Changing Directions Without Losing Your Way: Managing the Six Stages of Change at Work and in Life

Book Description

The complete guide for anyone who faces sudden change at work, in technology, and in the world around them.

In Changing Directions Without Losing Your Way, the authors who helped pioneer the "working from home" revolution identify the six stages of change in business and in life. In each of these six stages, Paul and Sarah demonstrate how to understand and assess change for what it is, and then recast your career or other vital aspects of life to adapt to new realities.

Their new book is filled with concrete suggestions, allowing every reader to feel that he or she can gain control of whatever situation life presents.

From facing a new reality, releasing the past, finding an inner compass, embracing the future, developing a strategy, to putting the show on the road, the six stages of change are clearly explained. The book even shows how to develop better nutrition and health habits that energize the body during periods of stress. The authors supply useful and simple exercises to help readers understand their options. They also supply vivid examples of others who have successfully wrestled with the disruptions of job changes, downsizing, or changes.

Customer Reviews:

Forget Moving The Cheese. This Is Your Life.......2001-05-31

About 30 years ago I read Alvin Toffler's FUTURE SHOCK wherein he described the rapidity of change and impact it would have on society and the individual in the coming decades. I have since observed in my personal and professional lives much of that dispossessing "shock" where the future meets the present. I could well have remained immobilized in the wake of recent life path switcheroos but for the wholly manageable techniques laid out in Paul and Sarah Edwards CHANGING DIRECTIONS. Clearly they have done their homework and have fashioned a plan of action that anyone can commence and complete, regardless of how stranded one may feel or uncertain the road may look. The book's life lessons allow individuals to reset the compass, fuel the engine, align the steering, inflate the tires and provide some fresh views of roads taken or not taken. Last year's WHO MOVED MY CHEESE provided a nice little fable and easy read for time-strapped rat-racers. But it might leave many feeling a bit undernourished in the how-to department. Paul and Sarah Edwards have set the table nicely with a six-course feast ("to go") of work and life-changing wisdom. Just desserts await those who faithfully follow their recommended menus.

Well worth the read..........2001-05-19

I found the book to be extremely helpful in identifying what it is you wish to change in your life, eliminating the fear and psychological blocks which stand in the way, and manifesting the dreams you've always had...yet often forgot were still locked inside, waiting to be fulfilled. The authors have written in a way which is immediately accessible, entertaining, and easily digested. There is a gentle urging which draws you closer to those "fantasies" many of us let go of, only to replace with a half-life of others' belief systems that ultimately have not led to our fulfillment. "Changing Directions" gets you in touch with what you may have forgotten or forever released as "inappropriate" or "irresponsible choices"...and challenges you to once again embrace them as perhaps the only appropriate, responsible choice you can make if you are ever to achieve happiness.

Book Description

Given the big budgets that are attached to customer management (CM) initiatives, it's not surprising that companies are keen to see a good level of return on investment. But many companies, especially large ones, are finding that they are not adding value through their CM programs. Conversely, those companies that have focused on improving their CM are seeing significant benefits, as this book clearly shows.

Book Description

The classic work that revolutionized discussions of the relationship between law and social change is now available in an augmented thirtieth anniversary edition

Customer Reviews:

legal realists.......1998-08-07

When legal realists, such as Stuart Scheingold, debunk the "myth of rights," they do so under the fundamentally mistaken assumption that, when evaluating the law, there are only two possible judgments to arrive at. As a case in point, many of their common arguments (for example, the "Constitution means what nine judges say it means") assume that the law is either perfectly objective or entirely political. It has been said that "he who frames the question wins the argument," and it could be added that he who provides extreme "alternatives" such as those impels certain choices. Thus, extravagant assertions such as "law is reason, justice, and stability" almost beg for the contrary response. Only by phrasing their argument in this particularly tricky way, are the legal realists able to make their point. In this essay, I shall attempt to critique the strategy of such arguments and propose an alternative way to view the concept of legal rights. Concerning the ! "myth of rights," Scheingold writes that "the ideological existence of the law takes shape and is a reflection of and a reaction to the law's more palpable presence" (Scheingold, 1974, 203). In this regard, he is at least partially correct, but I would take issue with the way that he, and other legal realists, characterize the word "myth." In particular, the fact that a majority of American operate under it is admitted, but only in support of their argument. They essentially argue that since having such a myth drives Americans to seek nonrealistic legal assistance, we would all be better off if we were aware of "the truth." However, I will argue that a "sudden dose of the truth" is a rather extreme remedy for the problem. We Americans certainly do have a myth, but the effects of that myth are not altogether negative and thus a "myth adjustment" is all that is called for. A sociology professor's exam policy provides a good illustration for my argument. Professor Mauss ! provides his undergraduate students with a list of five pos! sible examination questions, three weeks before the actual test date. He promises that if a student prepares a typed response to all five questions (two weeks in advance), he will read and review them, providing useful criticisms and suggestions. While in his office, the thought crossed my mind that if all the students were to take him up on his promise, he would not be able to keep it. When asked about that, he replied that "in over twenty years of teaching, I've not had more than 10 ~ 15 students [per semester] take advantage of this offer." And although that possibility certainly existed, he preferred to leave the offer wide open to all his students. His reason: the simple existence of the offer made things "feel fair" and somehow produced a attitude of confidence in his grading system. In other words, the myth that "all students could receive his help" had certain psychological benefits, which were difficult for him to measure and quantify. In the same way, it is! profoundly difficult to quantify the psychological benefits of the "rights myth" -- legal realists thus seem to assume there are none. Allow me illustrate with one further example. Samuel Walker, in Sense and Nonsense about Crime, demonstrates from actual experiments, that adding more police will not reduce serious crime (Walker, 1989, 128). Thus, we might say that he has done us the great service of debunking the "police protection myth." But I would argue that he has been overly "scientific" in his work. Although added police presence may not necessarily reduce crime, it may well reduce the fear of crime, thereby creating a certain feeling that has a value, in and of itself. Yet just because the notion of fear is not externally "measurable," he neglects to consider it. Thus, by arguing that people are not actually "safer" with additional police, Walker inherently nullifies "safety" as a subjective feeling, worthy of consideration. In a similar way, the legal reali! sts fail to perceive the emotional value to be found in the! myth of rights. In fact, with the legal realists, the aversion towards "social feelings" goes beyond mere objectivity -- it can be seen as a refusal to break from an old tradition of dogmatism. As Marx asserts, "we shall not even take the trouble to enlighten our philosophers by explaining to them that liberation is a historical and not a mental act" (Marx, 1978, 169, emphasis added). For Marx, to subjectively "feel free" and to objectively "be free" were two entirely different things. Since the social structure supposedly determines a man's conscience, conscious meanings are unimportant for Marx. As Herbert Blumer observes, "If one declares that the given kinds of behavior are the results of particular factors regarded as producing them, there is no need to concern oneself with the meaning of things toward which humans act" (Blumer, 1969, 3). In fact, Marx and all his legal-realist offshoots have never really explained their own emancipation's from their "bourgeois! ie conditions of existence" and why their meanings are therefore "trustworthy." In particular, their conception of the law is seriously political; it has to do with judges, lawyers, courtrooms, law books, decision management, implementation procedures, and branch relations -- which does not even come close to the social essence of the law as it exists in the hearts and minds of the people. As Max Weber would argue, "to suggest that ideas [about the law] originate as a reflection of the economic situation, would not only be oversimplifying matters, it would be patent nonsense" (Weber, 1958, 75). In contrast to such a limited vision, I would argue that human beings will always act towards the law (and each towards each other) on the basis of the subjective meanings they hold for it. And since we Americans live in a "culture of the law" our everyday behaviors will be formed and shaped by the impressions we carry; likewise, (since legislators and judges are people to) the imp! ressions we have of the law will form and shape the law its! elf. As Tocqueville observed of the United States Supreme Court,

Its power is immense but it is a power springing from opinion. [It] is all powerful so long as the people consent to obey the law; [it] can do nothing when they scorn it. [But] of all powers, that of opinion is hardest to use, for it is impossible to say exactly where its limits come (Tocqueville, 1988, 150).

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The Politics of Rights: Lawyers, Public Policy and Political Change.
STUART SCHEINGOLD
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSB0UC

Book Description

David Harvey is the most influential geographer of our era, possessing a reputation that extends across the social sciences and humanities. Spaces of Capital, a collection of seminal articles and new essays spanning three decades, demonstrates why his work has had-and continues to have-such a major impact.
The book gathers together some of Harvey's best work on two of his central concerns: the relationship between geographical thought and political power as well as the capitalist production of space. In addition, he chips away at geography's pretenses of "scientific" neutrality and grounds spatial theory in social justice. Harvey also reflects on the work and careers of little-noticed or misrepresented figures in geography's intellectual history-Kant, Von Thünen, Humboldt, Lattimore, Hegel, Heidegger, Darwin, Malthus, Foucault and many others. Via this exploration of geography's intellectual lineage, he underscores its significance for all varieties of social thought. And, in two new chapters, Harvey considers contemporary cartographic identities and social movements.
Harvey's insights into current social, environmental, and political trends, in combination with his historical observations, demonstrate the centrality of geography to comprehending the world as it is-and as it might be.

Customer Reviews:

A collection of essays of differing quality.......2006-10-12

"Spaces of Capital" is the title under which David Harvey has collected a series of essays or observations written by him for a variety of geographical and economical journals. The essays span the whole period of Harvey's working life, and therefore trace the development of his view and thoughts closely. This is interesting at a sort of 'meta' level, but it has the downside that the first half of the book is still very much in the orthodox geographical mold and mostly quite vague and noncommittal. Although already in the first essays he proposes a more critical geographical science, and lashes out at the McCarthyism in the field, they still lack the coherent framework that the Marxist point of view would later give to his insights.

Of most interest, for this reason, are the last three or four essays in the book. These are in fact very good and worthwhile, dealing with his theory of rent, the theory of uneven geographical development, and the way capitalist accumulation affects and is affected by geographical structures, mostly in the form of immobile fixed capital. The essay called "The Spatial Fix" is more historical, and goes into the role of space and geography in the works of Marx, Von Thünen and Hegel; this is probably the most interesting part of the book for philosophers and historians.

If you're interested in the later Harvey's insights into Marxist political economy and geographical differences, I would recommend buying "Limits to Capital" instead. This book is mostly of use as an addition to an already well-stocked 'critical theory' shelf, for the specialist. Inhabitants of Baltimore, MD, might also want to buy this for the quite extensive study on the political economy of the city that is included in this book.

Jim.......2004-05-29

It is unfortunate the turn that the field of Geography has made into the Marxist realm. While the academic side of geography takes comfort in the "feel good" ideas of this approach, it serves no purpose in advancing relevant work.

Do your self a favor - skip this book and go buy an old copy (prior to 1970) of almost any geography text. You will be much better served.

Brilliant revitalization of Geography.......2002-08-29

The influence of David Harvey on the academic discipline of geography cannot be overstated. With incredibly perseverance, Harvey called for greater ethical commitment right from the 1970s which saw the beginning of his career. This book charts the course of his views as they change from then till now. Before I tell you what the book is about, let me say a few words about the style: Harvey writes in incredibly moving and deceptively simple prose (though his ideas are as complicated as any of the Continental thinkers who dominate elite theory today). In a community of theorists who rival each other in being prolix and obscure, this is truly refreshing.

The first part of the book contains several essays, written between 1974 and 2000, all exploring two key themes:1) the discipline of geography and its relevance to today and 2) the nexus between certain forms of geographical knowledge and political power. Some essays are absolute gems. Specially noteworthy are the last two: City and Social Justice, and Cartographic Identities. In the first, Harvey theorizes the possibility of radical urban grassroots movements and the conditions for their 'success' (a bit problematic it must be admitted with its urbanist telos, specially for someone from the economic South like me) and in the second, he envisions a program for a synthetic study of (mostly mutually noncompatible) geographical knowledges constitued at different institutional sites (academic, the State apparatus, transnational orgs like IMF etc, multinational corporations, military, popular knowledge etc etc) as a task for geographers of the near future.

The second set of essays try with great skill (though it must be admitted that to someone not overly familiar with the historical-materialist tradition, they are hard to get through) to insert the thematics of space (especially important when one considers the growing unequality of development in today's world and the international (gendered) division of labor)in a historical-materialist tradition with the project of founding a historico-geographical materialist tradition.

In any case, WHATEVER your background read this book. You may not agree with everything but it will trulymake you question a lot of your received notions.

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Why Toast Lands Jelly-Side Down
Robert Ehrlich
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books
General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Physics | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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Turning the World Inside Out and 174 Other Simple Physics Demonstrations

The Flying Circus of Physics

Mad About Physics: Braintwisters, Paradoxes, and Curiosities

Hands-On Physics Activities with Real-Life Applications: Easy-to-Use Labs and Demonstrations for Grades 8 - 12

Ohanian's Physics/Study Guide

ASIN: 0691028877

Book Description

Physics has the reputation of being difficult to understand and remote from everyday life. Robert Ehrlich, however, has spent much of his career disproving these stereotypes. In the long-awaited sequel to Turning the World Inside Out and 175 Other Simple Physics Demonstrations, he provides a new collection of physics demonstrations and experiments that prove that physics can, in fact, be "made simple." Intentionally using "low tech" and inexpensive materials from everyday life, Why Toast Lands Jelly-Side Down makes key principles of physics surprisingly easy to understand.

After laying out the basic principles of what constitutes a successful demonstration, Ehrlich provides more than 100 examples. Some of the more intriguing include: Terminal Velocity of Falling Coffee Filters; Spinning a Penny; Dropping Two Rolls of Toilet Paper; Avalanches in a Sand Pile; When to Add the Cream to Your Coffee; Deep Knee Bends on a Bathroom Scale; Recoil Force on a Bent Straw; Swinging Your Arms While Walking; Estimating the Net Force on a Moving Book; and, of course, Why Toast Lands Jelly-Side Down.

The book begins with a practical introduction on how to design physics demonstrations. The benefits of designing one's own "demos" are numerous, but primary among them is an increased understanding of basic physics. For many people who teach the principles of physics, demonstrations seem dauntingly complex, filled with hard-to-find equipment and too many possibilities for failure. The demonstrations described in this book are exactly the opposite. Ehrlich describes them with characteristic candor: "You can fit many of them in your pocket, bring them to your class without any set-up required, and best of all, you need not fear that your demo will more likely illustrate Murphy's laws rather than Newton's."

For anyone with even the slightest interest in physics, Why Toast Lands Jelly-Side Down is filled with learning opportunities. For everyone who is studying physics or teaching the subject at any level, from amateur scientists to professional teachers, it is an essential resource.

Book Description

Eudora Welty's subjects are the people who live in southern towns like Jackson, Mississippi, which has been her home for all of her long life. I've stayed in one place,' she says, and 'it's become the source of the information that stirs my imagination.' Her distinctive voice and wry observations are rooted in the southern conversational tradition. The stories in this volume, from the first two collections she published, range in tone from the quietly understated and psychologically subtle to the outrageously grotesque. Linking them all is Welty's remarkable ear for the language and point of view of the South. 'She's a lot smarter than her cousins in Beula,' someone remarks about a reputed suicide in one story. 'Especially Edna Earle, that never did get to be what you'd call a heavy thinker. Edna Earle could sit and ponder all day on how the little tail of the 'c' got through the 'I' in a Coca-Cola sign."

The stories in this volume, from the first two collections she published, range in tone from the quietly understated and psychologically subtle to the outrageously grotesque.

Customer Reviews:

Jewels From A Master Hand.......2002-05-03

At the time of her death, Eudora Welty was considered the single greatest living American author, a writer who (although she actually won the Pulitzer Prize for the novel THE OPTIMIST'S DAUGHTER) made her reputation with that most difficult of all literary forms, the short story. One of America's most frequently anthologized writers, Welty's distinctly Southern tone and the fineness of her over-all work makes her the only regional author whose reputation consistently challenges that of William Faulkner.

This particular collection of Welty's short stories includes all works previously collected under the titles A CURTAIN OF GREEN and THE WIDE NET, which were her first and second published short story volumes, written in the 1930s and 1940s. The stories from the former are widely known, and include such favorites as "The Petrified Man," "Keela, the Outcast Indian Maiden," "Why I Live at the P.O.," and "The Worn Path." Although less well known, stories from the latter are equally fine, and include such titles as "First Love," "The Wide Net," and "Livvy."

Welty was blessed with a talent for writing from the inside of the character, and in reading her work one consistently feels that one is not so much reading Welty as the writings of the characters she presents--writings rendered with superlative, memorable imagery. But although Welty's work generally consists of character portrait rather than plot-driven material and maintains a stylistically consistent tone, it is remarkably varied, ranging from the outrageously comic to the deeply touching to the profoundly disquieting.

Of particular interest to modern readers is the way in which Welty, who wrote primarily during the era of segregation, addresses race in her work. In one sense, she does not address it at all, for her work is not issue-oriented; at the same time, however, certain aspects of her work (such as characters who occasionally use the 'n' word, which even in the South of this era carried certain implications about the mentality and social class of the person who used it) indicate her awareness of the slow-boil hidden beneath the surface of Southern society. Although it is not included in this particular collection, those interested in Welty's work would do well to read her 1960s story "Where Is The Voice Coming From?," a fearsome portrait of violent racism in action, for Welty's ultimate position on the matter.

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Selected Stories of Eudora Welty Containing All of a Curtain of Green and Other Stories and the Wide Net and Other Stories
Eudora / Porter, Katherine Anne Welty
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H469EA

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Selected Stories of Eudora Welty, Containing All of "A Curtain of Green and Other Stories" and "The Wide Net and Other Stories - Modern Library Book 290
Eudora Welty
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JJYIDM

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Selected Stories of Eudora Welty, Containing All of A Curtain of Green and Other Stories and The Wide Net and Other Stories
Eudora ; Porter, Katherine Anne Welty
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QF4VY0

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Whisical short stories with a southern flavor. 4 Stars!

Selected Stories of Eudora Welty: Containing All of A Curtain of Green, and Other Stories, and The Wide Net and Other Stories
Eudora Welty
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Porter, Katherine Anne | ( P ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Welty, Eudora | ( W ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007HJ25A

Customer Reviews:

Whisical short stories with a southern flavor. 4 Stars!.......1998-07-11

These stories are a great read. With tons of soul, humor and guts, Eudora Welty weaves these tales of the south like a master. Mark down the ones you like because you'll want to read them again.

Selected stories, containing all of A curtain of green, and other stories, and The wide net, and other stories (The Modern library of the world's best books [290])

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Selected stories, containing all of A curtain of green, and other stories, and The wide net, and other stories (The Modern library of the world's best books [290])
Eudora Welty
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006ATVFY

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