Simple Solutions: Harness the Power of Passion and Simplicity to Get Results [Hardcover]

Thomas Schmitt (Author), Arnold Perl (Author), Frederick W. Smith (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 2006

Combining the rational, logical instincts of the left brain with the passionate and artful skills of the right brain, this book offers a leadership approach that is both highly effective and deeply inspirational. Perfect for anyone assuming a leadership position, it presents simple solutions on such topics as effective collaboration, achieving goals, leadership styles, team-building, inspiring people to success, and more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

FedEx executive Tom Schmitt and management attorney Arnold Perl demonstrate how to break down complex problems into simple parts and solve them. They emphasize using the right tools in conjunction with providing forthright, enthusiastic leadership. The of leadership advocated by Schmitt and Perl combines old-school proven strategies and tactics with innovative new leadership metrics geared to today's business environment. Their brand of leadership is a blend of practicality and inspiration. Schmitt and Perl reinforce their advice with real case studies in effective leadership. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas) on January 8, 2007)

With the conciseness of thought you expect from busy people, FedEx Corp. exec Tom Schmitt and longtime Memphis labor attorney Arnold Perl have distilled years of managing people and projects into a book the diligent can digest in a night.

"Simple Solutions: Harness the Power of Passion and Simplicity to Get Results" is the only book in the world with a forward written by Frederick W. Smith.

And if the history of books endorsed by business management guru Tom Peters means anything, it's got a good chance of being a best seller.... The thesis, underlined in short chapters and bolstered with breakouts, is that the gentle melding of left- and right-brain tendencies, coupled with transparency, optimism and goal-oriented thinking, transforms people and situations.

Though their experiences were honed in different arenas, Perl and Schmitt suggest that any problem can be broken into small components and worked out, from ferrying kids in rush-hour traffic to planning a land swap at Memphis International Airport that allows both the Tennessee Air National Guard and FedEx to expand.-- The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News, January 10, 2007 Wednesday)

Review

"I strongly recommend this book to educators who are interested in helping all of their students become successful learners."
—Steven W. Evans, Ph.D., Director, Alvin V. Baird Attention & Learning Disabilities Center, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

"[T]his book sets the standard in delivering a comprehensive, state-of-the-art approach for understanding, treating and preventing classroom behavior difficulties. It should be on the bookshelves of all professionals who work in school settings. I will certainly recommend this text to my colleagues and students."
—George J. DuPaul, Ph.D., Professor of School Psychology, Associate Chair, Education and Human Services, Lehigh University

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470048182
• ISBN-13: 978-0470048184
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,123,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad read for first time managers, April 24, 2007

By 

Kent M. Blumberg "Executive Coach" (Baton Rouge, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Simple Solutions: Harness the Power of Passion and Simplicity to Get Results (Hardcover)

Are you a first-time manager, new to leading others? If so, you could do worse than to read "Simple Solutions: Harness the Power of Passion and Simplicity to Get Results." The book will do a good job of giving you an overview of the skills and passions the authors believe are key to leadership success.

Have you been leading for some years? If so, you don't need this book.

Schmitt and Perl believe leadership success depends on five tools and five passions. Their visual model is an old-fashioned balancing scale, with the five tools on one side and the five passions on the other, and Simplicity as the base.

The tools they believe are key are:

"Management savvy: Work smarter, not harder."

"People Skills: Making people the top priority."

"Collaboration: Think 'one big team.'"

"Time Management: Align your time with the right goals."

"Execution: Do it! Don't sacrifice good for better."

And the passions they focus on are:

"Ambition: Be ambitious for your people and the cause."

"Leadership: Leave a place better than you found it."

"Vision: Imagine the possibilities."

"Focus: Use a laser, not a floodlight."

"Determination: Stick to it."

The strength of the book is that it pulls all these concepts together into a short, readable volume. That's great if you are a brand new manager. For anyone else, though, it suffers from three weaknesses.

The first weakness will be evident from the lists above. None of these concepts are new or novel, and any manager with a bit of success will already know that these are pretty important.

The second weakness, at least in my eyes, is the lack of evidence to prove that these are actually the keys to leadership success. The book amounts to a collection of anecdotes and opinions, and none of us should be satisfied with that.

Finally, the book is fairly light on how to apply these ideas in the day to day work of leading people. I wish the authors had provided a directed reading list to expand on each of their ideas.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who knew it could be this simple?, December 16, 2006

By 

D. M. Walker "Retired" (Missouri) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Simple Solutions: Harness the Power of Passion and Simplicity to Get Results (Hardcover)

As a retired member of management for a large manufacturer, all I can say after reading this book is "Where were you when I needed you?"

The authors of this very easy-to-read guide to clear thinking really do make it look easy. But their principles aren't limited to those in the corporate world or legal profession. Keeping it simple is a philosphy to apply to any project, large or small.

Thank you Mr. Schmitt and Mr. Perl for sharing your wonderful book and for helping us back up and take another look at things. Balancing the right and left brains is a concept too long forgotten. Considering only the left brain as "smart" and the right brain as "arty" is all too common, with the value of intuition and vision of the right brain often ignored.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If only more more business people understood this, December 8, 2006

By 

Douglas R. Sease - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Simple Solutions: Harness the Power of Passion and Simplicity to Get Results (Hardcover)

Simple works. It's that simple. The authors of this newly published management guide don't do simple work. Schmitt is a senior executive in FedEx supplying solutions to complex logistical problems and Perl is an attorney who has practiced before the Supreme Court. Yet they've found that they can break down complex problems into simple components and solve them. Applying that principle of simplicity to business and government they demonstrate in this accessible guidebook how any manager can work more effectively and efficiently. They incorporate "tools" and "passions" that draw on both sides of the brain to not only analyze problems, but to find ceative solutions to them. You don't need an MBA to figure out that they're on to something.