Reviewer Michelle Kaye Malsbury:
Michelle was born in Champaign, IL. Currently, she resides in Asheville, NC
and is in her second year of doctoral studies at Nova Southeastern
University in Ft. Lauderdale with specialization/concentration in
conflict resolution and peace studies. She has over six hundred
articles published on the web and one book published thus far with
many more in the wings. Hobbies include; reading, writing, music, and
playing with her Australian Cattle Dog, Abu.
Author: Marcia Petrie Sue
Publisher:Wiley and Sons
ISBN: 978-0-470-49006-8
Author: Marcia Petrie Sue
Publisher:Wiley and Sons
ISBN: 978-0-470-49006-8
Marcia Petrie Sue, author of The Reactor Factor, holds an MBA and is a CSP (Certified Speaking Professional), a very select designation for worldwide professional speakers. She conducts workshops and seminars to help people and businesses become their personal/professional best. She offers CD’s, audio recordings, and DVD’s to help translate her workshop/seminar tools and wealth of information into your professional or personal situations. Marcia Petrie Sue lives with her husband in Scottsdale, Arizona. They enjoy bird watching, hiking, angling, gardening, photography, and golf. Ms. Sue provides more resources/tools on her web site at www.MarshaPetrieSue.com.
Chapter one (2009, p.1) “is all about making decisions to get better outcomes…” . Mrs. Sue says there are three choices: “take it, leave it, or change it.” She calls these the TLC’s. TLC’s mean that the decider [you] has to “take personal responsibility and be accountable for [their] actions.” The Reactor Factor will help you to [paraphrase] change negative situations into positive outcomes. It is Mrs. Sue’s hope to help people “understand what you can control” and to become more informed about how you make your decisions.
Each chapter provides the reader with multiple examples along with
a variety of possible outcomes. The reader is challenged to create
their own plan according to those specific examples. There
are also charts, scorecards, and questionnaires throughout the
book to help the reader to ascertain how they might react to, or
navigate through, any given situation. The idea is to
respond [positive outcome] instead of react [negative
outcome]. Definitions for both are provided so readers can clearly
understand the differences and make their plans accordingly.
(2009, p.48
Chapter four delves into what leaders want from their subordinates. Mrs. Sue states that leaders (2009, p.63) [paraphrase] need to be specific when they outline what tools, traits, or skills is needed for their team. For this portion she uses what she calls the “three C’s: (p.66) commitment, contribution, and communication”. The best fit comes from both parties knowing exactly what is expected of them and being able to achieve that to the best of one’s abilities.
Mrs. Sue talks about how overweight people oftentimes get passed
over for promotions even if they are capable of taking on that new
responsibility and that obesity is the number one reason why
insurance premiums are rising faster than inflation. (2009,
ch.5) There is a long list of what health risks are posed by
overweight children and adults. (p.80) She goes on to talk about
how office politics can diminish your authority and power by
[paraphrase, p.95] sucking you into toxic situations. In order to
overcome this toxic situation one should (paraphrase,
p.99)....listen more than you talk. There are tips for
how navigate the minefield of office gossip and how to network for
success in the workplace as well as how to conduct an efficient
meeting and what to do if you should find yourself unemployed and
searching for the perfect job fit.
Mrs. Sue believes (paraphrase, p. 194) that what your mind conceives is what will manifest in your life, so the more positive your mindset the more positive the outcome [theoretically speaking]. Due to our current economic landscape there are many people who are having financial difficulties. There are eight tips that Mrs. Sue suggests can help one get out of bad financial times: (2009, p.205-6) use debit cards only, cut up credit cards, drive-by instead of shopping, save, comparison shop, and use the 20 percent rule –“…debt load….should not exceed 20 percent of your yearly after-tax income.” Great advice in my esteem!
The book rounds out with recapping the lessons learned, and highlighting the professional connections that all readers can take advantage of to get ahead in their professional and personal lives. (2009, p.200-218) Personally, I believe that Mrs. Sue did an excellent job of outlining what each of us can do to take control of our destinies, how we can learn how to respond instead of merely reacting to what occurs in our lives, and the benefits of networking for professional success.