Customer Reviews

Applebee's America: How Successful Political, Business, and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I enjoyed this book overall. The Navigators were an especially compelling article included. It reminded me of DuBois and The Talented Tenth and that a few people often make decisions for the entire community. I especially liked the section on Generation 9/11. As a grad student I intend to study this generation and this gives me a great starting point. One of the things I disliked was the linking of church, community, restaurants and many other points that were not covered enough or should be covered with additional books. Each topic deserved more coverage but I understand why he was trying to link them all. It seemed a little cluttered. Overall it is a well written book and I am sure it will be assigned to participation classes in the future. I give a grade of B.

I bought Applebee's America when it came out in 2006 but I just now got around to reading it. I'm sorry I waited so long, but the book took me less than a week to read and I do feel that it was worth it.

The authors took liberty in creating terms like Gut Values and Navigators. However, I don't know that they created these terms as much as they used new, quirky words to say the same thing. The authors referred to a book called The Influentials many times throughout. I wonder if I should have read that book first. The Influentials is also a good example of what I mean when I say that the authors didn't really create terms, as they basically called previously known Influentials, Navigators.

There was some overkill with some of the concepts, especially the concept of community and the phrase "people want to belong to a community".

Some of the chapters were fascinating and that made them very quick to read. As others have said here on amazon, the "history" of the megachurches was incredily interesting. The authors did do some serious work to write AA. While they did use a lot of prevously published sources and they document them well, they also did a good number of interviews. If you're looking for a lot of answers or a place to go for them, this book will guide you to a plethora of sources.

Fast read, easy to understand the concepts being presented, good examoples of gaining a following and how it was done in each case.

It's obvious with so few reviews written they were more than likely written by acquaintances of the authors. One particular author of this book sticks out in my mind as questionable and that would be Ron Fournier. I have read his journalistic diatribes in the past and as he is a reporter for the Associated Press, in my opinion he is less than impartial and more biased toward the liberal stance. It's one thing to publish the Truth but another to slant the Truth. This review in no way is intended to lessen the credibility of the other authors of the book as they may be sincere in their work and I'm not all that familiar with their other work.

Remembering that non-profit is a tax status, not a business plan, our chamber of commerce emphasized concepts discussed in "Applebee's America" during our organization's recent strategic planning work session with our 2007 leadership team. The result is a regional planning agenda for our 2,000 member organization that recognizes how people make choices - with their hearts, not their heads - and how to best create a sense of community. "Applebee's America" gives businessses and organizations new insights and strategies on how to better connect with their customers.
Patti J. Larsen - Vice President, Communications, The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce

By examining developments in business, church and politics, the author opens a fascinating view on how people respond to belonging, form community, and make relationships in our new age, and how new communication methods and deliberate efforts by institutions to use them are re-shaping traditional processes and systems, and yielding remarkable success. As a new political leader who thought he understood how these things worked, it opened my eyes (once again) to an ever-changing world. Highly recommended. It will get you thinking ... a lot!

I loved the simple and almost comedic comparisons regarding Democrats v Republican profile... Some are shocking. Lighthearted and easy to read, great for just before bed.

This poorly written book is mostly a fluffy mess of consultant babble. There is little material of interest or value in this book. The author's favorite catch term, "gut value connections" sounds like something some half-bright consultant would come up with. And they did.

Anyone starting a non-profit organization (church, civic group, local political campaign, etc.) should read this book. It contains a wealth of insights that could be discussed by leadership and the committed core to identify key values and foster a healthy, collaborative organization.

Chapter 3 on religion (mostly megachurches) is worth the price of the book. The authors call it the third side of their triangle, and perhaps the best "example of how to appeal to anxious Americans in this era of change." A sidebar, "Selling Coffee and God," describes a Vienna, Va., in-church Starbucks.

The authors have unusual insight about the church. For sure, church and nonprofit leaders must read Applebee's America. For those of us inside the Christian faith circle, we assume the megachurch pastors who were interviewed were more enthusiastic about their faith walk than was reported. Yikes!

They were excited about their marketing, their demographics and growing programs. Yet the book doesn't report if these church leaders had real passion for God or why the faith experience will help Americans with this "bone-jarring change" in process. I didn't expect it--but surely someone spoke from their heart?

The danger: it's just about branding--and the church is now good copy. The good news: the church has some growing stature. The bad news: while I really do appreciate church leaders who have passion for growing their megachurches, I just pray it's fueled by a greater passion for helping people with current and eternal destinies.