Reviews (9)

Help is on the way!
As a reading coach and future administrator, I found this book extremely helpful. The activities that are included for each of the 5 dysfunctions are very useful and vary from touchy-feely to down-to-business. I've already used some of them on a particularly dysfunctional team and the team is starting to evolve. This is a great tool!

How to get the most from a team
Having read Lenconi's first book, a parable titled "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team", I was curious about this follow up title.I believe this book is better than the original title because it provides practical solutions.Lenconi recommends disclosure of a childhood vulnerability that you overcame as a starting point for building trust.Overcoming self interest by keeping common goals visible to the team is also recommended.I highly recommend this book along with Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self (to teach teams how to consistently maximize situations) and Winning (to teach leaders how to put principles into practice).

A Review by Dirk Davis
Lencioni begins the discussion concerning overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team by asking two questions that should be asked BEFORE any team building effort:
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Development - Business Development    5. Management    6. Management - General    7. Management - Teams    8. Organization Development    9. Teams in the workplace    10. Business & Economics / Management    11. Management & management techniques   

Editorial Review

Once again using an astutely written fictional tale to unambiguously but painlessly deliver some hard truths about critical business procedures, Patrick Lencioni targets group behavior in the final entry of his trilogy of corporate fables. And like those preceding it, Read more

Reviews (124)

Amazing Insight!
This book was required reading at our office and at the time I wondered why, after all we had a great team! After taking the assessment test I realized we had lots of room to improve! The story was a quick and easy read but very effective. We implemented many of the ideas in the book and work much more effectively today than we did a year ago. Thanks for a great book!

Excellent
This book is loaded with information, well-written, entertaining, and quick reading.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
Excellent, engaging, easy to read and understand. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Decision Making & Problem Solving    5. Leadership    6. Management - Teams    7. Teams in the workplace    8. Business & Economics / Leadership    9. Management & management techniques   

Editorial Review

The key to building a superior company, an increasing number of observers now agree, is the ongoing ability to recruit and retain superior personnel. In Read more

Reviews (42)

How to Hire People Book
This book is great with ideas, checklists, and disciplines on how to take time and care in the hiring process. If anything the book tell you to slow down when hiring and and be constructive.
Do the math
There are 500 Fortune 500 firms. Do you think 450 CEOs of the Fortune 500 will recognize that they aren't "A" Players?
"OK", with reservations
"Topgrading" does have some insights, that are of some value, but keep in mind that this book is also a marketing tool for the author's services.The ideas here are not necessarily new; they're certainly not earth-shattering.The 'tool' for interviewing is most unlikely to be used by people in the real world, in HR or in the position of making a hiring decision.It is unweildy, excessivly long, and absolutely dependent on the ability of the interviewer to accurately evaluate the responses of the candidates.It is absurd to presume or assume that everyone -maybe even anyone- who reads this book will come away with that talent. I certainly would not want to make my company's growth and/or survival dependent on someone's consistent ability to accurately evaluate qualifications -and "quality"- over the course of using this 2-1/2 hour-long interview tool.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Employees    5. Human Resources & Personnel Management    6. Industrial management    7. Leadership    8. Management - Teams    9. Organization Development    10. Personnel And Human Resources Management    11. Recruiting    12. Business & Economics / Leadership   

Editorial Review

Organizational guru Ken Blanchard has long had a knack for writing management books that are easy and fun to read (Read more

Reviews (30)

Wow, what a book!
While I have read other Ken Blanchard books, this one truly got my attention and was wonderful.As a student collegiate athelte myself, Blanchard and Bowle's book was easy reading and very easy for me to connect with based on my own experiences.The book allows one to follow a main character that starts off by being fired from his job, then gets involved coaching a young hockey team and calls on a coach he remembers from his school days to assist and turn the team around.With the assistance of this "coach" the main character begins to understand what it takes to make a successful team. He realizes the importance of maintaining a positive attitude and building team pride.This is a book that you can't put down, it can be read quickly and easily and I do feel everyone would be able to associate with parts of the book.Blanchard and Bowles do a great job at using the hockey team to teach the readers about team building yet simultaneously showing how these same principles can be applied to a work site.One is taken through the steps of team building and given examples time and time again on how these steps can be applied.There are very interesting twist throughout the book that keeps one's attention.I recommend this book to everyone.

Team work - A neccessity in any workplace
Team Work - Everyone knows the importance but yet more often than not, our own individuality gets in the way. How much more can be achieved if everyone behaves for the collective good of the group rather than for himself?
For the simple minded only - and not in a good way
This book is a utopian, unrealistic, poorly thought-out, infantile piece of trash. It's an insult to the intelligence of any adult who reads it. Written at a third grade level with 16-point type, this book's contents would be better suited to a coloring book. The philosophy it presents a real no-brainer, and if you need to read this to learn these principles, you have bigger problems to worry about. The "story" is just that, a "story" - there isn't an ounce of truth or realism to it, so just file this book under "office fairy tales". Believe it or not, I'm not a pessimist, I love books, and I'm totally into "self/professional improvement" topics. But do not waste your time or money on this silly book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Entrepreneurship    5. Management - Teams    6. Organizational Behavior    7. Teams in the workplace    8. Business & Economics / General   

Reviews (16)

Great Book for Boy Scouts and Work Groups
I have several book the ideas for team building activities, but none have had so many good ideas. Not all work well with every group, but there is something for everyone in this book (and its follow-on "More Team-Building Activities for Every Group."

Lots of ideas
I found this an excellent book. A lot of physical activities so not suiable for all but an excellent variety

What can I say I love this book!
This book gave me a lot of useful ideas.I modified the games to fit my needs but the ideas where there. I borrowed it from the library and had to buy a copy for myself.What a great investment! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business/Economics    3. Family & Relationships / Activities    4. Games    5. Games / General    6. Group games    7. Group relations training    8. Human Resources & Personnel Management    9. Management - Teams    10. Activities    11. Economics, Finance, Business and Industry    12. Educational Games    13. Family & Relationships    14. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    15. Teams in the workplace   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Employee Participation In Management    5. Employee Training And Development    6. Employee empowerment    7. Entrepreneurship    8. Group problem solving    9. Leadership    10. Management - General    11. Management - Teams    12. Management games    13. Teams in the workplace    14. Training    15. Training of    16. Business & Economics / Leadership    17. Industrial or vocational training    18. Management & management techniques    19. Personnel & human resources management   

Reviews (4)

COMPREHENSIVE, CLEAR AND CONCISE.
Details core facilitation tools and techniques. Chapters cover: understanding facilitation; facilitation stages; assessing and understanding participants; creating participation; effective decision making; facilitating conflict; meeting management; process tools for facilitators (e.g., visioning, exit surveys, brainstorming) and process designs. This is a well organized 'soup to nuts' reference including worksheets on CD-ROM that can be customized. Comprehensive, clear, and concise.

Insightful!
Companies that embrace work teams quickly discover a basic truth: More teams mean more meetings. Management experts laud the benefits of enlightened teamwork, but they spend much less time dwelling on the often long, sometimes pointless and nearly always inefficient meetings that teams breed. With teams fast becoming a fixture in the corporate world, meeting management, or facilitation, is becoming a critical skill for anyone with executive ambitions. Author Ingrid Bens' definition of a facilitator is quite specific - someone who guides a meeting without actually participating in discussion or decision making - but her book is filled with practical advice that any professional can apply when running a meeting. A host of charts, examples and worksheets (not to mention the accompanying CD) help illustrate her process for steering meetings without controlling or directing the outcome. We [...] recommend this hands-on how-to guide to anyone motivated to minimize the waste of meeting-creep.
Facilitating With Ease!
I have had the privilege of participating in workshops taught by Ingrid Bens: this is like having her in your own training room!The information in this book is both relevant and concise.I use the book to lead my facilitation team through all of their group dynamics training.The CD-ROM allows me the freedom to customize the worksheets to meet our needs. This is a great book that I highly recommend to all individuals who work in teams, lead meetings, or need assistance in group dynamics ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. General    5. Group facilitation    6. Management - Teams    7. Teams in the workplace    8. Business & Economics / General    9. Management & management techniques   

Reviews (6)

It works!
The principals espoused in this book, should improve any organization interested in human resource development.
Well written--but doesn't quite hit the nail on the head.
This is a very good book on the subject of finding the type of people to work for you.What it fails to do is to point out the specialty people required to get a business running and growing.That is what I expected, after reading the title.One thing that totally put me off as I read this book.The author spoke of owning a shipping business and having a time pressure to get a shipment loaded.All of the laborers pulled together as a team, working long hours and extra shifts without complaining or asking for overtime pay.Who made the lions share of the money?Not the ones who did the hard labor, but he as the owner.Compensation was something not mentioned in this book.I very much like the concept of a 'code of honor', in which this book was almost completely based.I am still not really sure, after reading this book, what the difference between a code of honor and a mission statement is.A couple of great books that also cover this concept very well are: On My Honor I Will, and The Lost Secret of Phenomenol Success.This kind of book makes you think about your values, and what you want from life.I recommend it.Just remember, it may not be what you expect.

DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!!
I am an entrepreneur and wanted some inspiration, sadly I just found a lot of crap in this book. There's nothing I can apply, anyone can come up with a book better than this. just by reading the index you know this book was written by someone who has no idea about business. I'll write it for you:
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business ethics    4. Business/Economics    5. Leadership    6. Management - General    7. Management - Teams    8. Motivational    9. Organizational Behavior In Business    10. Teams in the workplace    11. Work ethic    12. Business & Economics / Personal Finance / General    13. Management & management techniques   

Reviews (13)

Transforming
I bought this book to help me change the dynamic of weekly staff meetings from complaint sessions into something constructive.My staff was resistant at first, but now they look forward to the exercises.
Unbelievable
Unbelievable!! This book is exactly what I have been looking for! I have done successful team building activities in the past, but not to the extent, and with the outcomes I am achieving by using this book.Mr. Miller not only gives you a lot of activity ideas, which most books do, he also gives you easy, quick instructions on how to get the most out of each activity. He makes you visualize the activity taking place and what possible obstacles you might face in doing an activity. Everyone wants to tell you WHAT team building activity to do, but no one tells you HOW to do it. This is what this book provides! Mr. Miller has taught me how to prepare for, conduct, and debrief a very successful activity each time, every time. My employees love it and I love it! Thank you Mr. Miller!!!
A bit trite
I found most of the exercises trite and would be embarassed to use them in front of a group.A couple were useful, though. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Communication in organizations    5. Group relations training    6. Leadership    7. Management - Teams    8. Office Management    9. Problems, exercises, etc    10. Teams in the workplace    11. Training of    12. Management & management techniques    13. Personnel & human resources management   

Reviews (5)

Great resource for enhancing facilitation!
I found The Art of Facilitation to be an easy-to-read, complete guide in helping to better understand facilitation.I suggest that every beginner facilitator should read this.The authors wrote it specifically outlined and detailed, yet not too complicated. It is a good book to keep close by as a quick reference source. The breakdown of the book allows it to be a wonderful training guide complete with a toolkit to assist your every need of facilitation.

Excellent book on facilitation
A very good book on one of the most difficult arts that of drawing together a group through facilitation.

Distinguishing Facilitation Powerfully and Simply
The Art of Facilitation is written in simple language. It cuts through the academic tendency to complicate this domain, and in doing so displays the authors mastery of it.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business/Economics    3. Communication in small groups    4. Group decision-making    5. Group facilitation    6. Human Relations In Business    7. Management - Teams    8. Small groups    9. Organizational theory & behaviour   

Reviews (5)

Read it, Use it. Love it!
I've recommended this book to a number of my clients who were struggling with strategic planning. Unlike other books, it does not deal in vague generalities or unsupported principles.It gives all of the steps and instructions to choose from that companies need to create an excellent plan. The steps are explained simply and a strategy on how to make "it happen".
Team based strategic planning book is excellent.
This is an excellent guide that allows a leader to structure a strategic planning process to fit a specific organization. It gives step by step instructions and real examples that make the process come alive. It also gives guides for facilitating collection of information and the meetings that must be held to get concensus on the organization's direction. In 30 years of federal government management, I have not seen any book as clear and as useful in directing development of a strategic plan. This book has been on the market since 1999, so I must not be alone in this opinion.

Strategic Planning: Easy to Work With
This text was incredibly simple to understand. It was set up in a way that it had very easy guidelines to follow, and the applications were just as easy to work with. I completely recommend this text to all that are in the field of leadership. This is one text that is assured continual usage by all that purchase it.
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Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business/Economics    3. Corporate Planning    4. Entrepreneurship    5. Management - Teams    6. Organization Development    7. Strategic Planning    8. Teams in the workplace    9. Business strategy    10. Project management   

Reviews (7)

On the mark
Kaig Kramers consistently delivers useable, practical business ideas for those loking to really take their companies or their careers to the next level. In a 'been-there, done-that' approach, he addresses tools that every high performing executive should keep at the ready.
CEO Tools:The Nuts-n-Bolts of Business for Every Manager's S
Having access only to the Table of Contents and one page of text, I believe that this book addresses the vital area of business tools and that the tool types covered are most important. What I can't state, from only the one page of content, is how well this is done.

all you will need to know and then some
If you are leading a business, small, medium or behemoth, this book should be your reference "Bible" and be worn out before too long.It's scource is from a leader who has been "there" and has done "that" many times.Not much theory or academic nonsense...just the real world when your name appears at the very top of the "org chart" and you are wondering what to do.Buy it!Read it!Do it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business & Economics / Management    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Investments & Securities - General    6. Leadership    7. Management - General    8. Management - Teams    9. Management & management techniques    10. Office management   

Reviews (6)

Not bad, but not great.
This book was O.K. but not great. The information could fit in ten to twenty pages - as in a pamphlet.

The best book on teams
This is the best book on teams! If I could have given it more stars I would. A definite MUST read. This will be your reference bible on teams from now onward.

Comprehensive, Practical
Teams are everywhere-in all kinds of organizations. Some work beautifully to produce wonderful successes; others are miserable failures. Why? The authors conducted research with over 6,000 team members and discovered five factors that determine a team's success: collaboration, relationships, group processes, leadership, and the organizational environment. This book is a report of what they learned, loaded with plenty of advice for increasing team effectiveness. Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Human Relations In Business    5. Leadership    6. Management - Teams    7. Organizational Behavior    8. Teams in the workplace    9. Business & Economics / Organizational Behavior    10. Management & management techniques   

Reviews (11)

Looking for Cost Reduction, Increased Productivity, and Loyal Costumers - This is the practical implementation guide
Six sigma is a quality system that has helped world class companies save millions and gain costumer. It was brought into fame by the legendary Jack Welch during his years at General Electric.
Classroom training for Six Sigma costs what!
I began my journey to learn about Six Sigma around a year ago. At that time I investigated classroom training on Six Sigma. The cost for Six Sigma training was far too expensive for my management team to seriously consider. My most viable option was to train myself. I bought seven, yes seven, books on the topic of Six Sigma. This book was the best of the seven resources I purchased. This book is an inexpensive resource for training. I would also recommend an introduction to Six Sigma to supplement this book. My recommendation would be, "What is Six Sigma?" (another book by Pande). I have several years of quality experience so not every newcomer can just read a book. For most business process improvement efforts this book can give you the education to be dangerous against company waste and inefficiencies.

Excellent way to start your green belts!
This book is a great intro book for new green belts.I am using this in our corporate office for training.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Entrepreneurship    5. Management - Teams    6. Production & Operations Management    7. Production management    8. Quality control    9. Reference - General    10. Statistical methods    11. Business & Economics / Quality Control    12. Project management   

Reviews (7)

Building a Productive Team
This little book states well the mechanics of teambuildingand teamworkmanship, and I enjoyed reading it. In the end it shows that these mechanics can be summarized into ten distinct steps: (1) deciding on the importance of having a team; (2) assemblying a competent team; (3) doing what it takes to develop the team; (4) working like a team; (5) delegating power, responsibility to the team; (6) giving, not taking, credit for the success of the team; (7) collecting and sharing the returns from investment in the team's efforts;(8) divesting from underperforming team members; (9) opening and expanding opportunities for team growth; and (10) giving the team the reason, resources, and the chance to succeed.
I loved it
I loved this book. Its a quick read. And it makes the point very quickly: Teams succeed, individuals don't! The glorified individuals we often hear of (steve jobs, bill gates, etc) are actually "leaders" leading successful teams. (Not that we don't know these things, but the book makes things obvious, very nicely.)
Teetoncey
I give this book four stars. It was exciting and I was always on the edge of my seat. The book I read was Teetoncey, written by Theodore Taylor.
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Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business/Economics    3. Inspirational - General    4. Leadership    5. Management - General    6. Management - Teams    7. Religion    8. Teams in the workplace    9. Business & Economics / Leadership    10. Business & Management    11. Economics, Finance, Business and Industry    12. Personal Christian testimony & popular inspirational works   

Reviews (1)

Servant Leadership "Must-Read"
James Autry's (2001) book is essential reading for the servant-leader and servant-led who are looking for practical tools to change organizational culture.The book was arranged in four major sections: "A Foundation of Character and Vision" (pp. 1-36); Servant as Manager: The Everyday Nuts and Bolts" (pp. 37-98); The Harsh Realities of Organizational Life" (pp. 99-154); and "Finding the Balance" (pp. 155-240).
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. General    5. Leadership    6. Management - Teams    7. Business & Economics / General   

Reviews (5)

A 'must have' for any consultant who works with teams.
I won't write a detailed review, here's what I found helpful:
Skip the text and go to the exercises
This so-called sequel to The Wisdom of Teams is a "workbook" with exercises.It offers no new insights/guidance for readers of the 2002 paperback update of The Wisdom of Teams.
Nice overview, but lacks concrete guidance
This book excels at drawing the line between leader-driven and team-driven groups of individuals. It also characterizes some of the failure cases very well -- teams that are too large, teams that don't have a clear vision and purpose, teams that are disconnected from the rest of the organization, etc.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Decision Making & Problem Solving    5. Executive Management    6. Leadership    7. Management - Teams    8. Organization Development    9. Organizational Behavior    10. Teams in the workplace    11. Business & Economics / Leadership    12. Management & management techniques   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (15)

Misleading?
Many books and subjects taught should have a disclaimer stating that the information you are absorbing may not apply to the real world.
not so surprising
nothing new , a lot of generalities,i am a bit deceived by the book ...

Thought provoking yet very easy to read
I thought that the book was very easy to read and it's shorter length makes it very accessible to those with very busy lives.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Decision Making & Problem Solving    5. Management - General    6. Management - Teams    7. Psychological aspects    8. Teams in the workplace    9. Business    10. Business & Economics / Corporate Finance    11. Leadership    12. Management & management techniques    13. Personnel & human resources management   

Reviews (6)

An Excellent Source of Information
I felt this book was a valuable source of information.I needed a brief account on the necessary components on being a successful and effective team leader.This book led me from step to step on how to go about learning how to be a successful team manager.It included the basic know-how of team leadership, like being prepared and posing crucial questions to the team.However, it also went in-depth into the necessary skills needed in order to manage a goal-oriented group.I felt that this book not only acknowledged how to plan for a discussion, but it also looked at the real truth that can come up in group discussion. It analyzed the ins and outs of a group dynamic and even suggested ways of combating difficulties that arise in the process.The authors, Donald Hackett and Charles L. Martin, have a style of writing that is efficient, easy to grasp, and sensible.They were able to provide a step by step analysis on what it takes to be a valuable facilitator, but also the things that come up that leaders need to deal with carefully.Their topic ranges from the basic start of what a facilitator is to what skills a team leader needs.Then they consistently maintain this vision of how an effective leader can lead the group to a successful completion of the task.I enjoyed reading this book, because it not only opened my eyes to how I see leaders perform in groups I have been involve