Macromedia Studio MX 2004 Bible

Book Description

Packed with hands-on instruction, and expert tutorials from the crème de la crème of the Macromedia development community, Macromedia Studio MX 2004 Bible is everything web developers need to build cutting-edge applications with Macromedia’s product line. Covering of all the Studio MX 2004 applications - Dreamweaver MX 2004, Fireworks MX 2004, Flash MX 2004, ColdFusion 6.1, and FreeHand MX, Macromedia web development expert Joyce Evans guides readers through the use of each product, but more importantly, how they can be used together to build next-generation, data-driven web applications. Topics covered include:

Building data-enabled sites with Dreamweaver 2004
Creating Flash MX 2004 animations
Working with ActionScript
Creating web graphics and animations with Fireworks MX 2004
Building interactive ColdFusion Applications
Integrating Flash and ColdFusion
Drawing vector art with Freehand MX

The Companion CD-Rom incl udes trial versions of the software as well as extensions, sample databases, images and applications.

Customer Reviews:

Listen to Jonathan Marquardt below.......2005-05-04

He is exactly right. This is a reference and a very good one. It isn't for walking you through the steps when putting a website together, it is for help when you can get some of the way but not all the way through it. Think of it like this. You have to move out of your house, all the boxes are fairly easy to move except one. You move all the boxes by hand except you need a dolly to move that really heavy one. This book is the dolly of Studio MX.

Buy one book for step by step instructions, and buy this one when you need help with a specific task.

People, people -- come on now!.......2005-04-11

I'm confused: when you see a book that's 3" thick, how could you *NOT* be aware that it might be overwhelming?! These Bibles are (repeat after me, everyone!) *DESK REFERENCES!* They're meant to sit there next to your workstation & bail your butt out when your boss needs something you've never done before. Yes, experience is required. So, as a desk reference, these Bibles rule!! Don't believe the negativity visible in other reviews.

This book is too overwhelming for beginners........2004-11-07

The small non-profit company I work for needed a website, and I drew the short straw for designing and maintaining it. We bought the Studio MX suite, and I hoped this book would cover everything I needed to design a simple, yet cool website.

The thing is it DOES cover EVERYTHING I needed, but it is SO overwhelming in all the details, I was pulling my hair out and wondering what I'd gotten myself into.

You really have have some experience with website design before attempting this book. I had no idea what to do, and couldn't filter out what applied to me and what didn't; I needed a little more hand-holding than this book offered. Now that I've been through the H.O.T. and Naked series of help books (which others complain of being too basic), I'm much more comfortable with this book. I'll definitely be using it as a reference as I add dynamic content to the simple website I've built.

Overall, this book is an excellent resource for intermediate or advanced users. Beginners should shop around for other books before buying this one.

For visual content of webpages.......2004-10-10

Macromedia offers a bundle of tools that span visual web site development. I say visual because the emphasis of the tools is on building complex HTML web pages and groups of these pages, where the groups might typically constitute a website. The tools basically construct static web pages with intricate graphical content.

For example, Flash is wonderful for making animated graphics. While Fireworks claims to be better than Photoshop for editing still images. I am not sure whether this is indeed so. But the book's narrative on Fireworks shows impressive functionality.

I should qualify my earlier statement. You can certainly add sound effects in Flash. And there is some ability to have dynamic webpages, using DHTML. But the book really doesn't emphasise it. Just gets a passing mention.

Overall, the Studio should handle many needs for web developers. Though note that the construction of dynamic pages is most often done via JSPs or Active Server Pages, which is outside the scope of Studio.

Don't do it if you are a beginner.......2004-09-27

I purchased this book hoping that there would be step by step instruction. In some cases there are but often there is not. A good book will give a quick rundown of the major features and then show you how to use them through example. Not so in this book. I learn by doing and not by reading and if you are the same way I do not recommend this. I tried doing one of the walkthroughs and found that it was not a complete walkthrough and that at times the actual main menu choice was left out. Example: "Choose Insert -> New Symbol. You have to know that it is in the Edit menu or you have to hunt it down as did I. Not having complete walkthroughs and assuming knowledge leads to frustration and a much longer learning curve. I can only guess that if you have some familiarity with these products already, it will be helpful, but do not purchase this book if you are a beginner with these programs.

**Note** I have found this type of thing to be true with most books from the Bible series. I keep hoping one will work out, but so far, I have about 4 of them and none have them been worth even a quarter of the purchase price.

Average customer rating:

Hit the Button for Me!
I flunked my Webpage Design class because of THIS BOOK.
UGH!! What a waste of time and money!
Definitely not show-and-tell
Fails to deliver on its ambitions

Macromedia Studio MX Bible
Joyce J. Evans , Donna Casey , Ron Rockwell , and Charles Mohnike
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764525239

Book Description

* Provides everything Web designers need to build cutting-edge applications with Macromedia's new tool suite, which includes Dreamweaver MX, Flash MX, ColdFusion MX, Fireworks MX, and Freehand
* Covers building data-enabled sites with Dreamweaver MX, creating Flash MX animations, working with ActionScript, creating Web graphics and animations with Fireworks MX, building interactive ColdFusion MX applications, integrating Flash and ColdFusion, and drawing vector art with Freehand
* Major changes in the Macromedia MX tool suite mean even veteran developers and programmers are looking for the updates this book provides
* CD-ROM includes trial versions of the software, extensions, sample databases, images and applications

Customer Reviews:

Hit the Button for Me!.......2004-05-08

Since this book stated it was beginner through intermediate it did provide that for me. There was enough information for me to get a good feel on each subject. On the subjects a bit over my head and the ones I wanted more beginner detail on, I purchased a beginner book specific to that topic. The intermediate topics simply spurred my interest to explor further.

Not only are there a lot of examples but a website was added to with every single application. As far as Flash, there was extra material which was project based on the CD ROM. If Flash were my interest I'd have purchased the Flash Bible.

The book states that it's focus is on integrating the Studio applications together, and in that end, it did an admirable job. It's unrealistic to expect one book to teach everything there is to know about 5 applications--hence the name INTEGRATING Studio MX Bible :-)

I also understand that the Bible is a reference book not a step by step book. I purchase a lot of computer books and have found there are specific types. For people who want a total hand holding experience I'd suggest a tutorial book not a reference book.

For my money, this book more than earned it's $40 I paid!

I flunked my Webpage Design class because of THIS BOOK........2004-04-28

I absoutely hate this book. I had to buy it for a webpage design class and I can't understand why the teacher uses this for a textbook. I've never seen an application (computer program) how-to book that left me this confused--and these kind of books don't easily leave me confused as I have learned HTML. Photoshop, and PHP from books (I have several books on each!). As was stated below, this book doesn't give you enough information to understand what the heck you're doing. If you've had no previous experience with Macromedia Studio programs I can almost GARENTEE that you won't make it even halfway through this book (if that) before you're ready to chuck it out the window. It is virtually impossible to understand the instructions and explanations given in the book if you aren't already very familiar with some prior Macromedia Studio program(s) because the language is out of the beginners grasp. It's because of this book that I had to drop out of my Multimedia & Webpage Design class. Thank you Macromedia Studio MX Bible! Do yourself a favor: Don't get this book. Don't waste good money.

UGH!! What a waste of time and money!.......2004-02-03

I had to buy this book as a text book for a college level class I am taking on Macromedia Studio MX. The book is just about worthless. Instead of trying to work through the tutorials, which all seem to have needed information left out, I ahve been spending my time for free on the Macromedia website doing their tutorials.

Also the books seems to be geared more for the person who is upgrading from a prior version of Studio than to a new user.

If I didn't have to use this book as a text book it would ahve gone STRAIGHT BACK to the college bookstore where I bought it.

Definitely not show-and-tell.......2003-12-30

This book spends most of its time providing definitions of words and terms and little of its time providing demonstrations of concepts. What tutorials and exercises there are do NOT always work as seamlessly as the author would seem to suggest. In fact, some instructions don't work at all -- leaving the reader to figure out the inner workings of an application by trial and error. If you'd like to have a book that TELLS you what everything means but doesn't SHOW or tell you how to accomplish it, this is the one for you.

Fails to deliver on its ambitions.......2003-05-29

Samuel Johnson remarked once that learning in Scotland was like bread in a siege town. Everyone got some but none got enough to make a meal. His quip could equally apply to this book. It touches on everything, but doesn't cover anything in sufficient depth. In fact I would tend to view the book as really centered around bringing Fireworks and Freehand into play (contra Illustrator and Photoshop). Freehand and Fireworks get 200 pages each, while Flash gets 90 pages. Dreamweaver gets just under 300 pages, and the surface of many features is revealed. However, there isn't a lot of depth throughout and elaborate examples are avoided. The rest of the book is focused on Cold Fusion (which was not of interest to me).

My personal recommendation is to look at specific books for specific components. Compendium type books, often suggest more than they can deliver.

Book Description

How hearing works and how the brain processes sounds entering the ear to provide the listener with useful information are of great interest to psychologists, cognitive scientists, and musicians. However, while a number of books have concentrated on individual aspects of this field, known as psychoacoustics, there has been no comprehensive introductory coverage of the multiple topics encompassed under the term. Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound is the first book to provide that coverage.

The book begins with introductory chapters on the basic physiology and functions of the ear and auditory sections of the brain, then proceeds to discuss numerous topics associated with the study of psychoacoustics, including cognitive psychology and the physics of sound. The book has a particular emphasis on music and computerized sound. An accompanying CD-ROM includes many sound examples to help explicate the text.

Customer Reviews:

Great intro to the subjective human perception of sound.......2006-12-09

Developed from a series of lectures at the Stanford Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), this book offers a coherent panorama of the field of psychoacoustics as it pertains to music and computerized sound. The authors-among them Max Mathews, Roger Shepard, John Chowning, and John Pierce-are recognized authorities in the field of computer synthesized sound and the nature of acoustical and musical perception. The CD-ROM contains audio samples for each chapter, plus source code for all the samples.

Although it is specifically intended as a course book for psychoacoustics, with a closing chapter on the effective design of experiments and an appendix of exercises, this book should prove valuable to a wide audience. Computers provide what seems the ultimate level of control over sound synthesis, but it is often hard to know where to begin. Anyone who has ever confronted the problem of determining which parameters of a synthesized sound are acoustically perceptible or meaningful will appreciate the clarity with which the introductory chapters distinguish the physical parameters of sound from the perception of sound. Building on established research into the fundamentals of acoustic perception, the book proceeds to more complex issues of voice articulation and synthesis, perceptual streaming, musical memory, and the haptics of sound production. Computer musicians will find material to suggest diverse directions for experimentation. Multimedia artists working with sound will discover new methods for generating sounds, with the potential for weaning themselves from straight playback of sampled sound and working with real time synthesis. Some of the perceptual effects documented in the text and audible on the CD are remarkable in themselves, such as Shepard and Risset tones, or the complex effects of perceptual streaming. The level of detail of many of the chapters is sufficient, particularly when supplemented by the source code, to get you started in a variety of sound synthesis techniques. The brief list of bibliographic references at the end of each chapter will lead you onwards.

While this book is most valuable as a guide to the uses of state-of-the-art technology for acoustic research, it also sheds light on how human cognitive abilities shape musical structures. Choices of rhythm, melodic variation, chord structure, timbre, orchestration, and even the evolution of musical styles over time have some of their reasons in the nature of the human auditory system. A welcome result of reading this book may be that the reader learns to hear natural and musical sounds with a new appreciation of the complex dynamics of sound production, sound perception, and the inner logic of music.

If you are interested in the signal processing end of psychoacoustics, I recommend you read "Signals, Sound, and Sensation" by Hartmann after you finish this book.

keep it clear, simple and efficient!.......2006-03-16

If you are interested in the filed of psychoacoustic, this book provides great informations and is written in a easy comprehensible manner. We used that book in my psychoacoustic class at university and even if I was not familiar with this subject, I learned a lot and enjoyed reading it. The book comes with a cd of audio exemples that follows the book.

Fantastic.......2005-02-25

Very enjoyable, very entertaining and an interesting reading. The opening chapter by Max Mathews is a lovely opener puts he reader at ease immeadiately. My first book on physco-acoustics and to be honest I am glad. I have read other books on the subject since then but this is still my favourite. Well worth the money.

Self-Study in Psychoacoustics.......2004-10-11

This book is great for self-study in psychoacoustics or for reviewing the basics of related fields. One of the best parts is the list of recommended experiments in the back of the book. These really help to keep the information in the respective sections from the realm of abstract pendanticism. This is the book that is assigned to the Psychoacoustics course at CCRMA (Stanford) and is laid out in an easy-to-follow, instructive way. One of the best entry-level texts on the subject.

A great place to start........2000-03-14

Simply a great book to "start" your research. Excellent bibliography, and very very important contributors (those who have made the history of CM). I have bought another couple of books on this subject, however this is the most balanced one. Make sure you read the book by Bregman and Fastl & Zwicker (if your a tech head) once you're finished with this one.

Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound: An Introduction to Psychoacoustics.(Review) (book review): An article from: Notes

Average customer rating:

Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound: An Introduction to Psychoacoustics.(Review) (book review): An article from: Notes
Francis Rumsey
Manufacturer: Music Library Association, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Notes, published by Music Library Association, Inc. on June 1, 2000. The length of the article is 874 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound: An Introduction to Psychoacoustics.(Review) (book review)
Author: Francis Rumsey
Publication: Notes (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2000
Publisher: Music Library Association, Inc.
Volume: 56 Issue: 4 Page: 980

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound: An Introduction to Psychoacoustics

Average customer rating:

Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound: An Introduction to Psychoacoustics
Perry R. Cook
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OR7D2W

Average customer rating:

Do not Pass Go! Go Straight to Your Wallet and Buy This!

Good for Beginners to Intermediate Players

Very good book

Disappointing

WIN WIN WIN

The Monopoly Companion: The Player's Guide : The Game from A to Z, Winning Tips, Trivia
Philip Orbanes
Manufacturer: Adams Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game-And How it Got that Way

Monopoly

Everything I Know About Business I Learned from Monopoly: Successful Executives Reveal Strategic Lessons from the World's Greatest Board Game

The Game Makers: The Story of Parker Brothers, from Tiddledy Winks to Trivial Pursuit

How to Win at Monopoly

ASIN: 1580621759

Book Description

Monopoly Companion is a fun-packed guide to the history, rules, and winning strategies behind the world's most popular board game!

* What's the world record for the longest MONOPOLY game played upside down?
* Who REALLY invented the game?
* How did a 10-year old from Staten Island hold hid own against players three times his age in the 1980 United States MONOPOLY championship?
* Why do the best MONOPOLY players AVOID buying hotels for their properties?
* Which property name on your MONOPOLY board is misspelled?

There's only one man who could answer questions like these-and hundreds more that are just as fascinating. It's Mr. Monopoly.

In this fascinating book, Mr. Monopoly reveals everything he knows about the world's most popular board game. "And that, quite frankly," boasts Mr. Monopoly, "is everything."

Customer Reviews:

Do not Pass Go! Go Straight to Your Wallet and Buy This!.......2004-09-12

Everyone has a Monopoly set somewhere at home. If you're like me your set of instructions disappeared long ago and was only a sheet of paper with small font at best anyway. This book explains all the rules in great detail. I never knew there was a limit on the number of houses and hotels and that when there aren't enough green houses you couldn't just fork out the monetary value for a hotel. The age old debate of does free parking collect all the taxes and whoever lands on it gets the money is answered as well. The answer is no by the way. This is a great handy guide for any arguments about the rules.

Even if you already know all of the rules this is still a pretty good purchase. Inside is a heap of trivia such as the names of all the characters on the board and cards, the fact that Parker Bros prints 50 billion dollars of Monopoly money each year and the fact that on average each player makes about $175 dollars around the board. A comparison of the Monopoly properties and what those streets are actually like in the real Atlantic City both when the game was invented and today is very interesting reading along with the predecessors to Monopoly and other historical information. There are also tips on how to play from Mr Monopoly including which are the best properties to purchase. This is an excellent little book for anyone who enjoys playing the best board game ever invented.

Good for Beginners to Intermediate Players.......2004-06-19

Playing Monopoly can be a long endeavor, especially if you play with people who don't know the official rules. If you have endured such hardship, you could recommend this guide to such beginning players.

This book basically gives a lot of tips to the game that most novice players don't know. One of these tips is knowing which monopolies are the most powerful on the board (and it's not Park Place and Boardwalk most of the time!). It is entertaining and can be easily read in one afternoon. There is quite a bit of filler, though, if you just want to get to the nitty-gritty of how to improve your play. His "interview format" with Uncle Moneybags is humorous, but can drag on if you're just in the market for how to become a Monopoly master.

In the end, it's an enjoyable book for most beginners and intermediate players, but can irritate a player who is quite familiar with the game and just looking to get to the highest levels of gameplay.

Very good book.......2004-01-06

I recomend this book to anyone and everyone who plays Monopoly. It is a fun read while at the same time giving great stats and tips as to how to play the game. Ever since I read the book, I rarely lose (pretty much only lose to my brothers who have also read it or to friends who ally against me to stand a chance).

I've found that it is a fine companion book, and does fine to supplement the official rules(so I put it in my monopoly box and leave the rules with the sets I don't use). It may have editorial errors...but the "error" that the disgruntled reader pointed out is not an error...the "second player to your left" is the same as the "second player following" unless you're going counterclockwise...because after you take a turn, the "first player to your left" goes...followed by the second player to your left...so I don't see the problem there.

The only problem I have with it, is that I follow the rules too carefully, so now when I talk about building shortages or making deals between others turns my friends think I'm making up rules.

Go get this book and enjoy!

Disappointing.......2002-12-02

The book says "Mr. Monopoly reveals everything he knows about the world's most popular board game. 'And that, quite frankly is everything.'" Not quite. There are errors in the book (compared to the official Parker Brother's rules). Given that the author was (supposedly) the Chief Judge at the National and World Monopoly Tournaments from 1979 through 1992 (book bio) it is inconceivable that he didn't know the rules, so I think it is just a lack of attention to detail. Yet when you are holding yourself out as an "expert" this is inexcusable. Proofread the book. Edit the book.

For example, one mistake occurs on the pages 34-35, "Paying Rent." They say there are two instances when you can't collect rent one of which is when you do not ask for it within a certain time limit. The time limit during which an opponent must pay rent is before the "second player to your left." This is clearly incorrect, it is the second player to *your opponent's* left. This whole section is mismatched, saying "your left" instead of your opponent's left. It is almost as if they didn't proofread it or didn't know the rules. (The Rules:"The owner may not collect the rent if they fail to ask for it before the second player following throws the dice.") And this isn't the only spot with problems. There are little things like this which people won't catch and will be misled.

If you are interested in some of the history, then fine, it is reasonably accurate. ;-) . If you want play tips and have much experience at the game, it is NOT worth it. The tips provided are common sense, there is perhaps one tip that a beginner might find useful. And there is even no index (how hard is it to have an index?).

In short the book is disappointing and if you are looking for a book with substance about Monopoly, this is not it. Maxine Brady's book (not published now) is better, but still not a complete treatment.

WIN WIN WIN.......2001-11-08

This book helped me beat my freind and become a master player.

Average customer rating:

Leading with Questions . . . . . . .

LEading with Questions

Don't fear questions

You can't obtain the right answers unless you ask the right questions.

Creating a Questioning Culture for Powerful Results

Leading with Questions: How Leaders Find the Right Solutions By Knowing What To Ask
Michael J. Marquardt
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0787977462

Book Description

In Leading with Questions, internationally acclaimed management consultant Michael Marquardt shows how you can learn to ask the powerful questions that will generate short-term results and long-term learning and success. Throughout the book, he demonstrates how effective leaders use questions to encourage participation and teamwork, foster outside-the-box thinking, empower others, build relationships with customers, solve problems, and much more. Based on interviews with twenty-two successful leaders who “lead with questions,” this important book reveals how to determine which questions will lead to solutions in today’s complicated business world.

Download Description

In Leading with Questions, internationally acclaimed management consultant Michael Marquardt shows how you can learn to ask the powerful questions that will generate short-term results and long-term learning and success. Throughout the book, he demonstrates how effective leaders use questions to encourage participation and teamwork, foster outside-the-box thinking, empower others, build relationships with customers, solve problems, and much more. Based on interviews with twenty-two successful leaders who & lead with questions, this important book reveals how to determine which questions will lead to solutions in today's complicated business world.

Customer Reviews:

Leading with Questions . . . . . . ........2007-09-24

It was a birthday gift for a son and he was very pleased with the book

LEading with Questions.......2007-05-08

The concept is excellent. Necessary for anyone in management. The book itself moves slowly and can be repetetive though. Can skip chapters 1 & 2 if you are already sold on the effectiveness of the product and want to jump right into the meat of the concept.

Don't fear questions.......2007-02-14

The author contends that we must use questions as a way to learn, and we must not fear questions that come to us. If we really seek to make the best possible decisions given time constraints and lack of information, then we must use questions to discern the reality of a key issue. Furthermore, we must ask questions in a non-threatening manner. For those on the receiving end of a question, stop becoming defensive is another key message from the author. There is one aspect of the book that is not correct: don't ask "why" questions as the author promotes. Rather, one should ask for additional information: "help me understand what happened when..., please clarify what is meant by..., etc." When we ask "why" questions, we immediately prompt defensive behaviors. Questions are critical to understanding, and this author provides some valuable tips on asking questions, except for the use of "why" questions.

You can't obtain the right answers unless you ask the right questions........2006-11-25

In several of my most recent reviews, I have quoted an observation of Peter Drucker's from an article he wrote for the Harvard Business Review (in 1963) and it seems especially relevant to Michael Marquardt's most recently published book, Leading with Questions: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." This is a common mistake, one that can be avoided if the right questions are always asked. Marquardt himself offers an excellent case in point. Before interviewing twenty-two specific leaders around the world, he formulated these five questions:

"When did you start using questions and why?"

"What are some of the ways you have used questions?"

"What questions have been most effective?"

"What has been the impact of leading through questions on (a) your organization and (b) you as a leader?"

"How has the use of questions changed you as a leader?"

The responses that Marquardt accumulated provide the substance of this book. After completing a rigorous analysis of them, he shares a number of important lessons that will help each reader to master what Marquardt correctly characterizes as "an underused management tool." I presume to add that this "tool" should be used by everyone at all levels and in all areas of operation within any organization, whatever its size or nature may be.

Marquardt carefully organizes his material within three Parts. First, he explains why questions can be so powerful for individuals and organizations. In Part Two, he offers practical guidance on selecting the right questions and then asking them effectively. In the final part, he presents a number of guidelines which suggest how leaders can use questions to achieve specific results for individuals, teams, and organizations. Resource consists of "Training Programs for Questioning Leaders"; in Resource B, Marquardt provides brief biographies of the aforementioned twenty-two leaders interviewed.

Of special interest to me is the material in Chapter 6 in which Marquardt explains how to create a "questioning culture." As clearly indicated in two of his previous books, Action Learning in Action and Optimizing the Power of Action Learning, Marquardt is both a visionary and a pragmatist: He is ever alert for opportunities to increase learning while achieving results, and, he fully understands the nature and extent of various barriers to doing that. Therefore, the information and (more importantly) the counsel he provides with regard to creating a questioning culture immediately focuses on asking the right questions to obtain the information needed, on collaborative interrogation, on capturing and then sharing what is learned, on nurturing innovation through effective use of questions, and on ensuring - meanwhile - that everyone involved has a sense of urgency. With regard to the last point, he observes that effective leaders can demonstrate a sense of purpose "by taking prompt action as issues emerge and by pushing for closure and results. [They] gather and share information while ideas are evolving." They also make certain that others do so.

Near the end of this chapter, Marquardt makes an especially important point at a time when so many of those who deliver unpleasant "messages" are either discouraged or, worse yet, punished: "All companies can strengthen their cultures by making them question-friendly. Leaders must model the way, promote values that support inquiry, ensure a safe environment that permits challenging the status quo, find opportunities to ask questions, reward questioners, and make training available when needed." Otherwise, an organization's culture will become and then remain hostage to what Jim O'Toole characterizes as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom."

The most effective leaders ask the right questions and help those for whom they are responsible to do so, also. Over time, both the questions and the answers will inevitably change but the process of interrogation which Marquardt so skillfully explains will continue to ensure that the new questions will also be the ones which must be asked, so that the answers to them will then guide and inform whatever initiatives may be necessary. With all due respect to Marquardt's earlier works, I think the material provided in Leading with Questions will have the greatest value and the widest impact.

Those who share my high regard for this brilliant book are urged to check out Marquardt's aforementioned works as well as David Maister's Practice What You Preach, Michael Ray's The Highest Goal, Jim O'Toole's Leading Change, Bill George's Authentic Leadership, Ronald Heitetz's Leadership on the Line, and Michael Hammer's The Agenda.

Creating a Questioning Culture for Powerful Results.......2006-01-14

"Asking rather than telling, questions rather than answers, has become the key to leadership excellence and success in the twenty-first century." That, in a nutshell, is the premise of this book. Marquardt who has taught and written extensively on action learning shares the wisdom of leading with questions.

The book is divided into three sections: The Power of Questions; Asking Questions Effectively; and A Guide for Leaders of Using Questions. Throughout the book the author uses quotes from interviews of top business leaders about their use of questions.

The Power of Questions begins with examples of disasters such as the sinking of Titanic, the explosion of the Challenger spacecraft, and the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. All disasters where the cause is attributed to a lack of questioning. Chapter 2 is a stirring recital of the benefits of questions. Questions open up perspectives, new learning, greater team work, create an empowering environment, help people gain a voice, increases listening, innovation, while reducing conflicts. It sounds like a miracle drug! Except that it's true. Questions are at the core of my business and I can attest to their transformational power!

The second part of the book is the strongest. It's the "how to" section on forming questions that will achieve all the benefits mentioned earlier. The author goes beyond simply giving lists of good questions (as some other books on questions do) and teaches you how to actually form a powerful question. Good questions he says are, "those that accomplish their purpose as well as build a positive relationship between the questioner and the questionee." He gives plenty of tips how to do this. He also addresses hinderances such as a judging or blame mentality.

The final section of the book puts questions into practice in various settings such as supervision, problem solving, and team building. Each chapter covers a different setting with 10-20 key questions and how to use them effectively.

Leading with questions is one of those skills where you think, "Yes, I want to be this way. Help me do it!" Leading with questions is a skill that requires breaking old habits and forming new more productive ones. Are you ready to increase your learning? Are you ready to tap into the potential of the people around you? Are you ready to make breakthroughs and create innovations? Then questions are for you!

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Leading with Questions:how Leaders Find the Right Solutions By Knowing What to Ask (In Tradional Chinese)

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Leading with Questions:how Leaders Find the Right Solutions By Knowing What to Ask (In Tradional Chinese)

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 9867058348

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