5 comments about NLP: The New Technology of Achievement.

1. This book is great in that it not only explains some of the basics of NLP but it also includes 43 different exercises to do while you are reading the book. Most of these exercises can be done quickly and have been, for me, generally quite effective. These exercises are not easy to find online, so it's nice to have them compiled in one place here. For the price of a paperback it's hardly a question as to whether or not you should buy this book, especially if NLP is something that interests you.



2. I do like the author and have heard him on tape and CD before, but this CD set was originally a tape set (we repeatedly hear "on this tape" spoken), and should have been re-done instead of edited.
   
   Some (only some) of the basics of NLP are included here, and if you've ever opened a book or heard a tape about NLP, you probably already know all that's offered on this CD.
   
   Three of us here listened to "NLP," and we all found the constant reference to "tapes" annoying, along with the voices of two people who do a lot of speaking on the second CD. They both sound like they're trying to do cartoon voices, and my husband couldn't stop laughing. Yes, the voices are that distracting.
   
   The author co-wrote a better introduction to NLP years ago, called "Success Mastery With NLP." It's usually available used on tape. Having used NLP since 1976, I really do recommend it as a more useful introduction to the subject.



3. Even though this book meets my criteria for having `fluff', this is still one great introduction book to NLP. The language is down to earth, the exercises are well explained and the authors give a lot of thoughtful advice to beginners.



4. There are better, more comprehensive books and programs available, but for someone who is curious, this is good intro into the subject. I bought this in conjuction with Secrets of the A Game and The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists - all have been helpful.



5. I found this work to be a good fit for an initial exploration into the topic of NLP. It was easily outlined, concise and provided me with the basic information I was seeking, at a phenomenally low price. Quite reasonable cost/benefit ratio with this choice.

5 comments about Robert's Rules Of Order Newly Revised In Brief (Roberts Rules of Order (in Brief)).

1. Robert's Rules Of Order Newly Revised In Brief (Roberts Rules of Order (in Brief))
   
   This is an excellent brief version for holding a meeting.



2. This slim volume is a great alternative if you're just starting out in parliamentary procedure, without having to thumb through the whole of Robert's Rules. I found it useful and informative, and it gives you a great general idea of how exactly meetings and organizations should be run. Reading the whole of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised would be a great undertaking and it's great that the same authors of that book wrote this condensed version, complete with in depth cross references to the actual text in case you need to dig a little deeper.



3. I purchased this because I am on the Board of Director's for The Pearl Harbor Hawaiian Civic Club. It is incredibly helpful and I will never go to another meeting with out it!



4. A must have for all persons who preside over meetings.
   Cut down on meeting time, meeting more precise and to the point.



5. I bought this book to bring to the first meetings of a newly formed non-profit group. After reading it, not only did I find applications for the rules of order in the group but also at work, where a structured meeting that adhered to a certain time limit was greatly appreciated. Very good examples throughout the book and easy introduction to terminology. This is a survey book however, so don't expect extensive listings of rules or details.

5 comments about Jim Cramer's Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World.

1. Having read several investment books, this book is a much needed shot in the arm in that it opens the doors to the type of independent thinking that the mutual fund industry doesn't want individual investors to engage in. Cramer's book encourages readers to move beyond what may be an effective but somewhat restrictive investment philosophy, and utilize several strategic approaches to building wealth in stocks. I never could have guessed that Cramer could do so much to help me see investing in a different light and ultimately help me understand investing much better.



2. This guy is nothing short of a genius in my opinion, I've purchased all of his books I'm pretty sure and have NEVER been dis-appointed with them. He's a 5 STAR AUTHOR all the way.



3. This book contains valuable information for managing your money and the do's and don'ts for investing.



4. This book is bold, informative, and well written. It feels like I've gone to college and found a fantastic professor that knows how to teach the subject well. He does not assume you already know everything. You will understand why stocks are priced the way they are, how to buy stocks without getting ripped off, how a company goes public and begins to sell stock, how to know enough about where a stock is going to make your own informed decisions. I've always wanted to get my feet wet in the stock market, but never felt confident enough. Now I'm swimming with the big fish! Buy this book.



5. Unlike his negative review onair, his book explains in simple terms how and what to do for trading and investing. Good book for the beginner trader like myself. :P MUST BUY. Serious product.

5 comments about Rich Dad's Advisors: Guide to Investing In Gold and Silver: Protect Your Financial Future (Rich Dad's Advisors).

1. Although I have not yet read the entire book, there's one thing that EVERYONE is missing.
   All the gold bugs can rush and buy, but the problem is, if there's an economic meltdown, gold and silver will be illegal!
   This allows the government and feds to "buy" low, and sell high.
   In the great depression, it was illegal to carry gold and silver.
   
   Although there are not yet ANY laws prohibiting gold or silver, it is still not safe!
   
   The reason?
   I have heard that the Patriot Act (or as I call it unpatriotic act), has a section where it makes it LEGAL for federal officials and government to go into your house, take any gold and silver they want, as well as any currency they want, without even doing so much as asking or notifying you. (You may want to google it or read the bill for yourself at congress.gov, or whatever website)
   
   So what's the REAL solution?
   I like the idea of buying diamonds. Not only are they safe from this law (as far as I know), but if you want to HIDE them, it's easy to do so, and they're not easy to detect.
   As a last resort, you can hide them in your mouth, or under your tounge, and if they ask you to open up your mouth and look under your toungue, you can swallow it...
   Of course, it won't be a very pretty dimond on the way out!
   
   Diamonds can cut through anything, even gold and silver, (or steel bars, if you're really paranoid that martial law is coming, and you want to plan an escape).
   I still think there is value in gold and silver, and this book is still excellent so far, and will be useful in deciding how to buy gold and silver, and understanding why currency is designed to lose value, except for period in which they contract the money supply and seize assets.
   
   Although diversification is not something the rich do, in this case, I think you need to make an exception, unless you can somehow protect that gold&silver from the Patriot act, perhaps through a corperate entity. Or something.



2. Mike Maloney's book is an easy read & proves his point about investing in silver & gold. An essential read for improving your Financial literacy in the 21st century.



3. This book caught my eye prior to boarding a plane. I suppose it was launched at a time when gold and silver were making record highs and these precious metals seemed extremely attractive to the everyday investor.
   
   I found the initial history lesson interesting but a little drawn out.
   
   I have read most of Kiyosaki and his advisor books and after a while they all seem to sound the same. This one was more interesting but Maloney obviously felt obliged to laud Kiyosaki's other books as totally amazing and the best books he has read. I find this difficult to believe. He is a learned gent and has read many quality books on The Fed etc. so I found this a bit irritating.
   
   I read this book after the financial crisis had already unfolded but Maloney predicted it (or something similar) with eery truth around pg. 112. In a nutshell the book says that the only true currency is gold and silver and the cash (the dollar) is just a fiat currency, in the more can be printed. In times of distress people flock to precious metals and these prices go crazy. That hasn't quite happened during this crisis so it's not that simple. I flew through this book and it is easy reading but I finished it feeling less convinced than many other readers here. The great website reference at the back pushes it up to four stars though.



4. I have read several of the "Rich Dad Poor Dad" books, and have been enlighten with the information that was provided, and it has helped me personally deal with my financial issues. Plus, seeing my future is very different after reading these books.



5. I purchased this book to learn about investing in gold and silver. What I got was a whole lot more. This fast read gives great insights into how our economy is no more secure than a house of cards. The author demonstrates where our economy is headed and how we can gain wealth rather than endure looming financial disaster. Oh yes, the book tells you about the different ways to purchase and hold precious metals. He also discusses the benefits and pitfalls of each method. If you are looking for a technical summary of exactly how to do it, this isn't the book for you. It is, however, a real wake-up call for America. I'm purchasing several copies for my family, friends and business assoicates.

5 comments about Who: The A Method for Hiring.

1. I rate WHO 5 stars for 3 primary reasons:
   
   Easy-to-Read - If a resource is to be useful, it must be accessible. The book was so easy to read, that when I gave a copy to a fellow executive of my company (an operator who has hired 100s of people over his nearly 30-year career), he read it over the weekend and has found it very valuable. Candidly, I was surprised that he had completed it when we talked the following Monday. We have since talked about how to effect some recommended changes at our company. I started reading the much more dense Topgrading, but I stopped halfway thru. I doubt I would ever have been able to get my colleague to read Topgrading. Topgrading is more academic, which suits me fine on occasion, but I needed a quicker read here.
   
   A True Mirror - WHO is honest & relevant, as it exposed several key areas of improvement. In several instances, we saw ourselves in the examples of poor hiring methods...perhaps a little "painful & embarrassing" to see, but it's necessary to know your shortcomings to improve them.
   
   Actionable - Finally, WHO provides actionable recommendations for the key hiring phases, a critical barometer for determining the value of such a book. We have been able to quickly begin to employ some of the techniques discussed in the book at my company.
   
   FYI, I bought 10 copies of the book to give to colleagues & friends.



2. Finally, a business book that is clear, concise and actionable. This book very clearly lays out the authors' methodology for hiring great people. This methodology is complete, easy to understand and is presented in a way you can truly incorporate into you business. We started using this methodology with our most recent open position and although we have not successfully hired anyone, we have screened out two candidates who looked really good on paper but ultimately would not have been a fit. NOT hiring the wrong candidate is as valuable as finding the right one.



3. Great book on hiring the right people - If you hire right, 85% of your manager's job is complete!



4. Within the hiring world, there is a split:
   * Interviews can predict great hires,
   * Assessments (like IQ tests) can predict great hires.
   
   This book is all about longer and more complex interviewing.
   
   The book focuses on hiring CEOs and top management, so remember that when looking at this book.
   
   This book is useless for hiring college grads, IT professionals (Software Developers, Project Managers or Business Analysts). In fact, as I specialize in hiring tech people, I find this system goes against best practices for hiring technical people in any field as the book focuses on interviewing direct reports (people the candidate manages).
   
   The main problem that I had was the that the book (nor the website) provided their research for review. Interviewing as the main stay of hiring has been PROVEN to be the WORST predictor of hiring success. However, this book suggest the main solution is to do more stringent interviewing.
   
   The book supports three questionable interviewing techniques. The first is to THREATEN the candidate. The books suggest that the interviewer use phrases like, "WHEN I speak with your last boss, what will they tell me your strengths are." The author suggest that the use of "WHEN" lets the candidate know you will be speaking with their past manager. This, and other suggestions, seems a little heavy handed.
   
   Then their is a lack of transparency in this hiring process. This system is quite manipulative and an experienced candidate could be turned off. One technique is to get the candidate to agree to the compensation early in the process. Any shewed candidate that wants to hold off salary negotiations until they know enough about the position, is toss out. In fact, the book authors brag about only hiring one person in 500 (at their web site) This is NOT a useful metric.
   
   More bothersome is the suggestion that the interviewer find out about the candidate's spouse. This can be all sorts of illegal as martial status can be grounds for discrimination law suits. The book suggest that the candidate's spouse, and family, must be sold the job as well. While I agree that a candidate may decline an offer if their spouse objects to moving, a company needs to be VERY careful how they ask this question. "Would you and your family be comfortable with moving?" would be a much better way to ask this question. If the book's advice is followed, an inexperienced HR manager may ask, "would your SPOUSE be comfortable with relocation?" This is all kinds of bad.
   
   The author's website says they have only a 97% client satisfaction rate. That is not all that good given the author's suggestion of the success of their technique.
   
   To end on a positive note, ...
   There is research that suggests that interviewing is only 50% predictive in hiring. That is, you could flip a coin and do as well as if you interviewed a candidate and chose. I am of this camp, I am a believer in cognitive assessments. But, if you are going to use interviews as your main screening method, I suggest "Hire With Your Head". A much better system.



5. American people have been prone to overrate different things over time. In the last years they got crazy about Internet companies and next over real state, valuing them way above what they were really worth. And now I see a small bubble forming up.
   
   Just like real state and the early Internet start-ups, "Who" is both quite useful and has quite potential benefits. Now, keep on mind the diversity of "corporate cultures" (funny name when companies are nothing but wild jungles) or values. Geoff and Randy (G & R) emphasized that a great candidate should always have his references quite excited when recommending him, but values are quite different in different companies, sometimes within themselves. There are places where "working too hard" is indeed a true defect.
   
   What I've been seeing where I live -in the Mid-west- is a pressure from companies to drop the salaries to 3rd world levels, while trying to offer other things to make up, particularly "making you happy". One staffing agency, Stat-Tek, even shows a guy dressing Hawaii clothing, with a slogan "another day at the office!"; below that, a funny paragraph describes the "associates" (employees) having fun with activities such as shaving the boss' head.
   
   A contract company I worked for (EPL-BAS) would overstaff and then have the employees wasting hours and hours playing cards and telling jokes, no exaggeration at all. It was actually a priority socializing a lot there. This company gets some government benefits when hiring more and more people, which makes it overstaffed. At the same time, it wants costs at almost zero, which makes their staff very very badly paid. Their solution is hiring unqualified staff and focusing in creating a "happy" atmosphere. It should boost morale to motivate the employees to work well while keep salaries way down. That's why their key value was being quite social.
   
   Companies can be outrageously different.
   
   G & R have shown us how to get some clues on how to discover false good recommendation. Yet, they forgot to take into account that different values in companies also lead to wrongful good recommendations...and equally important, these different values lead to wrongfully bad recommendations too. Thus, think twice when bosses complain about former employees, they virtually do it always. And think twice when they are thrilled at someone, he may just have being politics master.
   
   As G & R say, get curious but they don't tell you how for these cases. Well, focus on the skills and attitudes your job needs and enquire about them as much as possible. Remember that on these referral interviews you are on the other side of the equation, and the jerkness you can afford with job seeker no longer exits. You are now on a similar seat. You cannot cut the talk within 15 minutes if you don't like the interview or keep pushing "tell me more".
   
   The companies' web sites may well be deceiving on what their true values are. Referral interviews are still a bit of dark magic. For me, my question is why so many consultants say that some referrals may keep silent for fear of being sued. Who's going to know normally?
   
   As for the candidate interviews, you should also skip the third one, the focused one, which is about how the candidate matches your scorecard. The previous one -the topgrading- should provide that info. More important, G & R recommend bring more people in, and well remind you that you have to prepare them with a scrip and previous info, otherwise they'll bring their voodoo methods to the table and screw the whole time-consuming process. Actually, you have to teach this method to any person you invite to join the interviews. Otherwise, they will insist on their voodoo sorcery.
   
   In general, G & R don't prepare well enough their readers to deal with the defects of candidates. They say candidates should admit at least 5 flaws. Those are many and still normal, people are quite flawed. Will your objectivity be enough to neglect -or put up with- those many flaws that are not key to their performance?
   
   Whenever you ask former employers about their flaws, they will surely tell you much more than the candidates, sometimes they will exaggerate. How to tell exaggerations from realities? Maybe the slogan that G & R mention, "if you look for...., then X is the right one" is helpful.
   
   And by the same token (everybody is quite flawed), candidates must also be allowed to criticize their former employers at some point. If only former employers can criticize, how can an objective judgment will be done? In fact, letting the candidates criticize their employer will let you see more of their personalities and performance. A guy who just criticizes is surely a bad candidate, but what about one who keeps her tone? And finally, keeping bad comments on former bosses is widely advised all over the internet and books. I can't imagine a job seeker criticizing his boss on a job interview.
   
   And what about those great candidates who happened not to make eye-catching resumes and letters? G & R don't cover the fact that it's not the best candidates but the best self-marketers who get interviews. These problems even happen to candidates in engineering and sciences
   
   When you hire a CEO, you can get a lot of reliable information, but most hires are not for CEOs.
   
   All in all, it's still a good book to get, but trimming the fat and keeping simpler to the first two candidate interviews and probably the referral one.

5 comments about Leading Change.

1. Very well written book and easy to read and follow. Since change is a modern requirement for any business, it simply makes sense to focus in on what it takes to provide the necessary leadership to do so.



2. John Kotter is a business professor at Harvard University who writes "Leading Change" as a guide to business leaders, helping them to transform their stagnant, ineffective, hierarchical companies into more effective, responsive, team-oriented ones. To help companies and leaders make this transition, he presents eight sequential steps that must be followed in order and done well.
   
   These eight steps are:
   
   1. Establish a sense of urgency (fight complacency)
   
   2. Create a guiding coalition (both influential leaders and effective managers)
   
   3. Develop a widely inspiring vision and strategy for achieving it
   
   4. Communicate the vision, communicate the vision, and communicate the vision even more.
   
   5. Give the employees authority to creatively experiment concerning how to best make the vision a reality
   
   6. Make sure you point out things to celebrate as you make progress toward your goals; it rewards appropriate behavior and, besides, people need to celebrate once in a while.
   
   7. Understand Bowen Family Systems Theory--that when you change one thing, everything else changes with it. Systemic change is difficult work that produces a whole lot of anxiety and unintended consequences.
   
   8. Make sure that, once the changes are made, they become engrained in the new culture of he company; make them "the way we do things around here."
   
   Kotter does get credit for being comprehensive and for being among the first to write a leadership book of this sort (copyright 1996). He appears correct in all of his arguments and this reader has difficulty finding flaws in his eight steps. He appropriately balances task-orientation and relationship-orientation and distinguishes between leading and managing. Furthermore, he is the only author I've come across that understands how Family Systems Theory plays out in an organization undergoing change.
   
   However, the book is outdated. Newer authors like Jim Collins, John Maxwell, and Kouzes & Posner have refined Kotter's ideas and presented them in a more readable, more applicable, and more modern way (again, 1996 copyright).
   
   Kotter limits his ideas and examples to the large, highly structured business world; other authors deliberately address leadership within smaller businesses, schools, non-profits, and other environments. Kotter writes before the internet was widely used; other books keep rapid communication advancements in mind. The obligatory quotes from people I've never heard of who praise the book say over and over again how highly readable Kotter's prose is; I found the prose dry and could cite many examples from this genre which are much more readable.
   
   The ideas Kotter presents are not bad; in fact they're quite good and have blazed the trail for other leadership books. However, "Leading Change" could certainly use an updated edition. Other authors have taken many of Kotter's ideas, refined them, re-worked them, and present them in a manner much more helpful to a wider audience.
   
   I neither recommend this book nor do I contest it. You would do well to read "Leading Change," but you would do better to read some of the authors listed above.



3. This is one of the founding titles in the field of Organizational Change Management. For those who are just entering the field, I recommend reading this book to gain a sense of what the field used to be like in the mid 1990s. It will help you to baseline your current insights and understanding about Organizational Change Management today. The book below is another must read, must understand for those just entering the field. Happy reading!
   
   Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change



4. This book is what I needed and I enjoy the book. I received fast service.



5. BUY THE BOOK! If your organizaiton is failing in its re-organization then read his book. He will describe in infinte deatil the correct steps that your organizational leaders must perform. He provides real life examples of success and failure.
   
   Louis

5 comments about The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels.

1. The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins is squarely aimed at the task of a manager coming in and dealing with a new team. Those first ninety days can really make or break a business relationship and it is well worth studying this information before you take on a new job.
   
   Michael breaks down your task into these discreet steps: promote yourself, accelerate your learning, match your strategy to your situation, get early wins, negotiate success, achieve an alignment, build your team, create coalitions, keep your balance and expedite everyone. Each step gets its own discussion so you get a handle on how to succeed in each area.
   
   New hires are often swamped with "learning things" - Michael helps you balance that learning with actually doing productive work. That way people feel energized by your being there and get a sense of your promise.
   
   Even if you're moving up in the same organization or taking on new responsibilities a lot of these issues are still important. You want to maintain solid boundaries - otherwise you'll get angry and resentful at people taking advantage of you. You want to admit errors quickly so you're not thought of as rigid and undependable. You want to proactively deal with problems instead of avoiding them, manage your stress so you don't burn out, and have a support system to keep you going.
   
   There are a few "real life" style examples in the book, but it primarily is laid out like a textbook to learn and study. While some might find this difficult to read, it is well worth treating a new job LIKE an important test you want to study for. You may not get a letter grade - but your job success is probably far more vital than any random chemistry exam ever was.
   
   Yes, some of this might seem like "common sense" - but after all, many bosses fail. They just don't understand all the aspects of their job. It is well worth reading through this even if you know 8 out of 10 things listed. Getting a good handle on the remaining two might be the difference between success and failure.



2. I purchased this book in concert with a promotion thinking it might be useful during my transition. While it was informative and on point, most of its lessons were obvious to any seasoned leader and frankly it was a very dry read.
   
   If you are new to management or have not had much developmental time in improving your management skill this book will be valuable to you. Leadership ? I could recommend a number of better books for the first 90 days...



3. This is a well written guide with a quite a few useful tips. It is well worth the purchase price.



4. We utilize this book in one of our leadership programs.
   
   I would advise that you purchase it anywhere...except Amazon.
   
   We made two attempts ordering a sizeable quantity of the book - both orders went astray. The first arrived nearly a month after the promised ship date. The second order has yet to arrive, 5 weeks later.
   
   Yes, credit was prompty issued, once requested. But, if your relying on a product to help your business, you'll want to look at another business partner.



5. Michael Watkins' "The First 90 Days" is ostensibly about improving a transition into a new leadership role and accelerating the typical 6.2 month break-even point of giving more value to the organization than received. Each chapter focuses on one of ten key transition strategies.
   
   "Promote Yourself" and "Secure Early Wins" are all about the short-term but important goal of quickly establishing credibility. In "Accelerate Your Learning", Watkins goes about convincing us there are special, institutional and culture things we need to learn.
   
   In "Match Strategy to Situation", the author expounds on an earlier proposition that failure is never just about the flaws of a new leader, but rather the adaptability of that leader's skills to the particular business situation. Watkins introduces the STaRS business lifecycle model which will be a continuing reference point throughout the rest of the book. The STaRS concept is really very simple - match strategy, actions, reactions, etc. to the business situation of the company and department. That situation will determine the degrees to which a leader dials various levers of control. While it is a simple concept, many often miss it, and enter into new roles with preconceived notions and habits from their previous role(s).
   
   The "Negotiate Success" chapter is about managing your boss. There is very good advice here, beginning with taking 100% responsibility for the relationship. All of the insight here is applicable post-transition for an ongoing, successful relationship with your superior.
   
   "Achieve Alignment" discusses balancing strategy, structure, systems, skills and culture. "Build Your Team" offers wisdom on the right moves to make upon inheriting the new team, but much of the advice will be invaluable for managing them for the duration. The chapter contains a model for a decision making strategy within the team, noting different types of decisions call for different styles.
   
   "Create Coalitions" counsels the manager to reach out beyond their reporting chain and build relationship capital before they need it. Every organization has its shadow structure of informal networks of influence and power. There is also good analysis on choice shaping, entanglement strategies and building momentum.
   
   "Keep Your Balance" offers some final advice about balancing all the previous strategies and maintaining self-discipline both in your professional and personal life. Watkins then spends the last chapter or two advocating industry and organizational attention to the transition phase of leadership, but the value for the reader/manager is to consider how their new direct reports will manage their transition.
   
   Most of the chapters contain a "common traps" section which I found really effective for identifying where I personally had wandered off the path of best practices. Sometimes defining what you should not do is more enlightening than the original advice of what you should do. Each chapter ends with an "acceleration checklist", which I first thought were summary questions typical of text books, but upon actually reading found they stimulate further thought. Most chapters also begin with a short case study, which while valuable for an introduction, could have been expounded upon and used more effectively.
   
   Watkins' says this goal of the 90 day transition is to "build momentum by creating virtuous cycles that build credibility and avoiding getting caught in vicious cycles that damage credibility." But the advice and strategies put forth in his book go far beyond the initial entry into the role and are applicable to general, ongoing management and leadership. The main flaw of "The First 90 Days" is its dry, academic presentation. It's hard to get through and easy to get impatient and skim past some really good insight. Watkins may be a career professor, and may write like one as well, but his insight does reflect command over cultural and political nuances of leadership that one usually only discovers by living through it over a career.

5 comments about The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement.

1. For the person that prefers novels to business books this is probably a great resource for learning. As an avid reader of business books, it was hard for me to get through. After listening to, I couldn't read it, I went back to skim read it and try to understand the details to the Theory of Constraints. I guess that's my next read because based upon the raves, there is something I'm missing in the way the story is told.



2. The book is excellent and an open eye for thinking, finding, and applying methodologic solutions to the daily process activties...



3. Doesn't matter what kind of indusstry you work. If you are an Engineer, or industrial manager, you must read this book, because it's a romance where the author describes the routine of an Industry, the day-by-day activities, pressure, problems, people vanities, etc. I strongly recommend "The Goal" to my friends engineers.
   
   I didn't read yet, The teory of constraints neigther Crictical chain.



4. This book shows you how to see the bottlenecks and actually realize the true effects thoughout your organization. It also provides insight how to remove the bottlenecks.



5. Sound quality was great and the effects kept it interesting. Unfortunately, the computer files were mislabeled so when I put this on my ipod the chapters were rearranged. When I was listening, the chapters were presented out of order. It didn't seem to matter.
   
   This was required reading for me so I don't care about the content. Although, the storyline about the narrator's personal life was too much added drama and negativity.

5 comments about The One Minute Manager.

1. This book is perfect for the new leader that needs the basics, as well as the seasoned manager just looking to freshen up their skills. It is a must have in any learning library!



2. The One Minute Manager is an oldie and a goodie. It's been a fun book to watch over the years as new generations of managers entering the workforce are exposed to it. I recently bought a copy for a new manager that reports to me, and bought the Amazon recommended title Squawk!: How to Stop Making Noise and Start Getting Results along with it.
   
   It turns out Squawk! is a new book that's also for managers, and let's just say I read it while my subordinate was reading The One Minute Manager. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. Both are great books and they're short enough that I suggest following Amazon's recommendation and getting them together at a discount.



3. The OMM presents a set of tools that a manager needs to use to do his or her job well. The book is short and sweet. It gets to the point without wasting time.



4. I'm a human resources manager and use this book and CD to help first-time supervisors understand the power of managing people properly. Not an intimidating, theoretical book that they will never read, but a real world "how-to" manage people. It's a great first step as they make their foray into management. Plenty of time for the heavier stuff later in their careers.



5. Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson birthed a monster writing style when they published THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER, "The Runaway #1 National Bestseller!" -- and that style is surrounding a hideously boring topic with clichés, adverbs, adjectives, redundancies, dull characters, and exclamation points. The book is then called a nonfiction fable. Hunh?
   
   When this book came out in 1981 it used a new, perhaps fresh, approach to teaching management skills, but since then it has been copied and copied and copied ... when it should be put in a cage. It's time to stop dumbing down and start smartening up books for managers. Enough already!
   
   Note: You'll only need 1 minute to get what's useful out of this book.

5 comments about Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In.

1. There are many books, articles and seminars on effective negotiation. "Getting To Yes" is an easy read that lends itself to practical application in any form of negotiation. For the price of this book there is no better value for learning effective negotiating skills.



2. Required reading in most negotiation classes I am told by my professor at UNH. I think it's an excellent book, we use two, this and "Bargaining for Advantage" by Richard Shell. I personally like the shell book better as it's more methodical which my brain processes more easily. Having said that, this book is also very good.



3. This book does a great job of helping the reader understand that rather than just focusing on getting the biggest piece of the pie, we should find ways to make the pie bigger.



4. If you are uncomfortable with your current negotiation technique and strategy and seek to improve it, this book will offer you great help. It is comprehensive and easy to read with lots of great examples. On the other hand, if you are comfortable with your current negotiation ability this book will seem repetitive and obvious. The authors make it clear that career negotiators who have read the book agree that it teaches them what they already know, but the negotiators also admonish the authors for outlining clearly and in laymen's terms "The Method" as they refer to it, even as a refresher. Note that this is not a sales strategy book that will help you get your way by any means, it is a book advocating healthy, relationship friendly negotiation.



5. Great seller. Provided me with necessary information: such as condition of book, and when i would recieve it.