Renewal

"Corporate transformation challenges come in many forms and confront executive leaders with an array of vexing questions: How can I help my company, which is at the top of its competitive game, sidestep complacency and energize people to redirect their efforts and reposition their organization? How can I lead my company, which has lost its way and greatly depleted its resources, to revitalize itself for competitive excellence? How can our recently merged companies or functions overcome business and cultural differences? Or, more simply, now that I am in a position to do so, how can I effectively take charge of my organization and help people develop a new agenda to lead us through the next phase of its development? These questions, and more, have found successful resolution through the framework for leading corporate transformation described in this book (R. H. Miles)."

In this context, in the first part of this book, Robert H. Miles offers a framework for leading corporate transformation. This framework, as stated by Miles, identifies the major/required tasks that a leader-indeed, that leaders at all leves in the organization-must perform to achieve successful transformation without exposing the corporation to unacceptable risk :

I. Generate Energy for Transformation

* Confront reality

* Create and reallocate resources

* Raise the bar

* Model desired behaviors

II. Develop a Vision and Business Success Model

* Develop a strategic vision

* Model business success

* Analyze the total system: current vs. vision states

* Identify the gaps

* Focus on a few transformation initiatives

III. Align the Organization

* Restructure

* Implement infrastructure

* Reshape the culture

* Build core competencies

IV. Create a Transformation Process Architecture

* Educate and involve

* Create coordination and feedback mechanisms

* Communicate progress

* Fill transformation skill gaps

According to R. H. Miles these elements of the framework provide not only a platform for launching a corporate transformation, but also for managing transitions from one phase of transformation to the next en route to the vision state.

I highly recommend.

Oh how we need to soak in this instruction by Spurgeon ! He always uses God's word as his tool, for therein lies the power. If you read this book, the Holy Spirit will show you in your own heart the work and revival in YOU HE is wanting to do. He is Able and He is willing. Spurgeon seems a giant in the faith~but he is always humble, sharing with his readers his own need for the very things he writes. Get this book..seek the Lord...and let the revival begin with you !

Hammett presents a well-articulated challenge for the church in his book. Beginning with an assessment of "what's wrong," Hammett moves the reader toward theologically sound and practical ways for a more authentic way of being and doing church in the 21st century. Highly recommended.

John Drane takes George Ritzer's McDonaldization theory of contemporary society ('The McDonaldization Of Society') and applies it to the church.

The McDonaldization of society is the view that corporations are trying to fit us into a pre-packaged rationalist system, left over from the modernist age, despite our post-modernist veneer. Drane's contention is that the church (which should be challenging and liberating) is essentially trying to do the same. That we are haemorrhaging congregations because, in this post-modernist world, people value choice and do not want to be boxed in to the limited choices that the church provides.

In doing this, Drane is not merely targeting one form of churchmanship. McDonaldized formulae transcend cultural barriers, so that an evangelical setting with a pastor talking from the front each week is as formulaic, in his view, as a high church service with carefully scripted liturgy.

This is a very personal book and Drane begins by explaining his own position as an optimist, despite the critical tone of much of the rest. The hyphen in post-modernism is important to him, because he suggests that we are living in a world that has moved on from modernism, with its belief in absolute answers for everything. But he does not view post-modernism as a movement its own right, merely a stage on a journey to somewhere else. And he rejects the conventional postmodernist view that we live in a society that has no need of meta-narratives.

In chapter 2, he moves on to look at the way we have caged ourselves in to rationalised systems in the workplace and therefore value our human freedom even more in our leisure activities (which includes church - or the choice not to go to church).

He then views the specifics of McDonaldized rationalism (as defined by Ritzer) and applies them to the church Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability and Control. Here he challenges Ritzer's view of McDonaldization as a purely modern phenomenon, pointing out that the church effectively invented globilization, with the conversion of Emperor Constantine in 312 AD.

As an optimist, Drane goes on to ask who the church could reach, if only we would change our ways. He identifies 7 people groups (whilst acknowledging the irony of this rationalist pigeonholing of people): The desperate poor, hedonists, traditionalists, spiritual searchers, corporate achievers, secularists, the apathetic. Of these, only the traditionalists and the corporate achievers are attracted by the rationalist structure of the church and the latter are not being challenged by it.

He then focuses on the McDonaldized way that we celebrate our faith, looking beyond simple issues of worship 'style' to address the ways in which we use our worship space, and the potential (and biblical imperative) for movement in worship. This leads on to a chapter on mime as prophetic witness (firmly biblical) and clowning (which I didn't find quite so convincing, but maybe that's just me). Finally, in this group, a chapter on telling the Christian story to a culture that has come to value story over abstract concepts - which also addresses the issue of why McDonalds itself has thrived when the McDonaldized church is ailing.

Drane concludes with a chapter that looks at the church of the future, through community & mystery, words & images and mission. Drane resists providing a prescriptive blueprint, but highlights strengths that the church would do well to play to.

This book is well-written and engaging and provides a broad view of the church and the world through which it moves. There is much to consider here and many jumping off points for churches to discuss their own positions. My only criticisms would be that some aspects of the personal journey that Drane is undoubtedly on do not convince me (clowning) and the references to the novels of Douglas Coupland (which I have never read) do not seem to add very much. Even so, I have no hesitation in recommending this challenging and thought-provoking book.

I underline and make notes in my books. LeAnne's book contains as much of my ink as hers! I love the way she writes. Every line is sheer poetry...Did not know LeAnne nor the subject of her book. This turned out to be one of my top five favorites ever!

She can convey more thought in one line than some writers do in a chapter. I am now engaged in my first read of her second book. I know that I will be doing a second read as soon as I finish.

If you are a frustrated writer, you have to "study" this wonderful book. LeAnne Schreiber is simply the best!

This is a relatively short study, but Dr. Boice hits the nail on the proverbial head with this book, as it relates to the whys and wherefores of Romans 12:1-2, where the Scripture teaches us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. It's a good beginning, but not a comprehensive one, and for the concept, it's an excellent start. He focuses on keeping the mind sharp and Christ-centered, always stressing that our minds should be open to the Spirit of God by way of the Word of God teaching us what our minds should hold. This is not a confrontational or controversial approach, but an intelligent overview of a much needed study in today's church. Recommended.

Karen Casey has been a part of my life since '83 through her daily meditation book, "Each Day a New Beginning". She has inspired me to laugh, cry and to ponder the possibilities. Her newest book, "The Miracle of Sponsorship", is an inspiration! She has encouraged me again to grow and stretch myself even further on my road to recovery. The insight of her collection of stories reminds me there are many paths I can take to achieve a balance in my life. There are many people out there struggling same as myself. Each one with stories of how they survived. All I have to do is to reach out. Sponsors have been a significant part of my life, whether I was aware of them or not. Karen has helped me to appreciate their importance in my life. I will never be alone on this road again. Thanks Karen for being one of those people. For giving me the hope that I need every day of my life!

Ms. Hexter does a wonderful job incorporating interesting facts about the past and present of Cleveland, Ohio with amusing anecdotes. This book should be on every Urban Studies professor's shelf as an irreplacable reference.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the competitiveness of American economy seemed to be eroded away in the face of Japanese challenge. But all of a sudden, applauded Japan lost its way in the 1990s and by middle of the decade, American industries resurged. This book is one of attempts to explain such dramatic rise and fall, and find the underlying mechanism of industrial success stories. The author demands us to delve into the regional growth dynamics to solve those puzzles. Best attributes the rise and fall of nation economies to the underlying dynamics of local clusters. The unit of analysis in conventional economics is either the economy or the individual (including firm). But such approaches haven't provided acceptable explanations. Michael Porter argues the basic unit of analysis should be the industry, to understand competitiveness and productivity. Actually Michael Porter's conception of competitive advantage, cluster has been widely adopted in 1990s. Competitive advantage of the firm is created and sustained through local competition in its industry, Porter maintains. But local industry is not isolated from other local industries. It's connected to clusters of industries through vertical and horizontal relationships. Cluster is firm's home base environment. For example, Porter argues that, in "Can Japan COmpete?" , Japanese industry, like auto or electronics, is competitive where its backing cluster is strong, while uncompetitive, like petrochemicals or aerospace, where backing cluster is weak. Cluster is the ecology of the firm. And firm's competitive advantage is shaped in its ecology. Advantages in its ecology are necessary for achieving and sustaining competitive success. For Porter, rivalry between leading firms in the local is the driver and the weapons to compete comes from the local environment. The firm read and identify the market opportunities and shape its strategy to exploit the opportunities and mobilize the resources from the local cluster. So the firm is the real actor in the economic drama, Porter points out. But ironically, the internal organization of the firm does not feature in Porter's cluster.To construct the acceptable framework to explain the cluster dynamics, Best argues the firm should be given the due role in economic drama. Here comes the Schumpeterian entrepreneur. There are so many clusters. But there are few successful cluster like Silicon Valley. Few develop the regional growth dynamics. In competition between the two regions, the higher productive region will create regional competitive advantage. The difference lies in a few driver or creator of cluster dynamics: the entrepreneurial firm. To the entrepreneurial firm, competition is not price-based but product-based. To do so, the entrepreneurial firm pursues market niches by developing unique production capabilities, often of a technological form, to differentiate its product from competitors. In turn, the process of such developing precipitates new market opportunities to guide the new product development. Capturing those opportunities leads to another round of developing production capabilities. We could identify such process in Japanese practice of kaizen. In the Japanese production system, production process and developing process are integrated. Best calls it as technology management. In kaizen system, the innovation of technology is systemized in production process so developing technology is not one-off event but continuous process. The production is the process not only of producing product but also of finding new knowledge. In short, the entrepreneurial firm refers to a few firm in cluster with the dynamics of such virtuous circle. Best call it technology/market dynamic. The internal dynamics of the entrepreneurial firm induces the regional cluster dynamics. It's a virtuous circle too. No firm, no matter how big, can pursue all technological possibilities it created. Apple could not make all the peripherals for its Apple computer, like applications, printers, monitors and so on, on its own. Apple had not enough resources to make all of them. Those were possibilities to other firms opened up by Apple. And Apple PC was itself the given-up possibility by Xerox. Those are not pursued internally become market opportunities for other firms, resulting in so-called Silicon Valley effect. New small entrants can exploit new technology capability, advance the emerging technology and develop the new market. The entrepreneurial firm start-up system is particularly strong in the Silicon Valley and Route 128. Best attributes the resurgence of American economy to such cluster dynamics.

As a former Roman Catholic and then Southern Baptist and now United Methodist (for the last 20 years), I learned a lot about the organizational problems that we have as United Methodists by reading A New Connection. I see now that there is hope for the Methodist Church to turn it's decline around if we will heed the advice given in this book. I love the theology and the people of the Methodist Church but the system is killing us. Every United Methodist needs to read this book!