Managing Upside Down

Managing Upside Down: The Seven Intentions of Value-Centered Leadership
by Tom Chappell, William Morrow, N.Y. 1999, ISBN 0-688-17069-2

Here’s what I liked about the book:
Good story telling. I think that the art of creating metaphors and the skill of engaging stories can really tap into different ways that adults learn. Personally, I tend to get tired of an over use of "case studies" that I find prevalent in many books to day. Sometimes it comes across as just filler. Chappell has a nice balance here. What I really like is that he has others involved in Tom’s of Maine tell a story about a key point from their own perspective. This is quite compelling and provides a different slant on events.

This book is a bit of a tool kit. Each chapter ends with an excellent summary of the key points in short sentences. Chappell call them Talking Points and they stand out in a different font. This is followed by another section, using a third type font that the author calls Homework.

Here’s what I don’t like a bout the book:
I think that the seven intentions of value-centered leadership has a lot of merit BUT there isn’t a summary anywhere. I like to get a quick overview reading the book cover. NO, I couldn’t find it. I skimmed through the text to get a sense of the message, still without luck. You would be hard pressed to find a page in the book that adequately captures in a picture these seven intentions. This despite the fact that Chappell has developed a Saltwater Institute to promote them. So those of you like me who like to get a high level overview, here they are:

1. Connect: Set aside you ego, open up and connect to an outside universal force
2. Know Thyself, Be Thyself: Explain who you are, your gifts. This will provide you with the clues to finding meaning.
3. Envision your Destiny: Envision your future with your head and heart.
4. Seek Advice: Every leader makes mistakes.
5. Venture Out: This speaks for itself.
6. Assess: This is a trail and error process that requires constant affirmation and editing
7. Pass It On: This is our responsibility. We are obligated to pass our gifts, knowledge, time, etc. along to others.

Some readers have asked me how I go about picking the books that I review. This is not a simple answer. This month’s selection is typical of how I end up doing a review, so I thought you might be interested in the process. First, I hate paying full price for a brand new hardcover. So any latest book had better come highly recommended or it may be borrowed. Usually I wait for the paperback edition or I pick up dozens of books each year through some form of publishers clearing or in a second hand bookstore. It was from a publisher-clearing store that I discovered "Managing Upside Down". Why did I decide to buy it and review it? I had read good reviews of the author’s previous book, "The Soul of a Business". Both books had been mentioned and quoted in my recent Corporate Coach University Module on Spirit and Soul in the Corporation. I have been thinking more about meaning and true core values for some time, so I thought why not. Since the books I chose, whether business, personal development or occasionally fictional, are ones that I want to read, they usually get a good rating (three or four balls). This book, however, has not had a profound impact on my thinking and therefore had a lower rating than usual. This is a good book, particularly if the subject is of importance to you and your business. However, there are just so many wonderful books out there that need to be read first.