The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander, Benjamin Zander Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
(Click here)
Book Reviews of The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life
Book Review: This is a gem in the"how to"literature of transformation
Summary: 5 Stars
The Zanders have written a series of beautifully told chapters in which they describe practices that bring transformation in the personal, professional and corporate arenas of life. He is a musician and she a family therapist and they have combined their considerable experience in both fields to bring heartrtwarming and inspiring stories of their practices at work. By shifting the way we think about a situation, using the metaphor of the glass half empty to the glass half full, we are at the start of the creative art of possibility. Through storytelling and metaphor, we are engaged in the process of change and meet our central selves, no longer struggling to survive, to do battle, to outwit the other guy, now in the flow of mutual learning. In non technical language they have reached into the perennial wisdom of the ages and written a thoroughly modern and accessable guide to what makes the impossible possible.Book Review: This is a gem in the"how to"literature of transformation
Summary: 5 Stars
...The Zanders have written a series of beautifully told chapters in which they describe practices that bring transformation in the personal, professional and corporate arenas of life. He is a musician and she a family therapist and they have combined their considerable experience in both fields to bring heartrtwarming and inspiring stories of their practices at work. By shifting the way we think about a situation, using the metaphor of the glass half empty to the glass half full, we are at the start of the creative art of possibility. Through storytelling and metaphor, we are engaged in the process of change and meet our central selves, no longer struggling to survive, to do battle, to outwit the other guy, now in the flow of mutual learning. In non technical language they have reached into the perennial wisdom of the ages and written a thoroughly modern and accessable guide to what makes the impossible possible.Book Review: A familiar tune inspirationally played
Summary: 5 Stars
At its heart the book seeks to build upon a single belief ........ that "Its all invented". It then goes on to offer a set of practices that may enable one to break away from the downward spiral that so often characterises our lives and to establish a "now" free of the past that allows us to move toward any "possibility".This is one of those rare books that having just finished it I feel compelled to read it again. It's written with such articulate passion that I felt emotionally charged to turn the page, finding myself swept along by the zestful use of language and the often poignant anecdotes from not only the Zander's lives (and what lives they lead!) but also those of their associates and acquaintances.
I read many so called "business" books and am often frustrated by the appearance of the same old principles hung upon the tree of a new concept.. In The Art of Possibility I cant decided whether the Zanders are speaking truisms or even repeating common sense ... but the difference here is that they are communicated in such a beautiful way they have affected me differently......... to use Ben Zanders musical analogy, I think they are singing a familiar tune ....but its sung in such a way that I want to stand up and join in.
Book Review: Basically unhelpful
Summary: 1 Stars
This book left me more confused than when I started. It contains some wonderful and life enhancing ideas (I think), but (and it's a big but) they're shrouded in the most impenetrable language that makes them all but impossible to understand and apply. This is no small problem - TAOP bills itself as a "how to" book, so offering "practices" (sic) that are inscrutable (to say the least) seems wilfully perverse. If I wanted a koan I'd join a monastery. I was also left wondering how, even if I could understand what on earth they were on about, lessons derived from the ultra-rarefied world in which the authors live could apply to my life. Ben came across OK, but Roz is someone I don't ever want to meet. Overall not an A, more like a D.Book Review: A World of Possibility - without exclamation marks
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an enlightening book and a joy to read. In a world where much that passes for self-help seems to be delivered by megaphone and involve plentiful sprinklings of exclamation marks it's wonderful to read such gentle but purposeful prose. I'm not much of a fan of classical music myself but the use of the orchestra as a metaphor for the complexities of human relationships is original, engaging and totally appropriate in ways I could never have imagined. It certainly struck a very clear chord with me. The style is direct and fresh with plenty of captivating stories and vignettes to illustrate key points. The simple rules like 'Giving an A', 'Leading from any Chair', and 'Being the board' make such complete sense in Ros and Ben's hands.If you are interested in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) you'll get a lot out of this book. It pulls off the trick of writing a handbook that illustrates many of the central NLP principles and beliefs of excellence without using any of the scary jargon or even mentioning 'NLP'. Just loads of common sense without a hint of evangelism.
I don't usually write in books but I found myself reading it with highlighter firmly gripped in hand. I just know I'll be revisiting this one.