Book Review:

Capital Campaigns: Strategies That Work
By: Andrea Kihlstedt and Catherine P. Schwartz
Edited by: James P. Gelatt
Aspen Publishers, Inc. Gaithersburg, Maryland 1997

Reviewed by: Norman Olshansky: President
NFP Consulting Resources, Inc.
...

What a surprise! With over 30 years of non profit fundraising, leadership and capital campaign consulting experience, I expected to gain little from this "how to" book which I was given to review. Boy, was I wrong.

Step by step, the authors outline and expand upon the key elements of a capital campaign; from determining whether or not your organization is ready for a campaign, to the best ways to celebrate and evaluate its conclusion.

I appreciated the amount of detail the authors included and their emphasis on organization, planning, leadership involvement and communications. They explore the basic process and then give in depth coverage of each step. In addition to sharing their own personal knowledge and expertise, they gathered much of their material by interviewing friends and clients who also had extensive capital campaign experience. They made the book more interesting, and dramatized the points they wanted to make, by the inclusion of short vignettes and quotes by volunteer and professionals, from actual campaign experiences.

Among the important subjects covered by the book are: how to select and use consultants, building the case for support, conducting a feasibility study, creating a campaign management plan, prospecting and prospect research, team building and leadership development, techniques of solicitation, campaign materials and public relations, events, thank yous, recognition, and much more. They even have a trouble shooting guide which focuses on what to do when things go wrong.

I highly recommend this handbook for volunteer leadership and staff alike (whatever their level of previous experience) who are considering a capital campaign. It is a book that should also be part of the libraries of campaign consultants. I have to admit that I picked up several great new ideas and techniques from reading the book.

Keep in mind that this is a "how to" book and will continue to be of value as a reference tool. The table of contents and index are complete and excellent in their detail.

I felt the authors could have put more emphasis on and expand the section on feasibility studies, or as I like to call them, pre-campaign assessments. Too many organizations try to avoid this important process thinking that they already know they need to know. They feel the pre-campaign study will take unnecessary time and resources. A good study not only sets the stage for a successful capital campaign and determines a realistic goal, but also provides invaluable information about the way the organization is perceived in the community, potential for major support, and extent to which leadership and staff are ready or capable to do what is necessary for success.

Organizational culture, leadership styles, personality management and what is often referred to as organizational politics are other areas which I felt deserved expanded coverage by the authors. Human factors, organizational history, and communication styles are all addressed in the book but are not given as extensive or in depth presentation as is warranted.

In summary, this book not only meets, but exceeds its very appropriate title: Capital Campaigns-Strategies that Work.

What a surprise! With over 30 years of non profit fundraising, leadership and capital campaign consulting experience, I expected to gain little from this how to book which I was given to review. Boy, was I wrong.

Step by step, the authors outline and expand upon the key elements of a capital campaign; from determining whether or not your organization is ready for a campaign, to the best ways to celebrate and evaluate its conclusion.

I appreciated the amount of detail the authors included and their emphasis on organization, planning, leadership involvement and communications. They explore the basic process and then give in depth coverage of each step. In addition to sharing their own personal knowledge and expertise, they gathered much of their material by interviewing friends and clients who also had extensive capital campaign experience. They made the book more interesting, and dramatized the points they wanted to make, by the inclusion of short vignettes and quotes by volunteer and professionals, from actual campaign experiences.

Among the important subjects covered by the book are: how to select and use consultants, building the case for support, conducting a feasibility study, creating a campaign management plan, prospecting and prospect research, team building and leadership development, techniques of solicitation, campaign materials and public relations, events, thank yous, recognition, and much more. They even have a trouble shooting guide which focuses on what to do when things go wrong.

I highly recommend this handbook for volunteer leadership and staff alike (whatever their level of previous experience) who are considering a capital campaign. It is a book that should also be part of the libraries of campaign consultants. I have to admit that I picked up several great new ideas and techniques from reading the book.

Keep in mind that this is a how to book and will continue to be of value as a reference tool. The table of contents and index are complete and excellent in their detail.

I felt the authors could have put more emphasis on and expand the section on feasibility studies, or as I like to call them, pre-campaign assessments. Too many organizations try to avoid this important process thinking that they already know they need to know. They feel the pre-campaign study will take unnecessary time and resources. A good study not only sets the stage for a successful capital campaign and determines a realistic goal, but also provides invaluable information about the way the organization is perceived in the community, potential for major support, and extent to which leadership and staff are ready or capable to do what is necessary for success.

Organizational culture, leadership styles, personality management and what is often referred to as organizational politics are other areas which I felt deserved expanded coverage by the authors. Human factors, organizational history, and communication styles are all addressed in the book but are not given as extensive or in depth presentation as is warranted.

In summary, this book not only meets, but exceeds its very appropriate title: Capital Campaigns-Strategies that Work.

Because it covers most of the financial instruments that we are dealing on our trading floor, we have decided to offer it as a gift to all new recruits.
It is always difficult for new comers to quickly become knowledgeable about many financial instruments at the same time.

"Capital Market Instruments: Analysis and Valuation" provides all the necessary information to help them become real practitionners within a short time frame.

I would personnaly recommand this book.

Oui j'ai toujours su en usant les bancs d'école avec lui que dieu dans sa grande miséricorde me permettait d'approcher un saint homme, doué d'une intelligence extraordinaire et d'un pouvoir sur son entourage tout aussi fabuleux. Ce livre est plus qu'un simple collage de feuilles griffonées de conseils éclairés sur la finance C'est un message d'espoir pour les générations futures, un message d'amour, un message qui nous dit "prends le pognon avant que quelqu'un d'autre ne te le prenne, prends le et bonifie le". Didier JOANNAS Champion du monde c'est mon copain, il a débuté le bussines par la vente de ticket de tombola pour l'étoile sportive Feyzinoise et aujourd'hui il met l'Asie à ses pieds, il a organisé les premiéres ventes de chocolatine au collége et maintenant il orchestre les flux de capitaux et autres intérêts de la planéte, gloire à toi mon copain

Written by death penalty abolitionist Gardner C. Hanks (Amnesty International State Death Penalty Action Coordinator for Idaho) as a stringent denouncement of the process of state-sanctioned execution, Capital Punishment And The Bible draws directly from the Christian scriptures to emphasize the importance of forgiveness, love, and restoration. A strongly worded, powerfully articulated, highly persuasive, theological and humanitarian stand that invokes both Biblical and secular reasonings against capital punishment, Captial Punishment And The Bible is a welcome and timely contribution to the on-going national dialog, especially in these troubled times. Also highly recommended reading is Gardner C. Hanks earlier work, Against The Death Penalty: Christian And Secular Arguments Agasint Capital Punishment.

Gard wrote this book in response to readers' reactions to the first two chapters of Against the Death Penalty. And I read it because I helped edit it, and therefore my five star rating is biased. However, Gard and I thought it was much better written than his first book, but it definitely only examines the biblical/religious arguments against the death penalty.

In the Old Testament someone could only be sentenced to death under very stringent conditions. For example: Two eye witnesses had to testify. No relative of the victim could testify. No person involved in the crime could testify. The cultural and historical examination of Old and New Testament beliefs is very thought provoking and you will find close parallels to Ohio's recommended guidelines for ending the moratorium on the death penalty.

Gard died on February 2nd after being sick for over a year with cancer. He did not see this book in publication.

As a student of social capital, I found this volume of invaluable help in understanding the positive and negative effects of networks in and of organizations. Especially the distinction the editors make between social capital and social liability is useful and makes so much sense. And all the big shots have a chapter in here. A great resource. The reference list alone is worth the money. I will keep reading these chapters.

This book is a winner. It provides a very useful and comprehensive overview of the field of social capital/social networks and organizations. By addressing the topic both from the level of individuals within organizations and from the level of orgs themselves, the book provides an excellent introduction to and theoretical deepening of the field. Moreover, the concept of 'Corporate social capital and liability' as suggested by the editors in the volume and their respective chapters provides a very useful framework for the study of networks and social capital within an organizational context. Especially their focus on social capital and liability as OUTCOMES of networks, rather than as networks themselves is a fundamental idea that definitely advanced my understanding of the topic of social capital. Their discussion that social structure may have social capital/liability outcomes at different levels of analysis was an eye opener to me. Read it! The only downside to the volume is its price. Make sure your library gets the book for you!

Out of print? This book should never be out of print. But then again, Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game was almost destroyed during the Second World War. Greatness is sometimes fragile.

Barry is something of a personal hero of mine so I do have a bias of sorts regarding this book and its follow-up, The Great U-Turn. Reviewing this book is like reviewing a classic music album: everything written in the last 20 years about Economic Policy and investment has been influenced by what Barry and Bennett wrote here and there is no more hated book by Reaganauts who would like you to believe THIS NEVER HAPPENED.

This book was the first book to talk about how industry in the United States was dismantled, in particular the Auto and Steel Industries of the midwest. The book traces decisions made by corporations in the 1970's and why these decisions were made, in light of perceived opportunities in Central America and the Far East. Could have the decision been made to do the reinvestment in the US (particularly in light of the modern day relative success of Saturn)? The answer is clearly not without the calculated weakening of powerful unions in auto and steel. If the unions were weakened, however, communities such as Flint, Michigan and Youngstown, Ohio were almost wiped out by disinvestment. There was considerable denial at the time about what was happening but Barry and Bennett's book makes clear that industry was dismantling and disinvesting and not coming back.

The awareness raised by this book probably saved a bad situation from becoming much worse. If the dinosaurs left the continent, though, maybe in retrospect we are better off for their having left. Car makers from Japan and Korea have been willing to make the autos that US carmakers have only made with the greatest of reluctance, and creating assembly plants here in the US as well. But it has taken a generation to recover from the wholesale deindustrialization and the cost was much greater than people should have been asked to bear.

Never again should American industry be allowed to tear out its roots and toss them aside. If you want to know why, this is the book to read. Please read the great final chapter on Reindustrialization with A Human Face for helpful guidance and insight on where to go from where we are at, insight that 20 years later still makes a great deal of sense.

From the backdrop of World War II, American business emerged as the World's undisputed industrial economic leader and lender. The expansion of American investment in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and further assured its prominence by the establishment of the U.S. currency as the capitalist world's principle reserves, while labor strenuously acquired the motifs of a welfare state. Such unprecedented success created an ambivalent relationship between capital and labor where each party had acquired a win-win situation. This brief cease-fire came to an abrupt halt with the threat of foreign competition and sluggish growth development spurred what Bluestone and Harrison termed as the 'deindustrialization' of America. In a panic to maintain the capitalist status quo, business owners closely emulated Japanese zaibatsu's in purchasing many non-related businesses to expand their economic clout versus improving their current facilities. The failure of industries meeting excessive profit percentage justified many corporate executives of closing down factories to minimize labor costs and outsource to less constraining economic contingencies and forever disrupting people's and the communities livelihood. Drastic improvements in network technology, communication and transportation permitted micro and macro control of factories despite distance. Thus companies are no longer confined by regional or national boundaries can effectively utilize segmentation tactics against unions, local, state, and national officials in gaining unequal terms. Corporate outsourcing has manifested itself into dual the phenomenon of boom-town and bust-town causing unforeseen problems. American urban areas such as Houston and Silicon Valley have grown in attracting Northern city businesses, foreign investment, and becoming known as tax heavens.

I first saw these photographs before their publication in book form and they certainly speak for themselves, so I didn't feel a great urgency to buy the book. I didn't know what I was missing! The text complements, rather than explains, the pictures - anything else would have done a disservice to the strength of the images and Jones' brilliance in capturing them. A most worthwhile volume!

Jones' images provide a look onto the soul of people who killed and are about to die for their actions.

When I looked these people in the face from the safety of the outside the pages, I shivered and could almost hear the echoes in the chambers Jones photographed in. These are masterful portraits because they look inside where we think little or nothing exists and reveal what's left of the soul of these people who are waiting to die. Haunting and memorable, Jones' images tell an unforgettable story.

Photojournalists, this is a keeper.

Gary Gladstone

I strongly feel that The Force of Finance must be on the desks of all current and aspiring leaders who want to bring prosperity to their people.

Dr. Brenner writes on human nature in a very discerning fashion, probing and psychoanalysing the adminstration and machinary able of channelling hopes and ambitions into positive - rather than criminal - entrepreneurship and innovation... and he explains the emergence of Pax Americana vis-à-vis banks, underwriters, venture capitalists, asset management firms, etc., etc., etc. (i.e. democratised capital markets); for US capital markets - all in all - create a powerful 'trial-by-error' meritocracy:

(i) alluring the crème de la crème from around the world, and (ii) reshaping - bottom up - regulatory bodies and political parties.

Dr. Brenner shows and proves that 'democratised capital markets' are the bringer of prosperity, and the bringer of the governments and institutions worthy of generating and sustaining the back-cloth of trust. Writing in the vein of Ronald Coase, Peter Bauer and Friedrich Hayek, he explains that 'political democracy' can only come about by capitalism at the grass-roots; though for him capitalism must imbibe 'the ultimate standard of trust' (to borrow the title of a review on The Force of Finance by MIT's Michael Schrage) - not selfishness...

A marvellous mind throbs in every chapter of The Force of Finance; yet, assuringly, Dr. Brenner is cognizant of the Latin virtue of SIMPLICTAS - a man seeing things clearly and seeing them as they are, be it on topics such as nation-building, higher education, financial markets or currencies. Studying the glories and debacles of the twentieth century, he makes a cogent argument for Laissez Faire; and he openly criticises "the cargo cult" of Maynard Keynes, Paul Krugman, Samuel Huntington et al.

Dr. Brenner is covetous for solid research, and understands the wisdom in the dictum: "Persuade with facts, not speech!" A polymath, he refuses to wear the horse-blinds that tend to enslave many in the teaching profession. In addition, he has a remarkably vivid writing style, free of jargon, free of gerrymandering... and he takes a heroic stand against the ivory towers of university education... and having the intellectual calibre to face the academic mafioso, he shows a glowing gift for debate and repartee...

After careful reading - and re-reading - The Force of Finance, I find credit and collateral to be vital in creating a mobile people (bubbling new riches, ideas and experiments); and I realise that a spirit of 'risk-for-reward' is essential in the arts, sciences and humanities.

Dr. Brenner is a bearer of light! I can say no more, I will say no less.

Reuven Brenner, an intense, dynamic, and iconoclast economist, has entered a very weighty two cents into the current thought on the world economy with this new book.

With multiple clear examples of politics and history, he shows the difference between America's open capital markets and most of the world's nations closed capital markets, and why America has been at the forefront of econonomic and capitalist development for more than 50 years.

His main argument: Citizens of any nation should have access to capital in order to embark on ventures that will produce profit. The most valuable resource any nation has are its talented citizens, by denying them access to the ability to be entrepreneurs, the nation is hurting itself and its growth. The answer: Let them access the resources they need, but hold both sides accountable. It won't keep an Enron from happening, but it will keep it from happening again, as is obvious with new accounting reforms.

Using examples from pre/post Communist Russia, Latin America, Islamic Fundamentalist states, and budding open capital markets, Brenner proves that any system that restricts access to capital is doomed to fail. Sure to open your mind and expose you to the true story of the global economy, The Force Of Finance is the penultimate book on how to turn a third world nation into a modern state that is living up to its potential.

Be sure to know that there is a third edition (2001) available from the Foundation Center

This book by 'The Foundation Center' is indespensible for those interested in forming a nonprofit as well as current Directors who wish to have a reference guide on current developments in the structure and dynamics of modern nonprofits. There is a wealth of information in this book, and I rate it a 'Must Read.'

Although it has a long and rich history, HRD has emerged only recently as a distinct discipline and field of practice. This book provides an review and synthesis of how many fields (psychology, economics, systems theory, and others) have contributed to the development of HRD. In so doing it details how these fields, along with a growing body of research, have contributed to the development of the theoretical and philosophical foundations and HRDs emergence as a unique discipline. This is not a quick "how-to" book but rather a scholarly examination of the core beliefs, values, worldview, and principles that are the framework for HRD. It will be of primary interest to academics, scholars, and researchers. It also offers reflective practitioners the opportunity to re-examine the beliefs, values, and approaches that guide their work. The book is logically organized, well written, and replete with diagrams, models, and graphics that illustrate and clarify key concepts. Sure to become a classic text and reference, I highly recommend it to anyone who seeks to develop a deeper understanding of Human Resource Development.

I've waited 15 years for a training/HRD text to do what this text does: Give a total comprehensive view of the practice of human resource development. It's a must-have for every training professional's library.

If you have not built an organization that people hate to leave, have not established working arrangements that assure that knowledge is transferred freely and continually within the organization and have not instituted more formal processes for capturing the knowledge that flows within the organization, then you need to read this book. It offers a systematic approach to identifying, capturing and preserving knowledge that is critical to the continuing effectiveness of the organization, providing a partial and process solution to an essentially cultural problem. But you need to recognize that the approach addresses symptoms (loss of knowledge) rather than root causes (inappropriate structure, work practices and employment policies).

Maintaining corporate knowledge is one of the most critical tasks that I must confront as a manager. Whether it is by employees leaving for other opportunities, retiring, or downsizing; all to often much of a company's experience walks out the door with the employee. "Continuity Management" spends time clearly defining the problem and its impact. This time is well spent as the problem of corporate knowledge loss is more intricate than it may seem and the impact is very wide reaching. However, far from leaving the reader pondering the problem, Beazley, Boenisch, and Harden map out a system to stop the knowledge leak. Its not a quick fix, but a corporate-wide concentrated effort that, once implemented, becomes part of a company's culture.

"Continuity Management" ensures continued customer satisfaction during times of high employee turnover.

In the company I work for, millions of dollars are spent to train people and inculcate them in the corporate culture. The conditions and changes in the world economy ensure high employee turnover will be a normal paradigm. Often the people that we lose are the brightest and most knowledgeable. When they go, the information they used to get things done and make things work goes with them.
Boenisch, Harden and Beazley have presented a look at the magnitude of this problem plus a well thought out plan to resolve it. It won't be easy and just reading the book won't make it happen. It will require resources and corporate drive to implement. Knowledge is potentially power and money. The efforts expended to conserve it will be felt in a new competitive edge and in the bottom line.
The book should be required reading for anyone that manages people or resources. The ideas and methods can be successfully implemented corporate wide or in any first level management department. Highly recommended and a milestone book.