Book Description
Shows employees how they can avoid 15 basic mistakes that create major stress in the workplace. By all accounts, the pace of business will continue to accelerate in the years to come, and for many that means more stress-stress which will almost certainly affect job performance and satisfaction. This easy-to-read handbook explains the sources of stress and provides practical, usable tips for reducing it.
Customer Reviews:
Concise.......2003-03-18
I've been on both sides of reorganizations, and this book does HELP. It was especially very good advice when I was younger and just beginning to experience the change that all organizations must go through. I held on to my copy and still look at it now and then to remind myself that I shouldn't fight change, but take it as it comes and make the most of it.
Pragmatic Reality.......2003-01-31
I am an employee who appreciates reality. This book espouses the importance of personal accountability...for how we work, how we live, how we feel.
The challenge is in doing something right that does not come naturally; proactive rather than reactive. This book made me feel good about how much control I actually do have.
Following the axioms presented will help you step over some tripwires in the minefield of a work-a-day world in the throes of change.
Senior managers will love it, but employees will hate it.......2001-03-25
The tone and messages of the book are such that they will serve to demotivate, rather than inspire, employees. For example:
Message #1: You (the reader) are not senior management. Throughout the book, senior management is described as "the people at the top" and "they." The book immediately sets up a distinction between these two groups - top management, which is moving the company along in response to outside changes, and employees, who are resisting change at every turn.
Message #2: Change is scary, unrelenting, and you (the average person) are naturally not going to like it. And if you weren't scared about change going into the book, you will be after you read it. One of the opening paragraphs reads: "And if today's stress and tension aren't enough to create problems, all a person has to do is consider what the future holds. One close look at what's in store should be enough to worry anyone."
Message #3: You (the reader) are an idiot, and you will persistently resist change unless you wise up to the tips in this book. The book outlines 15 mistakes people usually make in dealing with change. It doesn't offer 15 good ideas for preventing stress due to change, but instead focuses on 15 things you'll probably do wrong unless, of course, you read this book.
On the whole, this book is too simplistic and supplies only minimal rationale for why an employee should change. If you want to get employees to be more open to change, to put their heart into their job, to be more supportive of the company's overall direction, then give them a book that will inspire them. Give them tips for how to be a happier person, both on the job and at home. Talk to them in a positive tone and not a negative one, as this book does. There are many books out there that can accomplish these goals, just not this one.
Book Description
The first published book to detail a model of behavioural coaching and how to apply it.
Behavioral Coaching is a universal and scientific model, resulting in validated, measurable, sustained learning and change in individuals and organisations.
Both of the authors are leaders in their fields. Their books sell well internationally and they have an established reputation as coaching authorities.
This book follows on from the first two books; The Complete Guide to Coaching at Workwas a general introduction to definitions and applications of coaching.
Behavioral Coaching provides a model of practice for the coaching applications in The Complete Guide to Coaching at Work and the tools and techniques described inThe Coaching at Work Toolkit. This book presents a coherent definition and model of behavioural coaching based upon scientific, validated behavioural principles.
Customer Reviews:
Behavioral Coaching text book.......2007-05-09
Excelent for understanding the basics of this rather new field of expertise.
A welcomed and timely reference..........2004-01-28
This exciting, new book marks a new stage in the maturation of the coaching industry and presents a coherent definition and model of behavioural coaching based upon scientific, validated behavioural principles. It provides structured models and strategies for bringing about durable and measurable change in individuals and organizations. Both authors are respected leaders in their fields and have an established reputation as coaching authorities. The authors are also founders of the internationally renowned Behavioral Coaching Institute. The institute is the global leader in the development and supply of world-best practice coaching technology and has trained and certified over 800 coaches working with organizations around the world.
Dr. Skiffington's coaching books have become industry standard materials throughout the global coaching community and make valuable reference resources for any coaching program.
Today, more and more professional coaches are moving away from reliance on simplistic and mechanical proprietary coaching systems taught by the many commercial coach training schools and are seeking to work with theoretically grounded and empirically validated approaches.
This text book is a detailed and well-crafted exposition of the behavioural science of executive, workplace and personal coaching -technical enough to satisfy the theorists but accessible to those without a background in the behavioural sciences. Authors Dr Skiffington and Zeus present an integrated model of evidence-based coaching which draws on adult learning principles, psychology, management and leadership literature and have integrated it with their considerable experience and research. Some of the key features of the text include: coaching as personal development; learning and behavioral change; the practice of behavioral coaching; client-centered coaching for internal/external coaches; and how behavioral coaching is being used today.
This work makes a significant contribution to establishing coaching as a well-grounded cross-disciplinary means of facilitating human and organisational change. Readership: It is a must-have for current and potential coaches, trainers, HRM personnel, consultants, management generally, academics, small business proprietors, students, professionals and even sports coaches etc.
Book Description
A rapidly growing number of people experience psychological strain at their workplace. In almost all industrialized countries, absenteeism and turnover rates increase, and an increasing amount of workers receive disablement benefits because of psychological problems.
This book concentrates on a specific kind of occupational stress: burnout, the depletion of energy resources as a result of continuous emotional demands of the job. Focusing on a complete presentation of the past, present, and future burnout, this volume presents fresh theoretical perspectives that recently have been developed in the United States and Europe, discusses methodological issues, and examines organizational contexts. Written by an international group of leading scholars, the papers are divided into five sections: interpersonal approaches, individual approaches, organizational approaches, methodological issues, and the future outlook of burnout. This book expands on the First European Conference on Professional Burnout, held in Krakow, Poland, in 1990.
Book Description
Personal growth in and out of the workplace has long been hampered by the constant question "how?" In The Answer to How Is Yes, Peter Block teaches readers how to act on what they know and reclaim their freedom and capacity to create a world they want to live in. He shows how to reject tendencies toward passivity and blame in favor of choosing accountability and demanding a more compelling purpose from work and life. The book also emphasizes the need to shift the paradigm from the self-help/bootstrap/make-a-million craze toward something larger and more generous and, in the end, more satisfying.
Customer Reviews:
My review........2007-09-28
I re-read a lot of the first few chapters because I wasn't grasping what the author was trying to say. Hang in there, though, it all comes together later in the book. By the way, there is probably already a copywrite on it, but a more appropriate title for the book is "Learning how to think outside of the box".
The importance of dialog.......2007-02-19
Peter Block aptly reminds us how important it is to ask the right questions, listen to the answers, take time to engage in authentic conversation that goes beyond ping-pong talking to deep discussions and ongoing dialog. Thanks and thanks again.
As always, Block is avant-garde AND persuasive.......2007-02-07
Block has done a fine job of discussing individual responsibility and helping get to the heart of the question "What are we really trying to accomplish?" rather than "How can we get this done and crossed off the list?" Too often, organizations are in such a rush to get things done that they end up putting the square peg in the round hole. They duplicate a solution that worked for a similar, but not identical problem etc. I feel like this book is the complimentary inverse of Block's "Stewardship" book. Whereas "Stewardship" looks at the organization and its effectiveness from a leadership/management point of view, this book addresses the personal autonomy and personal responsibility that all workers should have -- what Block's "Stewardship" book calls for as necessary for effective leadership (that the power and responsibilty are within the ranks of each worker). This book delves into this concept of pushing responsiblity down to each individual in the organization and what that means practically to the indvidual. As with "Stewardship," Block writes well and effectively delivers evidence and concrete examples along with his theory to make his points.
Not for the Narrow-Minded.......2006-03-17
Your ego and identity may well demand that you put this book down for good and denounce it as the smug ramblings of a limousine liberal with the luxury to indulge in all manner of fantasy. Read on anyway. If you pay attention to this book, you'll learn something powerful about yourself and the criticality of your role in creating your organization however you define that - whether it's self, family, business, government unit, or even society at large.
This book challenges everyone who reads it to accept that we and we alone are the authors of our own story of existence, experience, and meaning. The message for leaders of organizations is that until now we've indulged our fear, created cultures of control and dependency and they are bankrupt. The illusion of control never lasts long (look at any of your recent IT projects, for example) and dependency breeds discontent, waste, and backward momentum - all the things that give us more reasons to be fearful and to want to control. The lessons in this book may well allow us to break that cycle, but only if we develop the courage first and foremost to be accountable for who we are. One first step might be to ignore the voice of your ego insisting that you stop reading this silly book, and to read on with renewed attention.
Tony Robbins meets Viktor Frankl.......2006-03-15
On the positive: THE ANSWER TO HOW IS YES contains thought-provoking and attitude-reorienting insights into those opportunities and options to do what truly matters in life. (My highlighter almost ran dry in the first 30 pages.)
Unfortunately, a great many of those insights have to be painstakingly excavated from the mountains of existentialist psychobabble and "philoso-babble" (is that a word? mental note to check Webster on that one) which constitutes Block's writing style. The cutesy use of varying type fonts and sizes also tends to distract from the weightiness of Block's subject matter.
Summary: Subject matter and value of ideas presented: A. Writing style: D- (and I am probably being generous on that one).
Recommendation: Buy the book, but don't try to read it when you are tired or preoccupied.
Book Description
Human interaction is never flawless. Even the best relationships produce tension and at times, unpleasant emotions. Since organizations are comprised of people, all organizations generate emotional pain as part of the process of doing business: producing new products on tight deadlines, setting benchmarks for performance, creating budgets, crafting company policies, and so on. Getting the job done is rarely painless. But when emotional pain goes unmanaged or is poorly handled, it can negatively affect both employees and the bottom line—in essence, it becomes toxic. In Toxic Emotions at Work and What to Do About Them, Peter J. Frost argues that the way an organization responds to pain determines whether it remains toxic or becomes generative, whether it endures as a debilitating poison or is transformed into a force for healthy organizations.
According to Frost, when ignored, toxic emotions betray employees’ hopes, bruise their egos, reduce their enthusiasm for work, and diminish their sense of connectedness to their company’s community and goals. Compassionate responses to pain, on the other hand, encourage those who are suffering to effect constructive changes in their work lives. Despite their powerful role in employee performance, toxic emotions are rarely addressed by organizations. Instead, most companies respond to pain informally and unconsciously through self-selected individuals whom Frost calls “toxin handlers.” Typically a senior manager or someone with a high emotional intelligence capacity, toxin handlers soften the blow of emotional pain for others, but over the course of time, absorb much of the pain they handle to their own detriment. They are often unrecognized, unrewarded, and poorly supported by their organizations. And, while they often provide a temporary relief from the symptoms of toxic organizational pain, toxin handlers alone are unable to eradicate toxic emotions for the long-term.
Toxic Emotions at Work and What to Do About Them suggests that handling toxic emotions effectively is an important, though unrecognized set of competencies that must be understood and embraced—not only by toxin handlers, but by leaders, managers, and the organization as a whole. Through rich examples of how individuals and organizations have managed emotional pain successfully, Frost describes the key skills necessary to cope with emotional pain and to manage it effectively, and offers concrete courses of action for organizations to institutionalize compassion in the face of emotional pain.
Customer Reviews:
A book that's as much for the managed as for managers.......2007-05-27
Ignore the words on the cover that might suggest that this book is just for managers. Maybe buying books like this is par for managers and maybe even tax deductible, but it's a good investment for you even if you're not a manager and have to fork out for it yourself.
True, this book has been written to provide the decision-makers in organisations with advice on managing in a more compassionate way so that their actions defuse any unavoidable emotional anguish for their employees. Yet within its covers are descriptions of strategies which are vital to the well-being of any foot-soldiers who have to deal with-or 'handle'-the effects of insensitive decisions made by their employers.
Does work get you down? Do you work in an environment which often seems emotionally toxic because of the way you're managed? And do your colleagues come to you to pour out their grievances? To the extent that you feel even more drained than you might?
I would say this book is 'spot on': the sort of guidance that anyone who finds themselves having to support work colleagues can find beneficial. Don't be put off, if you're a UK reader, by the use of phrases like 'compassion' and 'pain', which initially will seem a sharp reminder of this book's origin across the Atlantic. The contents are sound, and pertinent, and could save your life as well as your working life.
As a busy union rep at a school in the UK, I've made the mistake of getting involved to the extent of taking on the 'pain' of my colleagues and it's exacted a toll on my health. But now I have some research-based advice and strategies which I feel confident will revive my spirits and my health-whatever my managers decide.
You never stop learning.......2003-12-07
I checked this book out for a project I was doing in school on work stress. I never realized that the person who always seems to calm a situation down in the office could be holding in and dealing with so much. The peacekeeper of the group could actually need someone to vent on and some peace of mind themselves. It opened my eyes to a few things and the situation with "Harry" was a perfect example of an overworked person who has lost his job control. If you work in or have worked in any coporation or office job I recommend you read this book.
Compassionate research on the topic of compassion and pain.......2003-09-25
"Toxic emotions at work: how compassionate managers handle pain and conflict" is quite a remarkable book in the field organization and management research. First of all, it is as much a book for people in organizations as it is a book for people studying such organizations. And second, it is a book about the role and actions of heart in organizations, which speaks to your heart as well as about it. In this way, it is a groundbreaking piece of research in its form as well as in its content.
Through personal stories shared by people from a wide array of organizations, as well as by the author himself, we are invited as readers to get the inside view on life in such organizations. And the journey takes place through the lens of a hitherto largely invisible or hidden topic: the role of compassion and suffering in organizational life. We see how pain and conflicts are handled by people, who work like amateurs at a radioactive site, to quote one of many metaphors in this book. This is an example of living research about what really matters in organizations, putting the spot light on questions of life and death, pain and suffering, compassion and courage, hope and fear, comfort and despair, trust and betrayal.
As the book is written, so to speak, from the line of fire, with many examples of first-hand experience of the topic, it is impossible not to be captured and moved by the stories shared. The phenomenon of toxic handling and pain and suffering becomes very real. Of great value to the field of organizational theory is also the emphasis on all aspects of the human being, not just our social and communicative capacities. Physical, emotional and spiritual strengths and capacities are also discussed and brought to the reader's attention, aspects of which there has been a call in organizational research, in its tendency to treat people as "walking heads".
It is also research which I think, when read in-depth, challenges and questions many elements of contemporary, dominate business ideologies. What will happen when the task of toxic handling is both rewarded and seen in organizations, and when toxic handling is a standard question on the agendas of board meetings? And what would have to change in our cultural framework for that to happen? What will happen when the emotional aspects of organizational life are not only treated as an opportunity or problem for management, and enhancement of productivity? When they are given the space to exist in their own right, and for their own right? These are vital questions for the future in many organizations where there is a struggle for survival today.
In naming this phenomenon, and creating a legitimate language around it, there is the possibility to create new realities in organizations as well. In calling this phenomenon toxic handling, and in showing how research can be an endeavour of compassion also in its form and presentation, Peter J Frost and his colleagues create new perspectives, new frames and new questions for research.
There are, as I have said, many deeply moving stories in this book, especially the author's openness in writing about his own experience and how this led him into this research. It is research, as I said earlier with the power of touching your heart, not just speak about it. I will share one beautiful extract, which touched my heart, to give a sense of the wisdom and knowledge shared on these 250 pages. It is a quote from a dialogue with Dadi Janki, a woman from India, 80 years old, who was one of ten `wisdom keepers' at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, 1992.
"Her stated goal in life is to be of benefit to each person she meets and to turn her thoughts to help lift them into happiness. (...) When asked how she stays in such a state of joy and happiness in the face of the suffering of others, she said: `I do not identify with the pain of the other person. I do not take it on! When pressed for an explanation, she replied: `To take it on would be to double the amount of pain the world!' `How then do you help?' was the next question. `I try to wrap the other person's suffering in love, she replied." (Frost 2003: 107).
This is toxin handling in action. And to live healthier lives in healthier organizations we still need to learn. Peter Frost helps us a step on the way in naming an aspect of life we all know, but many have been afraid to speak of.
Apt metaphor for common experience.......2003-07-01
I picked up this book because I am familiar with the author from days when I, then firmly planted in the academic world, assigned his articles to graduate students learning to do research. I knew his academic credentials are impeccable and I was prepared to trust what he wrote. And that, I think, accounts for the success of Toxic Emotions.
Toxic Emotions covers ground that has been worked before. Workplace pain has been discussed by self-help authors ("working wounded") and academics who have studied burnout and stress. Frost's remedies also remain conventional: get exercise, stay detached, be positive, find space outside work.
The willingness of executives to explore feelings is no longer new either. See Marsha Sinetar's The Mentor's Spirit and Mark Albion's Making a Life, Making a Living. And I once heard a speaker insist that therapy was no longer a taboo topic. "Everybody either has been in therapy or has a family member in therapy," he said.
The book's contribution comes from integrating these topics and putting them together and offering a research rather than a self-help context. The "toxin" medical metaphor offers a creative context to explore workplace pain and make the topic more accessible to those skeptical of new age "woo-woo."
Toxic Emotions seems directed entirely to managers and focuses on what managers can and "should" do --
and that's both the strength and limitation of the book. Employees are depicted as passive victims who need management intervention to survive.
Unfortunately, most people aren't as lucky as the clerk who was "rescued" from a toxic boss. They need to learn to protect themselves and take charge of their own lives.
And some very fine managers will never be able to function effectively as healers. I was surprised to see no reference to outside resources, such as coaches or consultants. I can understand the author's suspicion of the coaching industry (coaching schools tend to be atheoretical, to say the least) but carefully-selected coaches and consultants can often be less costly and more effective than managers whose gifts lie elsewhere. And, while confiding in a manager may bring short-term emotional relief, someday those confidences may backfire. Hiring a coach seems cheap if the only alternative is to risk your career by being too open.
Consultants can also help managers and employees implement Frost's suggestions. For example, they can teach employees to develop positive attitudes and create more balance in their lives. Saying "Just get a grip!" works well with some people but others remain clueless -- and some, temperamentally, cannot just shed their frustrations the way they shake water out of an umbrella. They need to learn to compensate or find a new workplace -- both time-consuming options that call for one-on-one learning experiences.
We also need to consider the bigger picture. All organizations may contain the potential for developing toxins. Even Southwest Airlines has been sued by an employee who felt victimized by an overzealous prank. And some employees are more susceptible to toxicity, just as some sneeze more during allergy season.
I suspect a large amount of workplace pain comes from feeling trapped, a source not mentioned here . We need not just empathetic managers but an infrastructure to support alternatives to corporate employment.
The absence of cultural support and societal infrastructure to support self-employment, discussed by Pink (Free Agent Nation) and Bridges (JobShift), accounts for a large part of workplace pain.
There's a bit of irony in the book's opening anecdote. The author learns he has cancer -- from a call his oncologist makes on a Friday night!
Frost was set up for a weekend of helpless worry. Couldn't the call wait till Monday morning, when he could at least go into action right away or at least get an emergency appointment with a therapist? A reminder that toxic systems exist in every sector -- so taken for granted that the author doesn't even comment.
Mind and heart, Ideal and practice.......2003-06-24
I really enjoyed reading this book. It is written with a rare blend of mind and heart, and it is thus both thought provoking and moving. The book flows-by with a genuine tone of care and empathy -- actually, a wonderful example of the kind of attitude that Peter Frost is campaigning for.
The book created for me an opportunity to reflect upon my own life and work experiences, and I felt Frost managed to involve me, the reader, in the lives of the many people he talked with (and about).
I was also impressed by the way Frost managed to put together discussion that cuts
through a variety of disciplines, weaving them all into a convincing argument -- taken up from different perspectives and using various levels of analysis. Thus, on the individual level, the book explores the experiences of emotional pain in organizational lives, the work of "toxin handlers" - people who help others to struggle with this pain; and the toll such efforts put on the toxin handlers themselves. On the organization level, the book offers a thorough exploration of the sources of toxicity in organizations, and how organizations can work to reduce toxicity and help toxin handlers in their efforts to heal pain. All in all, Frost manages to integrate and share with his readers much knowledge from Psychology, Biology, Organizational studies and Business (to name just a few disciplines) - and the book still makes an easy and interesting read!
In sum, I think this is really a great book. It deals with an important phenomenon - pain in organizations - an experience known to us all. It deals with it with a blend of realism (recognizing that organizations will always produce pain), and optimism (a compassionate way of life, and compassionate organizations can elevate the pain); and of ideals (compassion) and practicality (offering concrete ways to handle pain). It's message should be heard, I think, not only in today's workplaces, but in our Western society at large.
Book Description
Schaef and Fassel show how managers, workers, and organization members exhibit the classic symptoms of addiction: denying and avoiding problems, assuming that there is no other way of acting, and manipulating events to maintain the status quo.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding insights and many missing links.......2001-07-21
The key insight I had when I read this book is that the behavior of organizations when they become "addictive" follows very predictable patterns. There is nothing unique about them. But to a society that is full of "addicts" who create addictive organizations, the principles revealed in this book will stir reactions and opposition. The book is almost too honest, and there lies its power. The book has many new insights and connections and is a lot of fun to read. I found myself chuckling often.
The authors are reaching...........2001-05-18
Oh boy....interesting analogy, but I believe that the cause of the woes of many organizations cannot be attributed to just this cause. For the sakes of an entertaining analogy it may entertain you.
But don't expect the Company to Like it!.......2000-06-14
In many years in the Corporate life, I wanted the Company to understand that a lot of the problems management was having were caused by...surprise!...management.
This book is excellent in explaining to those of us who hate the insanity of corporate life what is happening and why, and possible remedies.
If you are working, or are listening to a friend or loved one complain over and over about office politics and craziness of different bosses, this book is a great read.
Even the authors, however, will tell you not to expect the Company to listen. They might nod and buy the book, pass them around HR and so on, but in essence, most mid- to large-sized corporations are so big that their dysfunctional behavior cannot be taken apart without the whole thing unfolding. (Or at least, that's what they believe, and so the urge to hold on).
The CEO of a dysfunctional company won't appreciate the insight that each company is as healthy or as ill as their top leader - the further away she/he gets from the goings on, the less s/he may be aware of this, and the less willing to hear this.
My advise is to read the book but expect no "cures". Reading this book helped my sanity (I took early retirement). Anyone suffering inside a corporation can start questioning, seriously, if they want to stay in this dysfunctional "family" (there may not be much of a choise)and if they can get out, start planning. Even if retirement or leaving is years away, planning helps. Get a life outside the Company. Also read "Crazy Bosses" and other books by Anne Wilson Schaef.
One of the most useful books I've ever read........2000-04-21
I found this book while in graduate school and wrote a long essay about my experiences in an addictive organization, based on my understanding of the theories presented in the book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels trapped in an organization and wants to understand more about how they work. ()
So what do you call normal?.......1999-01-27
It was refreshing to see an author who is willing to view organisations from a perspective of whether or not their culture would represent healthy living or not. The verdict is 'no'. Wilson Schaef and Fassel, by presenting organisational culture and inflluence as pervasive and abberent makes us rethink their place in our human psyche and society. A refreshing view, even if a rather disturbing conclusion. A good book to let go our inertia.
Book Description
A gutsy, sincere, scientifically-based business case for bringing more heart into organizations. Presents HeartMath's impeccable biomedical research and highly practical tools for humanizing business, building people and organizations that respond gracefully to change, crisis and challenge. Clients such as Motorola, Hewlett Packard, Canadian Imperial Bank of Canada, Nortel, Cisco Systems, Lucent, BP and Royal Dutch Shell are empowering their talented workforce with these tools. Well-documented examples and organizational case studies illustrate impressive changes.
The book introduces Inner Quality Management(r) (IQM), which has four dynamics: Internal Self-Management, Coherent Communication, Boosting Organizational Climate and Strategic Processes of Renewal.
Customer Reviews:
Much more than a book.......2001-05-01
This CD gives almost two hours of video clips, mostly by Bruce Cryer with Rollin McCraty, who has done much of the research behind HeartMath and Alan Watkins and many others. Though the image is small and resolution poor, it is a great help to attend lectures by these outstanding personalities through this CD. [Bruce seems to use a predominantly left hand gesture in talking. I wonder if that would indicate more right-brain dominance. When he speaks about coherence, he tends to use both hands more often.] Key points are summarised in bigger power-point slides that help you to grasp what is being said. 6 relevant questions on the use of HeartMath and IQM (Inner Quality Management)are answered in video clips by many experts. In the "Tools" section, you get guided audio exercises on Freeze-Frame and Heart Lock-in, various forms for practising HeartMath skills and "Needs Assessment" on when to do what. Internet links are given to the HeartMath websites and for more case studies and a bibliography of 48 books. The section "Getting Coherent" gives you various textual tips on being a coherent: "you", "you as manager" and "your organization". "Deep Content" gives most of the book (first edition) in text. There is a search function for these two sections. In a revised edition, I hope the texts will be based on the new edition. If Doc Childre could also appear in the video clips, maybe playing some pieces of HeartMath music, together with all the other key HeartMath personnel, that would really enhance the heart feeling of appreciation.
Microsoft of Emotional Coherence.......2001-05-01
I have been recommending the first edition to friends in the field of management. The authors are admirable in their willingness to make a fair amount of revisions and expand on their book in less than than 2 years. Such is the speed of change! This is a very satisfying and useful book. It is interesting and easy to follow. Given many good reviews, including those for the first edition, I'll refrain from adding more praise or give any summary ideas. As Scott Shuster, the Founding Director of Business Week, has said well in the Foreword: "There is no limit to the potential of HeartMath because at root it is a simple, physical act: a mental formation, a thought with physical effects. It is neither philosophy, faith, nor belief. The essentially physical character of the practice enables its easy application across all the barriers that customarily divide humanity.... Within this potential universality lies HeartMath's immense promise: If everybody did this, what a wonderful world." It won't be surprising if HeartMath becomes as widely known and used as the Microsoft of the world of emotional coherence.
An important book.......2001-02-22
This is an important book. At some level we all know there must be a better way to be in the world. Quite simply this book, and the simple but powerful tools it provides, can help you to transform the quality of your life. It has for me.
The Freeze Frame tool, and its associated variants, can be applied quickly and easily in a wide variety of situations to improve one's performance, productivity and personal satisfaction. These tools are based on the simple fact that it takes only a minute to shift your focus and change your perceptions. From Chaos to Coherence invites you to see for yourself what such a shift in focus and perception can mean in terms of your ability to deal with stress effectively, enhance your creativity or improve your leadership abilities.
Whether you are an employee trying to cope with change and an increasingly demanding work environment, a middle manager who is trying to balance many conflicting forces, or an executive who is seeking to inspire excellent performance this book provides many valuable insights and practical, powerful tools. What's more these approaches have been tested and proven to be effective through careful research in many Fortune 500 companies, government agencies as well as many private businesses.
This is an important book because it presents a simple technique that is so fundamental and sound that I have trouble understanding why everyone isn't already using this approach.
The Freeze-Frame methodology is sure to provide a significant competitive advantage for those corporate leaders and managers who are interested in creating healthier and more productive environments in the information/internet age. God knows we need such approaches to help us keep pace with the demands and changes of our times.
I highly recommend this book, and the HeartMath tools and approach. Bruce, Doc and the staff at the Institute of HeartMath have done a great job in developing and bringing these approaches into the corporate arena. It is now up to us to use them to determine the fruits they can bear in our own lives. I encourage you to buy this book and try these tools and see for yourself what they can do to increase the quality of your life and the performance of you, your team, and your organization.
Every Leader needs to read this Book!.......2001-02-06
This book is a treasure. Sure, there are lots of books and programs around that talk about the importance of bringing the heart and head together in life and work, however Bruce and Doc have documented in scientific language and case studies what many only have intuited.Many of us have"known" the power of the heart, but not had the evidence to back up our gut feelings. From Chaos to Coherence is the first book I know that truly integrates sound practical applications of the intelligence and wisdom of the heart with the power of the mind. I have experienced the results for myself, my family and business. I encourage you to read this book!
balance.......2001-02-01
every executive, actually anyone in business today, will benefit from the tools described in this book. I've taken the HeartMath program many times, and they have created simple, powerful tools that have made me a more effective leader, a better listener, and much more balanced in all aspects of my life. Even during periods of intense challenge and stress. I handle things much better than I used to. Some people don't need all the research and data HeartMath does but it's great to know they've done their homework. This is one of the most practical, useful business book's I've ever read.
Average customer rating:
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Organizational Stress: A Review and Critique of Theory, Research, and Applications (Foundations for Organizational Science)
Cary L. Cooper ,
Philip J. Dewe , and
Michael P. O'Driscoll
Manufacturer: Sage Publications, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Organizational Behavior
| Business & Investing
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General
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
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Occupational & Organizational
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
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Theories of Organizational Stress
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Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Its Nature, Antecedents, and Consequences (Foundations for Organizational Science)
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Handbook of Work Stress
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Stress: A Brief History (Blackwell Brief Histories of Psychology, 1)
ASIN: 0761914811
Release Date: 2001-02-06 |
Book Description
To the individual whose health or happiness has been ravaged by an inability to cope with the effects of job-related stress, the costs involved are clear. But what price do organizations and nations pay for a poor fit between people and their work environments? Only recently has stress been seen as a contributory factor to the productivity and health costs of companies and countries but as studies of stress-related illnesses and deaths show, stress imposes a high cost on individual health and well-being as well as organizational productivity.
This book examines stress in organizational contexts. The authors review the sources and outcomes of job-related stress, the methods used to assess levels and consequences of occupational stress, along with the strategies that might be used by individuals and organizations to confront stress and its associated problems. One chapter is devoted to examining an extreme form of occupational stress – burnout, which has been found to have severe consequences for individuals and their organizations. The book closes with a discussion of scenarios for jobs and work in the new millennium, and the potential sources of stress that these scenarios may generate
The book is a comprehensive, thought-provoking resource for Ph.D. students, academics, and other professionals working to minimize or eliminate the sources of stress in the workplace.
Average customer rating:
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Leading Groups in Stressful Times: Teams, Work Units, and Task Forces
Joseph A. Olmstead
Manufacturer: Quorum Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1567206107 |
Book Description
In most organizations today, the greatest stress afflicts those working in groups: teams, task forces, and other units with special goals and purposes. Customary manners of management style and leadership largely fail to alleviate this stress. Olmstead's challenging new book shows why. Rapid change is one reason. Extreme uncertainty is another. But the effects need not be so debilitating. This book argues that groups can be developed to resist stress and achieve effectiveness. Olmstead offers a conceptual framework and draws upon his own experiences--supported by the similar experiences of others who have worked in most types of organizations under various stressful conditions--to show how. He provides proven, practical means of analyzing, assessing, and improving your own leadership methods, and in doing so, bolstering your group's performance. A 250-item annotated bibliography and lucid, readable style, this book is a straightforward, state of the art presentation of what leaders under stress need to know about themselves, and how to apply that understanding to the activities of the groups they lead.
Book Description
During the past two decades, the nature of work has changed dramatically, as more and more organizations downsize, outsource and move toward short-term contracts, part-time working and teleworking. The costs of stress in the workplace in most of the developed and developing world have risen accordingly in terms of increased sickness absence, labour turnover, burnout, premature death and decreased productivity. This book, in one volume, provides all the major theories of organizational stress from the leading researchers and writers in the field. It is a guide to identifying the sources of pressures in jobs and the workplace so that we may be able to intervene to change and manage the growing problem of organizational stress.
Customer Reviews:
Theories of Organizational Stress........2000-05-06
good for different level of management in their organisation to have effective and efficiency way to manage their team to meet the task
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