Book Description
The Leader of the Future 2 follows in the footsteps of the international bestseller The Leader of the Future, which has been translated into twenty-eight languages, and is one of the most widely distributed edited collections on leadership to date.
In twenty-seven inspiring and insightful essays, this book celebrates the wisdom of some of the most recognized thought leaders of our day who share their unique vision of leadership for the future.
Returning Contributors: Ken Blanchard with Dennis Carey, Stephen Covey, Marshall Goldsmith, Charles Handy, Sally Helgesen, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Jim Kouzes & Barry Posner, Richard Leider, Ed Schein, Peter Senge, and Dave Ulrich with Norm Smallwood.
New Contributors: John Alexander, Darlyne Bailey, Howard Gardner with Lynn Barendsen, Usman Ghani, Ronald Heifetz, Joe Maciariello, Jan Masaoka, John Mroz, Brian O'Connell, Jeff Pfeffer, Ponchitta Pierce, Srikumar Rao, General Eric Shinseki, R. Roosevelt Thomas, Noel Tichy with Chris DeRose, and Tom Tierney.
"Hesselbein and Marshall Goldsmith, one of the USA's top executive coaches, edited the collection The Leader of the Future 2. Its 27 eloquent essays provide a kind of hopeful, idealistic best-case scenario for future leaders of non-profits and businesses. This is not a cookie-cutter, how-to approach. The job of the essayists is to provide food for thought and goals. The high quality of writing here should inspire anyone who has aspirations for leadership."
—Bruce Rosenstein, USA Today
Customer Reviews:
Your organization needs "the "leader of the future" now, today, this moment...........2007-09-24
Frances Hesselbein is currently editor-in-chief of Leader to Leader quarterly. Previously, she served as CEO of the Girls Scouts of the USA and then as chairman and founding president of the Leader to Leader Institute, formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management. Her published works include this book as well as its predecessor, The Leader of the Future, co-edited with Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard, and Be*Know*Do (an adaptation of the U.S. Army's leadership manual) to which she and General Eric K. Shinseki (USA Ret.) co-wrote the Introduction as well as Hesselbein on Leadership for which Jim Collins provided the Foreword.
Twenty-seven individual essays comprise this volume. The material is organized within five Parts:
A Vision of Leadership (Chapter 1)
Editors' Comments: "[Our] book begins where it should, with Peter Drucker's vision of leadership...[His] thoughts on creating organizations that have a spirit of performance built upon the `theory of the business,' creating a positive social impact and demonstrating consistent effectiveness, challenge the reader to both embrace change and become a change leader."
Leading in a Diverse World (Chapters 2-5)
Excerpt: "Leaders of the future will be progressively more cosmopolitan, progressive, diverse, and values oriented. They increasingly will come from countries with enormous growth potential outside of North America and Europe, such as the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), places where leaders must also address daunting obstacles such as poverty or environmental depredation, regardless of the sector or the focus of their enterprise." Rosabeth Moss Kanter, "How Cosmopolitan Leaders Inspire Confidence"
Leading in a Time of Crisis and Complexity (Chapters 6-11)
Excerpt: "Leadership becomes necessary to business and communities when people have tough challenges to tackle, when they have to change their ways in order to thrive or survive, when continuing to operate according to current structures, procedures, and processes no longer will suffice. We call these adaptive challenges. Beyond technical problems, for which authoritative and managerial expertise will suffice, adaptive challenges demand leadership that engages people in facing challenging realities and then changing those priorities, attitudes, and behaviors necessary to thrive in a changing world. Ronald A. Heifetz, "Anchoring Leadership in the Work of Adaptive Process"
Leading Organizations of the Future (Chapters 12-19)
Excerpt: "Leaders will need to go beyond looking at the work to be done and consider the human doing the work. They will need to understand the incredible pressures that have been brought about by globalization, technology, and competition. They will need to appreciate the hard work and sacrifice needed for professional success in a much tougher world. Leaders will need to realize that as work becomes even more important, and organizations become even more important, they will become even more important - in helping to shape the quality of life and the futures of the professionals they lead." Marshall Goldsmith, "Leading New Age Professionals"
The Quality and Charter of the Leader of the Future (Chapters 20-27)
Excerpt:
"Leaders who think like anthropologists would realize several things. First, they would realize that they are leaders by virtue of their basic fit into the cultural milieu in which they grew up and in which they are now operating. It is all well and good to note that leaders "create" and "change" cultures, as I have argued in the past [i.e. in Organizational Culture and Leadership, 2004], but first they must realize that to change culture you must thoroughly understand the culture that created you and legitimized you...In other words, leaders must be culturally self-c0njscious and be aware of the cultural layers in their own personalities. Second, leaders who think like anthropologists would be conscious of the cultural variations among countries and companies, and among occupational subgroups within their companies." Edgar H. Schein, Leadership Competencies: A Provocative New Look"
Note: Schein then explains in his essay that in addition to thinking like an anthropologist, effective leaders must also have the skills of a family therapist and cultivate and trust artistic instincts.
In the city where I live, we have a number of outdoor markets at which slices of fresh fruit are offered as samples of the produce available. In that same spirit, I frequently include brief excerpts such as these from a book to help those who read my review to get at least a "taste" of the material in question. All of the material in this volume is of a very high quality. The value of each article, however, will be determined by the needs and interests of each reader.
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Hesselbein's The Leader of the Future published earlier, co-edited with Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard and Be*Know*Do (an adaptation of the U.S. Army's leadership manual) to which she and General Eric K. Shinseki (USA Ret.) co-wrote the Introduction; also Hesselbein on Leadership for which Jim Collins provided the Foreword.
weLEAD Book Review by the Editor of leadingtoday.org.......2007-06-17
The Leader of the Future 2 is a labor of love and a gift to all those who enjoy the study of leadership. This is the first book published by the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly The Drucker Foundation) since the death of leadership patriarch Peter Drucker. All proceeds support the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management. This book follows the publication of the international bestseller, The Leader of the Future.
This meditative work is the collection of 27 essay chapters that contemplate the kind of leadership needed for the future of the world. Each chapter is written by a respected leadership consultant or educator who provides their unique and challenging perspective on the kind of leader our world needs now and will need in an uncertain future. This collection of "thinkers" has varied experience in all sectors of modern society. As it states in the foreword of the book, "This book delivers a "battle cry" that will mobilize the leaders of the future to build viable, relevant organizations that will sustain us in the times ahead... Planning in the past was rigid, inflexible, and hierarchical, but planning for the future will require leaders to be fluid and flexible, and move easily across their organizations. The Leader of the Future 2 is indeed part of a blueprint for planning in a dynamic new world."
The genesis of the book was the tragic events that occurred on 9/11. Since that event a lot has changed in the world, and will continue to change in our uncertain future. The Leader of the Future 2 divides its 27 chapter into 5 interesting parts. Each part focuses on a certain aspect of leading in the future like vision, diversity, complexity, change and character. This is a book for serious thinkers and at times is not easy to read. Some of the gifted contributors would be the first to admit that writing with clarity is not their greatest personal strength. But in all fairness, they are looking back on the past with eyes toward the future and this is always an ambiguous rehearsal. The Leader of the Future 2 is brain-candy for anyone who likes to step outside of everyday thinking and ponder the "what-if" of tomorrow!
Expert takes on leadership today.......2007-05-03
In a 1964 obscenity court case, then U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart wrote that pornography was difficult to define, but noted, "I know it when I see it." The same might be said of leadership. Since 1990, the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management) has dedicated itself to examining, defining and elevating the art of leadership through books, educational materials and its respected journal, Leader to Leader. This book is a sequel to the Institute's The Leader of the Future, an international bestseller published in 28 different languages. This follow-up volume features 27 essays on being a leader in today's complex, challenging world. We confidently recommend this leadership treatise, which presents the informed thoughts, insights and opinions of respected experts from academia, the media, business, the military, the nonprofit sector and numerous other venues. Thanks to such contributors as Stephen Covey, Howard Gardner, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, this collection of essays clearly addresses the challenges of modern leadership.
The Essential Leadership Guide.......2006-10-07
Once again, Marshall Goldsmith and Frances Hesselbein have provided readers with an essential guide to the biggest challenges and the best thinking of thought leaders and practitioners in the field of leadership. In a world in great need of leadership, this book provides an array of outstanding contributions from those who have shaped and inspired this field. This book provides a superb addition to the libraries of all those who care deeply about leadership -- and who among us does not (or should not)?
Rachelle J. Canter, Ph.D.
An awesome collection!.......2006-09-30
An awesome collection! Jim Kouzes, Peter Senge, Edgar Schein. A great list of contributors. Some of the very best thinking on leadership, strategic thinking, and change.
Senge's article on the basic fundamentals for sound leadership in a changing world is nearly worth the price of the book on its own. If that article isn't enough, Edgar Schein's contribution on leadership competencies is just excellent. You'll find yourself rethinking a number of assumptions about what leaders do.
Book Description
Follow Your Own Lead!
The Next Generation Leader has been challenging young Christians eager to learn, grow, and lead in ministry or in the marketplace since its original release in 2003. Now with an all-new look, this repackaged version continues to advance the mission of the first release. Mentoring young leaders as they face the unique issues of a changing world has been pastor and bestselling author Andy Stanley’s passion for more than a decade. Here he shares material from his leadership training sessions, developed to address essential leadership qualities such as character, clarity, courage, and competency. This is the perfect guide for any new leaderâor for the mentor of a future leader!
Straight Talk
to Tomorrow’s Leaders
Five characteristics mark the man or woman who will shape the future.
Courage
Clarity
Competence
Coachability
Character
Drawing on two decades of experience mentoring a rising generation, seasoned visionary Andy Stanley shows how to:
Discover and play to your strengths
Harness your fears
Leverage uncertainty
Enlist a leadership coach
Maintain moral authority
âCapable men and women will eventually catch, pass, and replace the current generation of leaders,â says Stanley . âEmbracing these essentials, you will not only excel in your personal leadership, but also ensure a no-regrets experience for those who choose to follow you.â
â Andy Stanley ’s The Next Generation Leader will equip the messengers to stand a little taller with a vision of hope and promise as they engraft these timeless principles into their daily lives.â
âDan T. Cathy, president and CEO, Chick-Fil-A Corporation
âIt’s obvious that what Andy Stanley has to say in The Next Generation Leader comes straight from the gut of someone who is in the leadership game and is winning at it.â
âBill Hybels, senior pastor, Willow Creek Community Church
â Andy Stanley offers a fresh perspective on ageless truths that will be of enormous benefit to today’s leaders and to future generations.â
âPatrick S. Flood, chairman and CEO, HomeBanc Mortgage Corporation
INSIDE LEFT FLAP
Ready or not,
you’re NEXT!
It’s time to shape the future,
and those who will do so are in training
today. Learn what it takes to lead with courage,
then follow with character.
Embrace the basics, and you’ll master the
challenges of generations to come.
âMy passion is to equip you to take your place among the ranks of those who are positioned to shape the future.â
â Andy Stanley
Story Behind the Book
Andy Stanley, the senior pastor of the North Point Ministries campuses with a cumulative congregation of more than twenty thousand, admits he has one single, core passion. He lives to train and mentor young leaders to be the best they can be! He sees the ânext genâ need for quality Christian resources on leadership and wrote this book entrenched in leadership himself, desiring to guide the up-and-coming young men and women who will shape our future.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read for anyone in leadership.......2007-09-24
This book helped me to stop and think about how I am getting my job done. Was I being efficient and effective? NO! After reading this book I began the process of examining more thorough exactly what my job was and how I went about getting it done. I have found that I get a lot more done now and don't find myself in a tailspin. Great Book!
Blake
Great little book on leadership.......2007-09-01
This is a brief read on leadership. He highlights a few characteristics of leadership. The book is not a paradigm shifting book, but is a quick reminder of the need for futuristic leadership. Andy is a leader and a clear communicator. If you are looking for some easy advice on improving your leadership skills, this is a good book for you. You will be rewarded for your investment.
Leadership for today's Christian.......2007-07-08
A great look on leadership from one of today's most influential Christian leader.
Andy Stanley is a great communicator who uses his talent in this book to inspire readers on to shape the future for tomorrow. Stanley uses memorable stories and vivid examples to explain all of his points clearly.
This book is great for anyone who needs some inspiration on being a influential Christian.
A Good Leadership Book for the Right Reader.......2007-05-04
This book is a great basic starter for younger, growing leaders. It operates around 5 clearly defined essentials that all start with C's for ease of remembering. Author Andy Stanley, a DTS grad and pastor of a large, young church, combines key leadership ideas and principles that he has gleaned from both experience and extensive research.
The book clearly demonstrates that Stanley has read a great many leadership books. This ends up being both a weakness and a strength of this book. On the one hand, you feel like you could have just skipped his writing and read other writers books on leadership, but on the other hand, this book allows you to glean quick tidbits on leadership from various leaders writings all in this one book.
While most of the book feels like common sense, Stanley has a few points that may be enlightening to those beginning their leadership journeys. I'm still at the beginning of this range so I found some statements he made that revealing common myths of leadership to be helpful. My personal opinion is that the two chapters that were actually the most informative were the Clarity-Uncertainty Demands Clarity section and the Coaching-Coaching Enables a Leader to Go Farther, Faster section. Other than these two chapters, the questions at the ends of all chapters are the next best thing about the book. They help you apply what you're reading about directly to your life.
One criticism of the book is that it feels kind of dry. He uses lots of personal illustrations from his life, but they didn't seem very relatable to me. Therefore, they had little success in motivating me, inspiring me, or changing my perspective. I feel like this book is written for readers who have similar leadership strengths as he does, vision-casting and communication. It also seems a little like it's addressing those who are in actual defined leadership roles, and he doesn't really address that some of the younger readers may not know exactly what his or her passion or core strengths are yet. Not everyone can identify them easily; I know this because I am a recent college grad and all my friends are still trying to figure out the answers to those two questions. Furthermore, the questions in the book put things in the terms of employment - it makes it feel like the book is addressed to leadership in the workplace rather than a leadership that encompasses the way you live. This book makes it feel very compartmentalized. My final criticism is that this book doesn't seem as fitting for quiet leaders or for people who are not in leadership roles but are looking to lead up. I understand that one leadership book cannot cover all things. But then perhaps on the cover or in the intro it should specify what audience is best suited for the book. When I read the title The Next Generation Leader, I think college students... but then perhaps that's just me...
Overall, the book is an easy read that refreshes you on leadership principles and may even point out a few insightful things here and there. I would gave this book 3 stars because I would give it 4 for young leaders and a 2 for experienced leaders. This book might make a good graduation gift for college students. It's definitely worth reading at some point, just don't set your expectations too high. :)
The Next Generation is Here ... Now.......2007-03-09
Andy is inspiring. This book will change how you find, coach, and mentor future leaders. Read it ... twice!
Book Description
Based on the results of more than a decade of research by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, Smart Communities provides directions for strategic decision-making and outlines the key strategies used by thousands of leaders who have worked to create successful communities. Smart Communities offers leaders from both the public and private sectors the tools they need to create a better future for all the community's citizens. Using illustrative examples from communities around the country, Smart Communities shows how these change agents' well-structured decision-making processes can be traced to their effective use of seven key leverage points:
- Investing right the first time
- Working together
- Building on community strengths
- Practicing democracy
- Preserving the past
- Growing leaders
- Inventing a brighter future
Customer Reviews:
Smart Communities is a Smart Book.......2007-01-22
I got this book because it is being used as a textbook for a college course I am taking, but once I got into the book, I started enjoying it. Morse is a real excellent writer and she makes the subject matter of creating good communities interesting. Normally, I would dread reading a book for class, but this one is a good read especially for those who wnat to be more involved in making a smart community.
What Other People, Other Towns Have Done.......2005-04-19
I'm sure that you are busy. I've got a lot of things to do myself, more than I can get done today. And then the time comes when you have to stop being busy, some times you just have to sit and let the batteries recharge. As the old saying goes, sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.
And the question has to come up of what can one person, you or me do to make the community we live in a better place. Suzanne Morse's book can't tell you what you can do. But it can tell you what other people like you have done. Will her ideas work in New York City, no. Will they work on the block you live in within New York City, in the neighborhood you live in, yes.
Meanwhile I've got to quit writing about this book. I'm going help the local community theater try to get started. I don't know anything about theater, but I can find some way to help, even if it's just sweeping the floor.
Smart Commununities.......2004-06-11
This book is an antidote for the cynicism and sense of helplessness that pervades too many of our communities. We are given actual examples of communities builing on their strengths, talents, histories and values to create new energy and optimism. As an amatuer historian, my favorite chapter was the one on preserving the past as a way to begin building the new. Now I have the language to encourage renewal by honoring the past.
Strategic Thinking and Acting.......2004-04-23
I was attracted to this book while looking for insights into strategic thinking for work in another arena. I was not disappointed.
Smart Communities offers many very useable ideas for anyone with responsibilities for thinking and acting strategically to enhance our lives together. And that probably includes most everyone.
Along with very practical help, the accounts and interpretations of real experiences also offer inspiration and hope.
A Bonanza For Anyone Working to Bring about Change.......2004-04-12
Finally, an exceedingly hopeful book about how to effect meaningful change in a community, large or small. Here, Dr. Suzanne Morse, in her characteristic lively and to-the-point style, has given us a guide, repleat with documented examples of how to move the needle on those issues we're all too familiar with: poverty, lack of a board base of leadership, chidren's welfare. Armed with more than 10 years of hands on experience working with groups in communities all across the country, Dr. Morse's book, as well as many of her other supportive pieces such as What Works, guarantees us all that we no longer have to start at square one. If you were depressed by Robert Putnam's novel a few years back, Bowling Alone, which bemoaned the lack of citizen involvement in communities today, this book and the work of Dr. Morse will give you not only hope but the tools to join forces with others where you live to make a difference.
Read it for the cheer joy of finding out how this is done, and done well.Each chapter ends with, How to Get Started in Your Community, a virtual workbook for action. Her reference section will also help guide you in fruitful directions.Putnam's latest book, Better Together: Restoring the American Community, speaks of a hint that citizens are beginning to "bowl together". Dr. Morse's book is proof that they are and have been doing so effectively for the past decade.Enjoy--an exhilerating read.
Book Description
Sixty-three stellar academics, consultants, and practitioners look at the future of human resources
The follow-up to the bestselling Tomorrow's HR Management (0-471-19714-9), this book presents an international panel of expert contributors who offer their views on the state of HR and what to expect in the future. Topics covered include HR as a decision science, understanding and managing people, creating and adapting organizational culture, the effects of globalization, collaborative ventures, and investing in the next generation. Like its bestselling predecessor before it, The Future of Human Resource Management offers the very best thinking on the future of HR from the most respected leaders in the field.
Download Description
"Sixty-three stellar academics, consultants, and practitioners look at the future of human resources
The follow-up to the bestselling Tomorrow's HR Management (0-471-19714-9), this book presents an international panel of expert contributors who offer their views on the state of HR and what to expect in the future. Topics covered include HR as a decision science, understanding and managing people, creating and adapting organizational culture, the effects of globalization, collaborative ventures, and investing in the next generation. Like its bestselling predecessor before it, The Future of Human Resource Management offers the very best thinking on the future of HR from the most respected leaders in the field."
Customer Reviews:
Business Imperative/Business Critical.......2007-07-12
If you are interested in the critical issues facing Human Resources today and business leadership in general, this text is a must. This book is for the HR practitioner and corporate leaders. The strategic business partner role is the future of Human Resources as the tactical and transactional basics of HR are either being exported outside of HR departments or outsourced. The HR role today is business focused, business critical and business imperative. All the critical isses facing HR are discussed in this anthology - from the strategic national issues, regional issues and globalization. I highly recommend. I also recommend the first addition of this series "Tomorrow's HR Management: 48 Thought Leaders Call For Change." Thanks Amazon for bringing both books to my attention.
TW
Practice lags behind theory as usual.......2007-06-01
The first section of this book was interesting, but it was not an example of what was to come. Many of the practitioner/authors made it clear that actual practice lags behind the available body of knowledge. The usual development of jargon, charts and soft salable materials seem to still dominate actual practice. Many less than expert consultants want to make money and the HR practitioners want to bring in consultants that will make them look good. No wonder the title "consultant" has such a poor connotation Not much has changed in the past 30 years.
Many of the personnnel practices including recruiting, selection, retention, etc. have been written about for years and little is added here. Employee assessment was briefly mentioned, but the development of assessment centers that would measure results was not discussed at any length. Human Resource Accounting by Likert should have had much more explanation. The discussion of Power without differentiating power from authority was pretty weak.
People thinking about this book might ought to first read works by Rensis Likert, K. Lewin, Maslow and other leaders in Organizational Behavior. Experts in this field should be real experts and not just feel good marketers.
The Future of Human Resource Management by Ulrich et al........2006-07-10
The authors describe human resource management as both an art and
a science. It is an art because we are required to motivate,
build alliances, assume new roles, adopt to the corporate culture
and collaborate on mutually beneficial ventures.
Human Resource management issues range from functional experience
to talent management in an organization. An HR advisor is
knowledgable on core competencies . Generally, such a team member
is trusted by superiors to provide the talent necessary to
accomplish corporate goals. Often, it is necessary to adapt the
corporate culture to take full advantage of business conditions.
Employees must focus on building markets of customers locally
and globally. This task requires both new skills and a considerable technical analysis. The HR management process
is a science in that there are reams of statistical data to
sort and interpret for senior management, customers and governmental units at every level.
This work is a good primer for the Human Resource function in
an organization both large and small.
The Future Role of HR Function.......2006-03-15
While HR literature is replete with threats of redundancy for HR department due to variegated reasons, the book is optimistic that HR will continue to grow and play a critical role as a strategic business partner and leader in attracting and retaining talent. It has examined the trends and challenges that will define the future of HR. One of the biggest strengths of this book is its unity in diversity i.e. despite some 45 chapters expressing different perspectives, it goes remarkably well as a coherent whole. That reflects very astute editing. The book succeeds well in identifying the strategic HR themes for the morrow that HR professionals would have to master and nurture in order to deliver value in the present turbulent times. No doubt, the book will prove to be of immense use in expounding an articulate understanding of the dimensions in which the HR interventions are heading.
The book is a fine addition to readings meant for management professionals and CEOs. The publication of such books has been labeled as the emergence of an era of "Heathrow Management Theory." It contains discussion on some of the most-talked-about themes in people management in which some of the best possible names in the HR profession have participated. It will be particularly appreciated by the busy practitioner and the graduate HR students who are tired of reading hard core researches while searching simple answers to some of the most intriguing HR questions. I must however add that since the book has considered the importance of India and China as markets for western goods and technology as also the emerging economies, a chapter each on the state of HR in these economies would have added tremendous value from the reader's point of view. That would have met the needs of a large number of big companies who are looking for operations in these countries. It is to be admitted that the realities of these economies are indeed not the same as those of the industrially-advanced world, and the new global manager would like to acquaint herself with the nuances of the prevailing practices in these new locales of entrepreneurial focus.
Debi S. Saini
MDI, Gurgaon, India.
VALUABLE, VALID AND VIVID SNAPSHOT OF THE HR PROFESSION!.......2005-04-27
To create this collection the editors contacted thought leaders and asked them "What is the future of HR?" They responded with the essays that make up this work. Its 45 brief chapters, contributed by 64 HR gurus, cover a broad spectrum of issues confronting the field. The chapters were clustered into nine parts, with the springboard clause of "In the future, an effective HR professional must..." These nine parts focus on outcomes and results-not actions or activities. This non-tradition (i.e., not based on specialized functions) organization of the book's content captures a dynamic, value-generating spirit. The authors hope they have provided a "road map for the profession," spotlighting how HR practitioners can constantly reinvent themselves to continue being of value people, organizations, and societies.
The books' core value is that it encompasses so many key and leading-edge topics written by so many people who are at the forefront of forging the field's future. But each chapter has its own stand alone merit; quite a few have considerable originality and 'push the envelop.' For example, in Chapter 14, "Changing Mental Models: HR's Most Important Task," Jeffrey Pfeffer argues that aside from being keepers and analysts of organization culture, HR needs to be concerned with the mental models and mindsets of the people of the company, particularly its leaders. Page-forward to chapter 30; there, Jac Fitz-Enz has a slightly different take; he concludes that to be a strategic business partner, HR leaders must become more culture managers than anything else-"there is no better place to start than with the organization's culture." Such thought-provoking views are typical of this book and distinguish it as lively, varied and ambitious collection of substantive thinking. Clearly, this is not a fast-read; given its agenda and scope-that's a virtue.
As an HR consultant and practitioner (HRconsultant.com, Partner, Stern & Associates), as well as a reviewer, I find this book to be a valuable, valid, and vivid snapshot of where the HR field is, where it's likely to be heading, and the many challenges it's confronting. No question about it, there's a lot of rewarding reading in this book.
Book Description
You should worry about your legacy later in your career, at the edge of retirement—right? Not according to Robert Galford and Regina Maruca. In Your Leadership Legacy, these authors argue that thinking about your legacy now makes you a better leader today.
Based on stories of top leaders who have shaped successful careers, the book explores the art of “legacy thinking,” helping you to formulate a legacy that will exert a positive effect on your work immediately. The authors provide a disciplined approach to framing your legacy, as well as shaping it over time. They start with the idea that your legacy is defined by how others approach work and life as a result of having worked with you. They then demonstrate how to assess your current impact on those around you, strengthen that impact, and pass along the best of yourself in the process.
While many leaders “find themselves” and hone their work accordingly only after a major life crisis, Your Leadership Legacy enables all leaders to craft their work and build their legacy unburdened by such crises, and to experience personal satisfaction and achievement throughout their working lives.
Customer Reviews:
Good long-term reference.......2006-12-11
What kind of legacy are you leaving behind? We all think about that from time to time. Your Leadership Legacy is a book that can help you not only think it through but plan for success. This book is primarily focused on your business legacy but the framework can be applied to your family and community legacy as well.
The first step is to acknowledge that you probably haven't given much thought to your legacy but that you want to do so starting now. The authors lead you through the process of drafting your desired legacy statement and how to seek feedback on it. This latter piece is critical and probably one of the hardest things to do; it's like baring your soul, so be sure you pick the right person/people to give you an honest assessment.
The authors list six different types of leadership roles. Thinking of myself and others that I've worked with over the years, I'd say it's pretty hard to shoehorn someone into just one of these roles. That said, most people probably lean more towards one even if they have tendencies towards two or more.
This isn't one of those books you can just read, put on a shelf and forget about. If you're truly serious about creating a lasting legacy you'll need to refer to this book every so often in the years ahead; it's a good way to check in on your progress and make any necessary adjustments.
Since this book is a potential long-term resource, I'd like to see the authors enhance the companion website. They have the opportunity to put tools, checklists and other items up there to serve as a living online resource center for all their readers. More importantly, it would be great if they'd set up space to host legacy framework documents and worksheets for their readers. That way the information would all be in one (online) location, so you wouldn't have to worry about creating a folder or storing it locally; this approach would be very attractive since the whole process is so long-term and things could easily be misplaced or forgotten about.
This book definitely has a lot to offer, but you need to be committed to the long-term process to get the most out of it.
How to shape your career so you leave the right legacy........2006-11-23
This short book offers a core recommendation: think about your legacy long before your retirement. Plan it and begin to create it now. Many executives do not begin to consider their legacies until their working lives are nearly done. This wastes a great opportunity. By thinking ahead and planning for the sort of legacy you would like to leave, you can make it much more probable that the legacy you actually do leave will match your aspirations. Legacies do not happen accidentally. They are the products of years of effort. We recommend this framework for considering your legacy. Authors Robert M. Galford and Regina Fazio Maruca include a structured series of action steps to help you get started on the path of legacy creation, and they provide numerous entertaining and illustrative anecdotes to help point the way. They don't dwell on asking if a manager who is preoccupied with legacy creation is hampered in making risky decisions, and they don't examine the mini-fad in legacy thinking. However, they do clearly tell you how to look forward, act with deliberation, and pick yourself up and start again if one legacy gets destroyed and you must build another.
Aimed at the First Leader as well as at the CEO.......2006-11-02
Thinking about the legacy you're going to leave behind is a lot like the other things we tend to put off such as leaving a will or expressing our ideas about our own funeral.
These latter things are a great help to those left behind. The idea of a working legacy is another matter. Developing and keeping in mind a legacy that you'd like to leave behind at work can well help you in making the day to day decisions. By knowing where you want to go, you can keep your decisions consistent, you can evaluate decisions based on some clear understanding of how that decision will effect the big picture rather than just the decision of the moment.
You would expect a book with this kind of title to be aimed at the CEO level, or perhaps just below. And to an extent it is, but it is also applicable to 'first leaders' who can begin to use these techniques immediately. After all, the real job of the first leader is to develop his/her leadership skills so they can move on to eventually reach the CEO position.
A must-read for new and experienced leader.......2006-10-28
Your Leadership Legacy should be a wake-up call for every leader - new and experienced. Most leaders pay little - if any - attention to the legacy they are building and leaving in the organizations in which they work. This book should cause them to think twice about their legacy.
Presented in an easy-to-read, example-filled, practical format, Your Leadership Legacy will guide you though the critical components of understanding your unintended leadership impact, writing your legacy statement, putting the statement through the acid test, and putting it into action.
This book provides every leader with the knowledge he or she needs to create a positive, enduring legacy - starting immediately. The sooner you read it, the better!
Actively managing the way others will remember you..........2006-10-26
Regardless of what you do as a leader, you *will* leave a legacy behind. Rather than wait until there's not much left you can do about it, Robert M. Galford and Regina Fazio Maruca make the case for managing your legacy now in the book Your Leadership Legacy: Why Looking Toward the Future Will Make You a Better Leader Today.
Contents:
Part 1 - Making Leadership Last: Building a Legacy
Part 2 - Impact and Duration: What Kind of Impact Are You Having?; What Role Are You Playing?; Your Intentional Legacy; Is Your Legacy Designed To Last?; Are You Doing the Right Thing?
Part 3 - Judgment: The Need for Judgment; Legacies and the Responsibilities of Leadership
Notes; Index; About the Authors
In many ways, this is reminiscent of Stephen Covey's "Begin With The End In Mind". You start out thinking about how you would like to be perceived and remembered, and then start taking actions to make that happen. The authors define "legacy" as how others approach work and life as a result of having worked for you. They also advocate for looking at "legacy thinking" early on in your career, so that your goals can shape your day-to-day interactions with those you lead. Through a series of exercises, they walk you through assessing your current influence on those around you, identifying the type of role you play in the organization (as well as how that will affect your legacy), and then what steps you need to put in place to ensure that you are creating the legacy you intended. It's not necessarily a comfortable process, as the odds are that you'll have to acknowledge that there are aspects of your leadership style that may be effective to the organization but devastating to those around you. But ultimately, you'll leave some sort of personal signature on your charges. You might as well make sure it's one you'd *want* to be remembered for.
While written specifically for leaders, it's not hard to extrapolate the principles to your personal life. Think of your role as a leader of your family or of some organization where you volunteer your time and efforts. These areas also affect your legacy, and in many ways it's a legacy that's more personal and important than a corporate one. Even if you choose not to follow through all the exercises put forth here (and I recommend you do), just the thought of actively managing how others will remember you will start to move you down a road that not many travel in time to have much of an impact...
Book Description
Leading-Edge Thought From the World's Best Business Minds "A one-stop shopping guide that shows how leaders can be successful in the year 2000 and beyond."
--American Society for Training and Development
Discover what Stephen Covey, Ken Blanchard, Peter Senge, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and other business-world luminaries have to say about the direction of leadership for the future. The Drucker Foundation brings together the best business minds in more than 30 never-before-published essays, each one offering a special perspective on leadership and a unique glimpse into the future.
Customer Reviews:
The Future Is Now.......2005-01-07
The Drucker Foundation in 1996 asked leadership experts and proven leaders in the private sector to contribute to a leadership compendium, the proceeds of which would be donated to charity. The theme is clear from the title: what will the leader of the future look like, and what skills will he or she need? Over 30 authors answered the call and together provide a surprisingly consistent - if occasionally contradictory - view of tomorrow's organizations and their leadership needs.
The benefit of this approach is that it forces the authors to cut to the chase. Far too many leadership/management books waste space with folksy anecdotes and maddening metaphors. These are, thankfully, generally absent from The Leader of the Future, leaving almost 300 pages of substance for the reader. Another plus is the reader's ability to find new leadership authors that appeal to him or her that might otherwise have gone overlooked.
According to these experts, the business world is changing at a pace not seen in generations. (This refrain, I admit, gets old rather quickly and makes the experts seem like leaders of the past at points.) In order for organizations to survive and thrive, they need a new type of leadership. Today, CEOs and heads of organizations are the leaders. Tomorrow, they argue, CEOs will need a new set of skills, and anyone at any level in the organization will be called on to lead. Globalization, technology, mobile jobs, and an unprecedented amount of information mean that no one person can be "the" decisionmaker. Instead, organizations need to behave like market-economy nation-states: they need to be less hierarchical, allow internal competition, give their employees more decisionmaking authority, and train their employees to make informed decisions.
The idea of training is key - virtually all of the authors agree that leaders are made, not born. At the same time, they argue that all leaders have certain qualities, including high energy, vision, and other qualities that are hard to teach. Perhaps this is why one chapter focuses on the underanalyzed quality of followership. Certain segments are broad and theoretical, others offer concrete proposals to develop leaders of the future.
What does all of this mean for the average reader? Many organizations are still hierarchical with strict rules and regulations. There is, one could argue, only so far we can go towards decentralizing, flattening and empowering. But that would be yesterday's way of thinking. The leader of the future will find ways to work within these constraints, will have a vision of the organization that will guide him or her, and will allow for the empowerment of subordinates. This somewhat populist view of the leader of the future will at a minimum provoke the reader to consider what kind of leader he or she is and whether he or she is prepared to be a leader of the future.
The Leader of the Future is one of the few books on leadership that is worth buying. Borrow it or buy it, but read it today to be prepared for tomorrow.
There's definitely a theme here.......2002-07-25
"The Leader of the Future" from the Drucker Foundation and edited by Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard is a management "sampler," comprising essays from academics and corporate CEOs about leadership, or specifically the kind of leadership that will be required for success of organizations in the future.
Clearly, the writers do not believe in "closed" management (the direct and control sensibility of the days of yore). To a one, they advocate investing in those below you, creating leaders in all sectors and at all levels, trusting, collaborating and "leading with vision." Some particularly interesting essays were "Leading from the Grass Roots" by Sally Helgesen, "Leadership and Organizational Culture," by Edgar H. Schein, the "father" of organizational psychology, and "The Ultimate Leadership Task: Self-Leadership" by Richard L. Leider. In general, the section with essays entitled "Learning to Lead for Tomorrow," which was about education and executive training and development was the most engaging for me.
I bought this book because I read a very engaging portrait of Marshall Goldsmith in the New Yorker in April, who is a very successful "executive coach," helping executives with personal problems in their organizations turn their relationships around. The book overall had a kind of hypnotic effect, as it repeated the same message throughout. Here's a representative excerpt:
"The challenges ahead will require leaders to identify, promote, reinforce, and live as role models of key core values; inspire diverse groups to common, shared action in which they trade some of their autonomy for a long-term greater common good; and give their best efforts in pursuit of that common good." This is from an essay by George B. Weber who is listed as the secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
It's mildly interesting. I would recommend reading it in bits between other, different books.
A Well Articulated Roadmap--By Those Who Have Been There.......2001-06-24
This book is an outstanding compilation of 31 articles, by current and past organizational leaders, futurist, authors, etc., who share their knowledge and experiences. As they point out, the leader of the future must be serious about communication and not just pay it lip-service, they must share as much of their power, as possible, with members in the organization to make it a more powerful organization. This open communications and power sharing leads to a learning organization, that is inculturated to adapt to the changing enviornment and more importantly help "lead-turn" the organization to ensure a sustained competitive advantage.
"Leadership must be learned and can be learned".......2001-06-07
'The Leader of the Future' adresses a significant and timely topic. It should be on every manager's must-read list.
Peter F.Drucker writes in his foreword, "Leadership must be learned and can be learned-and this, of course, is what this book was written and should be used for." And hence, he defines simple but basic characteristics of effective leaders:
1. The only definition of a 'leader' is someone who has 'followers.' Some people are thinkers. Some are prophets. Both roles are important and badly needed. But without followers, there can be no leaders.
2. An effective leader is not someone who is loved or admired. He or she is someone whose followers do the right things. Popularity is not leadership. 'Results' are.
3. Leaders are highly visible. They therefore set 'examples.'
4. Leadership is not rank, privileges, titles, or money. It is 'responsibility.'
After this excellent foreword, Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard divide this seminal book into four parts. Here, they note that "These parts have been chosen in a somewhat arbitrary manner. We deliberately gave the authors a free hand, and our revisions have been only mirror. The authors are all experts in their own right, and we wanted you to hear their views in an unfiltered form."
It is a great chance to read never before published essays of 37 distinguished authors under one roof.
Highly recommended.
the best of the leader books.......2000-09-15
Having read about 6 leadership books in a row, I can say with this limited perspective that this is the best overall. These are great essays by a wide variety of major leaders -- every person has something significant to say about leadership and taken together, the reader can put together a detailed and rich picture about what makes a real leader. One encouraging thought is that great leaders benefit by having and creating other leaders -- no need to fear too many good leaders. So, everyone can benefit by learning how to become a leader and the change will be better for everyone involved. Each essay is short, so taken together, they are very digestible. The writing is good all around, but it's really the insights and examples from proven leaders that makes this so easy to use as a blueprint or study of leadership. Top notch ideas, well presented. Any one who serves or hopes to serve as a leader would do well by reading this book.
Book Description
Provocative insights on leadership from a "who's who" of leadership thought including: Tom Peters, Charles Handy, and Jim Kouzes
A stellar cast of the world's foremost leadership gurus comes together in one place to offer their thoughts on leadership in the new economy. Edited by renowned leadership expert Warren Bennis, the book addresses issues that Bennis identifies as the ones that "keep CEOs up at night", including why we tolerate bad leaders, why leadership is everyone's business, and how ethics will play into new leadership. With contributions from Charles Handy, Tom Peters, Barry Posner, Jim Kouzes, and Warren Bennis-as well as from such young entrepreneurs as Michael Klein and Tara Church-no other book includes the caliber of authors and the range of thinking found in The Future of Leadership.
Warren Bennis (Santa Monica, CA) is University Professor and Distinguished Professor of the Marshall School of Business. He is the author of nineteen books, including the bestselling Leaders (coauthored with Burt Nanus) and On Becoming a Leader. Gretchen M. Spreitzer (Pacific Palisades, CA) is Assistant Professor at USC Marshall School of Business and a faculty affiliate of both the Center for Effective Organizations and the Leadership Institute. Thomas Cummings (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) is Dean of USC's Marshall School of Business.
Customer Reviews:
weLEAD Book Review from the Editor of leadingtoday.org.......2002-02-12
This interesting work is a collection of essays by some of the world's most respected leadership thinkers. Contributors include Charles Handy, James O'Toole, Thomas Stewart, Tom Peters, Barry Posner and James Kouzes. These essays were first presented at a special conference held to honor Warren Bennis. Organizers labeled the conference a festschrift, a German word for a volume of essays assembled by colleagues to be a tribute to a renowned scholar. The essays were edited and divided into five parts:
1. Setting the Stage for the Future.
2. The Organization of the Future
3. The Leader of the Future.
4. How Leaders Stay on Top of Their Game.
5. Insights from Young Leaders.
The result is an insightful examination on the state of leadership today and the challenges it can expect to experience in the future. For example, Bennis writes the first essay and presents a number of challenging issues, including the widening disparity of talent among income levels, growing demographic changes between young and old and balancing the demands of work and home. James O'Toole looks at the organization of the future and remarks that leaders should view their tasks "as creating the systems under which others would be encouraged to do all the things that typically end up on the desk of the do-it-all leader."
The Future of Leadership is a comprehensive examination of leadership today and tomorrow provided by a number of insightful modern day thinkers. It asks some judicious questions and dares to look into the future with assurance and confidence. Some essays are better written than others, but every reader will find some valuable material and learn a new perspective from its pages.
Highly Recommended!.......2002-01-30
The Germans call it a festschrift - a book stemming from the celebration honoring a renowned scholar, in this case Warren Bennis. The luminaries (including Bennis himself) who gathered in May 2000 at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business for this festschrift offer 19 thoughtful chapters on leadership issues. In fact, the consistent quality and creativity may pleasantly surprise you. The only exception is an imaginative, but shallow and self-absorbed clunker from Tom Peters. We [...] recommend this thought-provoking collection to students and practitioners of the mysterious art of inspiring others to follow.
Great edition of diverse thinking on leadership.......2001-12-12
This work is a tribute to Warren Bennis, a celebration of his career. In praising him, he challenged those around him to address issues that continue to interest and perplex him. And, despite his years of experience and two million books of his own in print, the questions that remain are often simple and profound.
Answering these questions are top researchers, professors, commentators and consultants. The variety of authors provides a rich tapestry of information, experiences and opinions. What are the keys to great leadership? What makes one high-performing team do great things (The Manhattan Project) and another perpetrate evil (The Final Solution)? As the percent of one's life likely to be engaged in full-time employment declines (from 50 of 68 years in 1960 to 38 of 76 years today), how does this affect the way we lead and live? What happens when good leaders go bad? Is leadership aptitude widely distributed or possessed by a select few? Are business schools up to the task of developing the management and leadership talent for tomorrow?
Given the approximately hundreds of articles and dozens of books on leadership published each year, you might expect to have had these answers or at least these questions raised before. "The future of leadership" offers a fresh, readable perspective, for the business student and the manager. Sure, you might quibble with the eclectic responses and styles of this broad spectrum of authors, but the quality lies in their diversity.
Book Description
This is a compelling behind-the-scenes account of the extraordinary Castro brothers and the impending dynastic succession of Fidel's younger brother Raul. Brian Latell, the CIA analyst who has followed Castro since the sixties, gives an unprecedented view into Fidel and Raul's remarkable relationship, revealing how they have collaborated in policy making, divided responsibilities, and resolved disagreements for more than forty years--a challenge to the notion that Fidel always acts alone. Latell has had more access to the brothers than anyone else in this country, and his briefs to the CIA informed much of U.S. policy. Based on his knowledge of Raul Castro, Latell makes projections on what kind of leader Raul would be and how the shift in power might influence U.S.-Cuban relations.
Customer Reviews:
Not much about Raul.......2007-09-09
This book is mostly about Fidel. There are only two chapters that hone in on Raul. Even Latell, who surely knows more than he could reveal in his own book, didn't reveal too much. He avoided the Bay of Pigs. He didn't say much about Cuba's interference in other Central and South American countries.
Still, it's a good read for laymen wanting to know the basics about Castro and Cuba. Who will take over the island once Fidel dies? Even Latell could only speculate, mentioning a few top ministers from the brothers' group (Raulistas).
Although I didn't gain much insight about Raul, I did learn interesting tidbits about Fidel: the entire clan were illigitimate. Fidel himself has his girlfriend (and their children) set aside. That both Fidel and Raul have a deep hidden side should be no surprise. After Fidel gave the reigns over to Raul in August 2006 there were rumors that Raul would be a ruthless dictator worse than his brother. That hasn't occurred.
Lots of insight.......2007-09-08
Excellent book. Well written and full of insight. Few have the depth and breadth of knowledge that Latell demonstrates in this book.
After Fidel badly written.......2007-03-14
After having read a number of books on Fidel, I found Latell's book badly written, and worse than that, full of conjecture. The other reviewers who claim that Latell is not biased are way off base. Latell's distaste for Fidel is evident on every page. He also borrows quotes from other books. If you want to read a good book about Fidel, one which Latell obviously borrowed from heavily but then added his own interpretations, read "Castro's Cuba, Cuba's Fidel".
AFTER FIDEL provides all the historical and psychological analysis needed for an informed consideration of modern Cuba's future........2006-12-11
AFTER FIDEL: THE INSIDE STORY OF CASTRO'S REGIME AND CUBA'S NEXT LEADER is an important assessment given Fidel's recent health issues: it provides both a political history of Fidel's regime, an analysis of his approach and impact, and new information on his brother, their family life, and how Raul is growing more powerful. In analyzing Fidel and Raul Castro's relationship and evolving influence on Cuban history and culture, AFTER FIDEL provides all the historical and psychological analysis needed for an informed consideration of modern Cuba's future.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
More Bio of Castro than Discussion of the Aftermath.......2006-09-04
This is a well written bio. No histronics, no preaching, no selling of a viewpoint. The author is a former CIA officer and current teacher of the Cuban Revolution at Columbia U. He credits his sources by name, noting each person's relation to the events, which is welcome for the layman. While the title implies that the book is about "After Fidel", this topic comprises less than 1/4 of the text. While to predict the future, you need to know the past, the subtitle works better.
Latell defines how Castro, through extraordinary intellect, a sensitivity to competition and a lack of moral restraint was able to take over a small island country and make it his fiefdom. He was a svengali to his brother, Raul, who's unacknowledged skills were necessary to Fidel's rise and continued dominance. Raul, like the rest of Cuba, is compelled for pyschological and practical reasons to cater to Fidel's paranoia.
Raul ascends to head the military by demonstrating his loyalty through leading ruthless prosecutions including that of a good friend and confidant... a popular and successful general... who's crime was to "dis" Fidel in a private conversation. Unlike Fidel, Raul has a modicum of conscience regarding this particular execution. Raul had been known to have shown some humanity at least once before, in visiting his father while the revolution expropriated the family homestead. Raul is not seen in public and the author says he's an alcoholic. If Fidel were to die today, w/could the 75 year old Raul be the Deng Xiaoping of Cuba?
The situation of Lina (Castro's mother) and her children (Fidel, Raul + 5 others) living in a shack while Angel (father) and his legal wife live in the comfortable "big house" is reminiscent of a pre-Civil War US plantation. Eventually the children are recognized by their father but, I presume, the psychological damage had been done.
Latell gives details of some things of which I was only vaguely aware. One was Casto's early obsession with "liberating" Puerto Rico. Another was the group of "non-aligned" nations, which through design Castro leads. Fidel and the entire organization are later sidelined by his necessary statement of alignment with the Soviet Union when it invaded Afganistan.
There are insights on the workings of international information systems. I didn't know that the lack of coordintion of the FBI and CIA was that FBI cases lead to criminal trials and CIA material, witnesses, etc. must be confidential. A Cuban mole, now in prison, provides information to Fidel, and disinformation to us, for 8 years. An anecdote about a mango tree illustrates, not only Fidel's inability to deal with criticism, but also how international information systems keep tabs on each other.
While there is little text on the eventual succession, I recommend this highly readable bio. I don't know how it measures up to the many other Fidel bios, but the author has an interesting and clear style. He is precise in his language and labels what is known and what is speculative.
Book Description
Church growth leader Carl F. George shows how meta-church renewal empowers people for worship and ministry.
Customer Reviews:
Catching the Wind of the Spirit.......2006-12-27
Carl George is in the church growth business. His book perhaps could be entitled "Building Bigger Churches." The key to this approach is the Meta-Church, a method of looking at the church as transitioning into relationship of which small inter-personal cell groups are a necessary part. These cell groups are a deliberate abandonment from pastor-driven ministry to smaller lay-led groups that develop their own leaders. It is pointed out that people who can tolerate three years of full-time classroom theological education tend not to be very achievement oriented in terms of developing those who build community (Page 124). Therefore homegrown leadership developed in the context of ministry is to be preferred.
This is a sales manual for the Meta-Church concept. Like any good advertising, the "buyer" is treated to both to all of the reasons why Meta-Church thinking is necessary, but to the testimonials of many satisfied customers in the form of successful churches throughout the world who have utilized this model.
In the first chapter we read that "what counts is where the wind of the Spirit is blowing and whether I catch that in my soul" (Page 15). It seems evident that the wind of the Spirit is indeed blowing in the direction of the Meta-Church. At the same time, it might be argued that these techniques make the Spirit unnecessary. As long as people are cared for in small cell groups, the techniques will work quite adequately apart from the need to determine where the Spirit might be blowing. However this need not be a dissuading factor in utilizing the principles set forth in this book. Merely because Biblical principles are equally effective in the secular world is no reason to reject them.
I was particularly moved by the importance of training leaders and, although I have been doing this for many years, was motivated by this reading to accelerate that practice in my own ministry by deliberately decreasing the amount of congregational teaching that I presently do and allowing those whom I am training to take more leadership in those areas.
A great book for North American Pastors and Leaders.......2004-03-22
If you Pastor a church or serve on a staff in North America don't go to another seminar or buy another audio tape or video or talk to another consultant on church growth until you read this book. I have read dozens of books on the subject of Church growth and small/cell groups and have never found anything better than Carl Georges insight into the "MetaChurch" concept.
Let me be clear that Carl does not give you a 7 step plan to church growth. It is not that easy, we can not treat the bride of Christ that simply. It is difficult and every church is unique and special. Carl lays the foundation for you to think through and seek the Divine Direction that the Father has for your Church.
The Meta concept can get complicated and it will make you rethink how church works. It will lead you to view the church for what it is , a network of loving caring relationships with a vision to change our world for Christ sake. I have read this book several times. So many I have lost count but each time is necessary for me to help my church reach it's potential.
Let me also warn you if you do not handle the subject of small/cell groups correctly it could cost you your job as a minister. So don't read this alone. Read it and share it, share the Vision God has given you. Let Him birth it in the hearts that you lead. This book is a great part of God breathing new life in the established church.
Book Description
"This is a treasure-trove of some of the best thinking today on leadership, management, and strategy."
--Journal of Management Consulting
"The Organization of the Future is required reading.... If you don't use this book to help guide your organization through the changes, you may well be left behind."
--Nonprofit World
What do employees expect from the organizations they support? How can organizations maintain stability in times of massive change? These are the questions modern organizations face as they struggle to grow and evolve. The Organization of the Future offers timeless responses from such leading authorities as Peter F. Drucker, C.K. Prahalad, Nathaniel Branden, Lewis E. Platt, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Jay R. Galbraith, and Deepak Sethi. Their incisive essays reveal:
* How to build "know-how" and "know-who" to develop successful teams
* How to prepare for "breakdowns" and create the nimble, change-adept company
* How to attract, motivate, and retain the best employees
* How seven basic policies can lead to high performance and high self-esteem
* How to support work-life balance and provide flexibility for knowledge workers
Each essay provides observations that will help leaders in business, nonprofits, and government keep their organizations healthy, competitive, and poised for the future.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding views for today and tomorrow........2001-06-12
'The Organization of the Future' is an outstanding integration of much of the current thinking of leadership, organization, strategy, change, and innovation. Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith, and Richard Beckhard (editors) have gathered together in this collection remarkable 49 thought thinkers.
Charles Handy suggests in his chapter that "Margaret Wheatley, in 'Leadership and the New Science,' has written of the danger of believing in Newtonian organization in a quantum age. Newton wasn't wrong. He just wasn't right enough to cope with the dilemmas of science now. Similarly, the old way of looking at organizations wasn't wrong; it just does not capture the real essence of what it means to organize today." On the other hand, Peter F.Drucker notes in his introduction, "...now a totaly different approach is emerging, not replacing the older approaches but being superimposed on them: it says that the purpose of organizations is to get results 'outside,' that is, to achieve performance in the market. The organization is, however, more than a machine...It is more than economic, defined by results in the marketplace. The organization is, above all, 'social.' It is people. Its purpose must therefore be to make the strengths of people effective and their weaknesses irrelevant."
In this context, the editors divide this book into six parts. They write in their preface, "throughout the chapters in this book, the need for organizations is unquestioned. The authors provide a variety of forms and operating plans for organizations today and tomorrow; at the same time, each recognizes the indispensable role of organizations to human accomplishment and achievement."
Highly recommended.
Insightful!.......2001-05-15
Editors Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard present a series of short essays by 39 authors describing the structure of tomorrow's organizations. The essays, which are introduced by Peter Drucker, are organized into six main themes: shaping future organizations, new models for working and organizing, organizing for strategic advantage, working and organizing in a wired world, leading people in future organizations and understanding and improving organizational health. Given this approach and more than three dozen authors, some repetition is inevitable, so we [...] wonder if readers will prefer to dip in and choose articles that appeal to them the most. Generally, the book explicates broad trends in structural thinking, almost like a survey of organizational forecasting by top philosophers, authors and leaders in the field. This is sure to intrigue the executives charged with steering large organizations to and through this complex future.
Insightful!.......2001-05-15
Editors Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard present a series of short essays by 39 authors describing the structure of tomorrow's organizations. The essays, which are introduced by Peter Drucker, are organized into six main themes: shaping future organizations, new models for working and organizing, organizing for strategic advantage, working and organizing in a wired world, leading people in future organizations and understanding and improving organizational health. Given this approach and more than three dozen authors, some repetition is inevitable, so we [...] wonder if readers will prefer to dip in and choose articles that appeal to them the most. Generally, the book explicates broad trends in structural thinking, almost like a survey of organizational forecasting by top philosophers, authors and leaders in the field. This is sure to intrigue the executives charged with steering large organizations to and through this complex future.
!.......2000-05-11
I am using this book for courses in a degree in leadership. This book is a definite plus! It is a compolation of 28 essays from different scholars and executives and is must read for MBA students and business leaders alike.
Very illuminating, changed my whole perception of myself.......1999-09-27
I am using this book for an MBA course. It is filled with advice and principles that look to the future. The principles are equally applicable to both organization as well as to an individual, if you view yourself as an organiztion of 1.
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General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
The Leader of the Future: New Visions, Strategies and Practices for the Next Era
What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful
A Leader's Legacy
Coaching for Leadership: The Practice of Leadership Coaching from the World's Greatest Coaches
Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations
