Kiss Theory Good Bye.

Kiss Theory Good Bye

by Bob Prosen, Gold Pen Publishing, Lewisville, Texas, 2006, 256 pp., $21.95 hardcover

Kiss Theory Good Bye: Five Proven Ways to Get Extraordinary Results in Any Company provides practical and successful strategies for leaders of the corporate world to initiate change within their organization. Bob Prosen, a successful executive with top global companies, offers some suggestions to not-for-profit organizations, but primarily this book is about making profits.

As Prosen puts it: "At the beginning of the day, it's all about possibilities. At the end of the day, it's all about results."

If you read between the lines, Prosen's ideas can be applied to educational leadership. However, his call to "focus on the significant few versus the important many" seems out of sync in public education, where we educate every child regardless of ability, disability, ethnicity, religion or socioeconomic status.

If mandates such as No Child Left Behind were applied to the corporate world, what would company heads do to bring all of their employees and products up to a high standard? Unfortunately, in education we can't recall our products to correct errors. Education has tremendous accountability to stakeholders from parents to the federal government.

Great ideas such as walking around listening to employees, increased communication throughout an organization and creating a positive culture can and should be the goal and practice in every organization.

Successful educational leaders are lifelong learners who read not only books on education but those from other sectors. While Kiss Theory Good Bye is a catchy title, the corporate and political mindset that education can be operated like a business is not supported by Prosen's strategies.

Reviewed by Jim Hattabaugh, superintendent, Mansfield School District, Mansfield, Ark.