Rating: 
Summary: Of COURSE we're different!!
Review: The biggest thing missing from my MBA education was learning how to interact with other people. Business is nothing if we can't communicate effectively and regularly. This book explains in clear terms how men can understand women and communicate effectively. We men can't talk to women the way we do with other men. We are very different. By following Dr. Gray's guidelines, men can learn how to earn the trust and respect of female co-workers. We can learn easy ways to speak the woman's language and understand her perceptions. The most fascinating aspect is the description of women's emotions, what they mean, and positive responses men can use to increase productivity and create a pleasant workplace. Working in harmony is the only way to go.I should think that this book can be especially helpful to women, as they are basically working in a world that has been designed and run by men. As Dr. Gray says, a woman's challenge in the workplace is greater than a man's. While the books and research of Gail Evans and Dr. Deborah Tannen and others have described gender differences, this book by Dr. Gray sheds light on many aspects of workplace problems and offers solutions that are easy, respectful, effective, and even fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Which planet is this guy from?
Review: These are John Gray's tips for scoring points with women in the work place: "give a personal greeting and use her name ... before asking a business question" and "remember the names of her children" and "ask a woman about her family or personal life". I can't imagine the workplace that John is talking about here. This book merely shows how wildly out of touch the author is rather than informing us about working with the opposite sex. Perhaps it was a lifetime ago that John actually did work, which may explain things. If you would like to read a book which tells woman to get to the point (as though you can't do that already) and prop up men's egos, because they are all so fragile, then this is the book for you. If you are sick of book franchises that have little substance and no purpose other than expanding the pockets of the author then steer clear of this one.
Rating:
Summary: Making the Workplace More Productive and Pleasant
Review: This book and audio tape are up to the high standards of most of John Gray's books. It ranks up there with Men Are From Mars; Children Are From Heaven and How to Get What You Want. Small and large businesses and their employees should all be required to read this. It should be required reading in colleges too, especially for business majors. Dr. Gray does for the workplace, what he did in revolutionizing personal relationships with Men Are From Mars. His easily understood writing style helps all people to understand his concepts.
Rating:
Summary: Making the Workplace More Productive and Pleasant
Review: This book and audio tape are up to the high standards of most of John Gray's books. It ranks up there with Men Are From Mars; Children Are From Heaven and How to Get What You Want. Small and large businesses and their employees should all be required to read this. It should be required reading in colleges too, especially for business majors. Dr. Gray does for the workplace, what he did in revolutionizing personal relationships with Men Are From Mars. His easily understood writing style helps all people to understand his concepts.
Rating:
Summary: Workplace is right on!
Review: This is the first Mars/Venus book in the author's series of books that I've read. I have heard several good things about the original book Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. Naturally, curiosity got the better of me, and I purchased a copy of this book. I liked how the author was able to coherently build a framework to explain the differences between men and women. His analogy to interplanetary species having to co-mingle here on earth struck me as original and humorous. There were, however, certain aspects of this book that are a bit disappointing to me. Whereas I agree with most of his points, I wish the author would have included more real world examples and scenarios. In 290 pages of text, only 3 examples were given as to how effective this framework could be. The book's recurring theme and lesson is that men and women basically misunderstand each other because they come from different planets where customs and traditions vary. The book is full of 2-3 column charts on what men and women should or shouldn't say at certain situations. It attempts to explain what is going on in the mind of a woman as a result of what a man does or says, and vice versa. It also offer remedial dialogue for what to say when a "misunderstanding" is about to occur. Another point the author drills into the readers mind is: Men are quick to arrive at solutions whenever a woman approaches him with a problem, not knowing that this is her way of including him in her world and a way of leading up to her solution. It states, half a dozen times throughout the book, that women share their emotions with men in the workplace not as a way of putting blame or soliciting advice, but rather a way to make an emotional connection. Men, on the other hand, view this as a sign of weakness and a waste of time. The author terms men as Mr. Fix It because men seem to always quickly offer a solution not fully hearing out what a woman has to say. Believe it or not, that was the single most important takeaway of the whole book. Each chapter repeats a variation of this lesson. Toward the end of the book, the author crams in a chapter about sexual harrassment. Why it occurs (based on his framework of interplanetary misunderstanding) and what can be done to relieve or tolerate it. I do think the topic of sexual harrassment in the workplace is relevant, but I felt it was glossed over. The second to the last chapter is devoted to essentially two checklists: 101 Ways Men can Empathize with Women and 101 Ways Women can Empathize with Men. And there really were 101 items on each list. This struck me as odd because it reminded me of a little book called Life's Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown <ASIN: 1558534903>. It had suggestions like compliment her hairstyle, offer to bring her a glass of water, carry around a family photo in your wallet, etc. It just seemed really odd to me that this would be included in this book. (I'm curious as to whether this book stemmed from the author's workshop materials or the other way around. Maybe this book is the summary of his specialized courses to institutions.) Either way, I'm afraid I cannot recommend this book because what the author has spent almost 300 pages trying to explain, I can capture in 3 paragraphs.
Rating: 
Summary: A tad bit disappointing...
Review: This is the first Mars/Venus book in the author's series of books that I've read. I have heard several good things about the original book Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. Naturally, curiosity got the better of me, and I purchased a copy of this book. I liked how the author was able to coherently build a framework to explain the differences between men and women. His analogy to interplanetary species having to co-mingle here on earth struck me as original and humorous. There were, however, certain aspects of this book that are a bit disappointing to me. Whereas I agree with most of his points, I wish the author would have included more real world examples and scenarios. In 290 pages of text, only 3 examples were given as to how effective this framework could be. The book's recurring theme and lesson is that men and women basically misunderstand each other because they come from different planets where customs and traditions vary. The book is full of 2-3 column charts on what men and women should or shouldn't say at certain situations. It attempts to explain what is going on in the mind of a woman as a result of what a man does or says, and vice versa. It also offer remedial dialogue for what to say when a "misunderstanding" is about to occur. Another point the author drills into the readers mind is: Men are quick to arrive at solutions whenever a woman approaches him with a problem, not knowing that this is her way of including him in her world and a way of leading up to her solution. It states, half a dozen times throughout the book, that women share their emotions with men in the workplace not as a way of putting blame or soliciting advice, but rather a way to make an emotional connection. Men, on the other hand, view this as a sign of weakness and a waste of time. The author terms men as Mr. Fix It because men seem to always quickly offer a solution not fully hearing out what a woman has to say. Believe it or not, that was the single most important takeaway of the whole book. Each chapter repeats a variation of this lesson. Toward the end of the book, the author crams in a chapter about sexual harrassment. Why it occurs (based on his framework of interplanetary misunderstanding) and what can be done to relieve or tolerate it. I do think the topic of sexual harrassment in the workplace is relevant, but I felt it was glossed over. The second to the last chapter is devoted to essentially two checklists: 101 Ways Men can Empathize with Women and 101 Ways Women can Empathize with Men. And there really were 101 items on each list. This struck me as odd because it reminded me of a little book called Life's Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown . It had suggestions like compliment her hairstyle, offer to bring her a glass of water, carry around a family photo in your wallet, etc. It just seemed really odd to me that this would be included in this book.(I'm curious as to whether this book stemmed from the author's workshop materials or the other way around. Maybe this book is the summary of his specialized courses to institutions.) Either way, I'm afraid I cannot recommend this book because what the author has spent almost 300 pages trying to explain, I can capture in 3 paragraphs.
| 
