Becker Books

June 4th 2004

I'm looking forward to this book coming out in the next few
months. We really need some books that are just simply "feel good" reads, mostly because the news everyday is so depressing and frightening, I think we have forgotten that live can be good and we can be grateful for many things, no matter how small they might be.

In a nutshell "For this I am Grateful" will be a book written by many ordinary people from all over the world who will say what they are grateful for, whether it is a mother's love, a strong friendship, a life well lived etc.

The Wisdom Press which will be publishing the book asked people to short answers/statements to the following simple questions:

1. What are three words your friends would use to describe you?
2. What makes your home town special?
3. Describe a family tradition that has special meaning for you.
4. How did you meet your best friend?
5. What's your favourite book? Song? Movie?
6. What's your favourite Saturday afternoon activity?
7. If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be and why?
8. What's your dream job?
9. What do you need more of?
10. What's your favourite holiday and why?

Not every person's submission will be included but there will be enough I think to make it an interesting read! If you want to learn more about the book then go to http://www.everydaywisdom.net/ and it will give you a taster as to what to expect.

Roll on the "feel good" read; like I said before, we really need it in this time of trials and tribulations...

A great combination of principle and practice. The authors' street-level instruction is easy for anyone to understand and highly adaptable, yet it raises the bar for leadership development. Many leaders think leadership development is about providing training for others, yet as the authors see it, training (aka "skill development") is just one step out of several in the journey of developing quality leaders. The path presented is developed out of years of working with people who simply needed more leaders for their ministry or cause. So if you find yourself in a similar situation, then From Followers to Leaders is the book for you.

What a terrific first book. My son can be proud to really, really be reading the words and sees / interpretes the pictures to contextually predict what words could be coming, and he doesn't know he is doing it...he is just proud of his progress. And at under 5 bucks, what a bargain.

In the theory and practice of democratic governance, Ted Becker and his colleague/wife, Christa Slaton have come up with a benchmark study. In wholly three distinct but interrelated areas. First with respect to our changed cosmological worldview, they argue the case that our post-Newtonian worldview demands an entirely new set of principles for the discipline of political science. Second, in the specific venue of scientific deliberative polling, they document their own empirical findings as well as those of others and present conclusions squarely at variance with those of mainstream political scientists. Third, in the role of the futurist, they chart a future that should be welcomed by the portion of our citizenry which remains disenfranchised, as well as those disillusioned, and alienated. On any one of these parameters of exploration, this is a book well worth delving into by that spectrum of the electorate which is looking for something simply sane in politics.

With respect to the first realm of their exploration (Part I), the authors hold to the view that the paradigmatic shift in the view of Universe and ourselves in this Universe--born of the 20th century discoveries of relativity, quantum mechanics and chaos theory--shows that mainstream political science is out of date by two centuries. Worse still, it is not just irrelevant but systemically dysfunctional and counterproductive. In getting to this position, they use as one of their points of embarkation the view of a Harvard professor of government of some 70 years ago, William Bennett Munro. They cite him as “quantum political science’s first voyager” (p. 38).. Munro in 1928 they point out “chided American political scientists, political commentators, leaders and gurus for continuing to be ‘in bondage to eighteenth-century deification of the abstract individual man’ ” (p. 39). From Munro’s view as well as other visionaries such as Buckminster Fuller, Eric Fromm and Hazel Henderson, Becker and Slaton then move into the principles and theory for “modernizing the marriage between physics, politics and the science of government (p.. 21). Here in their first area of exploration these modern day voyagers provide the reader with a pioneering draft of a quantum politics, a quantum political science. Mind-expanding stuff worth pondering.

In the second vector of their voyage, (Part II), Becker and Slaton lay out the scientific findings from their own experimental studies as well as of others in the field of teledemocracy. The latter they define as “scientific deliberative polling + comprehensive electronic town meetings + the Internet”. [ + Voting] = deliberative direct democracy (p. 47). What they persuasively show here is that ordinary people no less than academics and other well informed citizens when provided with a full range of information and the opportunity to deliberate in a conducive context can move from unstable public opinion to sensible public judgment and do so with reasonable facility. Once again in trajectory two The Future of Teledemocracy is chock full of documentation for readers to immerse themselves in profitably.

In the third area of their voyage, (Part III), the authors project a scenario in which we in the 21st century are moving from an 18th century Newtonian hierarchical age of governance into a non-hierarchical, lateral and interactive deliberative democratic governance. Here more clearly than heretofore, they foresee, and yes, argue for Initiative and Referendum as integral if not centerpiece in “the Global Direct Democracy Movement (p. 158-165), But it is here also that Homer nods--not once but twice....

Their first nod occurs in their treatment of what they classify as one of those “extraordinary transformational ideas and recommendations about the citizens initiative process (p. 163)” This is Philadelphia II (P.-2). In my view P-2 is the most peacefully revolutionary plan of action on the horizon to bring about systemic change in governance: It is a project the authors point out created and “led by a former U. S. senator from Alaska (1968-80), Mike Gravel. Philadelphia II is bringing forward a “national citizens initiative” which the authors see as “within New Democratic Paradigm parameters” in light of “how to achieve it.” p. 163.

So far so good. Their first Homeric nod consists of a critically significant misperception within the P-2 Initiative process. They mislead the reader on how a projected federal agency-- designed to administer citizens initiative election--is to become enacted. They state: “Congress...[is] to set up something called ‘the Electoral Trust’ (ET). which would be a new, largely independent agency of the U. S. government.” Wrong! The people will directly enact the ET. Additionally, according to P-2’s Direct Democracy Initiative (DDI), “[t]here are hereby appropriated, from the Treasury of the United States...funds to enable the Electoral Trust to organize itself...and begin the performance of its duties.” .... The consequence of the authors’ s e mistaken view is they fail to present to the reader the political sovereignty that is implied and will come into play as a result of the creation of a “Legislature of the People” via Initiative. The partnership between the Legislature of the People and the Congress in the P-2 plan of implementation (and all other legislative assemblies) will be rightly ordered with the Sovereign, the People being functionally sovereign. Not so in Becker and Slaton’s mistaken description.

Their second Homeric nod occurs as a result of the authors’ failure to situate the “public opinion poll” for qualifying an initiative for a vote into the full context of the deliberative procedures included in P-2 (p. 191). When the associated P-2 deliberative support procedures is taken into consideration, one could argue that the end result will be precisely what the authors seek as their end game:: “‘scientific deliberative polls embedded within a comprehensive Electronic Town Meeting process“ as described in Chapter 5)” (p. 38).

Setting aside these two missteps, I heartily endorse The Future of Teledemocracy.....

Hal Becker is a sales trainer and professional speaker. His friend, Jon Lief, is a gemstone broker. What can these men teach us about negotiating? They're not negotiators. They're not trainers in the field of negotiating. They're not university professors specializing in negotiating. And they're certainly not statesmen with decades of experience across the table with heads of state.

That's the point. They're ordinary guys who gained their expertise in negotiating in the trenches. This is a practical book written by two businessmen-very successful businessmen-who learned about getting what they want by actually doing it in a variety of situations. Becker was Xerox's Number One salesman; you don't achieve that rank without gaining substantial negotiating experience. Lief deals internationally in a highly competitive field where one slip can cost you a lot of money.

The two authors have put together a list of Top Ten Negotiating Points on which the book is based. Teaching the real-life application of the ten points, they use stories from their experiences and what they've learned from others. Becker wrote the first portion of the book; life wrote the second portion. The third portion is a summary of a set of interviews, conducted by Becker, of people the authors consider to be effective negotiators.

The style of the authors is light, but content-filled. At several points in the book, I felt that I was being dragged through a story that took me far afield from the topic of negotiating. Then, the light dawned and I realized that I'd just been taught some more about the topic. The book goes beyond business negotiating to demonstrate that getting what you want is a life skill. The authors are a bit irreverent at times, but if you've read Becker's other books you know that this is part of who he is. He takes what he does seriously, but that's where his seriousness stops. The interviews toward the end of the book seemed lighter than what I expected-disappointing, but there are nuggets there, too. When you read between the lines, a skill of negotiating, you "see" more than what appears on the printed page.

Good book for sales professionals, businesspeople in all fields, parents, and well-just about anyone. It's not heavy, but it's educational, fun, and only $17.95.

It is not often that one comes across a book on Giacomo Meyerbeer in English..even though this work is a translation from the German. The author follows a chronological portrait of the composer interspersing background information as it relates to the letters. I found that these comments were too few in number and left more questions unanswered, but recognize that this book is a good beginning and look forward to a sequel.

That's the central message of the book, and one that may save your life if you listen to it.

Through this book, de Becker has convinced me that most violence can be predicted. He goes through a great many common situations in which violence happens in the U.S., from encounters with strangers, workplace violence to domestic violence and date stalking. In each situation, he describes the indicators of likely violence. Some of these indicators are so often overlooked and rationalized away by the people involved. My favorite one is called: "Refusal to take no for an answer." It can be as trivial as the new date persisting in offering you a drink. Although trivial, such incidents are very telling about his tendency toward violence.

De Becker also discusses a characteristic in many people that blunts out their intuition to actual dangers: unwarranted anxiety. Due to media and social conditioning and other influences, those people feel fear or anxiety in situations that do not pose actual dangers. Such unwarranted anxiety makes them confused and oblivious to the real signals from their intuition. De Becker offers ways for people to overcome that curse and live a life relatively free from fear and anxiety.

In short, I would highly recommend this book. It is one of the few books should be read by everyone (both men and women).

That's the central message of the book, and one that may save your life if you listen to it.

Through this book, de Becker has convinced me that most violence can be predicted. He goes through a great many common situations in which violence happens in the U.S., from encounters with strangers, workplace violence to domestic violence and date stalking. In each situation, he describes the indicators of likely violence. Some of these indicators are so often overlooked and rationalized away by the people involved. My favorite one is called: "Refusal to take no for an answer." It can be as trivial as the new date persisting in offering you a drink. Although trivial, such incidents are very telling about his tendency toward violence.

De Becker also discusses a characteristic in many people that blunts out their intuition to actual dangers: unwarranted anxiety. Due to media and social conditioning and other influences, those people feel fear or anxiety in situations that do not pose actual dangers. Such unwarranted anxiety makes them confused and oblivious to the real signals from their intuition. De Becker offers ways for people to overcome that curse and live a life relatively free from fear and anxiety.

In short, I would highly recommend this book. It is one of the few books should be read by everyone (both men and women).

That's the central message of the book, and one that may save your life if you listen to it.

Through this book, de Becker has convinced me that most violence can be predicted. He goes through a great many common situations in which violence happens in the U.S., from encounters with strangers, workplace violence to domestic violence and date stalking. In each situation, he describes the indicators of likely violence. Some of these indicators are so often overlooked and rationalized away by the people involved. My favorite one is called: "Refusal to take no for an answer." It can be as trivial as the new date persisting in offering you a drink. Although trivial, such incidents are very telling about his tendency toward violence.

De Becker also discusses a characteristic in many people that blunts out their intuition to actual dangers: unwarranted anxiety. Due to media and social conditioning and other influences, those people feel fear or anxiety in situations that do not pose actual dangers. Such unwarranted anxiety makes them confused and oblivious to the real signals from their intuition. De Becker offers ways for people to overcome that curse and live a life relatively free from fear and anxiety.

In short, I would highly recommend this book. It is one of the few books should be read by everyone (both men and women).

A fun and clever gift for your favorite golfer. I know because I just got it for my birthday. Beware: the flat-top tees will drive you crazy!