Summary: Business degree in hand, Logan enters the immense Universal Systems building and is hired as an organizational analyst – a trouble-shooter. His job: evaluate the company’s five divisions, each on a separate level and each operating on startlingly unique principles. Which set of principles is successful? Why is most of the company’s profit generated by one tiny division? What is real profit, anyway? And who is the enigmatic executive that Logan ends up reporting to?
Logan engages in a life-changing pursuit for The Next Level—a fascinating parable that will help readers answer some of life’s most perplexing, vital questions. Joining Logan in evaluating each level’s approach, readers will be inspired to consider the big picture of their own life from an entirely different perspective – one that holds the key to life’s ultimate purpose. No matter where you are now, get ready to embark on your own passionate pursuit of The Next Level.

Author Bio: David Gregory is the author of the best-selling books Dinner with a Perfect Stranger and A Day with a Perfect Stranger, and coauthor of two nonfiction books. After a ten-year business career, he returned to school to study religion and communications, earning graduate degrees from The University of North Texas and Dallas Theological Seminary. A native Texan, David now lives in Oregon devotes himself to writing full time.

My Thoughts: The Next Level is a book about a unique computer software corporation. In the story, we follow the experience of Logan, who is hired as an organizational analyst to evaluate each of the company’s five divisions, and identify what they’re doing well and what they’re doing poorly. Even though he’s a new hire fresh out of college, Logan reports directly to the director of the company on Level 5. Through his evaluation process, Logan makes some very interesting and unusual discoveries about the company….


When I heard about this book, I was really looking forward to reading it. I’ve worked for two large companies since graduating from college, so a modern-day parable of a large corporation that would help me understand my purpose in life certainly sounded fascinating! However, I was a bit disappointed when the parable didn’t make sense at face value.


…In Logan’s analysis of Levels 1 through 4, he discovers that all except for one of the divisions on those levels is losing money. And the one that is making a profit, isn’t making much. Considering that the first four levels consist of thousands of employees, you would think that the company would have to be losing money. However, through the efforts of Level 5 (made up of a few tens of employees), the overall company somehow makes a good profit. As I was reading, I was excited to find out what really great product Level 5 created that brought in so much profit! When I discovered that their “product” wasn’t a product at all, well...I just wasn’t able to relate.


Not that this book doesn’t make you think about your relationship to God and your purpose in life. It does do a good job of revealing the futility of living for yourself or living for anything besides God. And it makes you wonder why God puts up with us when we ignore what he asks us to do and go our own way. Unfortunately, it also makes you question the necessity of studying God’s “manual” by implying that if you have a close personal relationship with God, studying his Word is really only necessary to keep less godly Christians from looking down you.


The beauty of the parables Jesus told his followers was that his stories were a simple description of everyday life, and for those whose ears were open those stories revealed a deeper spiritual truth.