Comments on Profit Beyond Measure by Tom Johnson:

Tom Johnson's overview of business thinking is astoundingly clear, the beginning of the revolution that Dr. W. Edwards Deming demanded for so many years.

The Toyota story is told beautifully in chapter 3; now I begin to understand what happens in that Kentucky facility.

Chapter 4 is the weakness of the book; there is no there there. The Scania "secret" is not in the same universe as that at Toyota. What more evidence do we need than the sale of the company?

Chapter 5 is fascinating. Tom Johnson the heretic! A modern day Martin Luther! No one on Wall Street will want to know about orderline analysis. However, if those using it prosper...

The stock market vanish? That is precisely what will happen if Tom Johnson's thinking catches on. And that can't happen too soon. It may already be too late to preserve our culture as we know it. But then, it may be time.

Most in business will not want to hear the last two chapters. But no one wants to hear that they have cancer either, right? This patient (the world economy) has cancer, and no one knows if survival is possible.

I can't wait for the next iteration of this "stuff." The books that Johnson (and a few others, like Dr. Ed Baker) are going to write could make all the difference in our future. Dr. Norman Borlaug and his cohorts are trying to feed the world in spite of potentially deadly water shortages; Johnson and a few like-minded intellectuals are trying to feed the world correct thinking in spite of potentially deadly shortsightedness.

Since the day Amazon delivered my copy of Johnson and Broms' Profit Beyond Measure,I have taken delight with every page. This book is a wonderfully brilliant, masterful book that may be the serious business book of this decade in the way Senge's Fifth Discipline was for the 1990's. Insightful writers such as Margeret Wheatley and Danah Zohar have artfully open our eyes to the potential of viewing organizations as naturally evolving living systems. Notwithstanding their powerful insights, the actual application of these ideas left a lot to the imagination as to how they would actually be applied. Johnson and Broms, however, provide the substance and put the meat on the bones of the many complexity and chaos theory books available today. Johnson and Broms tell us with precision and in entaintaining detail the stories of Toyota and Scania Truck and how, respectively, they have gone forty and sixty-sixty years without losing money---how, they manage by means, as part of living systems, not trying to orchestrate management by the results (a notion of believing that you can fix future events to happen within a management plan) as America's Big 3 auto companies have over the past century. Johnson and Broms take us inside of the Toyota and Scania plants and board rooms, helping us see how they produce only according to actual orders, how they design and set up assembly and modulated processes to avoid waste (not eliminate it, avoid it in the first place!), how they treat their employees, how they see customers and market and more. Drawing from the principles articulated by Gregory Bateson, Johnson and Bohms help us see the unique milieu and overriding philosophy and work culture that is reflective of an open, living system, that relies on "balanced, cyclical patterns of continuous flow of the work for every person in the organization." Before reading this book, I only had a vague notions of how chaos, complexity, and new science theories applied to the emerging organizations of today. As a result of reading this book, however, I believe I now can grasp what it means, in real and substantive terms, for an organization to exist, evolve, and succeed as part of living system. This is a book for the new century. Every business can learn from this book and those that don' will perish while Toyota, Scania, and others of this fabric will thrive in our increasingly complex and interdependent world. I recommend this book to any one interested in business theory, organizational development, or building a better organization. Tom Coens

For manufacturers the 20th century was the story of Ford and Toyota. The story of the transition from mass production to lean production has been told many times, but often focusing on the techniques, not the strategy. Professor Johnson has developed a profound insight into the strategy behind Toyota's approach, framed as management by means, rather than management by results.

This is the most important insight into the Toyota Production System which has come my way in the last ten years. Johnson demonstrates why the Toyota Management by Means approach gives superior long term value to customers, shareholders and employees.

Profit without Measure is essential reading for any manufacturer building a strategy for World Class Manufacturing.

A warm-hearted and touching look into the life of bees. Through the eyes of the author, the personality, social culture and care of bees are explored with love and wit. While scientifically sound, this book reads more like a novel than a text book. I highly recommend this book. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Without being highly educated in scientific terms or history, this book was a wonderful and enertaining read. I have always been fascinated by insects, especially bees and ants, and this book fulfilled every question I had on bees. Longgood has written it so well that it is like reading a novel rather than nonfiction. This book makes one want to go out in the hills and study the nearest colony of insects all day long.

MR LONGGOOD HAS TAKEN THE SEEMINGLY MUNDANE CHORES OF LIFE WITHIN THE BEE HIVE AND GIVEN THEM A PERSPECTIVE THAT EVEN THE THE MOST STAUNCH INSECT HATER WILL FIND FACINATING. THIS BOOK BRINGS YOU TO A LEVEL OF FASCINATION WITH LITTLE CREATURES WHICH WILL FOSTER AN APPRECIATION FOR BEES THAT YOU NEVER COULD HAVE IMAGAGINED.

We're all out on the water. Excellent source of information with a target audience.

I had been looking for an informative book that covered the many aspects of kayaking when I found this book while on a kayaking/camping trip in Maine. The book caught my eye, because it said it was a woman's guide to sea kayaking. However, it is much more than just a "woman's guide". As the others have said, all kayakers will benefit from reading this book. It is an interesting and easy-to-understand guide with lots of descriptive photos and drawings. It covers a wide range of topics such as:getting to know your kayak & paddle, safety and emergency info, carrying and transporting your kayak, weather and navigation, and much more! I would recommend this book to any person interested in learning more about kayaking!

I'm a male who bought this book to help introduce a girlfriend to seakayaking. Without a doubt it's the best all around introduction to the sport I've read. Great advice on finding a boat and basic technique. I recomend it for either men or women who are interested in getting started.

WHEN YOU FINSH THIS BOOK. MR DUNNE WILL BE A VERY SPECIAL FRIEND

From the beginning to the end "Spellbinder's Gift leaves you at the end of your seat! With everything that happens in the book leaves you wondering what is going to happen next and who is doing it. Even at the end leaves you wondering, matter-in-fact the end leaves you with goose bumps. This book is a must have as an Inspirational book and a teaching book. I believe this is one of Og greatest book ever!

I found this book to be very inspirationa

"I was very ready to quit smoking many times in my life. When I began to read Stop Smoking and Chewing Tobacco for LIFE CHANGES, I realized I was reading something very new and different! This book appeals to anyone who needs a fresh approach to "just quitting" Through the use of LIFE CHANGES, I was able to really look at my motives and emotional needs surrounding smoking. The program put me on a path filled with information and humor which I could understand and build upon, using my own creativity. I was amazed at how enjoyable it was to participate in the planning and management of my own program. You will find everything in this book you need to know to finally end this "awful" dependency!"

I have been studying tobacco addiction and helping patients quit for over 25 years...Cessation has every thing to do with packing the brain with reasons to quit and techniques to help accomplish the goal. Each person has to decide which reasons apply personally. LIFE CHANGES is packed full of reasons to quit and exercises to help you take control of your life back from tobacco. It exposes tobacco not as a friend that settles you down and keeps weight off, but an enemy that robs you of over a decade of what should be golden years. I like this book and whole-heartedly recommend it to my patients. Congratulations to David and Carole Johnson! Through their book they will save and touch more lives than they will ever know. This book helps develop tools that, if achieved, will be far more powerful forces to combat tobacco addiction than any patch or gum could be.

LIFE CHANGES is packed with useful techniques for tobacco-cessation and maintainance. Humor, behavior mod, affirmations, hypnosis, relaxation and much more. I find it highly informative, practical, easy-to-use, a wealth of useful material all in one package. There's even an audio tape available. Whatever stop-smoking program you're using, this book is a valuable addition and/or primary resource for you.

Prof.E McSquared's surpasses all of the Calculus books in my opinion, thro I'm still studing it, I was coming along good until to page 97, Exercise: II.3.3, I understand all of it until I got to this (2-1/2E<-3x+5<2+1/2E),which is OK, but than look at this (1/2<-E so,(-1)1/2E>(-1)E or-1/2>-E, too). Then [2-E<2-1/2E<-3+5<2+1/2E<2+E or 2-E<-3(x)+5 <2+E!] He should had used page 96 to explain the latter; will he or someone please try to tell me what is he trying to say, or how I could contact him.

Reviewer Jerry Harper spotted a typo in the 1975 edition
of Prof. McSquared's book and calls for a reply. The answer
to problem II.3.3 on page 205 contains the WRONG statement
(BUT 1/2 e < -e...). PROF. McSquared GOOFED! It should be
1/2 e < e!! This is corrected in the Expanded Intergalactic
Edition NOW reissued and available: ISBN 0971462402.
H. Swann, co-author, for Prof. McSquared

Twenty-six years ago, I had struggled through Calculus twice. The first time I got a D. The second time I raised it to a C. But I was not satisifed. I had always been good at math and I was not going to let it beat me. So, I signed up again. I remember sitting through this stultifying lecture on matrix theory that left me completely baffled and depressed. That afternoon, in a chemistry lab, my new lab partner showed me this photocopied booklet. It was a comic book Calculus book called "Professor E. McSquared's Original and Highly Esoteric Calculus Primer." He said his professor had written it. I asked when his class was and immediately switched sections. Howard Swann turned out to be Prof. McSquared in the flesh -- funny, energetic and the single best teacher of any discipline it has been my pleasure to study under in 22 years of formal education. The best! This book will change the way you look at Calculus. You will laugh and do the problems and, for the first time, you will actually understand what is going on. It will become second nature. The mystery will disappear, the fog will lift, the lock break open, the veil will pass from before your eyes. My classmates and I were among the first to enjoy Prof. McSquared. The book was formally published for the first time the following year, 1974. It is still in print. That has to tell you something. This book will show you that you CAN not only do Calculus but understand it an even enjoy it. Buy it. It will be a gift to you.

I found this book a joy to read. Johnson leads the reader carefully and clearly through his well-reasoned arguments. I now have a heightened awareness of the very real danger of naturalism to science and many areas of Western culture. Rather than succumb to the naturalist mind-set as so many theists have regrettably done, Johnson demonstrates how to stand firm and fight back! If science is defined to exclude God (as it is) then science is limiting itself and may no longer be searching for truth (as it does not).

This book is by no means casual bedside reading, but Phillip Johnson is brilliant in bringing to light the basis of naturalistic philosophy and the logical assumptions made by those who practice it. Johnson gives illustrations of how this brand of thought has played itself out in science, law and education.

With a master's background in the hard sciences, I've found a steady mentality through school that evolution is fact and God has no place in science. Phillip Johnson helped me to understand how the logic of evolutionists works and how hollow and circular their reasoning often is. Understanding naturalists' logical assumptions has dispelled my fear of making a sound arguement in favor of intelligent design and seeing through those arguements made by those advancing a naturalistic worldview.

Philip E. Johnson details America's full-fledged embrace of Naturalism within recent contemporary history. The book is an accurate doccumentation of our nations' radical ideological shift towards a non-theistic world view and of course the price of this stupidity, what it looks like, who sells it.

It's past time that someone put some thought and effort into a book of this nature. We've had "Science Fiction TV" guides before, and they've uniformly been written by authors whose axes could be heard grinding away throughout as they slagged shows they disliked and drooled over shows they (often unaccountably) were fans of. Mark Phillips and Frank Garcia have done a good job of research and writing here, with few and minor mistakes. The chapter on "Battlestar Galactica," which is accurate and contains a good deal of information, much of it from new interviews done especially for this book, is worth the price of admission alone. If you're a fan of science fiction on TV, this book, in spite of its price, should be on your bookshelf. Very highly recommended.

This book represents the pinnacle in terms of a blend of behind-the-scenes insights and anecdotes combined with basic reference data. The multitude of interviews that went into the text give the material a depth that the more common coverage of sci-fi shows rarely attains. Like other books by McFarland, it's pricey, but I can think of none that give the reader better value for their dollar.

What makes this guide especially fascinating are the numerous candid in-depth interviews with the producers and writers of these shows, giving much insight into the creative process and the trials and tribulations of creating innovative television shows. There are countless behind-the-scenes anecdotes that have, I am sure, never seen print before. I thought I knew a lot about certain shows, but this book contained info that was new to me; and even reading the articles about shows I never watched (and the entries on each show are long and detailed) I could scarcely put the book down. This book serves as a reference, but it is more than that; it has a wealth of fascinating insights into the television industry itself.

I have actually just begun to read the book as I became interested in this particular book very recently -- my family grew up in the same neighborhood as Yvonne Johnson and I felt compelled to read the book. I recall certain incidents from childhood such as her father on the front porch lining up all the children &(drunk) screaming "Indians on the Warpath" and one time grabbing my own sister off her bike, throwing her down (mistaking her for Yvonne) and then having to apologize profusely (he was drunk that time also)to my family. I recall her oldest brother dying while in the county jail, how my mother had him at times mow our lawns & we recalled how sad that time was, how the youngest, Perry, looked like a female with the long flowing hair (he had the lightest coloring), the girls Karen, Sharon, Kathy, Yvonne, how the Mother drove truck--the hard-scrabble life they led--I am sure it took a tremendous amount of courage to write this book, I recalled how she struggled with her speech, etc and how people could be mean to her.

I just finished the book about Yvonne and her hardships. I read it in Norwegian, but that did not diminish the affect it had on me. It's unbelievable what some people have to go through, without anyone doing something about it. And then actually surviving it all, amazing!
She said it herself in the book that people who have been through hard experiences easier can understand what others have to struggle with. And being as she is a Medicine Woman it is in her blood to try and help, wherever possible.
It is also a startling report on how the Natives are still treated in both America and Canada. One can only hope that books like this can help open at least a few peoples eyes...

Tansi,

I come from a small reserve in northern Manitoba. What I read in "Journey of a Cree Woman" was unbelievable. I cannot believe how many hardships this woman had to go through, and yet she still continues on. This book really opened my eyes as to what other women go through . This book touched my heart and many times I got shivers down my back. This book is an awesome book, that I recommend especially for women. There are many good things I could say about this book, but there is a limit. I commend Rudy on his awesome work and continuied support with Yvonne. I commend Yvonne for sharing her story with us as it is not easy to tell a story that is nothing but the truth!

In his book, Johnson states "There is an advantage in every disadvantage, and a gift in every problem" and "I believe that the greater the handicap the greater the triumph." By this he means to say that disadvantage creates opportunities and forces one to do more with less. He believed that disadvantages were "...challenges to be overcome and not facts to be accepted." A disadvantage provides a challenge that, with the proper motivation and mindset, forces one to try a little harder and work a little smarter.

Two distinct disadvantages that Johnson cites are early in his life: 1) Arkansas City (his birthplace) did not provide a high school education for African Americans, and 2) The economic depression stemming from the Great Depression. These two disadvantages, when taken together, provided a sort of "critical mass" that propelled Johnson on the trajectory that is his story -- his move to Chicago and subsequent business endeavors.

The fact that the disadvantages cited above were realized so early in life is worth note. There is a scientific discipline known as "Chaos Theory" that, among other precepts, states that the time evolution of a series of interrelated complex events is extremely sensitive to the system's initial condition. The analogy that may be drawn to Johnson's life is this: had he not moved to Chicago due to his ambition and his Mother's tremendous sacrifices for her son's education, it would have become increasingly difficult for Johnson to have succeeded to the extent he did, as chronicled in his autobiography.

This statement is supported by the many references he makes in the book about the seemingly random events that led to his success as a businessman; Johnson states, "I'm scared someone with pinch me and wake me up." Thus, it seems that the many disadvantages the author faced throughout life, most notably (in his words) early in life, created an advantage, which led him to great wealth and notoriety.

I could definitely related to Mr.Johnson's story. It is inspiring, insightful, and truly a guide to those of us on the often obstacle laden road to success.

Never allow your personal feelings or emotions to close the doors of oppourtunities. Where the is a will there truly is a way. His story is remarkable and his book enables you to understand that yours is too.

Think and Grow Rich...

I like this book very much,for I used to be a officer that rank is major,I admire his method (or skill) to solve every different problem.