The Exceptional Individual: Achieving Business Success One Person at a Time

Rating:
Summary: Compelling view of the roots of business excellence
Review: Engel persuasively argues that exceptional people are the true driving force behind excellence in business. He explores the core attributes of the exceptional individual (EI) and gives an approach to identifying such a person, centering on (1) the importance of achievement in their values and (2) the specifics of achievements. Driven toward action and achievement, EI's are creators; they make things happen! Beyond personality traits, there are insights into what it take to allow EI's to develop/emerge and achieve their potential. Engel's also describes the role others (facilitators) in support of the actions of EI's. There is deep passion in this work that clearly emerges when, in the closing pages, the author takes a quantum leap to link the achievements of EI's with the future of human evolution. Finally, Engel makes clear that personal excellence cannot be "neatly summarized," likewise, neither can this book, which is rich in thought, filled with anecdotes and, in its own right, exceptional.

Rating:
Summary: Should have been an article!
Review: I completely agree with the previous reviewer. This book should have been an article. His main point is a good one with the introduction is a strong criticism of consultants, specifically Tom Peters and there are other valuable information scattered throughout the book. However, he then tends to drift off on tangents that he can't seem to reconcile with his main point. An example of this is his criticism of television as an opiate of the masses.

Rating:
Summary: Should have been an article!
Review: I completely agree with the previous reviewer. This book should have been an article. His main point is a good one with the introduction is a strong criticism of consultants, specifically Tom Peters and there are other valuable information scattered throughout the book. However, he then tends to drift off on tangents that he can't seem to reconcile with his main point. An example of this is his criticism of television as an opiate of the masses.

Rating:
Summary: A good main point, but not much value added in this book
Review: I tend to agree with the main premise of this rather short book. But I don't feel the author adds enough "meat" to make the book the money. The most valuable part is a section on identifying "exceptional individuals" in job interviews. This material could have been put in a good-sized magazine article or essay. I didn't find the bulk of the book terribly useful, and (unlike the previous reviewer) I felt the anecdotes didn't add that much. I give it a "3" because I feel the main idea is valid, and because it does have at least one useful section. I can't go to 4 stars without more value than that, however.

Rating:
Summary: A good main point, but not much value added in this book
Review: I tend to agree with the main premise of this rather short book. But I don't feel the author adds enough "meat" to make the book the money. The most valuable part is a section on identifying "exceptional individuals" in job interviews. This material could have been put in a good-sized magazine article or essay. I didn't find the bulk of the book terribly useful, and (unlike the previous reviewer) I felt the anecdotes didn't add that much. I give it a "3" because I feel the main idea is valid, and because it does have at least one useful section. I can't go to 4 stars without more value than that, however.