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The new approach to change management that is presented here will completely flummox control freaks. Block posits a refreshing series of truths that, if adopted, will transform workplaces into journeys of meaning. The best-selling author of Flawless Consulting (1981) and Stewardship (1993) insists that we ask the wrong question about accomplishing the important things in our lives, particularly in our place of employment. We too often ask "How?" which focuses too closely on the practical way of getting something done and is actually a subconscious expression of society's emphasis on control of people, time, and cost. Instead, our concentration should be focused on "Why?" In other words, we need to pay attention to what really matters to us personally, from heart-felt commitments in our private lives to the creation of projects in the workplace. To be able to act on what matters, explains Block, we must reclaim specific qualities, such as intimacy and idealism. Then we can tackle purposeful work as if we were social architects seeking engagement and change. Provocative and stimulating reading. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Description
People keep asking "How?" as a defense against living their life, says best-selling author Peter Block. In this witty, insightful award-winning book, Block shows that many standard solutions and improvement efforts, reinforced by most of the literature, keep people paralyzed. Here he places the "how to" craze in perspective and teaches individuals, workers, and managers ways to act on what they know. This in turn allows them to reclaim their freedom and capacity to create the kind of world they want to live in. Block’s "elements of choice" — the characteristic of a new workplace and a new world based on more positive values — include self-mentoring, investing in relationships, accepting the unpredictability of life, and realizing that the individual prospers only when the community does.

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First Sentence:
how is the wrong question. Read the first page Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
default culture, our idealism, social architecture, life that matters, virtual experience Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Christopher Alexander, Question Four, Peter Koestenbaum, Question One, Question Three New! 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful: An attractive restatement of known principles, April 30, 2003 Reviewer: Bill Godfrey (Mt Stuart, TAS Australia) - See all my reviews    A carefully presented essay on the importance of personal purpose and meaning and the dangers to ourselves and our world of the instrumental world to which we are subjecting ourselves. The book is beautifully set out and easy to read. The philosophy and advice, though useful and cogent, is much the same as that to be found in a whole range of similar books concerned with personal development. There is perhaps particular value in his distinction between personal intimacy and the ersatz, commercialized 'customer intimacy' that is so much touted in books on marketing. Was this review helpful to you?  (Report this)

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful: Excellent book on re-thinking freedom and community, May 15, 2003 Reviewer: Tim Warneka "Holistic Counselor, Coach and Author" (Wickliffe, OH USA) - See all my reviews    I would highly recommend this book to anyone who considers issues around freedom and community, experience and empiricism (I would include both therapists and coaches in this category). Block's eloquent writing identifies some of the significant flaws our Western culture makes in bowing to the gods of empiricism and data to the exclusion of experience and community. An excellent book by a man with a unique perspective on the American culture of capitalism. Was this review helpful to you?  (Report this)

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful: Seminal Work on the Leadership Required to Change the World, June 23, 2004 Reviewer: Stan Cross "mysteriousone" (Roanoke, VA United States) - See all my reviews I have just finished reading this book for the 5th or 6th time. It contains a unique perspective on the type of leadership necessary to transform the world, from the local to the global levels, to a place of harmony, creativity, justice, sustainability, and love. It is not for those still centered in their own egos or even those centered in their families and communities. It embodies a human perspective deep enough to touch values that are universal and if acted upon, healing and life giving. The book culminates in a description of the leader as "social architect." This is a person who helps all people discover the values and vision that they hold collectively and then provides the space for collaborative and creative solutions and designs. It would be wonderful and potentially powerful for all leaders to read this book and then act on what they have learned... especially the leaders of the nations of our world. Was this review helpful to you?  (Report this)

2 of 8 people found the following review helpful: A BOOK THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE!, February 7, 2003 Reviewer: Dr. Ronald Fountain (Shaker Heights, OH United States) - See all my reviews BLOCK'S FLAWLESS CONSULTING OPENED MY EYES TO EFFECTIVENESS IN MY FIELD AS AN ADVISOR AND A COACH AFTER MANY YEARS AS A BANKER AND CORPORATE EXECUTIVE. BLOCK'S RECENT WORK, THE ANSWER TO HOW? IS YES AFFIRMS THE EXPERIENCES I HAVE HAD IN ORGANIZATIONS FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS. I AM SO PLEASED TO HAVE FINALLY MATURED SUFFICIENTLY TO "LISTEN" TO HIS WORDS AND FEEL AFFIRMED IN WHAT I THOUGHT I WAS SEEING AND KNEW I WAS FEELING. THIS BOOK MAKES A REAL DIFFERENCE, BUT ONLY IF ONE HAS THE COURAGE TO BOTH ABSORB WHAT IT SAYS AND ACT ON WHAT IT MEANS! Was this review helpful to you?  (Report this)

5 of 11 people found the following review helpful: Very Insightful, May 19, 2002 Reviewer: Beth (Boulder Creek, Ca United States) - See all my reviews I am very happy with this book. The questions asked have really helped me in my work. Block helps us to find the questions that should be asked before we look directly at how to implement a project. Was this review helpful to you?  (Report this)

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful: Confront people with their freedom, March 20, 2002 Reviewer: Rich McLaughlin (Chicago) - See all my reviews Block is on target once again. He sounded a similar alarm in his earlier work Stewardship. If we are ever to create the kind of organizations we really crave we need to change our thinking from two perspectives: management must stop the caretaking and confront people with their freedom, and employees must stop waiting for a better parent to arrive and take responsibility for creating the culture they desire. As a consultant working with some traditonal patriarchal systems, these are messages and paterns, unfortunately, that many people do not want to hear nor confront. Was this review helpful to you?  (Report this)

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