Teams Books

I played ball for the Bard basketball team this past season, and upon hearing of my decision to sign up, my dad gave me this book to read. Charlie Rosen and Disco sought out a school like Bard to coach basketball at its purist, with no pretense of talent, no real shot at success, at a school that provided no institutional support whatsoever for athletics (just imagining playing ball in the building the school used as a gym when the book was written sends chills down my spine). The complexion of the Bard team has changed a bit, as the school recently built a multi-million dollar facility and began an ernest attempt to recruit athletes, but there were still a couple of throwbacks to the kind of players you would have seen on the "Players and Pretenders" squad. Experiencing small-school college hoops vicariously through Players and Pretenders gives the reader a glimpse of a world where sports at advanced levels can still be played with the reckless abandon and brevity of a 3rd grade basketball team. I'd have played for coaches Rosen and Disco Dodds' "ship of fools" any day.

This is the true story of charlie rosen and myself (disco) (not my real name) coaching the Bard College basketball team. It is an amusing tale of a group of strangers that come together and touch each other's lives for a year, and then go their own way. Of the other central "characters" in the book, I have recently been in touch with Lance Lavender, full of life then and now, and Matt out in California, who calls to check in evry few years. I would certainly be interested in how our other team members are doing. Back to the book, other than being an amusing read, this tells the story of what its like to play on a small college team where you play because you love to play, knowing you are just an average player, and this is your one chance to be on a team. And the growth of this group of young men and two coaches, who learn what it takes to stick together. Highly recommended! And you get to read about me, disco!!!!

I am six years old and just started playing baseball this year. It was great to read a book about a boy who loved baseball so much even if his team wasn't winning. The end was very good and very exciting.

Our family loves Fred Bowen's books because each story includes a little real sports history. The history in Playoff Dreams is about Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs. He was a fantastic player with a fantastic attitude. He never got down on the game even though his team never made it to the World Series. The main character in Playoff Dreams is a centerfielder named Brendan. He is a really good player but he's bummed because his teammates stink. He goes to a game at Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs). The whole scene at Wrigley Field is very interesting and readers will be surprised at what Brendan does (reluctantly) because of a long-standing real-life tradition with Cubs fans. (It's really neat the way the author pulls in real history.) Brendan learns about the legend of Ernie Banks at Wrigley Field and the lesson about optimism takes root slowly in Brendan. Parents will love the moral of the story and kids will love all the sports action (there's lots of it.)

This is the first book of this type that I have read where the subject in the book risked their lives with the first adventure and then repeated the task multiple times. Each description brings a great deal of insight to the barrenness of the harsh deserts and their effect on the human body. While these racers could have braved this battle alone the book points out the benefits physically, mentally and emotionally that a team adds to overcome great obstacles.

While I enjoy fiction, I enjoy non-fiction adventure a great deal. Since childhood, I've loved to read adventurers who sailed that Atlantic (Chichester) or did something that seemed out of the ordinary (UltraMarathon Man)

As an avid runner, I've lately found myself reading about distance running. But how many of us take the next step, and head out on an adventure of our own?

The Power of Team is an excellent story about a couple and a good friend who set out on an adventure - something crazy - a race across the driest desert in the world - at altitude. They're not sure what they're getting into. Yet, they pursue their dream - and survive it. But then, the dream gets bigger - and they continue to pursue it.

Along the way, they learn a bit about themselves and others. They impart a lot of their practical experience for others who might plan on doing "something crazy" like run a 150 mile stage race across a desert carrying a 30 lb pack with all of the food they plan to eat over 7 days.

Reading the book one has the sense of being there - and the photos help make it even more real. It was great to be a long for the run - though I'm not too sure I'd have done as well enduring all that they did.

I think the thing I enjoyed the most is their sharing what they learned - and letting us into their lives in a very honest way. I've passed this book onto friends and think they'll enjoy the journey as well.

I HATE prospecting, but this book provides the most painless and effective approach that I have ever seen! Five stars.

This book is absolutely a "must" read for any sales professional or manager. Whether you want to improve your own results or those of your team or company. This book gives a path to Prospecting Nirvana. It is simple, yet very powerful and is brutally honest about why Prospecting is such a hige problem in the sales profession. With this book in hand a rookie or a veteran can see dramatic results. Can't wait to read the rest in the series!

We have been using offshore (both captive and outsourced) capacity for over six years. I wish I had stumbled across this gem of a guide six years ago! The author knows what he is talking about, and has obviously been-there and done-that. The knowledge is shared in simple, usable nuggets of wisdom. This is just a great, great read.

If you or your company is thinking about outsourcing, this is a down to earth, straightforward guide on what you should do. Includes useful tools to make outsourcing more productive and less expensive too!

This book is a great resource for anyone involved in playing fantasy basketball. It provides insightful commentary along with per game statistics that let you know how even the most little-used bench warmer would perform if given a starting job in the NBA. Last year's book predicted great things for Zach Randolph and Michael Redd, and this year's book is packed with great articles and helpful info.

I wish I'd known about this book two years ago!

This is a detailed analysis of virtually every player (I can't think of any he missed, but there could have been one or two). Each team has a couple of pages describing where they are, what happened last year and what it expected next year.

Then it gets really interesting. Mr. Hollinger has developed a fairly sophisticated set of statistical standards that he then applies to each player on the team. This includes such things as analyzing the per-minute of play performance rather than the game performance. This says that a player getting ten points in ten minutes is better than a player getting 30 points a game (The results are something the NBA management should check out). Other statistics are likewise specially developed for this book. It makes you wonder if even the teams know this much about their players.

John Hollinger never played in the NBA, he never coached, he just has spearheaded this new more analytical approach to pro basketball.

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