Life Coaching Book Review Star Rating System
At Coach22, we read and review every coaching book we sell. We weed out less useful offerings and the many books with "coaching" in the title that aren't really written from the coaching perspective. If a book or CD is on this site, it's because we believe it is a great choice and will really help you be a better coach.
I like to read book reviews
that objectively point out why I might be interested in a book and why I might
or might not buy it, instead ones that just try to sell the book. I'm also a tough
grader in my ratings. So that's the kind of book reviews I write. Here's the way our rating
system works:
Superior
A top-notch product that stands above the rest in a certain genre. As the
crème de la crème of what's out there, almost every Christian
coach working in that area will find this book an essential resource. We will
generally only rate one or at most a few products in a category with five stars.
Excellent
An great book or CD that will be an asset to most coaches. Often these are
works with great content that just fall short of being a top-rated
product. An excellent buy.
Good
A genuinely useful resource that will be particularly helpful to coaches
in niches or certain situations. The book reviews try to point out who will benefit most from these
resources that are definitely worthwhile but to a more limited audience.
Poor
This may be a resource that doesn't meet our reviewer's standards, or a legitimately
good or even great book that just doesn't fit the needs of working coaches.
A lot of "coaching" books using a sports or mentoring metaphor
instead of a true coaching model fall under this category. No two-star products
appear on Coach22.
Unusable
A product we feel is fundamentally flawed, or unsuitable for the Christian coaching
market. I'm pretty open-minded about drawing from secular sources, but there
are some coaching books that promote unethical business practices or come
from such a consistently self-focused view of life that they have little
appeal. No one-star rated products appear on Coach22.
Review Criteria
It might help for you to understand my personal bias as a book reviewer (we're
all biased, so we might as well admit it!). I'm looking for resources with
the following characteristics (in order of importance):
- Great
Content
Original ideas or great presentations of key coaching concepts, based on
real experience or by leaders in the field. I'm less interested in inspirational or theoretical
works, resources that are light on content or books that just rehash what
is already out there.
- Practicality
I'm looking for tools, exercises, models, and practical principles that
are immediately applicable to make you a better coach. You'll find
things you can use today on Coach22, not just fluff.
- Genuine
Coaching Model
Many of the titles out there with the word "coaching" in them
are really about mentoring or discipling or sports coaching (I know—-I've
bought a bunch of them!) Our book reviews help you sort through the chaff and find the
resources that are really applicable for genuine Christian coaching.
- Readability
It's always a little disappointing to find that a book you've looked forward
to diving into is a pain to read. Better-written material gets rated higher.
- By
Coaches
I'm always excited to find great materials by lesser-known authors that
I can help promote in the marketplace.
All Reviews are © Coach22 2008 All Rights
Reserved. Info@Coach22.com
Reviews may not be distributed, posted on other sites, or used in print without
express written persmission from Coach22.com
