The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters

by Peter Block

Book Overview

Winner of the 2001 Breakthrough Business Book of the Year award from Independent Publisher Written by the author of the bestselling books Flawless Consulting (more than 500,000 copies sold), The... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1576752712
• ISBN13: 9781576752715
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Not for the Narrow-Minded

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.

Seminal Work on the Leadership Required to Change the World

I have just finished reading this book for the 5th or 6th time. It contains a unique perspective on the type of leadership necessary to transform the world, from the local to the global levels, to a place of harmony, creativity, justice, sustainability, and love. It is not for those still centered in their own egos or even those centered in their families and communities. It embodies a human perspective deep enough to touch values that are universal and if acted upon, healing and life giving.The book culminates in a description of the leader as "social architect." This is a person who helps all people discover the values and vision that they hold collectively and then provides the space for collaborative and creative solutions and designs.It would be wonderful and potentially powerful for all leaders to read this book and then act on what they have learned... especially the leaders of the nations of our world.

Confront people with their freedom

Block is on target once again. He sounded a similar alarm in his earlier work Stewardship. If we are ever to create the kind of organizations we really crave we need to change our thinking from two perspectives: management must stop the caretaking and confront people with their freedom, and employees must stop waiting for a better parent to arrive and take responsibility for creating the culture they desire. As a consultant working with some traditonal patriarchal systems, these are messages and paterns, unfortunately, that many people do not want to hear nor confront.

Live Free or Die!

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.

Peter keeps blazing new trails

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!