Organizations Books

If you're frustrated with your career or if you've been hopping from company to company looking for the perfect job, this book is a must-read. Most jobs, authors Joe Frodsham and Bill Gargiulo believe - perhaps overoptimistically - already offer the possibility of satisfying work. Frodsham and Gargiulo provide a step-by-step guide to finding the things you truly love to do - your "passions." Once you understand these deep personal needs, then you can retool your job to meet them. The authors caution against switching organizations except as a last resort. We recommend this book to perennial job-seekers. If you absorb its information and do the internal work it advises, perhaps you, too, can attain "career wealth" right where you are. Hint: "career wealth" is not the same thing as earning a lot of money, just a lot of satisfaction.

"Make it Work" is a rare find. A book that gets right to the principles and practices that will transform your career and your life.

So many people that are unhappy in their current jobs look outside at what appears to be the greener pastures. A large percentage eventually succumbs to the illusion of "it's better over there" and change jobs, only to find that there really is little difference. Many of the others remain at their job, happy in the security and stability, yet inwardly unhappy and resentful. The authors make a powerful case for another option, instead of looking over the fence, scan your current pasture with an idea of applying the proper fertilizer and periodic watering. In other words conduct a detailed examination of your current company and your passions and see if there is compatibility between your passions and what the company needs.
Options are that some job description needs to be changed, a current job needs to be done differently, a new one created or a job developed where there is no detailed description. The positions of the authors make an enormous amount of sense for employees and employers. The cost of losing a productive employee is enormous, so it makes economic sense for employers to be reasonably flexible in allowing employees to expand their horizons. Changing jobs is a traumatic experience that should be carefully thought out and often fails to generate an improvement in your emotional, psychological and professional well being. Therefore, if you can find or create something better where you are at, then by all means you should do so.
A self-help book that makes sense, contains nothing that generated the "what a crock" reaction when I read it, and has a lot of sound, practical advice, it should be read by everyone who is unhappy in their current job.

This is a must read if you want to be successful in your organization! "Make it Work" cuts through the jargon and lies, and really enables you to apply principles for success. It's unleashed my heart and career, and I am forever grateful for it.

I picked it up and I couldn't put it down. It's got the right tools and advice for a person that career minded. It also made me realize that I can get the brio that I want out of my career, just where I am. This is a great read!

A must read for any activists. Easy to understand and yet effective.

This is the how-to book I wish I had written. It's perfect for activists, charities, government agencies, even PTAs! No one can sell an idea or cause better than the person who believes in it--this book gives you the basics and more on how to get your campaign or event in the news.

The most difficult task for any activist or organization is getting noticed. With an influx of so many news agencies and mediums it's hard getting noticed by reporters and editors.

This book shows you how to make your cause 'interesting' to those who matter in getting your message across: the Media.

You'll learn how to do several things like give speeches, create an identity, use props & mascots and more.

Although it could have probablly included more in-depth detail and 'how-to' it was certainly worth the investment.

Bottom Line: Worthwhile addition for any activist or their organization. Invaluable for the person in charge of making causes and campaigns noticed!

Outstanding on all fronts. No jargon - all facts. Salzman shares his secrets and tells you how to figure out making your work into news. In this image-crazed age, this book is a must.

Gearing up a new issues education/activist organization, I read this invaluable tome. Then I called its author (Jason Salzman) to find proteges of his whom I might hire on the East Coast. After talking with him over a couple weeks, I hired him and have tremendously benefitted from his experience, wisdom and creativity. Not often we can hire the guy "who wrote the book." If you can't hire him yourself (try though), his book lays out the science and art of garnering media for you to tout your cause.

This was a very helpful book. I consider this book more as a manual on ministry to be referred to again and again. This is not a book that you read once, say "I got it", and never pick up gain. I highly recommend it for leaders and future leaders of churches so as to pattern ministry after the Bible, rather than the shifting sand of culture's preferences.

The introductory title says it all "Shepherds and Construction Workers." Right from the start, MacArthur sets his paradigm against the popular opinion of what church leaders should be doing. Church leadership is not management and is not glamorous. Rather, it is spiritual ministry (Jn 13:3-17) and spiritual construction with God to build the church (1 Cor 3:9-11).

This book is divided up into 3 parts not including the appendix.
Part 1. The Anatomy of a Church: MacArthur walks through the scriptural analogy of the Church being Christ's body with Himself as the Head (Col 2:19, Col 1:18).
a. The skeletal structure. The "skeletal" structure of the church is the critical components to being a church; if it yields, it is no longer a church: A high view of God, absolute authority of scripture, sound doctrine, personal holiness, and spiritual authority.
b. The internal systems. The spiritual attitudes necessary for church vitality: Obedience (he writes, "the all-pervasive attitude that makes all other attitudes possible"), humility, love, unity, willingness to serve, joy, peace, thankfulness, self discipline, accountability, forgiveness, dependence, flexibility, desire for growth, faithfulness, and hope.
c. The muscles. That which enables the body to function: Preaching and teaching, evangelism and missions, worship, prayer, discipleship, shepherding, building up families, training, giving, and fellowship.
d. The Head. The most important part. The Head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him we can do nothing (Jn 15:5). Then, he points to Christ the Head as Savior, Shepherd, Sovereign, and Sanctifier.

Part 2: The Dynamic Church
a. The Pattern of the early church. He discusses the founding of the church, the ministry of the church, and the leadership of the church.
b. Elders, deacons, and other church members.
c. The Thessalonian model. A surrendered, soul-winning, second coming, steadfast, and submissive church.
d. The Marks of an Effective church: Godly leaders, discipleship, an emphasis on penetrating the community, active church members, concern for one another, devotion to the family, bible teaching and preaching, willingness to change, great faith, sacrifice, and worship.
e. The calling of the church: Called BEFORE: Election, Called OUT: Redemption, Called TO: Sanctification, Called TO: Identification, Called UNDER: Revelation, Called WITH: Unification, Called UNTO: Glorification, and Called FOR: proclamation.
f. The Lord's work in the Lord's way: vision for the future, sense of flexibility, commitment to thoroughness, commitment to present service, acceptance of opposition as a challenge, a team spirit, and a sensitivity to the Spirit's leading in others.

Part 3: Qualities of an Excellent Servant
a. Understanding the seducing spirit
b. Understanding the duties of ministry
c. Shepherding the flock of God

The book also has a huge appendix of 150 pages. It answers:
1. Answering the Key Questions about Elders
2. Answering the Key Questions about Deacons
3. Qualifications for Spiritual Leadership
4. Elements of Church Discipline
5. Restoring a Sinning Brother or Sister
6. Should Fallen Leaders be Restored?
7. The Danger of False Teaching
8. Why I still Preach the Bible
9. Why Personal Integrity is Crucial for the Church
10. Why I love the Church
11. Why Doctrine is practical

MacArthur's plan for the "church" is extremely sound. His preceptions are based on origional language of the Bible and will work for anyone committed to establishing a God honoring body of believers.

John MacArthur has done an excellent job explaining from the Scriptures the plan that God has ordained for the local church. He teaches what the Bible says about elders, deacons, women's roles, church discipline, preaching, etc. Very scholarly without being dry. Excellent exegesis.

Although the "Master's Plan for the Church" (MPftC) came out before "Ashamed of the Gospel" (AotG), I recommend reading AotG before MPftC. AotG presents a broader base for what problems exist (e.g., watering down the gospel) and why they exist. MPftC is more of a practical application -- now that AotG has shown what to avoid, MPftC shows a better way to implement things in your church. Our denomination (CRC - Christian Reformed Church) has most of those things in place and does a pretty good job of staying true to how a church should be run. MPftC helps keep our minds in line with doing the right things and not just things because "we've always done it that way". Most of the chapters and appendixes are taken from sermons at the author's church. The format is easy to read and well organized. The appendixes fill the final one-third of the book and are required reading. I recommend getting both books for your church library (we have AotG and probably will get MPftC soon).

Very thorough and to the point in so many aspects of the church. From backing up why a plurality of elders to church discipline. A very good read that will point the reader of what God truly wants from His church based on the biblical model set forth in the New Testament. I extremely liked the area describing the elder; his qualifications and disqualifications based on what the Greek text provides.

In the back of the book in the appendixes he then tackles questions regarding different aspects of the church, such as major questions regarding elders and deacons. He defends many topics including having one of the elders being the lead (teaching pastor) to why the elders can, but not as a rule, be paid.

I would recommend this to anyone wanting to reconfirm what the Bible teaches on the church and not our traditions passed on generation upon generation. Very big help!

Leaders have to be competent, or the whole thing won't work. "Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business Or Nonprofit" is a crash course in leadership skills for those who want to learn everything they need to know about company management. With nearly one hundred pieces of invaluable advice, as well as an index and bibliography, "Mastering the Management Buckets" is an excellent choice for prospective leaders and for community library business collections.

I'm often daunted by how much there is to master in running a nonprofit organisation. What should I be an expert in? What niche publications should I be reading? What training do I need?

The thing I love about John's book is that if I didn't read anything else, but just mastered each of the 20 buckets he talks about, then I'd be in the top few percentile of my game. I can't think of anything of substance that is missing from the book, it covers such a wide range of practical topics. But it somehow covers them in enough depth to be really helpful.

I wish I had come across this earlier - but since I'm still relatively young, there's hope for me yet that I'll have time to integrate the good common sense that John outlines! The book is easy to read in its style, bite-sized and practical in its format, and one of the very best books I've come across for nonprofit leaders.

Only John Pearson could pour the insights gleaned from twenty five years in chief executive roles at three different associations into twenty management buckets: six buckets focused on The Cause, seven buckets for The Community, and seven buckets for The Corporation. The language of The Cause is purpose driven. The language of the Community is warm affirmation. The language of The Corporation focuses on operations, systems and fiduciary responsibilities.
Chapter by chapter each of Pearson's twenty buckets gets filled with "strategic balls" that leaders can utilize to enhance their management of each bucket theme. The chapters are filled with anecdotes about real life experiences in the workplace.
My favorite is The Hoopla! Bucket. Spring-boarding from Dennis Bakke's Joy at Work, Pearson articulates a value proposition for Hoopla as a way to relieve stress and build team spirit in the workplace. This is a critical concept for the great number of nonprofit organizations that have squeezed the pennies so tightly that they have made their workplaces blatantly undesirable and unhealthy.
Mastering the Management Buckets is a straightforward refresher course in critical competencies critical for successful leadership in organizations of all kinds. The book serves it up straight, consistent with Pearson's persona as a straight shooting leader, a man of integrity and a follower of Jesus. If you're looking for ways to enhance your management skills, built on a Biblical platform that views leadership as a spiritual exercise, this book is for you.

After starting to read this book my reaction was WOW! I've never seen so many practical ideas for leaders in one book. John Pearson draws on a vast array of sources that he came across over his long career including time he spent with Peter Drucker. The book describes 20 critical competencies are broad and include topics you don't usually find in books on leadership such as systems, board, budget, operations and crisis.

The competencies are what Pearson calls "management buckets." Some people will like this description, others may be tempted to dismiss the bucket metaphor as lite. That would be a mistake. The book is jam-packed with substantive ideas and insights. I was glad to see that Pearson covers the "hard" issues such as being results oriented to the "soft" issues such as caring for employees. I'm recommending this book to leaders as one to take their leadership team through. It will surely stimulate a list of actions that will benefit their team and organization.

The book does have a lot of references to Christianity because John is a Christian and he has primarily worked for and with Christian organizations. If you work for a Christian organization, this is a must read. If not, or if you are not a Christian, you will still benefit from the ideas and practices described in the book. Because social sector organizations rely so much on volunteers they have learned much about motivating them and for-profit organizations can learn a lot from effective social sector leaders such as Pearson.

I also want to point out that the book is well-organized into short sections so it's ideal for most leaders who prefer bite-sized readings. Too many books these days fail to include end notes and I was glad to see that Pearson provided extensive endnotes that will allow readers to dig even deeper into the many sources he drew upon to write the book.

Bottom line: I highly recommend this book!

Mastering the Management Buckets provides invaluable guidelines, profound insight, and clear direction. There's more solid, practical advice for managers and leaders than can be received in many of the books I've read in my forty-years of ministry. I'm a visual guy. So the illustrations of the 20 buckets concept really rivots my attention. This book is a hands-on resource, it transforms my leadership thinking. I only wish I had this resource in my hands ten years ago!

The Origins of Order will be viewed in the future as a milestone in shifting the existing Darwinian paradigm in biology from a "survival of the fittest" (natural selection) to a new paradigm focused on explaining the "arrival of the fittest" through self-organisation.
Using a boolean (NK) network model and a extensive amount of biological facts, Stuart Kauffman demonstrates in a powerful
way the central role of self-organisation in the creative process of life. His vision that biology seems to operate
as self-organised non-linear dynamical systems at the edge of chaos will have as much influence in biology that a similar vision offered by Nobel prize winner Prigogyne in the field of thermodynamcis. The book connects a web of fundamental ideas from the fields of biology, physics, mathematics and computer sciences and requires a strong background in biology that I unfortunately did not possess. The laborious style, the lack of clarity in the writing and the (unnecessary) length of the book should not stop anyone from reading this amazing book.
Stuart Kauffman combines an intellect and a vision that only very few scientists possess. This book is a must.

Kauffman believes that spontaneous self-ordering, which both simple and complex systems can exhibit, must be incorporated into evolutionary biology, along with traditional random variation and natural selection. Certain complex systems will be spontaneously self-ordering. Natural selection then tends to push such systems to the edge of chaos. In addition to advancing Kauffman's theories, this reference provides a good overview the Neo-Darwinian synthesis, a review of origin of life theories, a review of genetic regulatory theory, and a review of cell differentiation.

It took me a whole summer to read this book in 1993 and it is still the most amazing book I have ever read. If you are computer/mathematically inclined, have an interest in biology, and have enough time to digest it, this book will blow you away. It contains the most amazing hypotheses to come out since 1859. Unfortunately, it takes a huge investment in time to really read this book, but an epiphany awaits those who get through it.

Stuart Kauffman has an MD and is a generalist. The book deals primarily with theory and understanding of computer simulations of state driven systems of large numbers of connected nodes. It examines how such systems evolve through mutation and gives a clear understanding of the limited role of natural selection in comparison to the self-organizing forces at work within such systems. It examines the meta-interaction of sub-systems of interacting states (attractor basins) that occur within a system. In English: it gives the first theoretical framework for understanding just how it is that cells which all contain identical DNA express themselves as some number of stable cell types. Normally a cell will react to a perturbation in whatever way will return it to its base stable cycle (attractor loop). One type of cell turns into another type when just the right perturbation kicks the system from one attractor basin into a different attractor basin.

This is heavier reading than his popular science book, At Home in the Universe, but preferable for anyone with the necessary tiny amount of knowledge of genetics and logic operations. There are few equations of any kind. The results apply to more than just biological systems.

The book is long because instead of just presenting a few principles that you can try to remember abstractly, he leads you through all the important steps of his research and gives you a real feel for how complex systems actually evolve and operate. The book raises more questions than it answers, as it should be for a book of such originality and importance.

When you fully grok the contents of this book you'll be so excited you'll want to rush and explain it to someone else, which will be utterly impossible, so you'll probably have to lend them your book, buy them the popular version, or face the fact that you are now relatively alone on a higher plane.

The deep future will see this as a very important book. The first to consider the deepest layer of reality. Anyone interested in GA's or ANN needs to start here. This book is pure foundation. Stand on it and you stand on solid ground.

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.

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.

Excellent modern history of the US military from the Vietnam War up until 1995 or so. The history is told through semi-biographies of officers who began their careers around the time of the Vietnam War and chose to stay in the military, despite all of the problems that were evident in Vietnam. The draft, which brought in sub-standard service members, was a disastrous way to build a military. Thankfully, a number of dedicated people stuck around to see the military made stronger. From the all-volunteer military, to the GI Bill, to the Reagan defense build=up, to the Goldwater-Nichols Act, to the Gulf War, highly motivated and intelligent men helped improve the military so that it could overwhelm the Iraqi forces in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

One of the officers who was featured quite prominently was Barry McCaffrey. I have come to appreciate his interesting analysis on television, but I never knew his life story. Though it didn't surprise me as I knew he retired as a general, but what an impressively courageous man he has been throughout his military career! What he went through in Vietnam is enough to amaze even the gutsiest American.

Another interesting aspect of the book was the coverage of contentious social issues that the military has had to deal with: race, women, and gays and lesbians. Kitfield pointed out the increasingly important role that blacks and women have played in the US Armed Forces.

Regrettably we are left to wonder what happened since then when our powerful military get sucked into a war in Iraq, starting in 2003 with no end in sight, without a plan to finish it. It's easy enough to point to Tommy Franks, Richard Myers, and others, but maybe there's a larger institutional story to tell about the debacle that is now Iraq. Hopefully Kitfield will tell that story too. He has a book out about Iraq, but since it was written a year or two ago, it can't possibly accommodate for all that has occurred since publication.

James Kitfield has studied one of the most turbulent times in American military history and distilled its lessons into one tightly written narrative that is both engaging and full of tremendous insight. The passage through the ranks of the Vietnam generation officer corps molded our 1980's military into a truly revolutionary force. Their experiences in the muddle of Vietnam and the lessons they extracted colored every decision and every reform they sought in their service. In the end, while not perfect, these able officers forged a doctrine based around rapid, audacious movement, technology and local authority--all things lacking in Vietnam. The payoff came with the tremendous victory in the 1991 Gulf War.

This book needs to be read by every officer in every service. Study this, extract the lessons. Many of the mistakes made during the Vietnam-Era have now repeated themsleves in the War on Terror. Many of the lessons Colin Powell and others taught us during Desert Storm have already been forgotten.

If you are an officer, buy this book. Let it guide you through the many critical decisions you will have to face during the years ahead as you work your way through your own career. And never forget the most important lesson of all: never chose your career and its future over doing the right thing. Prodigal Soldiers pointedly demonstrates that when senior officers do that, men die needlessly.

John Bruning
Author of "The Devil's Sandbox: At War with the 2-162 Infantry in Iraq"
John_Bruning_jr[...]

I first read James Kitfield's book in 2000 and have just finished rereading it. I am recommending it to my sons, an Air Force pilot working on his master's in military science and an Army combat engineer, as one of the four most influential books on the development of the United States military since WW II. The author traces in a very readable style the coming of age of the officers of all branches of service during the Viet Nam and post-Viet Nam eras and how those experiences shaped our ability to win a decisive victory in the 1990 Gulf War. The book also reveals the back room political wheeling and dealing that goes into watershed legislation such as the sweeping reforms of the Goldwater-Nichols Act. It's a "must read" for every professional military leader and student of the art of war.

When you read a book like this and have seen the Army at its best and worst. That and have seen the gradual improvement to where the Army is today, i.e. one of the most trusted institutions and one of the greatest killing machines since the Roman Legions under the early Caesars. I just feel better and safer. That and I want to thank all those who did not turn tail and run away from the wreck of the post Vietnam War Military but stayed and fixed it. God Bless you all!

From the prologue to the epilogue, and everything in between, this book is fantastic reading. Anyone who has ever been associated with the U.S. military will have a much clearer picture of the totality of resurection within all the services after Vietnam. "Duty, Honor, and Country" does not always mean the same thing to different people, to some it means a career that spans over thirty years, to others the words are just something on a recruiting poster. To anyone who reads the book these three words will take on a much clearer meaning. Some chapters will cause tears in even the toughest of old veterans, and even the young generation of future service members will begin to understand some of the major events which have transpired in the military in the decades since Vietnam. James Kitfield tells a story that is not just a chronicle, or a documentary, but a story worthy of telling, and he does it with style.