Category: Reviews
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Book Review: Holacracy
Brian J. Robertson has written a book about Holacracy: The Revolutionary Management System that Abolishes Hierarchy. Holacracy® is a governance system and a registered trademark owned by HolacracyOne. The word Holacracy is very easy to confuse with holocracy (with an o), which means universal democracy. Robertson’s aim with the system is to “harness the tremendous…
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Book Review: The Art of Action
The Art of Action: How Leaders Close the Gaps between Plans, Actions and Results by Stephen Bungay covers a story going back some 200 years. It’s the story of the Prussian Army which, according to the author, “followed precisely the evolution trajectory we are on, but with a head start of about 150 years.” It’s…
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Book Review: Holonomics
Holonomics: Business Where People and Planet Matter by Simon Robinson and Maria Moraes Robinson is a book which places business within the overall ecosystem of the biosphere. Holonomics is a combination of ‘holos’ (the whole) and economics. The authors highlight the limitations and traps within the current ways of thinking in business. The book is…
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Book Review: The Art of Convening
The Art of Convening: Authentic Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings, and Conversations by Craig and Patricia Neal with Cynthia Wold is a book on the art of gathering people for the sake of authentic engagement. As with the way of circle, convening has ancient roots. People have always gathered and naturally related to each other. Convening…
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Book Review: The Circle Way
The Circle Way: A Leader in Every Chair by Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea is a book about participating in conversations in which we can fully listen and speak to each other. The circle is an ancient social pattern, which invites participation and contribution. Because circle has been held around the common fire for thousands…
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This book is a little gem
Gordon MacKenzie’s book Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace is about how to emerge from the giant hairball – that tangled, impenetrable mass of rules, and systems which worked in the past but can lead to mediocrity in the present. Besides being deeply funny I just love the exuberant…
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Book Review: Mind and Heart
Mind and Heart – Mapping Your Personal Journey Towards Leadership For Sustainability by Petra Kuenkel is a book which shows how we can use our life and leadership experiences to make more meaningful contributions to the world. Petra invites us to review our own leadership journeys in the light of other people’s experiences. She offers…
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Book Review: Culture Shock
Culture Shock: A Handbook For 21st Century Business by Will McInnes is a brilliant title on a book which is about the culture shock of moving from the traditional autocratic way of doing business to a democratic approach where there is true participation, openness, fairness, and connectedness. The perspective of Culture Shock is that an…
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Book Review: Daring greatly
Daring greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead is Brené Brown’s latest book. Brené explores what drives our fear of being vulnerable, how we are protecting ourselves from vulnerability, and – most importantly – how we can engage with vulnerability so that we can live our lives…
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Book Review: We the People
We the People: Consenting to a Deeper Democracy by John Buck and Sharon Villines is an important book! It gives a viable and very practical alternative to the traditional command-and-control management approach which we are so used to in our businesses and organizations. The sociocratic structure described in the book is fundamentally different from traditional…