6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cartology for personal development, August 6, 2009
This review is from: Success Mapping: Achieve What You Want...Right Now! (Hardcover)
Mapping is one of the most valuable processes that both individuals and groups can use to impose order on what may have been previously unfamiliar. It could be an ocean, a continent, a region, or a forest; it could be an area of a city or the floor plan of a building; and it could be any number of important business subjects such as contingency planning, crisis management, change initiatives, performance measurement, and ROI. In this volume, Arlene Johnson offers an eight-step process by which to create a map for individual achievement. "In other words, SuccessMapping...the processes we can use to realize more of our personal potential."
After identifying the "eight success blockers," Johnson devotes a separate chapter to each of the eight steps. It is helpful to think of the process of personal development as a journey of discovery as well as a sequence of achievements. I agree with Johnson that many (if not most) of the most valuable lessons will be learned from mistakes and even failures. In this context, I am reminded of a time when the current Cisco Systems CEO, John T. Chambers, asked the then GE CEO, Jack Welch, "What does it take to have a great company?" Welch replied, "It takes major setbacks and overcoming those." The same is true of individuals. Jack Dempsey once said that champions "get up when they can't." Those who embark on the eight-step process that Johnson recommends must be patient and determined, preferably tenacious.
Fortunately, Johnson does a brilliant job of organizing her material and then presenting it within a sequence and framework that enable her to establish and then sustain a personal rapport with her reader. In certain respects, she functions as a travel agent. In other respects, she functions as a mentor. To me, she seems to be a pragmatic idealist: she combines a passion to understand and then explain what works, what doesn't, and why with an rock-solid faith in what is possible if (huge "if") an individual is willing and able to make and then sustain a commitment to her or his personal development. Johnson is to be commended for her skillful use of a number of reader-friendly devices in each chapter that include a brief list of purposes or objectives, the relevant "Success Blocker," "Important" reminders that serve as heads-up, self-audits that actively involve the reader in the process, and a "Checkpoint" at the chapter's conclusion.
Given the scope and depth of the material in this book, it needs an index. Not providing one is inexcusable. However, there are four uncommonly informative appendices. My guess (only a guess) is that Appendix Three: Success Map will be of greatest interest and value but after a careful reading of the first appendix, "At a Glance - SuccessMapping® Step Checkpoints," and then completion of exercises in the second, "SuccessMapping Worksheets." I also presume to suggest that those embark upon the eight-step process keep a journal near-at-hand and record their daily initiatives, what they learned from them, their thoughts and feelings, and anything else that will expand and enrich the learning process.
Many years ago during a televised interview, the actor Rod Steiger was asked if young people ever asked him for advice. "Oh yeah, sure, all the time, and I always ask them the same question: Do you want to be an actor...or do you HAVE TO BE AN ACTOR? The longer it takes them to answer, the less chance they'll ever make it." The same is true of the process that Arlene Johnson recommends. That is the challenge and, yes, that is also the opportunity. Those who read this book are urged to check out the wealth of resources at www.SuccessMapping.com.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Success Mapping - A Jolt of Reality, August 11, 2009
This review is from: Success Mapping: Achieve What You Want...Right Now! (Hardcover)
This is a book you have to pay attention to. A few pages into it, I realized that unlike other business books, I could not read it while riding the stationary bike. I had to pay attention, participate, and engage. Get out your pen and start reflecting and wrtiting down your thoughts because Ms Johnson asks the tough questions, and, she expects you to respond. She is passionate about helping you achieve success - however you define success. I'm sure it will be marketed as a business book, but honestly, it has application for your personal life too. This is a must read - and must experience, if you wish to change some part of your life, and who doesn't.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
With tips on gaining focus, finding the strengths and weaknesses of one's company, and avoiding being your own worst enemy, October 11, 2009
This review is from: Success Mapping: Achieve What You Want...Right Now! (Hardcover)
If you're waiting to find your fortune by happenstance, you're going to be waiting awhile. "Success Mapping: Achieve What You Want...Right Now!" is a guide for planning out your businesses' future so that it may finally achieve the successes readers are so often after. With tips on gaining focus, finding the strengths and weaknesses of one's company, and avoiding being your own worst enemy, Arlene Johnson provides readers with much sound advice. "Success Mapping" is a top pick for those who feel their business is lacking direction outside of nowhere.
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