From Publishers Weekly
Jones (Jesus, CEO) has established something of a cottage industry by using Jesus and his teachings as models for creating successful ways of doing business in contemporary society. In this latest effort, she draws once again from Jesus' teachings to his disciples, asserting that he successfully taught people how to work in teams to accomplish their goals. Jesus, she writes, did not simply gather a group of rag-tag followers; he "excited them," "grounded them," "transformed them" and "released them." For example, Jones contends that Jesus taught his team the SQM method: simplify, quantify, multiply. This method allowed the disciples to get to the core of what they were called to do, to determine ways to measure the progress they made toward these goals and to ensure that each one had the ability to multiply the good of the team in every contact they made. Each meditation is brief, and questions accompany each reflection so that groups can use the book to improve teamwork. Jones closes each meditation with a prayer. Overall, her conclusions can be simplistic and her readings of Scripture questionable, particularly since the biblical disciples were most noted for their repeated failures to understand Jesus' mission. Her assertions that "Scriptures are designed to help prevent failure" and that "those who listen to God's words, and heed them, are promised prosperity and abundance..." transmit a possibly misguided and self-centered understanding of Scripture. However, Jones's following is huge, and her fans will devour this new book. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Review
“Teach Your Team to Fish will give you fresh insights into how to get the people on your team to work together. You'll learn timeless truths from biblical examples and modern illustrations that you’ll remember and use. Laurie Beth Jones can show you and your team how to catch more fish.”
–Mark Sanborn, author of The Fred Factor

“Teach Your Team to Fish is filled with powerful insights drawn from the life of Jesus. Delving into the riches of his leadership wisdom, Laurie Beth Jones offers fresh perspective and provocative challenges that will equip leaders to propel their teams toward innovation and excellence.”
–Wayne Hastings, coauthor of Trust Me: Developing a Leadership Style People Will Follow

“Teach Your Team to Fish has all the ingredients of a terrific book. Laurie Beth Jones has shared her expertise on the subject of team building with a cutting edge focus on marketplace words like community and connection.”
–Stan Toler, author of The Secret Blend

“This is Jones’s seventh book. And it is her best.”
–Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Once again, Laurie Beth Jones shows us a practical pathway to teambuilding illuminated by the spark of the eternal and divine.”
–Michael A. Volkema, chairman, president, and CEO, Herman Miller

“Think of it. Whoever built a higher performing team than Jesus! Now Laurie Beth Jones makes this ancient wisdom accessible and useful to twenty-first-century leaders. Learn from the Master.”
–Bob Buford, author of Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance and Stuck in Halftime: Reinvesting Your One and Only Life

“This is Laurie Beth Jones’s best book yet, and that’s saying a lot. Teamwork is a hot topic in America today, and this book is going to be a classic on the subject.”
–Pat Williams, senior vice president, Orlando Magic

“Laurie Beth Jones beautifully points aspiring team leaders and builders to the Master Servant Leader and Builder, Jesus Christ. Teach Your Team to Fish is rich in inspiration and instruction . . . well worth the read, and can be life-changing.”
–Commissioner Robert A. Watson, retired national commander, The Salvation Army, and author of The Most Effective Organization in the U.S.

“Once again, Laurie Beth Jones has taken the example and life of Jesus to teach us how to lead–to be teacher-learners as we motivate others to do even more and greater things than we are able to do. It is a must-read for those who seek to lead people through challenging and turbulent times as we enter the twenty-first century.”
–C. William Pollard, chairman, ServiceMaster

“Laurie Beth Jones understands that good business is built upon good relational skills. She uniquely teaches us how to apply these principles of ancient wisdom in today’s work environment.”
–Jim Ellick, president, Strategy for Living


Review
?Once again, Laurie Beth Jones shows us a practical pathway to teambuilding illuminated by the spark of the eternal and divine.? ?Michael A. Volkema, chairman, president, and CEO, Herman Miller

?Think of it. Whoever built a higher performing team than Jesus! Now Laurie Beth Jones makes this ancient wisdom accessible and useful to twenty-first-century leaders. Learn from the Master.??Bob Buford, author of Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance and Stuck in Halftime: Reinvesting Your One and Only Life

?This is Laurie Beth Jones?s best book yet, and that?s saying a lot. Teamwork is a hot topic in America today, and this book is going to be a classic on the subject.? ?Pat Williams, senior vice president, Orlando Magic

?Laurie Beth Jones beautifully points aspiring team leaders and builders to the Master Servant Leader and Builder, Jesus Christ. Teach Your Team to Fish is rich in inspiration and instruction . . . well worth the read, and can be life-changing.? ?Commissioner Robert A. Watson, retired national commander, The Salvation Army, and author of The Most Effective Organization in the U.S.

?Once again, Laurie Beth Jones has taken the example and life of Jesus to teach us how to lead?to be teacher-learners as we motivate others to do even more and greater things than we are able to do. It is a must-read for those who seek to lead people through challenging and turbulent times as we enter the twenty-first century.? ?C. William Pollard, chairman, ServiceMaster

?Laurie Beth Jones understands that good business is built upon good relational skills. She uniquely teaches us how to apply these principles of ancient wisdom in today?s work environment.? ?Jim Ellick, president, Strategy for Living

FROM OUR EDITORS

The author of Jesus, CEO explains how the Nazarene built and nurtured his team of disciples. Jones believes that baby boomers will prefer her four-stage nurturing message to current "fire 'em up or fire 'em" management guides.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Laurie Beth Jones has given hundreds of thousands of business readers insight into how the ideas of Jesus can be used to enhance performance. One of the most critical work areas for anyone, whether a manager or a CEO, a teacher or a pastor, is cooperative teamwork. Leaders today face their greatest challenges not only in defining strategies and getting updated information but also in getting diverse human beings to pull together without falling apart.

Jesus can be a role model for team leaders everywhere. When Jesus called out to his future disciples, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,” he transformed them from people who worked for themselves to people who were part of a larger team. Jesus was constantly exhorting his people to “gather in my name” and “go out two by two” and always think and pray “as one.” Jesus’ final prayer was “that they might be one, Father, even as you and I are one,” which is ultimately about union and communion, common values and purpose—all of which form the bedrock of an inspired team.

Teach Your Team to Fish offers dozens of stories from the Bible showing how Jesus managed his team of disciples and other followers, with suggestions for how to apply these lessons to real-world teambuilding and management problems. It offers guidance and inspiration on:

* how to excite your team in order to motivate them;
* how to ground them so they’ll be realistic about what can be achieved;
* how to transform them into a truly well-functioning team;
* and how to release them into the world to improve other teams elsewhere.

Along theway, the book gives examples of companies in which teams work well together and offers lessons that can help team leaders everywhere sustain themselves and achieve their common goals.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly