Rating: 
Summary: Not sure what to expect
Review: @ FIRST I THOUG IT WAS A BRAIN WASH,THAN I START PAYING ATENTION TO IT,THAN I START LEARNING,AFTER THAT I APLIED IT TO MY PERSONAL LIFE AND GUES WHAT NOW I HELP OTHERS I GOT A NEW JOB AND I LIVE A HAPPY LIFE IT CHANGE MY LIFE,THANK YOU TO MY MANAGER AND THIS BOOK, NOBODY PAYED ME FOR SAYING THIS!
Rating:
Summary: A must read for all managers
Review: Having worked for too many bosses who are micro-managers, I wish this book was required reading for all such managers. This book, although lacking in realistic settings, is nonetheless a good read. Managers can't expect employees to be excited about their work if they don't have Ownership of their task. How many times have I been given a project to do only to find out that I've been left out of the analysis phase of the project. All information is on a Need to Know basis, and I obviously don't. What do I do for a living? I'm a programmer/analyst.
Rating: 
Summary: Simple read but not worth to own one
Review: I can't agree more with Gardengirl58. The fairy tale story telling format put me off. More for easy reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Sappi!
Review: If you have never read a business book or have only read of the 1 hour read variety (Who Moved My Cheese!, 30 minute manager, Leadership of Atilla the Hun) this book might serve you well. You can read it, get a quick summary in your head apply a couple thoughts and go to lunch. ZAPP!(like others before and many to come) is based on fictitious characters and situations - and they're pretty ridiculous. How can an adult pass by a character named "O. McDonald, E.I.E.I.O.!" without feeling patronized. The worst thing about the book is the lessons learned by the characters are so extremely obvious and are completely void of specific content. In fact, the 'route' the characters were going to go before 'learning' about Zapp is the foreign one that very few people, even extreme micro-managers, would ever travel. The dangers of this type of book are that it suggests there are only two types of management, dictatorial and empowering. To a hands-off manager (one who gives an assignment and just assumes it'll get done), they will feel they have "Zapped!" someone and they are a good manager. If you are truly interested in improving your empowering style, look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Communicate Better!
Review: Many people fail to focus on whether or not their message is received. More effective people focus on whether the message is received as they attempt to improve communications so their company can be more successful. ZAPP! also focuses on WHAT message is received. As the book shows, a perceived message can be dispiriting or empowering. I liked the fact that the book spent as much time on explaining about bad communications as it did on good ones. That is a great way to help people improve. The only thing I did not like about the book was that the end led into a sales pitch for consulting rather than tips for how to pursue this on your own. It seemed out of keeping in a book about empowerment. Skip the last 2 pages, and you will be left with a better taste in your mouth. Buy, read, think about, apply, and share this book and the lessons above with your colleagues. That will help you get heart-warming results to go with the heart-warming feeling that reading this book provides. Enjoy!
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Summary: OVERCOME COMMUNICATIONS STALLS FOR MORE SUCCESS
Review: Many people focus on whether the message is received as they attempt to improve communications so their company can be more successful. ZAPP! also focuses on WHAT message is received. As the book shows, a message can be dispiriting or empowering. I liked the fact that the book spent as much time on explaining about bad communications as it did on good ones. That is a great way to help people improve. The only thing I did not like about the book was that the end led into a sales pitch for consulting rather than tips for how to pursue this on your own. It seemed out of keeping in a book about empowerment. Skip the last 2 pages, and you will be left with a better taste in your mouth. In the ZAPP! fable, you will also encounter the Tradition, Bureaucracy, Misconception, Disbelief, Procrastination, and Ugly Duckling stalls -- the primary bad thinking habits that stall progress in organizations. You will have to look more closely to find these. The ZAPP theme of empowerment will work even better if combined with a work process to help each person become more effective. The one I suggest involves (1) learn the value of measurements (nothing improves unless you measure it) (2) measure everything you can about your most important organizational processes (3) identify the current best practices outside your industry and in, and extrapolate where these levels of performance will be in 5 years (4)combine best practices together that no one has ever used in the same organization before to exceed the future best practice (5) think about where people do something similar now almost perfectly, and conceive the ideal practice (6) using the analogy of the current perfection, apply those principles to your process to vastly exceed the future best practice (7) put the right people, support, and incentives in place to implement really well and (8) most importantly, keep repeating steps 1-7 because you will get a lot better every time you do. Begin to spread this process through your organization by teaching one person each month, and having them teach one person each month as well after they finish learning the first time. Within 18 months, everyone in your organization will be 20 times more effective and much happier. Buy, read, think about, apply, and share this book and the lessons above with your colleagues. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Has Zapped me since 96 (when I first read it I think)
Review: Read this book sometime around 1996. I know it changed my way of dealing with people not just at the workplace but also with my wife at home on the sports field and it continues to influence the way I even deal with my 8 month old baby. I have since quit my job and moved to the US to pursue a PhD in INdustrial Relations & Human Resources (after working for 15 years). And this continues to influence my choice of research.
Rating:
Summary: Zapp for Success
Review: The author took a different approach to identifying all the nuances associated with employee/management relations, and its interface with the concept of employee empowerment. I was impressed with the fantasy world forum he created to illustrate his empowerment points. He cleverly created a parallel between the fantasy world and the real world; mirroring each world's activities, and allowing me, the reader, to visualize in my mind the points of each world, and more importantly, visualize the differences in a familiar practical context. Too often, these books are extensive lectures, providing hoards of information, but running the words and concepts together in rapid fire form.
Zapp! provided a real life organizational scenario, familiar to all whose ever had a less than desirable manager, and illustrated an alternate organizational reality; one clearly attainable and understandable, and complete with the real life obstacles common to many companies. Whenever comparing two approaches to the same problem, I will be influenced by this author's ability to state the same moment in time in two mediums, governed by differing rules. It is akin to providing the alter egos common audience, to be reviewed, questioned and compared. To visualize both together, and have the ability to observe the manifestation of cause and effect from different perspectives, is fascinating, and handles the `compare' function without saying compare. I thought the differences identified by the contrast of the two worlds were thoroughly explored, and gave a clear visual of the organizations being compared. This was important, as I found myself feeling the frustration of the main character attempting the implement the new ideas derived from the fantasy world. I felt in tune with the challenges he faced in remaking his group's behaviors. I thought it was very effective to go through the mistakes encountered by the main character in implementing the changes. Every mistake experienced, resulted in a journey back to the information source (the fantasy world), which helped reinforce the concepts, as well as, illustrate common barriers to be encountered.
I appreciated the book's perspective on the implementation of the concepts. It did not portray a smooth and easy approach to the empowerment culture. Nor did it indicate any overwhelmingly taxing event. It walked the fine line of explanation and realization, without intimidation.
Rating:
Summary: Zapp! A great resource.
Review: This book is great for helping managers and superivors see the difference between building a team and dictating to individuals. The story line is used effectively in communicating the damage done by negative thinking and stale attitudes. I recommend it for group reading and discussion.
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Summary: An allegory for leaders
Review: This is a great book. I was introduced to some of its principles a few years ago at a seminar, but didn't read the full thing till this year. The book is a fable chronicling the journey from managerial idiot(who most of us have worked for or with at one time or another) to managerial super-hero. Many managers who I deal with in my job don't have any understanding of how to manage people, they have risen to the position of manager through having great technical skills. This book addresses that, it's an easy read so even reluctant readers will find it enjoyable, and it may even provide a good refrersher to those who have been managing others for a while. It's simple in format and style, but it's got lots of layers to it, and its insights get deeper the further you dig. If you open it expecting pages of managerial psychology, you will be disappointed - this book is far more accessible than that. Happy zapping!
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