16 Down, 20 to go

The Leadership Lessons of Jesus: A Timeless Model for Today's Leaders by Bob Briner


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a short book in that it is 150 small pages of content and it could be read in only a few sittings, however, I think that the value of the book would be lost.
Jesus was a great leader and that can be seen in the incredible way He changed the world and those around Him. He established the church which has run for around 2,000 years and it has grown an incredible amount in that time. Can we glean insights that we can use on a regular basis to model His leadership style, to the best of our abilities, and make a difference to those people around us and the organizations we are part of?
Through the 52 chapters in this book, you will see great thoughts, activities and principles of leadership as demonstrated throughout the Bible as Jesus ran his ministry. Take the time to digest the material and work on applying it over the course of a year maybe (which woud be 1 chapter a week...looking to work on that application/activity that week) and see if you are not truly changed as a leader.

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15 Down, 21 to go

This has been on my to-do list for a long time. I had picked it up and read part of it many months back and just didn't get through it. Now, it came up as part of our congregations suggested activities for October as part of a growing deeper opportunity for people's faith...it was a good and quick read and I am glad I finally made myself get to it.



The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence



Brother Lawrence sets an example that we should all strive for in how we are to perceive the world, our relationship with people, work and ultimately our relationship with God through this simple and short book that includes letters that the Brother wrote to various friends and other things that were collected from him or written about him.
To acknowledge that God is sovereign and that we truly exist and take each breath because God wants us to and that our greatest joy and fulfillment in our life comes through our relationship with Him which goes against everything that you see on earth...that was what Brother Lawrence accomplished and what he pushes everyone who reads the book to understand and embrace. That we might find joy in the constant presence of God while doing any and every task according to His will and desire...that we might embrace God truly being with us in everything we say and do and that it would have such a profound impact on who we are as we become more like Jesus...what a truly remarkable achievement.
Many of us are Christians and we exist in a state much as Brother Lawrence did at the beginning of his walk...with trepidation, miss-steps and agony as we fell and started again and fretted about being good enough for God...even when we knew in our head that being good enough is not what we are called to be...May we all progress as Brother Lawrence did to an entirely different realization and relationship with God where we truly embrace God's love and forgiveness and want to spend as much time with Him as possible.

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14 Down, 22 to go

Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections Between Sexuality And Spirituality by Rob Bell


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have heard a lot about Rob Bell and seen several of his NOOMA videos. If you have heard him speak, or seen one of his videos, this book seems to follow that type of story telling approach. Connecting things that we all do everyday or hear about or think about to God and how He engages us to have a relationship with Him.
I found in this book that Rob does do a great job of reminding all of us of the value God has in each of us and that He continues to remind us of His desires for us through many of the ways He has set up the world...marriage, the Exodus, and the New Testament scriptures all have repeating patterns in the way God talks to us and reminds us of the way He has established the way things work...and also shows why there can be such pain when that which was made for good is not used in the way God intended.
I think that this book can be really poignant and would be an incredibly good read for people who are engaged to be married...as Rob does a good job of speaking to the sacrifice that is necessary in a marriage to make it work.

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Some thoughts on "The Resurrection Factor" by Josh McDowell

This is one of the books I chose to read over the summer for my class at church. It was a decent read and I wrote up some thoughts on it...

Does the historical evidence support the resurrection of Jesus Christ? This is both the subtitle of the book and probably one of the most important questions that you can ask over the course of a person’s life. If historical evidence is in support of Jesus Christ resurrection then that should speak volumes to all with respect to His claims to being God. Much like ‘The Case for Christ’ by Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell was determined to do his due diligence in researching Christianity. By validating the claims that the New Testament made regarding the resurrection he “removes the question, ‘Is Christianity valid?’ from the realm of philosophy and forces it to be an issue of history.” But why is the distinction in this question so important? Why would we care to move it from one classification to another?

Philosophy is “Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods”. In other words, what you can rationalize or think to be true…is your truth. If someone can convince you to think their way…that is your new truth. Philosophy believes that you can figure out everything…including God…by using logic. And from this branch of thinking and reasoning we get the great questions that supposedly stump us like, “Can God make a stone big enough that even He can’t lift it?”…questions that prove that man can completely mix ourselves up into thinking we are smarter than we are. However, if we move The Resurrection and the basis of Christianity into a historical question, we change how people have to engage the reality of God in our world. It is no longer a question of can you rationalize God. It is a question of did it happen, and, if it did happen, what does that mean? Those are concrete questions that demand explicit answers and proof that exists outside of someone’s mind.

Christ died on the cross. He rose on the 3rd day and defeated death. There were prophecies that it would happen…Jesus himself said it would happen…and we have written documents from eye witnesses that said it did happen. If He really did defeat death, what would that mean to you?

McDowell writes of the many other kinds of evidence that can support this as truth as well. The circumstantial evidence provides incremental proof outside of accepted and documented facts and the eye witness testimonies and further, even the archaeological evidence has only supported the facts as described by the witness testimonies. McDowell even discusses the alternate theories that have been provided and why the holes in those show that they are trying to fill the gaps for that which only the supernatural reality of God being in our midst truly fills.

“If all the evidence is weighed carefully and fairly, it is indeed justifiable, according to the canons of historical research, to conclude that the tomb in which Jesus was buried was actually empty on the morning of the first Easter. And no shred of evidence has yet been discovered in literary sources, epigraphy, or archaeology that would disprove this statement.” If accurate, and the book goes to great detail to show that it is so, then The Resurrection truly is a fact of history and, as such, has immeasurable consequence…not only two thousand years ago, but to today and for all eternity. God came as a person to this earth, died and rose again and called us to believe in Him and that historical sacrifice so that we too could conquer death. So, we don’t need to rationalize God’s existence…but assuming you are still someone that feels that urge than I suppose you could go with Pascal’s wager…you will still realize that it is in your best interest to believe in God.

13 Down, 23 to go

The Resurrection Factor by Josh McDowell


My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The was a book very similar to the more contemporary "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. McDowell looks at the historical evidence aruond the resurrection and makes a case for why it is the most coherent and rational set of events based on the eye witness testimony, the circumstantial evidence and even his own life changes 2000 years after the event. While it seemed that a couple of his points were repetitive in the book, overall he makes a clear case for why a Christian can truly believe that the tomb was empty on that first Easter and why the Christian religion started off so strongly in Jerusalem amidst such a difficult environment. Worth the read and I also enjoyed some of the backup material that he included in the version tht I read...so look for the version with the supplemental information in the back.

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Check back tomorrow and I will post the paper I wrote for my class that is more detailed in my thoughts around the book than this brief review.

12 Down, 24 to go

Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity by Gregory A. Boyd


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
How many times has someone asked you one of the "difficult questions" of Christianity, or have you yourself asked and not received a very clear answer? Usually, it is in conversation and I know that I have a tough time being clear and articulate during a conversation...however, Greg Boyd decided to get away from that obstruction, from the issue of getting personally heated perhaps as one can in a conversation and simply write letters to his Dad to explain his faith. Over the course of 3 years, they explored many of the more difficult questions around Christianity...acknowledging when there aren't easy answers and making a solid case for why the Christian worldview really is the only one that reconciles with the historical narrative as well as with our own creation. Greg's father brings to light many of the issues that people have with the church, with religion and even with the character of God...and I think that Greg is able to answer them all with a clarity that was enabled because he had time to write out his response in a letter. It was fun to see the back and forth as well as to watch how the questions changed over time...
I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who has questions on the Christian fatih and to those that already hold to the Christian faith but have difficulty answering "hard" questions to friends and family around why you believe what you believe.

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11 Down, 25 to go

Initially, I wasn't planning on including these books in my count...but, I think I will just to help me out :)

They are books really for the pre-teen and teenage kids, but I am reading the series to Jaden...so...here is what I thought of the first one. We finished it a little while back and we just finished the second one, which I will post soon as well.


The Door in the Dragon's Throat by Frank E. Peretti

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am reading this book to my son as he is not quite old enough to read it on his own. I picked it up specifically for he and I to do together as good father-son time...and I had read some of Peretti on my own and really enjoyed it.

This was a great book for the pre-teen and early teen set. I think that finding an author who can tell a story and interest the kids while also keeping characters biblically minded might be difficult, but Peretti did a great job of it. He pulled up just a few scriptures but wove it into the story line and had the characters act like normal people that have a strong faith that they rely on...maybe it is a little overdone in spots, but with the age range that this is intended for, I would not expect subtlety to reign.

So, neat locations to engage kids in thoughts about geography and alternate cultures....check.

An entertaining story...check.

Something that ultimately shows that good defeats evil...check.

A biblical perspective that keeps truth in the forefront...check.



A book and a series that I will enjoy with all of my sons?... Check :)




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Growing Up in God's Family

I started writing something last year with this title and I didn't get as far as I wanted to...it seems that I have a bunch of ideas for books and things that I want to write, but I haven't explored them fully enough and then haven't spent the time to just sit down and start writing.

My main premise with this idea was that we are all growing up in God's family...regardless of how messed up it is, was or will be. We all end up with a unique story to tell that will be significant to someone else.

I guess it kind of hit me today again because I re-connected with my Mom's side of the family and I think that is a pretty neat thing. I hope that I get to know them better and that it will only enrich my life, my children's lives and those that know us.

For better or worse, I thought I would share my intro that I started with last year...you can comment if you like, but more than that...maybe anyone who reads this will realize that they have a story worth telling as well.

What kind of person has grown up in God’s family? I am not a preacher or a pastor and no, my father was not either. I have had no training in ministry or psychology; I didn’t major or minor in philosophy and I have written no other books, so far.

I am simply a person who decided to write his story down and share it with others. I have drawn conclusions that not everyone would agree with and I have probably categorized things in ways that clinical doctors would shake their heads at. I have not written this as an expert in the field, or as a person trying to create the next ‘big thing’ or a new field of study. It is my story and some of my interpretations and reflections thus far. It is how I see God working in our lives.
This is not a testament to overcoming challenges. There are people who have had a much more difficult life. There are people who have had it easier. However, no one has had my story. Each of us has our own story to tell and ways in which that story can reach people. I am writing this because I think that there are people out there that need to read it. There are people that could benefit from seeing something familiar in these pages and deciding that there is a truth here that could be useful to them. It is for me and for them...the other people who are growing up in God’s family.

10 Down, 26 to go

Epic: The Story God Is Telling and the Role That Is Yours to Play by John Eldredge

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
"We find ourselves in the middle of a story that is sometimes wonderful, sometimes awful, usually a confusing mixture of both, and we haven't a clue how to make sense of it all."



John Eldredge starts this short book with the premise that Life is a Story and that our personal story wraps around the larger story of God, humanity, Christ and eternity. That the reason that we all are drawn to epic stories and battles, good versus bad, right versus wrong, and the hero coming to save the day is that each of us is actually in the midst of that story from the moment we were born.



Maybe this book will only draw those readers in that love the stories that he uses as examples...Star Wars, The Matrix, Apollo 13 and others...If you loved those stories, then you are likely to enjoy this book and love the way that John lines up our lives in the context of these stories.



I know that I always have longed for my life to have meaning...to feel like I have a crucial role to play. We often lose steam if we compare our lives to those that have more worldly wealth, influence, etc. This book helps give back hope and context to remind us that we each have a crucial role to play. The Story is playing out all around us...both in the visible world and the invisible world...you are a player regardless of whether you choose it or not...so, best to understand it and ensure you understand what the risks and rewards are within the battle.



Fo all of you out there, may you understand your God-given role and play it to perfection.


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9 Down, 27 to go

Yikes...I definately feel like I am behind towards hitting my goal for the year....BUT, I am starting to make progress again :)


The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the second time I read the book...this time as part of a small group with others and reviewing the DVD material that Lee Strobel has created. I think the book is much better than the DVD material or the study guides that go with it...but I suppose that depends on who you are, and what you are trying to accomplish with the discussion.



As far as the book, it speaks to some things well and certainly gives a believer, or someone who is inclined to believe, more ammunition to help them get over any objections they may have. Strobel is a Christian and certainly tells the story from that position and the fact that he absolutely believes that everyone will draw the same conclusions that he does by reading through the interviews he has with experts.

What the book lacks is any serious review of alternative viewpoints that anyone who really wants to challenge Christianity will make. If you are reading this book for a unbiased review of evidence, then you will not get it...you will get a logically laid out review of much information that all points to Christianity as truth.

I find it an easy and quick read and that it highlights many things in the Christian faith that form the backbone, the reason that people can believe in Christ, so that it is digestible.




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8 Down, 28 To Go

A Dangerous Faith by James Lund & Peb Jackson

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a reasonably interesting set of short, true stories about Christian men and women who have engaged in extraordinary events either because of responding to God's call or who have engaged in events with a Christ-like response and what that has meant to their lives.

The mix of stories is interesting, and if you are a person who likes to hear stories from other peoples' lives, than this is a good read simply for hearing some interesting stories.

All the stories are tenuously held together under the banner of a dangerous faith...meaning that God does not call us to places of comfort and complacency, but to places of excitement and potentially danger. When you read through some of the author's experiences themselves, you grasp that the adventuresome spirit is at home with these two guys and that is how they relate to life and to their relationship with God. There is not a real story line amongst everything, nor do they really pull them all together, except for saying that these people followed God and ended up in dangerous places....but were glad they did.

As with most reads, I feel that there are things that you can learn, pull out, or insights that are worth writing down and remembering...here are a couple that I pulled from this book.

Bruce Olson wrote about walking through a cacophony of sounds in the jungle and the Montilone people remarking about the sound of a piping turkey...The Montilone's were able to hear, notice and appreciate the small voice amidst this chaos...and Bruce remarked "It was a poignant moment for me. I wondered what else I'd missed-not only in the jungle, but also in my own spiritual life. How much had I overlooked when I'd failed to patiently tune in to God's subtle voice in the midst of life's chaos and stresses?"

At one point in thinking about Bruce's adventure, the author remarks that maybe we misconstrued what God's peace really is...not that we will live in safety, but regardless of the circumstances we are in, our soul is safe and thus we can have peace.

One other story reminded me of how we have to immerse ourselves in the lives of those that we want to have an impact on and that often the most difficult circumstances and challenging places are the very events that strip away everything that is not real from our lives and allows us to actually strengthen our relationship with God.

So, read this book for the stories, to be inspired by people following God's call and being obedient to Him


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7 down, 29 to go

The Treasure Principle: Discovering the Secret of Joyful Giving by Randy Alcorn

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Did you realize that you are a money manager? I didn't...and most don't. All money is God's and he has simply entrusted us with managing it in his stead. Can you explain why you keep the % you keep?

Randy goes into 6 principles that can help guide us to remember how to look at the wealth we do accumulate and how to focus on what God calls us to do with it when it comes to us.

From discussing how our heart follows where we put our money to recognizing that a shift to an eternal perspective and how laying up treasures in heaven works, there are plenty of good bits in this book to make you think about how you are currently handling your finances and maybe what you need to move towards.

I, for one, think that the giving covenant at the back is an excellent resource and reminder and that perhaps we should all carry business cards next to our cash and cards that reminds us that we are making ALL transactions as employees of God...not on our own.


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Some Great Questions...

From the book I just finished, "I became a Christian and all I got was this lousy t-shirt"
1. Do I often find myself in dangerous places? - Jesus led his followers into dangerous places.
2. Are sinful people drawn to me, or are they put off by my so-called righteousness?
3. Are people's lives changed by knowing me? - When people were in contact with Jesus and his followers...their lives were drastically changed.
4. Do I have sinful habits that I can't seem to shake?
5. Do I read the Bible and pray because I can't wait to spend time with God or because it's what I'm supposed to do?
6. Am I living my life in a Christian bubble?
7. Do I serve because I get to, or because I have to?

These are some awesome questions to keep in mind...how would you answer them?

6 down, 30 to go

I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt: Replacing Souvenir Religion with Authentic Spiritual Passion by Vince Antonucci

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Funny and poignant. I loved this book.

How often do we feel that we are missing out on something or that life is not turning out as we expected...especially when we became a Christian and became all excited about our faith?

Vince has a great perspective on this in terms of wearing our t-shirt and I would impress upon anyone to read this book as I think you could get something out of it.

The anecdotes are funny and Vince has a relational writing style that makes it easy to read.

I have no doubt that this book will stay on my shelf and be read again, but as with several other of my favorite books...the culmination of the writing is NOT in the knowledge gained...though that is certainly important...but does the book prompt me to action...to want to make a change in the way I do things or in my life. The implementation is always going to be up to me...but the books that at least spark that desire are always among my favorites and certainly worth the time to read.

Many ideas were sparked or refreshed for me in the reading of this over the last couple days and I fully appreciate the goal of the book to "replace souvenir religion with authentic spiritual passion".

May we each find the way to make that true for each of us.


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5 down, 31 to go

Adam by Ted Dekker

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I am a fan of Ted Dekker. He always has a surprise in store for his readers. He obviously did a ton of research for this book and it shows in some of the detailed explanations and action sequences that he presents. He gives the reader interesting peeks into the motivation of his characters without giving away too much and was certainly inventive in coming up with the way to utilize the near death experience of Daniel, the main character. I think that the portion of the book kind of went against the rest of the book and especially the serial killer's personality and "M.O.", but it did add an intriguing element to the book.



Overall, for people who enjoy crime type books, murder mystery stories, I think this is worth the read and I always enjoy when a christian writer can help bridge the gap between the real world and the spiritual realm in a way that is plausible and believable. You may feel that this is a stretch, but I think that it was well done and appluad getting those of us to think about it and see evil for what it is and where it exists...


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4 down, 32 to go

God's" Armor Bearer Book II by Terry Nance

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars



Terry Nance reminds us in this book that we should "bloom where we are planted".
He provides keys to longevity, keys to commitment, keys to attitude and keys to teamwork.
The book is a reminder that God has called each of us to be of unique service to the body and that we are NOT to worry about whether we are the hand or the foot or the ear...instead, we are to trust that God has given us unique abilities and put us in a place where those abilities can bear fruit. Too often we find ourselves looking at other opportunities and seeing that the grass appears greener...even in volunteer positions at church...Nance reminds us that God often where we "feel we are being led" is simply our desire to have a bigger, better and more prominent role, rather than fulfilling and being exemplary in the role we are in.
It is a tightrope of course, and we must always try to hear God's call to us, but Nance does remind us that where we are now, we should be doing our best and supporting those that God has put in leadership roles above us to fulfill the vision that God has instilled in them.

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The Marketing of Evil - pt 2

I posted a little about the first P in the 4 P's of the marketing of evil. The ultimate Product that evil is selling to us is Death.
So, how do you sell death to anyone? You segment the market and then you promote it...promotion, which is the 2nd P in the marketing of evil.

Promotion

We now know what EVIL is selling us, but how can you sell death to someone?
As talked about above, first, you segment it....
Then you promote it...

Promotion is advertising, sales promotion, publicity, personal selling, branding...it is any way to talk up the product and get it in front of potential consumers....

Play up attributes, minimize negatives....
Play up strengths, minimize weaknesses...
Promote weaknesses of the buyer....highlight strengths of seller...

There is no doubt that these marketing teams have learned how to promote consumer products...to OVERTLY interest us, to titillate us, to engage us at an emotional level about the product so that we just have to find out if what they are claiming is true....or to COVERTLY change our opinion or emotional attachment without realizing we are even being effected.

Now think about that expertise applied to how EVIL has re-branded Death as individual products and is packaging them up. Here is one example of several in the book:

The Bible says:
1 Corinthians 7:10-11 (New International Version)

10To the married I give this command
(not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11But if she
does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a
husband must not divorce his wife.

EVIL has gone and packaged the
restrictions in God's command as lack of "convenience" -

"...Divorce today is
almost expected, with one in every two marriages ending this way. It is
only the numbing frequency and ubiquity of divorce that make us forget the
full-blown calamity it really is-the devastation of a family."
The Marketing
of Evil (pg 106)

"In Connecticut, divorce is routinely granted about 90 days after one spouse
files the necessary papers. Total cost to the divorcing party if one
represents oneself "pro se" (without an attorney): approximately
$225-$250.
Ninety days. A couple hundred bucks. No reason required-other
than "the marriage has irretrievably broken down."
Breaking a marriage contract today is easier than firing an employee hired
last week or getting out of a cell-phone contract."
The Marketing of Evil (pg 109)"

God said don't get divorced. It is devastating to families, to you and to your relationship with God...

Evil is saying...go ahead, and here are some great reasons why it is OK...let's even make it as easy as possible for you. And of course, we want to excel at everything so we take it even further:

There are billboards up in Chicago that look like this:

What are they selling to us here? Divorce? Not really. That is just the thing that will get you to what they are selling...an awesome sex life, freedom from the angst and difficulty that comes with relationships, HAPPINESS and IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION.

Not selling us on reality...just the promise of something easier and better than what we are experiencing now.

This is only one of a number of examples presented in the book that speaks to ways that EVIL is PROMOTED to us as something good.

It is something to keep in mind as you watch TV, commercials, and other media as things are promoted to you, both overtly and covertly. Are you recognizing what is really being marketed to you?

3 Down, 33 to go

Holy Discontent: Fueling the Fire That Ignites Personal Vision by Bill Hybels

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book, like many others in the genre, is a call to action. It is a reminder that God intends for us to be acting on His behalf in the world to make it closer to what He intended it to be.



Hybels has aggregated the stories of a few people that he has met over the years into his view of what pushes people past the boundary of recognizing the brokenness and acting on that recognition to resolve the problem. His has termed this recognition as Holy Discontent.



If you know what God has called you to do in this world, then this book is a call to remember how you got started, why you do what you do, and to persevere through the difficulties.



If you do not know, then the book gives some guidance on how to recognize the Holy Spirit prompting you towards that endeavor. To find it, feed it, follow it and fight for it. Nothing in depth on any of these topics, but quick hits to stoke the fire.



Hybels reminds us that ultimately, God will want to say to us "Well done...", but for us to hear that, we have to have DONE something, so we need to find our thing and ACT upon it.


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Marketing of Evil - pt 1

As I had posted about, I spent the last two weeks speaking on a book by David Kupelian called, "The Marketing of Evil". Thought I would share a few excerpts from my talk. Since the book is called the "Marketing of Evil", I thought I would frame up my comments, as I did in my talk around the 4 P's of marketing

1. Product:
In Genesis 3 is the following passage:

Genesis 3
The Fall of Man
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

What was the serpent selling? He certainly wasn't selling them on the "fruit"...the apple. Adam and Eve had more than enough to eat, plenty of variety....no...the serpent was selling them on "choice"....on "freedom"...on living outside of the restrictions God had placed on them.

What I think is even more interesting about the passage, when you look at it is this. Adam and Eve knew God, so they knew "good" already. So, like most of us, even while the serpent was slick and not entirely honest, the serpent still told them exactly what they were going to get...they were going to "buy" into "knowing...evil".

So, Adam and Eve bought that, and ultimately they bought death as well. For even though they did not die immediately, just as the serpent said, they did kill their perfect obedience to God and thus their intimate relationship that they had with Him

Death. That is what is being packaged and sold to us in each case where evil is marketed to us. It might sound too extreme, but when you get down to the reality of whether or not what you are buying into is taking you closer to God, or moving you further away from Him, then the declaration of it being death is not inaccurate.

This post doesn't even talk to the topics in the book actually, but I do think it frames up the topics in the book in the right light. The specific topics of the book and some of the scary ways that evil is marketed to us will come in the other 3 P's of the marketing of evil.

2 Down, 34 to Go

The Starfish Files: One Leader¿s Account of Insight and Inspiration Under Duress by Hiam Alexander

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
A leadership fable...this was a very quick, but interesting read. Though the premise is silly, the use of the story to quickly demonstrate the leadership/management points works out very well. The "mentor" of the book utilizes a starfish to promote 7 skills that managers and leaders mush have to meet challenges successfully. While none of these are new ideas, the approach and memory aide in the starfish does promote a way to remember the key learning points well. Could be a very useful book to share with a team as a basis for a weekend workshop or other similar team-building activities.


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