Customer Reviews

Empowering Yourself: The Organizational Game Revealed

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"Empowering Yourself" is an excellent source of information on how the real game is played. This is a book that needs to be read twice. The first time you read Coleman's work, you will feel helpless, angry, and even have the desire to revolt against the status quo. The first reading really motivates you to either change the system or merely give up even trying to play. On the second pass, you really get a feel for the power of this book. You realize that "Empowering Yourself" is a blueprint to success. Coleman is merely providing the reader with the design for success in the world we live in. It is up to the reader to decide whether it is worth going through with these plans. The analogy which I get from this book lies in the similarities between the "Rules of the Game" and the laws which govern gravity. We have all had the desire to fly, unbounded by the earth, flying free as a bird. But to do so, we would have to suspend the laws of gravity.As much as we revolt against physics, the laws of gravity will not be broken by man. Neither will the power structure which we currently live under (at least not in our lifetime). So it is the readers choice to learn to fly by man-made methods, become a modern day Don Quixote and fight the windmills of societys power structure, or be content to travel the earth by foot. This is a must read for all those who want to fly and are willing to pay the price.

This is one of my all time favorites. A superb book and recommend it to all my friends. This is a how to book for those planning to make it in corporate America and understanding how to play the game. This is a playbook for Black America and anyone who want to know the secrets of success. This book truly opened my eyes to the game. Although I had navigated the political minefields of Washington DC without it, if I had read this book before my journey, I would not have made some of the mistakes I made early on in my career. He gives you words and what they really mean when your boss or others say them. He shows you the levels of eliteness in this country and the whole slate of the world's elite. A recipe that could only come from someone who has been there.... I'm greatfull that he took the time to share.

I was given the title of this book at a seminar I attended. This was the best investment for my career. No school can teach you how to play the game the way this book does. I love the way Mr. Coleman puts the language of the book in very simple terms. If you are intersted in getting ahead in your company follow the rules that Mr. Coleman lays out and you will be in management/upper management in know time.

I have read many business books that discuss how to have a good career. None reveal the best way to get ahead as well as this book. Sure, performance is key and so is working hard. But that will not get you to the top. The image you project as well as the exposure to the right people are even more important. Most people do not realize this. I wish I had this book at the start of my career right out of college. I have givent this book to one of my closest friends who kept getting let go from his job every time there was a cut back. 7 years later, he still has the same job and it is the most responsible job he ever had. This book is invaluable for knowing how the business game is really played.

Harvey Coleman's words in this book are good for a life time! I've heard him speak and read the book multiple times! Great insites!

I'd recommend this book to anyone who leverages relationships, organizational or personal, to gain powerful insight about "unwritten" rules for success.

Empowering Yourself by Harvey Coleman is one of my favorite books. A friend of mine recommended this book after being advised to read it for her professional development program. When I began reading it, I could not put it down! Harvey describe his experiences in Corporate America and how overachieving in performance is not the only key to rising high in thr Senior Executive Ranks, but playing "the people game" is the big portion of the puzzel that is never talked about. I ultimately recommend this book to those who lack the knowledge of the rules to the game of life.

I have been in the business world for 15 years now and 4 of those were in a large corporation with a matrix environment. I struggled with a lot of the politics and comments that I did not always understand. When I was given the opportunity to become an AVP, the dynamics got much worse and the feedback did not make any sense. In fact in trying to be authentic, I went away from what I was being required to become, to what I felt was me and not them, to my detriment. I really wish I had read, understood and internalized this book years ago.

The book was an easy read, very clear and organized, and you can get to a chart and rate yourself eventually to find out where you stand. I did an average score for myself and it was very revealing. I think this is a must read for everyone in business who wants to climb the corporate ladder.

One caution I would have is that, as the book says, we have the choice to play the game or not. I really hope less and less people play the game, as, quite frankly, the upper class has to realize the world is changing, and they need to adapt to the changing world as well. Maybe this is just wishful thinking.

The book had a very natural flow. It helped put things in to perspective when it comes to making decisions at our jobs and in lives everyday. The decisions we make about whether to except that invitation to a cocktail party or whether or not we want to associate with the boss, even if we don't like him, may change the course of our careers without even realizing it. The choice for our future is in our hands.

I thought this was a pretty solid read. I am relatively new to the corporate scene (just beginning my 3rd year of my career), and I felt that this book helped shed some light on what the advancement process could look like. In my opinion, this is not a "how-to" book on getting to the top, but rather a look at the corporate environment from kind of a sociological standpoint--a look at how it works rather than a step-by-step guide on becoming a CEO.