Organizations Books

This book didn't quite hit the mark. I ordered this based upon my high opinion of Mal Warwick's other book, How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters. This book is very thin and a bit overpriced for the information it espouses. This book mainly addresses those fundraisers with big budgets, not your average small town, small organization fundraiser. I don't have thousands to spend on the "package." On the other hand, I highly recommend Mal's other book on successful fundraising letters. I increased my donation income by 30% last year by following those instructions.

It's all been said - and better than I could.

Mal Warwick is simply the best results-oriented writer in the field of nonprofit fundraising today!

The genuis behind Mal Warwick's incredible success lies in his ability to marry tried and true marketing techniques with the oftentimes straightlaced field of nonprofit development. You simply can't go wrong with his approach.

Today we are inundated with so many ads and appeals by unknown non-profits (usually on the phone during dinner time), that it is remarkable that any fund raising efforts are successful.

This book, written by a professional fund raiser and head of his own fundraising and marketing agency since 1979, gives several examples fund raising efforts that have not only been profitable, but have raised large amounts of money from relatively few doners.

The book is a combination of tutorial with descriptions of various campaigns that have been successful. The techniques of raising high dollar amounts from few contributors requires a different mind set, different techniques than the standard #10 envelope, bulk rate, and mass mailings. Instead the appeal package is usually more expensive ($5 each - no not a typo), and the mailing list is very selective.

Not every organization is ready, or even capable of raising money in these kinds of appeals. But when the right appeal is made to the right audience, the rewards can be great.

This book was a little shocking, to be honest. I raise money through the mail practically every day, but this book lays out a completely different approach that I am definitely going to try. It takes a lot more work, and I think it should only be used for very special programs, but it sounds like the high-dollar approach promoted in this book could work for just about any organization.
The book, unlike most fundraising books, is very easy to digest and written in a breezy style that makes it easy to get through. You can finish it in one sitting, easily. There are a lot of illustrated ideas from successful campaigns, and the author makes it sound easy. It's not, I don't think, but the book certainly encourages you to try.

As someone who has been raising money for many years, I was dubious that this book would tell me something I didn't already know. I was right and wrong. Much of what Mal says in his latest book on fundraising is not new to fundraising professionals. BUT, the book presents everything you know in a new and useful way that is focused on high dollar fundraising. It is well written, easy to follow, and provides great examples and techniques that will challenge even the long-time fundraising professionals to rethink their fundraising programs. I'm making it madatory reading for my fundraising staff!

Adapting to college life can be a daunting experience. As a current college sophomore, I was asked to advise my younger brother (now a senior in high school) on how to integrate into the university environment. After recounting all of my own experiences, I realized that I neglected many essential elements of freshman life. So, I turned to the available literature. With the exception of Allison Lombardo's, none of the books get the job done. Lombardo provides a comprehensive account of freshman life that will benefit anyone in high school who reads it. The book is a quick, fun, and easy read; I only wish that someone had given me such great tips before I got to college.

This is a great book - I got it as a gift and thought it was on point, honest, and not preachy. I am off to college next year and this was one of the better, non cheesy gifts I got. I wanted to get one for a friend, but realized this is the older edition - there is a new one up on Amazon - just search for Navigating Your Freshman Year - and it ships quicker too.

I have had some disappointments in Freshman Handbooks while preparing for school next year in college, but this book was not one of them. I would recommend it and I am glad that I purchased it.

This book really puts your college freshman year in terms that you can handle, provides great advice from current students who've just gone through it, and now I really feel ready to go away next fall. I'm very glad my father picked this book up for me, and I would recommend it to all high school seniors going to college.

I am a guidance counselor and found out about this book last fall at a conference out here in California. I was immediately hooked by its great content, so I bought a bunch of copies for my graduating seniors and they absolutely love it!

The Newark Teacher Strike was an exhilarating book and it actually made me feel the
emotions that the teachers were going through. It astonished me to see that over 200
people were imprisoned due to this strike; although after reading further other actions
were more astounding. This book should be read by every teacher and soon-to-be
teacher to truly understand the command these teachers took upon themselves.
This book portrays the struggles of the teachers not only against the Board of
Education, but also against one another. There are powerful excerpts pertaining to
equality and differences. There is a lot to learn from this book, and some parts I found
so interesting that I actually read them again to make sure I was taking everything in.
This book transcends the ultimate message that no matter how difficult something may
be you should stand up for what you believe in.

Steve Golin takes great care as a historian to report the perspectives of the teachers who went on strike in 1970 and 1971 in his narrative "The Newark Teacher Strikes: Hopes on the Line." Emergent is the fact that what started the strikes is not what ended them and what teachers had begun fighting together for ended in their battling against each other because of their differences.

The first strike was almost inspiring. Teachers of different backgrounds banded together under the brotherhood of the union and fought for its say in decision making for schools. In his reporting, Golin uncovers the underpinnings of the teacher's tensions by the time of the second strike, which ended in nearly two hundred people arrested or placed in jail. Black, Jewish and Italian teachers were all seeking betterment for themselves and/or the quality of education, however, they grew to feel differently about the union. The ubiquitous issues of race, gender and class snuck up on the strikers. The equality of men and women as professionals in the workplace became a contributing factor to the increased tensions between teachers. Adding insult to injury were the pay differences between elementary and secondary teachers. Race, however, was one of the most powerful and destructive factors affecting the second strike. Golin also retells accounts of those sentenced to jail after the second strike and how their experience has changed their lives.
For the novice urban school teacher this book is an invaluable reality check revealing the extent to which our predecessors were willing to go to fighting for what they believe in. It made me question to what extent I would fight for what I believe in, should I be called upon to do so.

Steve Golin's The Newark Teacher Strikes is a thought provoking book which allows people from all walks of American life to get into the minds of the men and women who shaped the evolution of Newark Teacher's Union through the strikes that occurred. This book was not only about the efforts of Newark teachers trying to improve the educational system, but about teachers, men and women, "Blacks," Jews, and Italians alike, developing their own self identity and self importance in their career as educators in the public school system. Teachers tried to identify themselves as professionals yet were asked to join a Union which was typically organizations for non-professional.

The book also focuses on teachers in Newark in the midst of civil rights movements while trying to better the educational system for America's youth. In some cases, the changes the NTU desired were tied to the civil rights movement. Newark was a great example of how teacher unions developed during these times. The "Black" population grew from 11 percent in 1940 to 54 percent in 1970. Minority teachers were fighting for a place in society and for power and representation in governing, while at the same time working to improve education.

The concept of isolation is also addressed in this book: "Probably the worst thing in any strike is for the strikers to feel isolated." One of the biggest benefits of being part of a Union is the easing of the mind that a person is not alone in their feelings and thoughts. People can feed off each other's energy. People can listen to each other's stories and realize that they are not so different. Unions also validate the feelings and concerns in the minds of people.

Golin's approach to understanding the psychological aspect of people involved in the Union development in Newark was successful. Throughout the reading I found myself pondering the thoughts of the individuals who were brave enough in uncertain times to stand up for the principles of their convictions. Their thoughts and perspectives enlightened me. It made me prouder to be in education and realize that our work as educators is not yet done. Furthermore, I have concluded that our work does not have to take place just in our classrooms, but efforts outside the classroom in non-curricula arenas.

Brian R. Currie

Steve Gotlin's book, "The Newark Teacher Strikes, Hopes on the Line" explores the avenues and dilemmas placed on teachers within an urban school system. Fifty enticing and emotionally twisting teacher interviews touch all aspects of society. These enlightening dialogues pave the way for insights into the inner emotions and characteristics that create and symbolize a "teacher". The author delves into the many conflicts that arise between teachers and administration compounded by race, gender, class differences and other human characteristics that are prevalent within the once school district. Gotlin explores the feelings that churn up among educators during strikes and actions not only about higher wages or improved education for the students but also an instructors' concern for a say in the decision-making process. In the midst of two weeks of strikes, during 1970 and 1971, the Newark school system completely shut down and the consequences that filtered down to the children. Explore how all these quandaries were overcome within this astonishing book. With encapsulating scenarios and emotions running wild, I highly recommend this wonderful book to any person, teacher or non-teacher, to understand what teachers strive to accomplish everyday in school.

Steve Golin's "The Newark Teacher Strikes: Hopes on the Line" is an enthralling account of a paralyzing situation that landed close to two hundred teachers in jail. This book reveals the great effort of a Union trying to better the educational system in Newark, New Jersey in the early seventies. The author touches on issues that go deeper than politics, and teachers against administrators. He illuminates the great characteristics that the members of the Newark Teachers Union possessed. Golin uses interviews from over fifty teachers to capture the true reasoning behind the strikes - fighting for the rights of both teachers and students. The book reveals the humanity of the teachers in Newark. Struggling with an unfair monetary advantage for the teachers at the secondary level, those teachers fight to relinquish raises in order to equalize the pay scale for teachers at all levels. The ties that bind are delivered in an incredible account of an unwillingness to concede. I recommend this book to all who are in or interested in the education field as well as anyone who wants to learn about real life struggles and the uphill battles that the teachers in Newark would not give in to.

From its very beginning, the Church has always worshipped. Building on its Jewish roots and through its meditation on the mysteries of the Christian faith, the worship of the Church developed rich liturgical traditions in different locales that even through the variations of custom maintained a core similarity built upon the legacy of the Apostles. The Protestant Reformation gave impetus to removing perceived excesses (in the case of the magisterial Reformers) and complete overhauls (in the case of the radical Reformers) and this led to an even greater amount of variation to the basic pattern of worship to the point now where local churches in the same offer a bewildering menu of worship styles.

Geoffrey Wainwright and Karen B. Westerfield Tucker have brought together contributions from various authors to outline the liturgical diversity of the Church in The Oxford History of Christian Worship. Beginning with the earliest days of the Church, the articles details the rich history of Christian worship over two millennia followed bv additional articles covering a specific facet of worship (i.e., the role of women, the use of art) rather than a particular tradition or period. Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern traditions are all covered and, umlike many more academic surveys of Christian worship, recent free church developments such as the growing acceptance of Christianity in Asia and Africa are included.

The quality of the articles is very high and they are generally self-contained and need not be read in order. Both the early articles on liturgical history and the later one bringing together much of the fruit of the scholarship of the liturgical movement are written in a form suitable for scholar and educated layman alike. As a reference source for understanding the diverse traditions of Christian worship, The Oxford History of Christian Worship is indispensible.

This work is quite ambitious, but I think it lives up to its ambition. The book is over 900 pages of Church history geared toward the practice of Christian worship. It is organized in a "somewhat" historical chronological fashion. What I mean by this is it moves the reader through Church history touching on time periods such as the Apostolic Tradition, Ancient Oriental Churches, Byzantine and Slavic Churches, Reformation Churches in all areas of the world from Europe to Korea, Mennonites, Baptists in Britain, and then to North American Churches, the Pentecostal and Charismatic worship, and every other form or style in between.

There are 34 chapters in all covering the entire span of Church history and issues within each time period. The book also covers ecumenical movements, Liturgical styles, music I worship, how visual arts are and can be used in worship, Women in worship, Missions, etc. Simply put, this work is massive and quite exhaustive. This is definitely a reference text to continue to turn back to time and time again. It is both topical and historical and that makes for a very well rounded work.

The contributors come from every imaginable background such as Methodist, Roman Catholic, Swiss Reformed, Baptist, Presbyterian, etc. So every topic gets attention from someone whose central focus in their research field in that very topic. This makes for a nice authoritative text which is able to cover a lot of territory. If you have an interest in Church History, Ecclesiology, Theology, studies in worship style and content, etc. then you will not want to be without this text. I can certainly see this text becoming a standard text book in colleges and seminaries for classes on Ecclesiology and worship.

This is a text for everyone from any tradition and/or background. Even if you disagree with certain worship styles, practices, forms, modes, etc. it will certainly benefit you, the reader, to read about all the various different traditions and styles presented in this text. I recommend this book.

Nice solid binding, great illustrations, 900+ pp., really an amazing work.

IDEOLOGY
All mainline Protestants (liberals and neo-orthodox, for lack of a better generalization), progressive Ro. Catholics, or Eastern Orthodox, plus one charismatic from Westmont. The Methodists are the most numerous, but the writers span the Xian family tree (Lutherans, Mennonites, etc.). The only ones left out are Evangelicals (with the exception of the Westmont author). A big group to leave out, but not surprising.

SCOPE: Global, historic (AD 30-present), ecumenical (see above), detailed (34 chapters, over 900 pp.)

Some random thoughts:
Chap. 1 Xian Worship: Scriptural BASIS AND THEO. Frame by Wainwright is exactly what you'd expect from anyone who has read his wonderful book Doxology (1980; systemtics written from a relentlessly LITURGICAL perspective. All theological concepts are related to worship). Wainwright does a very fine job of introducing a topic as large as worship. He does this by opening with a beautiful plea for Xian worship being founded on the particularity of the Biblical God and as opposed to all idols and so-called gods. This comes off, frankly, as a very Reformed section of the book. About a helpful as anything i have read by others with whom I share more theological opinions (Hughes O. Old, John Frame, etc).

For example, he pulls out of the book of Romans all these familiar passages, showing them to be shot through with liturgical language and cultic terms. I will never see Romans the same way again. Then moves on like it was nothing to a brilliant discussion of Imago Dei and how this means we were made for communion with God and then, of course, made for life in society.

BTW -- this wouldn't be a modern mainline book if, after brilliantly demonstrating Xian particularity and exclusive claims to God, he didn't turn around and undermine this with a short but unfortunate nod to universalism (through the benevolent lens of von Balthasar).

Chap. 2 -- Maxwell Johnson. He shows something we all want to fight against -- there was not ONE EARLY CHURCH way to do worship, but several. Some, no doubt, had direct Apostolic roots and others did not. We get ahold of a book like The Apostolic Tradition and we all feel safe -- we can at least hang our hats on it, being right from the pen of Hippolytus of Rome and early 3rd century. So THIS is how the Early Church did liturgy! Well, not really. Lately scholars seem to think its not by Hippolytus (it was anonymous after all), maybe not Roman, and maybe not even 3rd cent. (earliest copies we have are 5th cent.). I am not up on the latest here, but the general point is a muddy one -- there isn't one ideal liturgy of the Early chucrh out there to be recovered and replicated. Of course, we wouldn't want to anyway. There's a Holy Spirit and all. But we CAN find some common phrases, elements, themes, to shape and inform our current worship. This chapter is long-winded and a little too detailed, but great.

Chap. 13 on Reformed Tradition in NETHERLANDS was the most surprising to me. I expected alot better liturgy from this tradition. 1553 Micron liturgy has the most bizarre order of worship imaginable. Sermon comes early, announcements after it, then confession of sin, ends with intercession. Only highlight -- very last item before benediction is an exhortation for the poor.

In the exile Dutch church (French speaking) no member could refuse to partake in the Lord's Supper without good reason (very interesting).

But now things go way down hill. A nat'l synod produces a 1574 liturgy that was much simpler (Puritan) and had no confession of sin. This order remained the same, we are told, into the 21st century, except that teh confession of faith was replaced with Ten Commendments. Uggh! and the Lord's Supper was celebrated only 6 times a year.

This same 1574 nat'l synod also decreed no funeral liturgiess, just preaching, since the dead might be honored instea d of God. And before each celebration of the meal a censura morum (moral investigation) of members was held by a joint group of pastors, elders, deacons (well, do note at least they were three office, not two). Later synods like Middleburg (1581) did not allow Xmas celebation. Eventually it was allowed with soberness to prevent idleness. No explicit absolution or declaration of pardon was allowed becuase the preaching of the Gospel contains enough forgiveness!

In the 17th cent. the very few 'liturgical' elements -- creeds, ten commandments, etc. -- all took place sadly in a sort of pre-service. After them, THEN the pastor would enter the church say a prayer and go right into the sermon! The eucharist was supposed to be celebrated 6 times a year but in many cases only happened annually (p. 467). The Reformers would have died. People wore only black. Maundy Thrus and Good Fri were NOT observed in Dutch Reformed chucrhes, and Easter was explicitly to be a sober emphasis on Christ's DEATH!?

An 1817 synod gave complete liturgical freedom. Freedom from the mess cataloged above would be great, but this also meant freedom from doing any recognizable liturgy. Set forms of prayer, we are told, were viewed as spiritual weakness. A schism occured in 1834 over this stuff.

20th cent. saw some improvements. Kuyper wrote Our Liturgy in 1911 (Is it avaialble in English?). In 1973 several Protestant denominations (Lutherans, Mennonites, Reformed) came together to write a joint hymnal. (Good idea! How about PCA/OPC link up with AMiA, Missour Synod, EPC and some others to do the same? Each could still keep their separate ones, but congregations could elect to use teh ecumencial one insteda of the parachurch ones many use.) Liturgies are reproduced here. Supper finally is celebrated 8-10 times a year (though just 4 times in more orthodox congregations).

After that, chap. 14 on SCOTTISH Reformed makes the Scots look more liturgical and rich. The author here is Ducan Forrester, who was Dean of New College, Edinburgh.

Lots of good insights. Some tragic, some helpful and lovely. The irnonic spectacle -- mobs going way beyond Knox and the Reformers in rioting to destroy every imagined vestige of 'idolatrie" while the very same people jealously guarded all kinds of old practices the Reformers sought to end (saints' days fairs, certain funeral rituals, etc.). The strong influence of German Lutheran liturgies on Wishart and Geo. Buchanan is interesting.

Knox's 1564 liturgy calls for communion once a month (that's about 40 times too few a year, but better than Holland). Sadly it over-fences, of course. But communion is enveloped in wonderful prayers of 'thanksgiving".

Essay is concise and balanced.

Chap. 15 on KOREAN worship is another surprise. They hit two of the three big early missionaroes (Horace Allen and Underwood, but why not Samuel Austin Moffett?). Tell how Nevius' principles and pragmatic concerns (pragmatism ALWAYS messes us up in ways we don't anticipate at the time!) led to a 'temporary' low church, revivalist, simple liturgy, which sadly endured despite all efforts at liturgical renewal that began in the 1920s. Not til the 1980s did any of the liturgical impulse get any foothold at all, the authors claim. Only silver lining -- the non-liturgical, seeker-sensitive "open worship" spreading through much of Korean has been resisted by most 21st cent. Presbyterians, we are told. Small consoluation.

Chap. 16 on ANGLICANS. The author Bryan Spinks is Yale prof., with an interest in music. This is a long chapter, but (unlike chap. 2) needed to be.

Chap. 21 on PENTECOSTALS written by a Westmont prof differed, to me, from the others I read in tone and quality. It seems to be something of an apologetic.

Chap. 26 on Inculturation in AFRICA was wildly educational to me, prob. only because I know so little on this. (Shaw's hist of Xianity in Africa was good, but it does not talk much about liturgy). The author is a native African Nwaka Chris Egbulem who teaches in New Orleans. He's Catholic and makes great points about the need to have an authentically local liturgy that is still somehow Catholic and historic. The case study of the Congo (Zaire) is VERY interesting. P. 689 is where it comes to a head. Obviously, he's right that the Vatican needs to lighten up on the ban against palm wine and millet bread. Reminds me of the Vatican's decision that the kid in NJ who was allergic to wheat couldn't commune with a rice wafer instead.

But he does go too far I think toward syncretism. For example, he wants to incorporate the rich (PAGAN!) prayer traditions into the liturgy mass, etc.

Getting too long here. All pastors need to buy this book.

The Oxford History of Christian Worship is 860 pages of wonderfully perceptive and accessible historical scholarship in the service of Christian theology. The book is sympathetic to every strand of Christian worship: there is nothing dry or patronizing here. The masterly Introduction by Geoffrey Wainwright is not only theological, it is positively evangelical: if we do not worship the true God we worship false ones.

The book starts with the apostolic tradition, the ancient oriental churches, and goes on to Orthodoxy. I was most impressed by Alexander Rentel's fifty pages on Eastern Orthodoxy, by André Haquin on changes in Catholic worship in the twentieth century, and by Karen Westfield Tucker's forty page chapter on North America. Other chapters deal with different ecclesiologies (Mennonite, Charismatic), territories (Africa, Asia) and themes (Music, the Spatial Setting, Women), and there are seven chapters on church and worship in the global south. The chapters lay out the theological logic of each form of worship: the content and structures of worship services are discussed, with some information laid out in boxes, and lots of illustrations.

Several chapters discuss the twentieth century, in which worship underwent rapid changes in every church. The Roman Catholic recovery of the idea that whole church is the people of God, communion ecclesiology (an unnoticed reformation?), meant that Vatican II was not simply the Catholic church `catching up' with change outside it; it has also been the impetus to liturgical revision in every other (Protestant) denomination. Revision of lectionaries, service books and hymn books shows an increasing Evangelical understanding of the role of the lectionary in cementing the unity of the Church, and thus a growing Protestant realisation of the catholicity of Church. There is an intelligent discussion of Pentecostal and charismatic worship and a tentative look forward, perhaps to a church led by the charismatic churchmanship of the global south. The Oxford History of Christian Worship is a compelling read, and I was gripped even by subjects that I thought I had no interest in. It is the best purchase I have made this year.

THE OXFORD HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP should be an essential part of the library of any serious student of Church history and liturgy. Beautifully written and illustrated, it is a comprehensive look at Christian worship and certainly serves well as an authoritative text for those committed to the study of the Church and its divergent denominations and practices over the centuries. It should be required reading for all seminary students, Christian educators, and lay persons interested in peeling away the layers of liturgical practice and focusing upon the real core of Christian worship. In addition, it is an excellent volume to reference in any ecumenical discussion.

The Performance Connection offers concrete approaches to growing any organization into a leadership and value-driven entity. I have worked with the author, Mr. DeWilde, and the insights I received mirrored the suggested concepts in the book. After working for several years with middle managers, I incorporated many of the book's concepts into my daily interactions with these managers. I can reflect back three years and honestly marvel at how much more responsibility these managers were able to handle, increases in creativity as well as productivity, and true ownership of final products. I am also a less stressed leader, and I can credit The Performance Connection for setting me on a new path.

The Performance Connection accounts itself well with pragmatic advice and examples for improving individual engagement and organization performance. The theme of accountablity is threaded through the chapters and provides straight forward methods for targeting and driving success. Perhaps the greatest value of the book is its application to a wide varity of situations from corporate to small business and from for-profit to non-profit organizations

The Performance Connection describes a philosophy and practice of performance management which readers of Jim Collins will recognise, and many of the themes of the book have been covered at greater length in books on organisational design, performance management, strategic planning and high performance teams. The five main sections of the book take the reader from the individual relationships of people within an organisation - with particular emphasis on how leaders relate - through questions of purpose, vision and alignment of objectives to organisational design, accountability and rewards and finally the business planning cycle.

Underpinning all this is the performance connection - the need for people to connect with each other and the organisation at both an intellectual and emotional level, within a dynamic management system and flexible organisational structure, with true alignment of purpose to achieve extraordinary results.

The strength of The Performance Connection is how it brings together these quite diverse threads of management science- subjects like individual identity within the organisation and its teams, contribution versus position or role, empowerment of individuals and teams, individual development, selection, rewards and motivation, alignment of purpose, strategic planning - into a coherent and internally consistent performance management system.

For me the book demands a second reading. It is quite concise and there's a lot packed onto each page and although not a light read it is practical, with plenty of ideas and guidance how to put The Performance Connection to work. Aspiring leaders and managers who want to transform the performance of their enterprise and are looking for a whole new approach will find a lot to think about in this book.

The Performance Connection offers a new, yet practical model for businesses to engage their most important product..........their employees. DeWilde and Anderson provide a format to inject this philosophy within key areas of a business or a top to bottom revamp of an organization. Read it and reap the rewards. David Johnston President JIC, Inc.

I am a counselor and many of my clients have been employed in various positions in the business world. This book addresses with effectiveness and empathy how to create a successful environment for the individual and the business to thrive while underscoring an employee's happiness and self efficacy. A must read for anyone in the business world or academia striving to create the best atmosphere possible for their work setting. Teaching these principals to business students would provide a needed bridge to ethical and successful companies.

From TQM to Balanced Score Cards - this is the book that provides a practical synthesis. Focus on cause and effect relationships and away from abstractions. Must have book.

There aren't a lot of really good books about performance management, and performance measurement specifically, available yet. Too many of them are overly prescriptive in what to measure and very light on the details of how to measure (properly).

Because I specialise in performance measurement (and have done for over 14 years now), I've read quite a bit in this field and expected that Gary's book was going to be another one I'd refuse to recommend to my clients and subscribers.

But that's not what happened. I actually really enjoyed Gary's book, and support a lot of his philosophy about performance management. It's got to have strong alignment to strategy, it's got to be well thought through, it's not really about scorecards and technology, it's about making it easier to execute strategy, and it's about reliable and objective data.

It's a great book to give people that really need to take performance management more seriously, particularly senior managers and executives. It's not a book for the operational manager that is new to performance measurement (in this case try "Performance Scorecards" by Chang and Morgan).

I met Gary at a SAS conference the other day and we had a discussion on various issues. One of them being the query of why so many strategies to improve performance fail. Is it in the design or the execution of strategy? Gary popped the commonly accepted view that it is failure to execute otherwise sound strategies. And I replied, being a Strategy Consultant for over 16 years, that I haven't seen a sound strategy yet. After some debat we agreed that design and execution are equaly important.

This book is about execution of sound strategies using a series of quantifiable performance management methods. These are most popular in the Anglo-Saxon (US/UK) world and have been exported to the European mainland as well where they compete with qualifiable performance management systems. What is the difference? Quantifiable PMS' are based on measurement and consequences as strategy and tactics are imposed top-down. Qualifiable PMS' however are based upon a 'meeting-in-between' strategy process where productivity is boosted by inspiration, motivation and creativity. Employee involvement is the key. Instead of using fixed targets and bandwiths, one would use waypoints and scenario's, leaving the control of execution to operational teamleaders. (In W.W.II the Germans were 1.7 times more effective than the Allied forces using qualifiable techniques, even though they were outnumbered 3 to 1 by allied forces using quantifiable techniques). Qualifiable techniques are based on the assumption that operational conditions and short term objectives change all too rapidly for a rigid approach of planning & control. But if operational teamleaders understand the strategic and tactical objectives they can easily adapt to new conditions.

However Gary's latest book is the best book on quantifiable PMS' since Maximum Performance Management by Boyett & Conn (that actually tries to combine qualifiable and quantifiable techniques).

Don't just buy it, read it!

If execution is the goal these days, then this book brings an interesting perspective -- it's both big picture AND 'how to do it' at the same time. Cokins does a great job of putting the execution imperative into the larger context of "why." A good read for a reminder of basic performance management tools and for exploring how they work best in the context of today's tough business environment.

Gary's book, on Performance Management published by Wiley, does an excellent job of pointing out there are no "Silver Bullets" or management tools that solve all problems. Combinations of the right techniques is an art. Bold graphics and flow charts in the book do much to stimulate the thought process. Business failure is often a result of inadequate performance management systems. Survival in today's global economy requires many of the better performance management techniques described in Gary's new book. A great addition to any business library. Bill Hass, Certified Turnaround Professional, wjhass@aol.com

I first read this book in 1975 and have read a couple of times, since.

This book tells the facinating story of behind-the-scenes building of the Isreali military. Not only is this book an enjoyable read, but it is a true story that provides details of this building.

A must read.

There are only a few people who can qualify for nomination as "the person most responsible for the State of Israel being". One of those people is Rudolph G.Sonneborn. The only place you will ever read about him and his unique group, "the Sonneborn Institute", is in The Pledge. Leonard Slater "found" him and tells us of his importance in the creation of The State of Israel in this most important, most unbelievable, but absolutely true story. Everyone interested in Israel should read this book and know not only the facinating story, but learn about Rudolf G.Sonnnborn, one of the most important, yet most private of men, in Jewish history.

I just finished this book after having it on my bookshelf for years. I'm glad I did because it was well worth reading --- not because it was a perfect book, but because it fills in important gaps in understanding the reaction of Jews and the world to the Holocaust. In doing my own research for a book, I remembered the Pledge and read the cover. While Joseph Heller might have pointed out the humorous aspects of the book, these paled in comparison to the seriousness of the effort by Americans to support the nascent idea of Israel. It was the serious side that attracted me. What I took from the book was the evolution from the meek, quiet, compliant European Jew to the bold, brash and surviving Israeli. While Hitler unleashed a social plague, from that plague came a people hardened by the fire of war and extermination. These people became survivors in every sense of the word. Israelis remain survivors. But the survival of these people initially rested in large part on the American spirit of innovation and adaptability. And this, to me, fused the encapsulated history of the Jews to the modern world. The most ironic part of the book --- and the most fascinating (because I am a pilot) --- was the use of Nazi Me-109's to win control of the skies during the war of independence. Who could imagine the irony of history --- that the tools of war laid down by a people's killer would become their necessary tools of freedom? This is the real story underlying Slater's book. The book sometimes becomes long on detail --- lists and lists of equipment and parts. It's hard to keep straight all of the various people. Although the Sonnenborn Institute was important, the real heroes were the men and women who actually gave their time, money and lives for their ideal. Despite its minor flaws, the book is well worth reading and excellent as a background resource.

I cannot possibly put into words how much I think anyone with even a passing interest in Israel should read this book. I would suspect that even the average politically active Zionist, even Israelis or Americans, has never heard of Rudolph Sonnenborn, the operation that this book describes, or most of the people in it. And frankly, that's pathetic. Not only is this a great and well-written story, real-life smuggling and covert operations at their very best, but it illuminates a lot of the dry facts that are found in basic histories of the War of Independence. Afterwards I was reading Howard Sachar's massive and bone-dry A History of Israel, and it was great to see mention of smuggled planes or illicit factories now that I actually knew the story behind them. This is quite seriously a must-read; quick, tense, well-written, and fascinating both as a story and as history.

There are only a few people who can qualify for nomination as "the person most responsible for the State of Israel being". One of those people is Rudolph G.Sonneborn. The only place you will ever read about him and his unique group, "the Sonneborn Institute", is in The Pledge. Leonard Slater "found" him and tells us of his importance in the creation of The State of Israel in this most important, most unbelievable, but absolutely true story. Everyone interested in Israel should read this book and know not only the facinating story, but learn about Rudolf G.Sonnnborn, one of the most important, yet most private of men, in Jewish history.

Stephanie Pace Marshall takes the time, and makes the enormous effort, to describe the education system our children need now, and in the future.

This is a difficult and valuable task. Her work is based on 40 years of experience, including the creation and administration of the Illinois Math and Science Academy. Her ideas work - the challenge for us as readers is to think about how we are going to implement these ideas in our own schools and communities.

This is an extremely valuable book for anyone who wants to engage in the transformation of schools from their current model to one which will meet our needs for the future. It is especially valuable for educational leaders, administrators and school board members who guide our school systems. It is inspirational for the many of us who wish we knew what to do to help improve education.

However, it is not an easy read. It takes some effort to absorb Ms. Pace Marshall's new language for her ideas, but, it is worthwhile. I found myself taking notes, brainstorming with colleagues and thinking in new ways as I made my way through. I wish you an equally exciting read.

THE POWER TO TRANSFORM: Leadership That Brings Learning and Schooling to Life is a brilliant and compelling book -- must reading for anyone interested in transforming today's educational system into one that truly meets the needs of 21st century children and 21st century society.

Marshall points out that the model upon which most of today's schools are based reflects society's present priorities of practicality and immediate usefulness. Children are looked upon as beings with innate learning deficiencies, and the job of education is to fill their minds with facts and attitudes that will be useful in present-day society. This approach does not equip today's children for the world of tomorrow. As Marshall put it, "A world dominated by excessively competitive and acquiring minds who cannot think holistically, systemically, long term, and wisely is dangerous. ... Exploration, creativity, imagination, passion, wonder, and awe lie at the heart of life and learning. They must also be at the heart of schooling."

The remedy that Marshall proposes is to use the principles of living systems as design principles for creating a "new [educational] story" -- creating "learning communities" that are "naturally autonomous, open, creative, self-organizing, connected and adaptive." Rather that trying to pour dry facts into the heads of bored, disengaged children, the approach is to excite and enthusiastically engage them by having them explore real world issues and problems -- "problems that matter." In the process, the children gather the facts they need, and are receptive to learning new skills (reading, 'riting, 'rithmatic, and more) because they realize that they need these tools to analyze, solve, and report on the problems they care about.

"Great questions" are another focal point in Marshall's approach. She calls them "portals to a future of unknown possibilities." Her advice to students is "Ask questions that matter. Ask questions that make a difference. Ask questions you love so that as you live your life seeking the answers you will find joy." She lists 28 "big questions for deep learning" that relate to her four pillars of learning: learning to know, learning to do, learning to be, and learning to live together.

Marshall stresses that this new approach does not abandon standards, formal curriculum, instruction, evaluation, measurement, or assessment. But old approaches to these matters have been transformed into ones that reflect the changed values which underlie the new schema.

This book is rich and deep, and almost every page had me saying, "Yes, yes, of course!" Marshall ends the book with the following call to action: "Please do not wait for others. Courage is the capacity to claim what we imagine. If you are carrying this new story in your heart, now is the time to step forward. There is a place in the world for your unique voice, and it carries a message that must be heard. Start anywhere, but begin the conversation, and tell the new story that brings learning and schooling to life."

In The Power to Transform, Stephanie Pace Marshall poses the question of what it will take to create a generative and life-affirming system of learning and schooling that liberates the goodness and genius of all children and invites and nurtures the power and creativity of the human spirit for the world. The question stirs deep and often latent passion in those of us who are devoting our professional lives to education. What would it take? How does one even begin to conceptualize the journey let alone chart a course toward such a vision? The Power to Transform offers those who are willing to look beyond the myriad of barriers to the possibility of a very different future.

Books on leadership for systemic reform typically offer direction for aligning and connecting the functions of school systems with visions that often speak eloquently to life-long learning, productive work, and global citizenship. Alignment and connection are complex and necessary steps but they do not go far enough. Marshall is dead on labeling the goal of much of what is characterized as reform and transformation as leading us to false proxies for learning--high scores on high stakes tests. As educators we know these limited snapshots are far from evidence of deep understanding, internal authority for learning, and the ability to apply learning in multiple contexts that are necessary to achieve these visions.

So what will it take? Direction, design, rich and compelling stories that offer evidence that such learning environments are possible, and evidence of success from students who have experienced this fundamentally different approach to learning and schooling. The Power to Transform presents a powerful argument for why leaders cannot accept false proxies for learning and offers an alternative future for learning and schooling that embraces the learning competencies needed to thrive in a complex, interdependent, and continuously changing world. Principles of design offer direction, not prescription, that allow for contextualizing processes and structures to operationalize the vision. Marshall draws heavily from two decades of experience in leading the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. She describes a learning journey where she and her staff are learning their way into creating a desired future. The stories of her students who have experienced a more generative and life-affirming system of learning at IMSA speak to thriving in schooling, work, and their commitment to work toward a more sustainable future for our world.

So many books on school leadership--haven't we all slogged our way through them?--are manifestos from those who tell us with great certainty and authority what we must "know": how to realign building resources, institute new management beliefs, and instrumentally refocus strategic goals. Again and again these books disappoint. They are unreal technical manuals that do not address the deep, dysfunctional paradigms that underlie our current educational system: that students are containable, defined units to be filled with knowledge, that competition and external prodding inspires profound learning, that learning itself is linear and predictable. Using narrative--the power of story--and her own experiences of being transformed through leading, Marshall proposes a new model of generative school learning based on abundance. (So little in our educational system is based on an assumption of abundance, the idea itself is almost startling.) Marshall says that instead of regarding the learner reductively and mechanistically, as we tend to in our day-to-day interactions and in larger educational policy, she invites us to rethink our work and learn to tell a new story about ourselves, one that reflects that:

Learning is shaped by personal purpose
Ability is multidimensional
Holistic engagement of all the learner's senses and feelings is essential for real inquiry (p. 81).

This doesn't sound like many high schools I visit every week, unfortunately, where learning by compulsion, fear, or threat are the veiled order of the day. My hope is that Marshall's book will find its way to many school leaders, those who are ready to look deeply into the fundamental assumptions that underlie their work and the structures of education in America. Especially useful is Marshall's table comparing "current reductive" educational ideas and a new "generative and personalized" vision of learning, teaching and curriculum (pp. 219-225). The table is a remarkably clear, concise analysis of what is, and what might be. Finally, Marshall offers some good words to live by, for any leader anywhere. In a letter to her grandchildren she reminds them that one's life is about:

Your integrity, not your position
Your voice, not your power
Your name, not your title
Your calling, not your career
Your legacy, not your success (p. 214).

I have these words up on the wall of my office, and I visit with them often. Marshall is wise, inspiring and refreshing.

Most education reform today consists of tinkering around the edges of an essentially broken model, of adding more of the same and, inexplicably, expecting things to get better. We are long overdue for a new vision. The Power to Transform provides exactly that.

Stephanie Pace Marshall's impassioned, deeply thoughtful and groundbreaking book on transformative leadership for schooling and learning is easily among the top five books on education currently in print, and the only one I know that gives readers a powerful vision for the future and for true systemic change. It is a guide for those who would lead a revolutionary movement to fundamentally transform American education, even from within their own schools.

Those who have read Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat understand the need for radical change in our nation's schools if the United States is to remain a creative and contributing society among world nations, equal to the challenges that lie ahead. To be successful in this new world, young people need different skills than preceding generations, an engaged relationship to learning (sorely lacking in today's often lackluster and out of touch schools) and ways to connect their capacities and interests to the work that needs doing in the world. Dr. Marshall has tapped the disconnect between what is and what needs to be in education in a powerful and compelling way, through story and through a well-reasoned argument for change. She also provides questions to guide that process at both the grass roots level and within the halls of power.

Endorsements by Howard Gardner, Parker Palmer, Margaret Wheatley and Robert Galvin speak to the importance of this book; it is truly a seminal work and a must read for anyone interested in making schools better for students, for teachers and for the world. I used The Power to Transform last year for a seminar I conduct at Northwestern University, and I plan to use it again this fall. The book was a huge success, and I'm looking forward to the rich conversations and practical school level applications it generates within my next seminar class. I cannot recommend it highly enough! And I love her letter to her grandchildren. I, too, have it up in my office and share it widely.

This book is one that all high schools should distribute on back to school night along with their school guidelines. As well, colleges should distribute the book at their first meeting on campus with the kids and families. It is about time someone brought out into the open what most fraternities are about. Schools only tell us the "great news of having fraternities and sororities on campus". Dr. Lipkins tells us the behind the scene actions of these "great boys will be boys organizations". This is an extremely well written book. It is a step by step guide on recognizing hazing, and what actions to take if you find your child involved in it. As parents we all want to protect our children, but how could we have protected them from the danger of hazing when we didn't even know what was going on? This book gives parents the tools we need to keep our kids safe. I highly recommend this very informative book. The author's knowledge of this subject is very visible in her writing and I command her for taking such an interest in a subject that has been swept under the rug for too long, at the cost of our childrens safety.

As a psychologist specializing in teens I highly recommend this book for parents of high school and college-age teens as well as for educators. It contains important advice, practical suggestions and information that can dramatically reduce the risk of a teen becoming the victim of a dangerous hazing experience. It also provides critical tools for how to intervene and heal when hazing is discovered. Don't think that this can't happen in your community or to your child--it can. Dr. Lipkins clearly has the experience and background necessary to help us understand what we need to do to end the devastation of hazing.

As a college student I witnessed countless hazings. I had friends that became emotionally scarred as the result of sorority initiation rites. Even more extreme was the physical abuse of big ten college athletes that took place in my own house. I will never forget how I felt as a bystander watching the most respected athletes of my school drag the newest members of their team through my front door, forcing them to drink until they had no control of themselves and proceed to humiliate them in front of a house full of women. I knew this wasn't right yet I was at a loss of how to handle the situation. I wish I had Dr. Lipkins book twenty years ago to help me through this. Every parent should read Preventing Hazing and discuss it with their children. Hazing is a very serious issue with severe emotional and physical implications. Finally someone has written a book to help all those involved. Please read it!!!!!!!
Deborah Shlafmitz

I am currently a school psychologist, a former high school championship baseball coach and scholarship athlete--this book nails it on the head--full of very useful analysis of the culture of hazing--something that goes on at some level on virually every team and although some think it builds team morale, it really saps the energy from the team as well identified by Lipkins--the book provides a deeper understanding about how to understand and deal with hazing--. Read it!!
James Levering, Ph.D.

I thoroughly recommend this volume to parents of adolescents and young adults who may be embarking on thier college years. Dr. Lipkins astutely points out key elements of the problem and strategies to prevent and deal with the difficulties involved in hazing. A must-read for those with interest in the topic and a need for more information on the subject.
--J. Clive Spiegel M.D., Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, ALbert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx NY

I knew most companies were listening to someone. This Book mentions who and adds to that body of literature called process improvement. After reading this book I was able to contribute to the on-going process and become a more valuable employee.

Great Book!!! The book is written interestingly and in a very well wording way. The standpoint of the writer integrating naturally into the real life of the reader needs accompanied with a blaze of practical examples which the writer has taken from the real life of his experience. Personally I have done a fascinating use the book to redesign software related process, and I can certainly say that from background in engineering, one can do a tremendously use of this book in any related technical \ business areas and probably more. Recommended!

I must admit that I felt a bit uneasy when I found out that this book, which was recommended to me by a friend, had been written by someone with a PhD. In my experience, books written by PhDs are often very academic, difficult to read, and end up telling me what I already know in a very convoluted way.

This book, however, dares to enter "dangerous academic territory" by, for example, defining "knowledge" and measuring it in different instances of business communication. Even in doing so, its ideas make sense and are logically consistent. It also wraps everything up nicely by proposing a methodology (MetaProi) to put the ideas in the book into practice and showing the results of the use of that methodology.

I think this book might get a "thumbs down" from academic ivory tower dwellers. From me (what do I know?), it gets two thumbs up!

Ned's book is great! I used his nine-step system (MetaProi) to facilitate four Business Process Improvement Teams in a local audio visual supply company. All four teams modeled, redesigned, and developed an implementation plan for at least one business process. Three of the four teams went on to successful implementation of their plans. One dynamo team solved several problems. Other than the kickoff, there were no face-to-face meetings. The widely distributed teams used collaborative technologies for nearly all interactions, resulting in minimal impact to daily operations. Participants were excited about growing with new methodologies and technologies.

Phoenixville, PA

This book will be essential reading for those wishing to develop insight into process improvement methodologies, which span popular business process reengineering and total quality improvement movements, and the use of computer mediated communication (groupware) to support these process improvement efforts. In particular, the marriage of the Metaproi methodology and groupware techniques, presented and illustrated with field experience, will be invaluable for those researching or undertaking process improvement projects.