Partnership

Here's a most joyous addition to the helpful information coming through our fondly named "Truthgiver," Jean Foster. This book, ending the second trilogy, describes the climate and the process by which we manifest our partnership with the Divine. There is an inspiring section,"10 Bright Promises of God," and even a very direct message from Jesus, the "Brother of Brothers," which includes his description of a first working manifestation of God's invigorating love (a finished wooden chest is shaped in his young, devoted hands.) Divine Partnership is a manual to lift us through life as souls trustfully centered on God's loving energies, even through possible future turmoil on our earth's journey.

A fitting last book to two wonderful trilogies! This book brings home the importance of consciously choosing to be in partnership with God, of expecting Good, of embracing thoughts of unlimitedness, and experiencing ourselves as spirit, one with our Creator. It is truly inspiring, as well as filled with practical application of spiritual principles to our everyday lives.

The main message of this wonderful book is We Are Not Alone!! We can choose to work within partnership with God. In this way all of our wants, needs, and desires are refined and brought to us in the best way. In reading this book, I realize that life does not have to be hard, and we do not have to do it alone. Practical ways of letting go of limited thoughts, and bringing in Divine assistance to manifest Good fill the pages. One to read again and again!

This amazing book will hold the attention of anyone who is interested in dogs, Anthropology, and the fascinating partnership between dogs and humans in many different cultures and climates. It shows how dogs have adapted to Geographical conditions, to cultural expectations, and how time and again dogs have literally kept humans alive in our struggle for survival. The relationship between dogs and humans, even working dogs like the greenland Huskies, are often cemented by affection on both sides, no matter if the dogs are not "pets". The photos are absolutly beautiful, the descriptions fascinating, and even though the text was translated into English and suffers some awkwardness in word choice in a few places, this does not detract from the book- I though it added to the uniqueness and charm.
In this book, dogs act as "guides" so to speak in an exploration of many exotic locations, interesting people, and diverse lifestyles. All I can say is "wow!- even people who are not "dog people" like this book if they are interested in travel and different cultures.

I agree that the title of this book does not do it justice, but the subtitle does. It's written like a series of National Geographic articles as they explore the role of dogs in somewhat primitive cultures around the world. Beautiful photos, great read, lousy title! I own hundreds of dog books; this is a favorite.

The title of this book doesn't do as much justice as the subtitle. What a wonderful tribute to some lesser known breeds. I found their histories with man fascinating, and the photos excellent. I heartily recommend this book to true dog enthusiasts. What I found most valuable about this book is the information about man's influence on the developement of the featured breeds. The photos of the dogs in their homelands are a history lesson in themselves.

For me, Heart Centered Marriage represents a user's guide for the heart and soul. Whether male or female, single, in a serious relationship, married, or just trying to meet new friends, this book describes a way of life. Sue managed to take the feelings that I have, which are like the view through an unfocused camera, and "snapped" the focus into a clear and meaningful presentation.

Only a year and half ago, I announced to my partner that I simply did not believe in marriage, and I would not ever consider it under any circumstances. Today, we are happily married!

When considering marriage, we had discused the pros and cons. It offered the commitment we wanted, but with that came patriarchal gender roles, impossible promises, and, as he put it, "a passionless existence until we died". Well, that certainly did not sound like something we wanted to do. I was a women's studies major in college, how could I possibly fill the role of the silent wife? I could never promise to obey, and neither could he. We wanted to keep our individuality, our spirit, our love, and our passion for one another. Still, we kept feeling the pull of marriage. We wanted to create a safe place for one another and we wanted to create a family.

I was at the brink of giving up. I searched my way through book stores and finally found an autographed copy of &qu! ot;Heart Centered Marriage". I knew that this book offered what I needed. My intuition was right!

For the nest few days, I read fervently, only stopping to read the especially wonderful bits to my partner, who was very supportive. We discussed the ways that marrige was suddenly available to us. We could take part in the creation of a new paradigm for marriage. We could find true 'sacred partnership', as Sue called it, through which we could be enriched, rather than stripped of our individuality. We could promise to communicate, live gently, be present, and commit to one another, with out losing our passions or our spirits. Shortly after the discovery of Sue's book, we decided that we really did believe in marriage after all-as long as it was 'heart centered'.

At some point after our decision to marry, I noticed that Sue's P. O. Box was in Boulder, CO, where I lived at the time. Because I was not willing to let just anybody marry us, I wrote to Sue asking her t! o officiate at our wedding. I never expected to hear back ! from Sue. Imagine my surprise when I found her voice on my answering machine!

Sue Patton Thoele proved to be more than just an author. She became our friend, a witness to our private tears, a supportive force, a gentle guide, and she signed our marriage license, 'Spiritual Mentor'. This is a fitting title, but it could never speak to how much she has meant to us. We are forever grateful for her gentle wit and wisdom. She gave us the courage to redefine our marriage and the strength to use our own voices. I am truly amazed at the new things I learn everyday in my own 'heart centered marriage'.

As a clinical psychologist/psychotherapist I encounter many books related to relationships and I have found one that stands above the crowd.-Heart Centered Marriage: Fulfilling Our Natural Desire for Sacred Partnership by Sue Patton Thoele. First of all, this is not a fix-it book but a book of guidance in relating to one's partner in a relationship/spiritual way. Second, the book is written so that a couple might put these ideas into very practical use; so they might experience one another in a more intimate fashion. Third, the author is quite poetic in her language style and she elicits relating at a depth level.

Recently, there was some research about the benefits of insight oriented therapy over and above "behavior" modifying therapies. As well, Consumer Reports found a similar finding. People who can relate in a depth fashion with emotional solidity fare better in life than those who carry weak personas. This is the foundation for emotional intelligence as outlined by Goleman. So, for couples to experience their lives differently, more intimately, I would highly recommend this book as it does contain the ingredients for deep friendship, sexual relating, healthy interdependence, and most importantly, treasuring one another as gifts. I recommend thi¹|

After reading the book you and your husband wrote on Intercessors and Pastors I had to write and thank you for the tremendous work the Holy Spirit did through you. From the first chapter to the last, it captivated my entire being until it was read from cover to cover. You answered so many questions that had come up and even covered many questions that my mind could not yet think, but felt.

In the few pages prior to the chapter, Understanding Your Intercessor, you mentioned that a church prayed over some names in the telephone directory and had amazing results. Is it possible to talk to the person that was in charge of that project? We would like to likewise have this exercise in faith at our church. Already it is easy to see how it would totally revolutionize every ministry, seeing God's might power through effective, fervent prayer.

It thrilled my heart to hear Pastor say last Wednesday, "I want our house to be known as a house of prayer." How God is using your book to help influence our ministry. Thank you for your love for God, your deep devotion to Him and for allowing Him to make you what you are in Christ.

My husband and I are the "Prayer Leaders" in our church. My husband and then my pastor are in line to read your book. I have read many books in the past year (I'm a student at WLI in Colorado Springs) - Your book is at the top of the list of all of the books I've read (Jack Deere, C.P.Wagner, J.I. Packer, Bonner, Sheets, etc.) Maybe it's because God had a divine appt. with me in the pages of this book; I don't know, but I am telling everyone I know what an impact it has made on my walk with God, not only as an intercessor but as a child of God. Your chapter "Let the Healing Begin" spoke to me re: my broken relationship with my parents. God has been leading me down a path to reconciliation with them and with this chapter Holy Spirit led me at a fast pace much closer to the anticipated time. I was humbled and broken after realizing that I am the one required to pay the price of humility and maybe even humiliation. I look forward, even long to, literally washing my parent's feet. I feel that I am at the door of reconciliation now and God is going to give me the key any day to open it up and walk through. Two Sundays ago the Lord asked me: "why do you want to reconcile with them?" I answered, "Because they are my parents and I love them and want to be in fellowship with them." He asked me again, "why do you want to reconcile?" I answered, "because it is the Christian thing to do, and, because my entire family is disconnected and this will begin the reuniting" Once again, God asked and I said, "Oh, Lord, because I want to know you more." The Lord said to me, "Yes, now we can move forward and do what needs to be done." He wanted me to see that although my other answers were good and Biblical - it was my relationship with Him that had to be the number one priority for everything I do. And now I think I know what leads people like you and Chuck Pierce and many others into the battles you march into. I believe that knowing Him more is the result of each one. The victory is sweet and the souls that are saved are joy but knowing Him more is the cry of our hearts. This book is about knowing God and in knowing Him and being made complet in Him we can move into the right relationship with intercessors, pastors, and more.

I was stunned to learn from a trusted prayer leader that the division between pastors and intercessors is worldwide. I thought it just existed in my city. That's why I bought the book. I have had quite a lot to learn to understand why the division exists and now see it largely as an issue of control, something the authors point out that God never gave away to either pastors or to intercessors. What an obvious place for the enemy to erect a wall, for we vitally need one another. Together, the power of the church will finally be released. This book is magnificent in its accessibility to a topic that has mystified me. I found it immensely practical. The authors' tenderness and humility show through on every page.

...

... which brings me to the subject of the Cunninghams' book. little (236pp) book is really excellent. If you're trying to get a handle on partnership tax law, this is best book you can find. (I ended up reading it because I was in a graduate tax class at Golden Gate University and other students--CPAs and attorneys--kept saying, 'hey, get this book to get the big picture......')

I will issue one caution: This little book isn't the book you'll go to for answering the tough, practical partnership tax questions. Rather, this book is for learning partnership tax law. For the practical questions (once you've learned the basics), you'll go to one of the "standard" partnership tax references or one of the tax library references.

Steve Nelson, CPA, MBA

The Bible on Subchapter K. Enough said.

...and not just because Noel's a great guy. If you study or practice tax, and have any involvement with partnerships, then this quick overview is an indispensable addition to your library!

Ziegler and Hiller are obviously gifted therapists. I have been doing therapy for over 20 years and recognize master clinicians when I see them. The authors are smart enough to cut to the heart of matter with their patients and yet seem to have a deep capacity for empathy and compassion. They write in an accessible style and their clinical vignettes are very compelling, not like other therapy books in which the vignettes sound phony and self-serving. It's been a long time since I read a book in my field that genuinely inspired me and this one qualifies. One even finds oneself envying their patients!!

Came across this book quite by accident--what a lucky break. Not only does it offer one of the clearest and most useful blendings of narrative therapy and solution-focused therapy I've read to date, it really explains in practical terms how to work with couples in a strength-based, collaborative way. The case examples and transcriptions include clear explanations of the authors' thinking and show how they use the various techniques of their approach. (They even have examples of mistakes they made and how they handled them.) Before I even finished reading the book, I was doing better work with couples. My clients are the real beneficiaries of my fortunate discovery.

If you've been looking for an optimistic, competency-based and solution-oriented approach for helping people with relationships, you'll be delighted and rewarded by this book. The authors use a construct of bad story/ good story to blend and organize techniques and metaphors from solution-focused and narrative therapies as well as other current authors and research. The result is a progression of chapters developing techniques or questions for different stages or situations. I especially loved the case examples. The last one, in particular, reminded me of how touching and rewarding our work can be.

I love books that help me understand "how to . . ." and the practical explanations and examples provided in this book do exactly that. It gives details and examples that make the concepts very easy to appreciate. The 8-step coaching model is a great, very practical, roadmap for effective coaching.

This is a great follow up to their first book, "Coach: Creating Partnerships for a Competitive Edge".

Great book! It reads easy and keeps you captivated with the side notes, pics, drawings and quotes that add to the content of the book. This kept me interacted with the book.

I would recommend it for people who are looking to greatly improve their management and communication skills. It was good enough that I requested my entire staff team to read through it.

I don't think you can go wrong.

Tim

Note the sub-title; "Be on the Leading Edge with Synergistic Coaching" and you know what is in it for you to read this book. It is a beautiful handbook for leaders, coaches, mentors and learning organizations.

The synergistic approach to coaching is based on core values of: ME = I am, secure, an optimist, a teacher, just. YOU = are valuable, principled, trustworthy, safe. WE = are allies, vulnerable, learners, reliable. If our needs and success are interdependent, then your success (win) is my success (win).

The authors then go on to outline their research based 8-step coaching process that focuses on gaining cooperation, commitment, synergy and success and back it up with success stories.

Very easy to read and very valuable.

David Maurrasse has produced a thoughtful study in his book which examines four rather different and distinct IHES (Institutions of Higher Education). By studying how each IHE serves its community, readers can get a good picture of the different approaches in use today. The IHEs--which include a state, an Ivy League, a private, and even a community college campus--serve as a fine set of baseline campuses for study.

Hostos is my particular concern, since I am a Dean at Hostos, and I am well versed in the challenges we face each day in serving our South Bronx community. I believe that Dr. Maurrasse has indeed hit the mark and hit it well in this study. I can, at least, verify his contextualizing of the Hostos mission and its community's needs. His method of becoming thoroughly familiar with the physical aspects of each campus and its history by closely interviewing members of the community as well as faculty, staff, administrators, and students is laudable. At Hostos I know he spoke to long-time stakeholders from the college community and the community at large.

The book should be challenging higher education policy makers to focus on improving community outreach strategic plans for years to come. IHEs can not afford to be percieved as "ivory towers."

This book is well written and very insightful. It can defintely be used as a tool for colleges and universities to form positive relationships with the community. I highly recommend it!

The title is a misnomer: Although the authors do indeed suggest how to "break through the chains of organizational structure", they provide an enlightening explanation of four different types of boundaries (vertical, horizontal, external, and geographic) which give definition to any organization. They do not advocate the total elimination of these boundaries (which is impossible, anyway); rather, they suggest how to rearrange them so that an organization can thrive. For the authors, there is what they call "A New World Order":

"In living organisms, membranes exist to give the organization shape and definition. They have sufficient structural strengthto prevent the organism from dissolving into an amorphous mess....Like a living organism, the boundaryless organization also evolves and grows, and the placement of boundaries may shift....Because the boundaryless organization is a living continuum, not a fixed state, the ongoing management challenge is to find the right balance of boundaryless behavior, to determine how permeableto make boundaries, and where to place them."

This brief excerpt from the first chapter correctly suggests the purpose of this remarkable book: To explain HOW to meet that challenge. The material is presented within four parts plus a conclusion. The first explains how to achieve "free movement up and down" by crossing vertical boundaries; the second explains how to achieve "free movement side to side" by crossing horizontal boundaries; the third explains how to achieve "free movement along the value chain" by crossing external boundaries; and in the fourth part, they explain how to achieve "free global movement" by crossing geographic boundaries." Then in the Conclusion, the authors discuss "Making It Happen: Leading Toward the Boundaryless Organization." The authors also include a series of six questionnaires. By completing each in sequence, the reader is able to determine (a) where her or his organization is now located relative to "the boundaryless paradigm", and (b), what is needed to eliminate the "gap" between where it is now and where it should be.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to read The Boundaryless Organization Field Guide. It contains a wealth of hands-on set of diagnostic instruments, exercises, and tools as well as a disk with presentation slides in Powerpoint format.

The fieldbook is written in a very user friendly way. It provides information that can be used in various ways - presentation slides, workshops, surveys and inteviews. Each tool is explained in great detail - how to use it and the intended purpose. I borrowed a copy from our corporate libary and liked it so much I will order my own personal copy!

Although the business press likes nothing more than the rise and fall of mighty corporate monarchs, authors David A. Heenan and Warren Bennis (co-leaders themselves, clearly) contend that today's most important management trend is the movement toward collaborative leadership. While it's become common wisdom that the lightening-fast pace of contemporary business demands more flexible command structures than traditional corporate hierarchies can provide, the cult of personality still dominates public perception. Heenan and Bennis present compelling theory as a basis for their co-leadership model, and reinforce their thinking with a string of examples of executive dynamic duos, like Gates/Ballmer, Grove/Barrett and Merrill/Smith. The case histories are not used to blindly buttress the authors' point, however. The bloody Eisner/Ovitz debacle at Disney is presented in gruesome detail, an apt illustration of the danger of ego in a collaborative age. We [...] recommend this book as required reading for any corporate executive.

The title of this book is a little misleading. I assumed that the book was about co-CEOs, something that is usually a disaster waiting to happen. In fact, the book is about partnerships of complementary talents where one person is willing to work hard out of the limelight. Not all of the examples are business examples either. The authors also look at Chairman Mao and Chou En-lai, President Truman and General Marshall, Bernice Pauahi Bishop and her husband, Charles Reed Bishop (founders of the Bishop Estate in Hawaii), Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan Macy, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and two pairs of basketball coaches.

The book correctly points out that many leaders don't want (or cannot tolerate) having a powerful second-in-command. A COO is often a position created by the board to assist in a transition to picking a new CEO. If the old CEO can sabotage the COO, the old CEO may get to keep the job longer than planned. So what could be co-leadership often doesn't get off the ground. In fact, the COO job is often a dead-end for the inhabitant.

The advantage of the teams, when they work, is that much more can be accomplished by dividing tasks and by challenging each other's thinking so that better ideas are created and more mistakes avoided. The authors feel that every organization should have co-leaders. Frankly, that's unlikely to happen.

The book nicely summarizes 10 lessons for how co-leaders should operate and another 10 lessons for creating a co-leader environment. Most of these will seem like common sense to you, but they are worth considering.

My own research on CEOs shows that the number of roles they are expected to excel in continues to grow. On the other hand, those who are most successful year in and year out as CEOs usually have no co-leaders. They tend to operate with a top management team that more broadly shares the responsibilities and challenges. It would be interesting to put some quantitative measures on the co-leader concept to see how it performs compared to the alternatives.

The main benefit I got from the book was learning more about people who have toiled out of the limelight before becoming CEOs (and who made important contributions as COOs) like Craig Barrett at Intel and Steve Ballmer at Microsoft.

If you are thinking about having a COO or taking a COO job, this book is a must read!