Leadership Books

It is truly amazing as I do my own research into some of the issues raised, that Mr. Obama seems to be getting a pass on some of these issues. His entire judgmeent of character is called into question based on his associations alone but we are barely hearing a peep about it in the media.

This book shows the real Barack Obama. It is well annotated with many of the footnotes from Omama's own books (which should be read as well). I suspect those that call this book a "pack of lies" have not read the book. This book gives a different perspective than the liberal leaning media and even Snopes. You be the judge.

A hard hitting biography about the man who would like to lead this country in a path toward change. That is, the biography describes Obama as a man who would change this country to serve his interests and those who "worship" him. A must read for anybody who is thinking about voting for Obama.

This is a "must read" for (1) anyone who has not decided for whom they will vote for President of the United States on November 4, and (2) anyone who has any doubts about whether Mr. Obama is fit, now or ever, to hold the most powerful position in the world. If you do have doubts about Mr. Obama, but can't quite pinpoint the source of those doubts, you have to read this book.

This is such a piece of garbage, from the same publisher and author that distorted John Kerry's war record in 2004, which should tell you all you need to know. People partisan and ignorant enough to give this kind of tripe five stars should read "Blinded by the Right," by David Brock, who admitted his Anita Hill book was a total fabrication paid for by the same cabal. Our politics have descended to such an abysmal level, it's heartbreaking. There's plenty of hypocrisy on both sides of the aisle, and mistakes to go around, but when an industry based on blatant partisanship and total falsehood is allowed to continue and even rewarded, this has gone to far. The b.s. is no deep to bother with, but today I'm steaming about the new ad claiming Obama "got his start" due to acquaintance and one-time radical Ayers.

Harrold Simmons was the biggest funder of the manipulative smear group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. In 2008, Simmons is the sole donor funding a vicious attack ad in some battleground states that uses tortured logic and clumsy innuendo to invent a tie between Obama and terrorism.

The ad goes completely beyond the pale by cynically exploiting the tragedy of 9/11 in an unfounded connection with that Chicago academic, William Ayers. Then it claims that Ayers somehow "launched" Barack Obama's career -- an assertion so outlandish that not even Simmons' fellow discredited Swift Boater Jerome Corsi included it in this smear book.

Don't waste your money, or your vote. Open your mind and check out facts instead of living in a right--OR left wing--echo chamber. The future is too important.

How does one make their particular business excel past all their competitors? "Six Disciplines Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier" is a thoroughly 'user friendly' and practical guide to help business owners answer that very question. Promoting 'The Excellence Business Model', which pushes balanced strategy and execution, successful entrepreneur and author Gary Harpst helps new business owners deal with anticipated and unexpected challenges as they occur and how they to avoid failure before such difficulties become an insurmountable problem. "Six Disciplines Execution Revolution" is a excellent pick for anyone looking to make their business venture an enduring success.

The principles for success in business are not unlike the principles that support and create success in many of life's endeavors. What Gary Harpst has tapped into, and what makes this book and the ideas behind it so unique, in comparison to others like it, is the bringing of a real world, dynamic involvment in everything that works its way toward effective strategy and "execution".

I have told people that the closest analogy I can come up with, to sum up my experience with Six Disciplines, is to reference a comparison of Bruce Lee to a classical Karate instructor. -- Where the Karate instructor would measure his talent by his ability to perform and display increasingly complex and difficult techniques, Bruce Lee would excel at becoming amazingly effective in the very simplist and most direct of movements. Bruce Lee was all about stripping away what is useless and absorbing what is useful and so, it seems, is Six Disciplines. The magic formula for success in Lee's makeup was his unwavering commitment to striving for excellence in the simple things that many other's tend to shrug off and take for granted as they search for the pursuit of excellence in complexity. That and Lee was a superb example of success through well balanced strategy and execution.

There's a vast amount of knowledge behind the scenes in this book and the good part is that Gary Harpst has managed to harvest the fruits of so much labor for all of us to benefit from, and in a way that can transform "pretty good" into "Great!"

With our struggling economy, the crisis with rising prices in energy and the continual, increasing rise in food prices, a large percentage of American businesses are struggling. The timing of this book could not have been better.

This book details a strategy execution program for your organization. The guides in this book with will assist any manager at any level with moving into a proactive stance rather than reactive. Surprises - some small, some business killers - are around every turn. This book deals with these issues head on in an open and honest way.

The field testing that was performed along with the best practices of know organizations takes a lot of pressure off for those who wish to pursue the advice in this wonderful new book. I can assure you that you will not have buyer's remorse. Buy copies for all of your managers and leaders. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR Author ofWingtips with Spurs

In my book, Mastering The Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-profit, I urge leaders and managers to "Avoid Management-by-Bestseller Syndrome." That's why this book gets my high-five rating. It fits with my Management Buckets system--and it's all about execution. As Peter Drucker said, "Vision without execution is delusion." Plus, the author's recommended books (in the resource section) give you a synergistic context. The book won't take you off-course. It's a complementary tool to help you walk the next steps.

"The first premise of this book is that what most business leaders think is their greatest challenge really isn't," says Harpst, who implemented more than 60,000 business management systems. "In most of my 20-year tenure as CEO of Solomon Software, I was in react mode, moving from one crisis to the next." So he makes the analysis simple with four quadrants focused on strong or weak strategy, coupled with strong or weak execution. The four quadrants: 1) growth wave, 2) fire-fighting, 3) profit wave, and 4) balanced and predictable.

It's all about getting to his quadrant of excellence: balanced and predictable. "This sounds easy," he writes, "but most organizations don't have the framework, the will, or the persistence to make the hard choices it requires." He adds, "Sustainable excellence isn't possible unless an organization learns to systemically increase its capability to execute, and to do so faster than the rate at which its challenges are growing. It's ironic that the better an organization executes today, the bigger its challenges will be tomorrow." (Been there, done that, right?)

I appreciate his comment that excellence is "the enduring pursuit of balanced strategy and execution." Harpst also reminds us that excellence is the "journey that never ends." I agree.

While the ultimate message put forth in this book is about executing your plans and how to go about that, it is very much based on what needs to be done first - and that is Planning, Goal-Setting. Without this foundation in place first, any actions in business will be haphazard, directionless and misguided.

Six Principles Execution Revolution is an excellent business source that offers some unique insights into how to put your business goals into action. Having a plan is one thing. Being able to make it happen is something else altogether. This book helps you do that.

How To Keep Your Man: And Keep Him For Good

Real Life Dramas - Volume One

Darren G. Burton

I am the manager of a large Salon/Day Spa and we purchased a copy of this book for each of our employees. It is helping us learn how to manage each person based on their personality strengths rather than their weaknesses. They are also having a great time learning about each other in a different way. We all have a better understanding of each other.
I would highly recommend this book.

People often know enough information to draw a proper conclusion, but haven't made the proper connections. When they get the conclusion from someone else, they often get a reaction like "duh! I knew that already; I just never got it until you just said it." This book will give you that reaction. It will identify the top 5 personal paradigms you work with, and gives you strategies and tactics that will help you feature them more productively in your life. You might ask "is that it?" A common question according to the book, but focusing on more than the top five is spreading yourself too thin, as is any focus on avoidance of what doesn't work for you. Aside from my own "duh" factor and curiosity, I felt this book was extremely good at what it does.

This book is excellent and we us it at [..] with all of our Career & Life Coaching clients.

The online profile is invaluable for discovering your 5 key strengths. We make sure that our clients understand that in order to become effective in their careers and life, they must focus on and improve their strengths most of the time. They should only be spending 15% of their time working on their weaknesses. The book describes all the core strengths and the online profile will help you discover your top five.

The online access also includes a membership to the online forums and more!

I finally got around to reading Strengths Finder 2.0 and I waited far too long. It's a great book that taught me a lot about myself. Definitely one of the top books I've read this year, so good I liked it almost as much as my favorite Squawk!: How to Stop Making Noise and Start Getting Results.

I enjoyed the book and found it to be quite insightful. I'd definitely recommend it. Buyers need to be aware, however, that in order to take the test, you must have a code to use at the publisher's website. Each book has only one code, which means each person who wants to take the test must purchase their own copy of the book. The codes that come with used or borrowed books are probably not valid any more.

The CFO of one of my client companies was discussing Good to Great and it caught my attention! He's a smart man with outstanding work ethics, so it would stand to reason he would find this book a winner.

After reading it, I am amazed that someone finally articulated what many of us had suspected -- it isn't about being good. It isn't about hiring a team to come in and identify our "goals and objectives". It is about something much more quiet, and so much stronger. It is getting the right people on the train...and the wrong ones off. It is about working for the organization, not self.

This book has many fascinating facts which, if you keep them in the lead of your thoughts, will help you go from good to great as well.

The road to greatness is not for faint of heart, the under-dedicated, or those who cannot channel their egos into their organizations to work for the common good. BUT, if you are strong, determined and dedicated to the prize, look out--it's going to happen for your organization!

Definitely, read this book, regardless of where you are in your life/business process.

www.iris-sasakiHR.com

This book has generated so many successful business practices among my client base that who can genuinely put it down? As a companion to my own book, "The Expert's Edge," it completes the picture for business success. Read it over and over and over!

A few years ago, the company I was with purchased copies of Good to Great for managers. I was blown away by the information the book contained. The book went against my thinking at the time. In quick order, I changed my mind-set about several topics and found my `new ways' were more productive to my employer and my career.

Perplexed, I wondered why the executive management of the organization didn't practice the theories advanced in this book. They were after all, the ones that had purchased copies for their managers. Sad to say, the company began a downward spiral and several divisions were sold - myself included.

To my surprise, my new CEO was a huge fan of Good to Great and referred to it often. Outside of his office was a copy of the book permanently resting on a coffee table. In my good fortune, I learned that this CEO and the organization, took the lessons from Good to Great to heart. The company grew and my career grew.

I highly recommend this book to anyone in management. I have included it on my Amazon lists and my Amazon guides. I have stated this is, quite simply, the best book on management available. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR Author of Wingtips with Spurs

The book arrived much sooner than expected and in great shape. Very pleased with the service and product.

I ordered Good to Great along with Amazon's recommended pairing Squawk!: How to Stop Making Noise and Start Getting Results and they are a great match!

First, Good to Great provides a macro level view of what strategies various companies have employed over the last few decades and speculates a link between these strategies and the company's stock performance. As a leader, this book is helpful to consider your own strategies for your organization against some of the best companies in the world.

Squawk! is the perfect pairing for G2G because it covers the strategies an individual leader needs to employ to get commitment from his or her employees, top-notch teamwork and top performance. No leader can operate optimally without the skills to succeed on the one-on-one level, and this is what makes Squawk! such a great match!

I bought this book over a year ago. Now I can judge the results of the book from experience. Overall, the book is great tool for any person to begin changing her life, but it does lack the how-to quite often. That part is left to the reader unexpressed.

As many of the negative reviews of this book indicate, there are some underlying Christian, more specifically Mormon, ideas presented in the 7 Habits. I myself am an agnostic yet after reading the 7 Habits I found nothing to dissuade me from testing the ideas put forth by Covey. None of the habits suggests the reader should convert, abandon his/her own thoughts or be eternally damned. If I dismissed his writing simply due to my assumptions of his belief or my disagreement of some of this thoughts, I would be no different than all the fundamentalists who do so in the name of God. So I tested the habits.

I was already a person who enjoyed a successful family and financial life as fruits of my own labor. That didn't stop the book from making a difference. Truly seeking to empathize while silencing my own thoughts and experiences led to a far greater bond with my family members. Putting first things first and beginning with the end in mind, ABSOLUTELY progressed my life. It has been over a year. Thanks to this book, I found the courage, discipline, and time to create a vision for myself. I left my 6 figure salary job that I knew deep down made no difference beyond the appropriate use of my paycheck to start my own company; one that created synergy and actively and selflessly gave back to the community. The company is doing great and my employees are onboard for life. I have never been so fulfilled inside yet I know my self-development is not yet complete. I believe I had the thirst and initiated the search myself. Eventually I would get there with or without the 7 habits, but it held my hand through the initial stages.

What the book lacks is further practices on such topics as nurturing one's independent will. The wording itself is rather proprietary, so beyond a thorough explanation Covey should have provided more ideas or exercises on the development of this "human endowment". This is a trend throughout the 7 Habits; one that I feel takes away from the effectiveness of it.

Dr Covey has written a book with some valuable points, which would be useful for any person to remember and apply. Although some say that they're common sense, sometimes we need reminding of common sense. Being proactive (i.e. doing something is better than doing nothing), starting with the end in sight (i.e. visualise what you really want and plan to get it), putting first-things-first (i.e. don't procrastinate), think Win-win (obviously valuable), and Seek-first-to-understand-then-to-be-understood are all useful and valuable habits. The idea of being principle-centred is also worth examining, as is the idea of concentrating on your circle of influence.

However, this book could have been much shorter; probably less than half the length. Dale Carnegie covered many of the ideas fifty years earlier, and wrote more clearly. Dr Covey's writing style would have George Orwell spinning in his grave. Like many authors in the 'self-help' genre, Dr Covey's writing is imprecise, long-winded, laden with exaggeration, and littered with clichés.

The 'Synergize' chapter should simply be excised; Dr Covey spends an entire chapter gushing about situations in which enthusiastic people got together, opened-up, became excited, and produced something wonderful. That isn't a habit; it's an effect. It's all very nice when it happens, but it ignores the situations where enthusiastic people get together, open-up, become excited, and produce something terrible or utterly disastrous because they were all too excited to examine risk. Late-90's dot-com companies in particular spring to mind. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds was written about this phenomenon.

Dr Covey's advice relating to tyrannical bosses is awful. I would expect that anyone who adopts Dr Covey's advice in a situation where they are forced to deal with a sociopath is about to discover the meaning of 'disappointment'. Dr Covey makes the error of assuming that deep-down, all people are reasonable... if they were, his ideas would work. Unfortunately, they are not, and adopting Dr Covey's techniques with a sociopathic manipulator (they're more common than you think), or even worse, a sycophantic group of sociopaths, is a recipe for disaster. Sometimes, the best advice is 'get as far as you can from that person and situation, as fast as you can'; I doubt whether Dr Covey has ever given anyone that advice.

This leads me to another thread common to self-help writers; the unwillingness to admit that their approaches won't necessarily work for all people in all situations, and the accompanying focus on only the positive outcomes that can come from following their advice. Dr Covey's book is an example of this; no warnings, no caveats; the whole thing is presented as a path to salvation.

Finally, the anecdotes... they're tedious. One after the other, we hear unverifiable anecdotes, which could have just as easily have been invented. Or they could be completely one-sided; the other people in the situation may have had a completely different interpretation. I couldn't help when reading the book but wonder if Dr Covey's anecdotes were all that they seemed.

So there you have it; a middling book which promises much and delivers some. This book is worth a read if you go in with your eyes open, and think critically. But for the impressionable reader (it is often impressionable people who buy self-help books) some parts of the book may lead to disappointment.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

This classic book provides steps to building a productive and organized life. Valuable for personal and business application. I review it in the last two lectures of my Principles of Management course to assist students in developing life and career plans.

Covey shares insight that should be considered by all. His "7 habits" apply to everyone, whether they wish to be more effective as leaders, parents, students, or just more effective as members of society. The habits he outlines perk the minds of and prompt the audience to self-examination. Immediately, I started to think of my own perceptions and attitudes in relation to my personal effectiveness as a Soldier, a leader, a parent, a husband, and as a friend. By adopting the habits, every aspect of my life could benefit.
The habits are not only presented and explained, but the author uses personal anecdotes to help us more readily relate to them. Covey outlines a plan for making the habits our own and explains how we will reap the benefits of using the habits as we journey through life. Covey creates a set of parameters in the habits that can provide guidance and control for anyone who wishes to be more effective at anything. It is not a quick fix, but a personal attitude and behavioral adaptation that can be developed in a positive way. I recommend "7 Habits" to everyone I know.

The reason why astrologers seem dead on is because they are so generic they would seem to fit anyone's situation. The same goes for this book. This books habits are so generic and so vague that they are practically useless. For instance, "sharpen the saw" is so vague and common sense that it is useless. You can sharpen your saw much better by buying a different book.

With 900 other reviews, I'll keep this one short. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is an enormously interesting read. It tries to answer the question why and how certain ideas 'tip'. How they spread and become popular. Malcolm uses a huge amount of interesting stories from different domains to try to make his points. For me, the collection of stories was probably more interesting than the points he tried to make. The stories were well written.

Related to tipping, he argues that there are three rules related to an social epidemic. The law of the few (a few people can have a huge impact), the stickiness factor (a message can be constructed to be more sticky) and the power of context (the context can influence the message which is being spread enormously). The rest of the book contains chapters related to each of these rules. Every chapter summarizes the rules and tells stories of where the rule applied.

Tipping Point is extremely well written and easy to read. The bunch of amazing stories make it fun and it's no wonder that it's one a major best sellers in the world. I found the message the author tries to communicate less interesting, though. Never the less, I'd recommend the book to everyone for the sake of the stories and the learning that can be taken out of every individual story.

I've heard Malcolm Gladwell speak, and he's superb! In this innovative book, whether he's referring to the Maven, or the Connector, it's relatable to all individuals. If you're looking for a light leadership book that brings up very INNOVATIVE topics, this is it! For additional tips on leadership, I'd also recommend taking a course at www.corporatetrendsetters.com.

With social networking and user generated content (UGC) flooding the web, businesses are struggling to find ways to harness and direct this power. There exists an extensive collection of blogs, books, news articles and podcasts that offers advice about techniques to jump-start user adoption and gain stickiness, but these tend to focus on execution and not on concept. The dialogue generally advocates creating new communities, controlling messages within existing communities, and monetizing concepts, but fails to answer the fundamental question, "Why do people adopt certain ideas and not others?"

Enter Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point. This is not a new book. It was published in 2002 and doesn't mention a single Internet technology or concept, instead focusing on how "epidemics" spread - From Paul Revere's success in his midnight ride to why kids love Blue's Clues to syphilis' spread in Baltimore in the mid-90's. Gladwell dissects the masses and exposes the population segments that serve as the kindling for raging success.

Connectors - The people that know everyone and revel in making mutually beneficial introductions. These are the catalysts or accelerants that help bring the key components together.

Mavens - The experts. These are the people that know everything about certain topics. Everyone has friends that they trust when it comes to food, music, sports, electronics, etc., the friends that are almost freakishly knowledgeable and passionate about their interests.

Sales people - These are the people that sell ideas and visions - the evangelists. They get people excited and spread the word - like the sales person mentioned in the Holiday Inn commercial that once had a heart attack and within an hour had sold the paramedics 12 sets of steak knives.

If you can come up with a great product or offering that has amazing value for those that take advantage of it, you're off to a good start, but the challenge is just beginning. The Tipping Point presents some of the foundational relationships and interactions that must occur to be successful. Coupling the above personality traits with a discussion of the various adopter types - from Innovators to Late Adopters - and you have a powerful recipe. Blending together the right mix of Connectors, Mavens, and Sales People with Early Adopters sets the stage for success... then all you need is a phenomenal idea. Easy right?

I recommend the book.

Marcel Crudele
innerEcho - Atlanta, GA

"The Tipping Point - How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell gave me insight into trends as seen through his eyes. I loved it!

Gladwell caught me off-guard when he discussed the racial tipping point that affects the real estate market of a neighborhood. But that was not the most surprising. What surprised me the most was how low a percentage of new property owners could influence the change from a sellers market to a buyers market.

There were many times when he seemed to veer off his subject and I started wondering where he was going with the point of the story. Then he would pull it all together and I could see exactly why he said something the way he said it.

Gladwell points out common traits in typical public interest/popularity and how that relates to sales and marketing.

In each example, he explains the patterns that show the slow beginnings, the steeper climb, to the sharp growth in popularity to the hesitation at the top, then the crash and (except for a few examples) a sudden end of all growth.

His intention is to provide enough information to duplicate or create a path towards a tipping point in your business. And, with the proper actions, manipulate how long your business is able to remain at the top of the sales chart.

I was surprised that Gladwell used stories about the popular children's show Sesame Street in his examples. But, once I read his in-depth, behind-the-scenes stories, I realized how complex and how much innovative thought went into producing that very successful television show.

Now, I find myself paying closer attention to eye, face, and body position and movement when I discuss business (and personal) matters. And, I am noticing the signals I (un-intentionality) send to others.

Gladwell is able to describe and chart the same patterns of tipping points in every example he gave. He investigates the how, why, where, and when of his research. Then he presents it to his readers in easy to digest pieces.

His description of Connectors, Mavens, and Salespeople is clear and fascinating. It is easy to visualize how the traits of connectors, mavens, and salespeople live in each of us.

One of the most interesting viewpoints Gladwell shared, was that there are only three elements that create change. The first element is "The Law of the Few." You'll have to read his book to find out Gladwell's other two agents of change.

By the way: It was fun taking Gladwell's Manhattan Phone Book Test. I scored eighty-seven points the first time around. After thinking about it, I believe I could add another ten to thirty surnames to my known contacts list.

I strongly recommend you read and then use Gladwell's information to create your own (series) of tipping points for your business' growth.

And while you're at it, get involved in replacing broken windows, painting walls and cleaning up areas in need. (Read the book and you'll understand.)

Little things can make a huge difference when properly executed/initiated.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

The concept behind this book is what makes it such a phenomenon. It was not only great concept-wise, but it was an engaging read. I wouldn't call it pure entertainment (some portions could be dry) but it was definitely easy to get through the whole thing and actually enjoy it. I recommend this book to anyone looking for more info on the idea of how things that seem obscure, go on to gain enormous popularity and spark trends or fads.

We are launching Strategic Planning for the next 5 years...our facilitator of our Strategic Planning suggested that all 16 employees read this book before we launch our planning sessions...it was terrific! Gave everyone a volcabulary and context in which to work as we journey forward to make our own organization totally functional!!!!

As a corporate human resources director, I am continually searching for material that will enhance our organizations team skills. Somewhat like another management book that I recommended Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions, the author uses fictional tales to deliver truthful insights into our business practices. I found the book to be a very intertaining and fun read along with a ton of valuable information. The concepts within the book can be easily implemented and will result in continual improvement in your team building endeavors. The value of teamwork within the modern corporate structure is sometimes a hard sell in the real world. Managers need reference material and books that contain much needed advice if they are going to `prove' the value of teamwork to the CEO. Like communication, everyone says it is important but the rubber rarely meets the road.

The part of the book that details the "five dysfunctions" is a great reference guide and also a topic that sounds eerily familiar as all seasoned managers have been down that road. The `five' are:

1. Absence of trust,
2. Fear of conflict
3. Lack of commitment
4. Avoidance of accountability
5. Inattention to results.

Buy this book. It will be a valuable addition to your bookshelf and certainly one that will be referenced again and again through the years. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR Author of Wingtips with Spurs

just gets the mind going in some good thoughts. a great, quick read to plug some new ideas into one's head. i recommend.

I read a great number of titles on leadership, organizational development, and team building.

This book, told as a fable, is a very quick read and will seem unlike any other book of this sort you've read. As you read it, you'll feel as though the author has been following you through your life at work. It's a very eerie feeling when you realize that each of the characters already works with you at your office.

I particularly enjoyed the focus on organizational alignment, team building, and healthy conflict. These are essential ingredients to the recipe for an excellent team!

I've recommended this book to several other executives where I work and have received 5 star ratings in return.

The Five Dysfunctions of Leadership was given to me at a company leadership course. While the course itself was excellent the book is not the most technical of leadership guides. It uses for some a shallow fictional premise and story to guide readers through a corporate teams rebuilding phase. And while I agree with some of the other reviews in that this book may not provide the reader with an in-depth or technical, step by step, how-to version of effective team building methods. I think it does give the reader some insight as to the thinking process leaders encounter when faced with the prospect of strengthening and/or rebuilding and redirecting highly capable individuals. It also does a good job of addressing the compassion needed to properly nurture and shape team members. I would not depend on this book as my only avenue for learning and perfecting corporate team building. But it's not completely devoid of helpful information and since it can be read in a couple of hours, it's worth a look.

"Who moved My Cheese." This is a very interesting book which touch base on the basic human ways of dealing, reacting and processing life's changes.

The book introduce to us simple character that act as a form reaction so to say. In life we will run into complication. In life we will encounter unexpected change if we don't already know that there are molds growing. In life we will allow fear to inhibit our senses of the need to let go of our comfort zone and venture.

To venture out and seek something new, better can be very uncomfortable to somebody who feel as if everything is a okay or is working for them. We don't want to have to struggle to an unexpected zone because fear tells us maybe there is nothing out there better than what we already have.

Fear becomes the dominate self criticizers.

We have been program to go through steps in our lives. From not knowing as infant...the ability to crawl, walk then run; to going through a programmed chapter in our lives from elementary, high school, college, grad school and then getting the big job. What else should we do. Have we not found the "big cheese?" Yet it is perhaps this way of comformity is what traps us in the many form of unhappiness we face.

We try to be content with our jobs, our relationship, our life but in doing so we have harness this comformity along with fear of decomforming. We want to look for "new cheese," becuase the "cheese" we have now is either molding or just not being the "cheese," we thought it would be.

It is not the idea that if something is great we should disregard it and look for something better. It is the idea that we should open our minds and think outside of the box. Maybe the journey may be long, maybe we will only finds crumbs, and maybe we will find a whole new batch of cheese that is better tasting than the ones we have. The idea is our life does not just end at one station of cheese. Living is believing in yourself. Finding that letting go of your fear and learning that worries and trouble thoughts we have can confine us and stop us. The matter can easily be dealt with a simple laugh and a strong mindset that there are better things out there. Life does not end at one place.

The book taught me the easiness of life. We should not hold too much value in any aspect of our life because life is unpredictable, things change. What we should do is be the best and the happiess in our moment of comfort but fear not for changes or sell ourself short by stopping. "Never give up" life is about happiness and where can we find happiness? It's not in finding "New cheese." It in the process of regaining ourselves in every aspect; from confidence to freedom.

"Who Moved My Cheese?" Does that question really need to be asked? Maybe the cheese need to be moved.

-TK

As a corporate director of human resources, it is a good day when I find a book that can actually be put to good use in our managerial training. This is one of those books. In fact, it is one of the rare books that weeks and months after using, I still find that managers refer to "cheese" when dealing with change management problems and solutions.

While change certainly means different things to different people, the basic underlying theme is the same. The world as we know it will cease to exist and how will you respond.

I find that the really good management books will usually use a story or parable in getting the point across. This is far superior to dry, straight away lecture. The stories make visual connections and these stick with adults. I highly recommend this book for anyone in management. Whether first line supervisor or CEO.

Michael L. Gooch, SPHR, Author of Wingtips with Spurs

I was required to read this book for a college class. One of my classmates and I were skeptical of how this book could be of any help, since it is not the scientific literature we're used to reading. I was pleasantly surprised. The simplicity of the story allows the reader to easily apply the information to his/her-self and quickly realize some possible bad habits.

I will surely be able to apply the lessons in this small book to my professional career as a personal trainer and co-owner of L.E.A.N. Wellness Center in Mesa, AZ. (www.getleanstaylean.com)

The book opens: a group of high school graduates get together to discuss problems of changes in their lives, and one tells a story that helped his company. It is a children's story about two mice and two "little people" who live in a maze and have to adapt when the cheese in the maze gets moved to a new location. The mice look for new cheese immediately, but the little people over-analyze the situation ("his complicated brain with its huge belief system took hold") until one decides to leave to look for new cheese. His attitude starts to improve, he finds new cheese, and he writes notes on the maze wall for the little person who stays behind. These notes are called The Writing On The Wall and tell the person who stayed behind what he's learned. The book closes with the graduates discussing how the story relates to their own lives.

This is a terrible little book that I am embarrassed to say was assigned reading in a college course. There are a constellation of belief systems that revolve around the relationship of valuelessness, lack of personal investment, spontaneity, and happiness. These include systems like Buddhism, Jean-Jacques-Rousseauianism, materialist nihilism... Who Moved My Cheese? falls in this constellation. The message of the book is that the only thing in life is following "the cheese," and you'll be happier if you don't get invested in wherever you're currently getting "the cheese," so you can immediately go to where "the cheese" is without looking back.

Of course, we know of another tradition of change, represented by Lot's wife, the Exodus, the diaspora, etc. But that tradition tells us something very different about change, suggests differentiating important from unimportant, and that there are times it is necessary to resist instead of "embracing change."

Nietzsche tells us that Judaism is a "slave religion," but the truth is that "the cheese" philosophy is the true slave religion. It's no mistake that this story takes place in a maze, and the heroes are mice. The message is that life is just a giant maze, we're all no different from mice, and the sooner you accept that, the happier you'll be. This is a book for people who don't believe in self-determination and are just cogs in a giant business machine.

At the end of the book, one of the high school graduates says that his family-owned chain of mom and pop stores should have been sold off so that he could build a giant supermarket department store to compete with the new "mega-store" in town. He rejects the idea that there might have been something worth saving, not to mention the possibility of saving it through ingenuity. His conclusion is to just see which way the wind is blowing and follow along.

Another of the high school graduates says that her son was a star swimming champion but that after the family moved for her husband's work, he learned to enjoy skiing instead and now lives happily in Colorado. But if you want to know what the "embracing change" and "enjoying new cheese" philosophy has done to families, you should read Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before.

The phrase The Writing On The Wall comes from the story of King Belshazzar, who took sacred cups from the Temple in Jerusalem and used them to drink in honor of the gods of gold and silver. A ghostly hand appeared in front of him and wrote on the wall "mene, mene, tekel, parshin," meaning that Belshazzar's kingdom would come to an end. That night, Belshazzar was killed.

The author, Spencer Johnson, seems to think that The Writing On The Wall means we should all just go along with whatever life brings, but there are really two other meanings to the story. First, would Belshazzar have been killed if his people had decided not to believe the writing on the wall? Second, there some things in life more important than gold, silver, or cheese. To this book I say "TEKEL: Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting."

Who Moved My Cheese is a classic that uses a story without the burden of extra detail to force you to put your own life into the situation, and learn from it. It's true that this method isn't for everyone, but the book is popular for a reason: it helps people.

Who Moved My Cheese has that special something that most fables lack. It makes you think. The only other fable I've seen accomplish this in the last decade is Squawk!: How to Stop Making Noise and Start Getting Results.

I have yet to receive the book. Please help me get this book in my hands since I've already paid for it.

Our accountant recommended this book, and I am sure glad he did. I read it in just a few days because it was so interesting. This isn't a typical "get rich" book since I found that the author was definitely trying to teach the reader how to rethink the way he or she views money. Some people might think that he is holding back by not going more into detail about how he made his millions, but trust me, if you read between the lines and really pay attention, he does give you some hints on how he got started. He does reinforce a lot of his information, but he is a teacher, and teachers I find are usually repetitive to make sure that they get their points across. This is a great starter book for anyone looking to make their money work for them. And for those of you with children, this book (or Rich Dad for Teens) will help get them on the right track.

I started really late in the game. Employed in dead-end jobs for the most part, it was only in my mid-thirties that I really began to get serious about money. If you're like me and don't know anyone to talk to about the matter, Kiyosaki's book is an adequate start, if only to help you rewire your brain into that zone of financial consciousness.

While Rich Dad, Poor Dad doesn't have all the answers and, as other reviewers have cited, may arguably contain disputable advice, the book has successfully encouraged me to learn more about financial education. And for that, four stars.

Ok, let's skip the fact that by Kiyosaki's own admission, both dads were to a great extent fabricated.

Let's skip the fact that many of the experiences in this book were either embellished or outright fabricated.

Let's skip the fact that much of what he speaks of is in generalities without specific details.

What remains are pleasant-sounding platitudes, lacking in the real-life specifics that most people need. To say that "The poor work for their money, while the rich have their moeny work for them" sounds nice, but is of very little help to someone lacking a compass.

About the only thing that I agree with Kiyosaki on is the fact that our schools (at all levels) lack any kind of personal finance educational curriculum. This is an absolute travesty, but understandable when you consider that our nation is running record budget deficits. When debt is a way of life, people tend to accept it as a given in their own situation.

I've known several people who are devotees of this book series. None (as in zero) have made a discernable difference in their lives. Most are also devotees of MLMs such as Amway, Quixtar and MonaVie...the common thread here being the desire to suceed (which is admirable), but the unwillingness to get the degree, the job and put in the time. Another Kiyosaki theme of "Become a real estate investor!" sounds great on paper, but without the education and training can potentially be a disaster. No one book (or series like this) can prepare someone for an entire career.

If you want to learn how to handle money, try Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey or Lou Rukeyser. The fact that this series is a bestseller, does NOT necessarily mean the series has merit. It simply means that there is a market for baseless hope and optimism. I am sure Kiyosaki is laughing all the way to the bank.

This book was a real eye opener. I knew allot of the advice but hadn't thought of it in the way the author told us. Great helpful book.

I think the subject of the book is good, however a big part of dicovering your strengths is taking the on line strength finder quiz. Unfortunatley for me the code provided on the inside of the jacket is either invalid or has been used by someone already.
So as I read this book I will be left to wonder "what are my strengths..."

[As a corporate human resources director, I often work on developing the latent talents and skills of various managers. Years ago, I taught a class where I had each participant to look into a hand-held mirror and ask the question, "Would you want to work for this person?"

This book takes this exercise to a completely different level. To discover your own inner strengths (and weakness) ensures that you will become the very best manager possible. As a fan of First, Break All the Rules, I was very satisfied that this follow-up was as timely and useful as the first book. I highly recommend you purchase a copy of this book for yourself and for all of your managers. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR Author of
[ASIN:1897326882 Wingtips with Spurs]]

Nice concept that could have been handled with a 10 page paper. Clearly authors had to have some volume to prove value so they drone on and on and on. Very tedious reading. Then at every turn they continue to try to sell other products or services. The major killer is having an online exam to evalute your strengths; however, the code is only good once - so DON'T buy a used book as your code will be invalid. If the exam is a work related exercise, you'll be forced to buy a new book just for the code. Also, DON'T let your spouse read the book. If you do, they'll want to take the exam and suprise suprise, you would need another new book just to take the test.

The book is very interesting and very effective. The internet test is very accurate. Nevertheless each strength profile should be discussed more in depth. Let's say you get an idea of who you are but you would like to get more of it. Anyway, the price is worth the stuff you find in the book!

I wish my husband could have read it and used the code. I had gone on a job interview before reading this book and one of the questions they asked me, was what strategies would I use in a certain situation. And all I thought was that is THE dumbest question ever, how am I going to answer that, it all depends, I hate that word strategy.... you get the idea. Then as I was reading through the strengths book, I thought that would be so be ironic if one of my strengths was strategic. Well, sure enough that was the number one answer on my quiz results. So I am still laughing about that. So my strategy is to read through my strengths and understand them well enough and look at where I use those strengths and then try to improve on them. I would have given this 5 stars but since my hubby has to buy his own book, I only gave it 4.