"You are therefore greatly mistaken." -- Mark 12:27 (NKJV)

Please be aware that the title of this book is a little misleading. It's not a study of best practices by a selected group of "excellent" companies such as Good to Great. Instead, How Excellent Companies Avoid Dumb Things portrays the lessons learned by author Neil Smith in conducting his firm's consulting practice in helping companies to identify and apply more of their own understandings of what and how to improve. Some may find the book simply a long sales pitch. Having observed two somewhat similar efforts (one inside and one outside) of Fortune 200 companies, I found the information to fit well with what I learned during those activities.

The book's basic premise is that normal human concerns, organizational structures, lack of processes for making improvements in certain areas, and frictions between people lead to companies wasting a lot of time, money, and effort. Without making a direct approach to finding opportunities to change, the same old dumb practices may continue for decades.

The barriers that have to be overcome are described as: avoiding controversy, poor use of time, reluctance to change, organizational silos, management blockers, incorrect information and bad assumptions, ignoring scale effects, and existing processes. In some cases, these are primarily the symptoms of the problem, which actually rest in human psychology. The book draws on Dr. Richard Levak to comment on the psychological aspects of the problems. Each barrier description contained a few examples from Mr. Smith's practice at Promontory Growth and Innovation (PGI). I found those examples to be quite well chosen and aptly described.

The book then shifts briefly to 12 principles for breaking the barriers (located first on page 8 of the book's Introduction).

The book ends with a description of the 100 day process that PGI uses to help companies identify, select, and begin to implement the opportunities that are found by its own staff. Whether or not you decide to hire PGI, I think that the process description will give you many helpful insights into why your organization isn't doing a lot of things it should be.

Mr. Smith claims that clients can expect a 25 percent earnings gain in the year after the process is completed. A partial list of clients can be found in the appendix that is heavy with banks, insurance companies, and utilities.

If you decide to go in this direction, I encourage you to consider following up with adding a company-wide process for making breakthroughs (20 times or more improvements in your most important activities), as well as installing a process for continuing business-model innovation.

Enjoy!

"The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein." -- Psalm 24:1 (NKJV)

I enjoy reading books that explore the intersection between science and faith. While many people feel that the two never intersect, scientists who are believers often point out overlays that are unknown to non-scientist believers. If you don't believe that the two perspectives can overlap, you probably won't change your mind after reading this book. If you are open minded about the point, your mind will probably be filled with many new reasons to appreciate Creation.

Before reading this book, I was familiar with some arguments about the special nature of life on Earth and how conditional it is on certain factors being just what they are now. The Privileged Planet added to my list of reasons to be grateful for what we have.

The major new information for me was in The Privileged Planet was how many ways that what makes life possible on Earth is also essential to being able to observe the rest of Creation outside of our own world. Now, that's pretty special, I'm sure you'll agree.

Now, the book has some flaws. First, if you don't know anything about science I suspect you'll get lost from time to time. Second, if you know a lot about science, this book will seem too elementary. So the book's writing style won't be exactly right for too many people. Third, there's a lot of extra detail and repetition that make the "aha" moments further apart than would ideally be desirable for the casual reader.

I do praise the use of figures and plates. Those images added a lot to the story for me.

Pastors who feel stuck for a new sermon topic while teaching Genesis would do well to take a close look at this book. That's how I learned about the book, and I feel blessed that I had an opportunity to read it.

"But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it." -- Numbers 14:24 (NKJV)

Innovation is one of those subjects about which there is a lot of agreement ... and disagreement. Some people believe innovation is inborn, while others argue that it is mostly learned behavior. Some people find it so hard to develop new ideas that they spend much time learning how to think differently, without much considering if those different thoughts are helpful or not. Others have so many different ideas that they have difficulty focusing on just a few of them.

Into such agreement and disagreement, individual studies of actual innovators and non-innovators can be helpful in pointing out differences. If the differences can be learned, then others can become innovators. That's the premise behind this book.

Disruptive innovations are those that leave existing business models and offerings hung out to dry, such as what happened to Bowmar and its portable electronic calculator business. Most innovation is, instead, incremental, providing just a little twist on what's always been done in an evolutionary change. If you have read any other books in this series, you know that most organizations focus on incremental innovation because it is so immediately profitable ... leaving the competitive door open for those with disruptive approaches.

In The Innovator's DNA, the authors use about 80 interviews of disruptive innovators and survey information for a large number of non-innovators to identify that these factors are important (as summarized in the model found described by Figure 1-1 on page 27:

(1) Courage to innovate
(1a) Challenging the status quo
(1b) Taking risks

(2) Engaging in helpful behaviors
(2a) Questioning
(2b) Observing
(2c) Networking
(2d) Experimenting

(3) Cognitive skill to synthesize novel inputs (characterized as associational thinking)

The book goes on to describe these characteristics in more detail and to suggest ways to increase your effective use of them through people, processes, and organizational philosophies.

To greatly oversimplify the book's key point, you should assume that there's an enormously valuable disruptive innovation waiting for you to discover that will greatly reward you for your efforts. Therefore, making finding that disruptive innovation your top activity and organize accordingly.

If someone told you that you could count on finding large flawless natural diamonds by simply looking around for them where you live and work, you would certainly be looking. And if, in fact, there were such diamonds, you would be more likely to find them.

So are disruptive innovations almost always available. Well, my research and teaching experiences have convinced me that's the case. This book, however, doesn't try to make that case. It just assumes it to be true in a tacit way.

How applied is the information? Well, it's great for someone new to the subject. For someone who isn't, it's pretty simplified. As a result, this book will mainly appear to those who don't have a clue how to start looking for a disruptive innovation, and that's all to the good.

I must admit that I think the notion of an innovation premium in stocks probably can't be accurately verified by the methods used in this book. It just assumes any premium is due to innovation. My own research shows that innovation is only one factor in gaining and retaining a stock-price premium value. So take that bit with a big grain of salt.

Otherwise, the work is solid ... as far as it goes.

I do hope the authors will do a more applied version of this work aimed at those who are more advanced practitioners of disruptive innovation. Now, that would be a most helpful book!

"But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things--" -- Titus 2:1-3 (NKJV)

In the past, I've enjoyed the encouragement in Ms. Anna Quindlen's writing. In this case, I was looking instead to gain understanding. Having seen a number of women undergo big psychological changes at around age sixty, I was interested in Ms. Quindlen's experiences and observations. I hoped that I might gain insights into some of what my sixtyish wife is thinking about. I was gratified to find that much illumination was provided. Thank you!

The book also contains (not surprisingly) some stylish writing, a treat regardless of why a reader chooses this book. Here's an example from page one:

"It's odd when I think of the arc of my life, from child to young woman to aging adult. First I was who I was. Then I didn't know who I was. Then I invented someone and became her. Then I began to like what I invented. And finally I was what I was again.

"It turned out I wasn't alone in that particular progression."

These seven sentences made this book a must-read for me.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the themes touched on my life as well, such as her take on having "stuff." "The nicest thing you can say to me bout my home is that it's homey, and people say that all the time. I like it. And at a certain point, I can't say when, I realized I didn't really give a damn about any of it."

Her comments on marriage are especially insightful to husbands. She doesn't find men's non-female qualities nearly as annoying as I would have thought. She also finds things to like: "He holds a grudge against anyone who does me wrong. He may not remember our social schedule or the names of some of our kids' friends, but he never forgets who wrote the bad review of my last book. And woe betide that individual if they ever meet him at a cocktail party. I like that man. Actually, I love that man."

Having watched females enjoy being with each other for many decades, I naturally wondered if the nature and benefits of such company changed with age. Nope!

Her comments on the women's movement and the expectations she grew up with were helpful to me. I know that they are often on my wife's mind, as well.

If there's a disappointment about the book, it will be that much of the content isn't as revealing as it might be, or as comforting as it could be. Stylish writers are good at attracting our attention with one hand while stuffing a rabbit into a hat with the other. This problem could have only been overcome by editing out many of her observations . . . which would have left a slim volume being too thin to be satisfying.

If you are a dyed-in-the-wool Anna Quindlen fan, do read the book. But don't expect to be given as much optimism and comfort as usual.

"My God, we know You!" -- Hosea 8:2 (NKJV)

The title and subtitle of this book give the impression that this might be a book that mostly comes from the scientific perspective. If that's what you are looking for, you'll probably be disappointed in the book. It's more of a personal quest for understanding the author's spiritual experiences in the context of what scientific studies have shown about what's happening during "spiritual" experiences. As such, most believers will find this book to be far more valuable than most of those who are agnostics or atheists.

I was drawn to the book by my interest in finding books that would help people who want to better understand faith from a rational perspective. For that purpose, Fingerprints of God will be quite helpful for some.

In many cases, the scientific measurements can merely tell us what the physiological or neurological mechanisms are . . . and not reveal much about the origin or influences of such experiences. It still comes down to faith. I think some will be impressed to find that our bodies are equipped to have so many different kinds of these experiences. To me, it's just one more sign that we are spiritual beings.

If you've had profound spiritual experiences, your life was undoubtedly changed in fundamental ways as a result. Such experiences feel like much more than what scientists can measure. I think that's why faith builds so rapidly after such experiences. The world just doesn't look and feel the same.

Here's how Ms. Hagerty puts it:

"It seems to me that the instruments of brain science are picking up something beyond this material world. It seems plausible to me that we perceive the ineffable with spiritual senses, and when the spiritual experience ebbs, it leaves a residue in one's brain or body. Science is showing that a spiritual experience leaves fingerprints, evidence that a spiritual transaction has occurred. ... After the experience, the brain is physiologically different. ... Simply put, when you bump against the spiritual, something changes. First your brain begins to operate differently, even at resting state. Second, your interior life is transformed. Your priorities and loves, how you choose to spend your time and with whom you choose to spend it--all that changes in the blink of an eye. And for me at least, the catalyst for this upheaval is God."

Enjoy! This book will bless you.

"So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: 'For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.'" -- Genesis 32:30 (NKJV)

When I studied how historians work as a wee lad, I was struck by how much the context of the contemporary times could be seen in the writing of historians about earlier times. Until I read this book, it had never occurred to me how much views of faith have been influenced over time by the reigning scientific theories and findings.

The Many Faces of God makes a fine contribution to showing how faith and science separated from what was once a substantial joint presence in the minds of those working on scientific progress. I especially enjoyed reading about how the identity of God changed in the minds of the most scientifically astute. As I read books from those earlier periods, my understanding will be greatly improved by these perspectives.

The book's main weakness is that it's painting a rather broad picture with a big brush. I couldn't help but be suspicious about how universal true the conclusions drawn here are. Perceptions are seldom as uniform as this book suggests.

I do recommend you read it. I'm not aware of an alternative book that offers better content.

"But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." -- Exodus 9:16 (NKJV)

For those without faith in God, choosing and adhering to a life's purpose can be challenging. Highly talented people in business will find "How Will You Measure Your Life?" to be a helpful secular guide to selecting a life's purpose, finding happiness in a career, and enjoying happy relationships with family and friends. Professor Christensen and coauthors James Allworth and Karen Dillon draw heavily on business theories and examples to show the principles that can lead toward or away from accomplishment, satisfaction, and fulfillment. Professor Christensen generously sprinkles in examples from his personal experiences to make it easier to understand the theories and principles.

The material grew out of Professor Christensen's habit of using his last class of each course to explore these fundamental questions. In 2010, after he contracted a challenging cancer, he was invited to speak on the same subject to the whole graduating class at Harvard Business School.

Even if you don't apply all of the lessons to your personal life, your business results should be helped by appreciating the business theories and stories in the book as they relate to:

1. Why theory can be more helpful than looking for best practices in areas where all performance is poor.
2. Find meaningful work.
3. Optimal strategy should combine planning and being open to serendipity.
4. To understand your strategy, focus on your behavior, rather than what you say you do.
5. Your family and friends need your involvement all the time, not just when you want to give it.
6. Choose and work on the values and attributes you want your children to have.
7. Equip your youngsters with the ability to apply skill and knowledge.
8. Be sure your children have character-building and life-management experiences.
9. Deliberately establish a family culture that enhances what your want your children to honor.
10. Look at the long-term consequences of any actions you take, lest you start down a slippery slope from which you cannot recover.

The ultimate advice is certainly sound. You'll notice is says a lot more about families than about careers, but most MBAs are already overly career focused. It's their families that puzzle many of them.

One of the great blessings of this book is that many youngsters will benefit, children of high-performing businesspeople.

Bravo!

"Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall," -- Isaiah 40:30 (NKJV)

It's easy to mistake this novel for an autobiography. That's how good it is.

Michael Ondaatje deals with perspective in this story, taking as his starting point the awareness of an eleven-year-old boy on a sea voyage from Colombo to be reunited with his mother in England. In such circumstances, the boy is on the bottom of the social ladder that always seems overly important on board a ship. The book's title refers to his status as one of those assigned to the dining table furthest from the Captain's table, which is, of course, the acme of social status. The cat's table, by comparison, is at the outer edges of civilization.

Due to finding two boys he can pal around with, the boy's days and nights are filled with adventures. They probe into places that adults easily overlook or disdain to consider. As a result, they spot subtle dramas at odd hours that grab their attention. Their adult companions at the cat's table are harder for the boys to figure out. However, any gestures of sympathy and friendship are quickly grasped and enjoyed.

It's a more perilous voyage than one might imagine, as youthful pranks and escapades sometimes have important consequences.

In a few places, Mr. Ondaatje moves forward into the future to reveal "what happened next" to add shadows and dimensions to the relationships among the characters on board. These sections felt a bit awkward to me by adding a little too much intrusion into the main story's pacing and timing.

The plot may seem a bit over the top to some. I disagree. I thought the plot's scale was necessary in order to explore the book's fundamental focus on the limitations of perception and perspective. The Cat's Table certainly rewards a close reading of the novel as you go. There's an element of a mystery story here that you need to pay attention to in order to fully enjoy the story on the first reading.

Yes, this book deserves at least a second reading. You'll marvel at the author's skill when you do. It's most impressive.

When was the last time you read a novel that demanded an immediate rereading? It's all too infrequent in my experience.

Bravo!

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." -- Romans 12:21 (NKJV)

Clive Cussler must rank somewhere near the top of authors who can dream up the most imaginative evil schemes, obscure technologies for accomplishing the schemes, and how to undo the harm. It's just amazing. I, for one, am glad that he is enlisting coauthors to flesh out these wonderful plots so that we can enjoy more of them.

I am partial to stories about Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala. They remind me of the early Dirk Pitt books in their swagger and derring do.

The Storm is a timely tale that explores how important the oceans are as a global resource and how they might be used to accomplish more (for harm or for good) in the future. You'll find yourself with plenty of "what if" thoughts as you read the story. The technologies described in the book are also intriguing, independent of the plot. There's nothing like fiction that causes you to think differently about the possibilities in fact.

I very much liked the action in The Storm. The ratio of doing to talking is about right in this story.

My only complaint about the book is that Graham Brown doesn't do enough to flesh out his characters. For all the differences you perceive in some of them, they might as well be simply called Character 1, Character 2, Character 3, and so forth.

If you are about to head off on vacation . . . or a long plane flight, take The Storm with you!

"And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." -- 1 Corinthians 13:3-8 (NKJV)

Can we change? Sure. But what does it take? In A Conspiracy of Friends, Alexander McCall Smith takes the familiar cast (plus a few new characters) of the first two books and shows us sides to their personalities that readers may not expect . . . thus creating some surprises and good fun. I'm really looking forward to the next installment to see what happens next!

Berthea Snark is still obsessed with blowing the whistle on her loathsome son, Oedipus. She's equally concerned about her brother, Terence Moongrove, and his latest fancy. Barbara Ragg is enjoying her new love, glad to be quit of Oedipus Snark. Relations with her literary agent partner, Rupert Porter, could become testy if she doesn't decide to move out of her flat. Landing the Yeti is still a bone of contention, as well. Caroline Jarvis finds herself in the middle of a most awkward situation, learning a great deal about herself. William French is driven to distraction by the sudden disappearance of Freddie de la Hay while visiting in the country. His son, Eddie, gets more deeply involved with his new girl friend. William's calm is also perturbed by an unexpected event.

By the time the book ends, you'll have to rethink everything you concluded about where the series is going. I'm sure you'll be pleased. Don't miss it!