Book Review & Giveaway - The Power of Acknowledgment

About the Book
Picture this: you are sitting at your desk, disgruntled, frustrated, tired, perhaps you were yelled at during the staff meeting. Let’s face it, today is just not your day. Suddenly, an email pops up, brightening and uplifting your mood. It is a love letter from your partner – the person you thought was the least likely to write such a note. How would you react?

Judith W. Umlas experienced the mood altering power of acknowledgment first hand when she was having a down day at work. After hearing about her day, Judith’s husband, Bob Umlas, a Microsoft Excel “geek” and guru emailed his wife a heartfelt love letter, detailing and acknowledging every positive aspect of her personality, actions, and looks. When asked where these acknowledgments had come from, as she had never heard most of them before, he confessed rather sheepishly that he has always thought these kinds of things but just did not bother to “get them from his brain to his mouth.” Once convinced of the authenticity of these acknowledgments, Judith was so thrilled with them that almost as a joke, she suggested that he write these kinds of communications about twice a week, since he obviously needed the practice! The result? For the past four years, Judith has been receiving love letters from Bob every Monday and Thursday via email. Both husband and wife are clear that these acknowledgments have positively transformed their relationship.

Bob’s loving acknowledgments encouraged Judith W. Umlas to write The Power of Acknowledgment (IIL Publishing, New York), a compact book that illustrates the tremendous power everyone has to dramatically improve relationships - the simple act of acknowledgment.

When asked why she wrote this powerful little book, Judith said “To repair the world by improving relationships in every aspect of living. I have seen ‘the power of acknowledgment’ at work and throughout all parts of my life, because it is something that comes easily to me. I have also witnessed how many people can’t, don’t, or won’t do it – or don’t do it enough. Once they grasp the positive results it can produce, they can’t help but try it out and then immediately see the benefits: enhanced work productivity, better relationships and even improved health.”

About the Author

Umlas has been a senior executive at International Institute for Learning (IIL) for the past 19 years, and was a producer/writer for CBS before that. As Senior Vice President, Learning Innovations at IIL, former Publisher of a newsletter for 50,000 project managers around the globe, and trainer of more than 10,000 people worldwide on the power of acknowledgment, she is seen as a master communicator. Her skills and poignant powers of observation led her to develop the seven clear, concise principles for acknowledging others in all walks of life. These skills, when exercised are guaranteed to make immediate and profound changes in the way readers interact with others. Reports of the instant effects on readers and those around them have poured in professionally and personally. To see such stories, visit Judith’s blog, http://www.thepowerofacknowledgment.com. For reader praise and positive results log onto: http://www.iil.com/publishing/acknowledgment.asp

My Take On The Book
Reading this book, I am reminded about the importance of recognizing those around me for the things that they do to make the world or the workplace a better place to be within

The book itself is a very quick read, and one can get through it in a few hours (or less depending on how fast you read). I found myself thinking over and over about the times where I might have acknowledged someone and instead kept it inside. The author encourages all of us to look within ourselves to vocalize our appreciation to others and I hope that I can start to do this more frequently.


This book is one that you definitely will want to read more than once, and each time you do, I am sure you will gain more from the reading. It will give you resources to help you improve your personal and business relationships.

If this book sounds like something that you are interested in, you can find it over at www.iil.com/poa

Giveaway

How would you like to win a copy of this book? I will be giving away 3 copies to lucky readers! All you need to do is let me know why you would have an interest in this book to be considered. The contest will run for one week and will end on March 2, 2010.

Bonus Entries:

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All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.






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