Your Signature Path: Gaining New Perspectives on Life and Work [Hardcover]

Geoffrey M Bellman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1996

This provacative book invites us to look at our lives as individual and unique paths we make in the world and leave behind after we are gone. It is written for people who want to live their lives "thoughtfully", who want to be proud of how they live their lives, and who want to grow in the process.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Management consultant Geoffrey Bellman believes each of us is traveling a unique road that is fully navigable by our individual actions. In Your Signature Path: Gaining New Perspectives on Life and Work he presents a series of simple exercises intended to help us recognize the specific route we are taking as we move through our personal and professional circles--and alter its course if the direction does not truly match the one we want to follow.

From Scientific American

Geoff Bellman has, with extraordinary insight and straight talk, given us thoughtful guidance for finding our path through life and work. His book goes beyond philosophy to include self-development exercises in every chapter. In effect, Bellman has written a workbook for life itself.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 1st edition (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576750043
• ISBN-13: 978-1576750049
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,322,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Over forty years, I've seen organizations and work from many angles. I've been a corporate manager, struggling with life in the middle of that muddle; my first book, THE QUEST FOR STAFF LEADERSHIP, grew out of that. My years as a consultant resulted in THE CONSULTANTS CALLING. My decades long love/hate relationship with organizations was put between the covers of THE BEAUTY OF THE BEAST: BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO ORGANIZATIONS. Watching my clients (and myself)aspire to greatness within companies controlled by others-not-me led to GETTING THINGS DONE WHEN YOU ARE NOT IN CHARGE. And along the way I was living my own life, leading to YOUR SIGNATURE PATH: GAINING NEW PERSPECTIVES ON LIFE AND WORK.

My most recent book, EXTRAORDINARY GROUPS: HOW ORDINARY TEAMS ACHIEVE AMAZING RESULTS, was written with consultant and friend, Kathleen Ryan. We share a fascination with teams, families, committees, crews, and groups that perform beyond everyone's expectations. What allows that to happen??? We decided to find out, interviewed people from sixty quite different groups, and came to conclusions that surprised even us! All of this--and what to do about it--is explored in EXTRAORDINARY GROUPS.

Like many of us, I do my best work when I have a chance to step back and reflect before taking action. My books come out of reflection. My writing process begins with a conversation between myself and my screen, capturing my current fascinations. No outline, no subject really, just reflecting and writing to myself. This results in 200-300 hundred pages before my writing energy is spent. Then, I print it out and read it for the first time. What am I talking about??? I'm usually surprised at how many useless and useful thoughts I can generate. The useful thoughts provide bones for the skeletal structure on my thinking; it usually just emerges. I often don't know what "animal" these bones will form. And, of course, some bones are missing and some I have too many of. I begin to be intentional about what I'm creating, and am still five or six drafts away from what reaches you.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book on How to Combine Work and Life!, February 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail], Lisa Kimball (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Signature Path: Gaining New Perspectives on Life and Work (Hardcover)

This book is the best guide to focusing your life and work I've found anywhere. This isn't just a guide aimed at people who don't have any idea where to start, this is the "advanced course." It is just as valuable for people who have enjoyed a lot of success in their life as for people who haven't yet found their niche.

In addition to offering a series of different frameworks to help you think about your life and work from a variety of perspectives, Bellman's book provides exercises to help the reader take concepts and apply them to your own life. Unlike many self-help manuals, this one goes beyond superficial "touchy feely" stuff and presents challenging questions which are worth answering.

One of the things I appreciate about this book most is that it doesn't minimize the complexity and conflicting forces that are part of any life. Instead, it suggest some ways to define your purpose, your signature path, and make it the force that provides energy and focus for dealing with challenges.

I've given this book to many friends and colleagues to read on vacation, on sabbatical, and on the plane. I would recommend it highly to those who are thinking about changing careers, considering how best to use their talents and resources in the next phase of their life, or just giving themselves a tune-up to make sure that they're on the right path.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, June 13, 2001

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your Signature Path: Gaining New Perspectives on Life and Work (Hardcover)

Surprise! This self-help book offers plenty you haven't already seen a thousand times. Geoffrey Bellman's useful, well-written guide will set a few light bulbs popping in your head regarding your personal and professional paths. He includes thinking exercises designed to widen your perspective on everything from why the world isn't behaving the way you thought it would, to your passion (or lack thereof) for your work. We [...] suggest this book to those interested in expanding their perceptions about their personal and professional lives. You walk a path whether you are conscious about it or not, so why not be conscious?

5.0 out of 5 stars Still relevant, October 10, 2011

By 

Terry Pile "Career Advisors" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Signature Path: Gaining New Perspectives on Life and Work (Hardcover)

This isn't your typical career changer book. It takes you down a much deeper path. Bellman has the reader contemplate Your Self, Your World and Your Path by posing thoughtful questions and exercises. For example, "If you knew you were going to die in six months, what would you do in the interim?" or "Write a love letter to someone you have not expressed your feelings to in a long time." It other words, this book focuses on how we interact with our world, not just our jobs. It also is a lot of hard "mind" work. If you are the introspective sort trying to figure out your place or purpose in life, you will find "Your Signature Path" intellectually refreshing.