Comments from reviewers are posted below. Additional reflections and perspectives are highly valued and greatly appreciated. Go to the Contact page to send your review.
Karen Ewing – This book opened my eyes to who I am as an employee and to the nature of the company I work for. I recognized myself as a “Doer” and at the same time became aware of how my natural tendencies were undermining my contribution to the healthy functioning of my department. Dr. Jones helped me to better understand my frustrations with those in positions of authority and offered integrity driven strategies for confronting them.The information presented here is a timeless distillation of many years of real life experience, help for those in the beginning of their careers as well as the seasoned veteran of the workplace ” chess game.” Doers: The Vital Few Who Get Things Done, provides clear context to identify the problems of the workplace and then goes further to offer concrete action plans for addressing them. I recommend this book to those who are ready to facilitate positive change.
DOERS 
Rob Bell – True to form, Dr. Jones interjects tastefully irreverent humor and real-life scenarios in a manner that makes this book difficult to put down. While chapters are both entertaining and informative, they each contain valuable tools (e.g., the Competency Checklist, Performance Pathway Model) for both managers and Doers alike. As Chief Operating Officer of a large construction & manufacturing firm I have always sought to hire the Doers identified by Dr. Jones, but never fully understood their idiosyncrasies–what makes them attracted to, and thrive within an organization. “DOERS” successfully answers these challenging questions, which is the reason why each manager within our company has been given a copy.
Chadwick Library – In clear, understandable terms, Tom E. Jones, an author with real-world, hands-on business credentials, introduces you and me to the character, role and vital importance of DOERS in today’s economy. As a Marine (Brigadier General. U.S. Marine Corps, no longer on active duty), I know full well that DOERS are the ones who ensure that our Mission is accomplished in the field, but Jones’ book has expanded my horizons to recognize that DOERS are also the VITAL few who get things done in the civilian business community. My education increased as author Jones’ book taught me to stop my incessant multi-tasking when others come to see me and learn to devote my full attention to them so that I can truly listen and hear their concerns and comments. Jones then masterfully leads you and me, step-by-step, through the daily issues and conflicting inter-personal relationships facing DOERS while providing practical, useful, effective win-win solutions to alleviate potential road blocks to success. We owners of DOERS – The Vital Few Who Get Things Done have in our hands a must-read, most useful book – interlaced with charts, checklists and diagrams and a Planning Wheel – designed to assist us in focusing on long term permanent accomplishment, not just a temporary short-term gain. The end result is that we have been provided a guidebook to fashion an organizational environment where our direction is clear as we progress to a promising future.
Kurt Madden – Tom Jones doesn’t just write about the people who get things done in an organization, he provides key insights into what drives them along with a bucketful of tools for managing and working with “Doers.” He also identifies ways to recruit and retain Doers, provide them with direction, deal with conflict and set expectations along with a long list of ways to make the workplace better for those that are driven to get things done. Understanding these concepts and implementing the tools can literally transform the workplace. For anyone looking to improve their organization from the bottom up, with the people who are key to every successful organization, this is the book to read.
John Nesheim – “Author Tom Jones has created a stimulating book that can help startup CEOs get the best out of all their people, especially DOERS. It is clear that his extensive real world experience advising real CEOs of real organizations has been applied in a delightful read and considerably helpful book.”
Ralph H.Goldbeck AIA – Tom Jones has provided a valuable guide book for those of us in management. All too often we spend our time and energy trying to manage and direct the non-performers within our organizations while taking the “Doers” for granted. Tom is right on the money. If you do not create an atmosphere for the Doers in your organization to thrive and grow, they will quickly go elsewhere and to find a better environment. The real life examples and tools that Tom provides in the book are valuable gifts of information that can be used to help you and your organization succeed. A great read!
Anthony Rochon – Systematic formality quivers as the result-based mentality becomes more prevalent in the work environment. This book paves a connecting path between the disruptive innovator and his or her management team. The finesse required to guide raw creative talent toward constructive ends is outlined in 15 conversational chapters. Answers to complex management hurdles and how best to navigate through them, are explained with a simple clarity that truly motivates. If the goal is a successful business, career, or even short-term project, Doers are involved and this book is an excellent host.
Donna F. – Tom Jones has written a readable and practical guidebook for doers and those who manage or need doers in their organization. Tom provides several tools that can assist in planning projects, identifying team member responsibilities, enabling process improvements, and improving team and organizational performance. After reading this book, the doers in your organization will understand their value.<
Maggie M. Franz – I wish I had had a resource such as this when I was back in college to prepare me for the challenges and situations that would be faced in daily in the workforce. There are a number of situations that I would have been able to handle much better with what can be gleaned from this book. There may have been a job or two that would have lasted longer had I had the knowledge and know how that Tom E Jones has conveniently pulled together here. A helpful guide for dealing with coworkers and bosses of all types, this would could have been a class in and of itself. Sadly we didn’t have a book like this in college – but now we do thanks to Professor Jones. If you are a young professional who is struggling to or looking to work better with your peers and your bosses as achieve success in a variety of scenarios, this is a great resource. This is your real world “continuing education” right here. If you are not a young professional and have an established career already – this book will still be very beneficial and has much to offer you. This would make a good gift for anyone looking to further their skill set and interpersonal skills.<
D. Wilkie – Doers is a must read for anyone interested in developing effective leadership and organizational best practices. It is straight-forward and its practical advice is applicable to those in the private, public and non-profit sectors alike.<
Denise Vincent – “This book covers everything that a person needs to know to be an effective member of any organization. If I wrote a book to train other improvement facilitators, it would be this book, because effective team support requires recognizing how to interact with teammates according to their abilities and agendas and not yours.”<
Doug Howell – “If you are one of the doers Tom Jones describes in his newest book, you might be tempted to take the time to research some of the great business writers of the last fifty years to see what advice they would give to help overcome the roadblocks the non-doers throw up in the way. Fortunately, you don’t have to do that. Tom Jones has done it for you. Solidly grounded in the best scholarship, Tom’s work takes the theory and makes it live, real and practical. This book is a clear and concise “how to” in the best sense of that term. How and why do the non-doers get in the way? What are the roadblocks and how does the doer get around them? How can a doer turn an obstacle into an ally? Through stories, examples, and in easy to understand graphics Tom Jones lays it all out for you. If you are a doer and want to stay that way; if you are not a doer but want to become one, read Tom’s book.”<
Christina Severinghaus – “Although there are ‘nothing new under the sun’ this does not mean that there is nothing worthwhile to read in new business books. This great, fast read puts into words what doers and those around doers are experiencing. Not only does Mr Jones verbalize and clarify the challenges and opportunities that Doers provide – he offers an excellent ‘tool chest’ full of handy, quick and workable tools for both the doers and those around the doers. This is must read for anyone that is managing people, and for those who find themselves being doers and struggling with their place in the organization. The doers struggles can easily be alleviated by applying these common sense tools, rather than having to brush up the resume and begin the job hunt. Some doers may find themselves a poorly fit for their current organization and Mr Jones helpful analysis can help identify a doer friendly organization to be targeted for the next job. Despite this being a business book, there is lot to be gain from reading it as one interacts in professional, civic and religious organizations as well. Harnessing the power and abilities of doers could positively impact any organization. The investment to purchase, reading and implementing these tools has a fantastic ROI.”<
Ronald C. Peet – “According to Tom E Jones, those who come to work, ready to work, and work hard, are often stymied by corporate sloth and miscommunication with fellow workers. This book supplies easy-to-understand tips and methods, and most of them are derived from Jones’ core concepts of respect and dignity. Jones shows us ways to listen better and to confirm that communication has occurred, thereby positioning co-workers on the same page, pulling in the same direction. The book is written conversationally and never strays into corporate buzzwords or hip psychobabble.”<
Kathryn L. Tinsley – “This is a must-read for employers and employees alike. Whether you are a Doer, or work with or for one, this book is a survival guide. Actually, it’s more than that; it’s a success guide. Sometimes it seems like being a Doer doesn’t get you anywhere; like all your efforts actually do more harm than good. This book will explain why that is and what to do about it. Reading Doer’s helped me understand why I do the things I do and why the people I work with react the way they do. It also helped me realize what kind of organization I want to work for. If more organizations followed the advice of Tom Jones, their employees would be happier and the companies would be more effective. Enjoy!”<
Dalitso Ruwe – “Tom Jones is a consummate educator who brings over 30 years of wisdom on the dynamics of organizations. His latest project, The Doers Dilemma is an important treatise on why an organization needs to understand its internal outliers to thrive and compete successfully in an increasing global economy.”<
Kimberly Schimmel – “Doers are needed in every company–they are, after all, the people who get things done. This book is good information for companies and for the doers themselves. There are many practical strategies and tools including: Stages of Learning: How to move from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence to conscious competence to unconscious competence. Responsibility Charting: for every task, make it clear who is responsible, who must approve, who needs to be consulted, and who must be informed. Much of the advice in the book can be implemented almost immediately, so this is a good investment in personal growth and company productivity.”
Naga Narayanaswamy – “This is a practical book and has lot of wisdom. If you work in corporate, you always see some people who defy the norm and get things done. Often they get ignored if they don’t follow corporate norms. It is the perspective. Some people feel they are doing it right, and corporate thinks it is not good for long term. This book explores various types of personalities, gives lots of examples and is a very apt read for people working in the corporate structure. I liked the author’s style of writing which is simple and to the point.”
Early Boykins – “There are a lot of management books out there that have pertinent information, but are rather dry. This book is very refreshing. Not only does it touch on both perspectives of the Employer AND Employee, but it also finds a way to bridge both perspectives. The importance of this enables the reader to appreciate what they can do (or not do) to enhance their performance and character when working together in the workplace.”<
Heath Henwood – “This is a surprisingly useful book for looking at people, particularly those in the workplace and reviews of different people and how to deal with their particular idiocies. It focuses on relationships, and interactions with people that affect your work and career. This book will explain why things occur and how to deal with them, such as people that are incompetent, and how to work with them to achieve goals. Jones does not wander with personal success stories, and is not big noting himself, rather providing a practical guide to organisational relationship success. Other topics include communication issues , dealing with negative information, lack of direction from managers, collaboration and team work, taking responsibility and having accountability, dealing with motivation in the workplace, taking initiative, performance coaching, workplace dysfunction, and the change process. There is a toolbox at the end, that relates to each chapter, with checklists of strategies. This book is one that I plan to keep with me as I work with the issues that occur in different organizations I work with.”<
Denise Morse – “This guide is a very succinct and helpful book for both managers and employees. I ended up bookmarking several sections of the book to refer to and I think i would like to have this in physical form versus eBook so that I could copy sections and keep in my office. I particularly enjoyed the sections on Change and on Dysfunction and find them most useful at this time, although the other sections will continue to be useful in the future. The toolkit at the end is a great resource as well.”<
Rachel Sandberg – “This book is a handy guide to navigating the turbulent waters of today’s workplace, where a person can actually find themselves in trouble for working too efficiently. It has practical advice written in a common sense voice, with examples that resonate to anyone who has spent time in the workforce. Many of the latter chapters appealed to me and I was able to digest those first without prerequisite. I would recommend this book to anyone who manages or works with doers and wants to learn how to retain them. Doers can use this guide to recognize and help shape the organizations who accept and encourage them.”<
Charles “Vince” Headley – “Dr. Tom E. Jones has done it again, providing a new manual for employees who are doer’s to navigate the workplace. I personally can attest to Tom’s message to the doer’s, being one myself and knowing the stress that one can have working in an organization not conducive to the doer’s attitude of getting things done. One of his ideas is to create relationships with people based on tasks rather than on friendship. “This shift in focus attracts doers because it is now clear to them what, not who, needs to be fixed.” The Tenets of Teamwork is an excellent example of how to build a productive relationship with coworkers who may not be doers themselves.”<
Dana Wilkie – “Another gem from Tom Jones. Readers will get invaluable and challenging advice on how it can be for leaders and organizations that seek to maximize success in service to their mission and clients.”<
Anthony Rochon – “Have you ever been scrutinized for “going above and beyond,” or told your ‘above-the-line’ efforts were reckless, misguided, uncalled for, or plain useless? If so, you are not alone. Those who identify with these categories are better known as, Doers. So what can or should these Doers do to find cohesion with management? Fortunately for all parties mentioned, Dr. Tom E. Jones has the prescription. The remedy is embedded within his recently published, DOERS:The Vital Few Who Get Things Done. Conversationally delivered, this book offers methods that both sides of the table can act upon; procedures that will breath life into suffering workplace relations while simultaneously boosting overall productivity.”<
Steve Keyser – “This is an immensely practical guide for doers and managers fortunate enough to have doers on their staff. It provides an easy to read, easy to apply road map to help doers work more effectively in today’s business climate and to help managers retain doers by keeping them motivated. Tom Jones has once again demonstrated he is a master of organizational leadership.”
Anonymous – “Tom E. Jones continues to deliver excellent material. In his most recent book, Mr. Jones simply displays how an organization can support, guide, and empower its “Doers” to expel dysfunction within all levels of an organization. Tom Jones translates his decades of consulting experience and expertise into comprehensible terms for anyone and everyone.”<