5 comments about First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently.

1. Definitely on my recommended book list. A must read for women in business.
   
   Susan Bock
   The Success Coach for Women in Business
   www.SusanBockSolutions.com



2. Geeks have said for a long, long time that there is easily a 10-to-1 ratio of productivity between the best developers and an average developer. There is tons of evidence to this fact... however it is still a difficult reality to swallow for some folks. In many cases, you're better off with a team of 3 good developers, than a team of 20 average developers. This book not only validates this claim, but also provides proof that this productivity ratio exists in every job role!
   
   This was based on data from a 25-year survey by Gallup... they interviewed over 100,000 people, trying to find out who were great managers, and what they knew. Almost uniformly, they knew that the standard rules about managing people were completely bogus. They break down what attributes your employees have into 3 buckets:
   
   * Knowledge: Basic information; "book learning." People with knowledge interview well, and test well, but that doesn't always translate into productivity. Training people "knowledge" is fast and easy.
   * Skills: This is applied knowledge. A great deal of accounting and data entry is applied high-school math, but that doesn't mean any high schooler can do it. They need the skills to know when to apply what knowledge and when. Training people a "skill" takes time, and not all people are cut out for every skill.
   * Talent: The most important of the bunch... somebody not only with skills and knowledge, but their brain is wired to be exceptional at this task! You can have a talent for sales, accounting, data entry, development, bartending, housekeeping, management, anything! Training people a "talent" is extraordinarily difficult, but you can find it during an interview.
   
   This book validates what I have said for a long time: manager is a role, not a rank! Only people with the "talent" for being managers should be managers. It should not be an expected career path for all.
   
   One talented employee is easily more valuable than 10 of her peers, across the board. This book provides sufficient examples that should make any decent manager rethink their methods of using their employees like cogs in a giant "process machine." A good manager should look for "talent," and not "skills" or "knowledge" during an interview... and then figure out a way to help their employees harness their latent talent. If so, then you will see 10 times more productivity out of a talented employee, compared to an average one.
   
   This has nothing to do with knowledge, skills, or process... the talented ones just "get it." They see the problem, they know inherently how to solve it, and it brings them tremendous joy to solve it. Don't promote these stars to management; that's not their talent. Instead, let the exceptional employees -- like exceptional baseball players -- make more than an average manager. They call this "broad band" pay scales, and in practice they work pretty well to make sure everybody is exceptional at their role.
   
   What about developers? They had a few things to say about them... somewhat oversimplified, but they said a common career path is from developer to systems analyst. In other words, go from designing one system, to designing integrated systems that work together.
   
   This is a HUGE mistake.
   
   Why? Because both roles require different talents! Developers are problem solvers, but in general they need ALL the pieces of the puzzle before they want to try to solve it. There is no feeling more frustrating to them than not being able to solve a problem because you weren't given sufficient data... or a complete specification.
   
   To illustrate... Imagine you work at a software company. If you ask a talented developer a technical question, but you don't give sufficient information, you might have just cost your company a full day's worth of developer productivity. Why? Because the developer will seethe, and stew, and gather his buddies for a hallway bitch-session about you... which will cause others to likewise seethe and stew, and grumble about how "nobody ever gives them enough information." It all adds up to a full day lost.
   
   It happens. I've seen it.
   
   In contrast, a systems analysts (or architect) thrives on incomplete information. They know they are designing a system with a lot of people, a lot of requirements, a lot of needs, and thus a ton of moving parts. People don't know what they want, because nobody really knows what is possible. An architect can't wait around forever to create a specification: he needs to experiment a little. This means iteration, agility, extreme programming, and all that garbage.
   
   It is certainly possible for one person to have both skills... but usually the best developers have a mild weakness at integrated systems, and vice versa.
   
   Getting your manager to read this book might be tricky... "you suck! read this so you suck less!" Nevertheless, its a good book that will help you make the case that there is talent in every role... you're not asking for special treatment when you ask to play to your strengths. You're asking that your manager let you do what all great managers do.
   
   Simple as that...



3. This book presents allot of pertinent data, which I as a reader found very useful in my understanding of proven positive work habits. The resonating theme is to work smarter and recognize that your business is unique and your solutions always need to be tailored to fit your business needs.



4. I was very satisfied with the quality of the book shipped. The package also did not take extremely long to deliver, and the price was fair and the book of great quality.



5. While a very busy category with a depth of choices, this is one of the better books I've read for analyzing how to manage others. It helps to develop keener abilities into why some in management excel and achieve superior results and others never build on what they inherit. There is a buffet of statistics to back up the analysis and add credibility. This is a fine addition to anyone's library of self-improvement books to be more efficient and effective in business.
   
   Likewise, the employee can intuitively reverse engineer the information and make his performance more in tune with superiors, and set himself up for moving up the ladder. Great book.

5 comments about A Sense of Urgency.

1. Whenever I meet CEOs, they invariably tell me that they wish their people had more "fire in the belly" or more of a sense of urgency. What are they talking about? Their organizations go about saving someone's life in such a slow methodical fashion, that no life would ever be saved. It's as though a fire truck arrived at a fire and never unrolled any hoses or attached them to any fire hydrants. Instead, they are checking the equipment before getting started.
   
   I have seen this in my own organizations. Hire a new marketing person, and you can be sure that not much more will be accomplished in the first six months than to have the company stationery, business cards, and promotional material redesigned.
   
   What the leaders often don't realize is that their behavior facilitates this "business as usual" slow-motion sleep walk. If you want to get beyond that frustration into effectiveness, this book can help you.
   
   Professor John Kotter knows all this. In his excellent books on change management such as Leading Change and The Heart of Change, he documented that change requires these characteristics be present:
   
   1. A sense of urgency
   2. An effective guiding team
   3. Appropriate visions and strategies
   4. Communications that cause the right messages to be understood by all
   5. Allowing people to make necessary changes
   6. Making regular progress that inspires people
   7. Keeping at making useful changes
   8. Not letting the helpful changes unravel
   
   As you can see, it all starts with a sense of urgency. In this book, Professor Kotter gives us his most in-depth look at how a leader can instill and take advantage of a sense of urgency to overcome complacency and bad habits.
   
   He proposes that leaders engage a strategy of continual action based on sensing changes outside the organization that provide opportunities or present threats while eliminating activities that don't add much value. Such a strategy should be implemented in a way that appeals to your organization both rationally and emotionally.
   
   To implement that strategy he suggests these tactics (see pp. 60-61):
   
   1. Bring the outside in with engaging information so that the outside is acknowledged, understood, and acted on.
   
   2. Demonstrate urgency every day as a leader and expect everyone else to do the same.
   
   3. Find appropriate opportunities to change and improve from crises that threaten the organization.
   
   4. Wall off, neutralize, or eliminate those who oppose or slow down change for no good reason.
   
   The book goes on to provide lists of questions, examples of good and bad behavior, and check lists to help you follow Professor Kotter's advice.
   
   I found a few flaws in the ointment that concerned me about the book that I think you should be aware of:
   
   1. In the book's beginning, there's a lot of attention paid to what is described as a "false sense of urgency." He characterizes people with this attitude as feeling that change must be made but whose actions aren't very helpful (like the new marketing people who spend a lot of effort redesigning the stationery). I don't think that's the only syndrome that you have to deal with. I also see people who have a real sense of urgency, but who don't have the management skills to know how to fix whatever it is that needs to be fixed. I would characterize that as incompetent management. Professor Kotter fails to address what to do about incompetent change management.
   
   2. The sections on the tactics don't contain many examples, and many of the examples are ones that he has shared in earlier books such as The Heart of Change. I would have liked to see more examples and more details about how to pursue these tactics in organizations with different kinds of cultures. As a result, I didn't feel like I gained very much information about the tactics beyond what the description of the tactic provides.
   
   3. Can leadership be defined and parsed like management is? To some extent. I think that Professor Kotter doesn't feel comfortable trying to do so. As a result, the book is a little on the superficial side for a reader who hasn't seen an effective change leader in operation.
   
   4. There are many other tactics for leading successful change that require the use of new business models and those ideas are totally missing from the book.
   
   But I don't know of a better book on the challenges of creating a sense of urgency in leading change. So do read this one and make the best use of it you can.



2. In this book Kotter focuses on the first of the eight steps outlined in his book Leading Change. According to Kotter, creating a sense of urgency is the single most important part of a change effort. I would have to agree. In the company I just left, we could see the threats in the business environment at the unit level. But at the corporate level, there was an attitude of "we have time, we've been here before".
   
   Kotter helps us identify complacency, and gives us strategies to fight it. Leading Change was one of the texts in the University of Nevada, Reno's 400 level change management course, and this book is a great tool to help build on the concepts in Leading Change.



3. Speed is an underrated and powerful aspect of business that oft goes ignored. "A Sense of Urgency" is a guide to business urgency and keeping the sense of it going to increase productivity and efficiency. Urgency brings speed, speed brings changes, and changes bring opportunities, and opportunities bring profit. A must for improving one's business while not stressing employees out, "A Sense of Urgency" is a solid read for any business manager.



4. John Kotter's A Sense of Urgency builds on his earlier works on change - Leading Change, Heart of Change, and Our Iceberg is Melting. Unlike these other titles Kotter focuses on one step in the change process. He offers many useful suggestions about creating a sense of urgency. Anyone involved in leading change should take this seriously because urgency is foundational to change. No urgency, no change. And arousing a sense of urgency is not as easy as it sounds. People and organizations want to hang on to the familiar, the current way of operating. So, like No-No in Our Iceberg is Melting, they will stubbornly resist change, locking themselves into their comfort zone. My sense is that many change efforts fail because no sense of urgency has been created. So Kotter's book is a welcome addition to the literature and the practice of change.



5. A Sense of Urgency is a book that is sorely needed in today's times as the difference between urgency and change will make the difference between survival and liquidation in today's economy. Executives need to recognize the difference between the two. Urgency creates a motivating force on results and teaming. Change is imposed from above, the subject of skepticism and Dilbert cartoons.
   
   Every organization needs to change, that is commonly understood and the subject of endless books, including those by John Kotter. We have become complacent in our approaches to change management as every one of those books deals with change as a process, an event something that happens and then happens again at a latter date. This gives executives the belief that there is a change management recipe, based on principles like the burning platform, communication, and executive sponsorship. That recipe has lost its meaning and its time for use to change the approach to change management.
   
   I recommend this book to any executive, manager, team leader, and concerned professional as a way for them to lead and create results in a powerful way. The book is easily read over a weekend, a couple of airplane rides, etc. The charts and tools are clearly presented and actionable. Overall a must read part of any management library.
   
   Why? Because change has lost its potency. It's become routine and we have lost sight of its fundamental roots. Change and enterprises have become internally focused, concerned with themselves, their processes, their investments etc.
   
   Kotter reminds us that the root of success involves sense of Urgency. Urgency is the highly positive and focused forces that give people the determination to move and win now. It's a simple definition but one that is powerful and well executed throughout the book.
   
   A sense of urgency is a focused book concentrating on the actions and practices involved in creating and sustaining a sense of urgency. Kotter provides four core tactics for driving urgency into an organization. These tactics are supported by anecdotal stories and detailed tools which make the book actionable and practical. The tactics are:
   
   Bring the outside in
   
   Behave with urgency every day
   
   Find opportunity in crisis
   
   Deal with NoNo's
   
   This can give the reader the sense that there is `a recipe for urgency' and I guess that is unavoidable, but internalizing the books message you can readily get a sense of how this all fits into your context.
   
   The strengths of the book centered on its clear and focused organization of these ideas in a way that Executives can easily read on a plane ride or afternoon and apply these practices right away. Kotter accompanies each Urgency Tactic with the details that not only make it real, but also really applicable. Here is a detailed example for the first tactic:
   
   Bring the outside in:
   
   a. Recognize the pervasive problem of internal focus
   b. Listen to customer-interfacing employees
   c. Use the power of video
   d. Don't always shield people from troubling data
   e. Redecorate
   f. Send people out
   g. Bring people in
   h. Bring data in, but in the right way
   i. Watch out that you don't create a false sense of urgency
   
   Each sub tactic contains a focused page and a half discussion of what they are and how leaders can implement the idea. This detail and its presentation is what really distinguishes the book and brings something new to the debate.
   
   The book's primary weakness is that it is not specific in their examples. There are discussions of nondescript companies that dilute rather than support the messages. Most of the case stories do not have a conclusion - the results companies were able to achieve. This makes the examples more fables that case studies. It's really a shame as strong specific stories are the one thing that is missing that would make this a killer book.
   
   Finally, there are some surprising gaps in the book that by themselves do not diminish the book, but in total they certainly take away from its power. First the book does not recognize that there are other approaches to change management and urgency. This denies the reader the ability to put A Sense of Urgency in the context of the broader literature. This is really unfortunate as this book should replace some ideas and enhance others - Kotter leaves that up to the reader rather than providing a recommendation. Second, the book has no index, which not only makes it tougher to use after the fact, but also is a silly omission.

5 comments about Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition.

1. I'm just 14 pages into Guy Kawasaki's "Reality Check" and am now as certain as ever about my 28 years "under the hood" and 16 years altruistic fanaticism.
   
   Lovin' it. Fantastic reference (will read it cover to cover).
   
   Very timely.
   
   (full followup-review to come)



2. In the world of business books there are just a few that stand out as premier resources that should be re-read again and again. Reality Check is the newcomer to that category. I'm currently reading through it for the third time so by now the pages in my copy have been dog-eared, written on and so forth. There are a lot of excellent books out there but most will serve you well by finding them at your local library, read once, and return. Not Reality Check - this one must be owned. I hope it will be as helpful to you as it has been to me.



3. If you consider "Art of the Start", this book has twice the thickness, and includes (almost) all topics of the fore mentioned book. Reality check is a bit less easy to read and the expectations in Europe have been high, but may not be met this time due to so much similarities.
   Still a good read anyway as Guy is highly motivational writer.



4. 
   Having read all and then reviewed most of Guy Kawasaki's eight previously published books, I was especially eager to read this one because it was rumored to provide everything he wishes he had known (but most of which he didn't) when he embarked on his career in business (counting diamonds a fine-jewelry manufacturer called Nova Stylings) while at work on an MBA degree at UCLA. (He had already earned an undergraduate degree at Stanford.) Kawasaki later went to work for an educational software company called EduWare Services. However, Peachtree Software acquired the company and wanted him to move to Atlanta. "I don't think so. I can't live in a city where people call sushi `bait.' Luckily, my Stanford roommate, Mike Boich, got me a job at Apple. When I saw what a Macintosh could do, the clouds parted and the angels started singing. For four years I evangelized Macintosh to software and hardware developers and led the charge against world-wide domination by IBM." By now, presumably, he was accumulating a wealth of real-world experience in leadership and management and well as knowledge about marketing, sales, finance, strategic planning, problem-solving, resource allocation, and customer relations.
   
   I have just read Reality Check and it exceeded my expectations. The twelve (12) "realities" that Kawasaki rigorously examines, in several chapters devoted to each, include Starting Chapters 1-5), Raising Money Raising Money (Chapters 6-15), Planning and Executing (Chapters 16-24), Innovating (Chapters 25-31), Marketing (Chapters 32-37), Selling and Evangelizing (Chapters 38-43), Communicating (Chapters 44-52), Beguiling (Chapters 53-63), Competing (Chapters 64-67), Hiring and Firing (Chapters 68-78), Working (Chapters 79-89 followed by a "Timeout"), and Doing Good (Chapters 90-94 followed by a "Conclusion." Yes, that is correct: This book has 94 chapters plus a "Timeout" and a "Conclusion" provided within (count `em) 461 pages plus (thankfully) a comprehensive Index. As is also true of Kawasaki's eight other books, the tone is informal, conversational, and at times confrontational; also, the pace is frenetic and the writing style has Snap! Crackle! and Pop! Most important to me, the content is more abundant and of a higher quality than in any other of his previously published books.
   
   Readers will welcome the use of bold face to highlight key points. This device will facilitate, indeed expedite frequent review of those key points later. I especially appreciate the inclusion of several interviews throughout the lively narrative. They include those of Fred Greguras on key legal issues in raising funds (Pages 51-59), Chip and Dan Heath on why only a few innovations "stick" and most don't (Pages 130-138), Kathleen Gasperini on marketing to young people (Pages 168-175), Garr Reynolds on mastering the "Presentation Zen" approach (Pages 209-214), Robert Cialdini on the art and science of effective persuasion (Pages 243-250, Libby Sartain shares her perspectives on the recruiting process (Pages 314-317), Penelope Trunk offers "radically different" advice on career planning and management (Pages 318-325), Philip Zimbardo explains the factors that shape human behavior (e.g. how people adopt and adapt to given roles (Pages 359-365), David Marcum and Steven Smith explain why the ego can be one's greatest asset...or most expensive liability (Pages 393-400), David Bornstein explains what social entrepreneurship is and how it can change the world (Pages 428-435), Richard Stearns provides insights into the transition from the corporate to the non-profit world and shares lessons to be learned from an association that raises billions of dollars every year (Pages 36-441), and Jerry White explains how to overcome a "life crisis" (Pages 442-448). Note the variety of subjects covered during Kawasaki's interviews. They correctly suggest the scope and diversity of his interests.
   
   Opinions will vary as to how to read this book. Some will read it cover-to-cover. Others will select several of the 12 "realities" and then read the chapters in which each is discussed. Still others will check out the Contents (Pages vii-xi) and then read whatever is of greatest interest. What sets this business book apart from almost others I have read in recent years is the extent to which it provides (quoting Kawasaki in the Introduction) "hardcore information to hardcore people who want to kick ass." The focus is almost entirely on how to create and then sustain an organization whose people "make the world a better place because of it." Presumably Kawasaki agrees with Thomas Edison: "Vision without execution is hallucination." If not you, who? If not now, when?



5. Even though this book is aimed at those who are "starting and operating great organizations," it's also full of great advice for marketers.
   
   The thing I liked best about the book was Guy's "voice." He tells it like it is, whether you want to hear it or not. But he does it with a sense of humor and a sense of humility (which is often sorely missing in today's business books.)
   
   In one chapter, he cops to leaving out one of his guest authors in the index. While Guy could have blamed that on someone else, he said it was his responsibility to check it. It was an unusual move - to publicly cop to a mistake that almost no-one would have noticed, but because he included it, it made me like him that much more.
   
   Plus, If you're willing to share your mistakes, I'm more likely to believe your success stories.
   
   So, read it for the raw honesty, read it for the terrific advice, and read it for the laughs (there are plenty of them).
   
   The Reality of Communicating is a must read section for speakers. Chapter 35 - Frame or Be Framed is a must for anyone in branding. And The Reality of Beguiling section is a must read for everyone. Chapter 58 - The Art of Sucking Down is worth the whole price of the book.

5 comments about A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition (PMBOK Guides).

1. It's been almost a month and I have received this book. After two weeks, I looked online and reviewed the review of the sender. Too my surprise, I found out that the sender has a practice of not sending the product to buyers. I recommend this seller be taken off of Amazon.



2. This book came to me in very good condition. It looks like it wasn't used at all. Good job!



3. Great book for generic and basic info about PM and being a PMBOK, it is a reference book. Currently using it for the PM class at CSUF.



4. This book has a lot of good information and is a must for any up and coming project manager.



5. Volunteer committees at the Project Management Institute (PMI) created this guide to the processes involved in managing projects. Communication among clients, the project team and vendors is crucial to project management, so the book establishes a common vocabulary and a standard way of discussing a project. The book focuses on going from step to step with reliable coordination and smooth communication. Newcomers will find it helpful as they become conversant in the way professionals view and discuss project management. And, given that this is a standard work in the field, professionals are likely to regard it already as a reliable reference, including the useful process checklist. getAbstract applauds this manual's solid utility for its targeted audience. It is even quite readable, though it is directed only to insiders.

5 comments about The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It.

1. If you are going to start a business or already have a business, you have to read this book or at least get the audio version. This book is definitely a great choice. Instead of learning from your mistakes, take the short cut and get this book and learn from someone else's mistakes.
   
   You'll be happy you did.



2. The single most important book to read BEFORE starting your own business. The e-Myth is that most people think they've created a business when all they've really done is created a job. Please don't start a business before reading this book because it will help you avoid the pitfalls (most new ventures fail) but because it helps you evaluate the why and the costs of venturing out on your own.
   
   Much has been said about this book so I won't rehash it. The success of this book and its long history of being a best seller (let alone in print) speaks for itself. There is real gold in this book. Gerber divides the many hats an entrepreneur wears into three categories: the leader, the manager, and the technician. Gerber outlines a good business model. I wish I had read this 20 years ago.
   
   A business is created to be an asset and possibly be sold - not to create a job for yourself. Not understanding that principle (and the how to do it) will cause you to work very very hard and not make much money, or even go bankrupt. Read this book and proactively prevent many problems and heartache - especially in your bank account.



3. The E-Myth Revisited served as my introduction into the entrepreneur world. Raised in an entrepreneur family, this book hit home. It also helped create a niche within my own medical career more than a decade ago. The E-Myth is my favorite business book.
   
   Michael Gerber tells the story of Sarah, who went from making pies for fun to managing a store that delivered pies as a business. She soon became enslaved to her business, dreading the love she once had. But more so, unable to grow the business to achieve her vision.
   
   Gerber's ability to simplify complex concepts into practical ones is masterful. I would recommend this book to any person who is considering to launch his or her own business and to any executive who would like to run his or her group as if managing their own business.



4. This is the worst book ever that I read on any subject. Why did this book sold over million copies was the biggest question I had after attempting to read this book. I did not find single page in the book that really useful to me.
   
   I am sure this book sold 1 million copies only because of its title and not the content.
   
   Reasons:
   1. Authors language and narration is the worst ever.
   2. It is written for those who don't understand business (example one who bakes pie is not necessarily educated or has business degree)
   3. The book is very misleading for entrepreneurs and the most de-motivating book ever.
   4. This book is written from negative standpoint, people generally need encouragement which is hard to find in this book unless you really want to believe this author and fail in your business.
   5. I am okay with franchisee business model, however the the way author presented this case makes be do the opposite i.e to never ever own a franchisee.
   
   Let me say this: Don't ever buy this book, I got this one free from person trying to sell me franchise business and now I hate them for giving me this stupid book.
   
   Why would you trust this review: I have studied Masters in Business Administration and I understand right and wrong approach to small and large business. There are thousands of good books on business and this is the worst ever.



5. "Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It"
   
   The problem with small businesses is that most people work in it, rather than on it. People turn what was once a labor of love into a love of labor. They focus so much on trying to capture the moment that they stop being in the moment.
   
   Gerber, the world's number one small business guru, points out that there are three key roles one must master to create a successful system: the entrepreneur (the visionary), the manager (the planner), and the technician (the doer). He shows us how to create a step-by-step turn-key franchise that leverages the power of a strategic system to make a world of our own.
   
   This book transformed my life and my businesses to create replicable, scalable models that would succeed on their own. In the past, I wanted to do everything on my own. Because the companies relied on me to succeed, they could not function without me.
   
   This book shows you how to build lasting legacies that allows others to experience your version of the world.
   
   My life transformed with martial arts, philosophy, and psychology at 12. The next revolution happened when I was 20.
   
   I never realized how businesses and martial arts are exactly alike until I read this quote in The E-Myth, which was taken from Joe Hyams, who wrote the book Zen in the Martial Arts.
   
   "A dojo is miniature cosmos where we make contact with ourselves -- our fears, anxieties, reactions, and habits. It is an arena of confined conflict where we confront an opponent who is not an opponent but rather a partner engaged in helping us understand ourselves more fully. It is a place where we can learn a great deal in a short time about who we are and how we react in the world. The conflicts that take place inside the dojo help us handle conflicts that take place outside. The total concentration and discipline required to study martial arts carries over to daily life. The activity in the dojo calls on us to constantly attempt new things, so it is also a source of learning -- in Zen terminology, a source of self-enlightenment."
   
   Gerber says, "That is exactly what a small business is!"

5 comments about What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful.

1. Book should be named "Common Errors Even Successful People Make". It was a list of poor behaviors that would get most people fired - quickly. I was disappointed as I expected it to elevate my game. Instead, it listed many poor behaviors that anyone with a sense of self would not engage in.



2. A book full of common sense on "How not to be a Jerk". Unfortunately, if you are a jerk, you are probably not going to read the book.



3. As an executive coach, I ask clients to identify what of the 20 habits they are guilty of. The book becomes a safe, third-party place to see yourself in the mirror and be aware of how your behavior affects others. Recently a client sent me an email titled "That Darn Marshall". He said it took him 20 minutes to rewrite an email without the words "no", "but", or "however"...but he did it and the response he got back was positive.
   
   I've seen NASA engineers who don't think about giving recognition try the 5 pennies exercise and now they regularly give valid praise and graditude to those around them. People really do want to look good in other's eyes and sometimes a busy successful person forgets that. Marshall's book both identifies areas in which we can strengthen and gives practical & simple tools to apply immediately.
   
   It's a terrific book about how to get better results faster!



4. What a wonderful book! Marshall Goldsmith's book should be on the "must read" list for anyone who truly wants to improve their relationships. It moves immediately beyond pop psychology and provides simple, doable, clear, and concise instructions on how to change the irritating and destructive habits that cause problems between people. Written for the business executive, Goldsmith's methods work just as well for the little league coach, the small business person, and yes, the husband and wife. This is your opportunity to get the advice for which top CEO's are paying thousands of dollars, and you get it for the price of a book. To top it off, Goldsmith is an immensely readable writer. Don't pass up the opportunity. Oh yeah, once you get the book, put it to use.



5. Goldsmith brings us a fabulous leadership text for leaders at any and all phases in their career. From a youngster just out of MBA school, or a seasoned CEO, all people looking to improve will find value.
   
   The highlights:
   --People fail to implement change because they are too busy.
   Change isn't easy, but it is ever-present in today's society. If you want a 'change' to happen in your personal or professional life, you must make it at the top of your list. Goldsmith soars as he describes the importance of making a commitment to changing a part of your behavior.
   
   --There is a HUGE gulf between understanding and doing.
   Leadership isn't just memorized out of a book, or absorbed through a leadership seminar. This book gives concrete examples of how you can build a plan of action for growing as a leader. Gain a thorough understanding of leadership best practices and then you have no excuses -- it is time to ACT.
   
   I can make this promise. This book will shake your cobwebs and get you back on path to being a confident, courageous, and effective leader.
   
   Dan Naden
   Naden's Corner

5 comments about Now, Discover Your Strengths.

1. This was required for a class I was taking in college to get my EdS degree, but it was one of the best books I read in the program. This book helps people discover their own strengths and encourages them to accentuate those strengths while trying not to focus on any weaknesses. It's a great self-help book that I'm glad I had to read because it truly enhanced my life.



2. Fantastic book as an individual read or as a team in the work environment. Easy to read and understand and at the end you have the results of the Strengths Finder Survey and a concrete set of steps to help you begin assessing your current work and personal decisions so they "play to your Strengths" Every Manager should have their team read this and share their strengths.



3. I bought this book NEW at a bookstore that was going out of business.
   
   I was really enjoying reading it until I got to Chapter 3, which directs you to go online and take their StrengthsFinder test using the "unique" code on the jacket of the book.
   
   I was disgusted to learn that someone has already used the code (or so I am told by the FAQ on the site). Then I realized that this entire book, which reads remarkably fast and could probably be condensed down to 50 pages, is just a tool to get people to go to the site and "upgrade" to the latest version of the online test. How can you do that? Can you buy access separately? Nope. You HAVE to buy a book to get a code. And of course, when you get your book there's no way to ensure that someone hasn't already peeked inside the jacket and grabbed the code.
   
   At least I paid a discount price for the book, but I'm not really interested in reading any further, nor in buying their latest "upgraded" book.
   
   What a fantastic marketing tool to ensure that lending or selling the book is useless. When I say "marketing tool," I'm referring to the person behind this debacle.



4. This a good book if you want to rethink what you are doing with your life. Stephen Covey integrates some of this kind of thinking in the Eight Habits.
   
   Share this with your kids in high school, and definitely before they head off to college.
   
   Dave



5. In an ocean full of bigger fish it can be difficult to stop living on the offense and consider our own strengths. How will you stand out amongst the other 200 people at that job interview if you yourself have no idea what your strengths are? And if you don't know what you are good at, are you applying for the best job for yourself in the first place?
   
   `Now Discover Your Strengths' is the follow up to Buckingham's previous book `Break all the Rules'. This book focused on identifying and using your natural talents. Rather than working on overcoming weakness, which serves to create focus on what we are not good at, `Now Discover Your Strengths' teaches us to work on our strengths. In fact, to build our lives around them.
   Once your strengths are identified it becomes much easier to find a fulfilling career that will continue to last - after all, you'll be doing something you're good at!
   
   Danny Iny
   Author of the free eBook "Forget Everything You Know About Looking For a Job... And Actually Find One!"
   HuntingToHired, www.HuntingToHired.com

1 comments about Investing for Change: Profit from Responsible Investment.

1. The title of this book appealed to me. I think we're all going through this stage right now, with the economy and our conscience, where we want to grow our money, and yet do so in a way that helps not just ourselves, but the planet in general. But how do we do that? "Investing for Change" explains it. The authors cover the how and the why and the what and manage for it all to make sense. I got some very good ideas from this book, which I will surely be implementing.

5 comments about The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures.

1. Business diagrams are too often complex, difficult to understand and even harder to explain. The Back of the Napkin contains instruction and useful examples of how to get your message across simply and effectively.
   
   As a Business Process and Management Reporting Consultant, I have been recommending this book this year to the business modelers that I train. Business people love to "show their stuff" by displaying complicated process models and business diagrams, sometimes spending as long as an hour explaining what it means.
   
   BIG MISTAKE!!! If you can't get people to understand your model or picture in the first glance or two, your point will lose impact and you could miss getting your message across.
   
   Almost every page contains simple diagrams to bring each and every point across to the reader. I would have given this book 5 stars, except the author tried to create a methodology and acronym SQVID that missed the mark by being too complex. Also, the "how to" example could have been better - and given the author an opportunity to really showcase his methodology's effectiveness.
   
   Read this book - and after you finish, read "Make it Stick." These two books together will help you become more effective with business communications.



2. 
   Debo reconocer que lo revisé en 3 horas (rápido) pues no quiero atarme a una metodología precisa de cómo transmitir mis ideas con esquemas y dibujos. Prefiero crear la mía para mis necesidades. Sin embargo le diría al autor que no intente dar tantos ánimos a quienes dudan de su capacidad de dibujar. ¡Ellos no comprarán su libro en primer lugar! Le apostaría que quienes compran su libro lo hacen por que sienten que sí pueden. No pierda el tiempo y para una siguiente edición (¡¡por favor siga en esta nueva línea de comunicación!!)incluya más ejemplos que son iluminadores y más motivadores que las palabras.
   A mi me será útil en mis clases con universitarios (aunque se ríen de los intentos de dibujo de su profesor, lo que no es malo del todo)y para presentar proyectos a personas más creativas, más sentimentales y menos conservadores que los habituales gerentes de empresa.
   Vale la pena. Es novedoso y agradable de revisar, pero puede ser muy mejorado.
   Gracias DAN ROAM por atreverse.



3. OK, I'll admit it. I use the white board a lot. I thought this book would be a quick hit group of hints to make my life/verbiage/ideas more simple and clear. I found the book full of lists, like I'm going to be doing some free flowing idea presenting at a whiteboard and still remember some arcane 12 point list. I'd actually would have given it a 1 star rating, but I know there are some people this would be good for, someone possibly who isn't already jumping out of there chair and fighting for the whiteboard. If this describes you, my suggestion is skip this book.



4. Being a visual learner, this was preaching to the choir with little new to offer. A few good points. Not enough to purchase an entire book on. Although, if visual expression and explanation style is not your forte, it is a book that could be useful.
   Ergo, the rating of 3 falls between. A higher rank if you are new or relatively inexperienced. A lower rank if you are regular utilizers of visual mapping.



5. It's a cute book with a heart. Its novelty is eschewing computer-generated graphs in favor of good old fashioned stick figures. At one point, this nostalgia goes too far: the multivariate plot of the accounting software landscape needs visualization software. In fact, often. The book's case study unwittingly makes the anti-case for pictures; for several business challenges, a simple picture belies a situation that, in real life, would demand a deeper analysis.
   
   Does the book give "a new, better way to solve problems and sell ideas?" Nope, sad to say. Few usable takeways. Instead, a painstaking parsing of the *very* familiar. The anchor is the journalistic six ways of seeing: who and what, where, why, when, how, and how much. I did enjoy being reminded, but still felt empty at the end.
   
   There are a couple of highlights, including the discussion of simple versus elaborate (i.e., the opposite of simple is not complex). As the author says, "the real goal of visual thinking is to make the complex understandable by making it visible, not by making it simple." Then he proves the point with a story about Jeff Hawkins, who uses two versions of a diagram to show how the brain works, a simple and a complex. He typically shows both versions of the brain to both newbie and scientific audiences, but what's cool is that the order of presentation matters, depending on the audience!
   
   The case study at the end, to pull everything together, falls flat. If client problem were addressed this way, precious time would be wasted, er, doodling. It looks fun, don't get me wrong. Each challenge is reflexively met with the question, what picture can we draw? This turns out to be its own kind of error. With most examples, the case tends to either (i) over-reach in almost comical proportions; e.g., using a single bubble chart to set an entire strategy or (ii) pictorally trite; e.g., building an org chart is unnecessary graphical overkill to remind ourselves that we sell to different buyers within the client.
   
   Perversely, then, the case study, by insisting that every step (even the obvious) be met with a picture, manages to undermine the valid premise of the book. It proves: not all problems should be, or need to be, met with pictures. The book does not succeed because it really never gets much beyond a "see Jane run" sort of metaphor; it never uses pictures for an adult challenge. It is much nearer to an introductory tutorial on basic chart types than insight into information design. One irony of the book is that it is filled with Tufte's chartjunk: visual elements that do not add information.
   
   Two stars because (i) the degree of difficulty is really high (solving problems with pictures is a big hairy audacious goal, a goal with solutions far beyond this book) and (ii) one star feels impolite to the fun vibe of the happy face stick people.

5 comments about Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.

1. This delighful and insightful book has something for everyone. I was initially turned off by the gimmicky cover of this book, but after reading multiple great reviews, I decided to give it a try. The name of this book comes from Malcolm Gladwell's book, "The Tipping Point" (which I also enjoyed). I enjoyed and learned far more from this book than Gladwell's (it is not necessary to read Gladwell's book prior to this). The Heath brothers try to teach readers how to create (or more importantly spot) "sticky messages". The authors show us that sticky messages are not merely useful for advertisers, but can be important in many different situations we encounter in life. You will become a better communicator which can be useful in personal as well as professional situations.
   
   There are lots of books out there that teach readers new concepts but what sets this one apart is that the authors try to keep it simple (as per their own recommendation) and come up with a system that readers can remember and apply years later. Their mnemonic for the six characteristics of a sticky message is SUCCESs:
   
   Simple
   Unexpected
   Credible
   Concrete
   Emotion
   Story
   
   Interestingly, the other fantastic book that I read a while back that I continue to think about also had six components which I still remember. It was Cialdini's "Influence". The Heath brothers refer to Cialdini in their book.
   
   I highly recommend this book. Besides its educational value, it will dazzle and entertain you.



2. I bought the book before my presentation, I work in the cement industry= boring. After reading the book, I applied what I have learned, and they liked it, and it really made an impact



3. This book is a must-read for marketing and/or advertising professionals. I'm new to my position as a marketing coordinator, and this book is actually on my required reading list for work. I'm so glad it is because I have some new insights into making an actual idea "stick."
   
   I won't go into the details of the books SUCCESs checklist, but it is a handy guide to keep in mind when you're promoting a new product or idea for your company. Some of my favorite parts of the book were the discussions on how the "my kidneys were stolen!" urban legend came to be, the tale of the nurse who helped save the baby because she recognized a fatal condition before the doctors did, and the legend of Jared the Subway guy who lost hundreds of pounds by eating Subway sandwiches every day. All of the stories were meant to illustrate how vividly these ideas "stick" with us while others--such as boring checklists and bullet points--simply fade into the background.
   
   If I could say that I took one thing away from this book, it'd be that you should always be looking for ideas and recognize them when they're presented to you. And if you can create a story from that idea, you'll capture more attention than by using your Curse of Knowledge to explain yourself. Ordinary people don't understand jargon, but they do understand tales, examples, and stories.



4. Extremely boring book. Long long examples. Whole book is a simple idea that everybody knows. This book can be summarized in 10 pages.



5. In a world where we are bombarded by messages every second, having the know-how to create a message that stands out above the rest is a serious asset. `Made to Stick' is a book by Chip and Dan Heath, brothers who researched psychosocial studies on the memory, emotion and motivation.
   
   The Heath brothers found that six basic qualities enable an idea to stick in our minds; these are: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions and stories.
   
   Once you have mastered this communication skill, the world is your oyster. A job seeker can create a resumé and cover letter to stand out above the rest. An entrepreneur will have their ideas heard loud and clear.
   
   Danny Iny
   Author of the free eBook "Forget Everything You Know About Looking For a Job... And Actually Find One!"
   HuntingToHired, www.HuntingToHired.com