Customer Reviews

Balancing Your Family Faith & Work

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Superb! The content and character of the book flows out of Pat Gelsinger's journey...I know because I have known him for more than 20 years. The book is a statement about how a Christian can be successful at work and still have a dynamic marriage and family and be active in serving through a local church...all at the same time. It is a matter of prioritizing ones life and then being disciplined in balancing those priorities...he says it well!

He states important life principles and illustrates them from his own experience. In a day when management integrity is at an all time low, few can talk about integrity with the kind of credibility as Pat can. As Chief Technology Officer of the world's largest computer chip company, Intel, he is extremely busy and yet he finds time to do the things that are important in life...build personal character, a strong marriage and family, and serve the Lord through the church.

This book will be especially valuable for the ambitious business person who has a desire to grow and in the process contribute to helping to change the world.

I don't know where John Doe came from, but I found the book very inspirational. What we don't need is trite examples from people who teach but don't do.

Pat's book is a testimony for finding your way in a hectic world to walk the Christian lifestyle. He shares his goals and mission in a very open manner, personal items which I don't know if I could share. He gives you the ups of walking as a Christian, and the downs as well. The subtle challenges, and easy ways to be led astray.

Regarding home life, he shares his method for how to give your family the time they deserve. Way's I have never found in many of John Doe's recommended books, which I have read (looking for the right answer). I found it in an inspirational Christian book, not in these self help books.

If you are a Christian, you need to read this book. Well done Pat, and keep up the good work!

Are you driven, a type "A", or a power mover? Have you struggled to juggle it all? Balancing Your Family, Faith and Work is written by a type "A" that has taken steps in a positive direction. Pat Gelsinger weaves a brief autobiography into his instructive book. He has many helpful gems tucked in among tales of chip development and globe trotting.

A central and important gem is his encouragement to the reader to develop and implement a Personal Mission Statement. While much of Mr. Gelsinger's life should only be attempted by those blessed with the ability to sleep only 5 hours a night, the Personal Mission Statement should be a challenge to all. His book provides great guidelines and examples to see this productively implemented in your life.

Pat Gelsinger's confidence and leadership are an example throughout his book. He is open and honest about his struggles as he juggles. His transparency allows the reader to learn with him in his mistakes. The book also draws the reader to desire the book written by his wife Linda, "Tales of Professional Juggler's Partner: The Ups and Downs."

This is the best book I've seen regarding being a Christian worker and how to behave as a Christian in the marketplace. Other books I've read are written by clergy or "professional Christians," so they tend to be more "theoretical." Pat is the "practicing" Christian. This is the first book I've seen from an extremely successful Christian in the workplace (and that's an understatement, as he may very well one day be CEO of Intel, see pg. 50). As he writes, work comes first, ministry second. This is something that pleases both man and God (pg. 117, 118, & Ephesians 6:5-8). (If this sounds funny, you need to buy the book!)

Pat is a work of God, as that is what it takes to not be corrupted with worldly wealth (pg. 70 re: charity), as he is confronted by wealth from success.

Pat is extremely successful, yet humble (see last sentence in his introduction and pg. 121). I don't think most people grasp the power, responsibility, and stress of his position.

Pat is extremely driven, but yet can still crack a joke (see breakfast agenda on pg. 79). (Anyone who knows Pat can tell you that to call him 'driven' is an understatement.)

I think pg. 122 (we work for our Boss as if we were working for our Lord Jesus) should be expanded more; it's a crucial new area to develop and Christians need to hear it.

Pg.112 talks about some important concepts in how to be a light at work, and pg. 116 is an interesting story of others reacting to the light.

I think I have some disagreement with marriage advice on pg. 88 (he may have compromised too quickly, but that's for marriage counselors to debate). Also, the Q&A section needs page numbers.. Both are small nits...

Overall: Awesome. I've read other books on this subject, some containing vast amounts of "filler" and repetition. Not here...

This is a perfect read for your Christian friends who are stressed out about work. It's also a bright light for successful people who are tired of worldliness (or in a funk) and are looking for an answer about the meaning of life...

This book is well worth the time if you actually would like to implement some of his recommendations. If you are looking for a book that makes you feel like you are doing okay, this is not the book. Pat's discipline lifestyle of purpose is a challenge to me and to anyone else that would desire to have their life count. His practical biblical advice regarding his marriage, children and mentoring was not new to me, but showed me that it is not a theory but very relevant to my daily life. It is a quick read but will keep you reflecting on your own life and direction.

Pat's book is VERY inspirating and practical, on how to set up the priorities of your own life, including goals and values, and then live by them. It's been a great inspiration for me.

Like many adult men, I have a family, a job, and a church. In that respect, I'm no different than Pat Gelsinger. However, he's quite a bit more successful at each of those three areas than most men, and he puts down a successful recipe for balancing these areas.

Pat is a driven man who works at Intel; this book will appeal most directly to other Christian men who work in similar high-pressure, high-performing environments. To a lesser extent, the book will indirectly benefit other readers: those without families, working mothers, or non-Christians.

The book is well written and easy to read. It describes Pat's own beliefs and discoveries in a matter-of-fact, non preachy manner. Still, if you're offended by Christian religious references, this is not a book you'll appreciate. If you're a Christian husband and father, this book is for you--or a great gift for someone you know who wears all these hats.

This is a fantastic book. Pat's testimony, personal discipline, and integrity are inspirational. He is a solid role-model for Christians who work in the technology industry. I have had the good fortune of meeting Pat, and I can attest to the fact that he is who he says he is. Going through the exercise of creating a personal mission statement, as described by Pat, has literally changed my life by helping me to more effectively allocate my time, and to create a vision and set of goals for the life I want to live. It has also helped me to galvanize my commitment to God, Family, and work -- commitments that I have always held dear, but needed help in better expressing, due to the busy-ness of life. His experience and tips on a variety of areas -- prayer time while driving, mentor relationships, scheduled one-on-one time with family members, etc -- are very stimulating. I've already incorporated some of his tips into my life, and have been inspired to invent my own day-to-day methods of strengthening my relationships with God, family, and friends. Finally, his thoughts on how our professional lives can be sincere expressions of our faith was very inspiring. By working hard for our employers we build our "invisible bank account" and increase our credibility, allowing us to be a more clear witness to others -- this helped me a great deal in aligning my professional life with my spiritual life. In today's culture, that's sometimes hard to do, but as Christians we cannot stand if we are divided. I highly recommend this book to any who has ever been a bit overwhelmed by life and work.

I sat next to Pat on the Intel air shuttle before reading his book. I was already seated, and HE asked if he could sit next to ME. I remember very clearly watching him read the Bible and then the Wall Street Journal as the plane was taking off. As we reached cruising altitude, he pulled out a small laptop and began typing away - just like he talks about doing in his book.

Since meeting Pat on the plane, I've had several opportunities to get to know him and his family better. Talk is cheap. But based on what I've seen, I believe Pat follows his talk through with action as well as anyone I've ever met. I hope knowing this will add to your ability to appreciate the man and his book.

Balancing Your Family, Faith & Work is an excellent source of information about key people and events in Intel's history. The first chapter is a treasure trove of stories about Pat. You'll also encounter entertaining anecdotes about Andy Grove. Even seasoned Intel veterans might learn some things about major Intel products and company milestones.

Personal mission statements and mentoring are two topics that get chapters of their own. If you don't have a mission statement or a few good mentors, then read Pat's book! Then find other books about these topics and read them too. Two books I've enjoyed reading are The Path by Laurie Beth Jones and Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi.

Highly motivated, busy professionals who value work-life balance (especially parents and fathers in particular) will be impressed by Pat's priorities and time management skills. My take away is that if Pat can achieve balance in his life, I have absolutely no excuse for not doing so in mine. I might have different priorities and goals, but the fundamental message is the same: Time is precious. Use it wisely.

Christians will enjoy reading this book. Successful Christian businessmen can learn a lot from Pat. Nonbelievers might even be motivated to find their religion. I considered myself to be an agnostic before I met Pat. Consciously or subconsciously, I used to fear that only gullible people and/or people who don't have sufficient scientific training could believe in God and Jesus Christ. In no uncertain terms, Pat taught me that's not true.

If you're an Intel employee and you don't know much about Pat, then please read this book. (If you haven't read Swimming Across by Andrew S. Grove, read that one too!) If you don't share Pat's religious beliefs, or if you disagree with his world view, try not to get too hung up on those issues. Otherwise, you're missing out on an opportunity to enhance your own career by gaining some insight into the man who was Intel's first Chief Technology Officer and is currently the General Manager of the Digital Enterprise Group. As jobs at Intel go, it doesn't get much more significant than that!

How do you get your balance when life reels out of control? In general something is out of whack. Pat Gelsinger is a key leader in one of the largest technology companies in the world--Intel. For years, he has achieved delicate balance in his own life between his faith, his work and his family.

With this well-written book, anyone can profit from his journey. As Pat writes on page 123: "Life today moves at an incredible speed. Don't be so foolish as to believe that after the next project or after the next assignment or when summer comes, you'll some how get your family back on track and so on. I've heard it said that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Things will not miraculously improve. You need to make some conscious decisions and tradeoffs."

Get this book to learn the specifics. It's terrific.