5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Recommended Book, January 5, 2009
This review is from: The Art of Original Thinking: The Making of a Thought Leader (Hardcover)
It's obvious that we live in a world with many serious problems. Poverty stalks the globe. Children are dying of preventable illnesses. Wars are killing and maiming civilians. Yes, there are problems, we acknowledge, but they're going to have to be up to someone else to solve--not us. The "experts" will find a way. We have enough problems of our own.
We've been socialized to be sheep, to be patient when bureaucracy is slow. Jan Phillips writes, "Thought leaders do not wait in silence. Nor do they wait for others' minds to be opened, or for safe places to speak into. Thought leaders are the openers of minds, the modern day prophets...."
The paradigm we grew up with says it's every man for himself. Do the best you can, donate a little money once in a while to ease your conscience, and believe for the best. But as Phillips says, "We are here to advance life...to be...a perpetrator of inspiration, a leader of thought and heartfelt action....This is the time, and we are the ones."
The book is filled with stories of people who made a difference, of companies that broke the mold of ordinary thinking, that found new visions for themselves and their world. Of companies who found that "doing [good] unto the least of these" not only feels right, but can be profitable at the same time.
Ms. Phillips believes in telling stories, because stories reach through and around our barriers--stories can move our hearts. One example: "Half of us do not have access to clean water. Five thousand children die every day from waterborne illnesses. That's equivalent to twelve full jumbo jets crashing every day. How can it be that we have a dozen jets crashing every day and we're not doing anything about it? How does it happen that we let five thousand of our children die when we have everything it takes--but human will--to fix the problem?"
Thought-provoking quotes are scattered throughout the book:
-Frederick Buechner: "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.: "True compassion is more that flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring."
-Max De Pree: "The measure of leadership is not the quality of the head, but the tone of the body."
-Miguel de Cervantes: "When we dream alone it is just a dream, but when we dream together it is the beginning of reality."
When multiplied millions live on under a dollar a day, and the CEO of Yahoo! manages on only $4 million a week, something is wrong. When the current CEO-worker pay gap is 458 to 1, something is wrong. Thought leaders look at the health of humanity and search for ways to better the world. The author says, "Thought leaders inspire change--personal change, social change, cellular and systemic change. They are not redirecting traffic on the old thoroughfares, but building superhighways of communication that transport people to destinations of heightened awareness, broadened perspectives, and a truer, deeper sense of their place and purpose in life."
This book was not what I expected. I was looking for a book to help me be more original and creative. I found a book which challenged me to live with authenticity and integrity. I've started. And I'd recommend the book to everyone.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Leadership They Are Not Teaching in Business School, August 17, 2006
This review is from: The Art of Original Thinking: The Making of a Thought Leader (Hardcover)
Now you'll be able to argue with the best of them that the old ways of doing business are on their way out. This book is not pie-in-the-sky theories of how businesses should be more responsible, it's real world examples of how businesses can do good by doing good. I found this book inspirational, educational, and captivating. The first thing I did was take it to my business school to see if they could incorporate it into their program. Things don't have to be the way they are in business. There is a better way and Jan Phillips shows it to you.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Book For Our Current Times!, March 2, 2009
This review is from: The Art of Original Thinking: The Making of a Thought Leader (Hardcover)
What would our current economic conditions in this country have been if more businesses had read and acted on Jan Phillips book "The Art of Original Thinking"? What we need in today's economic climate is many, many more "Thought Leaders" and the attitudes contained in this book.
Ms. Phillips should send her book to President Obama, members of Congress and the SBA!! Business schools should get out of their stone age thinking of profits only and embrace the principles of also creating a better world for everyone.
This is a book I will highly recommend to all my clients thinking of starting their own businesses or those wanting to make changes in the businesses they already have. Just reading the Chapter titles alone is inspiring!!
If you want to be a part of the current economic solution, then get this book and study it!
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