framing questions
- fact finding
- analysis and conclusions
- learning from experience and mistakes made previously

Good process design should be common sense. Simplicity and
ease of use by customers are the premier concerns. The corporate
logo should be "faster, cheaper and better" . We should learn
from the people in the trenches because they are aware of the
practical dimensions of new ideas/processes. In addition,
the author provides a timeframe of from 7-10 years to introduce,
perfect and implement new techniques, designs and processes.
The acquisition is worth the price charged for the reader who
will implement the contents dispassionately.

I've looked forward to getting my monthly copy of the magazine Fast Company for an number of years. Now they have have "hit another home run" with an excellent book.

It's a fun, easy read with an three excellent indexes in the back. The first, "Sources" gives the source for each quote found in the 22 different chapters. The second is an "Index of Quote Titles", and the third is and Index of Authors, i.e. the people who gave the business wisdom quote.

This is also an excellent "idea starter" for short, meaningful motivational talks.

Try it, you'll like it and probably will buy a friend a copy!

This book is the text book of my cs education of file organization. And i can comfortably say that it gives much insight not just on file organization but also on algorithms. I haven't read all the chapters but among the chapters i read, without any exaggeration i can say that i've learnt every word of what the author wants teach.

This book is one of the few gems in computer science. It is written intelligently. One can read it fluently. It is about a reasonably important subject. The book is well crafted (hardcover, layout...). In short reading it makes you happy and smart.

The only disadvantage of it: there is no sample code. Desperate people might want to check on Folk, Zeollick, Riccardi "File Structures".

I've got a whole bookshelf of algorithms books, and this is by far the best book on file organization in my collection. Tharp was one of the best professors I ever had, and it was a pleasure to work from his excellent (and unfortunately hard to find) book. If I had to own a single book on this topic, well, here it is.

It's ~old book (1988), but it still very actual now, and will be actual in future. This book contain only principles and algorithms, but it all showed so deep and clear, so I was very impressed then read it first time. B-tree type structures description is best I ever seen. (Need to have this book if You perform serious low-level work on NTFS, BFS or other File System, based on B-trees.). And even if You not work with such File Systems - this book is classic algorithm book and I put it on my bookshelf near Knuth's volumes.

This practical guide deals mostly with software and is directed primarily at professionals but contains much that is accessible and useful to accountants and others who are responsible for Year 2000 software reviews. The book is well organized, most chapters are self contained, and the many check lists are useful guides. The comprehensive coverage of date keeping in PCs and how it affects everyday software is invaluable. This book has earned its place on our Y2K reference shelf.

This is the only book on the Y2K problem that is a "start to finish" guide to help any business identify its year 2000 vulnerabilities and do something about them. Looks at the year 2000 problem from a business perspective, not just a computer perspective. Every business needs this book.

A clear and concise handbook for assessing Year 2000 issues. This book walks the small business owner through the process of analysis, implentation and testing in a straightforward manner. I highly recommend it.

I found this book to be quite helpful in developing Year 2000 strategies for my small business clients, from assessment through remediation and testing. Clearly written, concise, and informational.

This is a wonderful book to go through during lent, or for that matter, at any time of the year. There are 40 excerpts from the Canon of St. Andrew. Frederica Mathewes-Green links these selections with the scripture from the Bible that inspired them and includes a brief commentary on each verse.

This book makes one look at their own shortcomings and sins, but also shines the light of a loving and merciful God as the help and healer of our human spiritual ailments. I really am enjoying reading and being challenged by this book.

Eastern Christian thought, prayer and spirituality is not well enough known in "the West." The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is a beautiful prayer, and Ms. Mathewes-Green does an excellent job in communicating these values in a way that those of us with a "Western" mindset can understand, appreciate, and find meaning in our lives. Great reading during the Lenten season.

I have read the Canon of St. Andrew several times in the past. This book is helpful in causing a deeper dig within my own heart, to grasp the faith of the Ancient Christians! I expect that this book will begin to look worn, as the years go by, as well as a few other favorites on my bookshelf!

I don't intend so much to review this book (which I found excellent), as to respond to a couple of questions posed by the reviewer below, John Zxerce.

Mr. Zxerce seems to be looking at the theology of the book through a Protestant/Reformed lens. No doubt, if this is the case some of what he sees will seem strange, even foreign, to his understanding of the Faith. An example of this is his putting forth of several implicit or explicit "either/or's." But from an Orthodox perspective these are seen more as "both/and's." Salvation is found through "a Savior to be embraced" and "an example to be followed." One aspect of soteriology doesn't preclude or negate the other. Of course, one must "embrace" the Saviour before one can follow Him, but it the Orthodox mind the two are not radically separate. Salvation is a gift of God's grace, without a doubt. But that doesn't eliminate the need to live a Christ-like life. To put it in Western terms, righteousness is both "imputed" and "infused." It's not one or the other.

The ransom/redemption texts of Scripture that Mr. Zxerce quotes will fit just as well into the Orthodox paradigm of salvation as rescue, as they do into the Western understanding of the "substitutionary atonement," which of course the Orthodox believe, albeit not in the same way. Sin and death are definitely real enemies--I'm not sure how one could come away with any other idea after reading the Canon of St. Andrew. The difference between Orthodoxy and Protestant Christianity in this regard is the manner in which the two sides see those enemies being defeated.

It is important to remember that the Western "substitutionary atonement" model of the death of Christ isn't all there is. For centuries before that model became the dominant one in the Western Church, the Eastern Fathers (and many Western ones as well) held to the view that the Orthodox hold today. For further reading on this I'd recommend Mathewes-Green's earlier book THE ILLUMINED HEART and Matthew Gallatin's THIRSTING FOR GOD. These two books also contain references that point the way to deeper, more scholarly works on the subject.

This book contains information on how churches can enliven their missions by making improvements in five areas. Since these five areas are discussed by other writers in mission improvement, I have reason to believe this book presents a plan that is worthwhile to attempt. We have just received the kit and are reviewing this to see how it can be coordinated with other educational programs and equipping efforts that we are implementing. Probably what a prospective buyer really wants to know is: "Does this work?" I cannot answer that yet, but it sounds like it is worth trying the program. I would suggest buying this book before buying the kit, so that you have an overview of the whole program, anyway.

The five practices apply to your congregation, but they also apply without much difficulty to most businesses. This is a great good book ... written well with valuable specific examples. Pick it up! Books like this don't come along that often.

This book is very insightful and gives a lot of food for thought. I highly recommend it for anyone who is seeking a deeper, more obedient relationship with Christ for themselves and their church.

One of the most practical and inspiring resources I have found in many decades of church work. Beautifully & engagingly written.

Krovetz haas written a book that will help those involved in thinking about how to make our schools work for all children. The idea is that if we create a nurturing yet academically challenging culture, we can provide a climate in which all chiildren can flourish. Through the case studies we see how each school has encated the ideas, bringing them to life, and showing us the possibilities as well as the difficulties.

As the author, I hope that you will find Fostering Resiliency to be the book for l999 that makes you reflect deeply on the public schools you know well and that helps you ask why the schools in your neighborhood are not more like the seven schools described in this book.

Martin Krovetz published "Fostering Resiliency" with subtitle "Expecting All Students to Use Their Minds and Hearts Well." As a retired administrator and teacher I see his book striking at the heart of what all educators should be doing. This San Jose State U. professor gives narrative with examples of students and happening schools, and he integrates first lists and step-by-step procedures for winning over students of all ages so that they can be taught. The book has incredible import for balancing vital aspects of our children's education. No aspect, e.g. curriculum, assessment, nurturing, can be isolated in schools for students nor all other adults in students' lives. Mr. Krovetz builds the case for fostering resiliency in everyone. It could be the next handbook for restoring a full education to students, including the "basics" which is on everyone's wish list these days. It is a book to be studied. Is it on the shelves at Amazon?

Fostering Resiliency: Expecting All Students to Use Their Minds and Hearts Well, is a well written and easy to read resource for teachers and administrators. Martin Krovetz provides concrete examples of schools which have developed into resilient learning communities for both students and staff. It will leave you with a deeper understanding of what a "good school" does and hopefully, the inspiration to take on the work of making your school a more resilient community.

A substantive and crystal clear guide, especially for CEOs. Light takes years of data provided by the Rand Corporation and distills them into the 4 essential pillars to establish high performing organizations and the operating principles of "robust organizations." Most useful of all is Light's guidance in facilitating organizational change -- thereby enabling readers who are leaders (or consultants to leaders) to advance organizations to new heights of performance for today's and tomorrow's challenging environments. Light shines light on the path for success !!

Obviously, when building anything, there are several essential requirements: an appropriate design, materials of the highest possible quality, skilled workers, and establishment of a solid foundation. In this volume, Light suggests how certain organizations have met these requirements and how others can also do so. He concedes that a moribund or demoralized organization can "create a burst of high performance by terrifying [its] workforce or rallying [its] troops" but invariably the results are only temporary. He asserts (and I agree) that the greater challenge is to "build organizations that produce results by hedging against the inevitable surprises and vulnerabilities that lurk in today's environment, while exploiting opportunities to shape the future to their advantage." Hence the importance of having a stereoscopic perspective which includes an awareness of possible and at least a sense of probable perils as well as opportunities. Hence the importance of having a design which can accommodate modification in response to "inevitable surprises." Hence the importance, also, of having a foundation which can withstand the impact of adversity while sustaining competitive initiatives.

In 1999, Light was engaged by the RAND Corporation to examine what its researchers had learned about managing public organizations during several previous decades . He eventually decided to focus on what had been learned about how any organization can achieve and then sustain high performance. It is important to note, as does Light, that RAND research is guided by three basic principles embedded in its own organizational culture: "First, RAND has a well-deserved reputation for questioning the questions.....Second, RAND has a long history of questioning its own answers through peer review and quality control....Third, RAND allows the evidence to speak, even when it unsettles the client." I was also interested to learn that RAND had some serious problems of its own during the mid-1990s which are noted within Light's narrative. RAND solved those problems by focusing on the basics of the Four Pillars.

That said, let's examine how he organizes his material. In Chapter 1, he shares several lessons about the future revealed by RAND's research after a rigorous analysis of "four critical sources of organizational vulnerability: ignorance, inflexibility, indifference, and inconsistency." In Chapter 2, Light shifts his attention to what RAND research has learned about addressing the vulnerabilities of uncertainty. Of special interest to me are the "seven powerful predictors of high performance" and the "four underlying pillars that help organizations achieve extraordinary results," all of which had been identified by the research. Then in Chapter 3, Light explains what RAND has learned about each of the "four pillars." In Chapter 4, he focuses on what RAND has learned about operating a "robust" organization. "Simply asked, how do robust organizations create the alertness, agility, adaptability, and alignment [which are] essential to high performance?" This chapter provides four answers. Then in the fifth and final chapter, he shares what RAND has learned about managing change. In this chapter, the reader is provided with "six suggested steps for improving the odds of success."

At this point in my brief commentary, I feel obliged to explain that Light has accomplished far more than examine an immense body of research data and then merely summarize key points. He had more ambitious objectives for this book and he achieved all of them. They include focusing much less attention on broad general principles (albeit sound ones) and far more attention on HOW almost any organization (regardless of size or nature) can apply those principles where perils are greatest, where opportunities are most promising, and where significant change is most likely. Granted, senior-level executives will find few head-snapping revelations in this book. Light creates for them, however, broad and deep access to a wealth of valuable (previously inaccessible) information from which he helps them to learn how to establish or nourish their own "robust" organization. After a careful reading and then re-reading of his book, they should then review key points in the Conclusion at the end of each chapter. I strongly recommend that his readers regularly review, also, the dozens of (boxed) idea clusters which Light thoughtfully provides throughout the narrative. For example, The Six Revolutions (Page 27), The First, Second, and Third Rounds of Winnowing: Strong Associations with Performance (Pages 56-57, 60, 62, respectively), and Organizing for Lightning (Page 150).

One final point. As James Q. Wilson notes in the Foreword, Light's work at RAND "did not involve any pre-conditions or post-research clearances. What you will read here is Light's best independent advice." In my opinion, The Four Pillars of High Performance is a brilliant achievement.

Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out Evan I. Schwartz's Juice: The Creative Fuel That Drives World-Class Inventors, Marco Iansiti and Roy Levien's The Keystone Advantage: What the New Dynamics of Business Ecosystems Mean for Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability, Peter Schwartz's The Art of the Long View: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World and Inevitable Surprises: Thinking Ahead in a Time of Turbulence, and Jason Jennings' Think Big, Act Small: How America's Best Performing Companies Keep the Start-up Spirit Alive as well as Seeing What's Next: Using Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change co-authored by Clayton M. Christensen, Erik A. Roth, and Scott D. Anthony.

It is evident from the text and from the author's course notes that his working title was Robust Organization. His publisher must have thought that people would not buy a book with that title, that they will only buy a book that promises, like all the others, 'high performance' as a direct and immediate result of reading the book. Light's actual message is that, in a turbulent environment, you have to build in a capability to achieve performance in different ways. This is not efficient, nor is it a direct path to high performance. But if you do it the right way, it is extremely efficient insurance, and an insurance that many organizations don't have or throw away needlessly. It is an extremely important line of argument, especially for organizations of last resort, such as any Federal agency. The literature in this area is thin and this is a good addition. (Charles Perrow, Normal Accidents, is a classic.) While Light gets to the right answer, his concepts, arguments, and evidence are often unclear or disappointing. I get the impression that Light has the gift of gab, lays it down quickly, and moves on. (His frequent talks on NPR flow nicely.) He asserts, for example, that his robust organization qualifies as a resilient organization in Hamel's terms, but that a resilient organization isn't necessarily robust. Correct, but I tried to restate his argument and found that I had to make up a lot that wasn't there. But I suppose that makes the book useful for readers who want to make it their own and use it. I have reorganized my own organizational diagnostic instrument around Light's categories and am pleased with how it helps me relate detailed alignment issues with broader strategy.

The RAND Corporation's organizational strategy advice is based on more than 50 years of research. Author Paul C. Light draws from RAND studies primarily related to the U.S. military to explain the need for organizations to confront unavoidable change with alertness, agility, adaptability and alignment. He notes that these four attributes are equally valuable to small and large businesses, and to organizations of all kinds. You can apply each solid lesson Light takes from RAND's studies to your organization's structure and planning. In fact, some of his points are already common wisdom. Political instability, labor force fluctuations, or the potential for terrorism or economic unrest affect some industries more than others, but every organization is susceptible to unanticipated developments. If you want to find out what to do when your organization gets surprised, we recommend this in-depth research-based report.