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Tuesday, September 27, 2016

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership FableThe Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So I read this book every year, which means I have commented on it before.  This year our team discussion of this book was less about the content, and more about how we are doing applying it, and how we can better teach these principles at all levels in the company.  All in all, I think this is where we should be with this one.

If you are interested, here are links to my previous reviews.

2014: http://www.fictionroom.com/2014/08/five-dysfunctions-of-team-by-patrick.html
2011: http://www.fictionroom.com/2011/11/five-dysfunctions-of-team-leadership.html

Friday, September 16, 2016

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

The Wednesday WarsThe Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. I like it so much that I am going to make a list of the things I liked about it (because I also like lists...)

1. Depth. This book ended up involving many weighty subjects that gave in an intellectual depth that was both surprising and enjoyable.
2. Surprise. In some ways it would be hard to write a single sentence that really communicated the plot, so I will just say that I was surprised at every turn. Unexpected events, characters, and conflicts kept things fresh and moving throughout the story.
3. History. I actually learned a lot of history in this book that was recent enough to not be covered well in my history classes growing up, but that I didn't experience first hand in any way.
4. Holling. While I didn't agree with everything he did, overall he was just a likeable character. It was easy to root for him. He had a good heart.
5. Writing. At first I was put off because I didn't think that Holling was being developed. He didn't think or show emotion often. But then that became the genius, because for a teenager, I don't know how much of your feelings or emotions are conscious vs. just embedded in your actions. Schmidt pulled that off perfectly.

So, if I spent longer on this I could probably expand on this list, but for now this is good. I will admit that while I really liked this book, I can't give it 5 stars. For me, it lacked that something that makes me want to read it again, or tell all my friends to read it. Yes, you should read it, but I'm not gushing. It is a good, honest 4-stars.