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| View Larger Image | Juggling Elephants?
by Jones Loflin; Todd Musig
|  | | 6 New starting at: | $16.70 | | 11 Used starting at: | $9.75 | | 2 Collectible starting at: | $13.99 | | | | | Sales Rank: | 885143 | | Studio: | Elucidate Publishing | | | Binding: | Hardcover | | Number Of Pages: | 117 | | Publication Date: | May 01, 2005 | | Publisher: | Elucidate Publishing |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Juggling Elephants? Be The Ringmaster of Your Work and Life (peanuts not included) Jones Loflin & Todd Musig So, how's your circus? Almost everyone has made the comment that their life is like a three ring circus, but have you ever thought about harnessing the invaluable yet practical principles from the circus to create for yourself and your organization the performance of a lifetime? Juggling Elephants? is a witty and profound parable about one man’s experience with the circus. While watching the performance, Mark chooses to be the “Ringmaster” of his circus. Applying his insights to the professional and personal “acts” in his life, Mark quickly finds that he is more productive, less stressed and better able to lead the individuals in his “lineup”. Written for anyone struggling with “getting it all done,” Juggling Elephants? offers timeless insights you will use again and again to: -Better focus your two most critical resources of time and energy. -More fully engage the energy of others to accomplish goals and work as a team. -Create a performance that gets a standing ovation from everyone around you, including yourself. After reading Juggling Elephants?”, don’t be surprised when you find yourself saying, “May all my days be circus days!” |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 2.5 based on 2 reviews)
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Good Book for Newly Promoted Managers/Supervisors 
It is true that the style and metaphors of this book may be basic for a lot of people, especially if you have been in a leadership position for a while. I have found it useful to help educate new leaders on the importance of establishing a work/life balance early on in their new endeavours before they burn themselves out. I've seen many of them devote far too many hours to the first few weeks on the job, only to fail because they aren't given enough tools to be successful. Given the lack of management talent in many industries, there's a never ending search for anything to assist those who have never led before. This book gives a clear cut and simple way to determine what should and should not be on your radar and plate to increase one's productivity--both personally and professionally.
The HR world does a very good job of talking about the importance of having a work/life balance, however there's not much to start people off in the right direction. New leaders need all the guidance and assistance they can get, and this book helps them sharpen their focus, decide their priorities, and engage their teams. There's not a leader out there that cannot benefit from the sage advice offered in the book to "constantly offer positive reinforcement for good behavior" as it's one of the top reasons people leave their jobs. Getting knowledge and skills on how to improve that recognition is almost worth reading the book alone.
January 31, 2008 | |
A book that means well... but is frustrating on many fronts. 
This book made some good points and the premise was good in theory, but the metaphor was forced. A multitude of self-leadership, and management principles can be illustrated through how a circus works, but "Juggling Elephants" does not accomplish this. The principles are crystal clear, so much so that its easily possible to identify theories and tenets by name. However, in their zeal to make the ideas clear and memorable, the authors seem to oversimplify and insult the intelligence of readers. Also, the circus inaccuracies drove me crazy. Basically, they didn't use circus to demonstrate management, they changed or even made up things that conveniently fit with their simplistic narrative. I would not recommend this book to anyone over the age of 10. The principles are valid, but if you're looking for straight forward, no-nonsense guidance or an interesting and engaging story, you'd be better off reading another management book, or a non-fiction circus narrative. Avoid "Juggling Elephants" because it is a poor source for either of these.
I received this book as a gift and hoped it would be a fun read. I have a background in leadership and management theory and a fair amount of hands on and scholarly knowledge related to circus arts and history. So... as a gift this book was a logical choice, but my high expectations were not met. I am not someone who usually feels compelled to share, but my disappointment is significant enough for me take the effort to write this review.
December 27, 2007 | |
SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
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