Lasting Contribution: How to Think, Plan, and Act to Accomplish Meaningful Work [Paperback]

Tad Waddington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2007

A powerful dose of wisdom in a concise package, Lasting Contribution is filled with profound and effective advice on how to make the kinds of contributions — to work, to organizations, to communities — that really matter. Drawing from such varied sources as Aristotle, Sun Tzu, Victor Frankl, and Confucius, this book marshals insights that touch on information theory, sociology, Zen, psychology, art history, management theory, and other fields. Waddington's deft ability to illuminate his ideas using colorful examples — everything from the Titanic and Santa Claus to skateboarding and Oprah's shoes — make the book as engaging as it is wise and thoughtful. Above all, Lasting Contribution offers different benefits to different readers: insightful tips for a better work performance for those looking to improve their careers; practical life-applications for those grappling with high philosophical ideas; and food for thought for thought for anyone seeking to enrich their lives generally.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A must read for anyone who wants their decisions to have purpose and impact. -- Bradley Kolar, CLO, University of Chicago Hospitals

By tying together intellectual principles and pragmatic effectiveness in such commonsense terms, Tad Waddington has produced a work worth reading, rereading, and pondering. -- Timothy C. Wong, Professor of Chinese, Arizona State University

Tad Waddington has pulled together the great thoughts from the great thinkers who worried about why we are here, what we are supposed to be doing, and how best to get on with it. These are big, tough questions but they are tackled, in an amazingly compact and thought-provoking way, so that everyone can arrive at their own answers. Waddington has a special gift that allows you to see his thoughts clearly at work--yet he provides plenty of space for you to compare your ideas with history's best. -- James E. Schrager, Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago

Tad Waddington is an erudite and engaging writer. He uses the concepts of ancient Greek philosophy along with insightful modern quotations and anecdotes to show how people can shape their strivings into enduring contributions to humanity. -- Frank Schmidt, Ralph L. Sheets Professor, Department of Management and Organizations, University of Iowa

Yeats reflected upon his intellectual life and found it "a preparation for something that never happens." Waddington offers us a contrast - a reflection upon preparation for what is happening. -- Ted Hayes, PhD, Principal Research Scientist, The Gallup Organization

From the Publisher

Lasting Contribution won a National Best Books 2007 Award and Kirkus said, "A self-help guide that assembles scholarly and scientific material to illustrate why things happen, why people act and how those people can plan actions that make a difference. Unlike the average motivational guru who seems to have read a single book--the one he or she has just written--Waddington has read them all, so readers will learn what ancient thinkers, religious leaders, modern scientists and rival motivational guides teach about human behavior. ... A thought-provoking work that bears rereading."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 122 pages
• Publisher: Agate B2; 1st edition (September 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932841296
• ISBN-13: 978-1932841299
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,015 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I often think that I achieved literacy while getting my MA from the University of Chicago's Divinity School (where I focused on the history of Chinese religions), numeracy while getting my PhD from the University of Chicago (in measurement, evaluation and statistical analysis), and efficacy as Director of Performance Measurement for Accenture. As for achieving a legacy, well, time will tell, but Lasting Contribution has won six awards so I've made a start.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Six proofs that Dr. W's book is a TARDIS:, January 14, 2008

By 

L. Schirtz - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lasting Contribution: How to Think, Plan, and Act to Accomplish Meaningful Work (Paperback)

Six proofs that Dr. W's book is a TARDIS:
1. It is much larger on the inside than on the out. In just over 100 pages it packs in science, art, economics, philosophy, mathematics, ethics, psychology, sociology, biology, and much more.
2. It will take you many places--from Antarctica to Asia, from mountain tops to wheat fields, from China to Chicago, and on and on.
3. It takes you many places in time: the dawn of civilization, the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, the invention of the airplane, to war, and most important, it takes you into the future by showing how your contributions can endure through time.
4. It is quirky. Key roles are played by Aristotle and Oprah's shoes. Squirrels, muses, and high-casualty cocktail parties make cameo appearances. It plays the social construction of reality off the construction of social reality and even proves the existence of Santa Claus.
5. There is an underlying seriousness and brilliance that grounds it, holds it together, and makes you look at things differently. For example, it defines `meaning' and shows you how to get it.
6. It is a shape-shifter. You'll see it differently every time you read it. It's a self-help book, a business book, a philosophy book. It's unlike any book you've ever read. And it is well worth the reread.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Aristotelian Approach to Meaning and Self-Improvement, November 29, 2007

By 

Kevin Quinley "GeezerJock" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lasting Contribution: How to Think, Plan, and Act to Accomplish Meaningful Work (Paperback)

Author Tad Waddington offers a slim yet thoughtful book that expounds a philosophy of existential meaning. Using the model of Aristotle's four causes (efficient cause, material cause, formal cause and final cause), he offers an approach on how individuals can invest their lives with meaning and build a lasting legacy that outlives their time on earth. Some readers may find parts of it heavy sledding, but the chapters are mercifully brief and Waddington's allusions and references are not pedantic.

Move over, Oprah and Dr. Phil! Drawing from Kant, Eastern philosophy and Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning," Waddington presents an iconoclastic but coherent argument for creating a meaningful life. The author's resume includes a MA in Divinity, graduate work in statistics and employment as performance manager for Accenture; Waddington is a polymath but no cryptic egghead.

"Lasting Contribution" is worth a careful reading and heeding. With this book, Waddington himself has genuinely made a ... lasting contribution.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A theory to guide and facilitate actions that make a contribution that lasts, February 6, 2008

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lasting Contribution: How to Think, Plan, and Act to Accomplish Meaningful Work (Paperback)

Frankly, I did not know what to expect as I began to read this book but soon realized that, accompanied by Tad Waddington, I had embarked on a journey of discovery to learn the answer to a very important question: How can I make a contribution that lasts? Waddington asserts that "lasting contributions [begin italics] are caused [end italics]. Simply put, you [begin italics] cause [end italics] a lasting contribution to happen. The problem is that the way people usually think about causality does not serve them well when it comes to thinking about taking action. " Waddington notes that some 2,300 years ago, Aristotle argued that it is useful to think in terms of four causes: material (i.e. of what a thing is made), efficient (i.e. how something is made), formal (i.e. what a thing is), and final (i.e. why a thing is). "This book was written to help you not in the way a hammer helps you to build a house, but in the way a blueprint does. It prepares you for action."

Waddington devotes a separate chapter to each of the four causes, explaining its nature and functions, citing examples of it in all manner of situations, and suggesting its relevance to human experiences shared by most of those who read his book. The "blueprint" metaphor is especially appropriate because each person who embarks on the aforementioned journey of discovery is, in effect, preparing to serve as architect of his or her own life. Here is a selection of brief excerpts that provide at least some indication of this book's scope and flavor:

"The efficient cause is concerned with taking action to get results, particularly in a complex and dynamic world such as ours...Effective action in a complex world requires considered action - knowing when and how to take action and when not to. But on what do you base your actions? The material cause addresses the issue of your most important resources." (Pages 18)

"The material cause involves the resources that you can use to bring about a lasting contribution...In many ways, the material cause is less concerned with your material assets than with how you cultivate yourself...Consequently, it is important to cultivate yourself so that you can seize the opportunities offered...Next, you need to make full use of your arête [i.e. your virtue or excellence in terms of perception, expertise, and mastery]. The formal cause is that way." (Page 30)

"The formal cause is the DNA of action. It is the recipe for success, the rules of the game...the blueprint that tells you how to construct the causal chain from your values to your results. It is the road map that informs how to get from here to there. But where is there and why go? The why of action is addressed by the final cause." (Page 44)

"The final cause embodies your values. It gives motive force, because it comes from what you value. The stronger the value, the greater the power of the final cause. The more clearly articulated the value, the better you can embody it through action...As the end (in the sense of goal), the final cause is, paradoxically, the beginning of how to make a lasting contribution. It motivates the entire process and raises your mundane actions to a higher level. But how can you be sure that the four causes are a sensible way to think about making a lasting contribution?" (Page 54)

Waddington addresses this last question in Chapters VI and VII, then shifts his attention to various empirical problems that are frequently encountered, and then to suggesting why making a lasting contribution to the world is a "worthy goal" and a "self-evident good."

For me, some of the most valuable material is provided in the final chapter in which Waddington discusses six exemplary individuals. However their lasting contributions differ in terms of nature and impact, all of them have the four causes working effectively together in combinations that (obviously) vary in terms of their respective values, objectives, and resources. Norman Borlaug (awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970) is of special interest to me because of his efforts to triple wheat production in Mexico and achieve a 60% increase in wheat harvests in India and Pakistan. " He then expanded his efforts to eliminate famine in Asia and Africa. According to Paddington, Borlaug's lasting contribution was a "hardnosed pursuit of pragmatic results. His efficient cause was to work on his crops all day every day, year after year."

Tad Waddington urges each reader to make a lasting contribution because it can teach the value of doubting (indeed challenging) conventional wisdom that insists such a contribution is impossible; also, because it will guide and inform ethical actions and give more meaning to one's life. Most important of all, as Borlaug and others so convincingly demonstrate, such a contribution can have substantial and enduring impact on the lives of countless others.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out James O'Toole's Creating the Good Life: Applying Aristotle's Wisdom to Find Meaning and Happiness. Also, Michael Ray's The Highest Goal, David Whyte's The Heart Aroused, Eckhart Tolles's The Power of Now and his more recent A New Earth, Bill George's Authentic Leadership, John Whitehead's A Life in Leadership, and The Leader's Legacy co-authored by James Kouzes and Barry Posner.