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Title: 1001 Ways to Take Initiative at Work by Bob Nelson ISBN: 0-7611-1405-X Publisher: Workman Publishing Pub. Date: 01 June, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.89 (9 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: 20 great pages, 200 pages of filler
Comment: As others have pointed out, this book would have been great if it was called something along the lines of "101 ways to take initiative at work". Lots of useless "examples". I use the word examples lightly, because they are really stretching what they consider initiative. For example, there is a chapter called "Learning and Education". There is a story in there about someone who felt he was due a promotion but didn't get it because he lacked an MBA. So what did he do? He quit and found a different job. I'm not sure how that is showing initiative at work. Perhaps it can be considered showing initiative in his personal career, but initiative at work would have been him either getting the MBA part time or convincing his management that he didn't need it. All this showed me was that if there is an obstable at work, my "initiative" should be to quit and find a different job. Hardly motivating. There are many other anecdotes along these lines. There are a few good ones, but it isn't worth reading through the 900 bad ones to discover them.
What this book does really nicely though is make it easy for you to read the good stuff without reading the warm and fuzzy stories. Seperated from the main text in the borders and at the bottom pages are grey boxes with some good information. I have photocopied a couple to hang up in my cube. There are some great ideas and suggestions in these. But not all the grey box stuff is good. There are alot of quotes that came from an Internet based poll about initiative, such as "If your employer sees your initiative, then all else will fall into place". This quote is attributed to "Maria, from the Internet". Well, thanks, Maria, but if I wanted to read quotes from people who like to post little nuggets of wisdom online, I could save $10 and search through the many job sites out there. Obviously, I know that initiative is a good thing, or else I would have never picked up this book. I don't need to read the wisdom of semi-anonymous people telling me why I need to show initiative. Give me examples HOW.
Finally, this book was written in 1999. It reflects the Dot Com era of the day. Many examples are how to improve my working condition, and how this person did such a great job showing initiative and bringing a day care center to work. Well, with all due respect, my career is not going to advance in 2003 by pushing an initiative that is going to cost my company money. It may gain me the respect of my co-workers, but I've already got that. I need to know how to impress my management. That's why I read this book.
All in all, the stuff that was good in this book was REALLY GOOD. I would have given it 5 stars if it wasn't surrounded by other [stuff]. Take it out from your local library, but save your cash.
Rating: 1
Summary: 20 Ways and 981 Anecdotes
Comment: Author Nelson went to the Internet for a big portion of this book, and I've found that quotes people from the web ("A truly great worker does such and such" --netblabbymom) undermine the credibility of a business how-to book. I want EXPERT advice and ideas, not pithy sayings from the slacker in the cubicle down the hall.
Some of the stories *are* inspiring, but they aren't organized in such a manner that a reader can quickly assess what they address. I don't want to read through 15 anecdotes of how line workers in Wisconsin performed acts normally assigned to management to get the bolts to Michigan overnight-- not when I'm trying to figure out how to break the "we don't do it that way" cycle in my nonprofit association.
If you're pressed for time, leave this one on the shelf.
******As a side note-- "Top 10" reviewer Robert Morris gave this a five-star rating. I noticed that only one out of his last 40 reviews received under five stars-- it got four.********
Rating: 1
Summary: Misleading Title...For the Real Deal, Look Elsewhere!
Comment: What a misleading title! This book should have been entitled 'Chicken Soup for the Worker.' It is that genre of books that this one should be compared to, not any book that REALLY provides genuine advice to "take initiative at work" (see some "real deal" suggestions below).
As others have already pointed out, this book consists of anecdotes about people making a difference at work...and that's really it. Some shreds of 'advice' are included, almost seemingly as an afterthought. Save yourself some money and read these kinds of cutesy anecdotes in any number of magazines.
A review of 2 or 3 stars may be defendable but the misleading title annoys me to the point where I took stars away because of it. Not impressed.
For the real deal; for books that REALLY advise you on "Ways to Take Initiative at Work" as well as your career, check out Tom Peters' "The Brand You 50" and Jeffrey Fox's "How to Become CEO." Good luck!
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Title: 1001 Ways to Energize Employees by Bob Nelson ISBN: 0761101608 Publisher: Workman Publishing Pub. Date: 01 May, 1997 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: 1001 Ways to Reward Employees by Bob Nelson ISBN: 156305339X Publisher: Workman Publishing Pub. Date: 15 January, 1994 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: The 1001 Rewards & Recognition Fieldbook: The Complete Guide by Bob Nelson, Dean R. Spitzer ISBN: 0761121390 Publisher: Workman Publishing Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Please Don't Just Do What I Tell You, Do What Needs to Be Done : Every Employee's Guide to Making Work More Rewarding by Bob Nelson ISBN: 0786867299 Publisher: Hyperion Pub. Date: 28 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: 301 Ways to Have Fun at Work by Dave Hemsath, Leslie Yerkes, Daniel McQuillen ISBN: 1576750191 Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Pub. Date: 01 June, 1997 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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