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Book Review of: Unite the TribesUnite the Tribes: Ending Turf Wars for Career and Business Success We highly recommend this insightful book.
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| Review of Unite the Tribes by Christopher Duncan |
| Reviewer: Mark Lamendola, author
of over 6,000 articles in print or online.
Duncan's a colorful writer who sometimes gets a bit carried away with the metaphors. But that is part of the charm of this book. And it's what makes it work for the reader. Rather than give you a list of steps and then follow those with explanations that require mental gymnastics, Duncan paints you a picture. That picture is within the framework of ancient tribal warriors. This framework appeals more to men than to women--but for either audience, it makes you think. This book is organized into three main parts: The Lay of the Land, The Pillars of the Empire, and Making It Work. The Lay of the Land is basically an overview of where we are and why we're here. Duncan describes the basic problem every business faces, and where the real solution to that problem lies. He compares a business to an empire, and then bases the rest of the book on that metaphor. The Pillars of the Empire consists of ten "pillars," which are the competencies upon which a business (or empire) will succeed or fail. Each pillar consists of ten stones. So in this book, the stones are subchapters. First, Duncan briefly discusses the pillar, then he "takes it apart" stone by stone to show you the elements that make that pillar strong. You end up with 100 concepts for business and personal success. As Duncan goes through each concept, he provides a mix of anecdotes, metaphors, practical suggestions, and probing questions. He goes to great lengths to engage the reader, rather than merely to fill the page. Making It Work is basically the conclusion of the book. Duncan reviews the core ideas, and then prescribes methods for putting them into practice. If you're tired of bickering as usual, negative office politics, morale problems, and other issues related to infighting, this book offers fresh insights. If you want to thrive in the empire, this book can definitely help you. But approach some of the ideas with caution, or the empire will strike back. A a rah-rah feel-good tome offers hope by making you feel good--this isn't one of those. And a "here's how I did it" book is interesting, but what worked for the author won't work for you--this isn't one of those, either. We've all read books that give false hope or describe cures from a perspective that won't work for us--this isn't one of those, either. Most of us have attended seminars where we're all charged up until we think about what the speaker really said (if anything). And we've all been asked to paint by numbers on a canvas that isn't our own. This is where Duncan stands out from the crowd of management-relate books. This isn't feel good or "do these six simple steps." It's about reprogramming your viewpoint so you can function in reality. I think this book makes a solid addition to anyone's management library. It doesn't have all the answers, and you may disagree with some of the answers it does provide. But if you thoughtfully apply Duncan's ten pillars, you will come up with the answers that work for you. |
About these reviewsYou may be wondering why the reviews here are any different from the hundreds of "reviews" posted online. Notice the quotation marks? I've been reviewing books for sites like Amazon for many years now, and it dismays me that Amazon found it necessary to post a minimum word count for reviews. It further dismays me that it's only 20 words. If that's all you have to say about a book, why bother? And why waste everyone else's time with such drivel? As a reader of such reviews, I feel like I am being told that I do not matter. The flippancy of people who write these terse "reviews" is insulting to the authors also, I would suspect. This sound bite blathering taking the place of any actual communication is increasingly a problem in our mindless, blog-posting Webosphere. Sadly, Google rewards such pointlessness as "content" so we just get more if this inanity. The reviews I do will, contrary to emerging trends, actually tell you about the book. I always got an "A" on a book review I did as a kid (that's how I remember it anyhow, and it's my story so I'm sticking to it). A book review contains certain elements and has a logical structure. It informs the reader about the book. A book review may also tell the reader whether the reviewer liked it, but revealing a reviewer's personal taste is not necessary for an informative book review. About your reviewer
About reading styleNo, I do not "speed read" through these. That said, I do read at a fast rate. But, in contrast to speed reading, I read everything when I read a book for review. Speed reading is a specialized type of reading that requires skipping text as you go. Using this technique, I've been able to consistently "max out" a speed reading machine at 2080 words per minute with 80% comprehension. This method is great if you are out to show how fast you can read. But I didn't use it in graduate school and I don't use it now. I think it takes the joy out of reading, and that pleasure is a big part of why I read to begin with. |