Given the spate of highly negative (and justified) press that the financial world has recently received, and that bureaucracies always get, I thought it ironic that I would be assigned to review a new book titled ‘Creating the Intrapreneur,’ by Victoria DePaul. I mean, hey-we’re finally realizing the tremendous damage that uncontrolled entrapreneurs can cause us. We are seeing, in the final analysis, that these thieves, crooks and assorted con men are, once their patina of affluence is stripped away, nothing but common criminals.
Worse yet, the subtitle ‘the search for leadership excellence,’ seemed to be but just another in a (too) long series of books offering advice and counsel on how to become the king or queen of your own proverbial hill. After all, almost all celebrities, politicos, and the like have sought to capitalize on the public quest for more knowledge in what’s really quite an illusory area.
Yet, this is a book that is not only highly readable, but very thought provoking as well. The author successfully transcends all of the usual stuff one typically expects to find in such books (how to get the most out of your employees, meeting objectives, defining the vision and the mission, blah, blah, blah). Instead, she has developed, and articulated with great clarity, a perspective on leadership that’s quite unique. Actually, the book is really more about an overall life philosophy, a world view of who we are, and more importantly, who we can become; both organizationally and personally.
Make no mistake, this is no Kumbaya prescription for life. Rather, Ms. DePaul incorporates, in 15 appropriately sequenced chapters, an entirely new way to see the world of work, as well as the world we each internally inhabit. To this end, and via the use of anecdotes and real-world examples, she intertwines the personal and the business, establishing a much more holistic approach to organizational and career problems and issues than are ever broached in similar books. At the end of each chapter, the author provides a relevant list of ‘reflections’, or questions, for us to ask ourselves, so that the reading meshes with our own personal experiences.
Sure, the book does indeed have it’s own set of buzzwords, such as ‘life energy,’ ‘polarity,’ ‘responsability,’ etc. In fact, the author includes a glossary at the end of the book, to help clarify the concepts she so ably presents. Together with the previously mentioned reflections, as well as several charts and graphs, Ms. DePaul weaves the lot together in such a way as to best present her case for us to develop a higer and more meaningful level of personal empowerment and enrichment.
While Intrapreneur is an excellent career and leadership guide, it is in fact far more than that. But like with most things, the more you put into reading this book, the more you’ll gain from the experience. I know I did. This book is highly recommended for all current and aspiring independent thinkers, as well as for anyone who does-or should-question the status quo.
Buy the book here.
Review by staff writer Victor Kipling.
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