5 comments about Business and Legal Forms for Photographers (with CD-ROM) (Business and Legal Forms).

1. I bought this book and its utter waste of paper and money. There are much better forms available for free to be downloaded from the internet. This book is completely useless for anyone who lives outside USA. I think Americans are smart enough to google the kind of forms they are looking for.



2. Good form letters and documents for any photographer. A CD is supplied with a soft copy of the forms. All forms are customizable so an established photographer can cut and paste specific wording for their own documents.



3. Aside from the contracts themselves, the author provides you with a negotiating checklist for each contract to help you edit the documents to meet your personal job needs. It also helps prepare you for presenting the contract to your customer. Lots of helpful tips as well.
   
   One type of contract that I found missing is a release that allows a client to print and display the photos without totally transferring the copyright over. I like to keep my own rights to my work, while allowing clients to use them as well.
   
   The index could be easier to use. I tend to have to hunt for some types of contracts. Still, this book is a resource that is well worth it's price.



4. This book is a little outdated, but is very useful in writing you own form. Most of the forms on the disk can't be customized using newer word processing software.



5. This is a very beneficial book. And for the price, you can't go wrong.

5 comments about Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business.

1. The book delivered exactly what I have expected from it. It provides clear picture about how Performance Dashboards work. It is very well structured, blends theory with experience and targets keen developers and users.
   
   When I purchased the book, I was asked to put forward a proposal for a comprehensive Performance Management system. I really benefited from the systematic approach used to build such system.
   
   It recommend it for anyone who is implementing performance management system, or even business process management systems which also provides performance dashboards of the automated processes.



2. The first two-thirds of the book were extremely disappointing and added very little value to the understanding of how to create effective dashboards. Instead, the author spent far too much time discussing IT concepts and buzzwords such as datamarts, multidimensional databases, operational data stores and OLAP tools. Much of the book reads as a platform for why one needs to invest in IT to help manage your business performance. It wasn't until the final third of the book that some useful concepts were explored regarding how a non-IT person should go about developing a solid performance dashboard.



3. 
   For purposes of discussion, pretend that your organization is a vehicle within which you and your associates travel en route to a series of destinations; for example, various stages of progressively improved operational efficiency and progressively increased profitability. One key question arises: How well is your vehicle performing?
   
   The three "dashboards" (i.e. operational, tactical, and strategic) that Wayne Eckerson offers in this volume can help to answer that question. "The monitoring application conveys critical information at a glance using timely and relevant data, usually with graphical elements; the analysis application lets users analyze and explore performance data across multiple dimensions and at different levels of detail to get at the root cause of problems and issues; the management application fosters communication among executives, managers, and staff and gives executives continuous feedback across a range of critical activities, enabling them to `steer' their organizations in the right direction."
   
   The ultimate success of the cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective system which Eckerson discusses in this book depends on several factors: sufficient leadership and resources at all levels of implementation, correct and consistent application of the right metrics, a compelling graphical user interface, and contingency planning which ensures user adoption while driving the organizational changes.
   
   I especially appreciate Eckerson's provision of three mini case studies that illustrate how -- in real-world situations - the three performance "dashboards" can achieve the desired objectives. Specifically, those that are operational (Quicken Loans, Inc., pages 127-141), those which are tactical (International Truck and Engine Corp., pages 143-158), and those which are strategic (Hewlett Packard Co., pages 159-177). I also appreciate the material provided in Part Three (Critical Success Factors: Tips from the Trenches) as Eckerson correlates various multilayered applications built on business intelligence and data integration infrastructure that enables any organization (regardless of size or nature) to measure, monitor, and manage business performance more effectively.
   
   All executives recognize the importance of accurate and consistent measurement of what really matters. Obviously, the "what" varies (sometimes significantly) from one organization to another. In my opinion, the three performance "dashboards" that Eckerson recommends can be of substantial benefit, whatever the given "what" may be but if - and only if - the aforementioned success factors are present. To repeat, they are: sufficient leadership and resources at all levels of implementation, correct and consistent application of the right metrics, a compelling graphical user interface, and contingency planning which ensures user adoption while driving the organizational changes.
   
   This book is by no means an "easy read" but it will generously reward those who absorb and digest its material with appropriate care. Then what? He fully understands how difficult it is to ensure adoption by others, and, to manage performance effectively throughout the given enterprise. In the final chapter, Eckerson notes that performance dashboards can easily backfire and cause performance to decline or stall instead of climb. He then identifies what he characterizes as eight cardinal sins " that can turn a performance dashboard into a performance quagmire." How to avoid them? Eckerson offers nine strategies to ensure adoption and eight strategies to manage performance.
   
   I highly recommend this brilliant book as well as Dean Spitzer's Transforming Performance Measurement. Both are eminently worthy of thoughtful and rigorous consideration. However, that said, I also offer a caveat expressed by Peter Drucker in 1963: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." Invoking again the "vehicle" metaphor introduced in the first paragraph of this brief commentary, I presume to suggest that if you and your companions don't know where you are going, "any road will get you there."



4. Overall this is a great book, which is extremely well presented... A key point to take home is, that dashboards are not just fancy displays with graphs/ RYG lights, but a set of applications to monitor, measure and manage business performance, with a solid business intelligence and integration infrastructure.... Also, author's point of views on different types of dashboards (strategic, tactical and operational), and the types of audience for each of these types, and their analysis requirements were very insightful.. This coupled with BI maturity model that the author presents, is an invaluable guide for organizations to assess their current state, and provide the roadmap for thier performance management needs... Three detailed case studies have been presented to explain three types of dashboards.
   
   A lot of tricks and tips throughout the book... Strongly recommend this book...



5. Modern corporations collect vast amounts of data. Unfortunately, they too often mistake having massive amounts of data for having useful and actionable information. They are not the same thing. Even when a company knows how to transform data into usable information, there are still steps left to take that that information and make it accessible and usable throughout the organization in a manageable and coordinated way.
   
   Wayne Eckerson explains how to use performance dashboards to display information on screens that help people do their job, understand where they are against the company's strategic objectives and goals, and give them the ability to drill down into the data as required by their job. These screens should be designed to be simple to read and understand (he says they should be designed with for a 12 year old), but empowering for their users.
   
   There are three broad types of performance dashboards: Operational, Tactical, and Strategic. These must be handled differently, and I think the author does a great job in explaining how you should implement these. Each type gets a case study of a company that shows the reasons and methods for the implementation.
   
   This book is for more for technical types, but it should also be looked at by the business types involved with driving and supporting such an initiative. I also appreciated Eckerson's emphasis on the a thaw between the usual tensions between the IT and Business teams.
   
   A helpful and useful book.
   
   Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

4 comments about Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing.

1. Having followed Jim Tobin for some time on twitter (@jtobin), and being a big fan of ignite social media, I'm sure this book will provide a wealth of knowledge around the social media/marketing medium.
   
   From the sneak peeks provided on their blog alone I am already reaping the rewards of the advice of this book.
   
   I'm definitely excited to get it in my hands. I'll update this review once I have finished it.



2. Jim Tobin's latest book is an eye-opening introduction to the cyber-side of marketing on social media like facebook and second life and the mechanisms behind successful corporate online ad campaigns. Jim guides the uninitiated into an exponentially growing virtual world where there are no limits on the marketing of your products and ideas if you approach the net using the specific tools he suggests. This book is essential to any business owner or marketing expert who wants to exploit the millions of eyeballs focused online at any given moment. Non-targeted marketing will soon be extinct and replaced with smart, cost effective, laser focused pitches based upon the data collected on the web and each consumer. But you can't join the cocktail party if you don't understand the lingo or how to get into the room.



3. Just started reading this morning and can't put the book down. It's easy to read, easy to understand and entertaining too. A great holiday gift for anyone that touches a computer. See how the world of marketing continues to evolve through social media.



4. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to gain valuable, targeted insight into their business. The author does a good job of introducing you into what Social Media is, why you need to pay attention to it and how you can use it to help your business.

5 comments about The Accounting Game, 2E: Basic Accounting Fresh from the Lemonade Stand.

1. It's a good introduction to accounting..but you definitely need more than this book if you want to become an accountant ;-)



2. Based on the majority of reviews here, I was hoping this would be neither too simplistic nor too dry. Unfortunately, its too simplistic, and also, since it uses a story-based layout, it is essentially worthless as a reference. What I was hoping for an easy-to-understand reference about accounting, but this is a rudimentary set of information that you have to read beginning-to-end to make any sense out of.



3. This book provided exactly what I wanted - a good introduction to the basics of accounting. If you want to understand the basics of accounting without having to take a college course on it or wading through a 500-page, jargon-filled textbook, or if you want a book to supplement a college textbook and reinforce the basics, this is a good book for you.
   
   Allow me to emphasize "basic" accounting; you will learn stuff like terminology (like what "gross profit" is and how it differs from net profit), basic methodologies (e.g. LIFO vs. FIFO), and basic tasks like how to create balance sheets, cash statements, and whatnot. This book will not, however, make you a CPA overnight; at some points, it may give you just enough knowledge to make you dangerous.
   
   Although I doubt there's a way to make accounting really interesting, this book came close, and the format as a storybook really made sticking with it a lot easier (and less boring). It's also concise enough to be read relatively quickly and interesting enough that you'll actually be willing to do so. Highly recommended.



4. This was a great review for accounting... I haven't been in the accounting industry for a while and needed to brush up and this was an educational and fun approach.



5. Before I read this book, I knew close to nothing about accounting. This book gave all the basics and provided helpful insight to managing a small business through accounting. The workbook-like sytle gets you involved with the subject and makes the learning process actually FUN! I recommend this book to ANYONE who wants to learn accounting -- even if you "think" you know it already.

5 comments about Lower Your Taxes - Big Time! 2007-2008 Edition (Lower Your Taxes Big Time).

1. This book should really be titled "How Small Businesses can Minimize their Taxes." That is the entire focus of the book. (Note that this includes consultants and other types of small businesses.) It covers a lot of topics in an organized manner, giving useable advice and not just concepts.
   
   If you do not have a small business, will this book convince you to do so? Probably not. For example, you can deduct your entertainment expenses - as long as you invite complete strangers over to your house.
   
   If you own or are seriously considering starting your own business, this book is worth getting. If not, don't bother.



2. This is an excellent book for anyone looking to learn about tax strategy, especially if they are looking to offset their W-2 earnings. It's true that the author leans heavily towards starting a business, but he also suggests that this is where the majority of the tax breaks are.
   
   While it may seem that only business owners can benefit from these tax breaks, there is also the suggestion that a side home-based business would satisfy these tax requirements for those high wage earners out there. With so many network marketing companies around, this would be an easy venture for anyone to take on.
   
   I would highly recommend that you read this book with an open mind and consider the possibility of a home-based business as a tax strategy for your high income. If you do, you will definitely reap the benefits of this book and you will do it properly, legally and in compliance with the IRS.



3. This is a well written book that takes something as boring as taxes and makes it interesting. Not just because the legal based tax advise contained within will save you $$$, but because the author is able to present it in a fun, humorous and entertaining manor. Well done Mr. Botkin.



4. Sandy is right on the money.This book is for anyone who wants to save TAX dollars from being sent to Uncle Sam and being put in your own pocket.



5. I hoped to have this book within the 3 weeks before I moved away. I guess I'll have to order from someone else.

5 comments about Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition, and Health, Revised and Expanded Edition (California Studies in Food and Culture).

1. Marion Nestle has a lot of useful and important information in this book; however, her style is very clinical and mundane. I found myself working to stay awake whenever I read the book. I did finish it, because I think it's good knowledge to have, but a better writer could have made the material pop.



2. There's much to say about Nestle's "Food Politics" and "What To Eat," but the overarching message is that the food industries lie compulsively in order to maximize profits. There's no reason to assume that food-company profit maximization would lead to any desirable outcome: they will produce more food every year in the quest for profit growth, and that food will be as artificial and toxic as the laws will allow them. They will resist any food labeling that might harm their sales. This includes:
   
   * "organic" (which implies that some foods are better than others)
   * warnings about toxicity (e.g., methylmercury in tuna)
   * the USDA food pyramid, which explicitly places junk food at the top and low-profit vegetables near the bottom
   
   They offload the regulatory burden onto consumers: if you're getting fat, it's your own fault. Of course, they say this while they fight tooth and nail against any labeling requirement that might help you choose. And they fight against any regulation that might make you safer at their expense.
   
   And of course there's the advertising. The same companies that tearfully demand your 'freedom to choose' with hand over heart are the same ones that target your children: everything from Saturday-morning cartoon ads to McDonald's sponsorship of Teletubbies to Coca-Cola branded baby bottles. In-depth psychological research understands exactly what will make your child tug at your sleeve in the grocery store and beg for the most profitable sugary cereal. So you have the 'freedom to choose', defended by companies that do all they can to deny it.
   
   Marion Nestle's magisterial books prove these points in extraordinary detail, yet they pull off the trick with an eloquence that makes them read like novels. The basic premise, though, is beyond dispute: food companies exist to maximize shareholder return. Their investors demand growth every year. There's no reason to expect that this demand will work in your favor.



3. Marion Nestle is an amazing researcher that worked diligently to unravel the truth about Lobbyists for the food industry, and their effect on the Food Pyramid. Americans are eating today based on the misnomers of a politized Congressional debate. It is the most fascinating read I have ever had. It will not only inform you, but change the way we eat and the way we feed our families. This book has had a tremendous impact on my life and I'm sure it will have the same effect on yours. Since the "Super Size Me" experiment of Morgan Spurlock, who called Marion Nestle his mentor, Americans are more concerned about our food source. Marion Nestles research will not oly help you to understand the problems of food labeling, but teach you what questions we should be asking our selves before we choose what we eat. I have attached a copy of the link to her book. It is a must read. So, be sure to treat yourself and your loved ones to a whole new understanding of how "Political" food truly can be. http://www.amazon.com/Food-Politics-Influences-Nutrition-California/dp/0520254031/ref=cm_cmu_up_add_glance



4. Amazing, well thought out and researched book. I found it to be an interesting book as well. One of the best in the type of genre.



5. I purchased this book for a course I am taking in food policy and find it a very readable companion to the course. I think it provides a firm grounding in the underlying structures that shape our food landscape, namely the powerful influence of industry over government.

4 comments about The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization (J-B Leader to Leader Institute/PF Drucker Foundation).

1. This book is a general summary of subject matter that has appeared in Drucker's previous work(s). Read the Table of Contents for free and save your money. There is good advice - very basic - here, but not worth the price of admission.



2. The first edition of Peter Drucker's self-assessment tool for organizations arrived in 1993 and introduced these five key questions: 1) What is our mission? 2) Who is our customer? 3) What does the customer value? 4) What are our results? and 5) What is our plan?
   
   This supplementary tool (just 101 easy-reading pages) includes expanded observations from Drucker along with color commentary from six distinguished management gurus, including Jim Collins, Philip Kotler, James Kouzes, Judith Rodin (Rockefeller Foundation president), V. Kasturi Rangan (Harvard Business School), and Frances Hesselbein (chairman of Leader to Leader Institute and former CEO, Girl Scouts of the USA).
   
   Referring to Question #5 on planning, Drucker comments, "Planning is not an event. It is the continuous process of strengthening what works and abandoning what does not, of making risk-taking decisions with the greatest knowledge of their potential effect, of setting objectives, appraising performance and results through systematic feedback, and making ongoing adjustments as conditions change."
   
   Peter Drucker says that one benefit of a self-assessment process is that you can evaluate how you match opportunities with your competence and commitment. And he adds that the time to do a self-assessment is when you are successful, not when your leading indicators are lagging.
   
   This is a helpful new resource for all of us. If you've ordered my new book, Mastering The Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-profit, be sure to read the first four chapters (buckets) that expand on the five Drucker questions: the Results Bucket, the Customer Bucket, the Strategy Bucket and the Drucker Bucket.



3. Drucker has the ability to make complex organizational concepts understandable by detailing a step by step thought process that leads to precise action steps. This is an invaluable tool for any manager who wishes to maximize the effectiveness of their team. It helps you translate your organization's vision into dynamic reality.



4. A deceptively small book full of powerful ideas promulgated by the late Dr. Drucker. A must read for anyone seriously considering, or engaged in leading organizations. One of the best management books I've read.

No comments about J.K. Lasser's 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks 2009: Your Complete Guide to Everything Deductible (J.K. Lasser).

5 comments about System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed.

1. Really Really Really it was great book
   You can learn everything
   Book includes real world experiences,tips and trics
   Absolutely positive
   
   Thanks So Much Authors



2. This is the most comprehensive OpsMgr book on the market. This book contains more real world information than the Microsoft white papers and runs circles around the Mastering Operations Manager offering.
   
   Operations Manager Unleashed offers excellent guidance for planning your deployment including database sizing tips. In addition topics such as deployment and operations are thoroughly covered. Insight on management pack tuning, step by step guides on alerting and some of the best advice on the ACS feature are included. You will have more than enough information at your fingertips to get the most out of your OpsMgr investment. Think of this book like the Pocket Consultant series that Microsoft has for Exchange, Windows etc: it's not meant to be read cover to cover, but will provide you with advice at the right time.
   
   In short if you have already invested thousands of dollars in System Center Operations Manager, spend the extra $40 and get the best available guide for this product. (Strange that Microsoft Press doesn't have a admin companion for OpsMgr)



3. I have been working on a project at work for months now involving System Center Operations Manager 2007 (SCOM) and I purchased this book in hopes that it would fill in some gaps from Microsoft's documentation. It has done so marvelously. This book has solved a lot of minor issues. It is clearly written, has good examples to follow and has a lot of information. I recommend anyone working with the software to pick up a copy (everyone on my project has)



4. This book has been a valuable tool in both revising for 70-400 SCOM exam and maintaining my SCOM infrastructure. All levels of complexities are covered from single server deployments to huge scalable solutions.
   
   It contains information on all areas of SCOM and general network administration, as well as helpful weblinks every few pages to internet resources on the subject. In most examples this book will walk you through the GUI for completing a task, and will cap it off nicely with a powershell cmdlet for those of you who like to streamline the power of two great products.
   
   The only negative I've found with SCOM Unleashed is a couple grammatical errors, but I could not take a star off for this! A 5-Star book for a 5-star application. Suitable for those of you just starting with SCOM or already serious knee deep in alerts from every area of your network.
   
   Thanks for another great book.



5. The index is not useful. Very difficult if not impossible to find topics of interest.
   
   The chapters contain a lot of material that is meaningless to the technical subject. My guess is that the book size could be cut in half to 1.5 inches thick from 3 inches.
   
   An electronic copy of the book would be handy. I did try to access the "online version" and it seemed like I was being asked to pay for each chapter that I accessed. I gave up.
   
   Cliff Milliken

5 comments about Starting an eBay Business For Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance)).

1. Very interesting read. Alot of great insider tips. I'm looking forward to getting started with an eBay business after reading this book. I read it cover to cover, but it can also just be used as a reference book.



2. I had been dabbling on eBay for auctions only when I considered opening an eBay store as my retirement job. This was the first book I purchased to help me achieve that goal. It totally answered all the pros and cons of opening a store, and based on that information, I decided to 'go for it'. Mostly it was the mechanics I was interested in - and Marcia Collins provided those answers regarding fees, creating an About Me profile, Selling Manager, store listing times & fees, sourcing products, record keeping, and more. I've also purchased a book by Suzanne Wells ~ the Ebay Coach
   specifically aimed in more detail toward helping Stay-At-Home Moms (SAHMs) achieve these goals Stay-At-Home Mom's Guide to Successful eBay^® Selling. In less than a year, I achieved Power Seller status! Based on that information, after becoming more experienced, I've joined eBay Specific Seller forums, learned to network on WAHM-SAHM boards, and created a successful Blog where I share the tips I've benefited from. If you are simply interested in setting up a store and just starting out and want to know the basic details of how an eBay store business functions, this book is written in language that speaks towards that reader.



3. I purchased this as a gift for a friend because I owned the previous edition. The book is well written and contains a lot of practical advice and reference material about various facets of starting and running an Ebay business. It is also written from a point of view of a person with a non-technical background (that is, in computers or finance) who was forced to make a living off Ebay and succeeded at that. The book thus concentrates on extracting revenue from general merchandise using Ebay as a re-distribution channel. Naturally, all-around books always overlap with other sources. On-line help from the Ebay site, if you do not get lost in it, would shave off a good quarter of this book, and if you are literate in on-line 'data mining' and computers in general, another good portion of this book is superfluos. Also, most of the practical advice about using wholesale outlets and on-line stores is useless outside of the USA. All that said, this is a good all-around book for starters and it can serve as that last push that gets you going, if you are still uncertain about Ebay business.



4. This book by Marsh Collier is as about as good as it gets. It is easy to understand. Though the book was written a few years ago, all of the information is still relevant. A few of the tools, etc. that are listed and described are revised on eBay's site, but the changes are rather minor and her how-to lessons are perfect. I highly suggest anyone wanting to buy and/or sell on eBay purchase this book. A++



5. This in fact is a great book on ebay.well written and very easy to read.