Practice Management Books

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.

I have read many, many books on organizing my papers and my finances and considered the complexities and upkeep of many, many systems. However, this book gave me the ideal -- simple to set up, easy to maintain, and logical in approach. This is the one I am using, and it has brought order to the chaos. It is not for perfectionists but rather people who want a straightforward, not-too-complex, "good enough" system for keeping track of those important pieces of paper, warranty books, receipts, and other miscellaneous papers that jam up our lives. Easy to understand, well-illustrated, and practical. Highly recommended.

This is an excellent guide that offers practical solutions to get your finances organized and keep them that way. Debbie Stanley's shining personality stands by the reader throughout the entire book as she offers a myriad of solutions to today's financial challenges. Her focus is on creating an organized, efficient financial system that works for you rather than you working for your system. The author emphasizes that even financial items need homes in order to manage financial clutter. Debbie offers recommendations for setting up financial files, automatic bill payment, financial software, daily mail, paper flow systems, and yes, even shopping excursions! The concept of being "organized enough" is stressed throughout as a pleasant reminder to keep it simple. This book is loaded with helpful tips, visuals and resources to help you save money, time, and frustration by creating a customized, efficient personal finance system. It's a "must have" book if you are ready to organize your personal finances and keep them that way!

This book was very helpful. If you take it step by step as in the book you will be organized in no time at all. I love how it is written step by step. Worked great for me. Now I am ready to face 2007 financially organized.

Whether you have been managing your personal finances for years, or you have just left home and have no idea where to start when it comes to managing your finances, you will benefit from this book. Stanley's approach to teaching the reader how to manage their finances is fun, exciting and motivating. The ideas in this book are practical and easy to implement. They are easy-to-follow and are adaptable to various situations and varous personalities.

Because the books contains consise "To-Do lists" as well as flagged reminders of key organizing principles, it is easy to take the information from the book and apply it to each reader's own situation. Working as a professional organizer, I was able to utilize the information from the book to help my clients become less overwhelmed with all of their papers and stick to an organized bill paying system that works for them.

This is the primary text for this topic. It is well written, concise, accurate, and essential to those who desire accuracy in parliamentary processes.

The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure is not the kind of read that once you pick it up you just can't put it down, but it is an easy to use reference book for those leading meetings and their parliamentarians.

If you can convince your orgaization to use this manual instead of Robert's, I say go for it! I find this manual much easier to use and more in line with what people expect to be the procedures for having meetings. The book updates old-fashioned language like, "I move the previous question" with the more understandable "I move to close debate". The book includes model Bylaws (useful for our Homeowner's Association which is in the process of revision), and a section that explains the differences between this book and Robert's, as well as tips for those whose organizations still use Robert's.

The book is much more readable than Robert's and tends to explain the basic principles a little better. There's a handy table inside each cover to help a member attending a meeting or a presider with proposing and handling motions.

If you've always feared having to pull out the ol' Robert's Rules of Order because it was too detailed and complex for the casual social organizations in which you participated, help is here. Someone has realized that, because a group might need parliamentary procedures, it does not need the granularity required by The Parliament of England.

The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure is understandable, comprehensive, logical, refined, and efficient. As it should, it covers all the formal business of holding a productive and respectful meeting. But it also includes procedures that facilitate business for the less formal organization or club.

Necessary jargon is defined in a glossary. The "Often-Asked Questions" section covers many common situations and eliminates the need to look through the chapters for most answers. The book is up-to-date, addressing contemporary and often-encountered situations such as holding meetings and elections via the telephone or Internet.

As a bonus, it serves as a resource to those trying to form an organization. There are chapters to help you prepare documents (like bylaws and financial records) that won't be in conflict with legal and parliamentary procedures down the line. It explains the hierarchy of documents that govern an organization. There's even a section that helps explain some of the arcane procedures in Robert's Rules!

I'm grateful to have found this gem. It deals with all the situations that my clubs have encountered.

The Standard Code is a better parliamentary authority then Robert's. It simplifies and modernizes parliamentary authority, making it more accessible to more people. Dump your RONR and get this work.

Dick Lee has done it again - distilled years of consulting experience into a practical guidebook that will assure the success of virtually any CRM project. Don't expect the usual consultant's mindless assortment of silver-bullet checklists though. These projects still take work. I will say that if you diligently follow the steps clearly outlined in Strategic CRM, Dick Lee's complete CRM implementation manual, your customers will be better off for it!

...

Dick Lee's "Strategic CRM" is a cut above other CRM books for a simple reason: instead of grand theories, it offers practical, field-tested advice for making CRM really work. Dick does a great job boiling down years of experience into a useable planning guide. If you're serious about CRM, this book is a great investment that will help you avoid the obstacles that have derailed many CRM projects.

Dick Lee's latest editorial undertaking - Strategic CRM - is rich in personal experience and implementation strategies and rewarding in potential CRM results. A four-step process manual to be read with pen in hand, Lee makes you think - and think again. Exhaustingly exhilarating, Strategic CRM is a win-win opportunity for both you and your customers. You Betcha!

Carol Parenzan Smalley, CRMGuru.com

Leave it to Dick Lee to observe that the only result of down'n'dirty Customer Relationship Management implementations is to get down and dirty. His trademark common-sense approach which made the first version so indispensable is sharper than ever in 2.0.

Lee's distilled his earlier work here. The book completely updates his four-step method -- Developing Customer-Centric Strategies, Redesigning Workflow, Re-engineering Work Processes and Supporting With Technology -- and presents it between two covers for ease of use.

Lee's the ideal guide for companies already convinced of the need for CRM, but who need highly practical step-by-step guidance. He dispenses with high-flying jargon and theoretical musings in favor of showing what CRM looks like on the ground. How should you structure team leadership, identify the market cycle for each customer group or map current data flows? What size conference room should you book for a certain team meeting, how much time should it take and how many flip charts and markers will you need? Lee gives you the benefit of his vast experience in answering such questions which you probably didn't even think to ask. His painstaking visual representations of old vs. new sales proposal cycles, proposal resolutions, customer service flows, etc. are definitive, to make them any simpler he'd have had to do them in crayon.

Battle scars are all over the book. On "Change Management" he says "There are two aspects of change management critical to the success of CRM implementations: Leadership and firefighting. The more you have of #1, the less you'll need of #2." Here's a man who's seen more unnecessary firefighting than he cares to remember. He's learned that the best way to impart the information that needs to be imparted is to use the old threefold approach: Tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em, tell 'em, then tell 'em what you just told 'em. From setting a baseline to beta and launch he walks you step-by-step through what needs to happen when; a seeing-eye dog doesn't provide better guidance than this.

This is an implementation manual in the most literal sense of the term, a book to have open on the desk while you implement CRM.

David Sims, owner of business freelance and copywriting house David Sims Writing writes regularly for CRMGuru.com and CRM magazine among other publications.

Dick Lee rightfully points out that technology is a valuable tool, but it's only as good as the strategies, workflow and work processes it supports. This concise manual is a must read for anyone considering or already involved in CRM implementation. The advice he gives is immediately applicable.

The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency is just that, how to get the best from a small garden, or a large farm, and everything in between. It is all covered, raising crops, and livestock, cure a ham, pickle onions, keep bees, generate power,and sink a well. The book is well written and I find myself refering to it constantly, it also makes a darn good read. The book is available in soft cover from Amazon.co.uk

The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency is just that, how to get the best from a small garden, or a large farm, and everything in between. It is all covered, raising crops, and livestock, cure a ham, pickle onions, keep bees, generate power,and sink a well. The book is well written and I find myself refering to it constantly, it also makes a darn good read. The book is available in soft cover from Amazon.co.uk

First read this book while working on an organic farm in New Zealand,it changed my way of thinking completely.10 out of 10.

It would be difficult to improve or even to add much to a book which covers so many aspects of not just self-seffiency but the basic tenents of good land husbandry. Every aspect of what you may require to manage a 5 acre or 1 acre property with the minimum of outside influence is here. Managing your own small holding is a life-time affair with the land. All the advice on how to go about it is written in this book. I live on seven acres and it is indeed my bible for the land. It also makes very interesting reading even if you cannot be self suffient.

I first ran across this book in, of all places, a small bookshop in Florence, Italy during a "backpack tour" of Europe in the late '70's. As I paged through the book in that stuffy little store I began to sense that I was on to something very important. I ended up carrying that book all over Europe for 2 months and reading it over and over again and memorizing everything. Prior to the purchase of this book, I was a confirmed techno-geek, with the conviction that high technology would save the world. John Seymour changed all that. His step-by-step descriptions of everything from growing food to understanding traditional crafts and skills convinced me that there was a better way to live your life than what my professors were telling me. It's safe to say that almost every aspect of my life has been influenced by Seymour's book. It occupies a special place on my bookshelves, and I still take it down regularly and refer to its detailed drawings and lively text for inspiration in my gardening and woodworking. It's been a wonderful guide to "the big picture" of my life, and I believe its timeless message of sane and rational living belongs in every home.

As a Practitioner I have been looking for a new perspective in Anger management and I have found it in this book. The book was delivered when promised. I am very pleased with my choice and have been using it in my Anger Management groups for the last 3 weeks, with good results. Thank You, Amazon for the wonderful service you provide. Diane McKinley

I had the great pleasure and experience of having Dr. Raymond Chip Tafrate as my professor at CCSU for the course 'Controlling Anger and Aggression.' This dynamic course was complemented perfectly by this book. Whether you are a student, therapist, or individual who is interested in controlling anger, this book is for you. There are worksheets, handouts, and personal logs to track and control anger and aggression.

To sum up, this is THE book on anger and aggression, unparalleled by any others.

Anger Management: The Complete Treatment Guidebook for Practitioners proved to be an excellent resource for teaching veterans anger management skills. The authors'Anger Episode Model clearly explains that anger does not "come out of the blue" but follows a clear sequence of cognitive appraisal, experience, and emotional expression. The inclusion of both short-term and long-term outcomes of anger expression highlight the notion that anger has long-term consequences on physical and emotional health as well as obvious short-term consequences. The sections on Fostering Cognitive Change and Forgiveness make this book unique and particularly helpful with this population. The inability to forgive self or others and an inflexible view of the world, if not addressed as part of an anger management model, can be a major obstacle in learning and applying anger management skills.

Collaboratively written by Howard Kassinove (Chairperson of the Psychology Department at Hofstra University) and Raymond Chip Tafrate (Associate Professor in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department at Central Connecticut State University), Anger Management: The Complete Treatment Guidebook For Practitioners is a straightforward and thoroughly practical guide designed to substantially assist professional psychologists and caseworkers of all fields to help their patients and clients deal with a condition of unhealthy, counter-productive anger. Individual chapters address a model and plan to help people increase their awareness of anger and change their responses, and to police themselves to in order to maintain an emotionally healthier way of life. Anger Management is highly recommended reading for anyone charged with a professional responsibility to deal with and assist angry clients whether the setting is in private practice, an outpatient clinic, a hospital setting, or within the criminal justice system.

Anger Management by Howard Kassinove and Raymond Tafrate is by far the most complete and up to date text for therapists. It is a must read resource for all environments, children, adults and families, as well as the workplace. The authors break down anger episodes into understandable segments in order to assess the client's anger intensity and frequency.

Then they rebuild with techniques that include life skills, problem solving snd step by step ways to change thinking. Among the communication skills the motivated client will learn is how to give and receive criticism without becoming defensive. There is also emphasis on non-verbal communication, including body language and direct eye contact.

The model presented for problem solving skills is very important, because it encourages the client to seek alternative solutions, thus reducing anger and frustration.

Ultimately, Kassinove and Tafrate examine forgiveness as part of anger management. By forgiving, eith within or outside of a religious conviction, a person gains the ability to move on. Anger Management is a MUST have for every practitioner's bookshelf--only after a thorough reading!

The new addition updates this classic for the 21 century. The importance of history and examination continues to be the foundation, the limitations of imaging studies as well as their strengths are fully discussed. A most have for anyone caring for patients with abdominal pain.

As a General Surgeon in an undeveloped country (Dominican Republic) I have found this book very practical in order we may diagnosis in and acute abdominal pathology without the help of TAC. Must of the time we use clinics and ultrasound and the book gives the keys for a close aproximation to the diagnosis.
Perhaps is a popular book in USA but we have no translation of it in Spanish and I think it is excellent for helping medical students and residents to improve in their knowledge about acute abdomen.

historical point of view of surgical practice, this book give a concise but extremely useful method of clinical thinking.
items were treated with a logical approach, in a frendly manner , with wisdom and experience.
best then the chapters in the surgical or emergency txtbooks.

One of the most influential medical texts ever. Cope's work gets only more relevant with increasing fragmentation of care. I would argue the book is especially useful for those NOT planning a career in surgery. The work is concise, accurate, and filled with memorable language. If you spend half an hour on the appendicitis section you should be equipped to make the diagnosis correctly. Other sections are equally good, as Dr. Silen has the sense not to fix what is not broken.

I readed this book the first time 26 years ago, and it gave me a "sixth" sence as a suregon. Today I, as orthopaedical surgeon still have in my mind the essentials of the Dr. Cope's master-piece. I think it must be as a duthy ("a must be read book") in every serious medical school, to teach alumnii the surgeon's mind...even if the alumnii goes to clinical areas later on.

I had listened to other hypnosis CDs before and I was very excited to get this one. The reviews I had read were excellent so I was hoping for something really great.

But when I finally put the CD in the player and listened to the whole thing, I was a little disappointed. The first thing that struck me was Glenn Harrold's voice. The accent was nice, but he said almost every sentence in this dull monotone voice that sounded very strange and robotic. For me, it gave the CD a cold, impersonal feel. To be honest, it was a little creepy. But after listening for a while and accepting the fact that he was never going to start sounding 'warm and fuzzy', I've got to admit I did actually get into a calmer, more peaceful state of mind. It did work.

Although the CD was effective, I wasn't able to reach the same deep levels of peace and relaxation that I'd gotten before with another CD program, The FAST Technique for Stress Relief by Dr. Ronald Nathan. (((EXTREMELY relaxing and calming CDs, by the way.))) Dr. Nathan's CD program left me with a very DEEP sense of calm and relaxation the very first time I used it.

Even though I was a little disappointed with Creating Inner Peace and Calm, I probably will give it another try (I did only listen to it that one time.) After all, it did put me in a calmer, more peaceful state of mind. Maybe the results improve the more you listen.

Glenn Harrold has the perfect voice for meditation tapes. I love all his CD's.

I had bought Glen's CD - Guided Meditation a while back and loved it so much that I bought a couple more of his CD's. I listed to this on my IPOD during my lunch break and felt so peaceful, calm, and happy soon after. I came back to work and was very productive and focused yet calm. I really recommend this to anyone who wants to feel peace, happy, and positive.

I have one other Glenn Harrold CD on healing your body. I like this one on creating peace within during all these stressful world and local events. I like the second session on this CD as I really don't feel I need the long explanation he gives on abdominal breathing that is presented on the first of two relaxation sessions on this CD. His British accent is very soothing for me and most of the time I am sleeping before the completion of the talks.

This does work, it does calm and it helped get rid of jittery nerves. Great item.

This book has really terrific info on all the red tape you'll have to cut to make it as a government contractor!

Having had several months of government contracting experience prior to reading, I found that this book covers its bases very well, explains all necessary concepts clearly (elaborating where necessary and with precise examples), and solidifies the structural framework of how contracting works. I would definitely not group this book with the "--- for Dummies" books, which are often vague and leave you lingering with questions. Written from the ground up; great as a fundamentals book for the seasoned contractor or as a starting block for those considering/beginning in the field. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Very informative and a useful tool for anyone interested in selling to the federal government.

Currently a member of the Federal Acquisition workforce, I see this book covers the gamut, as we know it. Particularly impressive is its coverage of GSA. GSA is a prime Federal market research tool. This can give prospective contractors an idea of what government organizations regularly buy, and government contacts for soliciting business.

As an insider, there does still exist widespread indirect nepotism; cronyism; military who roll into contracts, and other versions of same (so much so that various government bodies such as Government Accounting Office handle contests of unfair play), so the better you know the rules of the game, the better your chances of getting in and getting your fair play of public funds. Government is pro small business; however, you have to slog thru bureaucracy, and that means having the information to even get started and what to do. The driving force is supposed to be acquiring the "best value" for public funds for a requirement. This book can be a map to help you on your journey to propose how you can get the job done. If you know where you want to go, pick up this map, and get the edge to get there.

Scott Stanberry shows you just how easy it is to contract for the government. Some contractors take one look at the government spec's and throw up their hands. Government spec's aren't as hard as they look. This book will take you step by step through the process of bidding government contracts. Once you get use to the paper work, which this book shows you some of, you have it made. Read this book and go out and make your fortune in government contracting.

Larry Hobson- government contractor for over 30 years

This book is a gold-mine of practical information about the application of Policy Governance®. Boards will find a wealth of wisdom from former issues of Board Leadership, as well as a number of articles published in industry-specific journals that were not previously easy to find, now all in one convenient, easy-to-use package. Articles are short, easy-to-read, and of practical "hands-on" value. The FAQ section permits the reader to zoom in on particular areas of interest. As a consultant in Policy Governance® , I find the book to be a very user-friendly reference. For boards using the model, it is an invaluable resource. This is a book that can be read cover to cover, or can be "dipped into" to address specific issues facing a board at any given point in time. A must for your board's reference and on-going development.

While there are more and more books available on making boards effective, no other author seems to bring together anything more than miscellaneous ideas. John Carver, on the other hand, lays out a full system for board clarity and accountability.

I read his "Boards That Make a Difference", and was thrilled to see someone finally offer a way to make sense of boards. As a consultant, I've become an avid advocate of his Policy Governance model, which when used, virtually assures elevated governance.

With this new book, Carver continues to impress. Rather than a conceptual text, this collection of over 100 articles addresses nearly every conceivable structural issue boards face, as well as the myths surrounding Policy Governance.

To have all of this relevant information in one place is an incredible gift, another great addition to Carver's contributions to the nonprofit world, and any others interested in making boardroom activity meaningful and productive.

John Carver On Board Leadership is a collection of articles that demonstrate the Policy Governance (R) model in board leadership, as written by its creator, John Carver, a man who has over twenty years of experience working with a variety of corporation boards. Addressing how to use the model of governance to improve communication and overall effectiveness, the role of committees, means for resolving disagreements, and much, much more, John Carver On Board Leadership is a solidly written, reader accessible, and effectively useful title recommended for anyone charged with the often difficult and complicated task of coordinating or leading a governing board.

WOW! This compendium of more than 100 of John Carver's articles would be useful enough if it only collected these important articles on Policy Governance into one volume. This publication goes several steps further - by starting with a Frequently Asked Questions Guide, the reader is directed to his or her most urgent concerns. These FAQs appear throughout the book along with pull-out quotes that focus the reader's attention on key issues in the section. Both these features make the book easy to navigate and consequently, a richer resource.

It's great to have these articles combined into one resource since many have been previously published in hard to access journals. This will be a great resource for those new to Policy Governance as well as to experienced practitioners.

If you have read John Carver's books and watched his videotaped lectures, you have just begun to scratch the surface. In addition to "Boards That Make A Difference," "Reinventing Your Board," and "A New Vision of Board Leadership," Carver has produced an amazing array of short pieces designed for those who want to use Policy Governance. This book, "On Board Leadership," is a convenient compendium of these articles. It's well organized with a reliable index, an understandable table of contents and a list of "frequently asked questions" with references to the articles.

What this means is that my frequent trips to the file cabinet to riffle though my file of Carver's occasional writings are a thing of the past. From now on, I'll grab "On Board Leadership" and turn right to the article I need. If, for example, I am struggling with the concept of "cost," the index sends me to page 96 where I read that a board can only do so much. So the board must satisfy itself that by giving up end X in order to accomplish end Y, it is doing what its "owners" would want. The only tool I now lack is a "Carver Concordance."

Wide ranging discussions well organized. Just what every Policy Governance advocate can use. The book belongs in every association executive's library.

Gary Davis
Executive Director
Illinois Community College Trustees Association
401 E. Capitol Avenue, Suite 200
Springfield, IL 62701