Rating: 
Summary: A "Heartfelt "HR Thank You
Review: I just finished reading this outstanding book that takes every HR professional on the wondrous, fun and sometimes very bumpy ride through HR. Through the author's actual accounts, the reader is provided with truly inspiring stories and strategies for building the People Side of Great Business. The author gives all of us in the HR profession, great tools, some that worked and others that didn't quite hit the mark, but all value added that helps us to continue to navigate our careers in this great profession of Human Resources. I look forward to the author's (hoped for) sequel, "Laughing Out Loud in the Hallways and Other Energizing People Strategies".
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Summary: Love for HR from the Heart
Review: I love this book! In the years that I've spent in HR, first as a practitioner and now as a consultant (and an instructor for the HR Generalist Program), I've seen how important it is to remain inspired by the potential of HR to not only help our organizations achieve their strategic goals and objectives, but to touch the lives of our employees in significant and meaningful ways each and every day. This is the one book that puts it all together in a way that's both inspiring and pragmatic. Highly recommended, from the heart.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I ordered this book and received it in the mail yesterday. I opened it up as soon as I got home. I couldn't put it down...in fact, read it cover to cover before I went to bed.
It was fantastic! I laughed and cried and laughed and cried, and had several "ah-huh" moments. Many of my struggles are peppered through each chapter, and the advice was perfect. (i.e...I was just invited to "sit at the table" for our Sr. Management Meeting and now I feel armed with a strategy!) The stories are wonderful, and I hope the authors will write another soon.
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Summary: A wonderful perspective from a real practitioner
Review: I plan to use this book for an HR ethics class I teach, not just because of the excellent chapter on that topic, but because it represents such a sincere and realistic perspective on how HR professionals need to work, think, and live to make a true impact within their corporations. It is an easy read, very lively and conversational, and if you have met Libby or heard her speak at conferences, you can feel her energy as you read the book. While this may not offer any "news" to long term professionals, it is an ideal read for those wanting to progress in the HR field, and a great reaffirmation for those of us who have already achieved our goals.
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Summary: HR Professionals Get No Respect
Review: I write this on the day Rodney Dangerfield died. Fitting.
I've worked in the HR field for 25 years, and never once read a book that so correctly summarized the true purpose of HR work.
I've seen people enter this field because "they like people," or because they cannot get a church to appoint them as a minister, or because they don't like math. I've also seen many HR practitioners sink into a morass of self-absorption, cynicism, despair or xenophobia. How can a reasonable person spend their life's work "fighting with management" with no consciousness of that proposition's essential irony: if you are in HR, you ARE in management.
Dave Ulrich told us ten years ago that HR had to add value by delivering business results. OK, we get that part. Libby Sartain tells us practical, down-to-earth things we need to know to get those results, retain our self-respect, and experience the sheer joy of seeing our work result in wonderful customer service.
To see what Libby has accomplished, watch the cable series on airlines. Watch what the front-line Southwest Airlines people do habitually, casually: show compassion, empathy and humor to people whom you would swear were the last to deserve it. She correctly credits Herb Kelleher with creating a customer service company which happens to fly people around.
See the power of excellent HR brought to life. Read this book. We get the respect we deserve; Libby tells us how to earn it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing and Trite.
Review: I've read most of the leading and best-selling publications on HR management and organizational development over the last 15 years. I found this book to be trivial and not very well written. It lacks form and compelling/relevant content.
Rating:
Summary: Educational, Inspiring, Reinforcing
Review: If you're employed in the human resources field, you'll get a lot out of this book. You'll enjoy a conversation about a wide range of relevant topics with someone who's become a sort of legend in the human resources (HR) field. If you're not in HR, thinking about going into HR, or related to someone in HR, this book will have less value for you.That said, we must appreciate that a book written in one specialty field may also have value for professionals in another field. While many of the stories and perspectives won't be germane for marketing people, financial folks, or sales professionals, there are some cross-functional lessons to be learned. Although the book is obviously intended for an HR audience, it will have value for people in other professions in the corporate world. Over the course of 44 chapters, Sartain, who gained fame as Vice President of People for Southwest Airlines, shares her experiences-and some advice-with readers. She shows how valuable HR can be to an organization and how meaningful a career HR can be. This volume will be powerfully reinforcing for people in the field, describing some of the ups and downs and lessons of the author's experience. Anyone contemplating entering the field-or debating about staying in HR-should read these pages. Readers will gain a better understanding of what Sartain did to build her career, as well as where things didn't go so well. This is not a touchy-feely gushy book as the title might imply, but a realistic report that confronts a wide range of issues in the profession head-on. The chapters are full of advice, some presented directly and some inferred by the lessons learned by the author. HR from the Heart is the kind of book that will be read thoughtfully by a senior or mid-level professional in the HR field, then passed around to colleagues. Thought-provoking, its reading will stimulate conversations that will raise sensitivities, intensify reality, offer balance, and probably hold some people in the profession that have given some thought to leaving. HR is a field in transition, in search of its rightful place in the corporate design. The contents of Sartain's book, assembled with the able assistance of the insightful professional writer, Martha Finney, comfortably address issues in a way that will aid in the growth of respect for HR and its influence on the corporate world.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and inspiring
Review: Libby and Martha have written an excellent book reflecting the learnings of many years of HR Experience. For those with lots of experience and a caring heart, you will reflect on your HR career and say "hey, that's what I've learned in 20 years." There are good ideas on how to be a strategic and caring leader that will help you be more successful. For those newer to HR, the book will provide insights that may prevent you from making the same mistakes that us older folks have made. There are also insights on managing your HR career. I would also recommend the book to CEO and other high-level Execs that 1) want more from their HR department or 2) don't know what they want or what HR can be. The book is well written and inspirational. Thanks to the authors.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and inspiring
Review: Libby and Martha have written an excellent book reflecting the learnings of many years of HR Experience. For those with lots of experience and a caring heart, you will reflect on your HR career and say "hey, that's what I've learned in 20 years." There are good ideas on how to be a strategic and caring leader that will help you be more successful. For those newer to HR, the book will provide insights that may prevent you from making the same mistakes that us older folks have made. There are also insights on managing your HR career. I would also recommend the book to CEO and other high-level Execs that 1) want more from their HR department or 2) don't know what they want or what HR can be. The book is well written and inspirational. Thanks to the authors.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it, read it, live it--a no buzzword playbook for HR pros
Review: Libby Sartain lives what she writes. She's truly "been there, done that", and now she's finally sharing her hard won expertise with a worldwide audience. Having served valiantly in every HR job from entry level recruiter to Senior VP, she is no academic peering in from the sidelines, but an impassioned, veteran player in the heat of the game. And having built world class HR teams for such top performing organizations as Southwest Airlines and now Yahoo!, she uses real world experiences and stories to vividly illustrate " a day in the life of an HR leader". Don't let the title fool you...this book is not only for HR folks; it's an indispensable guide for any manager in any discipline keen to learn more about the human side of entreprise. This no nonsense coaching playbook is the first ever aimed at "new breed" HR professionals who are business people first and HR practitioners second. It's packed with useful anecdotes, success stories, tips, and "how to do it" advice that's clear, cogent and cost effective. It's especially useful for HR leaders here in Asia who want to become trusted business partners with what Libby calls " a seat at the table", ie., the respect of top management. She shows them, in simple, practical steps, how to apply "best of the best" HR practices in their own rapidly growing organizations. Speaking from the heart, Libby eschews buzzwords...she's terse, tough minded and definitive...she has a clear, unambiguous agenda and she pulls no punches. Reading this is like sitting in with her for a one on one coaching session... and best of all, you can put the game plan into practice straightaway! Underlying the stories and lessons is Libby's passion for her profession, her love of the game, and her warmth, wit and sense of humor that she uses so effectively to bring focus and pespective to to the task of building a world class talent machine.
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