Future Planning Books

Carolyn Corbin intertwined her future predictions of the 21st Century with leader/worker development to become a viable workforce in the future she predicted. While not outside the realm of common sense, her predictions are still eerily thought-provoking.

This book outlined the five steps to becoming a leader in the 21st Century. In Step One, she discussed assessing one's own leadership effectiveness and compared that to what skills will be needed for the future. She summarized major world changes into four "dynaforces" of the 21st Century...globalization, marketization, informatization, and democratization. Step Two was order the chaos. Many futures books discuss how to adapt to change or how to go with the flow...so I was exceedingly curious what exactly she proposed to "order" this. She thoroughly explained the future factors that will lead to change and chaos, and the more we understand these factors we can pro-actively work to diffuse as many chaotic factors as possible. Step Three provided many examples of blending multiple organizational models of profit, non-profit, government, religious, higher education, and more. She shows the limitless possibilities of applying successful models from organizations that have already dealt with issues to different types of organizations that will be confronting similar issues in the future. Steps Four and Five have to do with the individual-engaging employees on all levels of their person and providing a workforce that fosters their innovation.

She illuminates the skills we can develop today to prepare for tomorrow. Whether intentional or not, her description of the future makes one re-examine everything you think about current leadership training and how it does not adequately prepare employees for what is to come.

Being a retired Nacy Captain, I was asked to speak to Canadian Navy officers on the subject "Leadership in the New Millennium." I am pleased to tell you that the theme of my presentation was from Mrs. Corbin's book, "Great Leaders See The Future First." I found it to be a marvelous reference, and I held up my copy twice during the presentation saying, "If you have time for only one book, consider this one!"

As a result of this presentation, I was approached by the Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia and asked to repeat my presentation at the kick off of National Engineering Week. Again, I referred to Mrs. Corbin's book and urged them to use it."

Carolyn Corbin's: Great Leaders see the Future First: Taking Your Organization to the Top in Five Revolutionary Steps, balances practical how-tos (in just about every paragraph) with great stories. Her bottom line: if you don't change from being what she calls a Level 1 leader (reactionary, always busy, focus on gathering & analyzing information, sacrifice innovation to pursue continuous improvement) you will be obsolete by 2010! To survive you must be moving to Corbin's Level 2 (strategizing, focusing on the whole person, leading at warp speed, improve through innovation).

Most of the book covers a quick way for moving from a level 1 to a level 2 leader by applying the following 5 steps:

1) Orchestrate a 360 degree worldview (use strategies to be "tossed" high in the air to see 5, 10, 25 years into the future)

2) Order the chaos (by controlling it)

3) Use a blend multiple organizational models (like for-profits, nonprofits, universities, military, religious institutions - because one will not longer do)

4) Engage the whole person (meet employee's physical and spiritual needs like day care, elder care, and providing work-place Chaplains)

5) Ignite innovation (via creativity, remove inhibitors, add humor)

You might think that 214 pages would go fast. But the book had an uncanny ability of slowing me down as I focused on my own style of leadership, my own organization's shortcomings. Every page is packed with something to move the reader from Level 1 to Level 2. For example, in the chapter 6 on "The Role of the 21st Century Leader" ideas included crafting an organizational mission statement in 10 (5 is preferable) key words, really listen to workers and act on their requests, understand other cultures, and move from a 20th century leader to a 21st century leader by changing from being:

boss --> coach
authoritarian --> participatory
tough --> tough and tender
informs --> listens
status from position --> status from working harder

Late in the book Corbin asks the reader to spend time going through two self-assessment exercise: 1) exploring your soul and 2) assessing your preferences and core competencies. My only critique of the work is the lack of more of these kinds of reflective exercises earlier in the book.

Although Great Leaders may not be as holistic as Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People which deals more deeply with all aspects of one's personal, business and professional life, I do recommend it for any leader who influences the future of their organization. I recommended it to two of our Human Resources personnel after they gave a "How to Managing Our Institution's Way" seminar.

Dave Harmeyer
Pepperdine University doctoral student (Ed.D. Educational Technology)

1. Synopsis:

Corbin's foresee that by 2010 great leaders must be at what she calls level 2 leaders, and in order to operate at this level these leaders must: Orchestrate a 360 degrees worldview, Order the chaos, blend multiple organizational, engage the whole person, and ignite innovation.

Orchestrate a 360 degree worldview includes two steps:1. Gather organizational intelligence by overcoming worldwide trends that occurs during periods of opportunity (or windows) and foresee the outcome (or issues); and 2. Understand the dyna-forces (interesting concept) created by these worldwide trends that originate systematic change. These dyna-forces are: globalization, marketization, informatization and democratization.

In order to overcome chaos, level 2 leaders need to figure out the root cause of the chaos (changes in speed, changes in rules or changes in structure), be aware of the new century organization models and be prepared for the role of the 21st century leader (level 2).

Level 2 leaders need to foresee the blending of multiple organization models during the next Century, foresee the driving of the 21st Century worker and be aware of the present blending of organizations and the strategies applied to blend those organizations.

Level 2 leaders will need to engage the 21st Century worker as a whole person and not by his/her skills and ignite innovation at any cost.

Corbin foresees a hermaphrodite workplace (androgynous) where man (FINALLY) will learn soft skill (typically considered feminine) by engaging in a spiritual search.

Final Comment:

This last statement along with numerous stereotypes, sexist and deeply Christian religious remarks, casts big doubts about the seriousness of the book. What a shame!

The title of this book should not be taken literally. What Corbin correctly suggests is that the most effective leaders are those who recognize, sooner than anyone else does, certain indicators of what often become emerging trends and perhaps even a new industry. Stated another way, they see the possible (perhaps probable) implications and consequences of events occurring now. I am reminded of countless such situations when someone (later characterized as a "visionary") said something like this: "If we can figure out how to pressurize the cabin, an airplane can transport people as well as cargo." Thus is how entirely new industries are developed. Corbin's book is about "becoming a great leader under a new set of global rules....Organizations are recognizing the value in looking ahead. Scanning the horizon for various internal and external trends, global changes, economic booms and busts, and demographic peaks and valleys is part of the regular routine in many enterprises." At least ideally, these organizations develop leadership at all levels, creating what Tichy characterizes as a "leadership engine."

Corbin's objective is to help her reader take her or his organization "to the top in five revolutionary steps." In the first chapter, she provides (Figure 1.1) a "Leadership Level Evaluation Exercise" which poses 22 questions. The respondent is thus able to calculate her or his score and thereby determine at which of two levels of leadership she or he is at the moment. Corbin then shifts her attention to the five "revolutionary steps" to which the book's subtitle refers. They are:

1. Orchestrate a 360 Degree Worldview (Chapters 1-3)

2. Order the Chaos (Chapters 4-6)

3. Blend Multiple Organizational Models (Chapters 7-9)

4. Engage the Whole Person (Chapter 10)

5. Ignite Innovation (Chapter 11)

Each of these steps is explained and then developed in detail. It is important to note that Corbin contrasts dominant characterizes of Level 1 and Level 2 leaders. For example, L1's react, emphasize hard skills, gather information, and manage positions whereas L2's strategize, focus on the whole person, lead at warp speed, and manage people flow. You get the idea. My own experience suggests that what Corbin calls a Level 1 leader is a believer and involved whereas a Level 2 leader is a zealot or evangelist and engaged. I urge you to check out a book which is entirely devoted to Level 2 leaders. Its title is Radicals and Visionaries, written by Thaddeus Wawro and now available in a paperback edition.

One of the book's most valuable chapters is the last, "Trumping the Competition", in which Corbin suggests that the Organizational Chaos Model (Figure 4.1) can help an organization to overcome its competition. "The goal is for your organization to change the rules, structure, and speed of its industry so that your competitors are thrown into chaos....The idea is to confuse the enemy. While the opponent is digging out of the confusion, the organization in the offensive position seizes the dominant position." She lists and then briefly discusses "The Nine Factors of Innovation" which can help to achieve such dominance, in process providing analyses of various industries to illustrate her key points. She concludes with a call to action, urging her reader to "execute boldly, step forward courageously, and lead responsibly as if your organization's prosperity depends on it -- because it does." I join her in wishing "Godspeed, great leader."

This book explains the general principles of financial planning and gives other resources of useful information. It also talks about some specific situations. While it cannot teach you how to do it yourself, it is a good start for everyone who needs to do financial planning!

This is a great book. It is full of helpful information on the financial planning process. I highly recommend it!

If you are cautious on your personal finance and don't want to just listen to your financial advisor, the book might be good for you. It covers a lot of topics of personal finance. The second part is especially good. It talks about the financial issue at life time changes such as marriage, becoming parents, divorce, etc. Very solid information on tax issues. A lot of tips on tax saving.

When I started teaching financial planning to US Air Force officers planning on reentering the general economy it was a little known subject and you had to scout up your material from pamphlets, magazines and newspapers with help from stockbrokers.
"Ernst & Young's Personal Financial Planning Guide" published by John Wiley & Sons, which is the same publishing house that publishes the JK Lasser's tax manual puts the information all in one volume.
Of intense interest to us is the chapter on starting your own business, which as authors we are doing in our senior years. The material is geared to the younger generation who are just starting out, but the advice is sound and easy to understand without an extensive background in accounting and economics.
Financial planning is rough at this period in our history, because of the skyrocketing prices of necessary goods and services not used in the consumer price index, hence they are excluded from inflation percentage calculations. Gasoline, medicines and health care are three I can name, off hand, that affect the general population, but fall outside the index. This phenomena is not addressed in the planning guide, but then Congress has not touched it since the Johnson adminstration either. It is not something that winning the lottery will answer for an individual, but it is like trying to hold a large balloon half-full of water in one-hand and keep it round.
"Personal Financial Planning Guide' is the best we have found for a realistic look at all aspects of financial planning. The table of contents and index are outstanding for locating information.
Nash Black, author of "Taxes, Stumbling Blocks & Pitfalls for Authors 2007."

Absolutely one of the best financial planning reference tools around! If your personally planning to restructure your financial life or hire a professional to do it for you, then this book is a must have. It provides a wealth of information as well as an extensive array of guidelines and tips for every area of your life . I especially like that it brings to light concerns of areas you may not be immediately affected by (aging parents) but should be planning for now. Having hired a professional, this book has proved Indispensable in that we have been able to knowingly select and plan individual or particular methods of approach towards our financial futures and better implement them through a professional planner!!!

The book opens with a history of the state of Iraq from its establishment after WWI to the present time. An understanding of this history is vital in coming to an understanding of the present difficulties facing the country. Two very salient points demonstrated persuasively by Iraq's history are that violence as a political instrument was institutionalized in Iraq long before the regime of Saddam Hussein. His regime was more a logical culmination of events which preceded it than a historical aberration. The second point relates to the primary reason for the development of institutionalized violence. The state of Iraq was constructed from disparate ethnic, religious and cultural groups to serve the political ends of the British at the time. This political expediency has lead to a state that has never been able to develop the sense of unity necessary to become a nation. Violence has been the primary means of keeping forces in line that could tear the state apart.

The history is followed by an examination of the perspectives of each of the three major groups that make up the state of Iraq - the Sunni Arabs, the Shi'a Arabs and the Kurds. Though this structure entails a certain amount of repetition of information from the first section of the book ( especially in the section on the Shi'a), it does help us understand the position of each of the three groups and what they stand to gain or lose as a result of different potential constructions of their future.

The third section of the book is devoted to examining the options available for the future of Iraq, including their potential positive and negative consequences and the likelihood of prevailing conditions allowing each option to become reality.

All three major groups in Iraq are shown warts and all. The book shows no favoritism in its analysis. The issues are analyzed with penetrating depth and the belief of the American government that the people of Iraq would welcome Western style democracy with open arms is scathingly laid bare as the ludicrously naïve position it is. A must read for all who truly want to understand the situation in Iraq.

Anderson and Stansfield have written a wonderful book that will appeal to both general readers and students. Its calm tone is a welcome change from a lot of the polemics about Iraq and it provides the reader with clear analysis of Iraqi history. My only complaint is that it is out of date. Hopefully a new edition will come out soon.

This is an interesting book. Anyone who is interested in an alternative to the right wing talk radio and tv news should seriously consider checking out the Thom Hartmann radio show opposite Rush Limbaugh weekdays at: thomhartmann dot com / showlisten.shtml

Whether democrat, republican, or indepedent, so many of the facts out there are completely ignored by the mainstream media and talk shows. This show is one strong example of an examination of the facts regardless of your political affiliation. I am not affiliated with the show in any way, just struck by the facts so many seem to ignore.

This book is structured in a very simple manner, following the history of this country:

First, the monarchy from 1920-1958;

Second, the revolution from 1958-1968;

Third, the Ba'ath Regime from 1968-1988;

Fourth, the wreck of Iraq from 1988-2003.

These chapters recount the history of Iraq from its beginnings after World War I--when the British created a country where none has existed before--with three parties holding very different views--Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds.

Each of these three groups is examined as the basis for speculation as to what is to come in the future. The authors wonder if Iraq might end up splintering into three distinct countries--Sunni, Shia, and Kurd. Questions emerge from this scenario: Is this desirable? Would the needs of all three groups be optimized in this manner? Will this encourage additional "ethnic cleansing"? Even beyond what we have seen? Would such a solution mark success--or failure--of the American intervention?

The future? America's role in that future? We cannot say at this point. However, it does appear that the American intervention never really understood the historical and cultural context. We can only hope that the Iraqi incursion turns out well. But it is also clear that Americans sadly misunderstood the context into which they entered. . . .

This book should have been required reading for those eager to enter Iraq, overthrow Saddam Hussein, and install a Western-style democracy. The book has three main points: (a) a history of Iraq from its flawed beginnings after World War I; (b) an analysis of each of the three main groups--Sunnis, Shia, and Kurds; (c) an examination of different scenarios that might illuminate the future of Iraq.

Each element is well done and provides context for the reader interested in something more than current events weith respect to Iraq. The end result of reading this book is to wonder at the arrogance of the war planners who apparently did not consider historical and ethnic and religious context as that critical for the outcome of the war. As one of the neocons once mentioned, reality is not so important to the United States; the country can create its own reality. To this point, the reality being created on the ground in Iraq is far different than it might have been had history acted as a guide.

Wonderful book for those who want to learn how to learn how to gain control of your money and invest.

This book truly changed my life. Ms. Stephen's down to earth, friend-to-friend approach spoke to me like no other financial advice book ever had. As everyone here has said, the daily devotional style makes it easy to digest and the quotes are truly inspirational. My thanks to Ms. Stephen's for this fabulous book.

Like the other people who reviewed this book, I just love it. I first borrowed it from the library and then purchased it for myself. I like the way it is made up, in tiny steps and really easy to read and follow. It truly inspired me to take a new look at money and I found out that you can save money in more ways than I ever thought possible. I highly recommend it. It is well worth the price.

I recommend this book to anyone who needs to gain control of their finances and set up their future.
Easy to follow....straightforward....tons of great advice!

I feel that my review should be first! This book is great. Not only is it a daily financial devotional, but it is also a down-to-earth NIV financial bible. I bought this book on a clearance rack in Crown and never read it until last week(note, I bought the book a year ago!). However, buy it, read it, use it, and read it again......

I got my book within the time specified and was exactly as the seller described it. I am very pleased with my purchase.

This book is of course informative. It is comprehensive. But what sets it apart is the fact that it is very educative and well written. The authors ask you to think deeply about the philosophy behind the "right" to pass down property to one's heirs, and then proceed to complicate conventional wisdom by pointing out that this is by no means a "right" in many places on planet earth. They also complicate the picture further by furnishing examples from French and Spanish common law as well as outstanding examples from Indian and slave law. How should the federal government properly discharge its trust obligations to Indian tribes? How can property own property? Very vexing questions indeed.

Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. I'm not a lawyer, just a DIY autodidact, and I appreciate this book's intellectual substance immensely, not just its command of the facts. This seventh edition is current and anticipates the 2010 and 2011 anticipated "changes" to the tax code, along with some excellent insight.

Don't just get it because this casebook provides good "training" on the subject of Wills, Trusts, and Estates. Get it because the enthusiasm the authors bring to the subject shines through on almost every page and because this is a very important subject that every citizen in a "democracy" like ours needs to know.

I was very happy with my purchase. It came in the condition as promised and sooner than expected. I would definitely purchase again from this seller. Thanks!

I love this book. The authors do a great job of selecting interesting cases, covering the material thoroughly, and adding humorous footnotes that together make this the best textbook in law school.

This is an excellent textbook on Wills and Trusts. I received the book on
time in mint condition. Case Closed.

"Africa Unchained" is a very interesting book. It proposes "the blueprint for Africa's future." To find out how workable the proposal is one has to read the book. However, here is how the author goes about the subject. First, he explains why Africa is poor. Four themes form the answer. One, Africa is poor because of the failure of Western policies. Second, Africa is poor because of the ill-conceived development model African countries pursued upon political independence - its ideology, strategies, mistakes, and a feeble leadership. Third, colonial and neo-colonial policies hampered progress "by imposing an alien system that destroyed Africa's heritage". Finally, Africa is poor because of unfavorable development finances, which made possible a resource curse, widened resource gap, and facilitated aid dependency.

Out of the failure emerged a new set of problems such as an exploitative state, which promoted wrong-headed industrialization policies, along with self-destructive agricultural, inflation, and foreign debt policies.

To avoid further failure and get out of poverty, Africa needs a new approach. The proposal recommends development of indigenous economic systems which are supportive of property rights, and free market and voluntary exchange mechanisms. The book cites Botswana as an example that development is possible in Africa if one follows the "Atinga development model". The Atinga model centers on a new strategy that is taking place at the village level, is inclusive of the informal sector and invests in it. If that happens, an African Renaissance will follow.

This is a credible effort, indeed. My hesitation is that focus on Africa, instead of African countries is unlikely to produce helpful results. In the age of globalization, endogenous systems are likely more productive than indigenous systems. Strongly recommended.

Amavilah, Author
Modeling Determinants of Income in Embedded Economies
ISBN: 1600210465

Excellent, very well written, researched and a must for anyone who is serious about economic development in Africa

This is the most brilliant text on Africa I have read, and I don't say that lightly. With almost 500 pages of small text, it's not exactly a breeze to get through, but it is worth every second spent. The author unapologetically describes the mess that the "Hippo" generation following decolonization made, and how it ruined the continent. His prescriptions, which amount to `Africans must solve their own problems in their own way, growing out of African traditions', is right on. I hope that anyone interested in Africa reads this book.

This book, in a word is: Remarkable! God created "All Men Equal", and suffice to say, African's wherever they are in the Diasporia, are, apart of the Human Family. We all know the history of Colonialism/Slavery; however, Africa, through the Post colonial period has had about a little over 40 years to work toward: Social Stability, Nationhood, Systems of Government-that works, and developing strategies of amalgamation/unity and [Order] Social Order, that would ensure, development in all phases of social acceptance, and a recognition that Africa is ready to join the Nations of the Industrial Revolution. Sadly, Africa, has not reached the rate of development that is required and that other continents under Quasi-Colonialism have achieved. This has always troubled me. This book tells in stark terms, why the Sub-African Continent continues to lag behind the Universal Determinants. This book puts the blame on African Leadership and in details supports it's thesis with inexplicable evidence. Sure, it speaks of the lingering vestiges of Colonialism, but, the emphasis is on the modern leaders who have "shortchanged" Africa's [Greatest Resource]...the People. This book, was the "cornerstone" for my research and understanding of the chronic problems of Africa's Underdevelopment. The Premise in my view is this: If Africa remains in it's current state, the Peoples of African Descent around the Globe with find Freedom and their proper place in the World of Division of Races and Ethnicity, wanting. I recommend this book to all scholars and those who seriously long for the remedy of how to resolve and solve and find the Social Solutions to Africa's problems. Africa remains: The sleeping giant!

He put's his faith on africa's young up and coming "cheetahs", and so do I. I feel empowered by George's bare knuckle rumble in the jungle with the political elite and can't wait to join this fight.
They'll fight dirty, and we'll fight smarter and faster and with a good old man like George to show us the tricks, we shall overcome.

The purpose of this book is to alert business leaders to strategies that they should be implementing to achieve competitive advantage. As is pointed out in the introduction, the strategies are not brand new. They've been kicked around for a while, and most have been road tested. According to the author, "their sources of advantage are not only clear but undeniable."

The five strategies are: Supply Chain Gymnastics, Side Stepping Economies of Scale, Dynamic Pricing, Embracing Complexity, and Infinite Bandwidth.

Embracing complexity is one that interested this reviewer most. The author positions this strategy as a departure from the "keep it simple" mantra espoused by so many. Keeping it simple, he argues, involves taking things away and thus removing complexity. Trouble is many clients demand complexity (e.g. more choices, more customization).

Stalk's views don't seem to completely contradict the "keep it simple" doctrine. There are different levels of simplification. For example, you may offer 1,000 different kinds of shoes for sale (i.e. complexity), but build a front-end web application that's easy to use and that guides the customer through the process of choosing a perfect pair in seconds, and you've hit the jackpot. You've taken advantage of technology to successfully managed (embrace) the complexity and simplify the user experience.

The book is an interesting read. It's also very short which is nice. All 5 strategies could benefit companies depending on their circumstances. Some are already reaping the rewards.

-- Nick McCormick, Author, Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager

This is a slender but useful little book. Early in it, George Stalk notes accurately that all too often, the media announce the next big thing long after cutting-edge companies have learned about the change, dealt with it and moved on to the next innovation. High-profile stories trail real change, rather than reporting it as it happens. If you're trying to plan for change by following the mass media, you're going to be left behind. This leaves Stalk with a difficult challenge: to address key changes that are emerging just now. The result is a bit uneven; the text is speculative at times, and his desire to write a brief treatment means that he skims some areas. But that said, this is a more specific and applicable treatment of the future than most books present, and getAbstract recommends it to anyone planning realistically for change.

George Stalk hits a home run with this little volume entitled "5 Future Strategies You Need Right Now". Stalk's approach, with John Butman's able support, gets to the heart of the matter immediately. Each chapter begins with a compelling challenge, setting an immediate tension. All examples are real and relatable. Stalk doesn't give easy formulaic answers. Instead, my creative imagination and strategic mind were instantly engaged. His approach is invitational and his tone is intimate. It felt like he was a trusted advisor and we were having a viirtual dialogue. He's passionate about his ideas and often playfully irreverant. The chapter on "Infinite Bandwidth" alone is "worth the price of admission".
I like this HBP series. The concept and formats are user friendly. Each book really does feel more like a memo. The ideas are timely. The brevity makes it easier to refer to and recommend. Stalk's book is staying on my desk, not on my bookshelves.

It is exactly what it is supposed to be: a memo to the CEO.
This means it does the job you want, meaning get some new ideas for the future of your business.

I must say that at the beginning of my read, I was not that impressed with it. It gets improved as one reads, and especially after the third strategy of running your business better.

You will not get tired with it, you will read it in a few hours and I think you will feel happy you have purchased it.

This is one of the titles in the "Memo to the CEO" series published by Harvard Business Press, each less than 200 pages in length and superbly produced. In fact, none is a "memo" or written solely for a CEO. In this volume, George Stalk explains how to become alert to "faint signals" of what could prove to be early indicators of possible opportunities to gain competitive advantages. Once those opportunities have been verified (Stalk suggests how to do that), appropriate strategies to exploit them will be needed. He focuses on five examples of strategies whose "sources of advantage are not only abundantly clear, but undeniable": supply-chain gymnastics (i.e. adroitly managing a global supply chain), sidestepping economics of scale (i.e. a "disposability" business model), embracing complexity (i.e. four ways to attract customers who are looking for a higher level of complexity), and infinite bandwidth (i.e. effortless receipt of any amount of information whenever and wherever desired and at no cost).

Stalk offers "a high-level introduction to each of these emerging issues, along with suggestions for how to turn them into competitive advantage." He devotes a separate chapter to each of the five categories, then in the final chapter shifts his attention to examples of potential strategies that are "no more than faint signals today," identifies two emerging strategies on his "Watch List" awaiting further evidence of their potential to create competitive advantage, and then briefly discusses various "hallucinations" for which there are currently no corporate examples but are "worth pondering" nonetheless.

But Stalk doesn't limit the narrative to what he has observed and tracked. He reassures his reader that other faint signals "are likely to be found in the world around you," in the reader's own competitive environment as well as beyond it to other industries and competitors to spot insights of others "who may have found a new way of operating and competing that can be transplanted into [her or his] industry to the great confusion of others...and then `plagiarize' the idea." Or when coming across an anomaly, to "understand its implications and use the insight to drive the business to new levels of performance."

Comment: Over the years, I have worked with the owner/CEOs of countless small companies and have urged each of them to form an unofficial "advisory board" consisting of their banker, attorney, accountant, insurance agent, and at least one C-level executive of a large corporation if at all possible. I suggest that they meet as a group at least quarterly, perhaps for breakfast or lunch. After a brief update, the owner/CEO identifies one (and only one) especially important issue his or her company now faces and then chairs a brainstorm session in which advisory board members participate. Invariably, comments and suggestions from a wide variety of perspectives help the owner/CEO gain a better understanding of the issue and then to address it effectively. Having now read Stahl's latest book, I think providing a copy of it to each advisory board member would be a good idea.

While reading Stalk's comments about aggressive but principled competition, I recalled Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win? that Stalk co-authored with Rob Lachenauer. The focus of that book is on winners in business who "use every legitimate resource and strategy available to them to gain advantage over their competitors...[and by doing so] attract more customers, gain market share, boost profits, reward their employees, and weaken their competitors' positions." Hardballers are wholly committed to winning "the game" and do so, key point, by always playing by its "rules." Their goal is always decisive victory so as to sustain dominance. With regard to social responsibility, it is noteworthy that Stalk and Lachenauer quote Milton Friedman's observation that there is "one and only one" in business: "...to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud."

Stalk has prepared those who read his brilliant book to be alert for "faint signals" of other anomalies, unmet consumer needs, nascent trends, etc. that they can add to their own "watch list" until their potential for competitive advantage have been evaluated. At least a few candidates for future strategies will emerge from this rigorous process, separated from other provocative but ephemeral issues that Stalk calls "hallucinations." Of course, meanwhile, it would also be beneficial if those within an organization who possess especially inquiring minds were to get together on a regular basis and discuss what I call "What ifs..., "Why nots...," and "Have you ever thought abouts..." as well as other discussion primers such as "Why hasn't someone invented...," "What really upsets me is....,"and "I really wish I had..." or better yet "I'd give anything for...."Mental calisthenics (isometrics?) such as these eventually led to the development of a built-in handle for containers of liquid detergent and a built-in funnel for containers of motor oil; also locating the striking area of a book of matches to the reverse side, making postage stamps adhesive, Post-its, ATMs, frequent flyer mileage programs, and ergonomic kitchenware.

Those who share my high regard for Stalk's insights and eloquence in this book are urged to check out his other works, notably Competing Against Time: How Time-Based Competition Is Reshaping Global Markets co-authored with Thomas Hout and the aforementioned Hardball as well as his various articles that appeared Harvard Business Review. Most can be purchased online and easily be downloaded.

Leader of the future 2 provides a contemporary perspective on the subject of leadership. This is an excellent book, which can be the new leadership bible of the modern day era. Each chapter is filled with insights from many of the greatest thought leaders of our time. My reaction to the leadership principles presented in this book, were very positive. I seriously recommend this book to anyone studying or thinking of undertaking any career involving leadership.

1. The leader can create a new organization with new procedures, but the formation of culture requires collective learning and repeated experiences of success or failure.

2. It is no accident when a "turn around manager" arrives, the top layers of management are usually replaced and massive reorganization occurs. These drastic measures destroy old culture and initiate a new culture building process by removing the people who carry and represent the old culture. The destruction of culture is extremely costly on human level. The new people have to start building process all over and it is not even clear whether this is possible.

3. An organization built on individual incentives cannot become a set of teams simply because the CEO announces that teamwork is now necessary and launches a team-building program. However, if the CEO understands culture dynamics, he or she will begin to reward individuals for helping others and for contributing to other projects, thereby acknowledging the deep individualism of the organization but broadening the concept of individual competence to increasingly include "working with others".

4. Leaders cannot arbitrarily change culture in the sense of eliminating dysfunctional elements. Leaders can evolve culture by building on its strength while letting its weaknesses atrophy over time. If an organization is successful over time and has evolved mental models based on these methods, they will not abandon the mental model. The leader jobs is too broaden the Mental models. Focus should include developing new standards of judgment and evaluation so that competitive behavior is viewed as more negative and cooperative behavior more positive.

5. Management development is typically very function in young organizations. For example, the organization may promote the people most likely to be entrepreneur or who are technically the most competent, rather than seek out people who have managerial talent. Founder builders often glorify the technical functions such as research and development, manufacturing, and sales and demean managerial functions such as finance, planning, marketing, and human resources. Potential successors may be blocked from taking over and gaining learning experiences. Successful leaders at this stage grow with the organization and change their own outlook or recognize their own limitations and permit other forms of leadership to emerge.

6. The leader builds culture in one of three ways: a) by hiring and keeping subordinates who think and feel the way they do; b) by indoctrinating and socialize subordinates to think and feel as they do; c) by establishing a role model that encourages subordinates to identify with them and thereby internalize their beliefs, values, and assumptions.

Additional Thoughts about building culture: 1. Culture is not arbitrarily changed. Culture is evolved by building on strengths, broadening mental models of successful methods and processes 2. Get back to understanding what the product is about and focusing on customer oriented strategies. 3. Increasing vision and comprehension communication between top management and employees 4. Pushing data to unexpected places, encouraging participation and intrepretation of the data, and getting feedback that will cause temporary formation of teams and engineering of new processes 5. Creating new procedures that transform the organization 6. Creating and environment of learning 7. Getting people to thinking and value the same things the leader does.

7. Healthy, open minded skeptics can become effective leaders and, eventually, champions at work. If they find new approaches to enhance results, they will commit time and energy to them.

8. Local line leaders focus is at a business unit level. They may not think much at learning within the larger organization.

9. Leaders can use free-market choice inside an organization to liberate the entrepreneurial spirit of their people. As organizations move toward indirect leadership, the key role of senior leaders is to increase their people choices in ways that still focus the organization on its mission. Organizations viewed as economies.

10. In the future, most employees will work in intraprises that provide services to the core businesses. The core business will be run by small groups of line managers who will buy much of the value they add from internal intraprises.

11. What is leadership? Leadership is the process of empowering subordinates to learn from their mistakes, make changes, adjust to new circumstances, and preserve. Leadership brings into play elements of planning, commitment to innovation and problem solving, and energy ensuring dynamics of the organization are fair. The group looks for leadership to unlock paralysis in the direction to move. Leadership establishs policies, identifies targets, set priorities, and allocate resources and money. Leadership job is to create a feeling of security for their employees and influence young talent to come and work for them. Leadership creates blue oceans by creating a utility proposition. Leadership is gained by competence not position. Leadership creates conditions of comfort for their employees. Leadership talks openly about a wide variety of issues, sponsors democratic forum where creative members are reward for initiative, ingenuity and bravery. Leadership leads by example. Leadership uses work exchanges to show how things are to be done, giving each job a sense of dignity and enhanced standing with the crew. Leadership values the individual. Leadership creates free market choice inside their organizations to liberate the entrepreneurial spirit of their people. Leadership gets difficult projects started and results in long-term impact.

Leaders inspire confidence, fight fear, initiate positive and productive actions, define goals, and paint brighter tomorrows. The character of society's leadership may substantially determine how that society fares in an environment of change. Leadership values must be based on standards that benefit society.

12. The ethnic, cultural, and gender characteristics of America's population and labor force is rapidly changing. The emigration of nonwhites from Asia and Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and West and East Africa, represent people in the America's melting pot rising relative to that of Americans of European descent and represent an estimated that one third of all new entrants to the labor force.

13. Leaders must be willing to accept five fundamental challenges in the work force: a. They must be willing to be more sensitive and understanding with respect to ethnic, cultural, and gender differences. B. They must have a vision for the workplace that will result in significant broadening of the corporate culture and environment. C. They must craft and implement new and different employment and communication processes to enhance and promote perceptions of fairness and equity. D. They must bring a commitment to the effective utilization of a diverse work force. E. They must establish a place where people want to work and be productive and to develop new markets and maintain existing ones.

14. Effective leaders do not earn their role by position or Herculean work efforts, instead, effective leaders nurture dignity in those around them; their area of expertise are listening, propagation of values, and assurance of dignity; they foster relationship as a source of their power.

15. When people are experiencing fear, dread, foreboding, and exhaustion, people have an emotional need for a leader. A leader combats fears, instills confidence, and moves the group forward.

16. Leaders lead because they create a passionate commitment in other people to pursue the leaders strategy and succeed.

17. Leaders are the keepers and shapers of the company culture and constantly communicate these held values.

Frances Hesselbein is currently editor-in-chief of Leader to Leader quarterly. Previously, she served as CEO of the Girls Scouts of the USA and then as chairman and founding president of the Leader to Leader Institute, formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management. Her published works include this book as well as its predecessor, The Leader of the Future, co-edited with Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard, and Be*Know*Do (an adaptation of the U.S. Army's leadership manual) to which she and General Eric K. Shinseki (USA Ret.) co-wrote the Introduction as well as Hesselbein on Leadership for which Jim Collins provided the Foreword.

Twenty-seven individual essays comprise this volume. The material is organized within five Parts:

A Vision of Leadership (Chapter 1)

Editors' Comments: "[Our] book begins where it should, with Peter Drucker's vision of leadership...[His] thoughts on creating organizations that have a spirit of performance built upon the `theory of the business,' creating a positive social impact and demonstrating consistent effectiveness, challenge the reader to both embrace change and become a change leader."

Leading in a Diverse World (Chapters 2-5)

Excerpt: "Leaders of the future will be progressively more cosmopolitan, progressive, diverse, and values oriented. They increasingly will come from countries with enormous growth potential outside of North America and Europe, such as the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), places where leaders must also address daunting obstacles such as poverty or environmental depredation, regardless of the sector or the focus of their enterprise." Rosabeth Moss Kanter, "How Cosmopolitan Leaders Inspire Confidence"

Leading in a Time of Crisis and Complexity (Chapters 6-11)

Excerpt: "Leadership becomes necessary to business and communities when people have tough challenges to tackle, when they have to change their ways in order to thrive or survive, when continuing to operate according to current structures, procedures, and processes no longer will suffice. We call these adaptive challenges. Beyond technical problems, for which authoritative and managerial expertise will suffice, adaptive challenges demand leadership that engages people in facing challenging realities and then changing those priorities, attitudes, and behaviors necessary to thrive in a changing world. Ronald A. Heifetz, "Anchoring Leadership in the Work of Adaptive Process"

Leading Organizations of the Future (Chapters 12-19)

Excerpt: "Leaders will need to go beyond looking at the work to be done and consider the human doing the work. They will need to understand the incredible pressures that have been brought about by globalization, technology, and competition. They will need to appreciate the hard work and sacrifice needed for professional success in a much tougher world. Leaders will need to realize that as work becomes even more important, and organizations become even more important, they will become even more important - in helping to shape the quality of life and the futures of the professionals they lead." Marshall Goldsmith, "Leading New Age Professionals"

The Quality and Charter of the Leader of the Future (Chapters 20-27)
Excerpt:

"Leaders who think like anthropologists would realize several things. First, they would realize that they are leaders by virtue of their basic fit into the cultural milieu in which they grew up and in which they are now operating. It is all well and good to note that leaders "create" and "change" cultures, as I have argued in the past [i.e. in Organizational Culture and Leadership, 2004], but first they must realize that to change culture you must thoroughly understand the culture that created you and legitimized you...In other words, leaders must be culturally self-c0njscious and be aware of the cultural layers in their own personalities. Second, leaders who think like anthropologists would be conscious of the cultural variations among countries and companies, and among occupational subgroups within their companies." Edgar H. Schein, Leadership Competencies: A Provocative New Look"

Note: Schein then explains in his essay that in addition to thinking like an anthropologist, effective leaders must also have the skills of a family therapist and cultivate and trust artistic instincts.

In the city where I live, we have a number of outdoor markets at which slices of fresh fruit are offered as samples of the produce available. In that same spirit, I frequently include brief excerpts such as these from a book to help those who read my review to get at least a "taste" of the material in question. All of the material in this volume is of a very high quality. The value of each article, however, will be determined by the needs and interests of each reader.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Hesselbein's The Leader of the Future published earlier, co-edited with Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard and Be*Know*Do (an adaptation of the U.S. Army's leadership manual) to which she and General Eric K. Shinseki (USA Ret.) co-wrote the Introduction; also Hesselbein on Leadership for which Jim Collins provided the Foreword.

The Leader of the Future 2 is a labor of love and a gift to all those who enjoy the study of leadership. This is the first book published by the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly The Drucker Foundation) since the death of leadership patriarch Peter Drucker. All proceeds support the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management. This book follows the publication of the international bestseller, The Leader of the Future.

This meditative work is the collection of 27 essay chapters that contemplate the kind of leadership needed for the future of the world. Each chapter is written by a respected leadership consultant or educator who provides their unique and challenging perspective on the kind of leader our world needs now and will need in an uncertain future. This collection of "thinkers" has varied experience in all sectors of modern society. As it states in the foreword of the book, "This book delivers a "battle cry" that will mobilize the leaders of the future to build viable, relevant organizations that will sustain us in the times ahead... Planning in the past was rigid, inflexible, and hierarchical, but planning for the future will require leaders to be fluid and flexible, and move easily across their organizations. The Leader of the Future 2 is indeed part of a blueprint for planning in a dynamic new world."

The genesis of the book was the tragic events that occurred on 9/11. Since that event a lot has changed in the world, and will continue to change in our uncertain future. The Leader of the Future 2 divides its 27 chapter into 5 interesting parts. Each part focuses on a certain aspect of leading in the future like vision, diversity, complexity, change and character. This is a book for serious thinkers and at times is not easy to read. Some of the gifted contributors would be the first to admit that writing with clarity is not their greatest personal strength. But in all fairness, they are looking back on the past with eyes toward the future and this is always an ambiguous rehearsal. The Leader of the Future 2 is brain-candy for anyone who likes to step outside of everyday thinking and ponder the "what-if" of tomorrow!

In a 1964 obscenity court case, then U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart wrote that pornography was difficult to define, but noted, "I know it when I see it." The same might be said of leadership. Since 1990, the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management) has dedicated itself to examining, defining and elevating the art of leadership through books, educational materials and its respected journal, Leader to Leader. This book is a sequel to the Institute's The Leader of the Future, an international bestseller published in 28 different languages. This follow-up volume features 27 essays on being a leader in today's complex, challenging world. We confidently recommend this leadership treatise, which presents the informed thoughts, insights and opinions of respected experts from academia, the media, business, the military, the nonprofit sector and numerous other venues. Thanks to such contributors as Stephen Covey, Howard Gardner, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, this collection of essays clearly addresses the challenges of modern leadership.

How does life in a non-industrial society compare to life in our own? In which society are people happier? If life in non-industrial societies compares favorably to life in our own, then why are the barrios of the third world filling up with migrants from remote villages? This book provides surprising insights into these questions. It also provokes reflections on our own society and its influence on the rest of the world. After reading a used copy I picked up for free, I bought seven copies of this book for friends and family!

This book has changed the way I looked at the issues of development, modernisation & morals. An amazing read, beautifully written and with great insights.

I have just returned from a trip to Ladakh and I could really relate to what Ms.Norberg talks about in the book.

Just a couple of side issues. It'd be good to know what exactly went wrong in Ladakh. Here are a people who for 2000 years had lived successfully by the rules of Buddhism. How & why did Buddhism fail these people in the face of global/western economic & cultural imperialism? Does the blame lie with Buddhism- it being too 'compassionate' and allowing a religion? Does the blame lie with the Ladakhis who probably were not as sincere Buddhists as they are made out to be?

After all if they really were such devout Buddhists, how come they fell to the greed that capitalism breeds?

Anyway, these are issues which could have been addressed in the book. Regardless, the book is excellent! A must read.

Rarely have I felt more dispair about the direction of what we know as civilization as I felt halfway through this book. The Ladakh people are described as happy, healthy, and self-reliant. Suddenly, the "real world" happens to them, and they come to see themselves as poor, when before they had no need of money.

The authors do a nice job of weaving a story of hope at the end but I have concern for the future of these people. It helps me understand the decision the government of Bhutan has made to isolate themselves from western-style civilization.

After reading this book, I suddenly realized the root problem of Western Civilization: We have no culture. Where there was once culture, we now have an expanding economic order threatening all life on the planet. Through its mechanism of growth and expansion, the global economy is conquering and converting life's diversity into an ecological and social monoculture of cash crops, Levis, soda pop and movie theatres. Perhaps moonscape would be a better word. Of course, it doesn't have to be this way. Our fast-paced, increasingly technological, capital-intensive, fossil fuel-centered, centralized, highly specialized, travel and commercial-oriented, often stressful society is by no means the end-all-be-all of human history. Murder, child abuse, drug abuse, theft, poverty, hunger, and every other problem that plagues the West are not products of human nature. The pathology of civilization is not natural or inevitable, and the Ladakhi are proof of this. Read this book and rediscover ancient, profound, life-affirmating alternatives to the modern humdrum. Discover another way of living, thinking and feeling. Important, necessary, engaging and masterfully written - this book was a treasure to read. Indeed, it was an awaking.

A MUST READ

The first half of *Ancient Futures* will delight and amaze you; the second half will break your heart.

In the 1970s, the Ladakhis of Little Tibet were a happy people. They had a sustainable traditional economy based on trade and cooperation - not money. One person's gain was not another person's loss. There was plenty of leisure, no hunger or poverty, very little sickness or disease, everyone was valued, there was no pollution and nothing was wasted. They got along fine with their Muslim neighbors and they kept their population stable through marriage customs based on land use. Almost every family had a celibate monk or nun. Buddhist monasteries and people had a mutually beneficial economic, social and spiritual relationship. Ladakhis are a naturally contemplative people with a great deal of spiritual awareness. "Schon chan" (one who angers easily) is about the only insult in the Ladakhi lnaguage. "Lack of pride is a virtue, for pride, born of ego, has nothing to do with self-respect among these Buddhist people." The author says that it took her two years of living among them to realize that the people were genuinely and joyfully HAPPY. Then the world beat a path to their door and all that changed - in fewer than two decades.

It's like a little piece of cultural time-lapse photography. What took western culture more than four centuries to do to the Native-Americans took only twenty years here. Ladakh has become a cautionary tale and a monument to western greed and stupidity.

Now there is poverty and unemployment, stress-related disease, women are devalued, the people are ashamed of their "backward" culture, there is little leisure but a great deal of pollution and waste as well as dispute between Muslims and Buddhists and the population had increased markedly. ("Interestingly, a number of Ladakhis have linked the rise of birth rates to the advent of modern democracy. "Power is a question of votes" is a current slogan, meaning that, in the modern sector, the larger your group, the greater your access to power. Competition for jobs and political representation within the new centralized structures is increasingly dividing Ladakhis.")

Chiildren are trained to become specialists in a technological rather than an ecological society. They no longer have time to learn the superb survival techniques of their families. Western culture is creating artificial scarsity and inducing competition.

Now I understand the mechanism better. A culture that has a heavily subsidized infrastructure invades a traditional self-sustaining culture and creates artificial "needs." So they go to the city to earn money which they never needed before, leaving their farms and women, who are immediately devalued because they're not wage earners. The people are no longer planting, irrigating, spinning wool, gathering seeds, harvesting, playing music and singing and telling stories, having seasonal parties, marriage parties or funeral watches - together.

Time has become a commodity. It has become uneconomical to grow one's own food, make one's own clothes and build one's own house. You have to pay your neighbors for the work that the whole community used to do for free.

The men are in the cities earning money and the women are producing tourist commodities with the wool they used to spin for their own use and the food they used to grow for their own families. Now they grow cash crops for strangers so they can make enough money to buy polyester clothes and walkmans and jeans for their kids and food grown hundreds of miles away and fuel trucked in from afar.

The Yak and the Dzo, uniquely suited for high altitudes of Ladakh gave rich milk but not as much as western cattle. So what did the conquering culture do? They imported cattle that can't make it at such altitudes, so more land has to be relegated to planting crops to feed the cattle, thereby upsetting the balance. And they call this progress.

Why can't we just leave people alone - especially when they're doing FINE without us?

"When one-third of the world's population consumes two-thirds of the world's resources," says Norberg-Hodge, "and then in effect turns around and tells the others to do as they do, it is little short of a hoax. Development is all too often a euphemism for exploitation, a new colonialism."

All this would be a dismal tragedy comparable to Columbus's complete genocide of the Tainos if not for a "counter development" movement generated in part by this author. Since the Ladakhis can't go back, they can at least go forward. Instead of importing expensive fossil fuels (previously they had used yak dung and kept warm) they can have solar houses and greenhouses, which have worked very well and given them one benefit that they have previously not had. That's something. Information is another plus. The people are being made aware that westerners pay more for whole grains, organic vegetables, pure water, natural fibers, and natural building materials - things these people have had for a thousand years without money. This is something so-called third-world people are generally not told about.

Once in a while a book comes along that changes one's perspective forever. *Ancient Futures* is such a book. I haven't been the same since.

One of the reviewers on this site said he ended up buy copies for his friends. So have I. This book is a must-read for every person who is concerned about the preservation of our planet and our species.

pamhan99@aol.com

I own this book in the electronic format (Adobe Reader and DRM-locked) and finish my reading a couple of months ago. Suburbia is, in my modest opinion, a very good-looking place for a family life and this is why it is appealing for anyone who wants to live in one. Having your own large and greened piece of land with a large house on it is a dream coming true. No other thing symbolizes better the achievement of the American Dream than owning a house in the suburbs.

However, I never liked the feeling of loneliness and isolation that places like these offer its inhabitants. While it can provide a comfortable living and a strong sense of ownership, it lacks convenience and community sense. I agree with the author th