Innovate or evaporate seems to be the mantra of most management gurus. Asked how to facilitate innovation these gurus usually lack an answer. Mason and Rohner are different as they show in this excellent book. Combining a clear framework with interesting examples this is a must read.

To further develop your view on the topic of facilitating innovation in your organization I would recommend 'Webs of Innovation' by Alexander Loudon and 'Radical Innovation' by Leifer et.al.

Mason and Rohner do indeed provide a "new model for corporate innovation" based on the assumption that if done right, venturing offers several substantial benefits to the mature corporation that, in combination, cannot be obtained elsewhere: "access to exceptional talent, the means to focus on important new opportunities that didn't fit into the established mold and culture, and the ability to experiment with different ways of organizing and operating that were more suitable to the issues at hand and to future growth." In turn, the mature corporation offers a great deal to fledgling start-ups that they couldn't obtain through any other method: "access to rich resources, including deep domain experience and knowledge, technology, established brand, supplier, and customer bases." After years of rigorous research and analysis, Mason and Rohner concluded that "the dual-value propositions for corporate venturing" offer a unique and compelling opportunity for a mutually beneficial codependency, one which "reveals a clear path for success -- a new model for corporate venturing, one that lives up to its potential and is sustainable over time." With precise and eloquence, Mason and Rohner explain HOW.

They organize their material within three Parts: Laying the Foundation for Innovation, A Guide for Venturing, and Capturing Strategic Value. Following the Afterword by Gordon Bell (author of High-Tech Ventures: The Guide for Entrepreneurial Success), there are seven especially valuable appendices whose subjects range from "VBO Business Plan Elements" to "Partner Profile Template." The acronym VBO refers to "Venture Business Office" which, as the authors explain in the Preface, is a demilitarized zone" which "connects the big company, the outside venture community, and start-ups. whether they emerge from inside or outside the corporate walls. The VBO is the logical conduit between [and among] these very different yet potentially synergistic worlds."

The authors provide in this single volume a comprehensive, cohesive, and cost-effective (four-stage, step-by-step) process by which to derive maximum value from the aforementioned "convergence." Along the way, they include dozens of charts ("Figures"), micro-case studies which illustrate various innovation initiatives, checklists, summaries, "Key Lessons," and (in the appendices) just about everything anyone would need to know about the design, establishment, and development of a VBO. Presumably, many of those who read this brilliant book are involved with organizations (including corporations) which either do not need or cannot afford a VBO worthy of the name. Nonetheless, there is an abundance of information and advice which would be of great value to them. I also highly recommend this book to others now involved in start-ups or not-yet--mature organizations as well as to venture capitalists, management consultants, and other service providers (e.g. bankers, attorneys, and accountants) who can -- and indeed should -- be included in venturing initiatives.

In their Preface, Mason and Rohner suggest that "there is an opportunity to learn from the successes of venturing and create tools, organizational structures, processes, and -- most important -- a point of view that will make venturing work for most companies that are willing to take the matter seriously -- as one that may ultimately amount to corporate life or death." They realize that a VBO may not be appropriate for many organizations. Make no mistake about it: Venturing worthy of the name requires rigorous and sustained communication, cooperation, and collaboration as well as sufficient resources. In that event, however, venturing not only permits but indeed assures innovation of a nature and to an extent otherwise unattainable.

After leading an internal iniative to bring more innovation into a corporation, I found much of the task in selling your innovative idea depends greatly on convincing the "the suits" that the business plan is sound. The practical experience from the authors provides a solid blueprint for both internal and external innovators to map out their proposed venture to evaluate the likelihood of success. I frequently refer to the numerous examples while evaluating new business deals, both pre and post launch.

I also recommend the reader concentrate on the chapter, "Battling Corporate Antibodies". The greatest barrier is often from your own team, the "middle-manager" which will require much more time and effort to emotionally educate than is ever expected. Excellent insight is provided in dealing with the numerous approval stages and cultural hurdles that a new venture proposal must overcome within a corporation to survive beyond just an idea.

I do recommend this book for those brave innovators within a corporation and the bravest, those outside the safe womb of a corporation seeking to build a new idea into a business.

A masked woman, a third-part of a ten thousand bill, a dubious deal and a nice murder (of course!): these are the elements in yet another great case in which Perry Mason displays his astonishing abilities to unveil the truth. Alibi analysis is fundamental in this one!

The hook was baited. Mason was summoned from the dead of night to his office, where he received $2,000 in cash, and the small end of a $10,000 bill. The client was a masked woman, and he had no way of knowing who she was, and how to prepare her defense.

Mason stumbles around trying to figure out how to protect his mystery client. Then even after he unmasks his client, he finds himself the victim of a frame-up by a suspect who tells a story which the district attorney is happy to believe.

This is the 30th Perry Mason novel I've read (the 14th in the series), and it's the best one so far! A spinster librarian finds love. He's a bit older than her and unemployed, but he's such a wonderful man that she marries him and enjoys the happiest months of her life. But alas, when he is found murdered in their honeymoon cabin, she discovers his real identity--that he was actually a multimillionaire who was married to another woman. Such betrayal! and all the evidence points to her as the murderer, including a parrot who repeats the murder dialog over and over again. And everyone but her has an ironclad alibi for the time of the murder. I won't give away the solution, except to say that it's so good that you'll want to study cinema just to bring it to the screen.

Catherine Levison finally does a great job. I was very dissappointed with her first book, thinking it lacked information and flow. This one does a much better job, I enjoyed it very much and learned a lot about Charlotte and her methods and how to use them.

After reading both books by this author on the Charlotte Mason methods of teaching, I feel competent and competent to now begin homeschooling. While I have read countless numbers of books on homeschooling and been given lots of advice on different curricula, etc. I never felt quite sure of myself or "what method to use." I first learned about this book in another book called HOMESCHOOLING FOR FREE. I was intrigued by this method of short lessons with lots of subjects. As a former high school teacher all of the advice seemed sound and full of common sense. I now look forward to having the structure and the freedom that was lacking in other methods. The focus on nature, short lessons, and classic literature are what attracted me to this method and I hope to one day read the original books by Charlotte Mason herself. Until then, I thank this author for showing me the way. Since reading about the Charlotte Mason method I have slept soundly knowing that I can school my son at home and do it well.

More Charlotte Mason Education is a fabulous synopsis of what an everyday application of Charlotte Mason's philosophy and methods can look like in the home. This is a great amplification of the preceding title, A Charlotte Mason Education (I inadvertently read them out of order). This is an absolute must read for anyone interested in the practical application of these methods for REAL LIFE.

This is the 29th Perry Mason novel I've read (the 12th in the series). Forgive me for giving this one less than a rave review. Usually Perry Mason sees what no one else can see--a sort of mid-20th Century Sherlock Holmes. In this case the only surprise about the solution is that it takes Mr. Mason so long to happen upon it. The most interesting feature of this story is Perry Mason's marriage proposal to Della Street. (Holmes' own Doctor Watson got married in the "Sign of Four," but his wife was killed off in "The Empty House." I guess his wife "got in the way" one too many times. Could Della suffer a similar fate?)

If the writing style characteristic of the thirties and forties is something that you enjoy, then Gardner's mysteries are a must-read. In this early novel, mistaken identity plays a large role. We have a switched photograph, a bandaged man, a woman in thick glasses, and a family traveling under false pretenses. Perry Mason is initially involved to protect a young innocent from scandal, but he gets in deeper and deeper until it's finally all about murder.

So, you've heard about Perry Mason and would like to read one of his books? If you were to read one and only one of the dozens of books Erle Stanley Gardner wrote, "The Case of the Substitute Face" should be it. This book, written in 1938, shows Gardner at the top of his form, after he had fully developed his formula, but before it truly became a formula.

Gardner himself was a top lawyer. "The Case of the Chinese Shopkeepers" could have been one of Gardner's books if he hadn't done it himself. When Gardner heard the DA was going to subpoena one of his clients, a chinese shopkeeper in Oxnard CA, Gardner put another chinese man, who didn't speak English, in his client's store. The court officer then brought the wrong witness to court and, after much confusion, the case was dismissed.

This book gave helpful perspectives regarding doctor-patient communication, but was not very enlightening. The problem might be that it was written from the perspective that the doctor is always correct, and the patient is always some poor sap who needs to be enlightened and trained as you would a child. I don't see this book awakening the human within some budding physician and transforming the physician into some effective communicator. The worst part was how many pages it took to convey helpful information.

I gave it more than one star because it does have good strategies in it, and I believe reading it would be better than reading nothing.

Helping patients change health-related behavior is a universal challenge for health care providers. In this extremely practical book, Rollnick and colleagues present a method for helping patients change based on the principles and "spirit" of Motivational Interviewing.

After presenting the basic concepts, each chapter focuses on a different task in the consultation process, from building rapport and setting an agenda to increasing motivation for change while minimizing resistance. The techniques presented are intended for use in brief consultations, but may be adapted for more extended encounters. Numerous clinical examples illustrating applications in diverse settings (and even some showing how NOT to do it) bring each strategy to life. Always respectful of the busy practitioner, the authors suggest ways for you to benefit from the book even if you have just a few hours to spend with it, and they encourage "creative adaptation" rather than "slavish adoption" of their approach.

If you want to become better at helping people change health-related behavior, and are new to a Stages of Change or Motivational Interviewing-based approach, this is a great place to start. If you have some experience with Motivational Interviewing, you will find a simplified model, a fresh take on familiar strategies, and probably some new ideas too.

A simple, easy, and yet deep, thought-provoking book. ONLY ONE of this kind.

I am tring hard to implement some of their methods in Japan.

Many observers across the political spectrum--from Harry Stein to Jeff Jacoby--have remarked on the courage of black conservatives. Such valor is on bold display throughout C. Mason Weaver's short treatise.

Mr. Weaver's story is not all that uncommon: young liberal comes face-to-face with reality as he matures and suddenly realizes he is a conservative after all. However, such tergiversations are not permitted within the Black community--or at least not among self-appointed Black spokesmen nor the entrenched bureaucracies that survive on keeping racial hostility simmering. It is precisely this perpetual anger that Mr. Weaver defines as one of the most damaging detriments affecting the liberal Black "leaders." He unabashedly proclaims that "we should celebrate the victory instead of nagging about the need for the war."

There seems to be no taboo fact that he is unwilling to state. A proud and thoughtful Republican, he does not see the appellation "Party of the Rich" as a pejorative. He bluntly offers, "the Democrats were always taking from those mean 'rich' people to help the poor...(while) the Republicans wanted as many of us wealthy as possible." He dismisses the fabricated Kwanzaa as "a make believe story full of errors and falsehoods,' but strongly advocates celebrating legitimate historical days of importance to the Black Community like Martin Luther King's Day. Such valid occasions are important to ALL Americans. He is unafraid about bringing up the true racism of certain liberal icons. Like the equally brilliant Reverend Jesse Lee Petersen, he openly discusses the prejudice of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger whose opinions earned her accolades in Nazi Germany. Demonstrating both in-your face honesty and enviable wit, he titles one of his sub-chapters, "The War on Poverty is Over--and Poverty Won." His denunciation of misguided welfare programs further exhibits his striking intellect.

As the title intimates, Mr. Weaver skillfully employs the semantics of slavery throughout his work. He sees the monolithic Black viewpoint demanded from the modern day so-called civil rights establishment as a present-day version of the plantation. Those who dare to think outside the accepted box are the heirs of those courageous souls who bolted their "masters'" cotton farms for freedom. Both sets of rebels were courageous and tenacious, and each group persevered through diligence and hard work which the author rightly argues is the only option that yields success.

Mr. Weaver's intelligent work was published five years ago. It is time to hear more erudite assessments from his patriotic and empowering voice.

All black people don't think alike. Clarene Weaver's book is proof of that. It's part biography, part history and part politcal and cultural manifesto. The book could have benefited from a little more careful editing but I loved it. Buy it and read it with an open mind.

As a Masters level professional therapist I have read hundreds of books on behavior, thought process, belief, and social policy. Mason's book is one of the most revolutionary, honest, and accurate books I have ever read. The sad thing is, the people who need to read this don't have the love for the truth or the guts to do so. This book changed me, changed the way I view politics, race, and social policy. Mason has the credibility and bold honesty to force you to think about some of the core beliefs that you have about life in the US, hence the word revoulutionary. Now one of my top 5 favorite books ever. Mason is one of those rare individuals who is so deeply aware of racial and social truths that he is compelled to share them with everyone out of his love for this great country of ours. I have seen Mason speak publicly, met him personally, and believe him to be one of the greatest patriots the United States has ever produced. Inspirational. Thank you, Mason.

Connie Mason transports us back to Northeast Wales, 1258. While engaged in a battle and storming Cragdom Lionheart (Lionel de Couer) first sees the "White Knight". Enraged by the arrogance and sophistication of the White Knight's demeanor in battle, Lionheart dedicates himself to tracking down this knight and making him pay for besting him and his men on the battle field.
As he takes over Cragdom he is greeted by the Vanora, lady of the Castle. She is a stunning beauty with a confident air that he is unused to when dealing with women. He finds himself captivated, in fact driven to complete blind lust in his pursuit to bed her. Finding himself suddenly married by a Priest who demands that he make his bond with Vanora official before bedding her, makes for all sorts of interesting adventures.

The introduction of his former mistress Althea is entertaining and fun. Watching Lionheart squirm as he juggles his wife and former lover makes for some awkward moments.

Throughout the story, Vanora continues her disguise as the White Knight as her loyalty to her castle men drives her to warn them of Lionheart's pursuit of them. When Lionheart finds out, he is furious. What comes next, you'll have to read the book to see!

Connie Mason's story of love touches a chord, though this book is not far from the beaten path Connie writes, it is still one I enjoy taking. Ms. Mason's writing style is always smooth, the story always entertaining, and the hero and heroine ones you seek when reading a romance.

I have yet to read a Connie Mason book I have not enjoyed. Perhaps that is the sign of a masterful writer...

Connie Mason has done it again - another great read. Connie Mason had always been one my favourite historical romance authors and she never disappoints:-
The arrogant Lionheart has been orded by Prince Edward to storm Cragdon Castle, while doing so he spots the White Kight, a slim young worrior on a pure white steed, leading the defending forces. Unable to reach the Kight he storms through the portcullis in search of him but all he finds is a beautiful maiden. Now a different battle begins, one that needs subtler tactics. But just as he thought he had the upper hand, his heart is taken hostage - by the power of love.
Once again a fantastic read full of chivalry, tournaments, lust and love!
If you liked The Black Knight by Connie Mason then you'll love this!

When I first heard about this book I actually thought that it wouldn't be that good. But I read the reviews on this site and I said to myself, 'Natalie this is connie mason your talking about here. You've read most of her books so buy it and read it'. I am so glad I listened to my self and spent the money for this book.

This book is one of her best. Like always connies books intrigue you from the very beiginning. Her hero makes you wish that he is conected to you in some way and the heroin makes you want to be her.

Connie Mason is a spectacular writer and if You ever come across Lionheart in a book store, buy it because it is fantastic.

Anne Brewer's book is a very good guiding manual and detailed account of what the awakening process that many of us are going through is all about and HOW it comes about.
The book offers one of many ways of activating the 10 dormant strands of DNA, describing the process of becoming a twelve stranded and fully empowered human.
Although Anne's particular method does not resonate with me at this time, having alreday been we she is leading, I did enjoy reading and comparing notes with another's experience in the unchartered territory that many of us are sailing through in our quest to wholeness and towards reclaiming all of who we are.
Definitely a worthwhile read!

After the wedding of our second son, I decided to read The Power of Twelve. I had read half the book before I heard Anne talk at a book signing in Mesa, Arizona. Then I finished the book within days (usually I read and finish books on vacations.) It was the right time for me to read this book. It is such a special message, and I feel it is "just for me" (as I'm sure others will, too). Thanks to Anne for sharing a method for taking all of us to the next stage of consciousness.

I FOUND ANNE'S BOOK MOST INTERESTING, AND SHE IS BLESSED TO WRITE HER EXPERIENCES IN ORDER TO MAKE THEM MORE AVAILABLE TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. HER BOOK INSPIRED ME TO EVEN MORE LIGHTBODY INTENSIVE WORK. CERTAINLY, I HAVE STUDIED OTHER BOOKS THAT GAVE ME THIS FEELING, BUT ANNE'S BOOK MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I KNOW HER. I COULD ALSO RELATE TO THE ILLNESS SHE EXPERIENCED AND HOW SHE STARTED GETTING WELL WHEN TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY OF HER OWN BODY. IT'S TRUE, SOMEONE CANNOT GIVE AWAY THEIR POWER AND AK OTHERS WHAT TO DO. THIS BOOK IS FOR THOSE WHO REALLY SEEK THEIR OWN EMPOWERMENT. IT CHARTS A SPECIFIC QUEST THAT ANYONE CAN FOLLOW.

How does a slender 30-something mother of two make a real life for herself, when her loudmouth misfit ... of a philandering husband departs for England and a dashing young yachtsman comes calling? Tend to her garden? If her husband is her choice, how does she aid him to overcome the disrespect of practically everyone who knows him, including her parents, the hired help, even their teenage son? There are the makings of a good story here.
Unfortunately, I found this first novel to be very much a freshman effort. The main failing was lack of gut-wrenching scenes, those that draw the reader in emotionally. I recall only one, and the author rushed through that one. The characters are hardly able to engage with one another and remain disconnected throughout. Most disappointing was the treatment of the Mason family estate, Mason's Retreat, which was never allowed to reveal its dark secrets.

Our book club read this as a monthly selection and we liked it. The characters are well-developed and the story continues to keep your interst. The setting on the Eastern Shore of Maryland had a particular interest for our Maryland book club but it is also informative for those not familiar with the "shore". The description of the time in history and the various relationships between different classes and races only adds to the character of the story.

Wonderfully drawn characters and a masterfully haunting sense of time and place. Characters include very real children (so much of literature is made up only of a world of erudite adults -- clearly not the planet I live on). I think of this book every time I go to the Eastern shore. Does anyone know if the author is in fact related to the folks that Tilighman is named after?

I admit, I didn't get it. I bought this book on the strong recommendation of a psychology major, who praised He, She & We (all three books by Johnson). Perhaps my lack of understanding of Jungian theory interfered with my ability to glean meaning from the text.

The book is a short, readable eighty pages, developed around the Greek myth of Eros and Psyche. In Johnson's explanation of how femininity evolves (including the man's feminine side, or anima), a person must go through certain rites of passage, in sequential order, to develop fully as a woman. Psyche must complete four tasks assigned by Aphrodite. Failure to complete any task before nightfall will result in death. The tasks include sorting a pile of many different seeds, collecting golden fleece from rams, filling a crystal goblet with water from the river Styx, and collecting a cask of beauty ointment from Persephone, goddess of the underworld. Johnson explains how each of these tasks represents an evolution in a woman's life (choosing one of the many seeds a man gives to a woman to begin the miracle of birth, gathering the fleece as acquisition of a bit of masculinity necessary to survive in the world, the single goblet of water from Styx as focusing on a single item at once from the vast choices in the universe). The text is rich with metaphor -- marriage as both death and resurrection for a woman, a beautiful oil-burning lamp as a woman's natural consciousness, etc. Interesting, but (at least for me) not particularly enlightening. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but I didn't come away with an enhanced understanding of female psychology.

I picked up this book because I wanted to know more about women. I've been fascinated by them, and irresistably, magnetically attracted to them all of my life. I wanted to understnad a little more about this powerful pull. Women are beautiful, mystical, and wonderfully different. There's that quality in a woman's voice that just doesn't exist in a man's that can make all of the world feel like it's suddenly become light as a feather. There's always been that bewitching paradox about the sexes. We're all human, but our perspectives are inherantly different.

In this slim but nourishing volume, Johnson lucidly examines the Greek myth of Psyche and Cupid. Using Jungian pysychology, he shows that the trials a girl must undertake to become a woman are no different today than they were in the ancient world. Johnson tells us why myth is so important to us as humans. It's one of the truest, clearest records of ourselves. When a myth is passed on from one generation of storytellers to another, it is refined and slowly given its truest shape. The parts that glow are given more emphasis and the parts that don't are left along the way.

As the author stresses, this book is not really about women, but rather about the 'feminine' that exists in both women and to a lesser degree men. In learning to understand the psychological imperatives of the female, not only will a man be more adept in his relationships with women, but he will also better understand his own complex nature.

This is a short, easy read (about 80 pages) of large-typed, generously-spaced, amply-margined words. Johnson's style is light and casual. Whilst not as in-depth as Marie-Louise Von Franz' treatments, for example, it is also much more approachable and less academically inclined. Still, it provides a concise forray into Jungian thought as related to færy tales and myth.

Whilst the readers of Von Franz might find it too light, I suggest it simply adds to the analytical repertoire. If you enjoy Clarissa Pinkola Estes' work relative to færy tales, you should also enjoy this, too.