Book Description
Meet Fred.
In his powerful new book THE FRED FACTOR, motivational speaker Mark Sanborn recounts the true story of Fred, the mail carrier who passionately loves his job and who genuinely cares about the people he serves. Because of that, he is constantly going the extra mile handling the mail – and sometimes watching over the houses – of the people on his route, treating everyone he meets as a friend. Where others might see delivering mail as monotonous drudgery, Fred sees an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those he serves.
We’ve all encountered people like Fred in our lives. In THE FRED FACTOR, Mark Sanborn illuminates the simple steps each of us can take to transform our own lives from the ordinary – into the extraordinary. Sanborn, through stories about Fred and others like him, reveals the four basic principles that will help us bring fresh energy and creativity to our life and work: how to make a real difference everyday, how to become more successful by building strong relationships, how to create real value for others without spending a penny, and how to constantly reinvent yourself.
By following these principles, and by learning from and teaching other “Freds,” you, too, can excel in your career and make your life extraodinary. As Mark Sanborn makes clear, each of us has the potential be a Fred.THE FRED FACTOR shows you how.
Customer Reviews:
Let's be more like Fred.......2007-09-14
The Fred Factor
The Fred Factor is a rather small book that gives the details on how someone can, by its own motivation, get the extraordinary out of something rather common. The book gives an explanation of how the behaviour of someone can change when and if they commit to it. Some of the topics in the book are rather obious, but re-reading them every once and a while makes one reflect again on how we sometimes can go the extra mile and make a huge different.
We all have values. This book is about making sure that we don't forget about these values when we are doing our job. Let's all care and have a little Fred in us..
This book is worth the reading.
Koen
(review first posted on my blog on http://koen.blanquart.be/blog/item/99/ )
Fred Factor.......2007-09-10
Buying new from Amazon is almost always the best way to go. As a school secretary having them delivered to our door is always a plus. You are quick and accurate. As a college student I like to buy used and you take your chances doing this. BUT if you review who you are buying from FIRST you should have no problems. I have greatly appreciated the deals that I have gotten thru Amazon.
Choosing to Make a Difference is Leadership.......2007-08-28
Every day, in every individual interaction, we have a choice; a choice to make the interaction transactional or relational. That choice will make all the difference in the world to the quality of our lives.
In "The Fred Factor", motivational speaker Mark Sanborn tells the very real story of his postal delivery person, Fred - and how he gave definition to his job as a `service provider' by making mail delivery a relational interaction. Sanborn says that Fred exemplified 4 principles: Everyone Makes a Difference; Success is Built on Relationships; You Must Continually Create Value for Others and It Doesn't Have to Cost a Penny; You Can Reinvent Yourself Regularly. All very real and very useful principles, but perhaps the most valuable principle in this story and the other examples in the book is the principle of choice: Everyone has the choice to be a Leader, by making a difference in the lives of others. This book is highly recommended as a gift for those who say, "Why bother?"
Learn to be a Fred.......2007-08-23
This is a pass it forward book. I am a Fred and I have helped others find the Fred in them. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it for everyone who is tired of seeing grumps in the office or in their home and wants to make a change. One person can make a difference if that peoson is a Fred.
Inspirational.......2007-07-27
I own a small business with 20 employees and this book was recommended for "homeplay" for our new staff. I loved this book not only for the inspiration it gave me in the workplace, but the inspiration it also gave me when I am not at work. It is amazing, the small things we can do that have such an impact on others (and also ourselves). I look forward to the presentations our new staff will give me and the management team on this book. Great read!
Average customer rating:
- Not bad- could have been better.
- This is a dark, intense and extremely passionate Victorian romance about marriage and overcoming heartache.
- A more perfect Heathcliffe
- The Secret Passion
- Nice chemistry
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The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell
Samantha James
Manufacturer: Avon
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Her Only Desire: A Novel
ASIN: 0060896450
Release Date: 2007-03-27 |
Book Description
A cruel twist of fate changed Simon Blackwell's life irreparably. A man of intense passions, he resolved to deny his emotions and desires forever, taking refuge in the wilds of the moorlands and shutting himself off from the world. But on one extraordinary night, on a rare trip to London, the unthinkable occurs. An intoxicatingly beautiful stranger stirs the sensuous hunger he has sworn to resist. Simon Blackwell believed that no woman could tempt him.
No woman . . . save Annabel McBride.
Annabel knows nothing of Simon's secret pain. But one irresistible kiss plunges her into marriage with a man she scarcely knows, a man who hides a shattered past. She can feel the blistering heat of the fire that smolders within this exquisitely handsome man, making her yearn for much more than the union in name only he has promised her.
But Simon dares not love again—for fragile love can be lost in an instant. And now Annabel must find a way to open his heart to the most glorious risk of all . . .
Customer Reviews:
Not bad- could have been better........2007-08-15
I'm not going to give a synopsis here but I will say, Secret Passions pretty much fit the bill for what I had been looking for- a good ol' fashioned historical romance novel.
As a whole, I liked the story. Still, I felt like it seemed to be missing ... something. Something bogged the novel down. Some have suggested that Simon's secret took too long to reveal. My feeling was more that it took too long for Simon to give in to his attraction to Anne. Believe me I love sexual tension being drawn out as much as the next person, but it didn't work for this one. It's a fine line but the author missed it here by over shooting the mark.
My other slight annoyance with the book was the feeling that the author ripped off scenarios. At one point I was like- "oh that's totally Jane Austen" and the next, "I saw that in Beauty and the Beast". Now don't get me wrong, A little Pride and Prejudice never hurt any novel, but I felt like she was ripping the dialog more often than not, which is more heinous to me than ripping the plot.
Anyway, all and all a not bad read, but one that had the potential to be a better read I think.
This is a dark, intense and extremely passionate Victorian romance about marriage and overcoming heartache. .......2007-08-08
After rescuing the nephew of Lady Annabel McBride, Simon Blackwell is thrust into her company slightly too often for her liking. Is she the only one who can see what a dour, humourless man he is? Apparently so. Which makes her attraction to him all the more inexplicable, and when she's caught locked in a passionate embrace by her arch enemy then her life as she knows it takes a sudden, unhappy turn. Married to a man she's not even sure she likes and taken away from her family and everything she knows, she finds herself half of a union with no seeming chance for success and a husband determined to avoid her. Simon has experienced personal tragedy and knows that no good can come of growing closer to the fascinating woman. For the first time in years he is starting to feel and does everything in his power to bury any remnant of emotion deep within. Annabel begins to realize that her husband is hiding a devastating secret and that he's not as devoid of life and passion as he likes to appear and determined to make this strange marriage work sets out to prove to Simon that they have a chance at a happy future. It's great to see no extraneous distractions and just an intriguing look at this relationship about a man struggling to survive his past and a woman fighting for her future. Beautiful!!
A more perfect Heathcliffe.......2007-07-27
4 1/2 stars, actually. I really liked this book, but didn't love it.
I actually think Simon had two passions. An old passion [his love for books] is replaced by a new passion [passion for his new wife]. Although Simon never comes out and says he blames his old passion for the tragedy occurred, I think it's why he's so afraid to give into his new passion for his wife and fights so hard from succumbing to his feelings for her.
Most of the story takes place on the Yorkshire moors where storms are deadly. It adds a dark and menacing feel to the story as the danger of history repeating itself is a present danger whenever the bad weather rears its ugly head. The weather is part of what haunts Simon, as well.
I enjoyed reading all of Simon's journal entries as it showed what was going through his mind. While it's a very dark and brooding story, it never gets as dark and brooding as Wuthering Heights and it has a happier ending than Wuthering Heights did. Annabel is the force that brings light into the dark and lonely world Simon has been living in, unlike Heathcliffe and Catherine who seemed to bring out a mutual darkness in each other.
Ultimately it's a novel of finding a way to forgive ourself for the mistakes that we all make as human beings and allowing ourself to find happiness again, despite the fact our guilt makes us feel we don't deserve to ever know happiness again.
Simon Blackwell is a great hero.
The Secret Passion .......2007-07-24
Simon Blackwell has endured a lifetime of tragedy and leads a solitary existence in the country. Taking a rare trip to London, Simon crosses paths with Annabel McBride. Unable to resist her allure, Simon and Annabel, 'Anne,' are found in a compromising situation.
Anne finds Simon irritatingly attractive. He's rude, bossy and irresistible. Anne doesn't know about Simon's tragic past and is confused by the mixed signals he's sending her. She can sense that he wants her but he refuses to take her. Anne wants more from Simon than an in name only marriage. She wants his passion. She wants his heart. But does Simon have a heart left to give?
Historical romance fans take note, do not miss this sensual first book in what promises to be a delicious new Samantha James trilogy. The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart.
I must admit that I now have a secret passion FOR Simon Blackwell. A man that loves with his whole heart just rings my bell. Simon's love for Anne and hers for him was just heart warming.
The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell is not to be missed!
Annmarie reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
Nice chemistry.......2007-07-18
I enjoyed reading the story of Anne and Simon's marriage based on one scandalous kiss. I like that they got caught right away and forced into marriage. So often that doesn't happen in Regencies. I did like the characters in general, though their inner monologues started repeating about halfway through the book. It got just a bit old. Overall, an enjoyable read with a lot of really nice chemistry between the characters.
Book Description
Introducing the life you’d gladly stand in line for
You don’t stand in line at Starbucks
® just to buy a cup of coffee. You stop for the experience surrounding the cup of coffee.
Too many of us line up for God out of duty or guilt. We completely miss the warmth and richness of the experience of living with God. If we’d learn to see what God is doing on earth, we could participate fully in the irresistible life that he offers.
You can learn to pay attention like never before, to identify where God is already in business right in your neighborhood. The doors are open and the coffee is brewing. God is serving the refreshing antidote to the unsatisfying, arms-length spiritual life–and he won’t even make you stand in line.
Let Leonard Sweet show you how the passion that Starbucks
® has for creating an irresistible experience can connect you with God’s stirring introduction to the experience of faith.
Customer Reviews:
The Church According to Starbucks.......2007-07-17
Leonard Sweet is the E. Stanley Jones professor of evangelism at Drew Theological School in Madison, New Jersey. In this book, he attempts to exegete culture by using the medieval methods of literal, allegorical, tropological, and analogical. To do that, he uses the example of Starbucks, the twentieth century success story and compares it to the failure of the contemporary church (which by implication is a failure).
Starbucks, by the marvels of modern branding, marketing and giving people the illusion of what they needs, makes people willing to pay top dollars for a simple cup of coffee. Why are people willing to pay so much? Sweet answers, "They pay so they can enjoy the Starbucks experience. The value comes with the experience that surrounds the cup of coffee. Starbucks lovers connect with the warmth of friends as they enjoy the warmth of their favourite drink." (p.4)
Starbucks attains this success by giving people the Starbuck experience. Sweet postulates that the church can be revived by giving her members a similar experience, which he terms E.P.I.C. spirituality. EPIC is the acronyms for
Experience
Participatory
Image-rich
Connecting
Starbucks offers EPIC is the experience drinking coffee in the ambience of a Starbuck outlet, participatory in the choosing of the variety of offerings, image-rich branding of Starbucks especially the coffee cup, and connection as friends meet over coffee and connect in a community.
The EPIC church will be experiencing God rather than the knowledge of Him, get "fully immersed in what God is doing," using images as "God speaks in more than just words," and reconstructing "life's four bad connection: our broken relationship with God, others, self, and creation."
The EPIC church is about experiences, and feelings. However I wonder if by using Starbucks as an example for comparison, Sweet is not bringing the church to the level of Starbucks. Starbucks is a phenomenon success because it caters to the culture of the age. Is Sweet suggesting that the church should also caters to the culture of this age? This is the culture which values experiences, existential existence, secular individualism, and materialism.
Sweet writes,
Rational faith-the form of Christianity that relies on argument, logic, and apologetics to defend its rightness-has failed miserably in meeting people where they live. Intellectual arguments over doctrine and theology are fine for divinity school, but they lose impact at the level of daily life experience. Starbucks knows that people lives for engagement, connection, symbols, and meaningful experiences. (p.5)
Because rational faith seems to have failed, there is no reason to throw out the baby with the bath water. What Starbucks offers is a superficial experience. It disappears as soon as we finish our cuppa and leaves the store. Church offers a real experience, one that transcends culture. Engagement, connection, symbols, and meaning experiences can only be lasting if it is grounded in the revelation of God. And that is rational faith. Without rational faith, it will become a free for all religiosity.
Sweet is right to point out the church has fossiled in some of her activities. However, we must be careful that to differentiate that the church is not Starbucks. Church is not a place where people who are severely addicted to caffeine go for their `pick me up.' Church is a place where people who are severely addicted to Jesus Christ go to become a community of faith.
Jehovah Java!
DO YOU CRAVE AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES?.......2007-07-12
'the Jesus example of meaning and passion over duty and obligation moves people' & I also love when Len says 'coffee is a sensory drink...' (chapeter 1) are you a coffee evangelist? 'the EPIC life is organic and unscripted' are you and extreme follower of the Christ? this book is like having a 1:1 conversation with one of the most brilliant minds of our times. how good to be reminded that god calls us 'friends' and wants to connect with us- and guys, THIS IS REAL STUFF. if you like the status quo of your being this book is not for you...on the other hand if deep inside you know YOU ARE AN EXTREME SPIRITUAL PLAYER- then DIVE! into this book and let's join in the revolution started by 13 men + their friends, 2000 years ago or so...
other favorites:SoulSalsaAquaChurch: Essential Leadership Arts for Piloting Your Church in Today's Fluid Culture
Gospel According to Starbucks.......2007-07-09
This is one great book on congregational development. My entire church board is reading it and we will be using it as a guide for the upcoming year. I've been preaching E.P.I.C. for the last three weeks and people--in the pews are taking notes!
Love Starbucks and the Gospel?.......2007-07-07
For everyone who loves Starbucks and the gospel, this book is for you. Actually it could be for you even if you just love Starbucks. Quick read on what essentially the church can learn from Starbucks.
Captures the contextual intelligence that Christians can gain from studying the Starbucks way of doing business.......2007-06-06
A while back I stood on a street corner in a major U.S. city and counted five Starbucks stores within my limited range of vision. I wondered what on earth they were thinking; weren't they concerned all these stores would cannibalize each other? Well, no, they weren't concerned at all, and their reasoning sheds light on the company's phenomenal success --- and what the church can learn from the Starbucks knack for engaging the culture and transforming it in the process. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO STARBUCKS offers a delightful romp through the world of a company that changed the way we take our cup o' joe. And along the way, the book offers a wealth of insights that will help the church engage the culture --- and maybe, just maybe, help transform it, changing the way people relate to God and express their faith.
But first, to the author. If Leonard Sweet's contribution to the literature of the church was limited to his academic, theological works on postmodernism, that would be enough to earn our gratitude. The fact that he also remembers the masses makes his writing a doubly valuable asset. This is one of his books for the masses, and for reasons I can't quite pinpoint, it's one of his best of that kind. Maybe it's the fascinating tidbits about Starbucks's history and corporate culture that pepper the book; maybe it's the oh-so-familiar behavior of caffeine-addicted consumers like me; maybe it's the dots he connects between extreme sports and karaoke and reality TV and a chain of coffee houses. Whatever it is, he brews up a whole lot of fun and pours out his best blend of information, insights, wisdom and casual writing style.
To help us "get" the Starbucks culture, Sweet uses the acronym EPIC: experiential, participatory, image-rich and connective. If you've ever entered a Starbucks store (forgetting for a moment the kiosks in airports and other locations), you know what Sweet means. At Starbucks, you're not buying a cup of coffee; you're immersing yourself in a cultural Experience. You're not settling for the ordinary; you're "living with a grande passion," as the subtitle reveals. Unlike fast-food franchises, Starbucks encourages you to Participate by allowing you to create your own customized beverage from something like 55,000 potential combinations; you can truly "have it your way" there. (Just imagine asking for a medium-well burger at Burger King.) Every Starbucks store is rich in Images, much more like a medieval cathedral than the gymnasiums that are home to so many of our worship services.
Perhaps most importantly --- at least for me --- Starbucks offers a Connection with others. I love this quote from the book: "In a culture without a front porch, in a culture where we built up the backs of our houses with decks and walls, not the fronts of our houses where we might connect with a passing neighbor; in a world where we invested in privacy over hospitality, Starbucks spoke these words: 'We'll be your front porch. Hang out here.'" The message to the church, found in all four EPIC words, is obvious: we need to provide a deeper spiritual experience, greater opportunity for participation, powerful images that tell the story of God, and a welcoming atmosphere that encourages genuine connection with others. I suspect the aroma of freshly brewed coffee couldn't hurt.
As in nearly all of his books, Sweet reminds us that faith as an authentic lifestyle is often missed when "right-thinking" --- and overthinking --- crowns reason as the master over our lives. Granting that level of power to "reason" has robbed us of a "grande gospel, frappuccino faith, venti life of romance and passion," he writes. "Starbucks took an old, unexciting standby --- hot, dark liquid in a cup --- and made it an EPIC beverage that millions of people feel they can't live without. That, in a very few words, captures the contextual intelligence that Christians can gain from studying the Starbucks way of doing business."
--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford
Book Description
I believe we were put on this earth to enjoy lives of joy and abundance, and that is what I want for you and for me. It's not my intention to give people advice on how to solve their problems (I leave that to my husband). But I've had my share of struggles over the years, and I know a thing or two about what has worked for me. I have chosen to be an active participant in my life rather than a spectator, and in so doing I have chosen how to be a woman, how to be a wife, and how to be a mother in ways that are uniquely my own. I offer the stories of these choices as evidence of the power of sheer determination, will, and faith in God.
You've seen her on television with her husband, Dr. Phil. But now it's time for a heart-to-heart conversation with Robin McGraw. In
Inside My Heart, Robin speaks woman to woman, inspiring you to embrace and celebrate the many roles you play and encouraging you to make deliberate choices that lead to a richer, happier, and more meaningful life.
She shares with you the life-changing moments of her childhood years, dating and marrying Dr. Phil McGraw, raising two sons, and asserting herself as a woman in a man's world to show you that you have the power to make choices in your life. In fact, she's convinced that you must choose to go after the life you want.
With a deep and abiding faith in God, Robin McGraw shares her story so you too can make choices that reflect your own heart's truest priorities and highest goals.
Customer Reviews:
too preachy.......2007-10-18
The book was somewhat interesting because of who she is. I don't think that it was well written. It was too preachy for my taste.
Heartfelt.......2007-10-17
I have read this book more than once and have shared it with a number of my friends.
Nicely done........2007-10-11
I found this book to be very tasteful and inspirational. Most women can relate to Robin at least in some ways and she writes as if you are having a chat with her. I think her underlying theme sends a good positive message. I enjoyed reading it. Thanks Robin for a nice positive book.
Great book for every single and married women.......2007-10-07
Am half through this book, but yet I have found it very engaging in the way she shared her journey in life. I flipped and read briefly in the bookshop and decided to buy it before reading reviews in Amazon. I read negative comments and/or critics about the book structure, repeated messages she kept saying from the first chapter. But I disagreed with all these, this book is NOT a self help book, the topic is about choices she made in her life to become a person she is now. She didn't say it's the best choice for everyone but she showed how she got to that choice. It's not about a journal of her roles as a wife of a fairly famous person, but she shared with the reader many revealing moments in her life, either funny, sad and heartbreaking stories when she discovered a choice she believed and stick to it. I've been away from my parents' house since my twenties and after 10 years living far away from them and my siblings, I felt so close with the way I tried to live my life the best I can the way she did ((well not all the time sometimes). What I meant is to reflect every struggle in life as a lesson and how to react to it. I've been living fairly secured with my parents, afterwards living without pennies as a student, be in the lowest point in spirit and then joined this company where I have lived to the extent I've never ever imagined before but still deep inside I hold to the values I believe and those are values I carried from home till now. I truly believe her saying she hasn't changed much in terms of values from her childhood up to this point where she could write a book. As a single woman, I also found her comments on how she managed the relationships with Philips very helpful to understand and some even renew my own belief to see the thin line between loving other person and loving myself, when to hold it or just let it go. This is a great book for women who determine to keep looking for better choices in lives, in good and bad times. For some who just want to take easy road to feel as victims in life, then there would be a major work to see Robin's points.
Disappointed.......2007-10-04
AS much as I wanted to, I just couldn't get into this book...extremely repetitive....I was unable to continue reading...
Customer Reviews:
Why some companies seem to have a devoted customer base..........2007-06-20
There's a difference when you fly Southwest vs. United. You feel different shopping at Costco than you feel shopping at Wal-mart. Why? That question is explored and answered in the book Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose by Raj Sisodia, Jag Sheth, and David B. Wolfe. This is one of those books that will cause you to think about why you feel as you do towards certain companies, and how those feelings translate into real profits.
Contents: A Whole New World; It's Not Share of Wallet Anymore - It's Share of Heart; New Age, New Rules, New Capitalism; The Chaotic Interregnum; Employees - The Decline and Fall of Human Resources; Customers - The Power of Love; Investors - Reaping What FoEs Sow; Partners - Elegant Harmonies; Society - The Ultimate Stakeholder; Culture - The Secret Ingredient; Lessons Learned; Crossing Over to the Other Side; Acknowledgements
On Wall Street, companies are usually judged on their profit. Squeeze as much out of your business as you can, cut costs wherever possible, and make sure you meet your numbers. To be sure, plenty of companies are successful under those rules (such as Wal-mart). But when you look at their performance over the last few years on the stock market, returns have been stagnant or have trailed the field. The alternative way to run a business is as a "firm of endearment" (FoE). These companies have a passion for what they do/sell, they have a strongly defined purpose for what they want to accomplish, and they look to contribute to society in more ways than just the quarterly dividend to shareholders. These FoEs, like Costco, Whole Foods, Harley-Davidson, and others, include stakeholders to mean all parts of society that they touch... shareholders, employees, the community, etc. The focus isn't on pure profit, but instead on contributing to the well-being of all the stakeholders. That's why a company like Costco can afford to pay their employees a living wage, have low turnover, and *still* turn a substantial profit. They have captured the hearts of their customer base, and that base will go out of their way to shop at Costco whenever possible. That's also why a company like Ikea can propose a new location and have nearly universal acceptance in the community, while a new Wal-mart location brings out protesters in force. There's obviously a lot more that differentiates FoEs from their counterparts in the marketplace, but once you recognize an FoE, you'll understand why they are successful by *not* following the same formula as everyone else.
It's tempting to think that all the FoEs covered in this book can do no wrong. That's not the case. JetBlue was/is an FoE that badly damaged their reputation during the winter when storms caused massive cancellations. It even led to the resignation of the CEO. Like other business books of this genre (In Search Of Excellence, From Good To Great), only time will tell how these companies will fare over the long term. It may well be that a decade from now, the stars of this book will have all fallen to the wayside. But I would venture to guess that the companies covered here will have a much larger margin of forgiveness than would other companies that are just focused on the next quarter...
This is a book that is highly recommended for anyone running a business. It should cause you to rethink the factors of success for your company, as well as point you in directions that could lead you to become an FoE in your niche.
Why "endearing companies tend to be enduring companies".......2007-05-16
In the Prologue, when discussing The Age of Transcendence through which the contemporary business world is now proceeding, the co-authors (Rajendra S. Sisodia, David B. Wolfe, and Jagdish N. Sheth) suggest that it is "a cultural movement in which physical (materialistic) influences that dominated culture in the twentieth-century are ebbing while metaphysical (experiential) influences become stronger. This is helping to drive a shift in the foundations of culture from an objective base to a subjective base: People are increasingly relying on their own counsel to decide what the truth is...That shift acknowledges a long-suppressed idea in a world largely guided by Newtonian certainty that chemistry Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine says is scattering to the winds: Ultimately, everything is personal."
Thus do the authors establish a frame-of-reference for the thesis of their book: That each stakeholder in an organization tends to thrive best when all stakeholders thrive. That is, no stakeholder group is more important than any other. "It is disciplined dedication to the well-being of all stakeholders that separates firms of endearment from their competition." Stakeholder relationship management (SRM), the authors suggest, can achieve and then sustain superior business performance that, in turn, will create n a decisive competitive advantage. They are convinced that SRM business models will increasingly be seen "as the most efficacious way to achieve sustained superior business performance in years to come" but only if (huge "if") the interests of all stakeholder groups are brought into strategic alignment.
Two Questions: Are all stakeholder groups of equal importance and do they have the same interests? Also, are all members of a stakeholder group (e.g. shareholders) of equal importance and do they have the same interests? These questions occurred to me as I read the first chapter, especially the brief discussion of the "distinctive" core values, policies, and attributes that firms of endearment (FoEs) share in common. Eventually, Sisodia, Wolfe, and Sheth provide answers to these questions, answers best revealed within the narrative.
If indeed "endearing companies tend to be enduring companies," how do the 28 FoEs that "made the final cut" for this book compare with the 11 companies praised by Jim Collins in Good to Great? "Over a 10-year horizon, FoEs outperformed the Good to Great companies by 1,026 percent to 331 percent (a 3.1-to-1 ratio). Over five years, FoEs outperformed the Good to Great companies by 128 percent to 77 percent (a 1.7-to-1 ratio). Over three years, FoEs performed on par the Good to Great companies: 73 percent to 75 percent." (FYI, there are no duplicates on the two lists.) As with the exemplary companies discussed by Thomas J. Peters in Robert H. Waterman, Jr. in In Search of Excellence, not all companies on any such list continue to meet the criteria that were the basis of their initial selection.
For me, some of the most interesting material is presented in Chapter 11, "Crossing Over to the Other Side." At one point, the authors cite Oliver Wendell Holmes's observation "I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity." They then quote one of my favorite passages in James O'Toole's The Executive's Compass:
"To move beyond the confusion of complexity, executives must abandon their constant search for the immediately practice and, paradoxically, seek to understand the underlying ideas and values that have shaped the world they work in. Managers who clamor for how-to instruction are, by definition, stuck on the near side of complexity."
According to Sisodia, Wolfe, and Sheth, the big challenge of the times is to transcend the zero-sum mindset because, given the profusion of new opportunities, absolutes (by nature limiting) are found everywhere on the near side of complexity. "They emerge from people's perennial quest for pat solutions, or `silver bullets,' as they are sometimes described. This is a key point because, as Sisodia, Wolfe, and Sheth explain, a zero sum mindset leads to the conclusion that one stakeholder group can only benefit at the expense of the other stakeholder groups...However, opportunities increase by an order of magnitude when the mind breaks free of zero-sum thinking."
There are specific reasons why endearing companies tend to be enduring companies and one of the most important is their having "the ability to transcend ruthless competition and embrace the fruits of cooperation [which is] the essence of evolved humanness."
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Bill George's Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value and his later book, True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership, co-authored with Peter Sims. Also Michael Ray's The Highest Goal, Adrian J. Slywotzky's The Upside: The 7 Strategies for Turning Big Threats into Growth Breakthroughs, Enterprise Architecture As Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution by Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, and David Robertson as well as Ram Charan's Know-How: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don't, Lynda Gratton's Hot Spots: Why Some Teams, Workplaces, and Organizations Buzz with Energy - And Others Don't, Robert J. Herbold's Seduced by Success: How the Best Companies Survive the 9 Traps of Winning, Jack Alexander's Performance Dashboards and Analysis for Value Creation, and Michael Useem's The Go Point: When It's Time to Decide--Knowing What to Do and When to Do It.
Excellent description of a service oriented business model.......2007-05-16
This book identifies a batch of companies that have oriented their business model to providing a superior feeling in the minds of their customers. In many cases I absolutely agree with them.
Wegman's supermarkets for instance presents an excellent shopping experience. I particularly love their cheese department where knowledge people stand ready to discuss their magnificant array of choices and even to giving you samples to taste seemingly without end or sales pressure. In turn I buy far more cheeses than I would otherwise. We both win.
But then they turn to Wal-Mart and repeat a litany of alleged problems with employees, suppliers, and communities. My own experience with Wal-Mart is limited to one store in the small town where I live. But my experience doesn't match the alleged problems. I go there, the people, from the greeter at the door to the most junor sales clerk are friendly and willing to walk halfway across the store to help me find something. I talk to people who work there (away from the store) and they universally say that it is the best job they've ever had. Does the Wal-Mart experience depend on the store? Are the alledged problems just that, allegations? And for that matter, does every Wegman's have such an excellent cheese department? And what about Microsoft? Everyone (nearly) uses their products and most people hate the company. What does this say about their future? I guess we'll just have to watch and see.
This is a book that describes one way of doing business that has worked for a lot of companies. It provides a good insight into what these companies do.
Impressive Examples of Serving the Full Gamut of Stakeholders.......2007-05-08
What is a Firm of Endearment? The authors argue that their example companies share a common set of core values, policies, and operating attributes which include:
1. aligning the interests of all stakeholder groups (customers, employees, partners, investors, and society) rather than seeking profit optimization
2. below-average executive compensation
3. open-door policies
4. employee compensation and benefits are above average for their industry
5. above-average employee training
6. empower employees to satisfy customers
7. hire employees who are passionate about the company's purpose
8. humanize customer and employee experiences
9. enjoy below-average marketing costs
10. honor the spirit as well as the letter of laws
11. focus on corporate culture as a competitive advantage
12. are often innovative in their industries
Companies identified include extensive examples drawn from Commerce Bank, Container Store, Costco, Harley-Davidson, Honda, IDEO, IKEA, jetBlue, Johnson & Johnson, Jordan's Furniture, New Balance, Patagonia, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, Timberland, Toyota, Trader Joe's, UPS, Wegmans, and Whole Foods.
These companies are often contrasted with Wal-Mart and the Good to Great Companies identified by Jim Collins in 2001 in terms of stock price growth.
The authors argue that there is a new level of consciousness emerging that rewards those who do good while doing well. The implication is that all firms should shift to stakeholder optimization and the cultural values identified in the example companies.
While they don't make this argument, it's clear that the authors have identified many of the mindsets that lead a company to seek optimizing results for all stakeholders.
Before you assume total cause and effect, I would like to raise some issues not fully addressed in the book:
1. This is an after-the-fact evaluation. As such, (like Good to Great), we may mostly be seeing what the leaders are proud of . . . rather than what caused their success. For example, Southwest's success is focused on their corporate culture. But the company also has a better business model than almost any other airline (Ryanair's is better) and does a better job of fuel cost hedging than any other U.S. airline. Those factors aren't mentioned.
2. These companies are almost all in consumer products or services. A class of socially conscious consumers has sprung up who look hard for such firms. It's not clear that OEM and industrial buyers have evolved their preferences nearly to the same extent. So many of the lessons may only apply consumer goods and services (except for those validated by Gallup for having a motivated and effective group of people working for you).
3. Almost all of these firms are highly effective business model innovators who have gained enormous advantages over competitors who seldom innovate their business models. As a result, they can afford practices that may or may not pay off in profit without incurring any negative reaction. The next business model innovation will pay for the cost.
I was surprised that this book didn't look at the study I made from 1992-2001 that identified continuing business model innovation as the single best factor for explaining high levels of corporate performance (see The Ultimate Competitive Advantage). The books share some examples in common (including Jordan's Furniture and Timberland), but many of FoE's examples are also superior business model innovators (Amazon, BMW, CarMax, Caterpillar, Container Store, Costco, eBay, Google, Harley-Davidson, IDEO, IKEA, jetBlue, Patagonia, Starbucks, Trader Joe's, UPS, Wegmans, and Whole Food).
4. It often pays better to serve stakeholder interests than to ignore them. Why? Because ignoring stakeholders often burdens both the company and the stakeholder with costs and experiences that neither want. This economic case for stakeholder focus isn't fully developed outside of the customer arena.
5. The book emphasizes sustainability, but much of that argument is built around companies disappearing from the Fortune 500 (something that happens whenever a merger happens . . . which doesn't mean that the organization goes away, just the corporate headquarters in most cases). In the research of my students on environmental sustainability (see Hiroshi Fukushi's work, A Strategic Approach to the Environmentally Sustainable Business, for example), it's apparent that making the environment cleaner than when you touched it is economically advantaged in most situations. The idea of sustainability is based on the outmoded notion of not doing too much damage rather than finding profits in making the world better than you found it.
But it's a good book that creates more questions than it answers. This one will probably stimulate some more careful thinking in the area of where seeking to be more considerate of others is going to create better results as well as better sleep.
Sharp, New Millennium Look at Emotional Intelligence as a Quantifiable Value in Corporate America.......2007-04-16
With the tidal wave of publicity for Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and the spotlight it has given to the green movement, it seems like a ripe time to take stock of companies who are incorporating more social responsibility into their charters. Co-authors Raj Sisodia, Jag Sheth, and David B. Wolfe make a compelling case for how such thinking is not only a much-needed injection of humanism into private enterprise in this country but also the impetus for long-term success at a time when people are seeking greater meaning in their lives. Wolfe, the only non-academic of the three, ventures the furthest in delineating what he considers the art of empathy and the power of bringing soulfulness to the workplace. Such seeming intangibles have been repeatedly dismissed by those unwilling to recognize the human equation at the base of such operations.
Wolfe's bottom line is that soft skills translate into hard numbers, and he feels the days of well-known autocratic CEOs like Disney's Michael Eisner and Hewlett-Packard's Carly Fiorina are numbered if not over. The book's coy title actually refers to the model firms - Whole Foods, Harley-Davidson, Trader Joe's, Costco, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, Patagonia, IKEA and New Balance among them - who have aligned principles of emotional intelligence with shareholder value in ways that induce more loyalty among the most valued employees. The data gathered by the co-authors suggests that firms which encourage emotional intelligence are more likely to have workers who benefit from feedback and achieve more for themselves and their companies over time. Emotional intelligence manifests itself in several ways, whether it is more modest executive salaries, open-door policies, better employee benefits, better training or a stronger focus on the customer experience. Moreover, the co-authors place high value on environmentally friendly practices and social consciousness as part of a company's vision.
The emphasis on emotional intelligence represents a major paradigm shift and one that has been working in tandem with globalization in recent years. It has given birth to the stakeholder relationship management business model (SRM), which supersedes the well-established customer relationship model with its primary focus on products and profits. Reflecting a much broader vision, the SRM is more dependent on coordinating systems which help keep healthy the company's economic ecosystem, which is the basis of its growth, development and economic health. The ensuing loyalty among employees gives rise to what the co-authors term "share of heart". It's an elusive concept but one mastered by a new breed of CEOs who manage to inspire with their idealism even when short-term profitability looks bleak. Sisodia, Sheth and Wolfe provide intriguing portraits of these leaders and the unique cultures they have managed to develop over time while still delivering on their bottom lines. If anything, this eminently readable book is a testament that Machiavellian tenets need not guide companies at the expense of the people who maintain them.
Book Description
Top Jesus scholars Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan join together to reveal a radical and little-known Jesus. As both authors reacted to and responded to questions about Mel Gibson's blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, they discovered that many Christians are unclear on the details of events during the week leading up to Jesus's crucifixion.
Using the gospel of Mark as their guide, Borg and Crossan present a day-by-day account of Jesus's final week of life. They begin their story on Palm Sunday with two triumphal entries into Jerusalem. The first entry, that of Roman governor Pontius Pilate leading Roman soldiers into the city, symbolized military strength. The second heralded a new kind of moral hero who was praised by the people as he rode in on a humble donkey. The Jesus introduced by Borg and Crossan is this new moral hero, a more dangerous Jesus than the one enshrined in the church's traditional teachings.
The Last Week depicts Jesus giving up his life to protest power without justice and to condemn the rich who lack concern for the poor. In this vein, at the end of the week Jesus marches up Calvary, offering himself as a model for others to do the same when they are confronted by similar issues. Informed, challenged, and inspired, we not only meet the historical Jesus, but meet a new Jesus who engages us and invites us to follow him.
Download Description
"
Top Jesus scholars Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan join together to reveal a radical and little-known Jesus. As both authors reacted to and responded to questions about Mel Gibson's blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, they discovered that many Christians are unclear on the details of events during the week leading up to Jesus's crucifixion.
Using the gospel of Mark as their guide, Borg and Crossan present a day-by-day account of Jesus's final week of life. They begin their story on Palm Sunday with two triumphal entries into Jerusalem. The first entry, that of Roman governor Pontius Pilate leading Roman soldiers into the city, symbolized military strength. The second heralded a new kind of moral hero who was praised by the people as he rode in on a humble donkey. The Jesus introduced by Borg and Crossan is this new moral hero, a more dangerous Jesus than the one enshrined in the church's traditional teachings.
The Last Week depicts Jesus giving up his life to protest power without justice and to condemn the rich who lack concern for the poor. In this vein, at the end of the week Jesus marches up Calvary, offering himself as a model for others to do the same when they are confronted by similar issues. Informed, challenged, and inspired, we not only meet the historical Jesus, but meet a new Jesus who engages us and invites us to follow him.
"
Customer Reviews:
Not be confused with the facts..........2007-05-28
My main objection: The authors first adopt an idea and then reconstruct their story to fit that idea. I am aware that we are dealing with a popular, NOT an academic book, but still I consider that unfair, since most of us are learning from such books.The authors made several contradictions, assumptions, false statements and omissions. They contradict themselves by writing in the preface that they will use Mark's Gospel only and they present good reasons for it. However, in the subtitle it is printed: "What the Gospels REALLY Teach About Jesus'...".This contradiction allows them to use other Gospels when the authors can support their objectives. What is worse, they omit the passages in Mark which do not support their objectives. Throughout the book Pilate is described as a sovereign ruler having the Jewish hierarchy under his control. However, even from the authors' quotes taken from the Mark's Gospel the Pilate's questions to Jesus are NOT what one would expect from a supreme commander. Furthermore if Pilate were convinced about Jesus' role as a leader of an actual political insurgency, he would have executed at least some of his disciples. Among the farfetched assumptions: :"Two processions entered Jerusalem on a spring day in the year 30". However, Mark's gospel says NOTHING about this coincidence or a planned thing. Moreover, there is NO support elsewhere that it happened the same day. Among the false statements I would classify the authors' conclusion that Jesus had to be executed since he was a revolutionary, although a non violent one. It is well established truth from the other reliable historical documents that the Romans were rather tolerant occupants with regards to the religious beliefs; they even accepted Greek gods. Therefore one can assume that only violent uprisings were recognized and considered dangerous for the Romans. The itinerant rabbis proclaiming nonviolent utopias were probably taken for "religious cranks" and posed no danger to the Romans.Indeed such a view was taken by Pilate at the beggining of the trial, as recorded by all four Gospels.
In conclusion one can say that the authors by focusing on the Jewish high-priestly collaboration with Roman imperial control lead us to regard Jesus as an earthly revolutionary, although a non-violent one. This is in my view a dishonest simplification and selling Jesus short. It is well known that according to the MARXIST philosophy we were born into two certain antagonist social ranks, rich and poor and the history is progressing through this irreconcilable class struggle. However, Jesus gave us an example NOT to follow so called "history necessity", but to "die to ourselves", to be "born again" and that way to transcend that class awareness and to build the "Kingdom of God " regardless of the class, race, nationality AND religious differences.
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Useful for Bible teaching, preaching.......2007-05-13
A scholarly, but accessible treatment of the biblical account of Holy Week. Well worth it: either to read straight through, or to use it as a reference book.
A Loving account by non-believers.......2007-05-07
Two deep friends and New Testament scholars combine to review this last week of Jesus. Both have previously written extensive scholarly works clarifying their non-belief in the supernatural story of Jesus. In this work they are not challenging the main account in Mark, but adding simply written expansions of what happened. While denying the divinity of Jesus, they clearly love the man and are advocates for his intent to establish "The Kingdom" on earth--a wish for fairness and justice.
Interactive Christianity: transcendence through service and justice.......2007-04-08
"The Last Week" by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan address several problem areas in the traditional interpretations of the Passion of Jesus Christ and the events of Easter Week. Rather than seeing his teachings and purposeful orchestration of his last week as metaphor, most Christians have come to accept Jesus himself as metaphor. His suffering, death and resurrection have become a "passion" sacrifice or atonement for the failings of humankind. Crossan and Borg re-examine this metaphor. These authors describe the passion as an intensely and profoundly fundamental belief that the current, normal societal norm of political and economic dominance of government (legitimized by religious authority) be challenged and replaced. What Jesus offers in its place is human compassion and human service -- resulting in a transcendence of humanity itself. It is a solution that replaces man's kingdom and priorities with those of God and his kingdom, stressing that the work is not done by Jesus alone, but by Jesus as he inspires and transforms others to be him. As transformed, humans recognize "the dominant life of human normalcy versus the servant life of human transcendence." Focusing on Mark as the earliest and "cleanest" version (before the elaborations added by Matthew, Luke and John), Crossan and Borg stress a second theme: to quote St. Augustine, "We without God cannot, and God without us will not." The key to the mystery of Easter Week is identification of God as within humans and the acceptance of responsibility by humans to take on Jesus' role. No doubt, this is a radical interpretation and one that requires the most of our time and effort on this earth. The one drawback of the text (why it rates a four and not a five star standing) is that points made are often repeated. Perhaps, however, they need to be restated to bring full attention to them.
Jesus's last eight days.......2007-03-15
In this simple exposition written for a general audience, two leading New Testament scholars use the Gospel of Mark to explain what happened to Jesus during his final week. They use Mark because most scholars consider it the earliest of the four Gospels, the primary source for Matthew and Luke, and because when you read carefully you see that Mark details the last eight days of Holy Week, from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday. He even specifies "morning" and "evening" for three of these days:
Palm Sunday: "When they were approaching Jerusalem" (11:1)
Monday: "On the following day" (11:12)
Tuesday: "In the morning" (11:20)
Wednesday: "It was two days before the Passover" (14:1)
Maundy Thursday: "On the first day of Unleavened Bread" (14:12)
Good Friday: "As soon as it was morning" (15:1)
Holy Saturday: "The Sabbath" (15:42, 16:1)
Easter Sunday: "Very early on the first day of the week" (16:2).
Mark even describes what happened at five three-hour intervals on Good Friday (pp. ix-x). The book, then, consists of eight chapters, one for each day of Holy Week.
For Borg and Crossan the gospels are not records of straightforward historical facts remembered by the author, but stylized interpretations of the believing community. There's an element of truth in this, of course; you could say the same about nearly all written history. But I'm sometimes dubious about historical reconstructions two millennia after the events that claim to know more and to know better than the first witnesses, or that do not give compelling explanations about how and why the first recorders got things so badly wrong and yet attracted the allegiance of so many converts (who must have known they were "wrong" about the literal facts).
Borg and Crossan do a wonderful job of illuminating the religious background of first century Judaism and especially the centrality of the temple, and the cultural and political background of the Roman empire, showing how the Biblical texts and these two contexts interact. If you've read any of Borg's many books, it will come as no surprise that the authors understand the "passion" of Jesus not as a sacrifice or substitution (as it has been understood by much if not most of Christendom), but as an incarnation of God's justice which subverts the status quo of political oppression, economic exploitation, and religious legitimation. The 2007 edition of this book has the sensational sub-title What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Final Days in Jerusalem.
Book Description
Carolyne Roehm, one of America’s leading tastemakers, trendsetters, and lifestyle experts showcases her passion for entertaining in this glorious sequel to At Home with Carolyne Roehm.
In A Passion for Parties, Carolyne Roehm presents her dazzlingly creative ideas for every kind of event, from a black-and-white dinner dance to a spring tulip celebration. Original themes, detailed decorating tips, gorgeous table settings and floral arrangements, as well as more than forty outstanding and surprisingly easy recipes–are all here to lend your next occasion the sumptuous touches that are the hallmarks of Carolyne Roehm’s style.
The book offers practical advice and inspiration and even a way to partake in these breathtakingly exquisite events, both behind the scenes and as they take place.
Whether it is an intimate Valentine’s Day in Paris or an Autumn Barn Dance for seventy, all of the events depicted here are equally splendid. Organized seasonally, the book features ideas for small gatherings (Christmas Dinner in Aspen) or big blowout events (a Fourth of July dinner with fireworks) and family festivities (a seventy-fifth birthday party, a Dickens-inspired Halloween; a children’s Christmas cookie-decorating party). Recipes include Mini Lemon Crepes Stuffed with Lobster, Chilled Zucchini Soup with Toasted Coconut, Baby Back Ribs with Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce, and Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce.
As stunning and stylish as its author, and stamped with her inimitable flair, Carolyne Roehm’s A Passion for Parties is a must for the party planner or daydreamer in us all.
Customer Reviews:
Passion for this book.......2007-09-24
Another gorgeous book by this author. Wonderful and glorious ideas! You can't go wrong with this book!
jms.......2007-09-12
I love, love, love this book! Carolynne's style is incredible and truly inspires you to want to throw a party!!!
Shallow Shallow Shallow.......2007-07-19
Seems like it was put together hurriedly without the thought that made her flower book so rich. Many of the events look contrived and uncomfortable, and sub Colin Cowie.
Plodding and pretentious.......2007-06-12
I like Carolyne Roehm, really I do......but this book is a huge disappointment.
Her Notebooks are wonderful. She writes with knowledge and affection of the turning of the seasons and the pleasures that, with a little work, are available to all of us (regardless of one's budget) in the garden and in the kitchen.....and, indeed, in the sitting room.
I also loved "At Home" and "A Passion for Flowers" and waited expectantly for this latest offering. I needn't have bothered. Too many contrived photographs of nouveaus braying at each other whilst playing dress-up in "hunting pink" (a look that should only rear its head in the English Shires) and far too much vulgar excess.....Gayfyrd Steinberg's beach house being a case in point.
I liked "Valentine's Day in Paris" and the "Fourth of July" table too........"Winter Wonderland" was pretty because it was understated but much of this book is pretentious beyond belief. Far too many "filler" snapshots of nonentities milling about, not enough text and recipes seemingly given as an afterthought. It's a shame because Carolyne Roehm has a wonderful aesthetic but the charm which was evident in her earlier books is not to be found in "A Passion for Parties".
One to have in your collection.....pretty book.......2007-05-11
I have the others of hers and this one is a pretty book but does have some black and white photos pages which is dissappointing some. The pages that are color are very nice and the info is wonderful. This is a book to have sitting on your coffee table, I will guarantee they will open it up and look through it. I hope the next one has more color photos.
Book Description
Hidden away in foggy, uncharted rain forest valleys in Northern California are the largest and tallest organisms the world has ever sustained–the coast redwood trees,
Sequoia sempervirens. Ninety-six percent of the ancient redwood forests have been destroyed by logging, but the untouched fragments that remain are among the great wonders of nature. The biggest redwoods have trunks up to thirty feet wide and can rise more than thirty-five stories above the ground, forming cathedral-like structures in the air. Until recently, redwoods were thought to be virtually impossible to ascend, and the canopy at the tops of these majestic trees was undiscovered. In The Wild Trees, Richard Preston unfolds the spellbinding story of Steve Sillett, Marie Antoine, and the tiny group of daring botanists and amateur naturalists that found a lost world above California, a world that is dangerous, hauntingly beautiful, and unexplored.
The canopy
voyagers are young–just college students when they start their quest–and they share a passion for these trees, persevering in spite of sometimes crushing personal obstacles and failings. They take big risks, they ignore common wisdom (such as the notion that there’s nothing left to discover in North America), and they even make love in hammocks stretched between branches three hundred feet in the air.
The deep redwood canopy is a vertical Eden filled with mosses, lichens, spotted salamanders, hanging gardens of ferns, and thickets of huckleberry bushes, all growing out of massive trunk systems that have fused and formed flying buttresses, sometimes carved into blackened chambers, hollowed out by fire, called “fire caves.” Thick layers of soil sitting on limbs harbor animal and plant life that is unknown to science. Humans move through the deep canopy suspended on ropes, far out of sight of the ground, knowing that the price of a small mistake can be a plunge to one’s death.
Preston’s account of this amazing world, by turns terrifying, moving, and fascinating, is an adventure story told in novelistic detail by a master of nonfiction narrative. The author shares his protagonists’ passion for tall trees, and he mastered the techniques of tall-tree climbing to tell the story in The Wild Trees–the story of the fate of the world’s most splendid forests and of the imperiled biosphere itself.
Customer Reviews:
Cavorting in the canopy.......2007-10-12
They're almost impossible to see properly. If you're near the base in a neck-cricking stance, the tops are lost in a maze of foliage. At at distance, its cousins and offspring surround the one you want to consider. One redwood in a grove becomes lost to view, while an individual obscures itself. They're impossible to climb, the first branches may not start for nearly twenty stories in the air - not your backyard beech or maple tree. The bark is difficult to grasp, and is held in place tenuously. It's little wonder that studying the canopy of the Coast Redwood defied not only attempts, but stifled interest until very recently. In this excellent account, Preston writes of the first Redwood explorers. They are worthy of his skill as a writer, and his subjects fit to stand with Columbus or Cook. Better, Aldo Leopold.
The pivotal character is one Steve Sillett, who followed an impulse to see what those canopies might reveal. He eschewed technology - no helicopter lift nor real climbing equipment in the beginning, Sillett "free-climbed" a "Sequoia sempervirens" just to see if he could do it. The event prompted a life-long love affair with these aged giants of the California mountains. His unending drive to learn more about how the trees grow and propagate, what other plants or creatures might occupy it and perhaps to discover mammoth trees surviving loggers' depredations, might lead some to brand him a "kook". Some already have. But Sillett's aboreal ventures are serious, particularly now as the climate on which these giants survive is seriously threatened.
Nobody, even somebody so dedicated as Sillett, climbs a redwood alone. Preston very deftly brings into our view those working with Sillett and with others. Michael Taylor, whose multi-faceted career deserves a book of its own, is introduced and followed through the twists and turns of his fascinating life. Marie Antoine, who was raised on an island in northwestern Ontario, ultimately becomes Sillett's wife. Their courtship at the top of a giant redwood is almost embarrassing reading, but their shared passions are more than merely physical. When her hips are strapped into a climbing harness, how does a woman relieve herself? At the top of a redwood you are clearly aware of the "redline" - the distance above which a fall is inevitably fatal. One of their group dropped fifty metres - yet fortuitously survived to climb again. Even so, Sillett and Antoine celebrated their marriage ceremony in the canopy - and the officiating minister was elevated with them. And he didn't have to shout.
The other quest, to find the tallest Redwood, is almost a separate story. Loggers have demolished much of the Redwood forest, but there are hidden enclaves where monster trees remain untouched - and unseen. Measuring their height is a two-step process, Preston explains. An estimate, immensely difficult to obtain and often done with crude equipment from hundreds of metres distance, must be verified. The only reliable verification is to - yes, climb the tree and drop a measuring tape. The quest seems endless, if only because access to the trees means exhausting forays through mazes of fallen giants. Their collapse is partly due to the strange root system. Unlike most trees, the Redwood has no taproot for resistance against winds. Since many factors, age among them, leads to giant trees with hollow cores, wind-toppled Redwoods are not uncommon. Over the lengthy life of a Redwood grove, many are felled. A particularly tragic case of this occurs when one of the measured giants, "Telperion", is toppled the year after its discovery. Preston provides general locations of some of the highest specimens, each given a name to certify its standing among the others. Such appellations as "Atlas", "Pig Snout", "Terex Titan" and "Hyperion" [the tallest yet measured] are now applied to trees - whose location remains a closely-guarded secret.
From California, Preston accompanies Sillett to Australia where "Eucalyptus regnans" competes with the Coast Redwood for aerial acclaim. Scaling them is no easier, as there are droves of land leeches to intercept the climbers even before they start aloft. They persevere to find a fresh wonderland in the Southern canopy. Preston, by this time, had undertaken climbing training and was fully prepared to meeting the challenges of climbing arboreal monsters. He is as infected by the tree-climbing virus as his subjects, relating his own and their feats with enthusiasm born of familiarity. Well illustrated with graphics by Andrew Joslin, this book is a landmark effort in describing a new breed of explorers and the wonders they revealed to us. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Outstanding!.......2007-09-18
I am an avid reader of adventure books, and this ranks very high on my list. I was so engrossed in the story, it simply pained me to put this book it down. Preston beautifully weaves together many themes in this book - the adventure of climbing trees, the almost spiritual beauty of ancient Redwoods, the sciences of botany and ecology, a bit of romance, and most of all, people following their passions in spite of obstacles and fulfilling their dreams.
My interest in the book was originally inspired by a trip to Redwood National Park, and the book has now inspired me to pursue recreational tree climbing as a hobby. Don't be surprised if you are similarly inspired.
A great read - highly recommended.
Oldest living things on earth.?.......2007-09-10
If you have ever wanted to see or have seen the California redwoods, you will enjoy this book. Richard Preston got so interested in the trees that he learned to climb them--a feat equal to mountain climbing and just as dangerous, so he could experience them first hand. These ancient plants, thought to be between 2,000 and 3,000 years old, are a world apart from any other plants living today. Because they are so unusual, individual trees have been named, climbed, measured, and thoroughly explored from the ground to the tip. The exact location of the tallest specimens is a well kept secret by the botanists who have studied them. Richard Preston's book, which reads like an adventure novel, is a very good read about a most unusual subject.
trees & more.......2007-09-08
A book truly about finding one's passion and calling. Who said that there was nothing left to explore for our generation? Highly recommended.
A nice adventure.......2007-09-01
Read the other opinions and learn the specifics if you must, but for me a book about unexplored woods and the adventure of climbing them were enough. The book is a nice read - AND - you will be rewarded on the last two pages of the story. With three words - go online, search, and you will "see". Thank you Mr. Preston for the history and the new images I have of one of the best parts of life on this world - the woods.
Amazon.com
If Dilbert and Tom Peters ever attended the same party, they'd probably find themselves in opposite corners. The cynical cartoon character would have a hard time in Peters's upbeat, high-energy world of "Cool-Beyond-Belief." The Brand You50 is Peters's manifesto for today's knowledge workers. It joins his Reinventing Work series, which includes The Projects50 and The Professional Service Firm50.
In The Brand You50, Peters sees a new kind of corporate citizen who believes that surviving means not blending in but standing out. He believes that "90+ percent of White Collar Jobs will be totally reinvented/reconceived in the next decade" and that job security means developing marketable skills, making yourself distinct and memorable, and developing your network ability. His
list-filled prescriptions cover everything; for example, "You are Your Rolodex I: BRAND YOU IS A TEAM" (no. 22), "Consider your 'product line'" (no. 25), "Work on your Optimism" (no. 35), "Sell. SELL. SELL!!!" (no. 47). While the book is overwhelming at times--its hyperactive typography pretty much shouts at you--any baby boomer thinking about his or her career will find much to consider. --Harry C. Edwards
Book Description
Michael Goldhaber, writing in Wired, said, "If there is nothing very special about your work, no matter how hard you apply yourself you won't get noticed and that increasingly means you won't get paid much either. In times past you could be obscure yet secure -- now that's much harder."
Again: the white collar job as now configured is doomed. Soon. ("Downsizing" in the nineties will look like small change.) So what's the trick? There's only one: distinction. Or as we call it, turning yourself into a brand . . . Brand You.
A brand is nothing more than a sign of distinction. Right? Nike. Starbucks. Martha Stewart. The point (again): that's not the way we've thought about white collar workers--ourselves--over the past century. The "bureaucrat" on the finance staff is de facto faceless, plugging away, passing papers.
But now, in our view, she is born again, transformed from bureaucrat to the new star. She works in a professional service firm and works on projects that she'll be able to brag about years from now.
I call her/him the New American Professional, CEO of Me Inc. (even if Me Inc. is currently on someone's payroll) and, of course, of Brand You.
Step #1 in the model was the organization . . .a department turned into PSF 1.0. Step #2 is the individual . . .reborn as Brand You.
In 50 essential points, Tom Peters shows how to be committed to your craft, choose the right projects, how to improve networking, why you need to think fun is cool, and why it's important to piss some people off. He will enable you to turn yourself into an important and distinctive commodity. In short, he will show you how to turn yourself into . . . Brand You.
See also the other 50List titles in the Reinventing Work series by Tom Peters --
The Project50 and
The Professional Service Firm50 -- for additional information on how to make an impact in the professional world.
Customer Reviews:
This is not "how to" book.......2007-09-26
"Talent" by T.P. is better. This book consist of 50 main bullet points and possibly 6-700 sub bullets - all together a long list of nice things to think about but this is not a "how to" book as expected.
BE your OWN BRAND!!!!!!!!.......2007-08-31
A lot of the advice within this book is sound: Be proactive. Sell yourself. Define yourself. Network. Take responsibility for your career success. As a junior professional, it's very important for someone like me to realise how these elements support and leverage one's actual capabilities in the workplace.
However the author seems hard pressed to develop these into 50 distinct points. It becomes repetitive, which is why I would recommend dipping into the book as opposed to reading it cover to cover.
The written style and tone becomes irritating. As other reviewers have noted, it's full of PHRASING like THIS!!!! HYPERBOLE!! INSPIRATIONAL CLICHES!! I wish instead of 5 word sentences the author had also offered more explanation and insight into the issues he raises.
Some great ideas; in need of editing.......2007-08-28
Many, if not most, business books began their life as a set of PowerPoint charts that the creator presented to seminars, conferences and the like, and that were subsequently converted into book form. As a result, most business books are chock full of filler - anecdotes of questionable relevance, endless repetition, and other low-value material.
In contrast, "Brand You 50" eschews surplusage. It reads like a conference presentation, for better and worse. On the plus side, this book is a fast read, and it includes dozens of ideas for improving your performance, your skills and your marketability. Which ideas you choose to embrace and implement will depend on your job, your goals and your personality; this book provides a huge buffet of ideas from which to choose. "Brand You 50" has no filler at all, which I appreciated. On the minus side, the book is formatted horribly. Peters crows that he designed it himself. I appreciate the thought, but some editing of punctuation, font, and the like would have helped immensely. It literally reads like a transcript of a motivational speaker, complete with a plethora of exclamation points. Indeed, this may be the first book in the English language with more exclamation points than periods.
However, after you get past the awkward formatting, "Brand You 50" provides a wealth of practical ideas for building your personal brand. It's at least worth checking out from the library.
Enjoyable read, OK stuff, but not WOW!.......2007-08-09
Well, I read it in 4 hours... It's interesting, it does good to your self-esteem and contains fairly practical advice. However, I wouldn't consider it too seriously for crafting a new life course on the basis of its advice. It also needs significant updates where it refers to new media and the Internet.
Life Changing..........2007-04-01
If there ever was a book that changed my paradigm when I first read it, it was "The Brand You 50."
Ever since, I have promoted this book strongly in my classes, toward all my students. In fact, the first thing I always tell them is, "You are You, Inc. from today on. You don't work FOR any company, but you work WITH them. Change your views, and therwith, change your life.
So far, it has worked tremendously. I have received numerous notes of gratitude from those who previously felt trapped in their work situations. Tom Peters truly did an awesome job with this book.
I used many of the mindsets of Peters in my own works, most recently in "The Awakened Leader: One Simple Leadership Style That Works Every Time, Everywhere," and "Spirituality in the Workplace: What it is; Why it Matters; How to Make it Work for You" (the last one co-authored with Dr. Satinder Dhiman and Dr. Richard King).
It is unbelievable what a change in perspective can do for your self-esteem, drive, and visions. But having thought about it deeply, and having interviewed over 100 leaders since reading this book, I can attest that it's a great work.
Read it, and then read the books in which many of Peters' advises have been captured, "The Awakened Leader: One Simple Leadership Style That Works Every Time, Everywhere," and "Spirituality in the Workplace: What it is; Why it Matters; How to Make it Work for You."
Average customer rating:
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A Passion for Flowers
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