Organizations Books

Wish I would have had this guide when I was starting my family. It would have been much easier to folow than the trial and error method I experienced.
I bought a copy of The Get Organized Guide for New Moms for a young friend and will give this guide to new moms as the ocassions arise. It's the best gift I can think of for new moms. I implement the six strategies for staying organized on page 184 today and my life is simplified. Judy West

Judy West

I loved this chapter! Thanks to Stacey I can leave home with far less gear and know that I have all of the essentials.

I highly recommend The Get Organized Guide for New Moms. It is packed with great ideas and clear explanations. It's well-written and an-easy read. A very helpful guide in preparing for a baby and in how to remain organized and enjoy the first year of being a mom. It's the first book I've read with a clear explanation of an organizational system. A great book!

This book is a must-have for new moms! I wish it were around when my girls were born...it would have saved my sanity. All new moms or friends of soon-to-be moms should pick up a copy of this book. M.L. - Westchester, NY

I really like the content of the book. Great reference for first time moms. I would reccomend The Get Organzied Guide for New Moms to all my expecting friends and family.
Great shower gift!

Getting Science Grants provides readers with a complete introduction to the grant writing/submitting process.

It is important to move beyond the perspective of being the salesperson of your research. You need to know the perspective from the other side of the granting process and what will impress your program manager in your proposal.

Thomas Blackburn is an experienced grant writer and as well as having significant experience on the other side as an assitant program administrator. Here he provides researchers with the skinny on finding funding agencies, writing excellent abstracts and proposals, preparing budgets and moving beyond very good to excellent and super proposals.

Buy it, read it and share it with your colleagues!

I found "Getting Science Grants" to be a thoroughly readable, no-nonsense little book that demystifies the grant making process. Blackburn's experience both as a researcher and as one charged with the responsibility of reviewing grant applications shows through. His book provides a step-by-step approach that, if followed, should lead to a higher probability of success and avoid wasted time and frustration occasioned by poorly prepared and submitted applications. Those just entering the sometimes perilous fight for funding will find this book indispensable, and even old hands will find it provides handy reminders of all of the points we think we know by heart, but sometimes forget to apply. This little book is a "must read" for anyone whose professional life depends on getting funding for his or her research. You simply can't afford to ignore it.

Among the relatively few books available that focus on getting science grants, "Getting Science Grants" is unquestionably the very best of the bunch. Blackburn has the perfect mix of credentials (college professor, research scientist, grants officer) to craft this concise treatment of the whole enchilada, from concept development through proposal writing, revision, submission (and resubmission), and grant administration. Giving frank, qualified advice in friendly prose, the author succeeds in creating more than just a "how-to manual" for scientific proposal writing. In roughly a hundred pages, this book shares insight on the science research funding process that would only be acquired by a decade or more of study in the school of hard knocks. As one whose career success is significantly influenced by external funding success, I couldn't recommend Blackburn's book more strongly.

For those of us who indulge ourselves in the pursuit of science, the constant quest for funds to support our habit can occupy more time than any actual "hands on" research. Justifying ones existance to a beaurocratic body, and begging for money is at best embarassing (over here, pick ME, I'm better than all those other tossers who want your cash), and at worst, downright terrifying.
At least, that's how I felt recently as I was faced with the prospect of submitting my first ever grant application. Not only did I struggle to convince myself I had ideas and skills worth selling, I had no idea of how to go about it. Sure the application form gave a vague idea-title, abstract, background-what did they actually want to KNOW? How was I supposed to sound confident and competent without sounding like an egomaniac? How should I present a solid, reasonable proposal without it being deathly boring or promising unachievable breakthroughs?
Finding Thomas Blackburn's "Effective Strategies for Funding Sucess" was a real stroke of luck. It not only answers questions such as these in an entertaining and easily read style, it includes a series of exercises that allow you to give good (and bad) strategies a go BEFORE you face the real thing. It gives a detailed description of what most funding bodies want to find out from each section, a discussion of how these criteria can be met, and descriptions of what differentiates a bad from a good from an exceptional application. It also contains many sensible (but often overlooked) reminders such as "read the abstract again after finishing the detailed proposal section to make sure they agree with one another".
I read the book before starting, and then used it to guide me as I wrote each section, and found that I was much more confident the way I wrote than I would have been otherwise. I also found that I felt better about my own abilities as a scientist, and much less of a fraud, because the final product looked and sounded very professional. I would recommend this book to anybody who is contemplating their first application, or who finds grant writing a harrowing or unsuccessful occupation. I also think that working through the steps outlined in the book could also be used as a self-assessment tool, because having to examine ones own research in terms of funding application is a great way to check the direction and focus of what you are doing right now. I thank Dr Blackburn for providing such a readable, comprehensive and timely guide. I hope it helps many people as much as it helped me.

This book is GREAT!!!! Why do they make us learn all this by trial and error with tenure and support for our graduate students at stake!!! They should be training us in this kind of stuff in graduate school!!!! I now know why my proposals so far have not been very successful, and, better yet, I now know what I can do about it and I actually can hardly wait to get started!

You can tell from what's in the book that it was written by a real funding insider and I learned more about grant writing in the few hours I spent reading it than I have from all my previous proposal-writing efforts and discussions with colleagues and friends to date. I now understand that a successful proposal is not just about the science, as much as all of us would like to think it is. The author makes clear all the elements you really have to take into account, on top of the science, to have the kind of proposal that can compete successfully at places like NSF and NIH. He even demystifies budgets, how to interpret and handle reviews (the good, the bad, AND the ugly), networking with agencies, and what it is that a successful proposal needs to emphasize and where. He even gives you advice on how to find agencies where you have the most success so you can build a strong funding track record quickly. Lots of good insights that I never would have thought of (and I am going to take his advice!).

On top of all the excellent information in this book, like it says above, it is an EXTREMELY easy read. The author has a way of talking about the subject that makes you feel like you are chatting with a friend at the bar who is giving you the inside scoop on everything. I read it in two nights in about an hour or two each night. It doesn't get much better than this! I highly recommend everyone who has to write grants to fund their science to read this book. It will be the best investment in time and money you will ever make!

The Good Corporate Citizen: A Practical Guide is a very detailed and complete handbook on corporate philanthropy for those corporations that that wish to make a meaningful contribution to the improvement of their communities, but it is extremely useful for individuals and family foundations that want to make a difference as well. Ms. Rubenstein has done an excellent job of raising the questions that donors must answer in this extremely complex area of philanthropy. And the book is just what the title says - it's an extremely practical guide with lots of examples and helpful detail.

Ames Sheldon, Director of Development, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota

What I appreciate about "The Good Corporate Citizen" is that it is an engaging blend of the very practical ("Why Conduct a Corporate Citizenship Program?" because among other things, customers "are likely to continue doing business with the company") as well as the ethical and near spiritual. In the latter category, eight steps on the ladder of charity are identified from the work of a medieval Jewish wiseman, Rabbi Maimonides. At the bottom level you can do charity with the zeal of Scrooge; at the top, you can help set up conditions such that people can avoid charity in the first place. Author Rubenstein deftly weaves modern-day parallels to all steps. The book is really a handbook in that it provides straightforward information on difficult subjects such as evaluating nonprofits on how they have made use of grants to providing a lot of useful sample forms on budgets, grant approval and "regret" letters as well as letters of agreement with recipient organizations and the basic elements of a corporate giving plan. Rubenstein also introduces new concepts, such as "social entrepreneurism" which is modestly revolutionizing approaches to making higher education more accessible to underprivileged groups in the US (www.collegesummit.org). She tantalizes with brief but insightful discussions on "quality of life" matters such as international and environmental philanthropy. One has a sense that she has much more to say on such subjects and, given the increasingly interdependence of the world in which we live, hopefully her next volume will treat these in greater depth.

At a time when corporate philanthropy is rapidly changing, Doris' guide is helpful in navigating your journey. She provides smart and insightful analysis for corporate decision-makers and fundraisers seeking support. The Good Corporate Citizen helps the business executive develop a practical plan for giving and helps the nonprofit executive better understand the motivations and needs of companies wanting to be engaged in the community they serve.

We bought this book for our financial investments advisory firm, to create a good citizenship program; but we found that the information it contains is equally useful for some of our clients who are considering starting private family foundations. The lessons offered for most policy areas can apply for either kind of business: for profit and non-profit.
J & B Papazian
E. Lansing, MI

Every executive and business owner should read this book! It's important for today's leaders to recognize the vital role that business plays not only in our community but how it's relationship with community affects the bottom line. This author's words have inspired me to start a giving program for my own business.

Well written book that is easy to understand. Practical information that can be easily applied.

This book was incredibly helpful. Even thought most of the information references were from Canada I still found it really helpful. It was part of one of my grad classes on board governance. It helped to lay out simple action steps one could take.

Mel's research and experience has led him to conclude that "the essentials of good governance are generally not well understood and that what is understood is not well communicated to the millions of volunteers who serve as directors on boards". Mel performed extensive research on 20 non-profit and public sector organizations, diversified in causes from a small rural service club with no operating budget to health boards with million dollar budgets. The median budget size was approx. $3 million. He studied the finances and governance practices of these organizations over a 20 year period. Among other things, he utilized a Governance Self-Assessment Checklist as a research tool.

Things I like about the book:

* Numerous real-life examples which brought the concepts to life
* Good description of the organizational functions: work, management and governance; and fact that all board members required to do governance and some may also need to "change hats" and do work and or management of their organization
* Description of some early warning signals in areas of human resources (eg. CEO turnover); performance (unplanned deficits, rapid depletion of reserve funds); ineffective board meetings; board culture; "rubber-stamping" of CEO recommendations without effective debate
* Solid research on governance models leading to a typology of 9 board types based on primary board focus
* List of 7 primary areas of responsibility that cut across all models:
o establishing/safeguarding mission and planning for the future
o financial stewardship
o human resources stewardship
o performance monitoring and accountability to key stakeholders
o community representation, education and advocacy
o risk management
o managing critical events or transitional phases
* Excellent assessment tools, one I personally utilized with great success
. Strong sections highlighting the board development, management and decision-making processes

Just a few areas which could be enhanced for the 2nd edition: some legal interpretations and information on directors' liabilities (although I know this book is not meant as a primary resource for these topics); and more about the board's role in fundraising and sustainability.

Overall, I think this is truly a great Canadian comprehensive resource on voluntary sector governance, written to be understood by most board members with excellent governance tips and tools. I carry it with me whenever I am delivering governance training workshops! Thanks, Mel!

For many years I have been making recommendations to municipal and regional authorities related to funding not-for-profit organizations. This new guidebook will be invaluable to organizations that realize the importance of being able to demonstrate good governance practices. The book is structured to provide easy access to the essential elements of effective governance. I especially appreciate the inclusion of well-researched case studies, practical quick tips, and relevant samples of policies and checklists. The last chapter provides numerous tools that board members and managers can readily use to improve governance.

This is a "must have" reference, not only for board members and senior executives, but also for consultants and for foundations and government bodies funding not-for-profits - and particularly for students taking governance courses in colleges and universities.

As a governance and board development consultant I will be using Mr. Gill's very readable book to assist my clients in strengthening their organizations. This guidebook covers the seven primary areas of board responsibility and is replete with highly applicable "Case Illustrations" and "Quick Tips". Its final section provides numerous "tools" - such as samples of, and templates for, key policies, financial monitoring, and performance evaluation.

A supplementary CD-ROM is available and I highly recommend acquiring this too. Users should also consider accessing Mr. Gill's online "Governance Self-Assessment Checklist (GSAC) service, available through the author's website.

I don't know of any other resource that "covers all the bases" of good governance - certainly none could be better in providing truly useful and practical guidance for boards in trouble or for boards that are striving to improve their performance.

I'm the author of another book about "grant writing" for nonprofits, but still I heartily recommend this book. In fact, Grassroots Grants is the only other book about grant seeking I recommend. Here's why.

Grassroots Grants demonstrates on nearly every page how grant seeking can be compatible with the idealistic nature of small nonprofits. Though it is unquestionably and unapologetically written for what might be called the "progressive" movement in the US, its principles apply to activist organizations of any stripe. In the sometimes cynical world of fundraising, it's refreshing to see values so consistently applied. The author leaves no doubt: fundraising isn't just a game played with money and ego, it's about changing the world. The author's strong sense of purpose resonates warmly with the reader's.

Second, the book has an abundance of examples -- proposal narratives, budgets, etc. -- that very effectively demonstrate some basic principles of good writing and good grant seeking. For beginners these examples do a lot to demystify the job of grant seeking; they help the beginner get off to a quick start. For experienced fundraisers, they provide new ideas about style and presentation. I admire the numerous examples in this book enough to wish there were more in mine!

In contrast, I do think that one kind of advice is treated a bit lightly in this book: the task of managing the creation, submission, etc. of many proposals simultaneously. That topic has implications for the bottom line and for organizational values, and is a big topic in my book. But I have to admit, it is not terribly relevant for someone who is trying to write their first grant or two or three.

True to its title, Grassroots Grants keeps its focus on grassroots topics, and very much succeeds on that basis. It is authentic and helpful.

This book is priceless when it comes to accessible, detailed, and critical how-to information on how to write grants. I highly recommend Grassroots Grants as a vital resource for any progressive activist who needs to raise cash for the movement.

As a staff member of a community foundation, I am called upon to give numerous presentations on how to get grants. I never fail to suggest buying Andy's book. It will pay for itself--and it's a good read besides. Virginia Martinez

Andy Robinson is one the best grassroots grant writers in the country. His book and a class I took from him helped us triple our budget from grants. The new edition is even better with excellent examples of winning grants from across the country.

I have long been a fan of Andy Robinson's writing and this is his best book to date. Useful for both new and experienced grant seekers. This book will now be number one on my list of recommendations for participants in my grant seeking workshops and I will make sure that each of the new fundraisers that I coach have a copy.

Amazing !
This book explained me for the first time the words of the Roman Canon we say at every Mass:
"Deign to regard with gracious and kindly attention and hold acceptable, as You deigned to accept the offerings of Abel, Your just servant, and the sacrifice of Abraham our Patriarch, and that which Your hight priest Melchisedech offered to You, a holy Sacrifice and a spotless victim. Most humbly we implore You, Almighty God, bid these offerings to be brought by the hands of Your Holy Angel to Your sublime altar, before the face of Your Divine Majesty."
The book explains that what the priest does during the Mass cames from what the ancient high priests of the first Temple did when in the Holy of the Holies.
More: this amazing book also gives a key to better understand the first Christian literature: many themes that no other books succeeded to explain now are very clear.

While I do not agree with Barker's main conclusion - that El/Elyon was exclusively equivalent of the Christian "Father in Heaven" and Yahweh was the preexisting Jesus (I think "Yahweh" applies to both) - this book is a great reference into the primary sources. A must have for any serious theological library.

I enjoyed and highly praised Ms. Barker for her book "The Great Angel" in which she demonstrates that the first Abrahamic Jews were instead Henotheistic - that is, a belief in multiple Gods while reserving worship for one of those many Gods - and so picked up this book shortly thereafter I was done with "The Great Angel". I was not disapointed at all. Once again Ms. Barker has shown that, despite the common protests of Evangelical Christians, the first Christians, like the early Hebrews, not only followed strict ordinances and priesthood institutions, including Temple ceremonies, but that they had Henotheistic - if not polytheistic - views. She also deomstrates how the first Christians viewed Jesus as Yahweh incarnate - not El or God the Father - and shows plainly from biblical texts - both cannonical and non-cannonical - that Jesus was not viewed as God icarnate until later Greek and Latin Church Fathers basically did what Josiah did in 621 B.C.E. that is, change and alter biblical texts into conforming with their Hellenized views. (This is something that Mr. Ehrman shows effectively in his book "Misquoting Jesus")

But the part that I was most impressed with was Ms. Barker section of the book that deals with the Melchezidek Priesthood and it's role in the early Christian Temple ritual. I can't do the book any justice by trying to explain this in my review, so I will instead simply recommend that the reader read it for him/herself.

So, in the end, this book was a convincing and compelling tome that shows that, contrary to what anti-Mormon critics such as James White want you to think, the first Christians not only practiced Temple rituals but that they held Henotheistic views as well.

So I would recommend this book as an essential read to those who are interested in 1st century Christianity. I also would recommend "The Great Angel" to read along with this excellent tome.

(Looks like Joseph Smith is coming out on top once again against his critics. And it looks like he was right about one thing, that is, that Temple ritual is essential within God's Plan of Salvation and was understood by the first Christians. Praise to the Man!!)

This book bridges the gap between Judaism and Christianity and refutes alot of preconceived ideas that Hellenistic Platonic ideas embellished what began as a simple Jewish Messianic movement. Barker claims that the rituals of the Orthodox Church go back to a more ancient form of Judaism based on the First Temple which was suppressed in the 7th century BC by King Josiah and later Ezra who rewrote the Old Testament which we now have. However, the beliefs of this form of First Temple Judaism were still prevalent in Jesus' day and were revered by groups such as the community responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jewish Apocryphal literature. After 70AD this form of Judaism survived in Christianity.
Some of these ideas are found sporadically in the Old Testament ie Ezekiel's vision of the Chariot Throne, Isaiah's visions in the Holy of Holies, and the seventh chapter of Daniel's "Son of Man". However, the emphasis on the Melchizedek Priesthood, Enoch, and Heavenly ascents which are found in the New Testament, especially Hebrews and Revelation, are all but absent in the Old Testament.
First Temple Judaism stressed the idea that certain mortals achieved a divine status and ascended to Heaven while they were still alive, that Yahweh, the Lord of Israel was the Son of God and that Wisdom was his mother. The emphasis and revered status of Wisdom was replaced by the Law by Jewish reformers returning from Babylon.
Jesus saw himself as the incarnation of the Lord of Israel, the preexistant Son of God. The vision he had of Heaven opening during his baptism, of the entire world when he was in the wilderness, and his transfiguration were all part of a belief system which can only be found in the New Testament and Jewish apocryphal literature, particularly the books of Enoch, The Ascension of Isaiah, and the Odes of Solomon.
Barker defends Philo's premise that Plato was more influenced by Judaism than the other way around. Pythagorus, who influenced Plato, received his religious ideas in Palestine and Syria during the time of Ezekiel and before the reform of Judaism.
The Eucharist, which is the most important sacrament beside baptism, is the continuation of the Day of Atonement ritual in which Jesus took the roles of the High Priest as well as the sacrifice. Orthodox churches still perform the ritual in a separate area of the church which corresponds to the Holy of Holies in the First Temple which represents Heaven on Earth.
Many of the rituals of the primitive church to include the liturgy, signing with the cross, praying toward the east, were passed down from Jesus and the disciples in secret and were not committed to writing because the deeper meanings of these rituals could only be understood by a few. Some of the earliest fathers attested to this to include, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Ignatius of Antioch, and Basil of Caesarea.
The Orthodox liturgy is a reenactment of the events portrayed in the book of Ezekiel and Revelation. The deeper meanings of these two books can only be understood as such and not turned into ridiculous modern day science fiction.
Barker spends alot of time discussing the significance of the ancient Holy of Holies which contained the ark and the throne of the Lord and how ancient kings, beginning with Solomon were anointed with divine status there and how prophets received revelations there. The figure of Wisdom, the feminine aspect of God the Father, was described in The Gospel of the Hebrews as Jesus' mother, not unlike Philo writing about Wisdom giving birth to the Logos. The Trinity doctrine and the veneration of Mary were not Hellenistic additions to Christianity but sprang from the very Judaism which Jesus and his followers belonged to which was suppressed and all but destroyed by both Christians and Jews later on.
I'm glad I ordered the paperback version of this book when I did. It should definitely be brought back.

Margaret Barker taps into the Temple ceremonies of Israel and the Early Christian Church to show a pattern of supression among the leaders in both. The sacred oral traditions of temple worship are wonderfully covered. Her insight into pre-exile Israelite beliefs, the Deuteronomist purge and the very early christian writings is inspiring. I loved every page and recommend it to those who share a belief in the lost cult of the temple.

My AP American History teacher in Miami took the rest of the time after the AP exam to teach us this book. The analysis by Haga on bureaucracy and the evil of breakloops is great. The humor is worthwhile and i look at the world in a completely different light. This year was this teacher's last teaching year. She is now retired and will no longer take time to teach this amazing book. Another reviewer above has also written about her, she is amazing. From all of your students at Dr. Michael Krop High School in Miami WE LOVE YOU MRS. GIBBS!!!

I read this book while a graduate student of Dr. James Haga's at Monterey CA in 1979. While tongue-in-cheek, the book is an amazingly accurate analysis of bureaucracy. As a 26 year alumnus of the US Navy and 6 year employee at the Pentagon, I consider myself an expert on bureaucracy, and I have never found a flaw in Dr. Haga's thesis. Jim Haga is a remarkable professor in management. Reading his book is the next best thing to experiencing him in the classroom. You'll love it. And that's just a fact.

My A.P. history teacher in highschool down in Miami took a month off of the curriculim to teach out of this book. It changed my life and how I interact with soical groups and indiviudals. Since I left highschool in 98 I was never able to obtain a copy of this book. Until now. I owe my success at college to this book. IF YOU ARE READING THIS THAN YOU MUST PURCHASE THIS BOOK! DO NOT HESITATE.THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

I was given a galley proof of this work when I left college. I owe much of my success as a product engineer to these principles. It taught me a babancing consideration before I am compulsively driven to offer an operational fix to a minor problem. This ought to be part of any social science curriculum.

Haga's Law spells out what we have all observed in organizations, especially Government and Political Parties. It explains how and WHY human nature drives ordinary oganizations like the PTA into becoming oppressive thought police agencies.

Consider this book essential reading before you are tempted to start an organization you can't kill. You never know when that harmless stamp collecting club you started might grow to the point of lobbying the state government to license and regulate the hobby!

We purchased copies of this book for all of our board members after a consultant recommended it and I reviewed it. This is a very quick read (less than an hour), but the book is filled with great passages about the way a good board should function. Thought-provoking questions end each chapter. If you have a non-profit with a board, or you are on such as board, BUY THIS BOOK!

Gayle Gifford must have been an inquisitive child, because she asks a lot of questions. Really good questions -- the kind that ought to have obvious answers, but then you think about them and realize the answers are more complex, and more important, than you first imagined. Her new book, How Are We Doing?, includes 34 questions that all nonprofit boards should be asking themselves. Questions like, "Do we appreciate our directors for what they do?" and "Are we prepared to respond to a changing world?"

Each of these topics could fill an entire book -- and several have -- but none is this concise: you can read the entire book in an hour. If you serve on a nonprofit board and you're unclear about your role or your impact, read this one -- it might be the most productive hour you spend on board governance issues.

I loved this book. It's more than a book about evaluating performance... it's a great how-to for creating a board of any organization's dreams. Broken down into short chapters, it's well written and easy to read. The ideas contained in this small book are BIG and important - definitely on the cutting-edge as related to where the field is going.

This is a lot of wisdom in a small space, an easy to read-and-understand approach to determining if a non-profit board is doing what it should be doing. Each brief chapter focuses on one idea, and leaves no doubt in a reader's mind about how to determine what would work best for their organization. I am already using that one sentence, "It's negligent to keep investing money in programs without proof they make a difference," as part of my discussions with clients. This is a book I can, and will, recommend to clients and colleagues, secure in the knowledge that they will thank me for the recommendation.

This book will be an invaluable resource for busy Board members who want to focus their efforts on both the practicalities of their job as well as the greater vision which inspired them to volunteer in the first place. The key to this book is in the sub-title - A 1-Hour Guide to Evaluating your Performance as a Nonprofit Board. It is a rare find - simple, straightforward and designed for busy people. Each chapter is just a few pages long and ends with questions for the reader and/or Board collectively to answer. These questions are then summarized at the end in an Evaluation Survey. Sections include Making Our Community Better, Becoming Good Stewards and Building a Great Board. In an easy format to carry with you, it will surely become a staple for many Board meetings.

Strategy is the framework of choices that determine
the nature and direction of an organization. Top management
must take the time to develop strategy to position
the organization in its external environment and
focus decisions such as whom to hire, priority of product
development projects, capabilities to build into business
processes, the structure of the organization, as well
as daily decisions.

It is refreshing to run across a business book that goes beyond generalizations. In How Organizations Work, Alan Brache deconstructs the business organization to reveal all the elements of which it is made up. He then examines each, methodically, raising questions that really enable an executive to take stock and stock planning for improvement.
I worked with Alan many years ago, and I'm pleased to say that he is as lucid and logical as ever--and remains just as witty. His writing is crisp and to the point, and the real-life case studies that he intersperses ensure that the reader is never bored.
Alan has done a fine job with a subject that, in other hands, could have been not only dull but also purely theoreti-cal. Instead, this is a book you can read once to get the big picture, then go back to again and again for practical day-to-day advice.

Dale Corey, Business Writer & Researcher

Reading "How Organizations Work" was not only an "easy read" [as was promised in the foreward] - but provided far more meaty content than one might expect.

In the game of golf there is an expression called "sneaky long". This is often used in reference to a golfer who seems to effortlessly swing at the ball and drives it much further than one might expect.

I would call Brache's book "sneaky profound". It makes a series of key points in such an easy way that if the reader is not careful - one might miss the nuggets of intellectual gold.

The book is full of valuable self assessment questions - which are easy to tailor to any given organization - given the investment of a little thought.

The repeated references to the central role of business processes have substance and meaning in the context of the "Enterprise Model".

This book is really worthwhile reading not just once - but two and maybe threee times to get full value.

Using a model of an enterprise, this book is a guide for exploring key aspects of organization, revealing how they are interrelated, and assessing them. The work focuses on: the external environment; leadership; strategy; business processes; goals and measurement; human capabilities; knowledge management; organizational structure; and culture. There are self-assessment questions throughout the book and numerous guidelines for diagnosing and designing a healthy organizational. Illustrations are used to flesh-out the diagnostic process. The work is a how-to guide; it is well organized, comprehensive, and highly useful. As a management consultant in organization analysis and design, as well as editor of Stern's Management Review, I seldom have encountered a book on this subject that is as straight-forward in its delivery of value as this work. Highly recommended.

How many times have we been disappointed in the content of a book after having been impressed by the slick words on the jacket? Well, prepare yourself! Sometimes things really are the way they are stated. No illusions. And this is just such the case with Alan Brache's new book "How Organizations Work."

From his opening quotation of holistic unity from Chief Seattle on the jacket to his final inspiring words at the conclusion of the book, Brache ties all the elements of improving organization performance together in a scholarly, yet easy to read creation. His "Enterprise Model" for organizations, provides an impressive blueprint or x-ray for understanding the "complex network of interlocking factors" which contribute to How Organizations Work.

Using a model analogous to human biology, Brache has provided a framework within which we might better understand our organizations and the various factors that influence performance.

It is a great, easy read -- just in time for our serious summer reading list. Enjoy!

Probably the BEST book on network marketing presentations ever written. And, a very easy read. Mike Stokes <> Baton Rouge, LA

This book contains many nice metaphors which you can apply to other areas beyond MLM organizations. Let me use the "Ships" metaphor in a conventional business company.

Consider you already have managers in your staff and are going to open a new venture - the network of supermarkets. There should be at least one talented manager for each supermarket. Some manager will be working properly, their supermarkets will be profitable but they won't yield any further development. Such people are calling "Silver Ships". Now consider people who are even in moderate ranks will act as self-motivating and self-organizing managers, able to infuse their ideas into the public mind, do things with small increments but finish them for sure. Such people are your "Golden Ships", with whom you should share leadership functions. Of course, there may also exist "Empty Ships" into whom you may invest lots of time, energy, other resources, but this would not pay off. You should definitely get rid of the empty ships, because they do not let silver and golden ships stand on their places.

"Silver Ships" are good workers but do not expand your business. If your team will only contain of them, you will be profitable for a while, but your organization will lack flexibleness and won't be able to adapt to the quickly-changing condition of the modern world, and you will collapse sooner or later. "Golden Ships" are full of initiative, they don't need much external propelling force, and preoccupied with organizational flourishing, growth and change.

Did you read in the management literature that it's the manager's business to motivate the employees, to keep their morale high, to make them love their job, and so on? If all of your colleagues are "Empty Ships", your efforts to motivate them won't bring any result and you will quickly loose your own passion. This is not the case with "Silver Ships", who consume your motivation fruitfully, but the level of energy you will spend on them will be less then what they will give to you, and your own motivation won't rise very high. Now imagine what will happen if you give your energy to the "Golden Ships", who already are capable of giving their energy to their mates. You won't need to spend enormous energy to motivate them, and they have already created enough motivation around them, or even turned some "Silver Ships" to "Golden Ships".

The management literature which claims to teach how to motivate the staff won't help you if you are enclosed by the "Empty Ships". Such literature assumes that you always NEED something while your employees do NEVER want to do anything unless you stimulate of motivate them properly. Just get rid of these people and find someone who are motivated by the job and who are capable of motivating you. You may have tough times in your life and may not always have liveliness to motivate even yourself, when you NEED to motivate the staff according to this literature. This is wrong situation. You need to have such subordinates that will motivate you. Such subordinates have ideas and enthusiasm, while you have experience that you might want to share. Imagine how your motivation will will be raising when you are surrounded by the "Golden Ships". Just concentrate your efforts on attracting enough people of this kind around you, and they will be attracting good people around them.

Don Failla's lessons are time tested and easy to learn and pass on. Network Marketing is about duplication, and these napkin presentations are easy to duplicate. Learn them, teach them, and teach your downline to teach them.

I'd not heard of this book but received it through ... [a] BookClub. It's so easy to read, interesting, and full of greatinformation. If everyone in my organization, or any network marketing / MLM organization got their hands on this book, they would see the "Big Picture" very quickly and they would get started YESTERDAY in this business. You can get through this book in an evening or two and once you start it, you'll be eager to finish and get started!

This book was the very first thing that my incredibly successful sponsor gave to me. A man of few words, he said "Read this and you will understand!" I found the book intrigueing and bulging with possibility on my first read.

Working with a Network Marketing company in Europe, this book and its ideas is now the very basis of how we work. We have been very successful by keeping our strategy and teaching very simple and easy to understand.

I have read a lot of other MLM and Network Marketing books since, many of these adopt a name the best people or an upbeat rah rah approach, but I keep returning to Don Failla because it is so well named ; The Basics.
It could also be named All You will Ever Need to Know!

In my organisation Don's book is now the very first thing I give to my people. Every time I get some fancy idea, I just re-read it myself. The book has the habit of showing you just what you should be doing, no matter how successful you become.

I think its strength comes with dealing in the basics from their original telling which was so close to the wisdom that Don had aquired. The truths and methods do not really date and though it is told with obviously an American audience in mind, the ideas and there re-telling works worlwide.

This book has a permanent place on my desk and is the absolute foundation of re-learning and re-building my working life. I can not imagine it being improved, just re-printed.