M Books

I stumbled across this book shortly after starting my 3rd company (1991). This baby is chock-full of truly interesting, readable prose.
Invaluable references.
"Real Life" examples of entrepreneur's in the trenches.
VC's at the bargaining table.

Lessons such as "The Okie Mechanic", "Establish Your Mini-Incomes", "The 40-Inch Hardboiled Egg" and others are as applicable today as they were back in '77. Replace "manufacturing plant" with "web development team" and you'll never know the difference.

Richard White and his band of 17+ consultants, VC's and company founders (primarily Silicon Valley but the stories are from all over the map) made this book happen. How Chilton got hold of it, and why they have not wrapped a complete business program around it is beyond me.

At times, you cannot find this book anywhere on the used market. Ocassionally booksellers show a few dozen copies. Either way, get yourself a copy, and pick up 3 for your closest friends, business partners and your kids.

You won't regret it.

I've used this as a sound guide in consulting to hundreds of clients. it never ceases to bring forth some associative wisdom and true-stories from the client... and leads the way in solving many an issue.

Oh, and for those who have loaned it out never to see it again?

Good. Get yourself another copy to give away.
I believe I'm on number 34 or 35.

Mark Alan Effinger
RichContent.com

P.S. Another winner is Mark Paul's "How To Attract More Customers in Good TImes and Bad". Highly recommended for getting clarity in your customer acquisition process and pricing models.

31 years later and on my second copy, this is STILL the one I keep coming back to when it's time to start up something very special. Written by someone who's been there - done that and is willing to tell all. Unlike most business books that claim so much yet deliver so little, this one comes through in spades. Want to fire up a new company --- the right way --- the first time --- and do it with others you can motivate all along the way? If so, then look no further. Definately aging well.

The Entrepreneur's Manual came highly recommended, so I tracked down a copy. I'm glad I did -- it's very good. Don't judge this book by its cover. Or by the old-fashioned printing fonts and style. This book's contents hold up very well for their age. In fact, I have nothing as good on my shelf even today.

Much like Dale Carnegie's books, Richard White's book stands the test of time. Anyone starting up a new company will have plenty of advice. But good advice? That is rare. You will find good advice here. Better, on the topics it covers, than you will find anywhere else.

One of the best, if not THE Best, Business Start-Up book...

Rich White died some years back, he was working on the updated version of EM. The complete revision was nearing completion when he took sick. To the best of my knowledge the revision was never submitted to Chilton.

Rich was a close and dear friend, we sent many a hour *brainstorming* and sometimes *barnstorming* new ideas....

I spoke to him 3 days before he died.

He was exactly as he sounds in his book...

His friends do indeed miss him...

04-23-2007

I bought it because of the rave reviews it got on this site, and it held up to what's already been stated about this book.

It seems to me that The Fifth Discipline (the previous publication of the series) is more attacting to me. The second book can be more precise and concise in content. Generally speaking I still like these two books as a foreign reader.

The Fieldbook attempts at making the esoteric concepts of the fifth discipline more down to earth and contains a treasure trove of strategies, tools, methods and explanations on how to make the learning organization into a reality.

Thus people who have read The fifth discipline will gain the most from this book. It's a must read for people who want to make their organizations transition into a 'learning organization'

This book is a collection of theoretical summaries, reports, analyses, and strategies all quite useful to anyone interested in generating some thinking and action around change. The team of five writers (Peter Senge, Richard Ross, Bryan Smith, Charlotte Roberts, and Art Kleiner) provide some original work, but also serve as editors to a vast quantity of material drawn from practitioners, theorists, and writers in the field of organizational improvement. According to Senge, "great teams are learning organizations - groups of people who, over time, enhance their capacity to create what they truly desire to create." (p.18) This book is really about creating and building great teams. The learning organization develops its ability to reflect on, discuss, question, and change its current and past practices. To do this, people and groups in the organization need to meaningfully pursue the study and practice of the five disciplines - personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking.

The learning organization - Senge's vision for the productive, competitive, and efficient institutions of the future - is in a continuous state of change. Four fundamental questions continuously serve to check and guide a group's learning and improvement (see page 49): (1) Do you continuously test your experiences? ("Are you willing to examine and challenge your sacred cows - not just during crises, but in good times?") (2) Are you producing knowledge? ("Knowledge, in this case, means the capacity for effective action.") (3) Is knowledge shared? ("Is it accessible to all of the organization's members?") (4) Is the learning relevant? ("Is this learning aimed at the organization's core purpose?") If these questions represent the organization's compass, the five disciplines are its map.

Each of the five disciplines is explained, and elaborated in its own lengthy section of the book. In the section on "Systems Thinking" (a set of practices and perspectives, which views all aspects of life as inter-related and playing a role in some larger system), the authors build on the idea of feedback loops (reinforcing and balancing) and introduce five systems archetypes. They are: "fixes that backfire", "limits to growth", "shifting the burden", "tragedy of the commons", and "accidental adversaries". In the section on "Personal Mastery", the authors argue that learning starts with each person. For organizations to learn and improve, people within the organization (perhaps starting with its core leadership) must learn to reflect on and become aware of their own core beliefs and visions. In "Mental Models", the authors argue that learning organizations need to explore the assumptions and attitudes, which guide their institutional directions, practices, and strategies. Articles on scenario planning, the ladder of inference, the left-hand column, and balancing inquiry and advocacy offer practical strategies to investigate our personal mental models as well as those of others in the organization. In "Shared Vision", the authors make the case for the stakeholders of an organization to continually adapt their vision ("an image of a desired future"), values ("how we get to travel to where we want to go"), purpose ("what the organization is here to do"), and goals ("milestones we expect to reach before too long"). The section offers many strategies and perspectives on how to move an organization toward continuous reflection. In "Team Learning", the authors rely mostly on the work of William Isaacs and others, and make a case for educating organization members in the processes and skills of dialogue and skillful discussion.

This book is enlightening and informative. It has already found a place on my shelf for essential reference books.

Peter M Serge, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook

To quote the first few paragraphs at beginning of book:

Among the tribes of northen Natal in South Africa, the most common greeting, equivalent to "hello" in English, is the expression: Sawu bona. It literally means, "I see you." If you are a member of the tribe, you might reply by saying Sikhona, "I am here." The order of the exchange is important: until you see me, I do not exist. It's as if, when you see me bring me into existence.

This meaning, implicit in the language, is part of the spirit of ubuntu, a frame of mind prevalent among native people in Africa below the Sahara. The word ubuntu stems from the folk saying Umuntu ngumuntu nagabantu, which from Zulu, literally translates as: "A person is a person because of other people."


"I bow in honor and reverence that place within you where to the Universe resides, when you are in that place within you, and I am in that place within me, there is One." ~namaste


The five disciplines are at the CORE of a Learning Organization

1) Personal Mastery: expand your personal capacity and ability

2) Mental Models: see how our internal pictures of the world shape action and decision

3) Shared Vision: group commitment

4) Team Learning: group ability is greater than the sum of individual talents

5) System Thinking:


"When we try to bring about change in our societies, we are treated first with indifference, then with ridicule, then with abuse and then with oppression. And finally, the greatest challenge is thrown at us: We are treated with respect. This is the most dangerous stage." --A. T. Ariyaratne (Speech made at International Community Leadership Summit, Winrock, Arkansas, March 1983. This quote paraphrases and expands upon a well-known statement made by Mahatma Gandhi in his book Satyagraha in South Africa, 1982, 1979, Canon, Me.: Greenleaf books)


"An [organization] is not a machine but a living organism." --Ikujiro Nonaka /****
Fundamentals of epistemology: what is knowledge, the nature of knowledge, and what constitutes learning.
understanding is achieved after internalization.
Without experience, we cannot truly understand.
Internalization: transformation from explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge, habits and culture that we do not recognize in ourselves.
Innovation is a process to capture, create, leverage, and retain knowledge.
What is your belief? A belief about images of the world - you may call it a mental model - is a very subjective thing

information is the flow of a message, while knowledge is created by accumulating information. Thus, information is a necessary medium or material for eliciting and constructing knowledge.

The second difference is that information is something passive. When we switch on a TV set, information comes regardless of my commitment. But knowledge comes from my belief, so it's more proactive.

And the organizational knowledge or intellectual infrastructure of an organization encourages its individual members to develop new knowledge through new experiences.

This dynamic process is the key to organizational knowledge creation - that is, socialization (from individual tacit knowledge to group tacit knowledge), externalization (from tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge), combination (from separate explicit knowledge to systemic explicit knowledge), and internalization (from explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge) [...].

[...]

Three Guiding Ideas

1) The Whole. When you are pointing a finger at the problems, notice how many fingers are pointing back at you. If you fixed the symptoms and ignore the root causes, the problems have not gone away. Another way to look at this is treat the person, not the disease. Of course treat the disease if the patient is dying, but know that the patient will get sick again because the "root causes" are stil there.

2) Community. The self is "a point of view." "The essence of being a person is being in a relationship [with] other people." You will not believe this, but each person before you is there for a reason. The reason this person is there at this moment is for you to learn something about yourself. If you ignore the person, do not ignore or forget the lesson.

3) Language. The map is not the territory. We cannot contain every bit of information that comes to us in the world, so we have to create a "map of the territory" and then refer to the map for our information. By changing a person's map, we change their reality. Language is the map, not the reality.

Senge's second serving of the Learning Organization is filled with practical tips and real-life examples from companies and organizations that have embraced the teachings of the Learning Organization successfully.

The Book is a collaboration of several writers who do a superb job of unraveling the web that is the learning organization. At times, it may seem to the reader that the book is a labyrinth of disjointed concepts and ideas. However, if you have read `The Fifth Discipline' you will find no problems following the concepts introduced. In fact, you will even understand why the writers have chosen to introduce them in that fashion. If you have not read "The Fifth Discipline', do not despair, it will take a little longer to get `the whole picture'.
The Book is divided into 8 main sections:

1) Getting Started addresses the basic concepts and ideas of the Learning Organization.
2) Systems Thinking (the fifth discipline) - Many people have argued that Senge should have delegated the fifth discipline until the end, however, without Systems Thinking, your vision is disjointed and incomplete.
3) Personal Mastery covers the area of individual development and learning. The chapters here are among the most valuable in the area of self-growth and self-improvement.
4) Mental Models - These are the pictures that you have in your head which represent reality.
5) Shared Vision - You've seen the whole picture, you've developed and you understand how you see the world. Now you need to find a common cause with the rest of the people in your organization, something that you all work for.
6) Team Learning - As you work with other people in teams or groups, you need to pass the stuff that you have learnt and the wisdom you've acquired to others. At this stage, the learning is no longer that of the individual, but the group.
7) Arenas of Practice - (Self explanatory)
8) Frontiers - Where do we go from here.

If you are interested in development, learning, growth, leadership, gaining a competitive edge whether at an organizational or personal level, then this book is for you. In fact, I'd venture to say that this is book is for everyone.

This book is a must have for all women who aspire to succeed in any business. It contains numerous uplifting career advice from women in management - a definite guide in dealing with various issues in the work place. Very informative and inspiring; I could not put it down. Highly recommended!

Interesting and concise read. I enjoyed it but my only qualm is that there are various typos and grammatical errors in the book. Maybe I'm picky because I've done a lot of proofing in my profession but it was very annoying when I came across an error...

Author and consultant Susan Wilson Solovic tells how working women can be more effective in top positions and move up the career ladder. She highlights the differences between male and female styles and cites ways that women often sabotage themselves by showing weakness and a lack of confidence in how they speak and act. Using examples and diverse quotes, she illustrates what women should do to express the power they have, which is the key to being taken seriously as a leader. Solovic challenges many overly optimistic beliefs about how things have changed for women in the U.S. workforce and backs up her assertions with recent statistics and research. We [...] highly recommend this book, which provides a welcome strategic reminder that is clearly directed toward businesswomen - though why call them girls? Oh, that's a little irony from the author or, at least we hope so.

Susan Solovic's "The Girls' Guide to Power and Success" puts it right back in our laps. We have to make the changes in our expectations and behavior. She provides the motivation and the tools.

Little has changed in the last 50 years except that there are more women in titled positions. With these titles came no change in the lack of independence from male persuasion in decision making. We're still doing it their way.

Time for women to step up to the plate, read Solovic's book and march to our own drummers.

Girls' Guide To Power & Success invites a contemplation and discussion of girls' roles in a male-dominated world, examining the characteristics of men and women and those which could help females become stronger in the business world. Tips are wide-ranging and include a variety of powerful insights.

that's new edition (39ª) is diferent of the 37ª. in this new edition the anatomy is broached in chapters of topografical anatomy and not sistemic anatomy. Topografical anatomy is most interesting for a medicine.

The 39th edition of Gray's Anatomy covers all aspects of human anatomy as well as integrating a comprehensive amount of additional information including histology, embryology, physiology, and pathology. Put together by renowned scientists and clinicians, this iconic book is a must for any medical student. This book is IT!

i bought a used copy and its such a big book that its spine does take a beating and its worth getting it new and with the dvd and the subscription. if your gonna use all the resources its so worth it, but the book is well laid out and easy to use, the pictures are well done and the text is well easily scanable for fast reading

This is an AMAZING book to say the least. I have to say, that this book is not for someone who is just starting in the medical field, as it is written in complex medical terminology. However, if you are in the medical field, than this book is a great reference. Every section of the body is broken down to the most minute detail. And the illustrations/pictures are absolutely amazing; they make learning anatomy fun and a little easier. I have to give kudos to all the authors and illustrators of this text... well done! It's also good to do exercises with ;)

Totally distinct from earlier editions is the radically different organization of this classical textbook: the human body is no longer described as containing different systems - the skeleton, the vascular system, the nervous system,...- but the body is now divided in regions. The reason for this radical change, chief editor Susan Standring (King's College, London) explains, is that in the real world, practising clinicians in their daily practice use a regional approach, rather than a systemic view. Therefore, it is understood that the new, 39th Edition of Gray's Anatomy is more adapted to the needs of surgeons, radiologists and other clinicians, than to medical students or scientists interested in the area of human anatomy. However, there is some consideration of the editors for a section `systemic overview'. So, the endocrine system, the blood (haematopoietic) and immune system are not entirely overlooked.

In particular, when regarding the master gland of the endocrine system, namely the pituitary, readers should know that this organ may be found in the `region' of the diencephalon (Section 2.1.). So, neuroanatomists may rejoice that they finally regained control over the capital region of the human body, and over all body functions regulated by this region. Unfortunately, unlike the 38th Edition, the editor of this section has decided to relapse into a terminology that was already obsolete 15 years ago. `Chromophobic' cells belong to the dark ages when new imaging techniques were still looming for their curious but ignorant discoverers. Bibliographic references are reduced to a baseline level. This would result in insufficient source material for research purposes, but, on the other hand, the references are concise enough for users that may feel comfortable with a general slowing down of scientific progress.

However, many, many advantages of the newly revised topics may be found in this 39th Edition. For those interested in the anatomy of the pelvic floor, the inner ear, or the organization of the peritoneum, Gray's Anatomy will meet their expectations. Also shortcuts to topics like assisted fertilization, preimplantation embryology are included, although it never has been easy being both at the cutting edge and also a textbook that bridges the generation gaps. Therefore, together with many, I will be looking forward to the 40th Edition.

Wilfried ALLAERTS
Biological Publishing A&O
The Netherlands

This is the best book! I use it in my Kindergarten classroom when we do a thematic unit on bugs. We act out the story then talk about the ending.

I loved this book and the intention the author had to encourage children to consider the moral of the story. Also for a children's book it is well written with amusing rhymes. The kids also loved hearing this story. The only problem was this - they got absolutely the wrong message from it!

The book presents two arguments - the ant pleading for its life, and the boy who questions the value of the ant's life. But the author wrote the boy's side of the story so pleasingly that my kids far more enjoyed siding with the boy than with the ant, despite explanation, to my complete despair! My young listeners were quite young, ages 2-3, so perhaps this book would be better for a slightly older child.

This wonderful book gives the reader a great feeling for this poor ant . This little ant has to negotiate for his life!! The only way to make the kid with the big shoe know how it feels to be squished is to turn the tables and make him realize what it feels like to be under an Ants' foot. This book is a must have. It teaches compassion, negotiation, and how to see the world through someonelses eyes.

I am a 3rd grade teacher, and I use this book in my classroom to teach about bullying, peer pressure (the boy's friends are encouraging him to squish the ant), and empathy. My students love it! I wish I could find a poster of the page where the ant is looming over the boy and asking "If you were me, and I were you, what would you want me to do?" What an incredible lesson for kids! The best part is that the book ends with the shoe looming over the ant and leaves the ending up to the reader. Kids love writing (or just inventing) their own endings! GREAT BOOK!

This is an excellent book about an ant who has to convince a boy why he should not squish him with his shoe. It sends a wonderful message to children that you should treat others how you would want to be treated. This rhyming text is very comical to read and the illustrations are excellent. It is a wonderful book for elementary students!

I very much recommend this book to anyone who faces the challenge of making judgment calls--which, as this book points out, is everyone. This book is inspiring, to the point, and well organized. However, it's most attractive feature is that the methods it suggests are proven through many examples. I think the other reviewers have said it best: this is simply the best framework for decision making on the market.

"With good judgment, little else matters. Without it, nothing else matters."

That's one reason why Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis wrote Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls. The other belief is that the study and literature of judgment don't offer much helpful guidance for business leaders.

In thirteen chapters, the authors set out to remedy the lack. They come to the task with two important qualifications. Both are students of the subject and they offer us a blend of research from a variety of disciplines. Both have spent a lot of time "hanging out" with leaders and they bring us the stories of what they've seen.

The first chapter, Judgment and Leadership drives their stakes firmly into the ground. They tell us that making judgment calls is the essential job of a leader.

They also set long term success as the sole measure of good judgment. This is a bit of a problem because several of their examples have only recently gone through their decision process. Jeff Immelt's judgments may be great, for example, but it's too soon to tell if they meet the test of long term success.

This is also the chapter where the authors identify execution as part of the decision process. Most other writers on business decision making take us only up to the point of decision and leave execution as if were foreordained by a good decision.

Other writers see decision making as the work of the leader and execution as the work of his or her subordinates. Making follow-up and follow-through a part of the judgment process makes this book truly valuable.

Because they see the process as including execution and adaptation they avoid the overly rational, straight-line models of other writers. This gives us an understanding of judgment more likely to work in the real world.

The second chapter, Framework for Leadership Judgment, defines judgment as a process, not an event. The process involves recognizing the need for a decision, "naming and framing" the call, and execution and adjustment.

The authors also define the three critical domains where a leader will make decisions. They are people, strategy, and crisis. Effective judgments in people often prevent poor strategy judgments and the need for crisis judgments.

Having a Storyline is a chapter about what the authors call "Teachable Points of View," inevitably shortened to TPOV. We're told to imagine the better future and develop compelling and practical storylines to help others understand the issues and decision.

Chapter 4 is about how a leader must have Character and Courage. That means having clear standards and the strength to maintain those standards in the face of pressure and the challenge of obstacles. They tell us that "Character without courage is meaningless. Courage without good character is dangerous."

With a clear idea of the process and the importance of storylines and character, the authors are ready to start devoting chapters to judgment calls in the three domains. They start with People Judgment Calls because they see them as the platform for good strategic and crisis judgments.

Selecting a CEO is the most important judgment call and we're told that hiring from outside signals a failed process. There are plenty of good and bad examples of CEO Succession processes.

A lot of time is spent on the GE succession processes for both Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt. The authors point out that at GE there are lots of people doing lots of assessments which helps make succession effective throughout the organization. They also note that the board is only involved in the succession process for CEO, adding another level of assessment that includes outsiders.

Chapter 7 is devoted to Strategy Judgments. Strategy judgments constantly evolve and should be made by the CEO, not some corporate planning staff. The authors make a key point that's often overlooked, that the best strategic judgments are a mix of logic and feel, of left brain and right brain.

If you ever wondered where Noel Tichy has spent most of his time, all the references to GE in this book will give you the answer. Chapter 8 is entirely devoted to Jeff Immelt's Strategy Judgments at GE.

There are three key insights in Chapter 9, Crisis Judgments. Bad judgments in people or strategy are a common cause of crises. Leaders need to take personal responsibility for handling crises. And, a common mistake is to lose sight of your overall mission. Once a crisis happens, teamwork and focus make the difference.

Bennis and Tichy suggest that we see Crisis as a Leadership Development Opportunity in chapter 10. The basic points they make in this chapter are good ones. You should prepare in advance for crises because when they happen it's too late for thoughtful decision-making. And the crisis can provide you with a wonderful opportunity to use meeting the challenge as a form of leadership development.

This chapter also illustrates a weakness in the book. The authors were involved in many of the processes they describe. That's good. It gives them first hand experience.

The problem is that it leads them to write about situations that simply haven't played out enough to meet their test for long term success. Jeff Immelt's strategic judgments are one example. Another is Circuit City which gets lots of ink in this chapter.

Circuit City also illustrates the willingness of the authors to take what client top management tells them at face value. How else to describe the way they deal with Circuit City's layoffs of their top sales staff in the stores to replace them with less expensive (and less knowledgeable) people.

The authors tell us "The judgment to make cuts was good. The PR was not so good." In reality more than the PR was not so good.

The layoffs were ham-handed at best. They removed knowledgeable sales staff from the stores, resulting in far lower add-on business.

The way things were handled was also completely at odds with the CEO's TPOV that "what is good for associates is also what helps customers." In fact, Circuit City fired the very associates who could help customers the most and replaced them with low-wage "tag readers."

Chapter 11 builds on the Knowledge Creation theme. There are three key points. Leaders should critique their own performance. Knowledge creation for all levels should be an explicit goal. And frontline employees are the new knowledge workers. The authors identify four kinds of knowledge that leaders need to make effective judgments: self-knowledge, social network knowledge, organizational knowledge, and contextual knowledge.

Then we come to chapter 12 which is the story of the New York City Leadership Academy. On the one hand, this is a good, comprehensive case that is well rendered. But it's also a very different leadership situation for everything else in the book. A comprehensive business case would have been better. So would eliminating this chapter entirely.

After a short (2 page) Conclusion, the book is filled out with a Handbook for Leadership Judgment. It covers the same ground as the main book, but with lots of questions and charts. It's a good addition because it gives you a way to consolidate personal lessons.

This is a superbly-written business book by two experts in the field who share both research and excellent teaching stories. Their core insight (that execution is part of judgment) is powerful and different from other business authors. Their simple process will be usable by all business leaders.

If you are in business and make decisions, you should read this book.

Here's a quick summary of my thoughts.

How this book is different:

The authors write about a process of judgment that includes preparation (including naming and framing the issue), the decision, and execution and adaptation. This is virtually unique among writers on business judgment, most of whom treat decision as something the leader does and execution as something followers do.

This process is much more real world than I've seen elsewhere. Unlike overly rational models, it stresses the need for both logic and "feel." Unlike straight-line, one-time-through models it includes adaptation and re-do loops.

This is a comprehensive approach. The authors see the process in time as one dimension of judgment. Others are domains (people, strategy, and crisis), and constituencies. They also say that a leader needs four kinds of knowledge to be effective: self-knowledge, social network knowledge, organizational knowledge, and contextual knowledge.

Strengths:

A simple, yet sophisticated and easy to understand and implement process for making judgment calls. It identifies long term success as the sole measure of good judgment. You can use this process in any kind of organization.

Excellent writing that combines research from a number of fields with good storytelling. The stories are long enough to make several points. They include stories where things didn't work right the first time.

A "Handbook for Leadership Judgment" that follows the main book and gives you a way to apply the insights in your own situation.

There are excellent descriptions of workshop and learning processes that you can take and modify to suit.

Warnings:

The authors write mostly about organizations that they've been involved with and that leads to two problems. They include judgments that haven't met their own test of long term success. And, they've often drunk their own Kool-Aid and present things as seen from the executive suite and not from either the front line or the outside.

There's a lot of GE here because Tichy's been involved with GE since the 60s. Sometimes that means he settles for an easy to find GE example instead of digging out a better example from elsewhere.

There's no discussion of how a CEO gets information or sorts wheat from chaff. Those are important parts of decision making.

This book, like too many others, is written as if the reader is a big company CEO. While the points are all good, the perspective means you will have to do some adapting.

Bottom Line:

This is a must-read for business leaders.

I throughly enjoyed reading this book. I have studied Warren Bennis extensively within my Doctorate program in Organization Development. Tichy and Bennis are throughly enjoyable to read.

The audio book CD version of "Judgment" is excellent. Tichey & Bennis offer a thorough and practical framework- framing & naming the issue, making the call, and execution- for considering and making business judgments. Tichey is highly regarded in the field and provided many useful examples from his tenure running GE's famed Crotonville Leadership Center. Unlike some other business books, Tichey & Bennis were not afraid to say when bad judgments and mistakes were made, such as HP's Board's hiring Carly Fiorina along with numerous bad judgments made during Fiorina's tenure as CEO. It's an excellent guide to the judgment process.

If you are a manager who wants to develop the skills of executive management, this book is for you. The authors provide a methodology that is not simple, but still quite understandable. It would be ideal for a course of MBA or Executive MBA students wanting to get a framework for decision making.

The book has 13 chapters and then a handbook. The handbook is designed to help you take the material learned in the book and apply it to your personal situation. The chapters start by showing you the connection between judgment and leadership. They then provide a framework (a matrix) for "leadership judgment". This process is used heavily throughout the book, so pay attention to this chapter.

Chapters 3 through 6 are key to understanding the personal aspect to leadership and judgment. The authors want you to have a story line that you can not only communicate, but teach to others and in that way lead. The connection between character and courage is explored including where courage becomes foolhardy and takes you off the rails. The two chapters on the importance of people judgment are very important and you should pay close attention to them.

Chapters 7 and 8 focus on judgments regarding strategy while chapters 9 and 10 deal with judgments in times of crisis (and how to prepare for it and how to prevent most of it). Chapter 11 shows the connection between good judgment and continuous learning and chapter 12 talks about teaching leadership. I wasn't particularly wowed by this material.

The concluding chapter is a two page summary of the book and notes that the dimensions in which the complex process of judgment unfolds are time, domain (people, strategy, crisis), and constituencies (being aware of your audience, who is and needs to be involved, and how to interact effectively). Tichy and Bennis also reiterate the four types of knowledge a leader must have to make good judgments: Self-knlowedge. Social Network Knowledge, Organizational Knowledge, and Contextual Knowledge.

The book is full of great examples from real companies and real people. They illustrate the points of the text quite aptly. However, they are the one bone I would pick with the authors. It is easy to intentionally or unintentionally mislead readers with stories of success and say that these successes were the results of this method or demonstrate that our principles work because they worked in these instances. However, the positive connection to them is not proven beyond the sheer number of them. But leaders with good judgment also fail at times because a certain amount of randomness is built into the system.

Jack Welch is quoted as saying that he gets his people decisions right about 80% of the time. OK, I don't want to argue with him about his perceptions, but what exactly does "getting it right" mean? Jeff Immelt is heralded in the book, but recent events show him able to make huge mistakes as well. Does this mean he wasn't prepared to lead? Or that he turned stupid? Or is it that sometimes reality overtakes even the best preparations and plans? You can make your own judgments. However, I would love to see the book where the authors look at current events at the time they are writing the book and make strong and precise PREDICTIONS as the do in analysis of past events. If they can get those right, I will trust their analyses more.

Still, quite a good and useful book.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

Since the book cover suggests this story is a historical romance, and therefore not expected to be entirely accurate with respect to the historical background, I rate it 3.5 stars.

The love story - rather, love stories because Kathryn loves more than one man throughout her life - is excellent. But the portrayal of Henry's court is exaggerated at best. Unfortunately, the history is woefully wrong throughout.

The portrayals of many of the historical characters - Anne Boleyn, Jane Parker, Anne of Cleves - were over the top. Anne Boleyn was portrayed as shrew, which perhaps she was, but Merton Abbey actually makes you feel sorry for Henry. Boleyn is such a shrieking, whining, spoiled brat, you can't wait until he lops off her head.

Jane Parker is portrayed as a sly wicked woman, who just wants to get ahead in Henry's court. Anne of Cleves is portrayed as a lesbian who wants to be unattractive to Henry. So she doesn't dress fashionably; nor does she wash. Worse, she picks fleas off her bosum whenever Henry is near.

The part that really made me laugh, though, was the birthing scene with Jane Seymour. After a completely unbelievable charade between Kathryn and the doctors whereby she removes them from the room, the Duke of Norfolk (Thomas Howard) bangs on the door demanding admittance. He convinces K to let him in. (H will hold her responsible and chop off her head if anything untoward happens to the just-born prince. The Duke will serve as witness.)

Because he's in the birthing room, and because all other hands are busy when the local witch has trouble delivering the afterbirth, the Duke assists. Yeah, right! LOL!

In any event, Kathryn's an entertaining love story. There's lots of action. But you can't put too much stock in the history.

I am an avid reader and this is one of my all-time favorite books! I've had this book for 15 years and when I went to a Caribbean island and could only take five books along, this was one of them! I've read it 50 times at least and still find it immensely thrilling. PLEASE publish the next one - I've been waiting for a long, long time

I agree with the other reviewers - this is a marvelous, and unique historical novel. However, there seems to be some confusion as to the author. Anne Merton Abbey is Jean Brooks Janowiak. She wrote several "gothic romances" with Janice Young Brooks (Jill Churchill) under the name Valerie Vayle, and currently holds the legal rights to the Vayle name, but she and Janice Young Brooks are not the same person. Anne Merton Abbey has had the sequel to Kathrine completed for years. The problem is the publishers - they say there is no market for it. Obviously they are wrong.

Katherine in the court of six queens is a historical romance novel about a fictional lady in waiting to all of Henry VIII's six queens. However, it is much more historical than romance.

Katherine herself is a Howard on her mother's side, and the cousin of Anne Boleyn. On her father's side she's the bastard granddaughter of Edward IV-this makes her royal enough that her marriage has to be ordered by the king. Since she's at court her whole life this means Henry knows everything about her love life.

Unfortunately she falls in love with a man she can never marry, the terribly dressed man of dubious parentage, John de Gael, who happens to own the only independent duchy in England. For some reason, Henry hates him. Of course, he will be Katherine's life long love.

This is not only pretty accurate stuff about the reign of Henry VIII (despite a few interjected made up characters) it's a dam fine romance about two people who grow old together, and do stop loving each other before they truly come together again. This is my favorite romance novel of all time, and the only book I'm not mad at for making Henry appear like a buffoon. Generally I like to see him as more dignified, but his personality in this book works-it's not ridiculously stupid or overbearing.

Five stars, because every now and then you just need to read a good romance novel.

Wow, historical romance doesn't get much better than this. This is the story of the fictional Kathryn Chase descended from Edward IV via the wrong side of the blanket and also related to the Howards, who from a very young girl starts serving Catherine of Aragon, and eventually serving as lady in waiting to all of Henry's queens, thus giving us a wondrous glimpse into the lives of those famous and ill fated queens. Unhappy in her first marriage, Kathryn is attracted to the mysterious, flamboyant and oh so hunky John de Gael of Windsgeat, a duchy with a mysterious heritage and independent of the English Crown. John's family not only adheres to the ancient religions of the forest, there is also a deep dark secret of his family that he keeps from everyone, even his beloved Kathryn.

Throughout, Kathryn is as stubborn and passionate as only a Howard and Plantagenet can be, and we get a fascinating glimpse at the Tudor court and the lives of Henry's queens, and the perpetual ups and downs of surviving court with one's head intact. One thing that sets this book heads and tails above most of the rest of this genre is the up and down relationship between Kathryn and John. Things separated them; they fell in and out of love, married others and loved others until they were reunited in their later years to try to make a working relationship amidst the continuing intrigue and treachery of Henry's court.

All in all, a pretty perfect read. One of my favorite parts was the telling of the reign of Anne of Cleves, there were some seriously laugh out loud moments in those chapters, along with the final 100 or so pages as Catherine Howard fell from grace and Henry married Catherine Parr that were just unputdownable. According to the author's notes at the end of this book there were to be more Windsgeat novels forthcoming, but as far as I can see there isn't anything else published by this author under the name Anne Merton Abbey. I for one, would like to see more of this story as Edward assumes the throne, followed by Mary and Elizabeth.

This book is out of print and from the prices being offered, quite rare. I was lucky to find a copy for $5 US and snapped it up, and I would say it's worth your while to scour the used books stores and the internet with hopes for a better price, unless you're willing to bite the bullet and pay the going rate. A solid five stars, highly recommended.

The summer of 1944, Gretchen Gilman was only thirteen. Yet thanks to the shortage of available workers, she is able to land a prize opportunity -- working as a reporter for her hometown newspaper.

Delighted to cover even mundane stories, Gretchen never imagined she'd find herself at the center of the biggest crime ever to hit her sleepy little Oklahoma town.

Faye Tatum, Gretchen's neighbor and mother of her friend Barb, was brutally murdered in her own home. Her husband Clyde, a soldier on leave, is nowhere to be found -- a fact that convinces most area residents he's responsible.

As the days pass, Gretchen is torn between her duty to cover the story for the newspaper, and between loyalty to Barb, who is staying with Gretchen and her grandmother. She's also struggling to deal with her widowed mother, away in Tulsa working for the war effort, as it seems Lorraine may have a few changes in mind for the Gilmans.

As narrator, Gretchen's voice alternates between two phase of her life -- that summer when she was 13, and present-day, when she's an older woman, who's had a successful journalism career. Hart does an excellent job, combining the elements of a mystery and that of small-town fiction.

I enjoyed this book and will read more Carolyn Hart mysteries. I found the ending - the mystery's solution - particularly satisfying. But much of the story called on way too many all-too-familiar and overused cliches of small town America. Which we all know (yawn) is narrow-minded, hypocritical and suspicious of those artistic types. The book's Children of the Corn mob scene is way over the top.

Nearly all of the characters fall into two rather obvious piles - the saints, and the villains. Grandmother is a perfect, selfless saint a la Ma Joad; the victim, Faye, is the Saintly but Misunderstood Artist. And the preacher, of course, is a slimy, evil purveyor of hell-fire-and-damnation. And then you have the silly side plot about the townfolk veering into vigilantism over what everybody clearly assumes is a domestic murder. HUH? And I had to stifle a snicker when, at the city council meeting, the leathery-faced, tobacco-chewing farmer yells out, "How come you ain't found Tatum yet?" How imaginative.

The mystery itself could have held its own without having to take these detours into such overworn territory.

and I have read a lot. I very much enjoy Carolyn Hart's other books, but not as much as this book. The imagery is as compelling as the dialog. The characters are drawn lovingly & realistically. Her use of the letter, the preset & the past in each chapter keep me racing to read more. I felt that the "mystery" serves as a backdrop for the story of the characters, unlike most thriller/mystery works where the plot is the most important part of the book. I love mysteries, but for those who do not, this is just as wonderful a book showing the slice of life for these characters. This is the first review I've ever written, but this book compelled me to share my thoughts. It really is the best book I've ever read. Ms. Hart has my respect... and thanks.

The descriptions are so vivid that you can almost smell the starch in the doilies,taste the crunchy watermelon and feel the blast of hot air through the window.

Not only does Ms. Hart place us amidst the happenings, seen through the eyes of Gretchen, she manages to make the story twist and turn so that at the end, we are truly surprised at the outcome.

The two young girls, Gretchen and Barbie, follow very divergent lives, and their story is told through fragments of a letter sent to Gretchen and her thoughts as she looks back to that time long ago.

This book should satsify any mystery fan and those who love stories from the 40's. We get a feel for the times with women doing war work, rationing and young boys from the town that are killed.

And one great thing about this book is that a young girl is given her break into journalism by a crusty old editor. A concept that in those times was remarkable indeed.

Gretchen Gilman is only thirteen the summer of 1944, but she's managed to get a summer job at the local newspaper. With all the men off fighting the war, the editor was desperate. It's hard work, but she's enjoying herself and gaining great experience.

One night, her friend and neighbor Barb comes to her window asking for help. They return to find Barb's mother, Faye, murdered in the living room. Immediately, the rumors start about Faye's dancing at the local tavern every night while her husband is off at the war. But Gretchen finds herself getting more caught up in events that will scandalize a small town and change her life forever.

I'll admit this book took a chapter or two to fully get. Each chapter starts with part of a letter the grown up Gretchen has received, a few thoughts of her own, then flashes back to the third person account of the story as it unfolded. Once I got into the story, I was hooked. Foreshadowing keeps the suspense up, while the writing style pulls you in. I felt like I was in the small Oklahoma town that summer with its problems, prejudices, and pride. The ending is as surprising as it is logical and extremely powerful.

In spite of all I've heard about her, this is my first Carolyn Hart book. It won't be my last.

I agree that this is one of the better books out there on the highly controversial topic of male hormone replacement. If you are seeking treatment however, you would do well to look elsewhere. Dr. Kryger handled my case with a lack of judgement and a level of incompetence that was simply appalling in my opinion...but yes, I would still recommend his book.

I've read several HRT books and found this to be the best. Dr. Kryger writes clearly and the book is a nice balance between referenced science and approachabliity. He knows his hormones and provides a practical, broad introduction to the challenges of maintaining youthful hormone balances in men throughout their lives.

I've purchased several of these books and given them to friends. If you're a man, even if you don't have low testosterone, you owe it to yourself to get and read this book. I would call it "required reading". If you're a woman, this book will help you understand the way your man's body works better than he does.

I'm looking forward to more great work from Dr. Kryger.

I found this book to be an excellent read and would give it very high marks and a strong recomendation. Dr. Kryger has done an superb job of making the subject matter easy to understand and very informative! A friend of mine who happens to be an author mentioned how "Listen to Your Hormones" is also very well written which is rare with many medical and research books. I eagerly await Kryger's next book!

Simply an answer that I couldn't even find from my own doctor.
We get tested on so many other things by our doctors but never get the real importance of hormones. Thanks Doc!

This book does a great job of explaining the growing problem of mae hormone deficiency and it's causes and treatments. Dr. Kryger gets to the root of the problem and sheds light on things that aren't covered in medical school. Every man should read it and learn about how to prevent and treat hormone problems

(ASIN:"The Mask of Sanity, 5th edition, Hard Cover")

This 5th edition is an absolute masterpiece of a pychiatrist's life work that began when he first encountered the psychopath in a closed institutional hospital setting, which could not even begin to do anything for him. Attempting to understand, to have empathy for, and to treat this kind of person became Dr. Cleckley's lifetime work. His incredible insight into the psychopath is detailed with longitudinal case examples that are poetically descriptive. If Dr. Cleckley were alive today, he would be so proud to be reading the current scientific literature that substantiates his initial hunch that the psychopath has a biological impairment of emotional learning that cannot be fixed by any means yet available to humankind. The history and science of the psychopath begin with Dr. Hervey Cleckley's final edition.

I liked topic 60 in an edition I found in the library, about people who are failures because they do not stick to one career path. I was reading it at about the time when I was in a large room full of people getting the preliminary instructions on how to be successful day traders in stocks and options, because the market is always going to go up, the market is going to go down, or the market is going to go sideways. With a net worth of $75,000, a set of rules, and twenty minutes a day when the market is open to apply all the rules, many people have become millionaires, but one of the rules is {don't get greedy} because people who get greedy are likely to break some of the rules and get too many eggs in one basket. No matter what you are interested in, THE MASK OF SANITY provides enough material for you to come to the conclusion that modern society caters to psychopathic personalities, but in ways that will keep most of us from becoming the millionaires who just follow rules.

An early study on what is now known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). When the original book was written in 1938, the etiology of FAS was not known. And drinking/drug use(in private) by upper class women was considered to be "unladylike" and therefore "not done" and not recognized. Other books, written in 1998 by Dr. Ann Streissguth, more clearly explain the symptomology of FAS. Dr. Robert Ackerman's "Perfect Daughters: Grown Children of Alcoholics" more clearly explains patterns of female drinking which tends to be more privately done than male drinking.

I really recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject. His case histories are a book in themselves and capture the soul of a psychopath so well. A very thorough book that examines every aspect of the condition, I am impressed by his attempt to even explore historical and literary references. Ahead of it's time because his conclusions cannot be shaken even now. A much better book than Hare's "Without Conscience". Hare even lifts phrases directly out of the book eg."trivial, impersonal affairs".

Astonishingly accurate portrayal of psychopaths without sensationalizing the subject. I like how he gives different types of psychopaths; these are men and women in the street, 'ordinary' individuals but so disturbed (hence the very apt title).

His analysis is spot-on: he really knows his subject. More thorough than Hare's. He doesn't fudge any details. Really all you need to know about the topic. Still the best book about psychopaths.

I heard of this book through the Cassiopeia web-project, a website dedicated to psychopathy. They've scanned Cleckly's book, and offer it as a PDF. Just google for Cassiopeia and Cleckly.

I read a large part of the book, and as a (Dutch, please pardon my spelling in places) psychologist I am in awe of this book. Much has been said in the other reviews.
Cleckley doesn't choose the easy way; he painstakingly and consciently tries to distinguish between sociopathy (as psychopathy is currently called) and a number of other human and mental conditions. Such as schizophrenia, narcissm, ordinary human variation, your runn-of-the-mill neuroticism. And, very importantly, and perhaps the hardest distiction to make, Checly puts in perspective how sociopathy can be distinguished from rebelling against the moral standards of a particular era. The book was first written in 1948, and sexuel promiscuïty meant something different then then it does now. Such distinctions are where a dated book most clearly shows it flaws, and Checkly comes out as timeless and fresh as when it first came out.
His book is a very well written (his style reminded me of Oliver Sacks in places) essay into the meaning of a certain, everyday kind of human evil. The book answers the frustrated question of everyone who has dealt with a such a psychopath: "How could he DO that?" Cleckley estimates that 5 % of the population will have some psychopathic tendencies, although many of those psychopaths lead succesful lives with careers and marriages. So the odds are, you will meet one. If you want to understand him or her, and have enough background knowledge to tackle this book, read it.