Teams Books

I have to agree with Harvey Zucker from The Jersey Journal when he says every true basketball fans owe Chic Hess a great deal of debt for bringing to light the story of one of basketball's forgoten heroes. I found Zucker's warning to be accurate, "Once you start reading, you won't be able to put it down until finished." Prof Blood's biography is a masterpiece to be enjoyed by all coaches and fans.

If you like basketball to the extent you would like to know about how the game developed through the years this book is for you. The research and documentation by author Dr. Chic Hess is mind-boggling. It is a true story about a high school coach in New Jersey whose system of play was so far ahead of its time that his teams ran over opponents in such impressive fashion his teams were dubbed The Wonder Teams.There is no question the book should be made into a movie so as to acquaint people with the development of basketball and this great human interest story. Dr. Hess has made a valuable contribution to the world of sports and I congratulate him on his effort. Norman Jones - author of Growing Up in Indiana: The Culture & Hoosier Hysteria Revisited

excellent reference for the beginner or advanced PM that needs to look up something.

Whether you work on huge, complex, international projects for one of the Fortune 50 or you are putting together a family reunion, you will find something of value in this little book. But don't let either the size of the book (pocket) or the size of the print (small) fool or intimidate you. The ideas are clear and accessible.

These two consultants have written a project management book for our times. Their approach is team-based and collaborative -- particularly useful for those of us who work in organizations that use teams but still think in functional silos -- as well as practical and flexible. Personally, I have always found other project management models to be too complex, too highly delineated, and too quantitative. This approach is logical, fact-based, and flexible enough for me to work the parts that apply and skip the ones that don't.

I highly recommend the book as well as the approach. If you want to get the full benefit of their methodology, bring the authors in for in-house training. That way, the kinesthetic and auditory processors in your organization will "get it" even better.

I needed to update me uderstanding of how to run a successful project and this book was recommended to me. I found the book well laid out, very informative and easy to follow. I structured my next project on the advice given and it worked. I was able to maintain control at all levels and completed the project succesfully and on time. I would recommend this book to any project manager, novice or experienced as there is always something to learn.

I am just starting out as a project manager of systems implementations so and keen to learn as much as I can on the subject. A friend of mine recommended Project Skills by Sam Elbeik and Mark Thomas. So I got it out of the library to have a read.

It is an excellent book! It is so good I have now ordered 2 copies (one for the friend who recommended it and myself) [...]. It will take a prominent place in my bookshelf for reference and I'm sure I will be using on a regular basis.

It has practical, real-world steps to managing projects such as: defining the project, planning, team building, leading, motivating team members, control, communication and review. There are plenty of hints to help you to become a good project manager. Not only in managing the project itself but also about the people involved in the project. What personality type they might be and how to handle them. This is an important part of project management.

It also has some very helpful and usable templates to use for each stage of the project, such as terms of reference, project plan, etc - I will be using these!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone starting out or needs a refresher on project management skills. I can’t wait to have a copy for myself!

This book explains well what project sponsorship is all about. It covers general project sponsorship concepts based on PMBoK, and also introduces sponsorship concepts for client-based projects.

I really like about the book that it is written for both the experienced project manager and the curious novice project manager. It is easy to comprehend without sounding trivial. Examples and illustrations help to understand the material. It is one of the rare project management books that you can pick up and read for fun after a long work day. Enjoy Reading!

Colleagues Englund and Bucero have opened the door to the hidden room of PM success, that of Sponsorship! Without a Sponsor, you don't have a project, and your keys to success are lost.
- Bob L. Storeygard, PMP
Project Manager for Traffic & Vehicle Systems Projects
3M Traffic Safety Systems Division

Project Sponsorship- Achieving Management Commitment for Project Success - is a timely and relevant book that offers project managers a look at case studies that show how successful projects are linked to executive support. A must read for all project managers and their respective Executives!
- Louis J. Mercken
Chairman of the Board of Threon Europe & former Chair of the Project Management Institute

Insightful and easily read. It helps you back up and see into the minds of your players.

This book unravels the mystery behind coaching team sports. From reducing anxiety to enhancing team building, coaches are given the necessary tools to address the often neglected mental side of the game. Ideal for all coaches looking for a psychological edge to get their team to the next level.

Effa Manley was seemingly yet another "lost" pioneer in Negro Leagues Baseball before being posthumously honored in 2006 with induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. She was part of a class of players and executives selected by a special committee chaired by former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent.

But a plaque for the only woman inducted in the Hall of Fame barely touches the surface of an oftentimes controversial life. Author James Overmyer does an excellent job in piecing together a story that is as interesting as any you will read.

Compared by some as the George Steinbrenner of her day, Effa Manley and her husband, Abe Manley, operated the Brooklyn/Newark Eagles and were major figures in the behind-the-scenes operations of NLB.

She was relentless in her battles with other owners, players and sportswriters to make NLB a viable professional sport and business. Effa Manley was also a civil-rights advocate, who led several successful protests in Harlem for equitable job opportunities at white-owned businesses.

She was also critical of how NLB was beholden to white booking agents - who oftentimes became club investors by advancing struggling team owners money for percentages of ownership - and the white Major League Baseball teams to utilize stadiums.

It was at the height of the Eagles greatest success, a 1946 championship, where even Effa Manley's passion and business acumen could not save the league. During that championship season, Branch Rickey had started a new league to compete against NLB. That league lasted only one year, but it was a major opening move against NLB that presaged the future.

And when MLB - through the Brooklyn Dodgers and Rickey - began to integrate its league through the signing of Jackie Robinson, it opened up a raid on NLB rosters, with the best players being signed to contracts with little or no compensation to the NLB teams.

Though Effa Manley successfully challenged Rickey on his attempt to sign (steal) Monte Irvin, the die had been cast. It was an end of an era when the Manleys divested themselves of the franchise that had mounting financial loses.

The final chapter (Appendix A), Effa's Competition: The Other Owners of Black Teams, is a nice summary of the personalities, egos and conflicts that are comparable with the maneuverings and manipulations within any pro league.

This is a story of triumph, as a woman demanded and grudgingly gained respect in a male-dominated sport, sought through protest equality in a racist-dominated society & worked tirelessly to the end for the recognition NLB truly deserved.

One of the better books giving insight into the challenges of running a Negro Baseball team. The players were banned from playing with white players. This book gives an insight what the tough challenges the owners faced. Some of the owners of Negro League teams were white just like Effa Manley. That did not help them at all. It is interesting to see her problems because she was also a woman in a man's sport. An excellent read to give you insight on the history of the game.

Fantastic, great book for busy managers. You can pick up this book and thumb through it and find an activity to meet your goal, all within minutes. Great resource for team-building.

Dr. Lynn has done it again with another exceptional book on Emotional Intelligence (EI).

I especially like that the book is designed with a quick introduction to EI for those who need a refresher or if you hand it to a manager with no EI experience.

The book is neatly organized with a tables listing all the activities and requirements at a glance and then you turn to the specific activity to go into more detail.

I recommend this as an excellent resource for a manager who wants to find a quick team activity or an experienced trainer looking to expand their repertoire.

Dean was an unbelievable coach who was able to participate in an incredibly competitive arena, yet make consistent decisions with his values and beliefs, never compromising those ideals, even in the heat of battle. The way he created the Carolina family, always remembering everybody who ever played, managed and worked with the team is truly amazing. Keep this book by your bedside and refer to it often.

I like this new book about Dean Smith a lot. Smith was famous in his press conferences for rambling on and on and not saying much of anything quotable, but the author (David Scott) has painstakingly culled Smith down to a point where the excellent coach sounds funnier, blunter and more insightful than he is often given credit for. This book would be a superb addition to a Carolina fan's library, and Lord knows there are a few of them out there.

The RCIA has been a challenge to parish RCIA teams since its renewal more than twenty-five years ago. It's much too easy to continue in the mindset of "making a Catholic-Christian" rather than helping an individual make the journey of faith within the contextg of a community. Hixon's book, however, gives RCIA teams words of encouragement, wisdom, and vision, helping members of the team incorporate the wisdom of process and journey within the spiritual life for themselves, thus empowering them to assist others who are on their way. Taking the individual elements of the Rites themselves, the author offers explanations, suggestions, and caveats based on the life experiences of Jesus as well as the life experience of those who are making the journey. Discussion questions are associated with each chapter, thus enabling entire teams to journey together through the book. I highly recommend this for all RCIA team members, indeed, for any believer who wants to deepen his/her understanding of the revolutionary nature of the RCIA.

Rarely does one find a book that treats the great mysteries of initiation, the church, and the paschal mystery in such a prophetic and simple manner. Barbara Hixon has written a book for everyone on the RCIA team in which she addresses all aspects of the RCIA while inviting the team member to see their journey as important as that for those in the process. She has quite a gift for taking an event or journey from the life of Christ and situating a particular phase of the RCIA within that event. This is a wonderful, dangerous book for it will challenge how you approach the process of initiating people into the Body of Christ. Yet, it is sure worth the ride.

This is a wonderful collection and I picked it up again on the night of 10/27/04. One of the many books I have about the Red Sox which are now, blissfully, out of date! This collection has such fine writing and it certainly captures that "old" feeling that this team was never going to get it all done, somehow. Hub fans bid curse adieu!

Red Sox Reader is a wonderful collaboration of the best articles written on the Sox. It includes stories from the most significant events in Sox history, ranging the Babe's move to the Yanks to the 1986 Series. It also includes an interview with Bill Lee, a couple of articles by the editor (who was an English teacher in my hometown for years), and perhaps the greatest article on a Boston event - "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu" by John Updike. I would recommend this book to any Boston fan who appreciates good writing.