By: Claire Appiah on October 20, 2016
Albert Hirschman—Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States Summary In this work, the late Albert Hirschman expounds, “Under any economic, social, or political system, individuals, business firms, and organizations in general are subject to lapses from efficient, rational, law-abiding, virtuous, or otherwise functional behavior.”[1] These lapses occur regardless of the…
By: Mary Walker on October 20, 2016
Critical Thinking Concepts & Tools, Richard Paul & Linda Elder “If we want critical societies we must create them.” (Paul and Elder, p. 23) “Critical thinking” is a term we hear frequently these days as a form of training which will herald a new day in mass schooling. It certainly will, if it ever happens.…
By: Stu Cocanougher on October 20, 2016
Egocentric thinking results from the unfortunate fact that humans do not naturally consider the rights and needs of others…We do not naturally recognize our egocentric assumptions, the egocentric way we use information, the egocentric way we interpret data, the source of our egocentric concepts and ideas, the implications of our egocentric thought. We do not…
By: Geoff Lee on October 20, 2016
A miniature guide to critical thinking This is what you might refer to as “short and sweet”, bringing with it the gift of succinctness to some busy demon students, which is more than welcome in my world. Because of its brevity, it is a fairly dense little book, which will serve as a good point…
By: Chip Stapleton on October 20, 2016
The short text by Richard Paul and Linda Elder, The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools, might be quickly dismissed as ‘just’ an introductory tome – another one to go in our ‘toolkit’ and definitely keep for reference, but – like an encyclopedia – useful, but not really all that important. I actually think this would…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on October 19, 2016
Politics, religion, and money are the three taboo subjects to discuss at a party. Reason being? No one thinks critically or fairly about any of those subjects because the passion for their view often replaces all reason. Elder says, “Fairness implies the treating of all relevant viewpoints alike without reference to one’s own feelings or…
By: Katy Drage Lines on October 19, 2016
Having skimmed a few times through our brief reading this week, I decided to take an experimental approach and frame my essay as a practice in critical thinking. Thus, I pondered a question that emerged as I read our material, and use that initial question to walk through the process introduced by Elder and Paul…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on October 19, 2016
When I first began to read the book Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools by Dr. Linda Elder it did not really peak my interest as the books we had read prior to this one. As I was reading the book, my mother happened to call me. When asked what was I doing? I…
By: Rose Anding on October 19, 2016
FORWORD Michael Gecan, of the New York Daily News These words were displayed above this photos of an headline story: Exit, loyalty and voice: A frame to understand the appeal of Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton by Michael Gecan, of the New York Daily News on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, at 5:01…
By: Lynda Gittens on October 19, 2016
Imagine going to your favorite store where you know where everything in the store is and now they have changed the floor plan OR your go to your favorite eating place for your usual meal and the menu has been rearranged and it was difficult to find your usual meal. I had the same experience…
By: Jim Sabella on October 18, 2016
In the last 50 years, the speed of change has progressed exponentially. We have seen technology change, and we’ve seen world view changes—both in rapid progression. I’ve heard it said that my generation is the only generation who has seen and lived through the major technological advances of all time. However, technology is not the…
By: Pablo Morales on October 14, 2016
SUMMARY Edwin Friedman writes A Failure of Nerve after 40 years of experience as a family therapist and leadership consultant. His views on leadership are shaped by an evolutionistic perspective as well as by his experience working with a diversity of people from all cultural backgrounds and positions, including families, businesses, or non-profit organizations. He…
By: Phil Goldsberry on October 13, 2016
Introduction Some books inspire. Some books are merely entertainment. But every so often you pick up a book that speaks directly to your soul. When reading A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, I thought my highlighter would run dry. Author and lecturer, the late Edwin H. Friedman (passed away…
By: Kristin Hamilton on October 13, 2016
I have a confession: I LOVE to research and take notes, and I may have a little crush on Professor Derek Rowntree. Professor Rowntree made my week with two simple ideas: 1) the ideal of the Super Student is a myth (Kindle Locations 313-315), and 2) every author is, essentially, trying to sell…
By: Kevin Norwood on October 13, 2016
Summary This engaging book by Edwin H Friedman, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of Quick Fix has been a thought provoking read. It seems he could have written this book over this past year. Leadership issues abound today and no one is able to define what leadership should look like now! He…
By: Marc Andresen on October 13, 2016
I’m not convinced Edwin Friedman is dead. I’m sure he wrote A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix while watching this week’s presidential debate. His descriptive charts and tables state precisely what we are observing and experiencing in American politics today. More’s the pity. But that’s not what I want…
By: Aaron Peterson on October 13, 2016
Is it ironic that Friedman’s opening assertion that in America today we have a leadership crisis and that there are forces attempting to sabotage leaders, caused a certain amount of anxiety to develop inside me? Perhaps not, because maybe that is who I am as a leader. Friedman reminds me that I need to constantly…
By: Aaron Cole on October 13, 2016
Summary: Edwin H. Friedman’s book: A Failure of Nerve, Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, is a challenging read on the subject of contemporary leadership based on timeless truths. Friedman takes his book’s title from Five Stages of Greek Religion by Gilbert Murray, wherein a chapter entitled “A Failure of Nerve,” he states:…
By: Jason Kennedy on October 13, 2016
There was a room in my church immediately off the foyer. It was carpeted, with giant shadow boxes and faded Assemblies of God mission’s posters in them. The furniture was a collection of new and what was left over. There was an infamous lounge chair that had matching duct-tape to hold the seams together on…
By: Chip Stapleton on October 13, 2016
Our assigned text for the week, Learn How to Study by Derek Rowntree is another in the series of assignments that might be considered ‘preparatory’ in our doctoral studies. The book takes its place with the other books we have read this semester that aimed to prepare us for our rigorous course of study by helping…
