...offers valuable information. It's as if someone took a highlighter to several business process redesign books and pasted that information here. You can't go wrong with this book.

Pritchett doesn't say alot - this is a slim tome - but what he says, he says very well.

Process management is the big thing in the corporate world, and with good reason... it gets results. This little book will give you a great overview of the 'process' of process management - how and why it works, what to do, and where to start.

Pritchett has a load of great books on the subject but this one is succinct, easy to read, and certainly informative on getting one started into the realm of managing the 'soft' stuff while getting the 'hard' stuff on track and becoming streamlined and efficient.

I like this guy. He's wise, successful, and insightful. What he talks about works. I recommend Pritchett's writings. Enjoy.

Short and easy to read, but packed full of great ideas for improving the performance of your company. The best hour I've spent turning pages in a long time. The book is great by itself or as a compliment to the book - "Managing the White Space."

I wondered what all the hype was about, all Execs in the company (US based) I used to work for received a copy of this book from the senior management team. They then had a workshop based around it.
I decided to buy the book, and have now passed it onto our training dept to try to get the same thing to happen here.
It is very easy to read, and you pick more things up every time you read it.

This was an easy read with some potent messages. A simple book for the person who wants knowledge, but doesn't like to take too much time to read. If you want to seize your future and not let it seize you read this book. Managing is more than it used to be. This makes you think. I recommend it highly.

The leadership engine is a book that every business leader must read!, and those striving for leadership improvement, I received the book as part of a transformation process in my company. I was greatly inspired by the first few pages and kept on reading and reading. This book focuses on specific leadership issues and gives you insight into some of the greatests Leaders stories. The TPoV (Teachable point of view) is the best concise framework I have seen for leadership development, I actually teach it to working teams in the company I work for. Then the handbook for revolutionaries gives you the opportunity to further reflect on the books topics and start developing your own leadership skills. I recommend reading the book throughly and then keeping it handy for future reference and to improve your skills.

The Leadership Engine: Building Leaders at Every Level Handbook was given to our entire company to motivate us to move toward a cultural and business change. This handbook is based on the book The Leadership Engine by Noel Tichy and Eli Cohen. This handbook's premise is that leaders can be made and nurtured at every level of the company. Leaders need to spend much of their time teaching others. "Great leaders are great teachers." Each chapter contains simple exercises to get you thinking about your business, your competitors, your ideas, your values, and your energy. Companies without this strategy might disappear in this ever changing market.

The "Ethics of Excellence" by Price Pritchett is a quick read that offers no simple solutions to the ethical dilemmas we often face in our careers. Rather, it points the reader in some common sense directions, emphasizing personal accountability and responsibility as key components in achieving high ethical standards for oneself. But Pritchett cautions that one cannot just declare ethical standards for oneself or one's organization, one must practice those standards, "walk the talk" so-to-speak. Without having employees who demonstrate ethical responsibility in their actions and decisions, Pritchett believes that companies cannot achieve organizational or financial excellence. The most practical advice Pritchett offers in navigating the muddy waters of "rightness" and "ethics" is yard-sticking oneself against a "whose watching?" philosophy. "If what you're thinking about doing made the evening news," Pritchett asks, "how would you look?" Ethics is an inspirational reference to keep handy and guide decisions when tough choices rear their ugly heads.

This book speaks to employees at every level. It brings ethics to everyone in terms that are easily understood. It does not sit in moral authority - but rather provides tools to determine what is ethical behaviour.

I bought this book earlier in the year. I saw it hyped on TV. After two recent massive failures costing at least 1/2 billion dollars total since my purchase of High Velocity Leadership..reading this book makes a person wince painfully. I am sure this new high risk management philosophy will be put on the grill when the U.S. Congress examines these failures. Thank God there were no human beings on these flights. Space exploration is the most dangerous, most high risk business ever conceived of by man short of war. After 42 years of this type of unforgiving scientific activity that has now largely been privitized and contracted out to the lowest bidder, it is time the U.S. reevaluates whether this is a successful policy or not. JPL head in-their-hands employees looking wistfully at their monitors are no longer cute or funny or sad. They own these failures along with President Clinton for cutting corners. This book, though describing one successful mission, actually becomes an insider's account how they dodged the bullets of risk in the fastest, cheapest, but clearly not the best way. Now every single Mars project and possibly a lot of other NASA projects are in mortal jepordy because of the project management philosophy described in this book. The authors can't have it both ways now. The whole world is watching. This book will be in the dollar or less bins at your local chain book store....and very soon...maybe before Christmas.

It is refreshing to see a book about one of NASA's unmanned successes. No wonder why the public is unaware of the JPL. This books gives a glimpse into the many obstacles Pathfinder had even before it left Earth. Muirhead tells the story in a very down-to-earth style. I was a bit disappointed in the frequent references into business applications on the "cheaper, better & faster" approach. At times it disrupted the flow of the book and gave an informercial taste to this book. I would also have liked a closing chpater on some of the scientific results of the little rover that gave us a very memorable Fourth of July in 1997. Overall, I recommend this tale of scientific exploration just because it gives the public information on space exploration that it wouldn't find elsewhere.

Brian K. Muirhead spins a great web of stories relating to the development and mission of the Mars Pathfinder. Against all odds regarding schedule and budget, he managed to keep his work teams focused on a shared vision towards a common goal. From initial proposal through early development into production and the actual mission, Brian and his team overcame obstacle after obstacle to make their dream of reaching and exploring Mars a reality. A must read for any manager of knowledge workers in the new global economy. The bible of faster, better, cheaper!

This book is an advertisement for Pritchett Associates. It is not a book about Pathfinder science. The amount of real information about Pathfinder and the team is minimal. There is more Pathfinder information on NASAs web site. Unless you have never read a quality or other management book in the past few years, this book is nothing special.

What an incredible book! Brian Muirhead's story of developing, launching, and landing the successful Mars Pathfinder Mission is an incredible story of vision, hard work, attention to detail, and because of it all, success.

The professionalism exhibited by Brian and his team continue to inspire me months after I read the book.

In the current days of failed missions to Mars, I can't help but think that if Brian Muirhead had been in charge of those failed missions, they too would have been a success.

You were so impressed by the Mars Pathfinder mission, and you are definetely interested by people management issues: get this great little book, you will appreciate the conciseness, precision, and high value of all the concepts it expresses.

If history is to teach us how to be 'better' in the present and the future, such short and enjoyable summaries of what was done well, how and why, is THE way to learn, grow and improve.

What a mission, what a book ! I missed two metro stops while savoring each of its words ! Bravo !: 5 stars !

Pritchett addresses the common issues, fears, and behaviors of employees when they are faced with major changes in their workplace. He then gives advice that is 180 degrees off from the traditional reactions, and explains why taking the "road less traveled" will reap rewards in the end. His point that WE are the ones who ultimately determine what a company's culture looks and acts like will hopefully prod employees to improve both themselves and the office around them.

Here's a man who believes that humans are just little pawns in the economy, and that, essentially, Mammon is God. And wouldn't it be appropriate for such a man to quote Charles Darwin in building his little argument that all of us are here merely as minions to the economic forces? So he does, as follows: "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change" (page 60).

This Price Pritchett fella spends his writing time convincing us that our essence is found in what we contribute to the economy, and then his last sentence, the very last in this little book, reads as follows: "And let's enjoy the ride."

But it can't be both ways. If we endeavor to really enjoy ourselves, we may conflict with the purposes of the economy. If we really dedicate ourselves to the economy, we may not particularly enjoy it. Price Pritchett is talking out of two sides of his mouth. And why shouldn't he? Mammon is is his God, and Mammon has served him well. He's trying to convince the rest of us that we should go along with Mammon's program. I prefer the real God, myself: I don't know what or who that is, but I know what it ain't, and it ain't Mammon.

This little pamphlet does have some interesting statistics. Thus it merits a two. Diximus.

Today's corporate managers will be in charge, at least once & probably many, many times during their tenure, of major changes in policy, strategy, & practice. Unfortunately, more often than not, these changes fail to accomplish some or all of their objectives. In this brief book, Pritchett explains why employees resist change and lays out several novel & effective methods to meet their resistance head on and win them over to the change effort (He also addresses the "troublesome few" who absolutely refuse to accept change, & how to best marginalize them and their attempts to stop the change). All employees will benefit from the lessons in "Resistance," but any manager in charge of a change effort **must** have this book to help him/her overcome the barriers standing in the way of the new & improved organization that will result from the change.

Pritchett puts forth a masterful thesis: When plants close, companies merge, & products go off the market, it's not "foreigners" or "the government" to blame. It's **us**. **We** as consumers are the ones driving the (incredibly quickly) changing market because **we**, as a group, are out for one thing -- the best deal. That's why today we have Federal Express and not the Pony Express, and AT&T focuses a lot more on the "Telephone" aspects of the business than the "Telegraph" aspects. "Minsdshift" explains how employees today can adopt a number of new & important ways of thinking to keep themselves and their companies "shifting" their thinking to continually offer the best deal -- the one and only way companies will get consumers to stay with them. Extremely important reading not just for "front-line" employees, but also for anyone involved with the positioning and/or managing how a business treats its existing and potential new markets.

The tone and messages of the book are such that they will serve to demotivate, rather than inspire, employees. For example:

Message #1: You (the reader) are not senior management. Throughout the book, senior management is described as "the people at the top" and "they." The book immediately sets up a distinction between these two groups - top management, which is moving the company along in response to outside changes, and employees, who are resisting change at every turn.

Message #2: Change is scary, unrelenting, and you (the average person) are naturally not going to like it. And if you weren't scared about change going into the book, you will be after you read it. One of the opening paragraphs reads: "And if today's stress and tension aren't enough to create problems, all a person has to do is consider what the future holds. One close look at what's in store should be enough to worry anyone."

Message #3: You (the reader) are an idiot, and you will persistently resist change unless you wise up to the tips in this book. The book outlines 15 mistakes people usually make in dealing with change. It doesn't offer 15 good ideas for preventing stress due to change, but instead focuses on 15 things you'll probably do wrong unless, of course, you read this book.

On the whole, this book is too simplistic and supplies only minimal rationale for why an employee should change. If you want to get employees to be more open to change, to put their heart into their job, to be more supportive of the company's overall direction, then give them a book that will inspire them. Give them tips for how to be a happier person, both on the job and at home. Talk to them in a positive tone and not a negative one, as this book does. There are many books out there that can accomplish these goals, just not this one.

I've been on both sides of reorganizations, and this book does HELP. It was especially very good advice when I was younger and just beginning to experience the change that all organizations must go through. I held on to my copy and still look at it now and then to remind myself that I shouldn't fight change, but take it as it comes and make the most of it.

I am an employee who appreciates reality. This book espouses the importance of personal accountability...for how we work, how we live, how we feel.

The challenge is in doing something right that does not come naturally; proactive rather than reactive. This book made me feel good about how much control I actually do have.

Following the axioms presented will help you step over some tripwires in the minefield of a work-a-day world in the throes of change.

This book should have been an short magazine article. The authors basically dissect one concept over and over and over: change is disruptive. There is very little useful information in this book. It points out all of the obvious and frequently-stated problems that come with change - productivity suffers, commitment is lost, etc., etc., etc., but gives no insight in how to fix the problems (unless you count these golden nuggets- "Keep your eye on the ball" and "Provide direction"). The one chapter that I hoped would shed some light on tactics - "Integration Project Management" - was pure fluff. It offered such pearls of wisdom as "It is helpful to look at the integration process as a logical sequence of steps designed to help bring the two organizations together." Not only is this a "Duh" statement, but it shows up in chapter 8! I would expect to read something like that in the introduction. And chapters 5 and 6 state that you should evaluate key talent in the aquired firm - but no where in these chapters does it tell you how to do it! I guess you have call up Pritchett & Associates (and fork over big $$) for the details. My only guess is that the authors kept the book generic on purpose so that companies would call and ask about their consulting services. My advice: save your money for a real book, and just call up Pritchett & Associates for their marketing literature.

As a project manager who picked up integrating a merger as one of his projects, I found this book to be very helpful. Mergers bring out confusion, tension and stress to all sides. This book focused on how to bridge these gaps through effective communication and project management.

Particularly, I found chapter 10 (General Guidelines for Merger/Acquisition Management) insightful and I used the checklists in this chapter in portions of our integration effort. What I felt this book missed were templates designed to immediately pick up and use in my everyday life.

I found the book is a quick read-I read it on one airplane trip. Many of the comments are very simple and fall into the category of common sense. However, in much of this common sense many of the problems of integrating two companies exist.

Despite the breathless headlines about the latest billion-dollar merger, most mergers don't work. In fact, more than half of all mergers fail, derailed by a common set of pitfalls. Companies merge without considering how they'll integrate after the deal; they don't communicate properly with their employees, and executives don't make decisions quickly enough to placate frightened workers. The executives who navigate mergers effectively are those who communicate well, deal with ambiguity and make decisions in times of instability. Author Price Pritchett offers an easily digested primer on the hazards of mergers, and lists hints for avoiding common problems. The authors provide plenty of concrete examples showing how such companies as Sony, Wells Fargo and the Chicago Sun-Times suffered from the dilemmas that accompany mergers. We ... recommend this comprehensive guide for managers on both sides of a business marriage. Caution: Read After the Merger before you merge.