The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting On What Matters (Hardcover)

by Peter Block (Author) "how is the wrong question..." (more)
Key Phrases: default culture, social architect, Christopher Alexander, Question Four, Question Six (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
The new approach to change management that is presented here will completely flummox control freaks. Block posits a refreshing series of truths that, if adopted, will transform workplaces into journeys of meaning. The best-selling author of Flawless Consulting (1981) and Stewardship (1993) insists that we ask the wrong question about accomplishing the important things in our lives, particularly in our place of employment. We too often ask "How?" which focuses too closely on the practical way of getting something done and is actually a subconscious expression of society's emphasis on control of people, time, and cost. Instead, our concentration should be focused on "Why?" In other words, we need to pay attention to what really matters to us personally, from heart-felt commitments in our private lives to the creation of projects in the workplace. To be able to act on what matters, explains Block, we must reclaim specific qualities, such as intimacy and idealism. Then we can tackle purposeful work as if we were social architects seeking engagement and change. Provocative and stimulating reading. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
Modern culture’s worship of "how-to" pragmatism has turned us into instruments of efficiency and commerce—but we’re doing more and more about things that mean less and less. We constantly ask how? but rarely why? We use how as a defense—instead of acting on what we know to be of importance, we wait until we’ve attended one more workshop, read one more book, gotten one more degree. Asking how keeps us safe—instead of being led by our hearts into uncharted territory, we keep our heads down and stick to the map. But we are gaining the world and losing our souls. In The Answer to How Is Yes, Block places the "how-to" craze in perspective and presents a guide to the difficult and life-granting journey of bringing what we know is of personal value into an indifferent or even hostile corporate and cultural landscape. He raises our awareness of the trade-offs we’ve made in the name of practicality and expediency, and offers hope for a way of life in which we’re motivated not by what "works," but by the things that truly matter in life—idealism, relationship, intimacy, and engagement. In his classic book Stewardship, Block showed how to free our organizations from stifling, control-obsessed bureaucracy and redesign them so that they are governed by the ideals of service, responsibility, accountability, and meaning. In The Answer to How Is Yes (inspired by a chapter in Stewardship), Block helps us realize similar ideals in our individual lives. Block offers a new way of thinking about our actions that helps free us from being controlled by the bombardment of messages about how we should live and act. He inspires us to say yes to our ideals and aspirations.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 1 edition (December 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576751686
• ISBN-13: 978-1576751688
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #477,536 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peter keeps blazing new trails, February 6, 2002

By	Roger E. Breisch (Batavia, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Wisdom. That's what I found in Peter Block's newest book. But be prepared, wisdom does not mean answers. In fact the wisdom in this book comes from the way in which Peter challenges the reader to rethink basic assumptions about the culture that envelopes us. He asks, for example, how the pervasive archetypes of engineer and economist--those of cause-and-effect and predictability--could truly share the stage with the creativity, imagination, mystery and heart of the artist and architect. Not easy to imagine.

The journey Peter asks of me is often painful. It's difficult to admit the truth about my questions. He points out that asking questions about "how," is often a way to avoid the much deeper questions of "why." It is also a subtle way to avoid commitment and action. While Peter does not offer easy answers he does point to new directions for communities and organizations. And he invites us to join him on this journey into a new future...one that is not simply an extrapolation of the past.

I know when a book captures me, because, on almost every page, I found my mind and heart racing with so many ideas that I'd have to stop reading and simply think. What a gift! This volume has inspired me to new thinking about my work, and my life in community.

I have read and loved all of Peter's books. He just keeps blazing new trials!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the Narrow-Minded, March 16, 2006

By	Jonathan A. Magid (Southern California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters (Paperback)

Your ego and identity may well demand that you put this book down for good and denounce it as the smug ramblings of a limousine liberal with the luxury to indulge in all manner of fantasy. Read on anyway. If you pay attention to this book, you'll learn something powerful about yourself and the criticality of your role in creating your organization however you define that - whether it's self, family, business, government unit, or even society at large.

This book challenges everyone who reads it to accept that we and we alone are the authors of our own story of existence, experience, and meaning. The message for leaders of organizations is that until now we've indulged our fear, created cultures of control and dependency and they are bankrupt. The illusion of control never lasts long (look at any of your recent IT projects, for example) and dependency breeds discontent, waste, and backward momentum - all the things that give us more reasons to be fearful and to want to control. The lessons in this book may well allow us to break that cycle, but only if we develop the courage first and foremost to be accountable for who we are. One first step might be to ignore the voice of your ego insisting that you stop reading this silly book, and to read on with renewed attention.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Live Free or Die!, March 19, 2002

By	Dale A. Brill (Tallahassee, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book's undeniable focus is on asking the right questions. The author communicates a refreshing perspective on work and life without succumbing to the contemporary book writing trend of word invention--or otherwise abusing the essence of existing published works. Although philosophical, the contents won't waste your cerebral energy in trying to decipher the author's jargon. The words hit you between the eyes.

The book identifies the current in which all corporate fish swim. If you have no desire to be a revolutionary, you'll at least gain an understanding of what makes you behave the way you do. Early chapters will challenge you to question why it is that you allow the culture to restrict you the way you do: "As long as we wish for safety, we will have difficulty pursuing what matters." (p. 46)

If you're searching for the courage to swim against the stream, the reading will nourish your soul; you'll also learn why the battle is ultimately without end. This work ultimately identifies a context in which the dominant business archetypes can co-exist, yet challenges us all not to lose sight of what matters: individual freedom. If anything, that particular message should resonate in a society where the concept of individual rights has run amok. Warning: Individual freedom may cost you more than you're willing to pay.