Organizations Books


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Organizations Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Organizations
Naked Idealism: Expose Your Authentic Side and Create a Sustainable Life and World, or How to Find Happiness, Direction and Success in Career, Fun, and Relationships While Inspiring Progressive Change
Published in Paperback by Wheitner Authentic Living (2008-09-27)
Author: Dave Wheitner
List price: $19.95
New price: $17.95

Average review score:

A 'must read' for anyone seeking to improve their emotional well-being
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-03
Life is not something that is meant to take with stone cold seriousness. "Naked Idealism: Expose Your Authentic Side and Create a Sustainable Life and World" is a thoroughly 'user friendly' guide to being oneself and taking life how it should be taken - with a grain of salt and a dash of humor. Getting in touch with oneself is clearly the key to being content with one's existence. With a fresh touch of humor in his lectures, Dave Wheitner's "Naked Idealism" is a highly recommended addition to community library Self-Help reference collections, and a 'must read' for anyone seeking to improve their emotional well-being and enjoyment of life.

Fulfillment & Fun Can Share the Same Page
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-30
Whether you are looking to switch careers (or jump-start your current one), inspire healthy change in the world, or freshen up your relationships with family and friends, this is a book you should check out. It provides easy-to-follow processes that can be applied to many situations and is jam-packed with activities that are not only effective, but dare I say fun. Dave Wheitner shows us that although change can be scary - it doesn't have to be - and this book shows you how to begin taking steps toward a more fulfilling life.

An excellent intro for new or struggling idealists
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-19
Do you want to live a better life? Do you want to make the world a better place? Are you a frustrated activist? Do you ever feel conflict between what you want to do and what you feel you should do? If any of these apply to you, this book is for you.

Naked Idealism is an excellent book for fledgling or struggling idealists. Dave Wheitner helps you figure out how to balance your external goals with your internal desires, and how to take your wishful thinking and bring it out into the world. His material is drawn from many useful and informative sources, and he provides a bibliography so the interested reader can find more.

As I read Naked Idealism, I marked up the margins on the parts I found particularly good. I ended up with 124 "Cool!" marks, 61 "WOW!" marks, and 6 new books on my to-read list.

A Real Good Book (About Being Real)
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-01
If you're ready to be honest about who you are and what you care about, then you're ready for this book. Naked Idealism is based on the radically sensible idea that you can improve your life by bringing it in line with what's most important to you. It's well-written, concise, and packed with helpful tips, examples, and exercises. What I appreciate most about this book, though, is that the author practices what he preaches--the real person shines through on every page.

Organizations
Naval Ceremonies, Customs, and Traditions
Published in Hardcover by Naval Institute Press (1981-02)
Authors: William P. Mack and Royal W. Connell
List price: $29.95
New price: $17.95
Used price: $1.75
Collectible price: $29.95

Average review score:

A lot of information
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-12
If you want a lot of information about the navy then this is the perfect book for you. If you don't want to read a large book with a lot of information then don't waste your money and look for the info on the internet instead (but you won't get as much detail and accurate as this book).

Naval Ceremonies, customs, and traditions
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-30
This product is exactly what I was looking for. It was especially informative as to how tossing the hat at graduation started.Naval Ceremonies, Customs, and Traditions, Sixth Edition

Navy custom explained
Helpful Votes: 15 out of 15 total.
Review Date: 2001-10-10
This book is clearly inteded as a manual for naval officers. I don't doubt that it would come in useful. It's a true treasure trove of information concerning US Navy custom and traditions. But the best part is the fact that it goes extensively into the backgrounds of many of the traditions and customs the Navy is steeped in. It is a scholorly book on history as much as it is about custom and tradition.

As a person who's not in the navy and just has an interest in it's history, this book was extremely entertaining and informative. If you're interested in such things, this book is defiantely worth a look.

Navy 101
Helpful Votes: 15 out of 15 total.
Review Date: 2001-01-21
This is an excellent source of knowledge with a wealth of information. If you want to know about the origins of Naval terms and how certain Naval traditions came about (ie..The Crossing of the Equator, Change of Command ceromonies) this book explains most of it. My only complaint is that it revolves around the officer community too much. I think it would have helped to add some more enlisted info too! So I highly reccomend this book! Fair Winds and Following Seas!

Organizations
The New Society: The Anatomy of Industrial Order
Published in Paperback by Transaction Publishers (1993-01-01)
Author: Peter Drucker
List price: $24.95
New price: $15.82
Used price: $10.93

Average review score:

Drucker the Prophet
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-14
I read this book of revelations from ~1950 and I humbly profess that the insights are true to this minute at my job. I am preparing a training session inspired by the fundamental analysis that Peter Drucker conceived for the intrinsic economic, social and political dimensions of enterprises.

I delayed reading his early works thinking that they would be excellently written, but outdated. How wrong can I be? If you believe in the noble crusade of management "sheparding the scarce resources of society", then you will have every book he ever wrote.

Corporation is GOD!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2001-02-06
I read the Arabic translation 20 years ago. I've trained as an engineer. Meanwhile, reading on political economy was one of my best interests. This book made the ultimate connection: The Concept of Efficiency. Since then I began to see the world in a very different way. The bigger the corporation, the more efficient it is, and the more beneficent. That's it. Corporation is GOD (It was the mistake of Microsoft to behave as an aggressive small business!). Corporation is the most likely patron of science and technology. It's simply the engine for evolution in modern civilization. Drucker's idea that corporations are made to serve not to profit is daring, sometimes hard to conceive, but in core... it's brilliant!

Corporation Is God
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2001-02-06
I read the Arabic translation 20 years ago. I've trained as an engineer. Meanwhile, reading on political economy was one of my best interests. This book made the ultimate connection: The Concept of Efficiency. Since then I began to see the world in a very different way. The bigger the corporation, the more efficient it is, and the more beneficent. That's it. Corporation is GOD (It was the mistake of Microsoft to behave as an aggressive small business!). Corporation is the most likely patron of science and technology. It's simply the engine for evolution in modern civilization. Drucker's idea that corporations are made to serve not to profit is daring, sometimes hard to conceive, but in core... it's brilliant!

Corporation is GOD!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2001-02-06
I read the Arabic translation 20 years ago. I've trained as an engineer. Meanwhile, reading on political economy was one of my best interests. This book made the ultimate connection: The Concept of Efficiency. Since then I began to see the world in a very different way. The bigger the corporation, the more efficient it is, and the more beneficent. That's it. Corporation is GOD (It was the mistake of Microsoft to behave as an aggressive small business!). Corporation is the most likely patron of science and technology. It's simply the engine for evolution in modern civilization. Drucker's idea that corporations are made to serve not to profit is daring, sometimes hard to conceive, but in core... it's brilliant!

Organizations
Nonprofit Board Answer Book: Practical Guidelines for Board Members and Chief Executives
Published in Hardcover by Board Source (2001-11)
Authors: Robert C. Andringa and Theodore Wilhelm Engstrom
List price:
New price: $6.31
Used price: $6.31

Average review score:

A Must-Have for Senior Staffs and Volunteer Leaders
Helpful Votes: 15 out of 15 total.
Review Date: 2001-03-25
This is a must-have book for nonprofit senior staffs as well as for volunteer board members who aspire to leadership and stewardship of the organizations they serve. It definitely lives up to the promise of the assertion on the book jacket that the authors, "...who collectively have more than 70 years of experience as chief executives, board members, and facilitators in the training of more than 20,000 board members in 20 countries..."

The book is comprised of 37 short chapters (typically 3-6 pages each) in five sections, designed to address all aspects of board service and board/staff issues. Each chapter provides facts, opinions, tools, and a few "suggested action steps" to help a board address the issue or situation presented in the chapter.

In general, the authors reference John Carver as a good resource for the theory and practice of nonprofit governance, but they don't make Carver the precise and proscriptive recipe that some adherents do. They admit the possibility that other techniques and structures can work well for certain organizations, while "sticking to their guns" in presenting their experiences and insights as having inherent value for most nonprofits.

I was especially impressed by the distinction made between the role of the board and the role of board members. Many policy governance disputes stem from a misunderstanding that, somehow, all board members should have the same responsibilities and be treated interchangeably.

I would have liked to see a clearer treatment of the issue of board diversity; interestingly, the authors seem to agree, admitting that it's a very difficult subject to address. Many board "diversity" programs focus on narrowly-defined "diversity" and run the danger of leading to "tokenism," according to the authors.

The charts and checklists that supplement the text are simple and effective. They're easy for readers to re-create and use in their own organizations.

The book even admits of the possibility that nonprofits can (and sometimes should) dissolve and disband, and provides strategies for helping board, staff, and community understand, accept, and even support the natural cycle of life as it applies to organizations. It's an important message and not a negative one.

Although originally published in December, 1997, it has already had three printings as of August, 1999. With 15 million volunteer board members in the U.S. alone, the publishers could run through many more printings.

A "must read" for anyone serious about non-profit governance
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 1998-07-13
Drawing on two lifetimes of experience, Andringa and Engstrom have addressed a broad array of crucial issues. I enjoyed the fact that it was long enough to deal throughly with dozens of key issues and yet moved quickly from topic to topic. I had several, "I wish I'd thought of that" moments when Andringa and Engstrom crystallized a thought I'd been rolling around in the foggy recesses of my mind.

CEO's of Non-Profits should take special note of the practical suggestions in chapters 5, 14, 19, 21 & 26. Board members who are serious about making a contribution will benefit greatly from chapters 1, 4, 5, 7, 16, 22, 28 & 34.

The book reads quickly and can be completed in one sitting but serves best as a reference with short practical responses to frequently asked questions.

Engstrom has produced many excellent works but I hope we will see more from Andringa as well.

Must have for all staff and board members of nonprofits
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2002-05-19
The book is organized with very straightforward chapters with suggested action steps. The combination of discussion and practical application makes the book the one reference book needed for anyone working with nonprofits.
Excellence in governance can be achived by following this book. Excellence in government results in the most efficient use of staff and financial resources in fullfillment of the mission of a nonprofit.

Required reading for both new and experienced board members.
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 1998-07-16
Absolutely, without exception, this should be required reading for both new and experienced board members and senior management. Andringa and Engstrom, clearly, are not theoretical "ivory tower" authors. They've been in the trenches with the rest of us--and offer sound, practical counsel. It's a helpful book to give to new board members as part of their board orientation. Certainly every board chair needs one. Well worth the price. Board meetings will get done earlier if you take just 10% of the authors' advice!

Organizations
The Nonprofit Career Guide: How to Land a Job That Makes a Difference
Published in Paperback by Fieldstone Alliance (2008-05-20)
Author: Shelly Cryer
List price: $16.95
New price: $16.95

Average review score:

Outstanding Guide to Careers in the Nonprofit Sector
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-14
The Nonprofit Career Guide: How to Land a Job That Makes a Difference

For anyone interested in learning about or pursuing a career in a nonprofit organization this is a must reading. The book is clearly written and provides a wealth of information about the nonprofit sector. Most people would be surprised to learn about the wide variety of fields that nonprofits serve -- from the traditional role of providing services to the underserved to developing affordable housing for the poor and groups with special needs to the Arts and Cultural Affairs to health care organizations and organizations involved in promoting social entrepreneurship. A nonprofit organization may be a one person effort to help their community or a mega corporation like the United Way or the College Board.

This guide is useful for college students who are exploring career choices and for more seasoned professionals who may be considering a career change. It is also useful for individuals who want to remain active after their primary career is over and "give back" through service and are looking to learn more about the nonprofit sector.

The book reminds us of the importance of service and serving others. It highlights how important mission and purpose of organizations that make up the nonprofit sector in the US.

I will be using it as part of my course on nonprofit management for undergraduates to help them gaining a deep understanding of the organizations they will work at while completing a 150 hour field work requirement.

At $16.50 this book is a great bargain.

A Must have Career Guide Reference
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-07
Shelly Cryer has compiled a useful tool for college students who are examining their options following graduation. The Non-Profit Career Guide - how to land a job that makes a difference, serves as a nuts and bolts directory that can prove useful for entry into the world of Not for Profit organizations. This manual is laid out logically and is easy to use. The appendix and endnotes are of particular help to first-time job-seekers or even those making a career change. A must have for your Career Guide Reference Collection!

Gabriela A. Cipollone
Reference Librarian, Iona College

One of the best career guides out there
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-21
I never thought I would review a career guide, but this one deserves it. As a student, I found this guide to be indispensable. Not only does it thoroughly cover the non-profit sector, but it also offers advice and insights that can be applied to any sector.

Cryer begins by profiling the sector and highlighting future trends. Notable is the observation that salary in the nonprofit sector depends on field of work and size of organization--in certain fields, nonprofit pay is higher on average than that of their private or public sector counterparts. Furthermore, as the sector grows in prominence, more attention is being paid to salary as a means of recruiting talent. Other trends include a growing need for leadership and increased diversity. The meat of the book is in lively chapters covering sector subsections (arts, education, health international, etc.) and job functions (management, communications, development, consulting, etc.). Its snapshots of different people working in the industry provide a good sense of what to expect from the different avenues the sector has to offer.

This book made me see my career options in a new (and organized!) light.

Why I Hate All Career Guide Books
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-10
I do hate all career guide books.

Except this one. Short. Focused. Keeping it real. And no worksheets.

As an executive working for top Human Resources management in a Fortune 100 company, I have read many career guides. And I have been asked to recommend career guides by concerned friends, usually for their kids. And they are all padded, boring, time-wasting books. Especially the ones with tests and worksheets. Did I mention I hate worksheets?

Here is a book based on a special perspective -- Shelly Cryer is a professional who is in the streets 24/7 with the real people who really know what it takes to work in the nonprofit sector. She is an expert communicator, and impatient to get her ideas across to you -- you'll feel like she is talking to you as a best friend with inside information as you read. And it is a pleasure to finally read a book not filled with true, but tired tropes about networking and how to inflate your resume.

This book is down in the trenches where a good first impression counts, but communicating accurately and tersely gets you noticed. Nonprofits after all have to do more with less, and that includes less time for fluff. Here are two examples which I know to be true from experience, and have never seen in another career book: Do not use the static-ridden, dead-voice cell phone for outreach, stick with a conventional land-line for important calls to get your human nuances across. And here is a big clue, email is a great way to communicate instantly, but do not take any less time crafting your email than you would a serious business letter. How true; email's spontaneous nature seems to sap politeness and logical structure from so many communications I get.

The index. This book has an index. Why should a slim volume like this (less than 300 pages) need an index? Well you can not live without Google can you? Think of this intelligently indexed book as having a built in search engine. So many books skimp and think they can get by with a table of contents with cute chapter titles.

This book is hard-hitting, with career profiles and interviews with true leaders in the nonprofit sector about their own careers. As proof that Shelly Cryer is saying "yo listen up my peeps!", each chapter has a quick review at the end which makes you really think about what you have just read. Not just the usual warmed-over summary, but a superb safety net to make sure you have caught on.

Want to do good in the world?

Want to wake up happy to go to work every day?

Buy this book; you may find your life's calling here.

Organizations
The Nonprofit Membership Toolkit (Kim Klein's Chardon Press)
Published in Paperback by Jossey-Bass (2003-07-10)
Author: Ellis M.M. Robinson
List price: $40.00
New price: $30.95
Used price: $17.33

Average review score:

NonProfit Membership Toolkit
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2003-08-25
This book gets my highest praise for putting a lot of valuable information into one easy to navigate source. My book is marked up with highlighter and sticky notes! Although I don't work for an "environmental" nonprofit, I found that the insight and experience easily translates into my field (long term care for the elderly). Very, very good. I highly recommend to all development/fundraising professionals and volunteers.

Membership Guru Tells All!
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2003-07-23
Ellis Robinson has helped hundreds of non-profits increase their memberships, both as a trainer and an employee. She's reached almost mythical status for building the membership of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy from 400 to 60,000 in three years. Now she shares her secrets in this easy-to-use guide. Whether you're a new community non-profit or an established national organization, The Nonprofit Membership Toolkit will give you a wealth of information to boost your ranks--especially important in this time of diminishing foundation grants. Ellis doesn't just give you the techniques. She also underscores the importance of developing your organization so that new members will want to renew their support. Her methods are well-rooted in community organizing, with emphasis on one-on-one recruitment, board involvement, and member participation. However, what really sets this book apart from other fundraising books is its use of materials from non-profit groups. Ellis has collected fundraising letters, brochures, surveys, membership plans, etc. from organizations in every corner of the country and presents the cream of the crop as models for your own use. The book is laid out well, with each chapter focusing on one aspect of membership development. As a professional fundraiser, I turn to The Nonprofit Membership Toolkit frequently to answer questions, inspire me to write yet another fundraising letter, or give me new ideas to try. I recommend The Nonprofit Membership Toolkit wholeheartedly to anyone involved with a non-profit organization.

Packed with Knowledge!
Helpful Votes: 11 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-20
This book offers one-stop shopping for the nonprofit organization in need of money, political influence, credibility, free labor and all of the other benefits that members can bring. Not only does the book provide abundant information on recruiting members, it also offers, free and online, copies of forms and worksheets you can use to help advance your organization's membership campaign. It begins at the beginning, explaining what membership is. This may sound self-evident, but the very definition of membership has some surprising twists. This book will save you from making some very obvious mistakes - such as failing to convert people who contact you into members. It's a straightforward, no-nonsense workbook with excellent samples and examples. If you are an executive, board member, staffer or volunteer at a nonprofit, we offer its congratulations: at last, here's the right book for you.

The Bible for Non-Profit Funding Through Membership
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2003-08-21
In today's tough economic times, just about every non-profit needs help raising money. Members are one of the best sources of long-term funding and support for non-profits and this book tells all. A fantasic how-to-do-it guide to setting up and running a membership program. Lots of examples, worksheets, and - my favorite - practical tips and samples of results-producing membership letters. You can literally give this book to the person in charge of membership and they will know exactly what to do. Just about every non-profit has lots of room for improvment in the membership area. This book is packed with tips and advice from THE leader in membership development and fund raising, Ellis Robinson. You will not find a more passionate person to help your non-profit do a better job and be more successful.

Organizations
The Nonprofit Mergers Workbook: The Leader's Guide to Considering Negotiating & Executing a Merger
Published in Paperback by Fieldstone Alliance (2000-07)
Authors: David LA Piana and David Lapiana
List price: $34.95
Used price: $399.89

Average review score:

A must read
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-12
I highly recommend this book for anyone considering a merger in the non-profit world. It is full of specific tools that help you think through the process. I appreciate the concrete steps presented in a simple, straight-forward fashion.

The ultimate book for facilitating mergers
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-09-02
This is a fine reference! It asks the hard questions, and the workbook exercises are designed to help everyone over the tough answers. Readable, practical, most helpful.

Don't Merge Your Nonprofit Until You Read This Book
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2001-09-08
"Don't merge without it!"

This book is invaluable when your nonprofit is going through any form of strategic restructuing, up to and including mergers. As someone who has participated in nonprofit merger negotiations--both as a consultant and a board member representing a nonprofit--I believe this book can make the difference between success and failure.

Not only does David La Piana talk the talk in this book, he has also walked the walk. As an Executive Director of a nonprofit for many years--and having successfully led that organization through several mergers--La Piana understands the realities facing nonprofit managers and board members. His approach to strategic restructuring is pragmatic, and has enabled his consulting firm to become THE experts on nonprofit mergers in the country.

Even if you're just thinking about restructuring your nonprofit, buy this book!! You will save your nonprofit time, money, and energy, as well as protect your own sanity during the process.

Shawn Reifsteck (Masters in Nonprofit Administration)
CEO, Philanthropy Associates

A word from the author
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2001-08-27
I wrote this book because there was no other resource available to nonprofit leaders that provided a thorough, easily understandable road map to negotiating and executing a merger. As both an executive and a consultant I have been involved with more than 60 nonprofit mergers and have learned what works and what does not in these difficult, emotional undertakings. This workbook provides all the tools you need: decision trees, worksheets, and special tips, to make your merger work. Check it out!

Organizations
The Nun and the Bureaucrat--How They Found an Unlikely Cure for America's Sick Hospitals
Published in Paperback by CC-M Productions, Inc. (2006-05-01)
Authors: Louis, M. Savary and Clare Crawford-Mason
List price: $24.95
New price: $15.60
Used price: $15.59

Average review score:

A Must for learning how to design quality organizational systems
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-24
The Nun and the Bureaucrat is so simple, inviting, and fascinating that it is easily read in a sitting. It should be required reading for every university program in Nursing and Management. In fact, every administrator, faculty member, and graduate must in the future know the profound lessons this book so tersely describes. What a delightful way to begin a quality journey into systems thinking and organizational transformation so demanded in American institutions from business, education, government, not-for-profits, NGOs.

Ralph F. Mullin, Ph.D.
Professor of Quality Management
University of Central Missouri

Good application of systems thinking
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-26
Savary and Crawford-Mason have done an analysis of dramatic improvement in health care delivery in two hospital systems. This book provides insight into the benefits of using systmes thinking for organizational transformation. The authors allow the players--doctors, nurses, aides, administrators--to tell their stories.

Those hospitals challenged to improve patient satisfaction and optimum patient care will find this book inspiring. Those hospitals already doing continuous quality improvement will find interesting supportive examples.

The book is a good illustration of the benefits of total engagement of everyone involved in the process of review and recommendation for continued improvements in all processes.

Dr. Marylouise Fennell, Hospital Board Member

Hope for Our Sick Hospitals
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-23
Since we have had several personal experiences of almost dying or being infected after a medical procedure, we tuned into the PBS broadcast of the documentary "Good News... How Hospitals Heal Themselves". It was so revealing that we got the book for both personal and business reasons. In our business, ESF, Inc., we frequently deal with hospitals and those in the medical and nursing professions. Both my husband, Dr. Peter J. Esseff, and I feel this book should be read by personnel in every hospital from administrator to janitor. The "Systems Thinking" initiatives put into effect by the hospitals in the two "Good News" health care systems (SSM Health Care, St. Louis, Mo. comprised of 23 hospitals, and the Pittsburgh Regional Health Care Initiative, Pittsburgh, PA, comprised of 40 hospitals) demonstrated how a variety of "hospital diseases" could be treated and eventually eradicated. These initiatives were used initially by Dr. W. Edwards Deming in helping Japan "work smarter, not harder" in improving their auto manufacturing industry. In these two health care systems, statistics are given that demonstrate how the hospitals were able to: focus more on patients' needs; reduce costs, deaths, suffering, infections, duplication of services, waste of time and supplies; avoid deadly mistakes; streamline their bureaucracy; and work as a Team, from the top to the bottom of the chain of employees, by not placing blame for errors committed and empowering their workers to recommend changes to improve the quality of care in the hospitals.

The Savary/Crawford-Mason book takes the reader through the step-by-step process used by the two "good news" health care systems and described what each step in the process achieved. "The Nun and the Bureaucrat" is filled with specific examples of what the problem was and how the hospital solved it, sometimes in creative ways, but more often in logical ways that make us wonder why someone didn't think of that sooner. The positive results achieved through these initiatives are astounding.

What an incredible impact it would be on our entire health care system if these "Systems Thinking" initiatives could be enacted country wide in every medical facility. It gives us hope for curing our sick hospitals. It gives us hope for reducing our ever-increasing health care costs. It gives us hope for raising the standard of health care.

Everyone should read "The Nun and the Bureaucrat--How They Found an Unlikely Cure for America's Sick Hospitals" and pressure their hospital administrators, community, state, and federal officials to apply these "Systems Thinking" initiatives to our health care system nationwide.

School systems should do likewise.

Save your life....and others too....
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-02
Read this book and give it to your doctor and your hospital administrator and they will learn how to reduce waste, suffering, hospital-acquired infections, costs, errors and improve patient safety and save lives. And additional money or government regulations are not required to begin this improvement plan.

In the book, doctors and nurses explain how they didn't believe systems thinking would improve their hospitals. But to their delight, it did and they are saving lives, making fewer errors and enjoying their work.

I am the co-author of this book and believe the comments from the experts on the back cover of the book say it all.

"If you think that hospital care cannot be significantly improved in quality and cost, you have another think coming. Read this book."
Russell Ackoff, Professor Emeritus, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Author, Ackoff's Best, Re-creating the Corporation, and Redesigning Society (with Sheldon Roven)


"This book describes the kind of leadership that's essential for making our hospitals safe and patient friendly and at the same time cutting costs by driving out waste. And that is leadership that employs systems thinking to realize an inspiring vision. Read this book to learn how two leaders educated and transformed their hospitals. They show the way that others can and should follow."
Michael Maccoby, MD, Anthropologist, psychoanalyst and consultant on leadership, strategy and organization. Author, The Gamesman; Why Work?: Motivating the New Work Force; and the Productive Narcissist: The Promise and Perils of Visionary Leadership.


"Most of us realize that living and doing daily work requires us to depend on other people and predictable work processes. Taking those understandings into health care and the work of improving it is a complex undertaking. These authors have created an inviting introduction to health care as a system. In the midst of widespread recognition that we must improve our health care, they offer a starting point for creating the changes we need. Their attention to the insightful people making these changes happen allows us to learn from what's working. They have seen what is hard to see at first: health care as a system. Their writing is clear and inviting. In short, this is a welcome addition to the public conversation. Read it, share it and tell your elected officials about what you now understand needs to be encouraged to make health care better."
Paul Batalden, M.D., Professor, Dartmouth Medical School


"If ever there was an idea whose time as has come, this is the idea and this is the time.
Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist

"This book gives me hope that we can make similar improvements at many hospitals around the country."
Kenneth H. Cohn, MD, MBA, Cambridge Management Group. Author: Better Communication for Better Care: Mastering Physician-Administrator Collaboration, and Collaborate for Success: Breakthrough Strategies for Engaging Physicians, Nurses, and Hospital Executives

Organizations
On Leading Change: A Leader to Leader Guide
Published in Paperback by Jossey-Bass (2002-02-15)
Authors: Frances Hesselbein, Rob Johnston, and The Drucker Foundation
List price: $19.95
New price: $12.17
Used price: $13.30

Average review score:

Leadership
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-15
If you're in a leadership position, try this book. I found it very helpful when leading my organization through a transitional period; it doesn't happen on its own.

Great collection of articles!
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2003-06-29
This book contains a great collection of articles. I enjoyed it from cover to cover. I highly recommend it!

Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"

One of the best collections I've seen
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-09
All of the books in this series are excellent. They are a collection of the best of the best--there was not one chapter I didn't want to read. This book focuses on change and how to prepare for it and make the most of it. Considering how quickly things change, this book is an important one.

Leaders on Change
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-30
I'm a fan of the whole Leader to Leader series. This book presents luminaries such as Peter Drucker, Peter Senge, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, William Bridges, Frances Hesselbein, and Jon Katzenbach. They address in short simple chapters the challenges of leading change. Who could provide you with a better supply of insight and inspiration?

I first read the sample chapters on the Drucker Foundation Web site. Now I'm sharing this book with my friends and children.

Organizations
The One Page Business Plan for Non-Profit Organizations
Published in Paperback by The One Page Business Plan Company (2006-12-27)
Author: Jim Horan
List price: $34.95
New price: $22.02
Used price: $24.09

Average review score:

Excellent place to lay the groundwork
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-05
I am so pleasantly surprised by this book.

I consult to small and medium size nonprofits on how to either get started or how to get off a plateau or 'stuck' place. This book will now be foundational in how I address these groups.

Terrific, step by step, no nonsense direction.

There is no touchy-feely here, though. If you want hand holding and advice and coddling, this isn't it. This will help you lay down the a, b, c, and d of your plans to move forward. Fill in the blanks, type it up, and go get your work done.

I've Tried The Rest, This One's The Best
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-14
I've used all three of Jim's One Page Business Plan Books, and this one is the best! Concise, informative, creative, and inspirational, The One Page Business Plan for Non-Profit Organizations is easy for both the consultant and client to use.

Non-Profit Organizations are businesses, too. Most people who write "how to" books for profit businesses aren't also writing books for the non-profit sector. Jim and his One Page Business Plan series is different. Jim and his books comfortably straddle both the profit and non-profit arenas, and are written from an informed perspective.

If you are non-profit organization and it's time to write a business plan, this is the book for you. Within as little as 3 weeks, you will have your business plan done, your board excited and energized, and everyone on the same page.

This is the only business plan I use with my clients -- non-profit and profit alike.

One Page Plan Skyrocket Non-Profit Success
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-31
With extensive non-profit experience ranging from general volunteerism, management of non-profit outreach and assistance programs as well as board member roles, The One Page Business Plan for Non-Profit Organizations is one of the best tools I've seen. While serving as board chairperson for the non profit organization Willow Center for Grieving Children, I was able to triple the income in three years by utilizing my own POWER Planning Process expertise coupled with the precision of One Page Business Plan techniques. We've recently hired our first ever, paid Executive Director who will receive a copy of The One Page Business Plan for Non-Profit Organizations to take our organization to greater levels of success. I have no doubt that the assessment and accountability tools will serve as a vital roadmap to future accomplishments.

Horan includes solid techniques and tactics that effectively marry heart-based and business-minded volunteers and non-profit paid employees, alike. Plus, his one-page format is much more user friendly than the traditional SWOT analysis marketing/business plan that can be overwhelming to people who don't work with marketing and business planning on a regular basis.

Put simply, the one-page format keeps the entire organization on the same page (no pun intended) so that goals and objectives are met.

Lisa Manyon

Real value between the covers
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-03
First, I'm so glad in your introduction that you directly address non-profits current need to put business savvy and structure under their social goal orientation. I think this is not a pervasive perspective yet and it really needs to be to improve non-profit success in these days of leaner funding sources.

Strategies, Action Plans, Objectives - looks like you did a good job of translating the business OPBP version over, especially in these 3 more challenging areas.

The assessments starting on page 25, including a personal assessment (yes!!!), are wonderful and provide critical information for adjusting strategies and operational action planning. I think this is a really strong element of the book. People in organizations often don't know how to approach assessing themselves honestly.

Really liked your "Components of a Successful Non-Profit" page - brings it all together.


Books-Under-Review-->Reference-->Education-->Colleges and Universities-->North America-->United States-->New Hampshire-->Dartmouth College-->Organizations-->57
Related Subjects: Fraternities and Sororities
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