Leader

Geoffrey Ward shares the ability of David McCullough, and that is to take a scholarly topic and write about it intelligently and coherently. He also makes the journey fun for the reader and he showcases this ability in this excellent book. FDR as a youth was a very different man from the President he was to become. Polio was the defining moment that both changed FDR and deepended his compassion and understanding for the downtrodden.

In this first volume of Ward's Roosevelt trilogy, he illuminates FDR's dominating mother and the problems she caused between Franklin and Eleanor. One almost cringes when the obtrusive Sarah Roosevelt plans her son's honeymoon, buys homes for him (with connecting doors for her to intrude upon)and basically usurps FDR's own decision-making processes.

Franklin Roosevelt was not a great man, or a particularly engrossing man when young. He achieved greatness only after tragedy befell him, but Ward sets the stage here for Roosevelt's later greatness. If you're interested in Roosevelt or the flighty, banal rich New York set of the turn of the century, then this is your cup of tea. It is also a fine book.

"Mornings on Horseback" is a good companion to "Before the Trumpet," but only because it gives you a bigger sense of New York high society in the late 1800's. FDR's father and TR's father were contemporaries and even mistaken for each other. It feels like Mr. Ward writes from a greater emotional distance about FDR than Mr. McCullough does about TR, which seems right to me. The beginning which is about FDR's grandparents is a bit detailed, but it does set the stage. Mr. Ward discusses FDR's father's schoolmaster, for example, which fills out the picture when you read about FDR's own school days. The real jaw dropper concerns FDR's maternal grandfather Warren Delano, who knew the stamp collecting went that deep? But more the wonder is Franklin himself. This portrait is "Before the Trumpet," worts and all, he marries his cousin for chrissakes, he can't/won't get away from his mother, and yet the trumpet does sound for Franklin, he pursues it, and he is there waiting, with and because of Sara and Eleanore. It's amazing to consider their development.

Most of this book is about FDR's family and it is fascinating. It reminded me some of David McCullough's Mornings on Horseback, although FDR had a very different youth from TR's. I had forgotten how rich FDR's family was, and the opulence with which they lived. And what dramatic lives they had--the Delanos and their time in China make a fantastic story. And when you read this great book you will want to read the sequel, A Fist Class Temperament

Combat Leader's Field Guide is a great compact reference on platoon and squad level operations. It basicly summarizes information contained in US Army field manuals FM 7-8 and FM 21-75. This book achieves it's stated goal of being a pocket reference that you can take to the field with you to jog your memory. It fits in a BDU pocket, though the top end does stick out. National Guard and Reserve personel will probably find it useful though most active duty combat arms personel should know this stuff by heart already.

The power this guide offers to those of us in uniform is a summary of a whole lot of infantry know-how. If you are a new lieutenant or recently promoted corporal or sergeant --this is your new fieldcraft and small-unit-leader tactical guide. If you are returning to a line unit from recruiter or drill sergeant duty, this will assist your smooth transition back into the woods. If you are a company commander, there is a good possibility that the seasoned first shirt that revised this premiere Stackpole guide--can teach you a thing or two.

If you are a non-infantry military member or a civilian with an interest, this guide will cover the basics of fighting as a small infantry unit.

I read The Combat Leaders Field Guide. This book had great tactical and movement strageties, it tells how to accomplish goals for both leaders and the infantry. It also goes in depth on formations, and combat in diffrent terrains from urban combat to tropical rainforest. Basically this book tells you how to stay alive in an army field battle.

This book won't be on the bookshelf - it will be in my desk drawer! Easy to read. Spells out all of what you should know but no one has ever articulated. Full of very real life examples that cross a lot of applications. A valuable gift to ALL the leadership of a non-profit organization.

No one is more qualified and experienced to write an ED Survival Guide to Non profit management than Margaret Donohue and Mim Carlson. I have had the distinct pleasure of working with both of them for a number of years. I have the utmost respect and admiration for them and am thrilled that they took the time to write this book for all of us "in the field" who can and will profit from their wisdom and experience!

This book is an indispensable combination of practical advice and guidance from experience for those treading the hazardous but rewarding non-profit waters. I learned a lot which I can directly apply to my situation and I suspect others will have the same experience. It is an easy read from two professionals who have been there and done that. Regardless of your particular role in the non-profit environment, the Warnings and Wisdoms that are scattered thoroughout the book are worth reading.

If you are interested in biblical worship that transcends issues of style and form, then this is a helpful resource in starting in the right direction. It deals with issues faced by the church in a post-modern world in which people yearn for true worship. It gives helpful statistics regarding worship in the U.S., how to reach Generation X (and common misconceptions regarding them), and how to develop a biblical model of worship (Isaiah 6:1-11) that fits all styles. I recommend it to trained worship leaders as well as to lay leaders who play an active role in worship.

The authors are experts in worship, theology, music, and ministry. They hold varying views, but the overall message of the book is unified: God deserves our best in worship. This fabulously readable book was encouraging, thought-provoking, motivational, and convicting. Reading it was like attending a workshop on worship ministries. I got so excited that I read the whole book in only two sittings. I have already explained my excitement about the book to our worship leader and am anxious for him to study the book with our worship team. The purpose was to help people understand the different styles of worship. A great emphasis was placed upon the differences, but also upon the overwhelming similarities of worship. The authors were gracious and pleasant throughout the book.
The authors' treatment of the book was a helpful review of the different opinions. Each chapter presented a fresh approach that explained the basic theological assumptions of a particular view, but also discussed the practical aspects. I found the practical hints very helpful. One of the contributors even included a sample of his church's practice schedule. The book was small, but helpful. It was simple to read, but profound to study.

Paul Heier, author of Leading Out of Love

This book explores many approaches to worship in today's churches - from postmodern to contemporary to traditional. It is a collection of articles from experts in a variety of different traditions. It is not a "this is right" and "this is wrong" but a way of teaching the reader the advantages and pitfalls of these different traditions. It was money well spent and is a book that has been lent out several times.

This is a comprehensive guide to identifying and developing future leaders. The authors present an exhaustive (sometimes exhausting) explanation of a program called "Acceleration Pooling" - a fancy collective name for grouping everyone in your firm who has the potential to lead. Much of the content seems like common sense, yet, organizations harried by short-term challenges can easily neglect long-term tasks, such as leadership development. This carefully planned, meticulously documented approach may keep organizations from neglecting the future. Despite its turgid, jargon-choked style, this book may fill the need. Time-pressed managers can glean the most important points quickly from chapters 2, 6 and 16, which have some solid gold principles of succession planning. Human Resource managers will want to delve into the other chapters. The authors, who are consultants, make a strong case for hiring consultants to implement this system, and have registered, copyrighted, service marked and/or trademarked every form and bit of terminology that could possibly be protected. We note that many of these leadership building methods, tools and techniques are in the public domain, in case you want to do-it-yourself, using this guide book.

"Grow Your Own Leaders" is an excellent resource for any manager or executive who has a desire to increase his/her reputation as well as the talent pool and bottom line of his/her organization. Comprehensive, state-of-the-art, engaging and brimming with practical and user-friendly templates (the 60+ pages on DDI's website are a major plus), "Grow Your Own Leaders" is one of the best leadership development books I have come across yet. I will be referring to this book for many years to come. Thank you William Byham and company.

I whole-heartedly agree with the prior reviewers of "Grow Your Own Leaders." DDI is a powerhouse organization, and the authors have provided a well organized, comprehensive and highly practical resource brimming with insights and development templates. The corresponding internet resources (60+ pages) are a considerable bonus. I have reviewed numerouse leadership development books and consider this to the best.

I strongly recommend this book for any executive or manager who wants to boost their own performance and reputation as well as the bottom line of his/her organization.

You can figure out who you are - and more importantly, who the people you lead are - if you have a little patience with Roger R. Pearman. The author carefully applies the Myers-Briggs personality type system to explain leadership styles. He asserts that if you understand how people behave, one personality type at a time, you can lead them more effectively. You can use this system to understand how your employees (and you) think, and to spot strengths and weaknesses. Pearman's examples, lists and charts show how to identify different personality types and how to apply this understanding in different situations. We at getAbstract recommend this excellent book as particularly helpful to those who are familiar with the Myers-Briggs system and to those who like taking an analytical approach to human behavior. (If you are less analytical, don't get testy while trying to sort out the 16 personality types - The trip is worthwhile.)

Every manager should read this book to enhance his or her self-awareness, and to better understand the "hard-wired" styles of others.

Roger was the pro who trained me on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator years ago. His extraordinary knowledge was obvious then, and now it's available to everybody in this great book! I highly recommend this book!

Michael Beitler, Ph.D.
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"

This book explores a fundamental paradigm for effective leadership based on Jungian psychological type theory and the sixteen personality types used in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The author's goal is to go beyond the usual human potential categorizations of the MBTI to establish a new foundation of leadership psychology based on Jung's work. Chapters focus on six building blocks of leadership psychology: communication; problem management; learning and development; blind spots; team building, and values and culture. These six blocks refer to mental processes and habits of mind (hardwiring). Key points are illustrated with real-life scenarios. This exploration of patterns of mind and how they are expressed in leadership settings proves to be a probing examination of leadership. The author argues that each person has the wiring to be leader. Recommended.

For my small study group of women who faithfully meet on an early morning once a week, this book calmed and directed turbulent souls. This was especially important and meaningful to us since our first session ended just minutes before the tragedies of September 11 occurred. The book's wisdom has continued to help carry us through. A previous acquaintance, however small, with the benedictine way has been helpful to individual members.

Most people find spirituality a wonderful concept, but they suspect that it is difficult to practice spirituality in the midst of ordinary daily concerns. Elizabeth Canham offers a wisdom of spirituality that is grounded in the classic practices of Benedict, and she helps readers understand that the spiritual practices described by the 6th century Benedict were intended for ordinary working people. Canham structures the book so that we begin with Scripture and then we move to that essential Benedictine spiritual practice of hospitality. Prayer is a foundational discipline that Canham covers, but her conversation about other practices is a treat. She writes with an ease and charm as she yokes manual labor and rest, two spiritual practices that are misunderstood spiritually.

Canham seasons her work with her life's experiences. She grew up an evangelical Christian in England and is now an Episcopal priest in the US. She lived in Manhattan and in a monastic situation in rural South Carolina. These experiences make visible the very Benedictine understanding of life as pilgrimage. Her work is well informed. Her understanding of Benedict's insights allow me to take up these practices in a life in which I fend off chaos and disorder. And that seems to have been a part of Benedict's vision in the disorderly 6th century.

A great book for a book discussion. The leader's guide provides discussion provoking questions. The book itself offers something for every stage of faith.

A beginner's guide to talking with a small group. Very simple, easy and cute book. Gives examples of the different kids that might be in your group and how to deal with them. Also it gives topics to discuss in your small group and how to keep the kids talking.

This small book will garner large results in your group! This book gives practical guidance for starting a small group ministry in your church. It provides Bible studies that help get your group going as well as those that will get them growing. It helps the small group leader decide what type of group they have and what type of leader they are. Every church small group leader should own a very well worn copy of this book!

I love this little book. It shares ideas on how to build "relationships" with teens...not the same old outlines of Bible verses to teach them. Kids this age need to connect with their teachers and peers. At one point, Ms. Polich says about prayer in the classroom, "Though praying together may seem awkward or scary at first, praying out loud with other Christians will bind them together in a unique way." She is stressing the building of relationships among the students for a more meaningful class time. The author also states, "Demonstrate the value of prayer by keeping a journal of your small group's prayer requests. Your group will be encouraged to see God's faithfulness." I have successfully used many of the ideas in this book, and I'm glad I bought it!

The author, an infantry officer, has taken many of the Army's field manuals and references and distilled them into a single document. This book is directed for infantry officers and leaders at company level and below.

This is one of the single best books on tactics out there. The author has a good, commonsense grasp of what most units and leaders need to know and do. The section on mission planning is especially well done, and the book is full of little tidbits and tips that most people usually learn by trial and error.

If you're interested in how military units really plan and execute missions, this is a great source. If you're actually in the Army then it beats trying to carry a dozen other references around.

Now, the downside. Some of the sections are a little sparse (air assaults and urban operations stand out). Because the author is writing for military guys, he can't really veer too far away from official doctrine, so there's a "Cliff Notes does the Infantry" aspect to some of the book. While most of his techniques are great, a few aren't, and the reader needs a little experience and common sense to tell the difference. I wouldn't blindly follow everything written here--some of his ideas may not work for you or be a little complex for your people to execute. Also, the weapons data is old. Dragons and PVS-4s are on the way out, and their replacements aren't covered. Could have used an update there.

I would recommend this book to NCO's or officers who had a little bit of time under their belt, especially someone looking to write or revise a unit SOP. It's also a good reference for someone working as an instructor or about to take command of a company. Lots of good stuff here.

This book gives brief easy reading advice on the various managament issues of company leadership, distilled from various manuals with advice on how to build you companies "own doctrine" from existing feild manuals and commerically avalible sources.

While this is a very good book, I noticed one odd thing. The "danger close" ratings for the mortars, artillery, and air strikes were too close for use in any NATO live fire, and likely too close for any real combat application.

Danger close for each of these weapons is listed as being indentical to the causualty radius. The fact is, you have to account for issues other than the causualty radius for measuring danger close. Example he says danger close for a 81 mm mortar round is 35 meters. I am a mortar man, and nope it is not 35 meters! Here is why.

First off, these weapons are not flawlessly accurate, and the rounds could be comming in short.

Secondly we fire in sections with lay down 100 meter by 35 meter "sheaf" of shrapnel. You do not know if that 100 by 35 meter sheaf of shrapnel is orientated north/south/east/west -- it is not adjusted to the target, it is adjusted only on the position of the four guns firing.

Thirdly, you have to have flawless troop accountablity to bring the fire in that close. What if you have a section more forward than what you thought? Have you counted heads?

In reality, danger close is about 200 meters for 81's, and 350 meters for 105mm artillery. In the US, "range control" will not approve the call for fire even at those distances, try more like a 1000 meters for all indirect fire weapons for domestic US manuevers.

But other than that detail, this book shows the army way of doing things very clearly in one manual.

In 'Command Legacy', LTC Ray Millen has described in simple, yet clear terms what junior leaders need to do get done in the nasty business of killing others and destroying things. Today's U.S. Army is a complex institution driven by conflicting demands and expectations. LTC Millen cuts through all of the static and political correctness psycho-babble and gets to the heart of the matter. He lays out a set of concise and clear best practicess that make-up a roadmap to creating organizational success that is applicable to junior military leaders, as well as the young corporate executive. This is the kind of book I wish I had when I was a young and starting my career.

This book is promoted as the text book that reads like a novel. It certainly is an interesting format for a text book. It is specially designed to help young pastors just out of seminary get off to a good start. The book follows the first year of ministry of the fictional Jim Stafford as an associate pastor in a mid-sized church. The Confident Leader covers a wise range of areas from goal planning to sermon preparation as well as the personal dangers of overwork and emotional attachments to the opposite sex.

Genz presents a massive amount of material in a few hundred pages. As I began to read this book it seemed as if the author was only going to give us simplistic, sugar coated advice. I kept saying to myself, Sure, that will only work out in dream land! As the plot thickened complications set in and the story took a turn towards reality. It is extraordinary well organized and easy to understand. Two of the strongest sections were his discussions on goal setting and motivation.

Getnz increased the difficult of his work by setting his text book in novel form. There are some inconsistencies in the story. For instance, the poor fellow cannot order new brochures without the board's permission; yet, he is empowered to make the final decision on the computer purchase. On the story side of the book, where did Jim get all his money? Right out of seminary and he is spending money like a sailor on a three-day leave- taking all those men out to lunch is expensive. The chapters on leadership and preaching are very weak. The advice given on leadership seems to urge the reader to accept the statue quo and work within it, and the advice on sermon preparation was right out of Homiletics 101. The most serious criticism is the sheer volume of lists. Do not get me wrong,. There is a lot of valuable information in there; but the author had list overkill. In the first 100 pages there was over 300 points and I estimate that he must have had an overwhelming 1000 separate points listed.

The last chapter on success on a failure spoke to my heart. He warned us that success often carries within itself the seeds of failure, and that we are only as good as the last victory. This point was made over and over again by Collins and Porras in Built to Last. It's a good book for undergraduate study, but for professional enhancement and graduate work, there are better works out there.

The Confident Leader by Arlo Grenz is a practical, helpful and enjoyable book. It could serve as a textbook on church administration but it reads like a novel. The book is ideal for a novice Christian Education Director but is a good refresher for any administrator. It is full of textbook type lists but the story line keeps your interest. Grenz examines planning, goal setting, decision-making, team building, motivation, conflict management, time management, delegation and communication. The information is basic, practical and applicable.

This book not only will help a beginning Minister get started in the exciting world of Ministry, but also helps anyone that wants become a leader, or more confident in their daily lives. This book is also revolutionary in the fact that it is a text-book, but reads like a novel. I bought this book three years ago and it changed my life. After I read this book it was my sole purpose in life to stop drinking and become a Minister. After 19 and a half months of hard work I finally achieved my goal. I now live in Fremont, CA and got married 6 months ago and I'm happier then I have ever been in my life. I can honestly say that it was because of Mr. Grenz and his magnificent book that my life went the direction it did. I hope that anyone that wants to do great things in their life will buy this book because it can change you life, it certainly changed mine.