Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: 2nd Edition by Juana Bordas - Book review

Salsa, Soul, and Spirit

Leadership for a Multicultural Age - Second Edition

By: Juana Bordas

Published: March 26, 2012
Format: Paperback, 248 pages
ISBN-10: 1609941179
ISBN-13: 978-1609941178
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers










"During my forty-five years of working in communities of color, I have listened to thousands of such life stories, and I know mine is not unique. Our stories are a collective journey, small streams forming a powerful river, a dynamic force that is restructuring our country into a multicultural society - and transforming American leadership", writes President of Mestiza Leadership International Juana Bordas is president of Mestiza Leadership International in Denver and vice president of the board of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, Juana Bordas, in her visionary and wisdom filled book Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership for a Multicultural Age - Second Edition. The author describes the changes in demographics in America, the rich contributions made by people from communities of color, and the value of added diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas to the concept of leadership in the United States.

Juana Bordas understands that America is transforming into a multicultural society, with ever greater equality and opportunity for people from diverse backgrounds. The demographic changes in society reflect those of an ever more globalized economy and culture. At the same time, the author points out that increasing diversity is in complete harmony with the founding principles of the United States. Juana Bordas offers the experiences of Latin Americans, African Americans, and First Nations people as part of that dynamic of ever increasing racial and cultural diversity. The author demonstrates that the very different backgrounds and experiences of people, from communities of color, provides a valuable opportunity to enrich the leadership perspectives of organizations and government.



Juana Bordas (photo left) recognizes that Latin Americans, African Americans, and native Americans bring very important experiences and perspectives to any leadership roles. In the past, American leadership has largely stemmed from the White male point of view. The author provides an alternative vision to replace that limited perspective and worldview.

Juana Bordas offers the multicultural leadership model where many cultural perspectives, differences, unique contributions of diverse groups, and learning from many different cultures is encouraged and put into practice. In this fresh approach to leadership, people are encouraged to maintain their own cultural identity, while participating in and contributing to the larger diversity of the society.

Juana Bordas provides a vision and a framework framework for what she describes as infusing Salsa, Soul, and Spirit into the leadership model, creating a fresh and more diverse dynamic that benefits everyone. To achieve this vision, Juana Bordas proposes a new social covenant that brings the following principles of diversity into the mosaic:

* Sankofa: Learn from the past
* I to We: From individualism to collective identity
* Mi casa es su casa: A spirit of generosity
* A leader among equals: Community-conferred leadership
* Leaders as guardians of public values: A tradition of activism
* Leaders as community stewards: Working for the common good
* The seventh-generation rule: Inter-generational leadership
* All my relatives: La familia, the village, the tribe
* Gracias: Gratitude, hope, and forgiveness

For me, the power of the book is how Juana Bordas combines an insightful analysis of the transformation of American society into a multicultural milieu, with the framework to create a fresh social covenant. The author shares the timeless wisdom of people of Latin American, African American, and First Nations descent. This universal wisdom provides an opportunity to transform American leadership from the now outdated and failing White male model, to one that is multicultural, diverse, inclusive, and global.

Juana Bordas shares a vision of collective and collaborative leadership that is essential for moving forward in a globalized economy in general, and in a demographically changing America in particular. All areas of culture and the economy have benefited from, and been enriched by contributions made by people from communities of color. Leadership will also be enhanced and improved through the rich diversity that transformed American culture and society.

I highly recommend the pioneering and transformational book Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership for a Multicultural Age - Second Edition by Juana Bordas, to anyone seeking a groundbreaking and much needed book on the importance of diversity for leadership theory and practice. This book offers the timeless wisdom of the Latino, African American, and Native American cultures, and transforms that vision into a new and inclusive social covenant for all people.

Tags: Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership for a Multicultural Age - Second Edition, Juan Bordas, multicultural leadership and diversity, business book reviews

Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure by Tim Harford - Book review

Adapt

Why Success Always Starts with Failure

By: Tim Harford

Published: May 8, 2012
Format: Paperback, 352 pages
ISBN-10: 1250007550
ISBN-13: 978-1250007551
Publisher: Picador










"What is striking about the market system is not how few failures there are, but how ubiquitous failure is even in the most vibrant growth industries", writes former economist at the World Bank and an economics tutor at Oxford University, Tim Harford, in his pioneering and thought provoking book Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure. The author describes why so much failure happens in an overall successful economic system, why failure is a crucial part of success, and adapting to shifting economic conditions and mistakes is so important for business.

Tim Harford understands that not only is the economy extremely complex, but even the activities, that take place within companies and in our daily lives, are also more intricate than is usually realized by many. Problems of ever increasing difficulty are becoming more economy on every scale. People have become used to looking to leaders to meet those challenges, overcome the obstacles, and provide useful solutions. Tim Harford points out that such is not the case, and that the typical solutions offered by leaders result in failure. The author presents a powerful alternative approach to traditional leadership models. This fresh model is based on adapting to circumstances, drawing on a very wide range of leaders and followers, and utilizing trial and error effectively to find innovative solutions.



Tim Harford (photo left) recognizes that the world is much too complex at every level, for experts to understand fully, and for standard solutions to be effective any longer. The author demonstrates how the usual strategies are insufficient to meet the challenges of complexity, and very often are the cause of catastrophic failure themselves.

Tim Harford offers compelling evidence that traditional hierarchical management systems, complex systems, and tightly coupled systems all carry elements of risk. When combined, the potential for disaster is multiplied many times over. These systems are all too often not able to adapt to the inevitable problems or disasters that may befall them.

Tim Harford provides evidence that complexity alone will not create catastrophic system failure, but when tightly coupled, or faced with non-adaptive leadership, then complexity can lead to complete system failure. The author presents the model of the adaptive organization, of the adaptive individual, as alternatives to the traditional approaches to leadership and strategy. The author recommends an adaptable model based on the following principles:

* Try new things expecting some of them to fail
* Make failure survivable through small steps on the proper scale
* Know when failure has happened to ensure learning from that failure

For me, the power of the book is how Tim Harford provides an entirely fresh approach to systems, based on embracing failure and adapting to even the most unexpected change. The author presents a systems based analysis of why failure happens, and how it can be catastrophic, limited, or the first step to creativity and innovation. Through a multidisciplinary methodology, Tim Harford draws from from widely diverse fields to gain insights into the problems facing other very different endeavors.

The key to the author's analysis is making the key connections between what appears on the surface to be widely disparate concepts. Instead, the author seeks analogy, relationships, and patterns. Tim Harford illustrates his concepts with cases and anecdotes that show the principles in action. Far from being a book that fears failure, it is a study that considers understanding and learning from failure the critical first step toward discovering real solutions to even the most challenging problems.

I highly recommend the insightful and systems driven book Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure by Tim Harford, to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the important role that failure' trial and error, and adapting to circumstances play in overall success in any field. This book provides a road map to recognizing failure, and learning from those mistakes, to create innovative and effective solutions.

Tags: Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure, Tim Harford, innovation and problem solving, business book reviews

Geek Nation by Angela Saini - Book review

Geek Nation

How Indian Science Is Taking Over the World

By: Angela Saini

Published: May 8, 2012
Format: Paperback, 288 pages
ISBN-10: 1444710168
ISBN-13: 978-1444710168
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton












"This impoverished tea- and cotton-growing backwater is starting to reclaim the scientific legacy that it lost thousands of years ago. Staring into the clouds at the rocket, which has now disappeared completely, I ask myself, how on earth did they do it?" writes award-winning independent journalist based in London, Angela Saini, in her engaging and deeply personal book Geek Nation: How Indian Science Is Taking Over the World. The author describes the rise of science, scientific and engineering education, geek culture, and the many contradictions within these fields as Indian scientists make their mark in the global economy.

Angela Saini recognizes the rich history of science in India, and its towering achievements that went almost forgotten for centuries. Building on that glorious past of learning and discovery, a new generation of Indian students are achieving outstanding results in science, engineering, technology, and space exploration. The author sets out to discover this scientific, and yes geek oriented society, within the vast and developing country of India. Ranging from students winning awards for learning and scholarship on a worldwide basis, to the enormous pressure for high marks in the ultra competitive educational system, to the desperation to escape poverty, the author finds the contradictions of Indian culture itself superimposed on an emerging scientific and technological superpower.



Angela Saini (photo left) presents a fascinating account of how former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had a vision of a modern country based on science, advanced technology logic. While that dream is already partially realized, the author points out how in many ways, the ideal has turned into a misshapen distopia. While Indian scientists have created and developed an advanced space program, scientific study has devolved into rote memorization with very limited creative thinking and innovation. At the same time, as is so evident by the usual paradoxes so evident in the book, is how despite these limitations, advances in science and technology are taking place in India.

The author offers evidence that India's younger scientists and engineers are seeking high paying jobs as their primary goal, but they are also achieving breakthroughs as an additional result. The author shows how the young technology geeks and drones are both part of India's social and educational systems. Despite these challenges, India remains poised to rise to the forefront of global science, technology, and engineering through a combination of large numbers of graduates and national will.

For me, the power of the book is how Angela Saini presents an intimate, yet panoramic overview of India as a potential scientific and technology superpower. Despite its enormous steps forward, India still faces many challenges from its complex social, religious, and political structure. In a vast nation, where not everyone has access to clean water, food, or the basic necessities of life, incredible strides are being made in scientific breakthroughs. Many of those discoveries, and technological advances grew out of the need to improve the lives of one billion Indian inhabitants.

Gaps between rich and poor are enormous, with gleaming towers side by side with shantytowns. Students are driven hard to achieve top scholastic scores and places in highly competitive universities. Paradoxically, these seemingly disparate events work together to create the conditions for even more advancement of this emerging scientific superpower.

I highly recommend the insightful and eye opening book Geek Nation: How Indian Science Is Taking Over the World by Angela Saini, to anyone seeking a refreshing and honest appraisal of the emerging technological superpower that is India. This book provides both a close up view of the people involved in the scientific revolution that is propelling India into the global technological forefront.

Tags: Geek Nation: How Indian Science Is Taking Over the World, Angela Saini, global scienceandtechnology, business book reviews

Small Town Rules by Barry Moltz & Becky McCray - Book review

Small Town Rules

How Big Brands and Small Businesses Can Prosper in a Connected Economy

By: Barry J. Moltz, Becky McCray

Published: April 2, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
ISBN-10: 0789749203
ISBN-13: 978-0789749208
Publisher: Que










"The customers of every company now behave like they live in a small town. As a result, companies now need to play by a new set of rules: small town rules", write small town business owner Becky McCray, and entrepreneur and consultant Barry J. Moltz, in their paradigm shifting and very practical book Small Town Rules: How Big Brands and Small Businesses Can Prosper in a Connected Economy. The authors describe how the forces of technology, social change, and globalized economies have changed the world into one very large small town; and provide their strategies for thriving as a small town style business.



Barry J. Moltz (photo left) and Becky McCray are long time residents and entrepreneurs in small towns. They apply their experience in small communities to what they call the new realities of local, national, and global marketplaces. Indeed, the authors describe the dynamics that drive the very personal nature of small town business success, are the very same principles that lead to success in today's challenging economic circumstances. Small town entrepreneurs have experienced and overcame all of the obstacles that confront companies and brands; including the very largest corporations in the world. The author share their proven small town business principles, and demonstrate how those same concepts form the core of today's business environment, regardless of the scale.



Becky McCray (photo left) and Barry Moltz understand that people in small towns know one another, and talk and share ideas with each other. This same phenomenon takes place in online communities, where ideas, product reviews, and company reputations are shared readily and often. People want to form communities, making the small town comparison much more than a simple analogy. It is an important insight by the authors. People want to do business on a human scale, preferably with other community members who they know, like, and trust.

The authors present their small town rules a guide for any sizes of business to prosper in a connected economy. The small town rules are:

* Plan for zero income in hard times
* Spend creative brainpower before spending money
* Multiply lines of income to diversify risk
* Work anywhere, anywhen with technology
* Treat customers like community
* Be proud of being small
* Build local connections

For me, the power of the book is how Becky McCray and Barry Moltz provide a comprehensive guide to understanding the importance of small town business practices, as a basis for success, in the modern marketplace. In a technological economy, where people form communities for sharing ideas, reviews, and information on companies and their brands, the structure of the small town is reconstructed electronically. As small towns, the same principles apply that formed the foundation of prosperity for generations of businesses in small towns. The authors share the wisdom and practicality that made these businesses viable and able to withstand ever changing economic conditions.

For large companies, the vagaries of the local, national, and global economies are something new. These shifting conditions are well known and understood in small town economies. The proprietors of these local businesses understand well the critical importance of building relationships based on trust and the human touch. These lessons are well understood in small town businesses, and they form the base of success for the largest companies and most famous brands as well.

I highly recommend the engaging and wisdom filled book Small Town Rules: How Big Brands and Small Businesses Can Prosper in a Connected Economy by Barry J. Moltz and Becky McCray, to any business leaders, executives, brand managers, and entrepreneurs who are seeking a guide to navigating the community based technological enabled marketplace. This book will provide the time tested strategies and techniques that formed the backbone of the long lasting businesses that line the main streets of the nation's small towns and villages.

Tags: Small Town Rules: How Big Brands and Small Businesses Can Prosper in a Connected Economy, Barry J. Moltz, Becky McCray, brands and marketing, business book reviews

Race, Housing & Community by Harris Beider - Book review

Race, Housing and Community

Perspectives on Policy and Practice

By: Harris Beider

Published: March 20, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1405196963
ISBN-13: 978-1405196963
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell













"Housing has been a key metaphor for race and community cohesion. Indeed, housing publications have illuminated the discourse on race and more latterly, community cohesion. Policy analysts have generated research, guidance and impact measures on race and community cohesion", writes Professor in Community Cohesion at Coventry University, Harris Beider, in his research based and policy oriented book Race, Housing and Community: Perspectives on Policy and Practice. The author describes the dynamics of race, housing, and community cohesion through a systematic approach to stimulate discussion and debate on these topics.

Harris Beider understands that the intertwined topics of race, housing and community cohesion are not simply esoteric and theoretical issues for the exclusive consideration by academics. Instead, the author proposes finding common ground for discussion between both the academic community and policy makers. Harris Beider considers this fusion of ideas and worldviews to form a foundation, for developing a new agenda, for a more full discussion. To create context, the author provides a background to how contributions from academics contributed to public policy decisions; and the limitations of that former approach to the topics.



Harris Beider (photo left) provides an overview and analysis of the key trends taking place in housing and race that are taking place in contemporary society. The book focuses on race and housing. The author presents evidence to recommend the necessity of developing a new framework for discussion and policy making. The latter part of the book offers an alternative framework, but prior to discussing a new approach, the author considers it important to understand the failings of the existing concepts.

Harris Beider describes the shortcomings of the existing paradigms that exist in the current literature on the subjects. He points out that these typologies have created the basis for legislation and other public policy formulation. The existing frameworks include:

* Passive culturalism
* Social conflict,politics, and power
* Choice and constraint
* Cultural resistance

For me the power of the book is how Harris Beider creates a fresh approach to creating policy alternatives for addressing race, housing, and community cohesion. The author demonstrates the limitations of the previous approaches to the topics, and how they were all failures in very fundamental ways. The author also recognizes the shifting demographics of the different groups and cultures, rendering much of the previous paradigm outdated and ineffective. Harris Beider offers the idea of opening dialogue between academics, policy makers, and the communities.

While not prescribing specific policy measures, the author places his emphasis on creating an effective process of creating a fusion and synthesis of ideas and approaches. Out of this cross pollination of ideas from different sectors, new and effective solutions, policies, and programs are the expected result. Even if those concepts have limitations, the dialogue remains to discover even more effective ideas and policies in the future.

I highly recommend the systematic and framework focused book Race, Housing and Community: Perspectives on Policy and Practice by Harris Beider, to anyone in academia, students of race and housing, public policy makers, business leaders, and community organizers who are seeking a workable framework approach to the topics of race, housing, and community cohesion. This book will open the dialogue to creating a fusion of ideas to further the conversation to create stronger community relations and cohesion.

Tags: Race, Housing and Community: Perspectives on Policy and Practice, Harris Beider, urban planning and practice, public policy book reviews

The Shopper Economy by Liz Crawford - Book review

The Shopper Economy

The New Way to Achieve Marketplace Success by Turning Behavior into Currency

By: Liz Crawford

Published: March 20, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 288 pages
ISBN-10: 0071787178
ISBN-13: 978-0071787178
Publisher: McGraw-Hill











"Looking at how consumers were trading their time, attention, and behavior was a way of studying a new kind of economy: the shopper economy", writes analyst and contributing writer for the Path to Purchase Institute, Liz Crawford, in her groundbreaking and thought provoking book The Shopper Economy: The New Way to Achieve Marketplace Success by Turning Behavior into Currency. The author describes the transformation of the consumer into a shopper, trading in their new currency of behavior, forming the base of the new shopper economy.

Liz Crawford recognizes the power of technology in the shift from consumer to shopper. The access to readily available technology for price comparison removed the power from the advertising agencies, and even from the brands themselves. Along with the ability to compare price, shoppers became able to read peer reviews, and even discover levels of available inventory. With these technological advances, brands and marketers found the need to get timely messages to their customers. The result was shopper marketing, where buyers are treated as shoppers on a road to purchase, and became essential for the success of marketing and brands.



Liz Crawford (photo left) understands that shopper behavior has a real and tangible value in the shopper economy. The author points out that the behavior is indeed a currency, and that behavior even has an exchange rate. Shoppers expend time and energy, evaluated the value of the return on their time, and became part of the exchange process.

Liz Crawford describes four types behavior that form the basis of the exchange:

* Attention
* Participation
* Advocacy
* Loyalty

Each of these behaviors is a currency that earns digital currency that the author refers to as shopper currency. Any form of this digital currency that can redeemed for virtual or real world goods and services is described as virtual currency. The entire concept of shopper marketing provides a framework, for putting these behaviors to work for the brand, through an understanding the behavior of the shopper.

For me, the power of the book is how Liz Crawford provides a fresh paradigm of the shopper economy, based on the concept of shopper behavior. At the same time, the author also demonstrates that the behavior is also measurable as a form of currency. Liz Crawford points out as well, that far from being a problem for brands, the new shopper economy model provides brands with a powerful marketing opportunity. The newly informed and empowered customer does much of the marketing work on behalf of the brand, based on their active behavior.

Liz Crawford shows brand marketers how to assess and measure the activities of shoppers effectively through the use of real and virtual rewards. The result is better return on investment, and less wasted activity on the part of both the customer and the brand. Every action of the shopper becomes part of the ongoing pathway to a buying transaction.

I highly recommend the innovative and insightful book The Shopper Economy: The New Way to Achieve Marketplace Success by Turning Behavior into Currency by Liz Crawford, to any business decision makers, brand managers, marketers, and entrepreneurs who are seeking a description of the evolving marketplace and how to create opportunities through those changes. This book will change the way you think about brands, customers, and how the entire shopping experience takes place in the new shopper economy.

Tags: The Shopper Economy: The New Way to Achieve Marketplace Success by Turning Behavior into Currency, Liz Crawford, brands and marketing, business book reviews

The Identity Code by Larry Ackerman - Book review

The Identity Code

The 8 Essential Questions for Finding Your Purpose and Place in the World

By: Larry Ackerman

Published: December 27, 2005
Format: Hardcover: 208 pages
ISBN-10: 1400064171
ISBN-13: 978-1400064175
Publisher: Random House










"This book is designed to introduce you to yourself. Not the person you see in the mirror, physically speaking, or the one people necessarily interact with every day, but the person inside. The powerful one", writes leading authority on organizational and personal identity, Larry Ackerman, in his inspirational and life transforming book The Identity Code: The 8 Essential Questions for Finding Your Purpose and Place in the World. The author describes how who a person really is has already been built into them in the form of their identity code.

Larry Ackerman understands that for a person to know who they really are, as well as their purpose and destiny in life, they must crack their own identity code.The author makes the bold statement, that the identity code is so powerful, that you are already the person you were meant to be in life. This concept goes against the conventional wisdom that a person can be whatever they want to be life. Instead, Larry Ackerman presents the identity code as a map to the real person within, in a similar way that a person's DNA forms their genetic code. For the author, answering the eight questions that help to uncover an individual's identity code unlocks the outline of one's life. For the author, this self discovery process creates both a stronger and a larger identity, that has a positive effect, on every aspect of life.



Larry Ackerman (photo left) recognizes the importance of a transformation to a larger life through uncovering the personal identity code. A person who discovers their own identity code is able to apply its powerful force to everything in their life, from their personal relationships, to their overall careers. With the author considering personal freedom to be a myth, and that the life imperative encoded within the self, Larry Ackerman points out the liberating aspect of this personal revelation. While a person can't be anything they want to be, the individual will be much more powerful in the areas of their passion and interest,

Larry Ackerman outlines the eight essential questions that accompany and guide the journey toward understanding one's own unique identity code. The eight questions are as follows:

* Who am I?
* What makes me special?
* Is there a pattern to my life?
* Where am I going?
* What is my gift?
* Who can I trust?
* What is my message?
* Will my life be rich?

For me, the power of the book is how Larry Ackerman takes the unconventional position that a person cannot be anything they want, and then offers the reasons as to why this is the case. The author presents a compelling case for the existence of a personal identity code, and provides the steps and questions for unlocking the messages within that code. The process is through the answering and understanding of the eight essential questions that form the heart of the book.

Each question is composed of three parts: the story that brings forth insights and lessons; the promise to understand accept the self; and the pathways to prepare for change. The author provides a series of exercises to help understand the identity code and how to map it for oneself. The map creates a starting point to move forward to the next phase of understanding oneself more deeply.

I highly recommend the engaging and deeply personal understanding based book The Identity Code: The 8 Essential Questions for Finding Your Purpose and Place in the World by Larry Ackerman, to anyone seeking to discover the true purpose and destiny for their lives. This book will guide you on that critical path to self discovery that will transform your life to one with purpose and empowerment.

Tags: The Identity Code: The 8 Essential Questions for Finding Your Purpose and Place in the World, Larry Ackerman, personal development, business book reviews

Great Leaders GROW by Ken Blanchard & Mark Miller - Book review

Great Leaders GROW

Becoming a Leader for Life

By: Ken Blanchard, Mark Miller

Published: February 6, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 144 pages
ISBN-10: 1609943031
ISBN-13: 978-1609943035
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers












"There's certainly more to leadership than growth, but growth is at the heart of what creates and sustains great leaders. Growth is the leader's fountain of youth", write chief spiritual officer of the Ken Blanchard Companies, Ken Blanchard; and vice president, training and development, for Chick-fil-A, Mark Miller, in their inspirational and wisdom filled book Great Leaders GROW: Becoming a Leader for Life. The authors describe the critical importance of continued personal growth for leaders, and why a failure to keep growing as a leader will cause a reduction in influence, and even a loss of leadership roles completely.



Ken Blanchard (photo left) and Mark Miller understand that great leaders don't sit back and rest on their achievements. Great leaders recognize that their is more to leadership than the authority proffered by the individual's ranking on the organizational chart. Instead, leadership is an organic, growing journey that continues throughout the leader's entire career.

As a leader advances ever higher, there must be more personal growth and development with every step. A person who is unable or unwilling to grow is unlikely to be an effective or influential leader. The authors present their leadership philosophy and skills in the form of a narrative, where Debbie Brewster serves as a leadership mentor to Blake, who is at the beginning stages of his career. Throughout the business parable, the concepts of leadership are expressed and illustrated through the medium of story.



Mark Miller (photo left) and Ken Blanchard recognize that leaders face constant challenges that test the leader's preparedness. For the authors, being a leader and a person of character are inextricably linked together. A leader must be ready to meet challenges in a visionary and effective manner. To fall back on the solutions of yesterday is evidence that the leader has failed to grow, or to understand the importance of personal growth. Simply put, a person's ability to lead is based entirely on their ability to grow.

The authors provide a lifetime plan for development as both a human being and as a leader. To that end, they share their GROW concept, which consists of the following principles:

* Gain knowledge in yourself, others, your industry, and leadership
* Reach out to others both formally and informally
* Open your world both at work and also outside of work
* Walk toward wisdom through self-evaluation, feedback, counsel, and time

For me, the power of the book is how Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller present their concepts of leadership effectively through the medium of a business fable. The authors present their GROW principles in a readily understood format utilizing the narrative format. The main characters in the story, Debbie and Blake, consider and delve into each of the various aspects of leadership and personal growth.

The authors make clear, through the voices of the characters, that leadership and the individual's desire to start on a lifetime path of growth, are very interconnected and are really inseparable. The parable guides the reader through the process of growing as a leader, and for meeting the challenges that test a leader's ability to grow.

I highly recommend the engaging and personally fulfilling book Great Leaders GROW: Becoming a Leader for Life by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller, to any leaders who are serious about growing and improving not only their leadership skills, but also themselves as people. This entertaining book will transform your perspective on leadership to one of growth and of lifetime learning to achieve peak performance, greater influence, and superior results.

Tags: Great Leaders GROW: Becoming a Leader for Life, Ken Blanchard, Mark Miller, leadership and personal development, business book reviews

The Historic Urban Landscape by Francesco Bandarin & Ron Van Oers - Book review

The Historic Urban Landscape

Managing Heritage in an Urban Century

By: Francesco Bandarin, Ron van Oers

Published: March 27, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 262 pages
ISBN-10: 0470655747
ISBN-13: 978-0470655740
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell













"Among the utopias generated by modernity, there is also urban conservation. Strictly speaking, urban conservation is not a utopia, but rather a policy and planning practice that is present in many countries of the world", write architect, urban planner, and Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO, Francesco Bandarin; and urban planner and Programme Specialist for Culture at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Ron Van Oers, in their visionary and conservation oriented urban development book The Historic Urban Landscape: Managing Heritage in an Urban Century. The authors describe contemporary concepts and initiatives in urban heritage conservation to better understand the conflicts, areas of consensus,a and development of urban policies and practices.



Francesco Bandarin (photo left) and Ron Van Oers recognize the many often conflicting intellectual forces that form the contemporary urban conservation landscape. The authors address the various shifting architectural and urban planning paradigms that have evolved over the past fifty years. Over time, a an institutional and professional assessment approach has formed to support the conservation of the urban heritage. Part of this conservation movement has preserved the historic city as a heritage type.

This systemic approach has created an internationalism in the very core concept of urban conservation. The authors point out that this still emerging and evolving process is providing at least some protection for the historical integrity and character of cities around the world. The authors provide evidence that this process has peaked with the high status accorded to the historic cities.



Ron Van Oers (photo left) and Francesco Bandarin understand that despite these advances and developments in the process, urban conservation faces new and daunting challenges in the coming decades. New pressures, processes, and forces are being brought to bear on the existing conservation efforts, creating a necessity for fresh policy and planning thought and action. One area of difficulty, according to the authors, is the ever increasing specialization of both the theory and operations involved with urban conservation.

The authors challenge urban planners, policy makers, and conservationists to take a more integrated and holistic view of preservation. To that end, the authors propose considering the more encompassing concept of urban conservation to that of historic urban conservation. Faced with the pressures of tourism, real estate developers, and business, conservation efforts are pulled and pushed in different directions, causing an overall weakening of the preservation efforts. As a result, the authors recommend the Historic Urban Landscape approach that considers all of the forces as part of an integrated whole.

For me, the power of the book is how Francesco Bandarin and Ron Van Oers provide a much needed wake up call to the danger faced by historic urban landscapes. Despite serious conservation efforts, cities all over the world are pressured by population growth, tourism, and real estate development forces. The authors address these challenges openly, and offer their integrated and holistic Historic Urban Landscape approach as a viable and innovative alternative to current planning theory and practice.

The authors present the concepts and ideas from the UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, where they are involved in global preservation efforts, and offer insights into the effectiveness of organization's initiatives. The book is profusely illustrated throughout, with color photographs of urban landscapes from cities all over the world. These photographs enrich the concepts offered and discussed in the various chapters of the book.

I highly recommend the comprehensive and landmark book The Historic Urban Landscape: Managing Heritage in an Urban Century by Francesco Bandarin and Ron Van Oers, to any architects, urban planners, surveyors, engineers, policy makers, business leaders, and urban conservation societies who are seeking a complete overview of the intellectual developments in urban conservation. This book provides a thoughtful and practical approach that will benefit the urban conservation efforts around the world in the twenty-first century.

Tags: The Historic Urban Landscape: Managing Heritage in an Urban Century, Francesco Bandarin, Ron Van Oers, urban planning and practice, geography book reviews

What Chinese Want by Tom Doctoroff - Book review

What Chinese Want

Culture, Communism and China's Modern Consumer

By: Tom Doctoroff

Published: May 22, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
ISBN-10: 023034030X
ISBN-13: 978-0230340305
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan













"China's economy and people are evolving rapidly, but the underlying cultural blueprint has remained more or less constant for thousands of years. As the nation races toward superpower status, it will nevertheless remain quintessentially Chinese - ambitious yet cautious to the core", writes Northeast Asia Area Director and Greater China CEO for J. Walter Thompson,Tom Doctoroff, in his insightful and thought provoking book What Chinese Want: Culture, Communism and China's Modern Consumer. The author describes the cultural imperatives and worldview of China's fast rising consumer economy, and provides lessons for companies seeking to sell products and services into the this vast and growing market.

Tom Doctoroff recognizes that China offers an unlimited market for consumer products. At the same time, however, the author also understands that there are some very critical differences between the Chinese consumer and a customer in the Western world. In fact, the author points out that even with the influx of Western influences and culture, the people of China resist those same ideals and continue to embrace their own cultural traditions.

Tom Doctoroff presents conclusive evidence that while modernization in China advances at a breakneck pace, the Chinese people remain distinctively nationalistic and culturally conservative in their worldview. Instead of choosing the path of the individual as the core of the economy, the people of China consider the family to be the economic cornerstone. The morality of the Chinese culture remains different from that of the West, as does the strong historical connection that the people maintain with the past.



Tom Doctoroff (photo left) presents an important inner cultural portrait of the Chinese people in general, and the emerging Chinese consumer market in particular. Before the author provides his recommendations for success in the Chinese market, he clarifies the many misconceptions and myths that have grown up around the Chinese customer. The portrait of the Chinese consumer is very nuanced, and more complex than it appears at first glance. Tom Doctoroff describes how the individual in China desires standing out while still fitting in with the overall Chinese culture.

There is an overarching ambitious optimism that China can stand with the leading nations of the world and that success is possible in Chinese cultural terms. At the same time, the Chinese people seek stability of the family and of the country and how that stability is more important than individual self expression. The author also shares his insights into the unifying force of Confucian conflict where status and social mobility conflict with the desire for conformity. The individual is simply not the central figure in Chinese society, or the basic productive unit. That role, according the author, is in the hands of the family. At the same time, there is no desire for breakthroughs, as they may upset the cherished stability, presenting real challenges for both marketers and managers entering the Chinese market.

For me, the power of the book is how Tom Doctoroff presents a comprehensive analysis of the culture of China and its influence on the behavior of the Chinese consumer. The author presents the various, and often baffling traits of the customer, within the overall context of Chinese society. Tom Doctoroff breaks down the various markets and industries, and offers in depth explanations of why the Chinese consumer acts as they do, and why those actions are so different from customers in the West. The author dispels the most commonly heard myths about China, its politics, and its economy.

Tom Doctoroff provides the advice necessary for any business person seeking access to the Chinese market. The author reveals many nuances and contradictions that must be understood clearly to achieve success in the vast and always intriguing country pf China and its people.

I highly recommend the landmark and essential book What Chinese Want: Culture, Communism and China's Modern Consumer by Tom Doctoroff, to any business leaders, entrepreneurs, public officials, trade organizations, and members of the general public who are seeking a deeper and more profound understanding of the Chinese market and its consumers than is found anywhere else. This book will transform how you think about China and its potential as an important market; full of both amazing surprises and unlimited potential.

Tags: What Chinese Want: Culture, Communism and China's Modern Consumer, Tom Doctoroff, globalization and international markets, business book reviews

Kiss Your Customer by Andy Masters - Book review

Kiss Your Customer

77 Reasons Why Sales & Service Are Just Like Dating & Relationships

By: Andy Masters

Published: January 12, 2012
Format: Paperback, 225 pages
ISBN-10: 0975461095
ISBN-13: 978-0975461099
Publisher: Hawthorn Publishing











"There are principles from our relationships which can help us in sales and service, and principles from sales and service which can help us in our relationships", writes speaker and award winning author Andy Masters, in his idea filled and very engaging book Kiss Your Customer: 77 Reasons Why Sales & Service Are Just Like Dating & Relationships. The author describes why understanding the crucial analogy between sales and service on the one hand, and dating and relationships on the other, will enhance your success in business and in your personal life.

Andy Masters understands the critical connection between attracting and keeping a customer is the same dynamic as attracting and keeping a significant other. The author provides seventy-seven ideas for achieving success in sales and service, and not coincidently, in ones romantic life as well. With a heaping helping of humor, mixed with some often painful real world experience, Andy Masters offers wisdom and insights that serve double duty at home and at work. He likes to throw in a few laughs, as well, to help ease the misfortunes of fate, and to establish the mood for a fresh start on pursuing both dates and customers. Andy Masters shares some ideas for both retaining the person being pursued if they are compatible, and for breaking up with them should they prove to be not the ideal choice.



Andy Masters (photo left) recognizes that there are many factors involved in both finding customers and getting dates,. There are also many interrelated elements in keeping the customer for the long term. Utilizing the dating analogy effectively, Andy Masters presents a series of real world tested and proven techniques for success in business. Finding a happy romantic life is a bonus part of the book.

The author includes useful and readily applicable (with a few wisely judicious edits) advice including the following:

* The value of honesty and trust
* Accepting rejection from prospects
* Networking and referrals
* Using humor effectively
* Being creative in your approach
* Understanding apologies for mistakes
* having the proper attitude
* Managing expectations and exceeding them
* Celebrating success

For me, the power of the book is how Andy Masters successfully integrates humor into his real world wisdom on sales and service; as well as on dating and relationships. The author presents his seventy-seven slices of advice with a good natured, and self effacing wit, that causes the many concepts to be both memorable and effective. Each of the chapters is only one or two pages in length, with the key takeaway principles bolded for emphasis.

The concepts move logically through the entire attraction and retention time frame; as well as a possible just in case breakup scenario. Overall, Andy Masters presents his ideas in a memorable format that will transform both one's business life, and their dating presence.

I highly recommend the effective and enjoyable book Kiss Your Customer: 77 Reasons Why Sales & Service Are Just Like Dating & Relationships by Andy Masters, to anyone seeking an affable and entertaining guide to achieving greater business and romantic success. This book will change the mood of your approach to business from pain to gain.

Tags: Kiss Your Customer: 77 Reasons Why Sales & Service Are Just Like Dating & Relationships, Andy Masters, sales and service, business book reviews

The Strategist by Cynthia A. Montgomery - Book review

The Strategist

Be the Leader Your Business Needs

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

Published: may 8, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 208 pages
ISBN-10: 0062071017
ISBN-13: 978-0062071019
Publisher: HarperBusiness












"While countless books have been written about strategy in the last thirty years, virtually nothing has been written about the strategist and what this vital role requires of the person who shoulders it", writes Timken Professor of Business Administration and immediate past head of the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School, Cynthia A. Montgomery, in her revolutionary and thought provoking book The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs. The author describes how standard approaches to strategy are incomplete without considering the crucial role played by the leader in creating and executing the overall plan.

Cynthia Montgomery recognizes that considerable amounts of new research and empirical data, based on real world results, have emerged from the field of strategy. Through the author's own experience from working with executives and managers, however, she has concluded that the role of leadership has been downplayed in strategy studies. Cynthia Montgomery uncovered, through interviews and observation of leaders, the powerful impact that great leadership can have on the company's strategy and its results. The author provides a compelling case for strengthening the role of leadership, and the need to equip and inspire strategists to assume and establish a stronger level of leadership within their organizations.



Cynthia A. Montgomery (photo left) understands that leaders must change the way they view their roles within an organization to thinking of themselves as strategists. This change in focus and attitude creates a fresh perspective and direction for leaders within their firms.

Cynthia Montgomery challenges leaders to ask what she considers the most essential question for every business leader: Does this company truly matter? This crucial and organizational soul searching question changes the entire vision and fabric of the company. With this clarity of thinking in place, the leader moves beyond simply seeing the company as in competition with other firms for the market. Instead, the result will be a complete reshaping and transformation of the company itself.

The author offers the following series of concepts to create what she calls her revisionist approach to strategy:

* Are you a strategist
* The myth of the super-manager
* Begin with purpose
* Turn purpose into reality
* Own your strategy
* Keep it vibrant

For me, the power of the book is how Cynthia Montgomery reappraises the entire concept and field of strategy. This reassessment of strategy focuses the leader on the importance of strategy, and of thinking of themselves as a strategist. This change in the dynamic to thinking as a strategist changes the entire vision and shape of the company. The author not only provides the framework and theoretical basis for becoming a strategist but offers the tools for building the strategist skill set as well.

Cynthia Montgomery illustrates her concepts with case studies of the principles in action in the real world. An added feature of the book is a frequently asked questions section that provides additional insights into the strategist concept. There is also a very useful resource section that provides additional information sources for going more deeply into the various facets of the book

I highly recommend the groundbreaking and leadership transforming book The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs by Cynthia A. Montgomery, to anyone seeking a clear and concise introduction to a radically different view of leadership and strategy. This book will change the way leaders and managers think of their roles, as they reinvent themselves into strategists.

Tags: The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs, Cynthia A. Montgomery, strategy in leadership, business book reviews

I'd Rather Be in Charge by Charlotte Beers - Book review

I'd Rather Be in Charge

A Legendary Business Leader's Roadmap for Achieving Pride, Power, and Joy at Work

By: Charlotte Beers

Published: January 31, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
ISBN-10: 1593156820
ISBN-13: 978-1593156824
Publisher: Vanguard Press












"We women are not comfortable being "little men," and we don't like being boxed into what is considered womanly at the expense of being seen as leaderly", writes successful CEO and former Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Charlotte Beers in her glass ceiling smashing and empowering book I'd Rather Be in Charge: A Legendary Business Leader's Roadmap for Achieving Pride, Power, and Joy at Work. The author describes how women can reach their full career potential and achieve leadership roles in even the largest corporations.

Charlotte Beers recognizes that many women have internal barriers, and modes of behavior, that hold them back from realizing their full potential. The author shares her personal story of her rise to CEO of more than one major company, as well as in the highest ranks of government. Charlotte Beers offers her own experience in overcoming obstacles, and for breaking through the glass ceiling, to guide women toward top leadership roles. With women better educated, and with more jobs skills and experience than ever before, the author provides a blueprint for women to be their best authentic selves in their careers. Charlotte Beers teaches women how to inspire, influence, and lead others to create and fulfill their own destiny.



Charlotte Beers (photo left) points out that even though women comprise over half of the workforce, they are still very underrepresented at the highest corporate leadership levels. The author understands, from the experience of thousands of women, that hard work, high educational attainment, and experience are simply not enough to enter the top leadership positions. Charlotte Beers presents an additional empowering component for women, in the form of building strong and productive relationships.

Charlotte Beers also takes some positions that run counter to conventional wisdom, that while provocative, will change the conversation and further empower women. Some of these concepts include:

* Despite advances for women, they have an even harder path to leadership than ever before
* Women possess all of the needed skills, but lack the ability to communicate those skills
* What works at home, as wife and mother, will not work in corporate leadership roles
* Women need to change how they see themselves in the workplace
* Women must change the perceptions of those around them to show their true abilities

For me, the power of the book is how Charlotte Beers combines her personal story of her rise to the summit of her profession, with empowering advice for other women to reach the top leadership roles in their companies. Charlotte Beers has no fear of making a few waves, and taking some unconventional stances, in her quest to help women achieve success. The author pulls no punches as she describes the realities of the corporate world, its demands for leaders, and how women can and should be part of the highest decision making levels.

Charlotte Beers points out how women have very often created their own barriers, and when combined with the environment in many corporate workplaces, women are often left on the outside looking in. Rather than be stopped by both the glass ceiling, and by their own self-imposed barriers, Charlotte Beers offers proven techniques and strategies for women to break down those barricades, and assume leadership positions. Throughout the book, Charlotte Beers provides quick takeaways to assist in the learning process, as women become their best authentic selves as leaders.

I highly recommend the groundbreaking and very engaging book I'd Rather Be in Charge: A Legendary Business Leader's Roadmap for Achieving Pride, Power, and Joy at Work by Charlotte Beers, to any women who are seeking a straight talking, and experience based guide to achieving top leadership roles in any organization. This book will transform a woman's career into one of leadership, inspiration, and influence.

Tags: I'd Rather Be in Charge: A Legendary Business Leader's Roadmap for Achieving Pride, Power, and Joy at Work, Charlotte Beers, women in leadership, business book reviews

Poisoned Legacy: The Human Cost of BP's Rise to Power by Mike Magner - Book review

Poisoned Legacy

The Human Cost of BP's Rise to Power

By: Mike Magner

Published: May 8, 2012
Format: Trade Paperback, 432 pages
ISBN-10: 1250007399
ISBN-13: 978-1250007391
Publisher: Picador












"Eleven men died almost immediately in the horrific explosion that the blowout caused on the Deepwater Horizon, the giat rig that BP was leasing to drill its well a mile below the surface of the ocean; eleven families, including a number of very young children, had their lived irrevocably altered by the loss of their loved ones", writes Managing Editor at the National Journal, Mike Magner, in his powerful and thought provoking book Poisoned Legacy: The Human Cost of BP's Rise to Power. The author describes how BP (British Petroleum) failed to live up to its promises as both an environmentally conscious and a safety oriented company, resulting in the catastrophic explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, and other previous environmental disasters as well.

Mike Magner recognizes the importance of the petroleum industry to both the American economy and the nation's way of life. Because of this dependence on oil and gas, the author considers it crucial that the general public fully understand how petroleum is produced, and how the environment is affected by the industry and its participants. Mike Magner raises awareness of what can go horribly wrong if care and responsibility are not taken in the production, transport, and refining of this crucial resource. The author focuses his attention on the green message put out by BP, and the original intention of being an environmentally friendly company.



Mike Magner (photo left) provides an unsettling narrative of how that green promise turned into a tragic tale of irresponsible actions, cost cutting, and alleged negligence on the part of BP. The author describes how BP was rebranding its corporate image as one of being a green company, while at the same time attempting to cover up environmental disasters. Mike Magner provides evidence that this cost cutting and negligent behavior, on the part of BP and its management, formed a pattern of how the corporation managed its business. The author also points out that there was indeed a time in BP's history, as recently as a decade ago, when the company was taking care of the environment.

Over the next few years, however, that green concern was put aside in an effort to boost short term profits. The result of this cost cutting activity, according to the author, was a disastrous leak in an Alaskan pipeline due to a lack of maintenance, of which BP was found guilty; a refinery explosion in Texas that claimed the lives of fifteen employees;and eventually the massive and widespread Deepwater Horizon explosion. The author offers further evidence, from government boards and regulators, that all of these disasters could have been prevented, but instead BP chose to save time and to cut corners on safety regulations and standards.

For me, the power of the book is how Mike Magner provides comprehensive and fully documented analysis, of how the behavior of a multinational corporation had a widespread effect on people, communities, entire countries, and even the planet. The author provides an insightful description of the flawed business culture, and shortsighted decision making, that led to the catastrophes outlined in the book. The impact of those disasters affected not only the BP employees who tragically lost their lives, but they also had a direct effect on the lives of people in the area as well. The environmental damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon explosion has devastated the fishing and tourism industries of the Gulf region. The result has been a weakened economy, and a severe environmental problem that will last for decades.

Mike Magner sounds an important alarm that cost cutting to cut corners on regulations and standards, in the name of short term profits, led directly to environmental disasters and loss of life. The lesson for other companies, as well as for BP, is that not only following but exceeding the regulations, is a sound financial as well as environmental practice. Ethical and environmentally sound business is good business, and that the human, environmental, and economic price is simply too high for negligence and irresponsible business decisions.

I highly recommend the seminal and important investigative journalism based book Poisoned Legacy: The Human Cost of BP's Rise to Power by Mike Magner, to anyone in business leadership, public policy, the environmental movement, or the general public who seeks an in depth and unflinching case study of the high cost of corporate negligence. This book is a call to all people that human life and the world in which we live are more important than short term profits. Indeed, the pursuit of those immediate gains results in long term pain for everyone involved, both within and outside of the company.

Tags: Poisoned Legacy: The Human Cost of BP's Rise to Power, Mike Magner, business and the environment, business book reviews

College: What It Was, Is, And Should Be by Andrew Deblanco - Book review

College

What it Was, Is, and Should Be

By: Andrew Delbanco, Ph.D.

Published: March 20, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 240 pages
ISBN-10: 0691130736
ISBN-13: 978-0691130736
Publisher: Princeton University Press














"And so it is my unabashed aim in this book to articulate what a college - any college - should seek to do for its students", writes Director of American Studies at Columbia University and Columbia's Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities, Andrew Delbanco, Ph.D., in his visionary and engaging book College: What it Was, Is, and Should Be. The author examines the historical development of the American university, how higher education is perceived today, and the role of universities in the future.

Andrew Delbanco recognizes that universities in America represent a very diverse collection of institutions of higher learning. At the same time, however, this wide range of colleges and universities are facing an unprecedented level of outside pressures. One of the external forces is that of commercialization, and the transformation of the university student experience into the narrow pursuit of professional credentials. For Andrew Delbanco, this shrinking of the role of the university represents a danger of students and faculty losing a unique time of self discovery and and sharing of new ideas. The author defends the value of the traditional liberal arts education as important for all students, from all social backgrounds and income levels.



Andrew Delbanco (photo left) sees that unique exploration becoming the province of wealthy students, with less privileged students being denied the benefits of the humanities for gaining wisdom and personal development. Andrew Delbanco defends what he considers the role of higher education in personal growth, exploring individual passions, and for discovering and testing new ideas and fresh ways of thinking.

The author takes the reader on a guided tour of how higher education developed in America. Beginning with the Puritan gathered church concept, Andrew Delbanco describes the challenges faced by colleges in the nineteenth century as the new research universities rose to prominence, and moves to the twentieth century issues of lower income, gender and minority diversity that altered the composition of the student body.

Faced with today's landscape of globalization, technology, science, and financial problems, the author demonstrates the value of the humanities for instilling wisdom, ethics, and a search for ideas. The author shares his five interconnected qualities that should flow from higher education. They are as follows:

* Skeptical discontent with the present, tempered with a sense of the past
* Making connections between seemingly very different phenomena
* Appreciation of the natural world through science and the arts
* Willingness to see issues from the perspective of others
* A sense of ethical responsibility

For me, the power of the book s how Andrew Delbanco goes far beyond simply building a case for the humanities in higher learning, but shows the reader their true value and importance. The author points out that, because the universities and colleges are finding their scope narrowed to that of professional credential providers, much of the traditional benefit of education is being lost. For the author, the humanities are becoming the sole province of students from higher income groups, leaving their value out of reach for lower income students.

Andrew Delbanco points out that universities and colleges face real challenges in the modern globalized economy, but that higher education has faced many challenges in the past. In each case, the institutions have evolved and adapted to overcome the obstacles in their path. The author offers a vision for just such an evolution to guide humanistic education through the current crises, and to regain its status as the fount of wisdom and self knowledge that has been its hallmark throughout American history.

I highly recommend the landmark and thought provoking book College: What it Was, Is, and Should Be by Andrew Delbanco, Ph.D., to anyone within or outside of the halls of higher learning who seeks a visionary approach to university and college education that goes beyond the usual prescriptions and mounting cynicism found in many studies. This book will transform the way you think about the humanities, and their timeless and crucial role in the very purpose and nature of higher education.

Tags: College: What it Was, Is, and Should Be, Andrew Delbanco, Ph.D., humanities and higher education, education book reviews