Mr. Hunter has indeed put together a book which is a “Leader’s Guide to Creating an Extraordinary Organization.” I knew I was in for a treat when, as is my custom, I flipped through this book before settling down to read it in earnest, and came across the statement that, “It’s all a conversation,” and if you randomly walked into most companies and ask the employees, ‘What’s the company’s vision?’ the most common answer will be ‘to make money.’ And if you ask them, ‘To make money for whom?’ the answer will likely be ‘for the owners, of course.’ ” I wasn’t mistaken. Hunter pulled it all together by first describing the existing model, explaining why it doesn’t work, then giving us a new model to consider.
In this small volume you will learn about the different listening styles which perpetuate the existing dysfunctional model we all tend to use. You will see how that model is surely not suited for our post-modern world. You will find a new model based on real relationship building. But perhaps the most refreshing thing for me was Hunter’s unabashed statement that one is the source of what one sees. That is to say, there is no one truth, but rather only our perceptions. Hunter says it this way, “No, it’s not the truth; it’s only your truth! We don’t describe the world we see—”we see the world we describe!”
Hunter’s work is compelling, easily read, and straight to the point with real life examples and case studies. I might have found it a bit easier to follow if he had provided some hints on where to find some of the material that he referred back to from time-to-time. I didn’t always remember the details when he referred me to a previous case, and it would have been helpful to have a hint, such as what chapter to go back to in order to refresh the details. But that is a small complaint considering all the good I got from reading the book. All in all, a fine piece of work and well worth your time to read. And follow through with the exercise at the end of chapter two, you will be surprised I bet.
Click to see it at Amazon