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On My Bookshelf: Dream Manager

dream managerABOUT THE AUTHOR & BOOK

Matthew Kelly Dream ManagerMatthew Kelly has dedicated his life to helping people and organizations become the-best-version-of-themselves. Born in Sydney, Australia, he began speaking and writing in his late teens while he was attending business school. Since that time, more than four million people have attended his seminars and presentations in more than fifty countries.

Today he is an internationally acclaimed speaker, bestselling author, and business consultant. His books have been published in twenty-five languages, have appeared on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller lists, and have sold in excess of twenty million copies.

Matthew is also a partner at Floyd Consulting, a Chicago-based management-consulting firm. His clients include: Procter and Gamble, Chick-fil-A, General Electric, Pepsi, FedEx, HSBC, the Department of Defense, McDonalds, US Bank, 3M, Ernst & Young, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and dozens of other Fortune 500 companies. (taken from www.dynamiccatholic.com)

About the book:

A business parable about how companies can achieve remarkable results by helping their employees fulfill their dreams

Managing people is difficult. With disengagement and turnover on the rise, many managers are scratching their heads wondering what to do. It’s not that we dont dream of being great managers, it’s just that we havent found a practical and efficient way to do it. Until now . . .

The fictional company in this remarkable book is grappling with real problems of high turnover and low morale — so the managers begin to investigate what really drives the employees. What they discover is that the key to motivation isnt necessarily the promise of a bigger paycheck or title, but rather the fulfillment of crucial personal dreams. They also learned that people at every level need to be offered specific kinds of help and encouragement — or our dreams will forever remain just dreams as we grow dissatisfied with our lives and jobs.

Beginning with his important thought that a company can only become the-best-version-of-itself to the extent that its employees are becoming better-versions-of-themselves, Matthew Kelly explores the connection between the dreams we are chasing personally and the way we all engage at work. Tackling head-on the growing problem of employee disengagement, Kelly explores the dynamic collaboration that is unleashed when people work together to achieve company objectives and personal dreams.

The power of The Dream Manager is that simply becoming aware of the concept will change the way you manage and relate to people instantly and forever. What’s your dream?

 (taken from www.barnsandnobles.com)

MY REVIEW – Dream Manager 

Members of my church went bonkers over this book, stating it’s a “must read”. Someone even gifted it to me when I was helping out in one of the ministry school department of my church. After having the book for months on my shelf I finally read it. All in one day.

Don’t be too impressed it’s not a very big book in size and length. Kelly writes very well so the entertainment factor was there for me.

My biggest issue with the book is the first section. When I started reading I was a bit confused, because I thought I was reading a non-fiction book on management, and going after your dreams. Oh, boy was I wrong. It was a story. A good one, but there was one big problem. It was fictional.

It somewhat made me discredit what he was trying to convey in his book… It would have built a better foundation for his readers if he shared true stories and testimonies. That way we could see the power and potential of pursuing their dreams in everyday life. The whole time I was reading the story I was doubting and questioning his method.

The second part of the book was my favorite, which was sadly only around 15-20 pages long. In those pages, I did get some good insight on how I can set myself up to pursue my dreams. Kelly has an ability to stir you up and to get you excited.

Closing the book I was ready to sit down and write 100 of my life dreams. But for the life of me, I can never reach 100. I always get stuck in 40s range. I start putting random things down like “ride a camel.”

Now, my other little tiff I have, which has nothing to do with Mr. Kelly’s book. This is more of my personal conviction towards the new wave of “GO AFTER YOUR DREAMS.” that is hitting the church.

I’m all for going after your dreams, and I’m the crazy type that does goal planning to get to those dreams. My concern is we need to make sure as Christians we submit ourselves and our dreams to the Lord first.

Not every big pretty dream that pops in our heads comes from the heart of God. We need to learn to take things in prayer and not to hold so tightly to our own desires. Let’s not dream our own dreams, but learn to dream with God.

Overall, this is a good read, especially for those who feel like life has to be a cookie cutter. <–boring, come on dream a little 😉

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