A must have for everyone interested in American Folk Art. Great color prints. Excellent essays.

This is an unbelievable price for a book so full of high-quality black-and-white and color plates. Not much text, but an excellent source of patterns for very appealing american folk-art motifs.

I looked for a long time for a Book on Calder before I found this beautiful, yet well priced Volume. It's all here from the Toys and the wonderfully playful "Calder's Circus", to the Mobiles and Stabiles, with Jewelry, Household Objects, Bronzes, Tapestries, Rugs, Sculptures and much more in between. There are many wonderful photographs which showcase the wide array of Calder's Art and of course Calder himself. Also included are a timeline, a useful Bibliography and an interesting "Who's Who in Calder's World." At $ 32.00 this book is a must buy of one of America's most important and influential Artists of all time.

As those who have read Hot Groups already know, Lipman-Blumen is one of the most innovative thinkers now commenting on the contemporary business world. With this book, she makes a substantial and truly significant contribution to our understanding of several separate but interdependent issues: leadership, connectivity, human development, intellectual capital, strategic alliances (both internal and external), and organizational transformation. Yes, yes, I know. There are hundreds of other books already published which discuss several of the same subjects and many of them are first-rate, as Lipman-Blumen would be the first to acknowledge. All of them are listed in her superb "References" section and key ideas from several are woven into her crisp narrative. One of the several reasons why this book is different is the provision and explanation of what she calls "The Connective Leadership Model" which is the focus of Part II. Typical of Lipman-Blumen, she does not suggest that hers is the only model to consider; in fact, she strongly urges her reader to correlate her or his organizations needs and interests with the structure of the model, selecting whatever is most important. However, I presume to offer a caveat: Although by now an overworked buzz word, "integration" of any combination of components is absolutely essential. Whatever the model, its components must be cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective as are those which comprise "The Connective Leadership Model."

Wisely, following a precise and eloquent Preface, Lipman-Blumen focuses in Part One on "The Changing Dynamics of Leadership" which, inevitably, have changed at least to some extent since she wrote this book, first published in 1996. Nonetheless, her rationale remains rock-solid. Then and now, organizations need (and will continue to need) leadership which is "more politically savvy and instrumental, yet more ethical, authentic, accountable, and particularly, more ennobling." She calls this new approach "connective leadership" and suggests that it can "potentially transform the destructive tensions of diversity and interdependence into constructive leadership action." I hasten to add that, in most organizations where leaders tend to be identified by title, political and economic leverage, degree of authority, the "connective leadership" to which she refers can -- and should -- include everyone involved in a given organization. Stated another way, what she seems to be advocating is what I call "collaborative initiative" which can (and should) function at all levels. Those organizations which achieve and then sustain such initiatives (e.g. Southwest Airliners) have a "connective edge" over their competition. Lipman- Blumen provides an excellent discussion of this point in Chapter 10 and Noel Tichy also has much of value to say about this in his own book, The Leadership Engine.

Lipman-Blumen organizes her material within three Parts: The Changing Dynamics of Leadership (a review and examination of "the origins and evolution of the human need for leadership"), The Connective Leadership Model (more about that in a moment), and Bridging to the Stage 3 World (an exploration of the "empirical organizational results and the philosophical implications of the Connective Leadership Model"). The nature of leadership which she advocates is "both provocative and savvy, yet pragmatic and honorable." I wish it were possible to reproduce in this brief commentary the model she presents in Part Two. Essentially, it consists of three separate but interdependent components:

DIRECT : The intrinsic, competitive, and power styles of leadership

RELATIONAL: The collaborative, contributory, and vicarious styles of leadership

INSTRUMENTAL: The personal, social, and entrusting styles of leadership

Lipman-Blumen correctly points out that the most effective leaders are those who possess an appropriate combination of all three. As I read Part Two, I thought about the striking differences between the leadership styles of Gandhi and Patton. Relying entirely on active (not passive) strategies and tactics of non-violence, Gandhi helped India to achieve independence. Patton was required to use entirely different strategies and tactics to rescue the American troops at Bastogne. For me, one of this book's most insightful chapters is Chapter 11, "Women Leaders: An Oxymoron? Or Does Gender Make a Difference?" Lipman-Blumen poses and then addresses a number of gender-specific issues. Once again, as I read this chapter, I thought about leaders such as Joan of Arc, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Elizabeth I, and Catherine the Great...each of whom possessed a combination of direct, relational, and instrumental leadership styles in appropriate balance. That was their "connective edge."

Within the context of explaining the need for what she calls "connective" leadership, Lipman-Blumen examines the theme of the contradictory pulls of two global tensions, interdependence and diversity. The former demands collaboration and mutuality while often seeming to threaten the independence and individualism required by the latter. "Connective" leadership is needed to integrate or at least coordinate these two sometimes adversarial forces. The leader with a "connective eye" can help groups or parties who must work or live interdependently (through geography, industry, etc.) with those who often have quite different agendas and goals, to focus together on problems that the enlightened leader recognizes they share even when, especially when others don't "get it." Lipman-Blumen believes that these two global tensions will be with us for some time to come. Leaders who don't develop the understanding and skills to deal with them effectively are almost certain to fail. I am reminded of what Edison once said about innovation: It is the ability to make connections. That is as true of the Gaza Strip as it is of an incandescent light.

I highly recommend this book to senior-level executives, of course, who seek that "edge" for themselves as well as for their organizations. But I also highly recommend this book to others whom Lipman-Blumen may not have had primarily in mind when she wrote the book: Clergy, teachers, coaches, and (especially) parents. Youth ages (let's say) 6-16 also have a great need for the "connective" leadership which Lipman-Blumen advocates. The impact of their leadership on young people may well have much greater impact than that of anyone else, especially now when the world is more interdependent than at any prior time in human history.

The Connective Edge is a remarkable book, one of my very favorites. In it, Jean Lipman-Blumen presents the the Connective Leadership model, consisting of nine "Achieving Styles." She advocates developing all of the styles and merging them into a balanced leadership approach that can address any challenge in our increasingly complex world.

This book has enabled me to better understand myself, my colleagues, and the organizations with which I interact. The Achieving Styles are presented in a way that allows the reader to understand the components of leadership and to identify his or her preferred styles. Dr. Lipman-Blumen also shows how to strengthen one's less preferred styles and how to apply the concepts of Connective Leadership to effective relationships with people, organizations, and society.

The Connective Edge, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, works on every level. The model it presents is balanced, flexible, and practical. Professionals or students in any field will learn a great deal from it.
A brief review can't do this book justice -- a rating of 5 stars is not high enough! I have given or recommended it to friends, family, and colleagues, and the feedback has been 100% positive. This is a winner!

There is no shortage of books out there that try to categorize leaders into different leadership styles. Often, the leadership styles delineated seem arbitrary. That is the difference between Lipman's book and other books: Lipman has outlined some really useful categories for leaders. These styles are: instrumental, relational, and direct. These styles are further divided into three categories each. Lipman also makes it clear that the most successful leaders use a range of these styles and do not overuse the one style they are best at. Lipman uses dozens of examples to make her ideas easily understood. And many of the leaders (like the Brazilian activist Chico Mendes) she mentions are ones I haven't found in other leadership books.
The chief prediction of the book (that leaders who do not foresee the consequences of a connective world will not succeed in tomorrow's world) is brilliant and far-reaching...

I've just finished Hot Groups and am somewhat disppointed. Since this book is well written and does give a good overview on the need for hot groups and how to use them effectively in organizations, I'm assuming I wasn't very impressed because I didn't realize it's absolutely an introductory book. I imagine it might be helpful for people who have never had experience creating or working on ad-hoc groups or on short-term critical projects. Additionally, it might help people working in very large and bureacratic organizations. However, for anyone who has experience in working on short-term projects or crisis management, this book doesn't offer much that's new. I work in an Internet startup on short-term projects and the authors suggestions to "build a sense of community in your hot group; be aware your team will need downtime so as not to burn out; be aware communication is important, be aware of the political sensitivities within your organization..." are simply too obvious for anyone with experience working on important short-term projects. If you have such experience, this book isn't for you.

This book is about using and encouraging intense teams at work. Jean Lipman-Blumen and Harold J. Leavitt make it clear that hot groups are not a new management phenomenon. They have existed since the beginning of time. The ability of hot groups to respond to problems quickly with innovative solutions will make them an essential component of organizations in the future. Many of the techniques mentioned in this book can be used without instituting major changes in your organization. While the book offers many organizational case studies as evidence of the effectiveness of hot groups, it lacks hard numerical data showing the bottom-line results organizations get when they support hot groups. Despite that, we at getAbstract recommend this book to managers and leaders who want to introduce or use hot groups or are already using groups in their organization.

In the Preface, the reader is told: "The time is ripe for large, hierarchical, well-ordered organizations to make room for small, egalitarian, disordered hot groups. That is the first thesis of this book....The book's second and ultimately more important thesis is that hot groups are not good just for organizations. They are also good for people. They offer individuals opportunities to find meaning and ennoblement through their work. In our fast and impermanent new organizational world, those who work in organizations -- and that includes most of us -- both expect and deserve such opportunities." Here is how the book is organized:

Part I Hot Groups: What They Are and Why They're Hot

Part IIWho Needs Hot Groups? And Who Seeds New Ones?

Part III How Do Hot Groups Operate?

Part IVAn Optimistic View of What's Ahead

At this point early in my review, I want to stress that a "hot group" should be the logical, indeed inevitable result of a way at looking at organizational renewal. Think of the "hot group" concept as precisely that: a concept which affirms the value of a process by which individual members of any organization (regardless of its size or nature) can effectively collaborate. These members are "task-obsessed and full of passion." They share a style which is "intense, sharply focused, and full bore." Moreover, members of a "hot group" feel engaged in "an important, even vital and personally ennobling mission"; their task is "dominates all other considerations"; and although a "hot group" tends to remain intact only for a relatively short period of time, it is "remembered nostalgically and in considerable detail by its members."

Such groups require effective leadership. In Chapter 6, Lipman-Blumen and Leavitt address this issue, suggesting a number of specific "options" when "hot group" is assembled and then charged with its mission. For example: "To develop a hot, task-obsessed group, think about people before you begin laying out a flow chart. Bring on the people. Getting the task done is not your solo job. It's the whole group's job." The leader is urged to "recruit wild ducks", then help the group to bring the right people in, to get the wrong people out, and with unexpected departures. According to the authors, there are two kinds of c"wars" and "races." In wars, the goal is to destroy the enemy; in races, the goal is not to destroy but to out-perform others. Also, "at least as much", to have members outperform themselves, to exceed their personal best.

In my opinion, this brilliant book makes two immensely important contributions to our understanding of what it takes to achieve superior organizational performance. First, it explains what the members of a "hot group" can themselves accomplish if given the leadership, freedom, and resources needed. Second, it explains what the positive impact of such a group can have on all others within the same organization. Paradoxically, a "hot group" is most effective within an organization that has stability, solid and enlightened management, and sufficient resources to support the group's efforts. That is certainly true of those associated with Xerox PARC, the Manhattan Project, Lockheed's "Skunk Works", and the Disney studios which produced the first full-length animated films.

If an organization is unwilling and/or unable to tolerate a "small, egalitarian, disordered" but NOT disorganized "hot group", it probably has problems which even the hottest of "hot groups" cannot solve.

Calder is my favorite artist ever. This book captures many of his different styles of works, but it needs photos of his standing mobiles, such as Little Parasite. The book has only a couple photos of unspectacular standing mobiles.