It is very gratifying to receive book reviews from people with great expertise, so I am very happy to note this new one on Amazon.com, from Dr. Linda Pololi.  She is Senior Scientist at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University.  Dr. Pololi has been a faculty member at medical schools at Brown University, East Carolina University and the Universities of Illinois and Massachusetts.  She is the author of Changing the Culture of Academic Medicine: Perspectives of Women Faculty.

Here’s her review:

Paul Levy won universal admiration for cleaning up the heavily polluted Boston Harbor and then – in a second remarkable act – turning around a storied but sliding into bankruptcy major academic center. He became nationally renowned for his open communications and inclusive management style that produced outstanding outcomes without ruthlessness and avoiding the blame game or micromanagement.

His new book, “Goal Play”, peppered with entertaining stories and anecdotes, draws on the breadth of his insights as a successful people manager and leader, as well as on the experiences of other leaders in Boston or across the country. He makes a light-hearted comparison of his own role as coach of the girls’ soccer team – one that he clearly enjoyed and found very gratifying – with that of a CEO. He draws vivid similarities between the strategies that worked with the soccer team, stressing affirmation and the development of trust to create a team that has the collective ability to succeed, and how these same strategies were successful at the executive level.
 
The stories illustrate beautifully the underlying concepts and practices he proposes as the right model for effective leadership. It is a fascinating gift to have this window into Mr. Levy’s personal experiences as a transformative leader; he is very candid about both his successes and his mistakes and makes helpful recommendations for others.
 
This fun-to-read book will be of great help and inspiration to all those interested in management, leadership, business and healthcare.