Finally--help for the Scout leaders
584206
Well, I'm no longer a Scout leader, but I would heartily recommend this to any one who is--or to anyone who likes to find new craftsy things to do with  the kids on weekends ... or is looking for a new "honey-do" project to keep others in the household occupied.  This has got to be one of the best idea books around.  Probably 200 ideas with easy-to-buy stuff--and some practical ideas for the home, like furniture.  Won't break the pocketbook.  Great gift ideas that the kids can make for the grandparents and friends.  Just saw the author on TV--very impressive.  But I don't like the title, even though the book is very, very big.
4097208
I bought this book after I had the opportunity to hear T. J. Sullivan speak at a conference last July. As a student leader in several organizations at my university, I myself have often been frustrated by a lack of participation among my members. This book is great for any leader looking to understand the people in their organization and how to motivate them. It provides an astute assessment of the types of members that make up any group and provides tips for how to help them reach their various potentials. This is a short, straightforward read that I would recommend to anyone who struggles with member apathy. At the very least, it may serve as a reminder that your organization is made up of individuals with varying strengths and needs, and it is up to you to work with them.
4250526
Mark Ray has compiled an excellent set of scripts that can be used to produce a variety of Eagle Court of Honors. Our troop was privileged to recognize four boys who were found worthy of being called Eagle Scouts. One lad was recognized in early March, two shared the same COH at the end of the month, and one had his Eagle COH on the first Sunday in April. Each ceremony was different, yet appropriate and meaningful. The book made it possible for the boy and his parents to find a ceremony that they liked, or take elements from different ceremonies and combine them. We typed out scripts, built slide shows to use before, during, or afterwards, contacted participants and emailed them parts, invited guests, and rehearsed the flag ceremony with the troop. Each COH drew accolades. The book also provides a link to Mark Ray's website, which contains an extremely useful and free, interactive "Court of Honor Backdater" You type in the date you want to hold the COH, and it fills in dates of what you need to accomplish as the COH draws near, and even what you should do on the actual date and afterwards. It was immensely helpful to our troop. Here's the link to that: [...]
3956356
"Think of the worst board members you've ever known, and remember that someone actually recruited them."  No tool better addresses this problem than Hildy Gottlieb's simple and powerful workbook, "Board Recruitment & Orientation:  A Step-by-Step, Common Sense Guide."  It is one of the very few publications that I recommend be on the bookshelf of every nonprofit as using it can and will transform your charity.
 Research studies completed over the last several years have proven beyond a doubt that the strength and quality of a nonprofit's board bear a direct correlation to the effectiveness of the organization itself.  Yet most charities still put less real effort into assessing and defining their leadership needs than they do into determining the type of copier or computer they should buy.
  Unlike other manuals and texts on board development, Gottlieb's guide presents an extraordinarily simple-to-follow recipe for putting together a powerfully effective and dynamic governance team.  Best of all, it is written and structured in such a way that even the busiest executive director or board trustee can quickly glean its message and take action steps to begin transforming their board today.
  Recruiting the right people and preparing them well for the job ahead are the keys to building and empowering a dynamic leadership team.  "Board Recruitment & Orientation" covers the fundamentals of establishing that team.  The workbook is also full of sample documents and forms, including a model "Letter of Commitment" to be signed by directors, that make its instructions simple to implement.  And, best of all, it is priced at a level that every charity and nonprofit consultant can afford.
  I give this book my highest recommendation!
3764194
I read Dan's book after it was recommended to me by my son who served under Dan Maruyama's leadership when he (Dan) was a USAF Squadron Commander.  As a brand new Sunday School teacher (more like "discussion leader"), I was looking for guidance material for raising questions and starting discussions, and this was it!  So, I bought several more copies, and several in the class purchased electronic versions and we are working our way through it as a combination "book study" and Sunday School lesson guide.  Dan has a way of firmly stating standards and principals without coming across as "holier than thou" that makes the learning more accepting and therefore more effective.  Thank you Dan for your inspirational insights!  Larry Warren, MGen (Ret), ANG/USAF; and novice Sunday School discussion leader.
665922
As a new LDS scout leader, I find this an excellent book.
1574148
My father in law has aided in scouting for longer than I've known him. When my son became a boy scout, he recommended that I get him one of these books. I told him we already had the paperback version. He pointed out the non-spiral bound book was good for making entries and keeping a log of my son's accomplishments. The spiral-bound one was FAR better for learning tasks. It can easily be opened to the page you want and then placed on a flat surface for reference. The typical paperback binding book requires either excessively stretching the opening to keep it where you want it or something placed on it to keep it open. Either of these approaches shortens the life of the paperback book.

The benefit of having both books is that the paperback one can be safely maintained as a permanent ledger, while the spiral-bound version can be used for everyday tasks. Being that scouts have to present their books for boards, having a well maintained book sets a good first impression. This dual book approach teaches the scouts about professionalism and about those little things that sometime matter.
1846605
If we wait on our identified positional leaders (CEOs, Presidents, etc) to do what needs to be done, we will be waiting a very long time.

For decades now, people have been suggesting that we need leaders at every level of every organization  whether its a company or our country, positional leaders cannot do everything that needs doing.

If the alley behind your house needs to be cleaned up, certainly no one in your nations capital will get it done. Maybe an identified city leader can helpbut without a doubt, you and a few motivated neighbors could take care of the problem.

Many have written of the need for this type of leadership, but relatively few have offered practical guidance on developing the skills needed to lead effectively when your positional leaders are remote and disconnected.

The authors of Everyone a Leader calls this concept grassroots leadership. Everyone a Leader: A Grassroots Model for the New Workplace by Horst Bergmann, Kathleen Hurson, and Darlene Russ-Eft is an excellent resource for emerging grassroots leaders.

If Its To Be, Its Up To Me - I love the first chapter title: Because If You Dont, No One Will.

It sets the tone for the rest of the book. Simply put  large complex organizations (companies, cities, or countries) cannot thrive without individuals taking responsibility and exerting positive influence at every level.

The authors do a good job illustrating these realities with real-world vignettes that most readers will readily understand. The frustration encountered when you see something that isn't your responsibility on paper, but you seem to be the only one who sees it, and consequently the only one to work with others to solve it.

This is the work of leadership. It begs the question, however: How much do you want things to improve?

This is not a book for those who would rather let things slide, put their head down, and let someone else deal with it.

If you want to learn how to make a difference where you are, with what you have, then this is an excellent resource.

The authors provide practical advice and real-world suggestions on how to create a compelling future, make decisions that have buy-in and will be executed, build credibility and trust, as well as other foundational leadership skills.

These aren't just random ideas. All of the specific recommendations are based in strong research about what will help you be effective working where you are with what you have.

Of particular note is the chapter on The Emotional Labor of Grassroots Leadership.

Im not sure Ive read a more realistic assessment of the emotional challenges (and opportunities) facing leaders. Its easy to say keep your calm or use strong emotions to help the situation, but its another thing entirely to address these concepts through real world examples and provide the reader tools to accomplish these objectives.

This is a great chapter.

The final aspect that sets Everyone a Leader apart from most other leadership resources is its extensive set of tools. Nearly half the book is an inventory of various tools you can use to meet leadership challenges you encounter on a daily basis.

Need to work on handling emotions under pressure? Youll find tools to help on page 199.
Want to bring out the best in others? See the tools for coaching starting on page 160.
Or perhaps you need help raising difficult issues with your team. Learn how on page 182.
You get the idea.

If I can summarize Everyone a Leader briefly it would be: They get it. Its real. There are tools to help.

I strongly recommend Everyone a Leader for anyone not in an executive-level leadership position AND for executive-position leaders who want to help develop effective leaders at every level of their organization.

Happy Reading!

David Dye, Author of&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Seven-Things-Your-Team-Needs-to-Hear-You-Say/dp/0989858103/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Seven Things Your Team Needs to Hear You Say</a>
1905072
Outstanding book. This book is well written and overflowing with information that WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE if you godforbid become lost in the outdoors. Even if you are not lost, just camping or hiking, this book will make your adventure safer. Every hunter, camper, hiker, boy and girl scout and outdoors person should read and reread this book..keep a copy in your pack, because it is all valueable information. Parents..this book should be mandatory reading for your boy/girl scouts.
4683805
This is an excellent book to provide direction for church leaders called to lead congregations "off the map".  This is an excellent example of adaptive leadership within the church.
1912817
Awesome book! I thought I knew a lot as a lifetime Girl Scout. I learned so much about fire, shelter, fishing, foraging, and EDC. I recommend this book to everyone who likes to camp, hike, or otherwise spend time outdoors. Lots of great ideas!
4891438
I'm a 7-12 librarian starting lit circles with 7th grade and freshmen English classrooms.  I bought Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs & Reading Groups.  It was thorough and in-depth, which I appreciate, but a bit overwhelming.  I wasn't at all sure how I wanted to start the whole process or do instruction along the way.  Mini-Lessons For Literature Circles is the book that made it all understandable and doable for me.  Easy to read, understand, and practical.  I have revised some of the worksheets given in the appendix, but the essential concepts are the same.  So far, the problems we've encountered have not been overwhelming, and  strategies derived from both texts have been used with varying amount of success to address our concerns.  (My favorite strategy is one month lit circles, one month "normal" class routine.  The kids see lit circles as a fun privilege and it gives me a time break to do other projects.) I strongly recommend both titles for lit circle teachers and librarians who want to bring a little extra variety and enthusiam to their classrooms!

Note:  After two years of lit circles and various adaptions, we started to see some of the weaker points.  For one thing, we did away with rigid role playing.  I strongly recommend The Book Club Companion:  Fostering Strategic Readers in the Secondary Classroom (O'Donnell-Allen) for those needing to tweak their reading group program.  While I wouldn't call what she does a true book "club", it is substantially different than typical lit circles, large and small reading group work and well worth looking into.
3766163
I just received God, It's Me through amazon.com. I can tell the author put a lot of work into this book creating a wonderful resource for youth leaders. This book contains great topics and materials that are hard to find in other resources. I am definitely going to show it to our youth leader at church.
2043182
I plan to use this book with my Daisy Girl Scout Troop.  I like that it uses situations that the girls might encounter in their daily lives.  The suggestions for topics of discussion are helpful too.
4387391
The leadership book that helps all the other leadership books make sense.  I wish this information had been available a couple of decades ago - not only when I was moving into organizational leadership, but also as I started a family.  The reality is that the brain science undergirding RARE Leadership wasn't available then.  It just makes so much sense, and I appreciate that relational leadership skills are not just hardwired, but can be learned and learned well.
  Do you:
  - Mistake hard work for leadership?
  - Focus on results in ways that damage relationships?
  - Are you wearing yourself out trying to be successful?
  - Are you creating a culture of fear in your team?
If any of those things sounds like you, I encourage you to get this book and devour it.  Your team will thank you, and your results will actually be better with less fatigue on your part.  This is the stuff behind how big league hitters can make contact with a 95+mph fastball ... and make it look easy.
  Written from a Christian worldview with solid science and solid theology.  Jim Wilder has referred to it as "neurotheology."
908219
This book is an excellent guide for church leaders and lay church members who are struggling to make "church" work in fast-changing times. Crabtree, the Dr. Phil of church management, poses the difficult questions and refuses to accept stock answers. His extensive parish experience, coupled with his work in the private sector, provide insight that stands apart from other books on this subject. The book recognizes that the problems facing the modern church are complex and will require cooperation from all involved -- professional church workers, lay people, and even the community.  He does not dismiss small churches as other authors do. He recognizes their unique gifts and possibilities. Early in the book he points out that there are congregations with 20 members that will die and there are congregations with 20 members that have what it takes to grow. He stresses measuring vitality as opposed to "butts in the pew." The web site (2x2virtualchurch.com) is offering a free series of book reviews/discussion guides to help congregations use this book to create dialog in their congregations which could very well put many struggling congregations back on track.
2177196
Finally. You find a book that tells you what most people who work with leaders know...you can lead effectively as an introvert. In fact, introversion may be your secret power. Kahnweiler explains away the hype suggesting only the loud and forceful can lead. Instead, she shows leaders who are introverted and self-aware are more likely to connect well with their people and build strong teams. Practical tips and suggestions to reinforce leadership growth. Solid book.