Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
The concept of stewardship--by which I mean one's responsible use of talents, abilities, opportunities, relationships, and obligations--is one that is very significant to me. I was excited to find a book that I thought was devoted to this topic, taking the very word stewardship as its title. Unfortunately, what I found was the presentation of a very different concept that regularly seemed to redefine previously familiar terms.While the author may have noble intentions of truly overhauling the governance and conduct of business, I couldn't help but feel that his idealism was a bit more fantasy than illuminating. Certainly, there are some good principles that occasionally surface in this book, but I couldn't force myself to do anything more than skim most of its content. My cherished notion of stewardship seemed reduced to just the latest approach to create an "everybody wins" office environment.The sections that I did read in detail were so regularly beset with typos (usually word omissions) that any respect that I was developing for the author was quickly erased.It is not surprising to me that this book, published in 1993, has long ago been forgotten. I read this book as part of the Goodreads review program. The book is mainly geared toward those who are running a business, or intend to own/operate a business. In some areas I was pretty bored, and had a tough time pushing through.But somewhere in the middle a wonderful thing called REALIZATION hit me. Stewardship, as a concept, is not all about business or entrepreneurship. And the concepts in "Stewardship," don't just have to apply to business. The idea of treating others with respect, as peers, and as other Individual Human Beings really stuck with me. Other things I've read afterward have shifted in perspective also. I read and see where people aren't treating others as Equals, regardless of their place in life. "Stewardship" is geared toward those in business, but it has broader implications on the life and mind of anyone interested in bettering the world. And for me, that was a great bonus.
What do You think about Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest (2013)?
This was a business, self-help, inspirational, and all around good book.
—udity
Stewardship: Choosing Service over Self-Interest by Peter Block (?)
—zhavondab