Book Description
Used by more than a million people throughout the world, this highly readable book provides a comprehensive examination of the applied behavioral sciences, and focuses on fundamental ideas which have stood the test of years of application in academic, business, not-for-profit and administrative environments. Complete coverage of motivation and behavior, situational leadership, building effective relationships, planning and implementing change, leadership strategies, the organizational cone and integrating situational leadership with the Classics. For individuals interested in expanding their knowledge of, and proficiency in leadership strategies.
Customer Reviews:
Call this book the Management Bible.......2007-09-19
Ken Blanchard went on to become the management guru of the 90s, writing countless books that can be found right here on Amazon. However, this text book is where is all began. I call it a text book because it is. This text has been used and is still used in management schools around the nation. Written with Hersey and Johnson, this book is the definitive foundation text on how to manage organizational behavior as it pertains to managing people. Following are a couple key points:
1) Diagnosis: It is a manager's job to modify their management style to employee needs. Evaluting employee needs and corresponding management styles can be easily done using Situational Leadership tools (found in book).
2) Intervention: Performance can be managed using the fundamental postive reinforcement psychology. Further, by consciously indentifying needs, performance can be improved more rapidly.
3) Evaluation: If behavioral change does not occur, the individual may not be in the right role.
This sounds dry and obvious by today's standards, but it wasn't when the first edition of this book was published (1980s). Further, most modern organiztional and management theory is based on this book. There is still gold to dig from its pages.
A 'must have' for all leaders........2006-06-17
If you take your job as a business leader seriously, this book is a 'must have'. As a business coach I use it in my practice with great success. For leaders (and managers who think they are leaders) and their teams it's an eye-opener. It gives insight in what it takes to turn a good team into a great team, and what great leadership is all about. If you want to be more effective as a leader and take your team to the highest level of readiness, read this book. It will change your life....and of those you lead.
Management of Organizational Behavior.......2005-02-26
Not too bad as these books go but a tremendous amount of verbiage explaining the obvious. Excellent example of turning simple concepts in complex charts and definitions. I would imagine that people in the field love this hyperbole but it's BS to me and pretty much a waste of time to drudge though all of it.
Goes where few texts dare to go: the real-world.......2004-03-15
I recommend this to managers as much as students.
Sure, the price seems like a lot of cash to shell out at first. But trust me, it is worth it. I had to read it for a Management class, and it started of like a typical OB text, illustrating the history of management studies (Taylor to Maslow to Mayo to Likert to ...). Good stuff, but pretty dull. Then, Hersey et al went where most scholars, even the supposedly worldly MBA types, fear to tread: real-world application!
The text covers all of the material covered Blanchard's "One Minute Manager," "Putting the One Minute Manager to Work," and a shelf load of other books. It also does a great job introducing Blanchard and Hersey's Situational Leadership, where the manager matches leadership behavior to a report's ability level and motivation. This replaces "Leadership and the One Minute Manager," and delves much deeper into the topic.
Hersey et al also cover:
- Behavioral shaping, and positive and negative reinforcement quite nicely
- Communications skills necessary to lead reports
- Power building, and using effective power bases ...
- The list literally goes on and on.
I use the concepts I was first exposed to here day in and day out. They work. My OB professor told us that, if he would be limited to just one book on management, he would choose this one. And, five years later, I agree. I am very glad that I did not sell this book back to the campus bookstore. I consult the book at least once a week while pondering both thorny and maundane problems with my employees.
You see, Dr. Davis? Some of us do listen.
All about Leadership!!! Must read!.......2003-06-13
This book is one of my favorites! It leads you first through a complete review of management and leadership theories, then introduces the authors' famous SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP model and theory. This book goes into great depth about the sit-lead model and theory, and is a great read. Want to be a better leader??? Read the book by the experts! ...
Book Description
Don't let your company kill you!
Open this book at your own risk. It contains ideas that may lead to a profound self-awakening. An introspective journey for those in the trenches of today's modern organizations, Deep Change is a survival manual for finding our own internal leadership power. By helping us learn new ways of thinking and behaving, it shows how we can transform ourselves from victims to powerful agents of change. And for anyone who yearns to be an internally driven leader, to motivate the people around them, and return to a satisfying work life, Deep Change holds the key.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent read w/some weaknesses.......2007-10-10
This book is an excellent book for generic change issues. Quinn covers a lot of issues that will help business execs in a variety of situations. Having been a small business owner for years, I saw a number of things that would have helped me in those days. For example, he talks about willingness to change. He couches this topic with the sentence that starts out with 'walk naked into...'! He knows how to hook a reader, yet doesn't throw in a myriad of illustrations (like some other authors in this field). I found myself wanting to immediately apply every chapter as I read it.
After years of small business activity, I find myself now leading a church in Illinois. An excellence course I am taking recommended this book. I can see a lot of applications for churches as well. However, I find that I disagree with his premise that you can change yourself. So many people I work with lack the ability to transform themselves, and I am unconvinced his 'alignment' idea is all that is needed.
For the Christian business leader or church member or pastor, the power to change must come from an encounter with God through prayer and scripture meditation. Instead of reinventing ourselves, we die daily to our old nature and put on the new man in Christ Jesus. This enables us to flexibly apply Quinn's excellent principles.
So I would only add some good old Christian theology to the power points in his message. Otherwise I think this is a great book and I heartily recommend it.
An excellent read..........2007-01-22
I had to read this book for my executive MBA program, and the class agreed that it was a very relevant and enlightening experience. I work for a large company that had a big merger pending, and I ordered copies for the senior managers that report to me. It is thought-provoking and helps one re-examine oneself with rich anectodes and vignettes that keep the book from descending into psycho-babble or abstract theory.
I highly recommend this book for anyone that is interested making difficult changes in their lives. The fact that Quinn addresses change in both a personal and professional environment makes this book a useful tool for self-enrichment or teams. There are thought-provoking discussion and/or self-reflection questions at the end of each chapter that allow the reader to take what the author has discussed and relate it to their own situation.
Excellent read on real change.......2007-01-10
Quinn's purpose in writing Deep Change is to challenge the reader to recognize that everyone is a potential change agent, if they are willing to take the difficult, yet necessary steps to experience deep personal change. He lays a strong foundation by first differentiating between deep change and incremental change. There is little doubt that most change that takes place in the life of an individual is incremental. Because people are uncomfortable with major change they choose to move in small steps. The possible exception to the choice of incremental change occurs when a person is faced with a major crisis. For example, when a person experiences a heart attack, they are motivated to make deep lifestyle changes in habits such as smoking or dietary chooses. Or when a marriage is on the brink of divorce, marriage partners are motivated to make sweeping changes in how they communicate or handle conflict. However, beyond these periodic times of being motivated by crisis, people usually make changes slowly and incrementally, rather than making needed deep change.
The tendency towards incremental change over deep change is also true on an organizational level. Rarely do organizations, including the church, make deep major changes. While it may be argued that leadership needs to be mindful of bringing people along in the midst of change, there are certainly times that organizations need to experience deep change to survive. Quinn is correct in stating that without deep change, routine patterns move organizations increasingly toward decay and stagnation. This is true in the life of the church today. The church has grown comfortable with the patterns of ministry from years past and as a result has lost much of its influence in the changing culture.
One of Quinn's foundational themes is that personal deep change must precede deep change within a system or organization. While most of the time organizational change is seen as a top-down process, Quinn argues that it can also happen from the bottom-up. He states that deep change requires a personal evaluation of the ideologies that under gird the organizational culture. This is a refreshing insight that has application to other relational contexts. As people desire to see change in the lives of others, whether in parenting, marriage or work relationships, they first need to examine what changes need to occur in themselves. It is true that we do not easily recognize the part that we play in the problem. This thought is consistent with the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:3, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
Another topic that is very applicable to numerous arenas of life is Quinn's discussion of the logic of task pursuit. Most people, under the pressure of task completion, have no opportunity to consider routine maintenance. This is true in the life of the individual on multiple levels. If a person does not take time to experience physical renewal through rest and exercise the body will experience exhaustion. This is certainly true with the spiritual life as well. People need to carve out time from the pursuit of tasks to spend time alone with God. The logic of task pursuit is also true in the life of the church. Each church needs to set aside time to revisit its mission and to ensure that the work of the church is in alignment with that mission.
Other helpful insights are found in Quinn's discussion on why organizational change doesn't take place. He states that the dominant coalition in an organization is seldom interested in making deep changes. Therefore, deep change is often driven from the outside. This has been true in the life of many organizations. Furthermore, there are pressures within most organizations to conform to the prevailing structure. Quinn does an excellent job of identifying the barriers of bureaucratic culture, embedded conflict, and personal time constraints. It is helpful to recognize that in most cases people do not need new skills and competencies, but instead they need a new perspective that allows them to act as empowered leaders in a changing organization. While this section on overcoming resistance to change was helpful, it would have been strengthened with practical examples of how individuals brought about significant change.
There is also much to appreciate with Quinn's emphasis on the transitions from the technical, the transactional, and the transformational paradigms. Quinn's description of each paradigm and the paradigm's representative would prove to be very beneficial to any organizational leader's attempt to understand those that they lead and the unique perspective they hold about the organization.
Finally the culmination of Quinn's emphasis on empowerment and ultimate transformation of an organization is what he refers to as the transformational cycle. The cycle is a helpful visual reminder that deep change does not come to a point of completion. It is a cycle that will itself become routine and stagnate if there is not a time of reinvention and realignment of self and the organization.
While written from a business perspective, Deep Change is applicable for anyone who desires to bring about change within an organization. The book is structured in an easy to follow format and includes reflection and discussion questions at the end of each chapter to provide further assistance to the reader in taking steps towards deep change, on both a personal and organizational level.
Deep Change.......2007-01-09
Absolutely one of the best personal and leadership books I have ever used.
Very practical applications. Plan to use as a reference for my managerial library.
Easy to follow recommendations.......2006-10-24
It is interesting that out of the many books that I have read this one does not hit me across the head. However with that said, I re-looked at the book before writing this note and I did mark a lot of text that I found highly useful. I particularly liked the solid recommendations for implementing personal and community change at the end of each chapter. Maybe the fact that the authors do not try wow you with their brilliance but provide solid and easy to follow recommendations is why this book is so valuable. The structure also lends itself to a study group within your management team helping to drive implementation of the principles introduced.
If you are more interested in solid principles to implement rather than the "my way is the best way" often presented, I highly recommend that this book be part of your arsenal to improve personal and community performance. A must for your library.
Book Description
A new framework for helping nonprofit organizations maximize the effectiveness of their boards.
Written by noted consultants and researchers attuned to the needs of practitioners, Governance as Leadership redefines nonprofit governance. It provides a powerful framework for a new covenant between trustees and executives: more macrogovernance in exchange for less micromanagement.
Informed by theories that have transformed the practice of organizational leadership, this book sheds new light on the traditional fiduciary and strategic work of the board and introduces a critical third dimension of effective trusteeship: generative governance. It serves boards as both a resource of fresh approaches to familiar territory and a lucid guide to important new territory, and provides a road map that leads nonprofit trustees and executives to governance as leadership.
Governance as Leadership was developed in collaboration with BoardSource, the premier resource for practical information, tools and best practices, training, and leadership development for board members of nonprofit organizations. Through its highly acclaimed programs and services, BoardSource enables organizations to fulfill their missions by helping build effective nonprofit boards and offering credible support in solving tough problems. For the latest in nonprofit governance, visit www.boardsource.org, or call us at 1-800-883-6262.
Download Description
Larry McMillan's name is virtually synonymous with options. This ""Trader's Hall of Fame"" recipient first shared his perso" "The same critical information top business schools teach
Customer Reviews:
Governance as Leadership.......2005-09-07
I found this book to be a breath of fresh air. It offers a new way of looking at nonprofit boards, in a relatively short, easy to read manner. There is a wealth of information designed to help nonprofit boards of directors become more effective. Unfortunately, existing approaches have been less than successful with most boards. This book identifies the problem as one of purpose rather than performance.
The book identifies three modes that boards of directors can operate in: the traditional fiduciary mode, the strategic mode and the generative mode. The authors emphasize the importance of encouraging board members to engage in generative thinking. Engaging board members in this way makes their work more meaningful and satisfying, while at the same time benefiting the organization through more creative, committed leadership. It suggests signs to look for to identify opportunities for generative thinking.
Another interesting new concept discussed in the book is considering directors as a form of "working capital". This is further broken down into intellectual capital, reputational capital, political capital and social capital. Again, this new framework for looking at what board members have to offer increases the opportunities for them to make meaningful contributions to the organization.
Amazon.com
Unlike most other books, Resonant Leadership undersells itself. With easy justification, the authors or their editors at Harvard Business School Press could have applied a more expansive moniker like "Secrets of Enduring Leaders", or "How to Deal with Burnout," or perhaps even "Being Happy at Work." The work's modest title, though, takes nothing away from its grand ambition: to explain what makes leaders effective amid unrelentingly stressful situations.
The authors, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee, will be familiar to many businesspeople and management theorists. They collaborated with Daniel Goleman on the bestselling Primal Leadership, which extended Goleman's seminal work on emotional intelligence, and explained how "EQ", not just IQ, underpins success in guiding and directing organizations. With this latest book, Boyatzis and McKee have continued developing their holistic view of management. It's an attractive one. Resonant Leadership begins with recognition of leaders' essential humanity and analyzes the physical, mental, and emotional triggers that make men and women strong or weak as leaders. As readers might expect from an HBS Press offering, Boyatzis and McKee's methodology is appropriately academic, with extensive footnotes and research citations, but it also uses a nice blend of anecdotes from their field work as consultants, and is expressed through decidedly touchy-feely language. What emerges is a highly engaging, readable work that takes business audiences into somewhat unusual psychological territory, far beyond the usual bar charts and spreadsheets.
The book's organization is simple. Boyatzis and McKee start by describing the highly stressful conditions in which leaders operate today, and explain sympathetically how many well-intentioned people fall into what they call "dissonance" due to burnout. Whereas the authors' earlier book focused on the initial ingredients for leadership effectiveness, their interest now is in ongoing, enduring resonance--leaders who can be effective today, but also maintain their edge into tomorrow, as well. Resonant Leadership thus moves from this initial exposition of problems--management ineffectiveness, and/or burnout--to solutions. The authors anchor their prescription around three core qualities which they believe resonant leaders must continually cultivate: mindfulness, hope, and compassion. These may sound like ephemeral concepts, but they form the touchstone of Resonant Leadership and are cited again and again. Readers of Boyatzis and McKee's latest--whether already-strong leaders looking to maintain their effectiveness, or burned-out ones aiming to get back in the proverbial saddle--will find this is a thought-provoking read. --Peter Han
Book Description
Resonant Leadership shows how leaders can recognise the cycles of stress, sacrifice, and renewal inherent in their jobs—and actively utilise the qualities of mindfulness, hope, and compassion to renew their passion and effectiveness. Practical follow-on to the international bestseller Primal Leadership: Goes beyond research and stories to offer proven strategies for how to “do” resonant leadership Successful Author Team: Boyatzis and McKee are co-authors of PL, and Daniel Goleman has written a glowing Foreword to the book which will lend considerable credibility and visibly link the book to its predecessor Addresses a Universal Leadership Challenge: The increasingly short tenure of many of today’s executives, the pressure to make the quarterly numbers, a shaky economy and other stresses in today’s global workplace underscore the urgency of this book’s message and its relevance for executives and managers in all kinds of companies
Customer Reviews:
Self-Help for Leaders.......2007-08-20
Recognizing the importance in leadership to first and foremost `know thyself', authors Boyatzis and McKee use real business leadership examples to demonstrate how a single-minded focus on performance goals or career objectives can ultimately lead to what they define as the Sacrifice Syndrome - over reliance on self and subsequent burnout. They then recommend the use of Mindfulness - listening carefully to our bodies, minds, hearts, and spirits as we pay attention to what is happening around us; Hope - clear thoughts about what the future can be and how to get there; and Compassion - empathy and caring in action - as the renewal pathway away from this Sacrifice Syndrome.
The authors present a sound argument for the importance of maintaining balance between head, heart, hands (and spirit too) in dealing with the stresses of leadership. As I read the book, I found myself wanting more about applying the principles to managing others and had the feeling that the authors had the knowledge and abilities to address this missing - maybe in a past or future book? Recommended for those feeling worn-down by the stresses of leading in today's challenging environment.
Partial recipe for resonant leadership.......2006-09-08
A good framework for Servant Leadership style. Authors drive the point home by hammering three concepts into reader's mind: mindfulness, hope, and compassion. However the book fall short on emphasizing the power of "serving others," which I believe is a vital ingredient for resonant leaders. Many useful real life examples.
Important book!.......2006-04-15
I very much enjoyed Drs. Boyatzis and McKee initial offering with Daniel Goleman, "Primal Leadership", so I looked forward to learning more about resonnant leadership. I certainly wasn't disappointed. I very much appreciated the author's attention to citations and footnotes, indications of valid and solid research -- something that is becoming increasingly rare in these days of making-it-up-as-you-go writings.
Furthermore, I applaud the authors for having the courage to tackle the very important subject of burnout -- there are more leaders suffering from burnout than one would think. I have simply been amazed at how many burned out executives I have met in my time, and how few of them seemed to realize that they were burned out. Plus, the simple and effective perspectives of attending to Mindfulness, Hope and Compassion are very important indicators for workplace success.
While "Resonant Leadership" is an important book for leaders, the one criticism that I have of it is that it is a little light on practical application. For a book that holds a bit more practical applications for leaders, I would highly recommend "Leading People the Black Belt Way" from expert Tim Warneka -- a book that covers similiar territory in a similar "applied academics" fashion, but has the added benefit of offering a few more specific, hands on approaches for developing Mindfulness, Hope & Compassion.
Overall, I would highly recommend "Resonant Leadership".
Mindfullness, brilliant!..........2006-03-09
Intesting book - mindfullness, benevolence, compassion, optimism and hope are behaviors that allow leaders to display the very best of their game. If you are one individuals who aspire to be a SUPERB leader who helps, inspires and drives results, this book will certainly be a roadmoap to get there...
Bringing the obvious to mainstream biz.......2005-12-29
Wow! It's all "new" to the conventional biz press and its legions of fans. Arthur Lynch Williams has said for decades that any meaningful victory can only be accomplished through 'character'. Excitement and passion are only required if you want your reports to be passionate and excited. Great to see the academics now finally on the bandwagon of recognizing truths already gleaned from sport coaching, military leadership, and countless other disciplines and organizational behavior. Read All You Can Do Is All You Can Do But All You Can Do is Enough and Pushing Up People by Art Williams for the real pioneering work in this field. Art is a helluvan easier read too, although this work is important for its contribution to the audience it is intended.
Book Description
Building the Bridge As You Walk On It tells the personal stories of people who have embraced deep change and inspired author Robert Quinn to take his concept one step further and develop a new model of leadership—“the fundamental state of leadership.” The exploration of this transformative state is at the very heart of the book. Quinn shows how anyone can enter the fundamental state of leadership by engaging in the eight practices that center on the theme of ever-increasing integrity—reflective action, authentic engagement, appreciative inquiry, grounded vision, adaptive confidence, detached interdependence, responsible freedom, and tough love. After each chapter, Quinn challenges you to assess yourself with respect to each practice and to formulate a strategy for personal growth.
Download Description
Building the Bridge As You Walk On It tells the personal stories of people who have embraced deep change and inspired author Robert Quinn to take his concept one step further and develop a new model of leadership—“the fundamental state of leadership.” The exploration of this transformative state is at the very heart of the book. Quinn shows how anyone can enter the fundamental state of leadership by engaging in the eight practices that center on the theme of ever-increasing integrity—reflective action, authentic engagement, appreciative inquiry, grounded vision, adaptive confidence, detached interdependence, responsible freedom, and tough love. After each chapter, Quinn challenges you to assess yourself with respect to each practice and to formulate a strategy for personal growth.
Customer Reviews:
Thought provoking, although no easy answers.......2007-03-10
Bob Quinn explores what it takes to be in the "Fundamental State of Leadership", stressing it is more about who a leader is than what a leader does to be effective. Eight practices are introduced which illustrate the creative tensions that exist in the leadership role. This book makes you think. Where each leader will come out on each of the 8 dimensions will depend on your own style and strengths, but the book serves as a great discussion/think stimulator to aid in the growth of your leadership ability.
A Great Guide for Those who want to Effect Organizational Change........2007-02-19
Many books have great ideas about how to lead change but this one is exceptional. Mr. Quinn provides great case studies / examples using Appreciative Inquiry to reframe decision making and facilitate the always difficult task of transforming organizational culture.
While the book is a bit heady it does provide some refreshing insights on how to lead change without going crazy.
It's All About Facing our own Fears.......2006-12-02
Walking naked into the wilderness. Being willing to talk about the elephants filling the room. Recognizing the trunk growing on my own face. Letting yesterday's organization go, those cozy perceptions that make our own inaction seem to be the safest way. Taking the road less traveled. Questioning my supervisor in an open, warm and respectful way---rather than complaining about him or her over lunch with a friend. Realizing the more of us who believe we are responsible for the organization we are part of, the more real that organization will become. That we are co-creators of our work reality--that there is no Them doing bad things to US.
These were many of the thoughts that emerged through my exploration of Robert Quinn's book Deep Change.
It is very challenging for me to evaluate Building the Bridge as I had the great privilege of Dr. Quinn including my story and some of my experiences once I faced my own fears at work several years ago.
There is no question in my mind, however, that Robert Quinn is a man of great wisdom and great gifts which he freely shares in a warm, personal and authentic way. After finishing his books I feel as though I have had a long conversation with a man who wants me to fulfill the purpose of my life. Such unselfishness is so rare in our age of narcissism and self-aggrandizement. I found his approach helped coax me toward being a more authentic, honest, and courageous leader.
No other author has brought me such insights in such an inviting and comforting way.
Jeremy Fish, M.D.
It will become a classic.......2006-11-25
Base on my understanding of the American society, I am not surprised that this book, like Quinn's previous book "Deep Change," doesn't get as many reviews as it deserves, but I am confident that this book, and Qinn's trilogy, will become classic down the line.
This book would seem esoteric for the society that is addicted to data and techniques, thinking that what we need is more information and skills in order to lead. It does require the reader to be more mature to understand the content at a deeper level. In my case, my understanding of Systems Theory helps a great deal. In fact, this book fills the gap that is missing in the systemic leadership books that I have read.
Edwin H. Friedman's A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix is one of the books that I like best on leadership and systems theory. However, even though it describes the sickness of the societies, organizations, families, etc. extremely well, it lacks the recommendation for the leader to develop the systemic quality to transform the society, organization, or family he or she is leading. Quinn's books fill the gap right on the spot.
As a Chinese living in America for 16 years, my concern is seeing the rampant reductionism in this society that seems to be leading America to gradually becoming like a third world nation that I escaped from. Books like this, though few, give me hope. America has a bright future if more leaders can chew this book, and its two siblings.
Challenging and wholly worthwhile.......2006-10-22
Dr. Quinn and his colleagues have been working with us at Prudential Retirement to help create a culture founded on the concepts that arise from this book. The effect on our business has been significant. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
That said, this book asks a lot of its readers. It provokes reflection, thought and contemplation about organizational change and the inner change that must precede it. If you are looking for a quick airplane read on the subject, this book is definitely not for you. If you have some reflective time to devote to this complex subject, it will provide an outstanding return on your investment. The book and its author possess an authenticity that you will appreciate.
Book Description
High reliability organizations (HROs) such as ER units in hospitals or firefighting units are designed to perform efficiently under extreme stress and pressure. Using HROs as the model for the 21st century organization, Karl Weick and Kathleen Sutcliffe show readers how to respond to unexpected challenges with flexibility rather than rigidity and to reduce the disruptive effects of change by using tools such as sensemaking, stress reduction, migrating decisions, and labeling. Introducing the powerful new concept of "mindfulness," the authors outline five qualities of the mindful organization and the organizational skills needed to achieve them. Each concept is clearly expressed in vivid case studies of organizations that demonstrate mindful practices in action.
A Book in the University of Michigan Business School Series
Voted
Best HR Book of 2001 by HR.com
Customer Reviews:
Unexpectedly a good read.......2007-01-18
I was please with the writing of this book. Not only is it a good easy read, but Weick presents the material in an intersting fashion. SO far, it has been most helpful in understanding the components of managing a situation that is completely unexpected.
A must read.......2007-01-05
Like lots of business books, this one is a bit repetitive -- it feels a little bit like an HBR article expanded into a book. That said, it's discussion of high reliability organizations is invaluable -- not from an academic or theoretical perspective, but for its practical utility.
There are elements of high-reliability organizations, like sensitivity to operations and reliance on expertise that would help any organization -- i.e., you don't have to be on an aircraft carrier or in an emergency room to take lessons from this book and apply them to your organization to increase performance.
Plus it provides an end to a continuum that starts with organizations with purely repetitive operations and continues to high reliability organizations -- allowing you to evaluate where your organization fits on this new continuum, and therefore what level of applicability these practices have to you.
Commitment To Resilience; Deference To Expertise.......2006-03-26
Karl Weick and Kathleen Sutcliffe have written an eloquent and practical guide to reliability and safety that emphasizes the managerial point of view, but is also equally helpful to researchers or safety professionals. Perhaps the greatest thing the authors are able to accomplish in this book is in emphasizing the conscious mindfulness required in critical situations, and in distinguishing in observable and real-world ways the specific components of mindfulness as seen in safety-conscious High Reliability Organizations (HROs).
The authors distill the essence of reliability (and safety) into five essential qualities: preoccupation with failure, reluctance to simplify, sensitivity to operations, commitment to resilience, and deference to expertise. As a long time safety professional (with experience largely in the aviation and chemical processing industries) I couldn't agree more with the authors after reading the text associated with these five qualities. I have found that especially in larger organizations that deference to expertise is perhaps the most difficult of the five traits to be accepted in the workplace, as generally rank or seniority tend to be deferred to, particularly in a crisis. The airline industry has come a long way with the different iterations of Crew Resource Management (CRM), and of all (often unstated) the reasons that CRM has succeeded I think that deference to expertise is the single most important.
I like the concept of realistic audits the authors promote, and particularly enjoyed the insight regarding the vulnerability of Singapore to Japanese attack as it came to be understood by Winston Churchill, who had a penchant for realistic self-appraisal, to wit: "I ought to have known. My advisors ought to have known and I ought to have been told, and I ought to have asked." The point is that we frequently believe what we want to believe, not because we are intellectually dishonest, but because of the human tendency to seek out information that confirms our views, and not to seek out disconfirming information. A mark of a truly reliable and safe organization (examples include airline operations, nuclear power plants, aircraft carriers, etc.) is seeking out information which points toward problem areas, rather than viewing successes as being demonstrative of the quality of institutional planning and procedures. The example concerning the Moura mine disaster on p.135 makes the point quite eloquently: "HROs assume that the system is endangered until there is conclusive proof that it is not." There could be no better single- sentence summary of the book.
There are many more interesting observations in the book, the most enlightening of which can be found in chapter five. I particularly enjoyed the discussion of a "learning culture" beginning on p. 136, and find that one of their most salient observations is also one of mine from years of industry experience, that being the concept of "learned helplessness." When people attempt to bring safety issues to the fore but are quickly dismissed, they learn to keep to themselves. This is a major problem, especially in large organizations, and the advice proffered by the authors is both sound and cogent. I was absolutely delighted to see the long-overdue examination (p.140) of "de minimus error" in which context is examined as it relates to seemingly unconnected small events. In this situation, people frequently seek out separate, small reasons for each deviation, ignoring the accumulating evidence that there is actually one large problem responsible for all the disparate events. Though the authors did not note it as an example, people familiar with the Apollo 13 accident will no doubt realize how the controllers had to fight off this kind of error willfully. (I think that Apollo-era NASA was an excellent example of an HRO.)
There are many more issues that Weick and Sutcliffe bring to the forefront in this book, from intelligent rule-making, to flexibility of response. My advice to any manager or safety professional is to put this book at the top of your reading list. It is easy to read, easy to digest, comprehensive in scope, yet universally applicable across industries. Even if you are not involved in an industry like nuclear power or aviation where large issues of life and death are literally in your domain, this is still mandatory reading. Any business can learn for the examples cited (which range from a merger-induced railroad meltdown at the "bad" end of the reliability scale, to nuclear-powered aircraft carrier operations at the "good" end of the reliability scale.)
I highly recommend this book to managers, safety professionals, researchers, and anyone else interested in becoming more informed about reliability and organizational safety.
Cal State Hayward Student.......2006-03-21
Good Book - easy read - thorough case studies of Union Pacific merger with Southern Pacific (and how UP botched the job because they didn't plan for the unexpted). Other analogies used: operations on an aircraft carrier, operations in a (nuclear) power plant.
Used as a textbook for a class - no free-reading here. Book was adequate.
A solid introductory text.......2006-01-07
Drs Weick and Sutcliffe provide a very readable presentation of a complex subject. Geared towards the business audience (but also a good introduction for researchers), it provides a clear outline of the underlying issues in managing complex organizations as well as concrete methods for transforming your organization into one capable of dealing with uncertainty.
Amazon
Robert Quinn's Change the World offers profound yet practical guidance for those who truly want to improve their surroundings. Quinn, a University of Michigan professor and author of five books on change and organizational performance, bases Changeon eight "seed thoughts" drawn from the philosophies of Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. After relevant quotations from each, he cites contemporary real-life examples to show how these principles--Envision the Productive Community, First Look Within, Embrace the Hypocritical Self, Transcend Fear, Embody a Vision of the Common Good, Disturb the System, Surrender to the Emergent Process, and Entice Through Moral Power--can really be used. "All our lives we have been explicitly and implicitly taught to see human influence as an exercise in domination," Quinn writes. By learning instead to practice a new type of "transformational behavior," he suggests, even "ordinary people" can have "extraordinary impact." The section on asserting moral authority, for example, segues from his own fifth-grade coaching experiences to those of basketball superstar Larry Bird to details on building a bond between "change agents and change targets" that effects desirable modifications. Recommended for anyone open to new ideas on motivation and stimulating change. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
In this empowering book, Robert E. Quinn, author of the highly successful and influential Deep Change, gives readers the courage to use personal transformation to positively impact their home life, work life, and communities -- to be what he refers to as "inner-directed and outer-focused." We are all potential change agents, but most of us are trapped by belief that we as individuals cannot make a difference. Informed by the teachings of Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. -- three of the most successful change agents ever -- Quinn outlines eight steps each of us can take to move ourselves and others to the highest levels of excellence. Following his advice, each of us can access and apply the power that lies within us in ways that will change our world for the better.
Customer Reviews:
My first and only review at Amazon - The Highest Recommendation.......2006-12-22
This, more than any book, has had a profound influence on my life. Quinn helps us understand why our lives are so frustrating. The basic notion is that we are hypocrites. We believe or think one thing but we act differently. This integrity gap is what causes us to continue to accept the ordinary, or transactional, world as it is. He challenges us to reduce our integrity gap, and thus transform ourselves from ordinary to extraordinary human beings.
Quinn uses three historical figures to illustrate the power of transformation - Gandhi, Christ, and King, Jr. He also gives examples from his personal life and from his work as an organizational consultant of moving from the transactional to the transformational world. If you are willing to do the work Quinn challenges us to do, you will find yourself much more in tune with your highest ideals. By transforming yourself, Quinn argues, you can change (or transform) the world around you - your family, office, organization, and ultimately, the larger world.
Please read this book. Give it to friends and family. We (and they) are all hypocrites. Let us close our integrity gaps together.
top notch.......2005-09-04
If you want to be effective at influencing others, study this book. This is one of my favorites. It also has many lots of valuable references and a great bibliography.
Change the World by Changing Yourself.......2005-05-26
Bob Quinn is definitely one of the most profound writers on change in this era. But his work is not for the faint of heart because he challenges each of us to start change initiatives in the place we'd least like to go -- inside ourselves. I found this an incredibly powerful book. I've used sections of it with my "change management" classes for several years and I know it has a tremendous impact on students, who like most managers have grown up unconsciously believing that change always needs to start with the other guy. If you want a simple formula for change, don't buy this book. Although it is full of practical, actionable ideas, "Change the World" addresses change at a profound level that asks readers to reflect seriously on what they stand for. It's a very difficult but rewarding assignment.
real change.......2001-01-07
"Typically a top management team goes off for three days," writes the author Quinn. "They hole up in a room with lots of flip charts and go to work." Then he says that when they're through they typically write words on small cards and pass them out to employees. Sadly, he observes these cards are "ignored and things go on as before." The premise underlying this book is that Quinn would have us care enough to change this way of thinking. The key, he says, is to stop doing things out of self-interest and start identifying and going after the shared goals of the group. He does a nice job of working good examples into his text. He also points out how risky it is to be a true leader since it involves overcoming a fear of failure when trying something new. He also does a nice job of making clear that hierarchy in itself is not a bad thing; it's only bad when they're perceived as mechanisms that result in getting nothing done. "Hierarchies become frozen bureaucracies due to the failure of human courage." He makes a compelling case for why it's crucial to skip the hollow words and dare to lead toward change. Only then can organizations hope for real change.
Look Within: That's Where Change Management Begins.......2000-11-24
Hopefully, you have already read some (if not all) of Quinn's earlier books, especially Deep Change which serves as an excellent introduction to this one. In the Preface, he explains that this book "is about changing the world. It is about coming to a deep understanding of human beings and human relationships." He then adds, "The book focuses on vision, unconditional confidence, and profound impact. It is about the mastery of human influence, transformational power, and the capacity to accomplish extraordinary things. It argues that everyone of us is a change agent." It is important to add, that Quinn advocates "deep change" as opposed to "incremental change." Moreover, no organization can achieve deep change unless and until those within that organization achieve deep change. So as I understand it, each of us must assume full authority as well as responsibility for (and have control of) our personal development. "There is a language of transformation. Yet most of us are cut off from that language. All our lives we have been explicitly taught to see human influence as an exercise in domination." Even the most sensitive among us is shaped by this paradigm or worldview. But this outlook prevents us from seeing more deeply into the actual workings of human systems. This book demonstrates an alternative system."
Quinn recalls the remark by Oliver Wendell Holmes that he placed little value in simplicity that lay on this side of complexity but a great deal of value on simplicity that lay on the other side. The framework within which Quinn presents his material comes from the "seed thoughts" of people who have mastered "the language of transformation." By "seed thoughts" Quinn means some of the "core notions that masters of transformation hold in common, the simplicity they send us from the other side of complexity." Specifically, Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Quinn focuses on eight (8) "seed thoughts" (eg Envision the Productive Community, First Look Within, Embrace the Hypocritical Self), providing brief quotations from each of the three "masters of transformation" which he correlates with each of the eight "seed thoughts." His objective is to explain how Advanced Change Theory (ACT) can enable individuals to achieve deep change in their own lives and then within their organizations. The title of this book (Change the World) may be somewhat misleading. I wholeheartedly agree with Quinn that "ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary results", both individually and as members of a group. I also agree that Jesus, Gandhi, and King were "masters of transformation" within their respective spheres of influence as were Carnegie, Edison, Ford, Morgan, and Rockefeller within their own. Quinn's basic idea is sound. He and I may differ only when defining terms such as "change" and "world."
I urge you to read this book, to consider very carefully what ACT offers to you (personally) and to your organization, and then to select whatever is most appropriate. Quinn provides an eloquent and convincing argument in support of his concept of deep change; better yet, he suggests all manner of strategies and tactics to achieve and sustain it; even better yet, almost anyone who reads this book already has the resources required. If you need help to organize and allocate those resources, and truly powerful encouragement to support your efforts in process, look no further.
Book Description
Since its original publication in 1995, Leading with Soul has inspired thousands of readers. Far ahead of its time, the book bravely revealed the path to leadership to be a very personal journey requiring a knowledge of self and a servant-leader mentality. Now, in this new and revised edition, authors Bolman and Deal address such currrent issues as the changing nature of work, the new face of today's workforce, and the greater need for an infusion of soul in the workplace. They also include real-life stories from readers of the first edition, and answer key questions that those readers raise. As vital as ever, this revisted narrative of an executive and his quest for deeper meaning continues to point the way to a more fulfilling work experience.
Customer Reviews:
Saccharine for the Soul.......2007-07-12
First, a disclaimer -- I'm an atheist, so a book that regularly refers to concepts like "soul" and "prayer" wasn't perfect for me.
That said, as a former partner in an international management consulting firm I've had to wade through many poorly written management and advice books. Among those, this stands out for being particularly vapid. The conceit of being a work of fiction that teaches allows the authors to ignore the need for research or data. The fictional account also allows them to avoid taking any repsonsibility for presenting alternate viewpoints or expressing doubt.
Most management books have a theme that could have been confined to a ten page article, which the authors instead run out to 200 pages to make a book. In this case, the messages of "more to life than work" and "treat employees with respect" would have better been presented as a five paragraph essay.
Nice cover photo of the woods though...
leading with soul.......2007-04-07
I found this book to be very well written, useful in my career decision making.
I hope to read more books written by this arthur.
Easy Read Business Book.......2007-03-11
Leading with Soul is an easy read. But it has so much to give to the reader. It interweaves a story line of an executive in crisis with business advice rather than just telling war stories. It could be one of those business books that you read once a year. It is a living book that would continually have new insights as you live your life.
For example I participated in an on-line book study at the Work and Worship Institute, and one of the questions I answered was:
Reflect on Gandhi's words we must "become the change that we want to see in the world."
My answer: I think it is critical that leaders role model the type of behavior and values they want to see in followers. It is hard to change other people when you haven't experienced the change yourself. Also by trying to become the change our understanding of the change will we different. The group might still need to make the change but how a change is implemented or the timing of the change can be very different. I work with small businesses, it helps that I bought a business and went bankrupt as I consult with them. I have walked a difficult small business walk. I understand that new change of starting a new adventurer of a small business. I am the change because I have taken a risk.
Obviously you would answer this question differently and I would answer it differently today than I did two years ago. Enjoy this valuable book.
Leading with Soul book.......2007-02-12
I recieved the latest version of the book. The shipping was within the deadline promised. It is the latest edition of the book. The book itself is of medium quality. It is a new, unused hardback but the finish of the pages is rough. There are pages sticking out from the inside a couple centimeters and (compared with the straitness of the text)the top and bottom of the pages from left to right are uneven. It is obvious this was a cheap reproduction of the origonal and it was not cut right from the factory. When the book is looked at it appears someone or something was chewing on all the edges of the pages inside the book. The hard cover is perfect though. But, seeing as I paid less than 8 dollars for a HARD BACK book and that all the printed text was perfect and more than readable, I really souldn't complain. I am satisfied. The cosmetic errors did not take away at all from the functionality of the book. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SELLER!
I wish all would lead with soul. Great book.......2006-10-26
A parable and an introduction to a personal journey from autocratic and hateful leadership to leadership with soul. This is a book that invites you in and holds you tight as you read this compelling journey. Changing from autocratic leadership to leading with soul is daunting and not many make the journey. My question is what does it take to move autocratic leadership to make the transition. May be the question of the century. If we can move people to this leadership paradigm, we can change people's lives, their family's lives, and create a new reality for the children of this world. Read this book.
Amazon.com
Business leaders who maintain that emotions are best kept out of the work environment do so at their organization's peril. Bestselling author Daniel Goleman's theories on emotional intelligence (EI) have radically altered common understanding of what "being smart" entails, and in Primal Leadership, he and his coauthors present the case for cultivating emotionally intelligent leaders. Since the actions of the leader apparently account for up to 70 percent of employees' perception of the climate of their organization, Goleman and his team emphasize the importance of developing what they term "resonant leadership." Focusing on the four domains of emotional intelligence--self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management--they explore what contributes to and detracts from resonant leadership, and how the development of these four EI competencies spawns different leadership styles. The best leaders maintain a style repertoire, switching easily between "visionary," "coaching," "affiliative," and "democratic," and making rare use of less effective "pace-setting" and "commanding" styles. The authors' discussion of these methods is informed by research on the workplace climates engendered by the leadership styles of more than 3,870 executives. Indeed, the experiences of leaders in a wide range of work environments lend real-life examples to much of the advice Goleman et al. offer, from developing the motivation to change and creating an improvement plan based on learning rather than performance outcomes, to experimenting with new behaviors and nurturing supportive relationships that encourage change and growth. The book's final section takes the personal process of developing resonant leadership and applies it to the entire organizational culture. --S. Ketchum
Book Description
Daniel Goleman's international bestseller Emotional Intelligence forever changed our concept of "being smart," showing how emotional intelligence (EI)-how we handle ourselves and our relationships-can determine life success more than IQ. Then, Working with Emotional Intelligence revealed how stellar career performance also depends on EI.
Now, Goleman teams with renowned EI researchers Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee to explore the role of emotional intelligence in leadership. Unveiling neuroscientific links between organizational success or failure and "primal leadership," the authors argue that a leader's emotions are contagious. If a leader resonates energy and enthusiasm, an organization thrives; if a leader spreads negativity and dissonance, it flounders. This breakthrough concept charges leaders with driving emotions in the right direction to have a positive impact on earnings or strategy.
Drawing from decades of analysis within world-class organizations, the authors show that resonant leaders-whether CEOs or managers, coaches or politicians-excel not just through skill and smarts, but by connecting with others using EI competencies like empathy and self-awareness. And they employ up to six leadership styles-from visionary to coaching to pacesetting-fluidly interchanging them as the situation demands.
The authors identify a proven process through which leaders can learn to:
Assess, develop, and sustain personal EI competencies over time
Inspire and motivate people
Cultivate resonant leadership throughout teams and organizations
Leverage resonance to increase bottom-line performance The book no leader in any walk of life can afford to miss, this unforgettable work transforms the art of leadership into the science of results.
Customer Reviews:
Emotional Intelligence for Relational Leadership.......2007-09-20
If you smile at me, I smile back; you frown and I look down - emotions are not a closed-loop system, but an open-loop system that helps us learn or causes us to shutdown. Transference of positive emotions (resonance) drives organizations to higher performance, conflicting emotions drive dissonance and limit performance according to authors Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee. Thus, leadership is far more relational than transactional and good leaders are competent in all four domains of Emotional Intelligence - self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. The best leaders are also adept at applying a wide repertoire of supportive leadership styles - Visionary, Coaching, Affiliative, or Pacesetting to drive resonance, but also Pacesetting and even Commanding when the circumstances dictate.
It all sounds like so much common sense now; nearly 10 years after Goleman first burst on the scene with his international bestseller "Emotional Intelligence". Still, it is sometimes useful to remind ourselves that management is a relational process and that the necessary skills can be individually learned and subsequently developed within a team and/or organization - as the second half of this book goes on to say. If you have the time to step back and contemplate how relational interactions might be better managed within your organization, this book might give you a few things to think about. Dennis DeWilde, Author of "The Performance Connection"
Very Insightful and Educational.......2007-06-24
I absolutely loved the information in this book. It hits on many points that you dont get in general business classes. It explains leadership styles, review processes, self development, and just an overall good book in general on how to treat and develope people under you effectively. It is amazing how many people run corporations, and dont know or understand the power of the information in this book. I purchased copies to develope my 2 levels of supervisors below me. Highly Recomended!
Team 2: Primal Leadership- Book Review- UWM/MBA Students (Edina, Keith, Dianne, Vicki).......2007-05-04
We thought the book has great ideas to share on the leadership theory. It is written clearly and is easy to read. The authors, who are clearly well educated in the field of Emotional Intelligence and leadership, offer a well written book on: Emotional Intelligence; leadership styles; and offer a model for self directed learning (with Richard Boyatzi's Theory of Self Directed learning).
The book has three main parts.
In the first part of the book, The Power of Emotional Intelligence, the authors provide a great introduction to what makes leaders great. The authors show that resonant leaders - whether CEO's, managers, politicians or coaches - excel not just through skill and smarts, but by connecting with others using the EI competencies. They make scientific connections to neuro-anatomy that support the idea that emotions do in fact drive human behavior. The concepts of resonance, dissonance, laughter and moods are laid as the groundwork for understanding primal leadership and emotional intelligence. Then, they outline the four foundations, or domains, of emotional intelligence and their associated competencies:
* Self-Awareness:
- Emotional self-awareness
- Accurate self-assessment
- Self-confidence
* Self-Management:
- Emotional self-control
- Transparency
- Adaptability
- Achievement
- Initiative
- Optimism
* Social awareness:
- Empathy
- Organizational awareness
- Service
* Relationship management:
- Inspirational Leadership
- Influence
- Developing others
- Change catalyst
- Conflict management
- Building bonds
- Teamwork and collaboration
An important piece of applying EI is developing a flexible leadership style that is designed to draw in and motivate employees via a repertoire of leadership styles that include:
* Resonant Leadership Styles:
- Visionary
- Coaching
- Affiliative
- Democratic
* Dissonant Leadership Styles (limited use):
- Pace-setting
- Commanding
The second part, Making Leaders, is about the process of making emotionally intelligent leaders. The authors argue the case of "CEO disease" which is the information vacuum around a leader created when people withhold important (usually unpleasant) information. This includes getting too little useful performance feedback. The authors argue that when it comes to building leadership skills that last, motivation and how a person feels about learning matters immensely. People learn what they want to learn. If it is forced, it will soon be forgotten. Consequently they offer the five stages of self "discoveries" which are essentially a self-directed self-evaluation process that help make changes more long-standing. The author brings hope by explaining that true leaders are made, not born. They explain that resonant leadership is achievable through experimenting and practicing new behaviors.
The third part of the book, Building Emotionally Intelligent Organizations, attempts to apply emotional intelligence concepts on a macro level. It begins with the application to teams, then moves to the ideal organization, and closes discussing how to create sustainable change. There is general agreement that the third part of the book is the weakest. It teases readers who want to know more about how to be more effective on the team and organizational level, but does not provide the necessary how to steps. The particulars of how all of this is achieved within an organizational context are disappointingly vague as a systematic research model is not presented.
Criticisms of the book:
The first and second part of the book were found to be well liked by all of our team members. However, the third part of the book was found to be strong in the development of the theory, but weak in the application of it to real life. Further weaknesses of the book are listed below:
- The primary focus seems to be on identifying the components and the theory supporting primal leadership, however, it is lacking specific guidance on implementing the steps.
- Examples sometimes speak to success, however at times they do not identify specifically what the person did to achieve that success. More detail would provide better learning for the reader.
- Most of the research was secondary data.
- The book does not discuss competing theories.
- A single minded focus on building good relations may create the "Country Club" paradigm, good feelings but little output. (Allio)
We liked the book because:
The following lists the many strengths of the book, which outline why our team liked the book.
* It is relevant to the challenges of today's business by offering ways to improve business performance through improving leadership.
* It gives great examples of how positive and negative leaders may impact success of the organization.
* It provides a comprehensive introduction to the importance of EI skills in our every day business life.
* It stresses the realization of the importance to put people first before strategy.
* Nature vs. Nurture? The author brings a hope (even though not all leaders are born with all self-competencies) that through incorporation of different leadership techniques one can potentially become an effective and resonant leader.
* It inspires the reader to look inward and develop their own emotional intelligence.
* It's timing is relevant to the advance of modern leadership theory.
This book, overall, is recommended to others, specifically including our team peers, colleagues, leadership at work, leadership at volunteer organizations, family and friends. This book serves as a great introduction to the concept of emotional intelligence in everyday business life, while crossing over to life outside of the business world too.
Forget that we are all people at your own risk.......2007-04-03
In sales training you are taught to analyze emotions, to identify the type of personality your prospect has, and then taught how to best make a sales pitch to that personality type.
In MBA school you are instead taught (usually by the case study method) that numbers are the bottom line and any ideas you might have of people not being interchangeable parts is silly if not outright incorrect.
Let's say you need to hire a physicist. On the one hand you have this physicist with an MBA (yes they exist, I'm one) and he understands the bottom line, how to sell, how to plan. On the other hand you have Einstein who looks funny and forgets to put on his shoes when he walks to lunch. You'd better decide carefully what you need. Princeton University decided - they built the only covered walkway between building so Einstein didn't get his feet wet going between his office and the cafeteria.
Above all else, this book says that we are people. Ignore that we have emotions and you will lose.
Refreshing.......2007-03-25
I picked this book up on a whim, and I was very surprised how much it pertained to my life. I found this book to be very insightful and refreshing. The ideas and concepts put forth seem so simple and full of common sense, yet very few people seem to practice them. I think this is a must read for people who want the most out of life and their relationships.
Average customer rating:
- Gienapp Let-Down
- magnificent!
- My Captain!
- Abraham Lincoln And Civil War America
- Abraham Lincoln in one slim volume.
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Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography
William E. Gienapp
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ASIN: 0195151003 |
Book Description
While the heart of the book focuses on the Civil War, Gienapp begins with a finely etched portrait of Lincoln's early life, from pioneer farm boy, to politician and lawyer in Springfield, to his stunning election as sixteenth president of the United States. We see how Lincoln grew during his years in office, how he developed a keen aptitude for military strategy and displayed enormous skill in dealing with his generals, and also how his strategy evolved from a desire to preserve the Union into one of emancipation and total war. A former backwoodsman and country lawyer, Abraham Lincoln rose to become one of America's greatest presidents. The biography offers a vivid account of Lincoln's dramatic ascension to the pinnacle of American history.
Customer Reviews:
Gienapp Let-Down.......2006-11-08
Bill Gienapp was a brilliant historian, and his work "The Origins of the Republican Party, 1852-1856" is a pillar of American political history. Unfortunately, his final work, "Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America," is a tremendous let-down. It is perhaps one of the worst examinations of Lincoln's life, and has almost nothing to do with "Civil War America." Essentially, it is an unqualified love poem to Lincoln, and strives only to prove his greatness -- there is no critical analysis at all. Lincoln is given credit for every political and military success 1861-1865 and is absolved from blame for all his mistakes. In reality, Lincoln was a complex personality and his public career was much more tumultuous than Gienapp proposes. It is disappointing that Gienapp, a man who dedicated his life to exhaustive, nearly flawless historical research would resort to such frivolous, uncritical "pop history" at the end of his tragically short life. Skip Gienapp's Lincoln and, instead, read Stephen Oates's "With Malice Toward None" or Don Fehrenbacher's "Prelude to Greatness: Lincoln in the 1850s."
magnificent!.......2006-06-27
A short, but very well biography of Lincoln. It counts only 250 pages, but it gives an excellent overwiew and superb analyse of the life of AL. The bibliography is also very interesting. One of the best books about the 16th president. A must for a Lincolnhistorian.
My Captain!.......2005-04-04
A good short, solid political biography. While Lincoln and the Civil War is its focus, by no means is this a battle history: Gettysburg is described in
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