The authors of this book provide an easy to implement model of transformational leadership based on four points, which they call the four I's. The focus of their full-range leadership model is a long-term transformational change, as opposed to short-term transactional models. The author's model reflects the importance of leadership and vision in creating organizational "buy-in," driving competitive change, and creating self-sustaining organizations through the growth of like-minded leaders.

I found this book to be well-written and easy to read. The authors apply the model to a wide-range of organizational situations. The only limitation to this book that I found, was a question that I posed to the model, which questions the validity of the model if the culture does nor support the leadership and vision. I suppose though, that the authors would counter argue that if the culture did not support the leadership and vision, that the basis of their model, the four I's were not being implmented properly.

This is one of the best books on leadership that I have ever read

I am also writing this review, as I selected this book from a list given to us in our MBA/MSE class. I thought that this book would be a good insight to B2B and how to come about with a strategy. The book actually elaborates on the first half on the differences between B2B and B2C, only to conclude that they are very similar with a major difference on who are the users : businesses only as opposed to businesses and consumers, no surprises here! There are also constant repetitions on the definitions of B2B throughout the book, and thus one never feels as if they are reading new material, but just a definition with different wording. The final chapters touch a little on some technical aspects required for the proper set up of a B2B. Mainly the types of software that should be used or language, such as JAVA, HTML and XML. Also they provide insight on the security aspect of B2B as well as the need and advantages of Virtual Private Networks (VPN). There is also some guidance on requirements for the success to building the proper B2B by creating partnerships and alliances, and the use of Intranet and extranet. The downfall here is that all this information is extremely vague, you will find passages which will state that XML compacts the information that you can place on a web page, thus accelerating the transfer rate, but that is as far as it gets. I would compare the information that I gathered in reading this book, to the information that I obtain when I read Business technology magazines: interesting, easy to comprehend, and vague. The most frustrating part of reading this book is to know that a lot of the information is already somewhat outdated, and that examples of the companies that are benchmarked are companies that today are in serious financial trouble.

Recently, I read Cunningham's How to Build a Profitable E-commerce Strategy for a BUS240 class at San Jose State University. I found this book to be very beneficial. Prior to reading it, I, like most, had heard the term B2B, but I was not clear on the differences. This book provided an appropriate level of detail for someone who might consider themselves "new" to the world of e-commerce. Its strengths were its simplicity and its breadth of topics covered. Its weaknesses might be that it was more of an overview, versus delving in to deeper levels of detail as the title may suggest. I reads well and does not bog down in any particular area which kept it interesting. For anyone considering a B2B venture, without extensive prior experience, I would definitely recommend they read Cunningham's work.

Charles Stevens, this is possibly the best B2B book I have ever read. Cunningham provides a clear-cut approach to B2B business. He clearly defines differences and avoids excessive jargon making this book ideal for the experiences business professional or anyone new to the field. It was key in developing the fundamentals and our approaches of our own corporate B2B plan. As sacrilegious as it may be this book has been our B2B Bible. 75% of business - to - business transactions for computers, electronics, and storage are done online. There is a need to develop B2B commerce, improving systems and methods are crucial. People and corporations are hesitant about investing in the Internet because of the current tension in the ecommerce market highlighted by the media. Let it be understood that the failings of high-profile corporations should not be a reflection on the B2B market. Even considering this media-driven pseudo-bear market the estimated revenue from B2B business for 2004 exceeds 3 trillion dollars. Pick up this book, at the very least flip through it at the bookstore (and take notes).

Michael Cunningham's "Flesh and Blood" is in some ways a unique book. It is not the choice of the subject matter, a gripping family saga that starts with a young Greek immigrant and his Italo-American sweetheart and ends in the mist of the distant future, some 30 years from now. It's not even the vivid characters that populate this saga, characters that are in most cases complex and interesting enough to become almost real in one's mind's eye. What makes this book very special is the narrator voice, a voice that lifts mundane events that happen to regular people to an upper sphere, where those events and protagonists acquire a magic quality that is unlike anything else I read. It is the use of a highly original metaphoric language that enevlops the narrative with something that is almost poetry that makes this book a joy to read. My feeling is that Cunningham (perhaps because of his young age) has a better access to younger characters than to older ones, and in some cases the older characters lose some of their vividness and become more flat. Otherwise - this is an excellent book.

Having read this one several years ago, I was looking forward to coming back and rediscovering it, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. This is an absolutely gorgeously written novel, full of many, many insights into the human condition. Sex, family ties, loyalty, the immigrant experience, HIV/AIDS, generational differences, is all beautifully portrayed in Cunningham's beautiful portrait of American life. He has exploded the American dream in this gritty saga of the Stassos family, founded by Constantine, an ambitious Greek immigrant, and his Italian wife Mary. As Constantine ruthlessly pursues his fortune, his three children are caught between his fierce demands for family loyalty and his volatile temper, and what a temper it is!

This book is just so rich in vivid details of family life, and so masterfully crafted with a narrative voice of great emotional power and intensity. The words just ebb and flow, as they role off the page, and you just have to keep reading as each particular drama unfolds. I especially liked the characterization of Will, as he grows and matures and gradually comes out in gay life, and his strained and tenuous relationship with his father is portrayed so genuinely and vividly. In fact, all the characters, are just SO multi-faceted and multi-dimensional. Cunningham has a true gift for character and expressing the intricate nuances of everyday life.

A great work of literature from a fine writer.

Michael

This is quite simply one of the finest books I've ever read. Cunningham has a fantastic talent for being able to make you empathize with his characters--even the "bad guys." Some people may think there's no real "plot" here, but whether or not that's truly the case, Cunningham does such a wonderful job at telling a story, and telling it so beautifully, there's nothing more you could ask for without over-analyzing.

I thought this book did a disservice to Virginia Woolfe by transposing her brilliant and poignant novel (Mrs. Dalloway) onto a modern day plot. Substituting character names, locations, and various major and minor sub-texts (AIDS in place of post-war trauma; a movie star in place of a queen) does not create an original novel (or even a thought-provoking sequel). I don't think you can "cover" literature in the same way you can cover a song.

The other two sections of the book, which dealt with the 50's housewife who read Mrs. Dalloway, and the fictional account of V. Woolfe writing the novel, were much more enjoyable and well done.

THE HOURS, Michael Cunningham's riff on Virginia Woolf's envelope-pushing novel MRS. DALLOWAY, is a pretty stunning piece of work in its own right.

Filled with razor-sharp observation and devastating emotional interconnectedness, THE HOURS is a stunning odyssey through a day in the lives of three women, and by extrapolation, every woman and every human being. It would be impossible to read this book and not find little bits and pieces of yourself strewn across its pages.

What's really amazing is that Cunningham is able to stick so close to the themes, structure, and characterization of Woolf's novel, while managing to build, out of seemingly the same pieces, a story all his own.

What THE HOURS does so well is reveal to us the binding emotional ties that unite us all. It makes you see the similarities in ostensibly different lives, different dreams, and different words. Cunningham manages to create a perfectly balanced fulcrum on which a large teeter totter of metaphors is able to swing up and down in powerful arcs.

While I found "Mrs. Dalloway" enjoyable, and it does help to read it before reading "The Hours," I thought this book was more enjoyable, easier to read, yet just as deep and complex. I loved how the lives of the three women wove together; it made perfect sense at the end. This book really explores why we live, whether live is meaningful, and how we find meaning in it. I think this book is destined to become as much of a classic as the Virginia Woolf novel on which it is based.

The Author goes straight forward and considers all relevent issues concerning the web. Its very easy to read and summaries occur twice on every single page. It hardly covers any topic in depth. His proposals concerning migration into the e-bizz are shallow and most of them are very general without authentic examples. This book is fast to read through, but the useful information start in the thrid chapter and sum up to a single line per chapter. I am also missing new and detailed proposals and inspirations, could be written some five years ago.

This book has been written as a comprehensive, fast and entertaining read on a complex subject. The book provides an integrated tour of the major business, technology and dramatic work process changes required for successful E-commerce solutions. The text is full of examples, quotes, strategies (that have worked for many companies and organizations), that should make learning and applying what others have done relevant for the reader. Over all a good book .

This book contains all the the neophite to e-commerce needs to build a strategy from inside the organization. The history and background of the Internet are captured in a very easy and friendly read. Cunningham takes the reader from the basics through to "how to make it happen" in a pleasing and fast moving format. Sprinkled liberally throughout the book are very useful hints, tips and actions for those trying to get their organziation to move forward with e-business technologies. An excellent and easy read. For a more detailed read, try his book on B2B.