Ancient wisdom and timeless lessons for dealing with disruption: What people are saying about Loss & Discovery

“In Loss and Discovery, Linden perceptively identifies core principles of leadership and change, while adroitly drawing on the narratives found in Torah to illustrate and illuminate these principles. This book will become a primary sourcebook for those leading, or in training to lead, organizations of all sorts even as it will provide deep learning for parents, spouses, or anyone seeking to navigate changes in any important relationship.”
Rabbi Daniel S. Alexander
Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Beth Israel, Charlottesville, Virginia, author of Seeking the Way: Jewish Reflections on Matters of the Head, the Heart, and the Hand
“Russ Linden has written a masterpiece to address the difficult challenges people face in times of disruptive change. His insights about the dynamics of change and how to work through it are practical, timely, and clearly described. The correlates with lessons from the Torah provide a unique and profound perspective. They combine ancient wisdom with modern thinking about change in ways that are relevant to everyone. The stories and examples from Russ’s professional experience, the Torah, and various other sources provide engaging and memorable insights that make the book a lively read. I strongly recommend “Loss and Discovery” as a message of possibility to make the journey through the wilderness created by disruptive change and to emerge from it with greater personal strength and organizational capacity.”
Warren Blank
President, The Leadership Group, author of The 108 Skills of Natural Born Leaders and Leadership for Smart People
“I feel Loss & Discovery will be an invaluable resource, especially in the congregational setting. It offers refreshing insights and compelling practical examples for leadership and change. His insights into Torah and his ability to connect it to leadership would serve as a great model of learning for a lay leader. In order to survive and flourish, congregations will need to change and adapt to the “new reality” of 2020 and beyond. Russ Linden's keen understanding of leadership and change combined with his first-hand knowledge of synagogue life (as a former congregational president) makes his book an important resource for congregations and congregational leaders as they formulate plans to best meet the evolving needs of their congregants.”
Rabbi Lee Bycel
former Dean of the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles, former congregational rabbi, and author of Refugees in America: Stories of Courage, Hope, and Resilience in Their Own Words
“Linden’s extraordinary career of leading and teaching organizations how to thrive is illumed here by his sincerely held Jewish faith, which brings ancient wisdom to bear. This book is about change, the kind that transforms and renews. Every leader knows that change is constant, and Linden charts pathways to engage change holistically by weaving the best of leadership research with insightful contemporary examples.”
Rev. Dr. David Forney
pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Charlottesville, Virginia, former editor of the Journal of Religious Leadership
In his book Loss and Discovery, What the Torah Can Teach Us About Leading Change, Russ Linden takes the reader on a unique journey. He helps us see important leadership principles in the context of ancient wisdom, and does so in a way that people of all religions can easily relate to. In addition to Biblical stories, Russ draws on numerous examples from contemporary leaders (Colin Powell, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Nelson Mandela among others) and from his own experience. Russ’ book is truly timely. We’re all struggling these days with disruptive changes. Russ offers insights about how to take care of ourselves and others during these turbulent times. His ideas provide us with wonderful opportunities to rethink our old scripts and practice innovation. I highly recommend this book. It will stimulate your thinking and offer exciting new behavioral options.
Trudi Ferguson
professor emerita at the USC Marshall School of Business
“‘We need good leaders.’ We’re continually saying that. But what does it mean to be a ‘good leader’? Russ Linden shows that we can learn from our biblical heroes. They were great leaders who also made mistakes, and Russ describes the lessons we can draw from their stories as well as from contemporary leaders. Russ gives us a vivid demonstration of how to lead change, using both formal power and influence skills, with practical tips that can be implemented in today's organizations. Combining old and new wisdom, Russ’ insights will help today’s leaders deal with crises, disruptive change, resistance, speaking truth to power, and more. It’s the right book for our times.”
Rachel Liel
former executive director of the New Israel Fund in Israel. In 2007 she was named by Ha’artz newspaper one of the 40 women making the most significant contributions to Israeli society.
“Using intriguing stories from the Torah, Russ Linden shows that we’re certainly not the first generation to face the need for change in disruptive times. His clear and compelling examples, both historical and contemporary, the lessons he insightfully draws out, and the action steps he offers will help leaders in organizations and all of us who want to improve our work and personal effectiveness in confronting the complex problems of today.”
Terry Newell
Founder, Leadership for a Responsible Society, and former Dean of Faculty, Federal Executive Institute. Author of Statesmanship, Character and Leadership in America
“In this book, Russ Linden, consultant, author, and management educator for over forty years, takes a unique look at the concepts of leadership and change. By citing familiar stories from the Old Testament and relating them to contemporary management situations he offers insights for both public and private sector managers leading change management initiatives. He overlays these stories on prominent change management models and frameworks based on his extensive knowledge and experience. The biblical examples are accessible to people with a wide range of backgrounds—from casual readers of the Bible to those who have studied the texts in greater detail. Most importantly, the management examples he cites provide useful advice to the practicing manager.”
Elliott Weiss
Oliver Wright Professor Emeritus of Business Administration, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, and coauthor of The Lean Anthology: A Practical Primer in Continual Improvement
“Russell Linden has done it again! Loss and Discovery is a masterpiece and should be required reading for anyone working in management or endeavoring to create any type of meaningful and lasting change during trying times where a paradigm shift is needed. We need more changemakers investing in strategic cutting edge thought combined with timeless wisdom.”
Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
president and dean, Valley Beit Midrash, author of 21 books on Jewish ethics
Russ Linden has the unique ability to make the ancient Hebrew stories become contemporary. This is a marvelous blend of contemporary research with character studies from today and three millennia ago. Stories of leadership challenges are interspersed with the latest research in neuroscience making the studies not only understandable, but relevant. Loss and Discovery is a page-turner from beginning to end. This book will be a blessing to all who open its pages. As I finished the book, all I could say was, "Amen, Amen."
Dr. Liz Emrey
Pastor, New Beginnings Christian Community
Leadership consultant & my friend Russ Linden has a new book out, "Loss and Discovery: What the Torah Can Teach Us About Leading Change." It's fascinating, personal, and spiritual, and a great resource for anyone in leadership. Highly recommend.
Mike Signer
former mayor, City of Charlottesville, author of Demagogue: The Fight to Save Democracy from Its Worst Enemies
Book review from OnlineBookClub.org:
The writing style of the author is unique. As a work of nonfiction, I thought this book would be boring, but after reading the first chapter, I was intrigued. The way the author used biblical stories and some of his true-life events to explain his points made it more beautiful for me. I like that the author was able to explain why some of the ideas he used when he was a manager worked and why others didn’t. I love the way he was able to get commentaries from different recognized dignitaries at the end of each chapter.
Also, I love the way the author analyzed most of the biblical stories. He made me see some of the stories in the Bible, like Joseph's story, in a different light. I learned about change and how individuals react to it. I was also able to learn various principles of leadership. Frankly speaking, with the amount of knowledge I gained from this book, I think I can take up a leadership position at any organization.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. This book deserves a perfect rating. It was captivating. I enjoyed everything about this book. I learned a lot about leadership from it. I recommend this book to leaders and people who want to take on the position of a leader.
OnlineBookClub.org
My friend Russ Linden has written an amazing book: Loss and Discovery. In his book he discusses lessons from the Torah and packs a lot of wisdom into his writing. It’s a really nice read and relates, via storytelling, thoughtful lessons on life. It gets my strong recommendation.
Bill Leighty
former chief of staff to two VIrginia governors, author of forthcoming book: Twelve Governors: Inside Virginia’s Chief Executives
With a writing style that is clear, natural, smooth and expressive, Russ Linden has authored another book full of keen insights and hundreds of examples on how to tear down the barriers to needed government change. His writing is so engaging that when I read his books, I feel like I am having a direct and lively conversation with him.
Len Faulk
Former Academic Affairs Vice President at the State University of New York, Fredonia, and Director of The Center for Rural Regional Development and Governance