Monday, November 30, 2009

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten or Tribal Leadership

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Author: Robert Fulghum

Fifteen years ago, Robert Fulghum published a simple credo—a credo that became the phenomenal #1 New York Times bestseller All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Now, seven million copies later, Fulghum returns to the book that was embraced around the world. He has written a new preface and twenty-five essays, which add even more potency to a common, though no less relevant, piece of wisdom: that the most basic aspects of life bear its most important opportunities.

Here Fulghum engages us with musings on life, death, love, pain, joy, sorrow, and the best chicken-fried steak in the continental U.S.A. The little seed in the Styrofoam cup offers a reminder about our own mortality and the delicate nature of life . . . a spider who catches (and loses) a full-grown woman in its web one fine morning teaches us about surviving catastrophe . . . the love story of Jean-Francois Pilatre and his hot air balloon reminds us to be brave and unafraid to “fly” . . . life lessons hidden in the laundry pile . . . magical qualities found in a box of crayons . . . hide-and-seek vs. sardines—and how these games relate to the nature of God. All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is brimming with the very stuff of life and the significance found in the smallest details.

In the years that have passed since the first publication of this book that touched so many with its simple, profound wisdom, Robert Fulghum has had some time to ponder, to reevaluate, and to reconsider. And here are those fresh thoughts on classic topics, right alongside the wonderful new essays.

Perhaps in today’s chaotic, morechallenging world, these essays on life will resonate even deeper—as readers discover how universal insights can be found in ordinary events.

Publishers Weekly

Of these ``random jottings,'' PW said, ``Fulghum does not express uncommon thoughts here: his thoughts are those we all wish were true.'' The book's tone is set by the title piece in which the author sets out his banal credos, ranging from ``share everything'' to ``hold hands and stick together.'' (Dec.)

Library Journal

Unitarian minister Fulghum has become something of a celebrity since a talk he gave at a primary school graduation (``Share everything. Play fair. . . . LOOK.'') generated such interest that it ultimately found its way into ``Dear Abby.'' Here is more of his philosophyalways go with dreams, imagination, hope, laughter, and loveaccompanied by random musings on dandelions, medicine cabinets, and the vices of excessive tidiness, which are quirky and often thought-provoking. Undergirded by his love for family and (loosely understood) for God, this makes refreshing reading. EC



Read also Mentoring 101 or Understanding Business

Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization

Author: Dave Logan

It's a fact of life: birds flock, fish school, people "tribe."

Every company, indeed every organization, is a tribe, or if it's large enough, a network of tribes-groups of 20 to 150 people in which everyone knows everyone else, or at least knows of everyone else. Tribes are more powerful than teams, companies, or even CEOs, and yet their key leverage points have not been mapped-until now. In Tribal Leadership, Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright show leaders how to assess their organization's tribal culture on a scale from one to five and then implement specific tools to elevate the stage to the next. The result is unprecedented success.

In a rigorous eight-year study of approximately 24,000 people in over two dozen corporations, Logan, King, and Fischer-Wright refine and define a common theme: the success of a company depends on its tribes, the strength of its tribes is determined by the tribal culture, and a thriving corporate culture can be established by an effective tribal leader. Tribal Leadership will show leaders how to employ their companies' tribes to maximize productivity and profit: the authors' research, backed up with interviews ranging from Brian France (CEO of NASCAR) to "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams, shows that over three quarters of the organizations they've studied have tribal cultures that are merely adequate, no better than the third of five tribal stages.

Leaders, managers, and organizations that fail to understand, motivate, and grow their tribes will find it impossible to succeed in an increasingly fragmented world of business. The often counterintuitive findings of Tribal Leadership will help leaders at today's majorcorporations, small businesses, and nonprofits learn how to take the people in their organization from adequate to outstanding, to discover the secrets that have led the highest-level tribes (like the team at Apple that designed the iPod) to remarkable heights, and to find new ways to succeed where others have failed.

Publishers Weekly

The authors, management consultants and partners of JeffersonLarsonSmith, offer a fascinating look at corporate tribes-groups of 20-150 people within a company that come together on their own rather than through management decisions-and how executives can use tribes to maximize productivity and profit. Drawing upon research from a 10-year study of more than 24,000 people in two dozen organizations, they argue that tribes have the greatest influence in determining how much and what quality work gets done. The authors identify the five stages of employee tribal development-"Life sucks," "My life sucks," "I'm great and you're not," "We're great" and "Life is great"-and offer advice on how to manage these groups. They also share insights from the health care, philanthropic, engineering, biotechnology and other industries and include key points lists for each chapter. Particularly useful is the Tribal Leader's Cheat Sheet, which helps determine and assess success indicators. Well written and enlightening, this book will be of interest to business professionals at all levels. (Feb.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information



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