Reviews (21)

Don't Waste Your Time and Money
While I appreciated and generally agreed with the thesis Richard Florida puts forward that creativity is important for society, there were many times when I found his writing `style' to be annoying.I had almost put the book down after completing the first third of it.Mr. Florida's sensitivity to criticism and unabashed need to respond to every negative comment he received from his first book made me wonder just how narcissistic this man was.His ego flows onto each page and sometimes, in my view, gets in the way of his work and feeds a perception that he is not completely objective.
False Dichotomy between Creative and Technology Mindset
Richard Florida's work has many culturally helpful things to say. A kid's review - well argued by the way - has pointed out that Florida's work has a right brain bias. I agree, and I don't mind.
Florida's work is based on a fundamentally flawed assumption
Richard Florida divides people into two groups, those in the creative class such as artists, musicians, and engineers and those not in the creative class, mainly people not engaged in so called "creative work". Based on his research into the characteristics of these groups he concludes that India and China are not the real threat in terms of high tech competition and it is the smaller European nations with more open political climates that are the real threat.Obviously, Florida is not an engineer or a real scientist since anyone in the high tech field knows that India and China are the main competition for high tech jobs and the massive offshoring of engineering jobs is even lowering the number of students in college pursuing these fields.The main problem is that Florida doesn't realize that an engineer with a 4 year university degree is not the same as a writer, musician or artist that may have no education at all especially in difficult math and science courses.He mistakenly believes these two separate groups to be equal and the same in terms of contributing to high tech innovation and development.For writers an open political climate is necessary to make a living writing controversial books.However, for an engineer an open political climate is not essential in most cases but a stablemodern environment where he feels confortable living and working is needed.Furthermore, Florida makes a huge deal about the "Gay Index" where high concentration of gays indicate a high concentration of the creative class and high tech innovation.This may be true in western civilization but in China and India it is irrelavant.Florida also seems to have given up on his "Technology" element of economic development for America because in his latest article for USA Today he states something to the effect that high tech innovation can be outsourced anywhere and America can only maintain its lead if it concentrated on "culture", "art", "music" and "improving retail service" jobs. In conclusion, Richard Florida's creative class theory where "Talent", "Technology", and "Tolerance" is needed for economic development is fundamentally flawed.Florida's writings lack the rigor and unbiased analysis of a real engineer or scientist but is designed to sell books to a socially liberal audience. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Creative ability    5. Economic aspects    6. Economics - General    7. Economics Of Special Subjects    8. Emigration And Immigration    9. Intellectual capital    10. Knowledge Capital    11. Sociology - General    12. Technological innovations    13. United States    14. Business & Economics / General    15. International economics    16. Labour economics    17. Work & labour   

Reviews (7)

What Facilitates Facilitator?
Many who want to be skillful facilitators are in a way "misled" by consultants, trainers or books on facilitation in the sense that techniques and recipes are cited and taught.
More Than Practical Wisdom
The subtitle of this accessible guide to facilitation, "Practical Wisdom For Developing Effective Groups", accurately describes the book's scope and utility.In four parts and thirteen chapters, Schwarz provides an overview, with countless meaningful examples, of how facilitators can most effectively help groups develop their capacity for improvement.He distinguishes between two types of facilitation: (1) Basic facilitation, which aims to help a group "solve a substantive problem"; and (2) Developmental facilitation, which accomplishes basic facilitation while helping a group learn "to improve its process".He argues that three core values underlie effective group and facilitator behavior.The first is "valid information", which means that relevant information is shared by group members and that all groups members can validate and understand the information. The second is "free and informed choice", which means that group members define their own goals and methods of achieving those goals using valid information. The third is, "internal commitment to the choice", which means that group members take responsibility for their decisions by making informed choices based on valid information.Using a basic or developmental approach, facilitators most effectively intervene by making explicit and modeling these core values. These values are maintained by a group agreeing and sticking to essential ground rules, which Schwarz lists on p. 75 and treats extensively throughout the book. Not An Entry Level Facilitation Book
I picked up this book because I needed to read up on how better to sell facilitation and exactly what facilitators should be doing.This book explains this and more.However, if you are looking for a simple overview of what a facilitator should, could and would do incertain situations, this is NOT your book.If you are a manager trying to be a better facilitator, do not buy this book unless you want in-depth information.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Communication in management    5. Communication in personnel man    6. Communication in personnel management    7. Conflict management    8. Decision Making & Problem Solving    9. Entrepreneurship    10. Group facilitation    11. Management - General    12. Teams in the workplace    13. Business & Economics / Management    14. Management & management techniques    15. Personnel & human resources management   

Reviews (21)

Not a bad read!
I have a hard time actually judging if these books are good or bad, being that I don't really have much of a Feng Shui background.
One of the best Feng Shui books I've found so far
Easy to read and has nice examples that help a lot in understanding the concepts

I neednew copy because a friend swiped mine
I found this book very helpful.It was originally reviewed by a student of mine for a college class which led me to buy Collins' other book "Feng Shui Room by Room".I like the other book even better (I would give it 5 stars).These books bring the concepts into focus for use in a western setting.I transformed two major parts of my house within the first week and it was life changing.In fact I was able to make some powerful changes the first night.Also I didn't spend a lot of money but rather used things I already owned and loved that were either in storage or in the wrong place.I found myself loving my house for the first time in many years instead of constantly thinking about moving. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Feng Shui    4. Home Improvement / Construction    5. Interior Design    6. Interior Design - General    7. Fortune-telling & divination    8. Office & workplace   

Reviews (4)

Important yet incomplete study of work in America
"The new American workplace" is a broad, comprehensive view of work and business in American. It is an update of a 1974 book with a similar focus, with commissioned papers and large databases contributing to the text. Topics and chapters include careers, health and safety, performance pressure, compensation, training and development and public policy. Such scope will almost automatically include some generalities that don't always apply and even some errors. As to the latter, on p. 165, the authors claim that Continental "was able to acquire U.S. Airways." I think not. As to the former, the authors claim that only low-cost suppliers "are predicated on a basic tenet of capitalist economics: the consumer is king." (p. 174). I do believe either point: "The customer is king" is not a basic tenet of capitalism and other firms, especially globally competitive firms believe in this concept and succeed globally by treating customers as kings. In fact, this phrase is relatively old and foreign; firms have been treating customers well for years. They tend to survive and to thrive in a competitive, global economy.
Overly Simplistic!
The objective for "The New American Workplace" is to identify workplace practices and public policies required for the U.S. to continue to be the world's leading economic power.Unfortunately, the authors missed the two biggest elephants in American labor economics - Asia's seemingly infinite supply of motivated and talented workers available at one-tenth the cost of Americans, and the horde of illegals already within our borders.
How to build greater community and commitment in the workplace

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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Employee Participation In Management    5. Human Resources & Personnel Management    6. Labor    7. Labor & Industrial Relations - General    8. Labor market    9. Labor supply    10. Management    11. Quality of work life    12. United States    13. Workplace Culture    14. Business & Economics / Workplace Culture    15. Management & management techniques    16. Office management    17. USA   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Group facilitation    5. Interorganizational relations    6. Management - General    7. Organizational Behavior    8. Workplace Culture    9. Business & Economics / Organizational Behavior    10. Management & management techniques   

Reviews (1)

cogent analysis of team issues
TSP is a sequel to Humphrey's earlier book, PSP. That text concentrated on the actions of a single programmer or designer. Now in TSP, Humphrey expands the scope, to discuss what it means to lead and motivate a team of programmers. The acronym TSP stands for Team Software Process. But a close reading of the text suggests that you do not have to take "Software" literally. Your team might be a bunch of engineers or architects or financial analysts.
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Subjects:  1. Capability maturity model (Computer software)    2. Computer Books: Languages    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Programming - General    6. Programming - Software Development    7. Software engineering    8. Teams in the workplace    9. Computers / Programming / Software Development   

Reviews (32)

The Likeability Factor
Excellent book a pleasure to read.Provides scores of helpful suggestions to enhance your likeability factor and the impact it will have on your professional and personal life.I highly recommend it!Dr. Tom Pomeranz, President, Universal LIfeStiles, LLC

People Do Business with People They Like!
I recently saw Tim Sanders speak at a private business forum. His message range loud and clear: people do business with people they like.As a business coach, I talk to business owners and professionals all the time, and I can tell you that in my experience, many people in business are so transaction-oriented that they fail to do the simple things that create the kind of warm personal interaction that people need to feel good about doing business with someone. It's the likeability stuff that sticks with people and leads to repeat business and referrals. Tim Sanders' book is not only a reminder that we need to pay more attention to how we interact with people, he shows us how to become more likeable. It may seem like a simple concept, but it's essential. Highly recommended reading for anyone whose business depends on influencing others!

Good, but could be more detailed
I purchased this book with the intention of using it in an employability class.The author spent more time prooving that likeability matters than helping improve the likeability factor.Everyone has worked with people they hated, the impact of likeability is something we live with.The language is clear and accessible for high school level readers.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Communication (General)    3. Interpersonal Relations    4. Personal Growth - Success    5. Personal Guidance    6. Personality    7. Psychology    8. Self-Help    9. Workplace Culture    10. Business & Economics / General   

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business/Economics    3. Human Resources & Personnel Management    4. Personnel And Human Resources Management    5. Personnel management    6. Professional Occupations    7. Professional employees    8. United States   

Reviews (18)

Good mix of factoids, inspiration and leadership pointers
Building on the successful formula of his earlier work, author John C. Maxwell (The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership) has delineated 17 "laws" for managers who want to develop successful teams. That number may be arbitrary, but Maxwell successfully uses his laws as a springboard to weave together inspiring tales from Navy Seals, mountain climbers, Colin Powell, George Washington, Jimmy Carter, major league coaches and others into punchy chapters that any aspiring leader can use. This book provides the right mix of factoids, inspiration and leadership pointers to make it a bestseller. Even better, coaches and leaders who use these tips should be able to build better teams. We recommend this book to coaches, mentors and team leaders.

The "laws" are indisputable for a reason
From the favorable reviews, I assumed that this would be an informative book.However, this is not the case.I learned very little in the course of reading the book, and here is why:
Very helpful
I quite thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was a great read. Working in a team to acheive results through facilitation, motivation and the ability to work others is greatly defined in this book. Excellent. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Christianity - Christian Life - Business    5. Conduct of life    6. Leadership    7. Teams in the workplace    8. Business & Economics / Corporate Finance    9. Self-Help   

Reviews (5)

Great reverse psychology
This book helped me greatly to determine what was happening in my life at a particular time in my office and its personnel structure. It takes you trhought the characters on a journey of office environments and the typical personalities found therein. I do not have anything but praise for this title. A great read, jovial, and humorous it is a definite buy.
Gag me with a spoon
This text so oversimplifies identity issues that it is at once insipid and offensive. The "solution" at the end? We should all just accept that everybody does things differently. Or, in other words: Can't we all just get along? If this insight really requires several dozen pages of poor writing and saccharine pseudo-innocence, we're in worse trouble than I thought.

Dealing with corporate culture in "bird-style"
As I grow up to involve with more complex problems, a mean to solve or just demonstrate the problem becomes simpler -fables or parables.Many parables came out.Mostly are "change-and-corporate" and "animal-related".Ranged from monkey (The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey, 0688103804), mouse (Who Moved My Cheese?, 0399144463), Fish! (0786866020), frog (Eat That Frog! 1583762027), and now it is the time for bird, peacock and penguins. Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Didactic fiction    5. Diversity in the workplace    6. Fiction    7. Human Resources & Personnel Management    8. Management    9. Management - General    10. Pluralism (Social sciences)    11. Advice on careers & achieving success    12. Personnel & human resources management    13. Business   

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - General    2. English language    3. Grammar    4. Higher    5. Language    6. Language Arts & Disciplines    7. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    8. Problems, exercises, etc    9. Report writing    10. Rhetoric    11. Creative writing guides    12. Higher & further education    13. Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing    14. Language teaching & learning material & coursework   

Subjects:  1. Allied Health Services - Medical Assistants    2. Careers - Science & Technology    3. Careers / Job Opportunities    4. Management    5. Medical    6. Medical Secretaries    7. Medical assistants    8. Medical offices    9. Practice Management, Medical    10. Public Health    11. Health systems & services    12. Medical / Allied Health Services / Medical Assistants    13. Office & workplace   

Reviews (3)

SPARKS THINKING ON TOPIC OVERLOOKED IN ORGANIZATION CHANGE.
Explores the design of the physical workplace and the role this factor plays in improving productivity and operational effectiveness. Based on a four-year research project conducted by the MIT School of Architecture andPlanning's Space Planning and Organization Research Group, this bookintroduces the concept of Process Architecture, meaning engaging a widearray of stakeholders in rethinking the dynamic relationship between workprocesses and the spatial, technological, financial, and organizationalenvironments with which these processes occur. The authors provide acomprehensive explanation of the approach and framework with cases from thefield. For those concerned with organizational strategy and design, thiswork introduces a key aspect-the workplace-often overlooked in organizationchange initiatives. This is an thoughtful book with original thinking.Highly recommended. Reviewed by Gerry Stern and Yvette Borcia, founders,Stern & Associates and HR Knowledge Network, authors of Stern'sSourcefinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business ManagementInformation & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern'sCompensation and Benefits.

essential for AI, TQM, board gurus, systems planners
a new field - or major branch - of Architecture is now upon us.As Senior Advisor for Arificial Intelligence, i recommend quickscan of this matter. Graphs & color pgs help speed input, comprehenshun. Recommend translation to video, etc. Read w hiliter & make notes freely...Do itin team-read fashion.

essential for AI, TQM, board gurus, systems planners
a new field - or major branch - of Architecture is now upon us.As Senior Advisor for Arificial Intelligence, i recommend quickscan of this matter. Graphs & color pgs help speed input, comprehenshun. Recommend translation to video, etc. Read w hiliter & make notes freely...Do itin team-read fashion. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture - Human Factors    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Development - Business Development    6. Entrepreneurship    7. Human Resources & Personnel Management    8. Job Design    9. Management - General    10. Work design    11. Work environment    12. Business & Economics / Management    13. Ergonomics    14. Office & workplace    15. Organizational theory & behaviour    16. Theory of architecture   

Reviews (6)

Team ... The secret to success.
Brad Sugars does an excellent job of showing the independent how to find a successful team. In todays business world, team is one of the biggest challenges facing company expansion. Brad introduces great methods designed to help COE's and business owners refine their selection methods. His direct method of presentation is refreshing and informative. I recommend this read to anyone trying to find the right mix in their business, especially in todays world shorthanded staffing and endless dollars spent on hiring the wrong person.
Instant Team Building
Great book, has some really good team building strategies. simple but effective. Also some great ideas on 'Getting the beliefs right.

Extremely Powerful and Insightful
This is one of 3 books that every one of my clients get from me.This is basically the system for recruiting and building your dream team.It's one of the most powerful books in Brad's collection and I highly advise any business owner, manager, or supervisor to have a copy and use it as a guide for building and working with their team. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Human Resources & Personnel Management    5. Management +    6. Management - General    7. Management - Teams    8. New Business Enterprises    9. Personnel And Human Resources Management    10. Teams in the workplace    11. Workplace Culture    12. Business & Economics / Small Business    13. Management & management techniques   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Decision Making & Problem Solving    5. Human Resources & Personnel Management    6. Leadership    7. Management - General    8. Multiculturalism    9. Teams in the workplace    10. Training    11. Business & Economics / Management   

Reviews (3)

Not in the same league as the Inner Game of Tennis
I read the Inner Game of Tennis in the 70s, found it revolutionary and find myself dipping into it every few years. I picked up the Inner Game of Work with great expectations, particularly after seeing Peter Senge's endorsement as The Fifth Discipline is a great book. However, I am disappointed. The writing style is turgid, the arguments not as tight as the Inner Game of Tennis and overall, the effort to transpose Inner Game concepts to the world of work don't quite come off. Perhaps tighter editing would have made for a more cohesive work?

The "Inner Game" applied to the workplace
This is a descent book including a lot of good advice on how to improve your performance and success within a business and corporate environment.The advice flows naturally from the author's foundation established with his first book `The Inner Game of Tennis.'However, the themes and methods are not too repetitive.The book reads very well and easily.

Observe your job and you will benefit!
Is your job boring or stressful? The author shows you how to overcome the obstacles and make it challenging and managable. By making your job into a game, you can let yourself enjoy your job more. Does that sound refreshing or what?Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. General    5. Industrial & Organizational Psychology    6. Psychological aspects    7. Work    8. Business & Economics / General   

Reviews (5)

After ReadingMany Diversity Books I Didn't Expect Much New
After reading so many diversity books, I wasn't expecting to get much more from this one.But I was pleasantly surprised.This book takes a more pragmatic approach to the topic than others.It is less esoteric and more of a how-to book with a very strong conceptual framework borrowed from the change management field.I actually liked reading it and have found it to be very helpful in my work as a diversity council chairperson.

Come on!
Lets begin by analyzing the concept that this book is based upon: " Implementing Diversity". Who cares about diversity? Business is about getting the best people to perform. There is no color. No diversity. Nothing but performance! No performance, no business! It's books like this that give reading a bad name. My only question is how publishers can publish this garbage?

A Great Addition to My Loden Library!
Every five years it seems Marilynn Loden has a new book with something original and important to say in it.I loved Feminine Leadership (book #1) and am amazed at how relevant it remains today.Work Force America (#2)was also ahead of its time.And now Implementing Diversity (#3). This is ano b.s. guide for consultants and change agents who want to buildinclusive, cooperative workplaces without a mountain of backlash. The ideasand models really work. I hope this author keeps them coming! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Corporate Culture    5. Diversity in the workplace    6. Entrepreneurship    7. Human Resources & Personnel Management    8. Management - General    9. Organization Development    10. United States    11. Business & Economics / Management    12. Organizational theory & behaviour   

Reviews (1)

A Good Textbook for the Subject
While the title implies this is a good book for college writing, I found it lacking in that area. But the workplace side is well represented and thoroughly documented with examples and sidenotes "From the Workplace."
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Communication - General    4. Business/Economics    5. Communication of technical inf    6. Communication of technical information    7. General    8. Marketing - General    9. Business & Economics / Business Communication    10. Communications engineering / telecommunications   

Subjects:  1. AutoCAD    2. CAD-CAM - AutoCad    3. CAD-CAM - General    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computer Graphics - General    6. Computer graphics    7. Computers    8. Computers - General Information    9. Computer aided design (CAD)    10. Computers / CAD-CAM / General   

Reviews (16)

Recognizes that We Are Not all the Same
Thee are a lot of how to be a success books out there. Most of them seem to fall into two categories: religious or business. Finally there is this one that is somewhere in between. This one says that you define success on your own terms. In fact the first three chapters pretty well lay out the plan:
Rethinking and Achieving Success
If you read and apply only one self-help book this year, I recommend that it be Succeed on Your Own Terms.
Succed on your Own Terms
This is a must have that will allow you to understand how to build your own future based in your strengths. Easy to read, understand and full of real life examples. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business Life - General    3. Motivational    4. Personal Growth - Success    5. Psychological aspects    6. Self-Help    7. Self-actualization (Psychology)    8. Success    9. Business & Economics / General    10. Office & workplace