Customer Reviews

The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wisdom. That's what I found in Peter Block's newest book. But be prepared, wisdom does not mean answers. In fact the wisdom in this book comes from the way in which Peter challenges the reader to rethink basic assumptions about the culture that envelopes us. He asks, for example, how the pervasive archetypes of engineer and economist--those of cause-and-effect and predictability--could truly share the stage with the creativity, imagination, mystery and heart of the artist and architect. Not easy to imagine.

The journey Peter asks of me is often painful. It's difficult to admit the truth about my questions. He points out that asking questions about "how," is often a way to avoid the much deeper questions of "why." It is also a subtle way to avoid commitment and action. While Peter does not offer easy answers he does point to new directions for communities and organizations. And he invites us to join him on this journey into a new future...one that is not simply an extrapolation of the past.

I know when a book captures me, because, on almost every page, I found my mind and heart racing with so many ideas that I'd have to stop reading and simply think. What a gift! This volume has inspired me to new thinking about my work, and my life in community.

I have read and loved all of Peter's books. He just keeps blazing new trials!

Your ego and identity may well demand that you put this book down for good and denounce it as the smug ramblings of a limousine liberal with the luxury to indulge in all manner of fantasy. Read on anyway. If you pay attention to this book, you'll learn something powerful about yourself and the criticality of your role in creating your organization however you define that - whether it's self, family, business, government unit, or even society at large.

This book challenges everyone who reads it to accept that we and we alone are the authors of our own story of existence, experience, and meaning. The message for leaders of organizations is that until now we've indulged our fear, created cultures of control and dependency and they are bankrupt. The illusion of control never lasts long (look at any of your recent IT projects, for example) and dependency breeds discontent, waste, and backward momentum - all the things that give us more reasons to be fearful and to want to control. The lessons in this book may well allow us to break that cycle, but only if we develop the courage first and foremost to be accountable for who we are. One first step might be to ignore the voice of your ego insisting that you stop reading this silly book, and to read on with renewed attention.

The book's undeniable focus is on asking the right questions. The author communicates a refreshing perspective on work and life without succumbing to the contemporary book writing trend of word invention--or otherwise abusing the essence of existing published works. Although philosophical, the contents won't waste your cerebral energy in trying to decipher the author's jargon. The words hit you between the eyes.

The book identifies the current in which all corporate fish swim. If you have no desire to be a revolutionary, you'll at least gain an understanding of what makes you behave the way you do. Early chapters will challenge you to question why it is that you allow the culture to restrict you the way you do: "As long as we wish for safety, we will have difficulty pursuing what matters." (p. 46)

If you're searching for the courage to swim against the stream, the reading will nourish your soul; you'll also learn why the battle is ultimately without end. This work ultimately identifies a context in which the dominant business archetypes can co-exist, yet challenges us all not to lose sight of what matters: individual freedom. If anything, that particular message should resonate in a society where the concept of individual rights has run amok. Warning: Individual freedom may cost you more than you're willing to pay.

Block has done a fine job of discussing individual responsibility and helping get to the heart of the question "What are we really trying to accomplish?" rather than "How can we get this done and crossed off the list?" Too often, organizations are in such a rush to get things done that they end up putting the square peg in the round hole. They duplicate a solution that worked for a similar, but not identical problem etc. I feel like this book is the complimentary inverse of Block's "Stewardship" book. Whereas "Stewardship" looks at the organization and its effectiveness from a leadership/management point of view, this book addresses the personal autonomy and personal responsibility that all workers should have -- what Block's "Stewardship" book calls for as necessary for effective leadership (that the power and responsibilty are within the ranks of each worker). This book delves into this concept of pushing responsiblity down to each individual in the organization and what that means practically to the indvidual. As with "Stewardship," Block writes well and effectively delivers evidence and concrete examples along with his theory to make his points.

A carefully presented essay on the importance of personal purpose and meaning and the dangers to ourselves and our world of the instrumental world to which we are subjecting ourselves. The book is beautifully set out and easy to read. The philosophy and advice, though useful and cogent, is much the same as that to be found in a whole range of similar books concerned with personal development. There is perhaps particular value in his distinction between personal intimacy and the ersatz, commercialized 'customer intimacy' that is so much touted in books on marketing.

I have just finished reading this book for the 5th or 6th time. It contains a unique perspective on the type of leadership necessary to transform the world, from the local to the global levels, to a place of harmony, creativity, justice, sustainability, and love.

It is not for those still centered in their own egos or even those centered in their families and communities. It embodies a human perspective deep enough to touch values that are universal and if acted upon, healing and life giving.

The book culminates in a description of the leader as "social architect." This is a person who helps all people discover the values and vision that they hold collectively and then provides the space for collaborative and creative solutions and designs.

It would be wonderful and potentially powerful for all leaders to read this book and then act on what they have learned... especially the leaders of the nations of our world.

I have not been doing lean consulting long enough to have a career's depth of war stories. When faced with some regular questions, I have to pull from the underlying philosophy rather than a real world example. Even in the Lean Construction history, there is not a lot of examples. Peter Block defends this approach in his 2003 book, The Answer to How is Yes.

He says that the typical How questions are a defense against action and change. When we ask how much time is it going to take, we avoid asking about our level of commitment. When we ask how much it is going to cost we avoid asking what the price is we are willing to pay.

The book is about the meaningful questions that we should be analyzing. Questions about our desire to create a future together. Questions about personal risk, freedom and responsibility. As I see it, progress won't happen if you study how others did it. Get your philosophy straight first and act on that.

Block is on target once again. He sounded a similar alarm in his earlier work Stewardship. If we are ever to create the kind of organizations we really crave we need to change our thinking from two perspectives: management must stop the caretaking and confront people with their freedom, and employees must stop waiting for a better parent to arrive and take responsibility for creating the culture they desire. As a consultant working with some traditonal patriarchal systems, these are messages and paterns, unfortunately, that many people do not want to hear nor confront.

The title says it all. Doing the impossible (or nearly impossible) doesn't begin with strategies to overcome obstacles. It begins with one simple decision: Am I doing the right work? Am I doing what matters? Start there and the answers about what to do will follow. Though this book is mainly theoretical, you will find yourself highlighting phrases and folding pages. Very thought-provoking. It will give you what you need to keep doing meaningful work in spite of those who say it's "not practical or possible."

I read this a couple years back and have returned to it multiple times. I found the work quite thought-provoking, challenging - doesn't provide easy answers rather suggests questions to ask yourself, that may send you in new directions. I found myself agreeing with most of what he says - and while it's not immediately clear how to apply it to my job, career planning, or life in general, life is a journey and the right questions can take you in valuable new directions. Here are the "How" questions Block says people are too quick to focus on, followed by the "Yes questions" he suggests you think about instead:

How question 1: How do you do it?
Yes question 1: What refusal have I been postponing?

How question 2: How long will it take?
Yes question 2: What commitment am I willing to make?

How question 3: How much does it cost?
Yes question 3: What is the price I am willing to pay?

How question 4: How do you get those people to change?
Yes question 4: What is my contribution to the problem I am concerned with?

How question 5: How do we measure it?
Yes question 5: What is the crossroads at which I find myself at this point in my life/work?

How question 6: How are other people doing it successfully?
Yes question 6: What do we want to create together?

Block's basic critique is, people are generally too quick to get to the "how" questions, w/o properly considering what matters/what is really important. Very strong on acting on what matters, not waiting for others or depending on others - what is most important has to come from within.

I was wishing for some concrete examples tho of what it would look like if you acted on this stuff - but Block does note at some point that examples will be of limited use, as the way these precepts are implemented will vary considerably from place to place and person to person (asking for more information is usually just a stalling tactic, a strategy for putting off action). So I continue to be challenged and provoked by these questions.