Performance Books

This book is really useful: I play the medieval lute and the 'ud and I found very interesting and helpful the chapters about improvisation and basic theory of the modes.

I really recommend it!

I agree with the other review of this book, the
Bagby article is wonderful in its insight and also
its discouraging the adoption of riffs from contemporary
cultures (a la "world music") while finding inspiration and advice in them. Non-western musical traditions have has its own genius and integrity witout insulting them by pasting them onto western practice. They should be studied for their own worth.
The articles about theory and practice in this book are the most practical I've ever seen in a book on the subject. Following Margriet Tindemans' advice in chapter 34 will definitely get you somewhere.
If you are going to buy only one book on the subject it should be this one. If you are going to buy several, this one should be the first.

This collection of essays attempts to give a fairly complete overview of things we need to know to do a credible job of recreating medieval music, including poetic and dramatic forms, modes, tunings, the ever-elusive question of notation, and specifics about the instruments. This last is particularly helpful when one is moving sideways out of one's own area of expertise (eg, singers wanting to know more about how to direct the instrumentalists in suitable accompaniment textures, lutenists seeking to create a repertoire out of 14th and 15th c vocal forms, sensible people curious about the hurdy gurdy's fall from grace, etc.). Within any given essay are plenty of challenges to commonly received knowledge, with abundant references and citations. Illustrations, though sparing, manage to make departures from the ones usually given. In all, this book is bound to serve as a standard reference for years to come.

For a taste now, if nothing else, anyone involved in recreating medieval music simply must read Benjamin Bagby's essay "Imagining the Early Medieval Harp." He presents a quest, and captures many hints to point to a truly passionate and organic reconstruction of authentic performance practice. Why do we go to such efforts to assemble these hints and scraps of the past? Why would we even think of limiting ourselves to musical instruments barely exceeding an octave? Imagine, with Mr Bagby, the legend of Tristan with his 8-10 stringed harp, described in a 13th c account as "playing such sweet tones and striking the harp so perfecly... that many who stood or sat nearby forgot their own names." This is a possible ideal even today: Read on!

Even more is given in the late Barbara Thornton's interview "The Voice," wherein very specific techniques are shared for cultivating a medieval imagination. Like a language itself, this imagination is also a receptivity to many emotional nuances and inflections that are simply not communicated by any other kind of music.

As Ms Thornton reflected, it was just as hard for a medieval person to gain mastery of medieval tradition as it is for us today. "The building blocks in medieval tradition are known and available." You'll find a treasury of them here.

The Off-Off-Broadway theatre scene in New York City is one of the strong reasons for living in New York City, and perhaps their best times were when they were getting started in the 1960's. This was a time when social changes were afoot in our country. The pill had freed up female sexuality, for most of the decade the Vietnam war was underway, and everything came together in New York. No one knows when it really began, but it came alive at the Cafe Cino. And while the story of Joe Cino and his cafe is told in a chapter, you may be interested in the bigger treatment given in 'Return to the Cafe Cino.'

This book then goes on to describe the growth of the Off-Off-Broadway scene after Cino, new theaters, stronger and breaking into categories, but retaining still the idea of non-commercial, far out theater, in small venues.

In Cino days, actors who were members of the union frequently performed using another name. Now there is a special category of contract and there are more actors working OOB than on the Bib B itself.

Bottoms gives shape to the marginal field of "basement theaters, cafe theaters, hole-in-the-wall theaters, and theaters thriving on rough edges, raw passion, and a fierce sense of immediacy and 'liveness' of the stage event itself and of the audience" which sprang up in the 1960s along with the experimentation in other parts of the culture as well. A Professor in the Department of Theatre, Film, and Television Studies at the U. of Glascow, Bottoms sees the connection between this "off-off-Broadway" theater of the tumultuous and quixotic 1960s and today's popular entertainment. The raucousness of rock concerts, the brazenness of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction," the provocative live performances, and rap lyrics all had precursors in the "illegitimate" theater of the 60s. Bottom's engaging work is both historical and critical. He cites the artistic and cultural sources while also bringing in the wider social milieu of the time. General themes and developments share space with activities and individuals connected with particular theaters and troupes. "Playing Underground" is a benchmark work of thorough research which goes into the social and political agendas of this theater scene while at the same time imparting its unconventional, often deliberately provocative and obscene, and in the long run, influential performance style.

This book is an epic movie about an epic movement. "Playing Underground" is a book the world has waited for without knowing it. New York's off-Off Broadway theatres in the 1960's created the styles that mark Post-Modern art--not only stage plays but films and music as well. I know. I was there. How precisely this book captures the evolution of our revolution! I am amazed by its scope and scale, and I bless its author especially for giving two greats, playwrights Paul Foster and H.M. Koutoukas,their proper, polar places, and for memorializing such unjustly forgotten masterpieces as Irene Fornes' "Molly's Dream" and Jeff Weiss' "A Funny Walk Home." Stephen Bottoms' vivid evocation of the grand adventure of Off-Off Broadway has woken and broken my heart. It is difficult to believe that he was not there alongside me to breathe the caffeine-nicotine-alkaloid-steeped air. The photographs show how we flaunted our youth and imagination in the dark, dusty, often dirty coffeehouses, churches, galleries, basements, and "black boxes" where modern theatre--and so much more--began.
Robert Patrick, author of "Kennedy's Children," "Temple Slave," and "Film Moi: Narcissus in the Dark"

I've read a lot of business books over the years, but the title of this one intrigued me. This book is a real wake-up call as to why a business or a department isn't dynamic and prosperous. It's full of down to earth practical tools and great examples from companies like Southwest Airlines, See's Candies, etc., that show you how to get your business going the way you really want it to. And the solution to making these positive changes is not a complicated, time or revenue consuming task... Dr. Nelson explains how to make noticeable improvements in every dimension of your business by simply paying attention to your businesses "attitude". It sure makes a difference to my bottom line.

I can't recommend this book enough. My business deals with people everyday and it has had a noticable increase since I have been utilizing the methods in this book. Now I have to start a waiting list as there are no more slots available!

Most of us who've worked in the corporate world have occasionally felt a slight sense of dread as we came to work to deal with employee and customer complaints. If you heard there was a fast, cheap, easy and effective management approach that takes stressful work situations and transforms them into higher productivity and better morale... and is especially powerful for dealing with conflicts... would you be interested?

Author Noelle Nelson provides an exceptionally clear technique for bringing appreciation into the workplace, describing practical ideas managers can put to work immediately for little to no additional cost in THE POWER OF APPRECIATION IN BUSINESS. Nelson cites recent scientific research on the effects of appreciation on the brain and the heart, and describes how appreciation works to remove resistance while encouraging people to do their very best. Best of all, Nelson includes step-by-step directions for implementing these techniques in ways that have proven to be wildly successful in businesses such as See's Candies, Ryder, and Southwest Airlines.

I love the way this book explodes many management myths, and explains why so many corporate appreciation tools such as Employee of the Month programs and customer satisfaction surveys so often prove to be ineffective. THE POWER OF APPRECIATION is a powerful "magic bullet" that may just be what your business needs to improve profitablity and morale at the same time. Find out how good your business can get!

In this compelling book on strategy and execution, Daniel Wolf reveals how leaders can avoid common pitfalls and grow their businesses. The book addresses three key stages that are critical to leaders: strategy direction, strategy integration and strategy execution. Wolf advises readers how to stay on track at each stage. Some organizations, Wolf wisely notes, get derailed because of measurement mania. "Some of these companies get so distracted with the science and analysis of measures that they take away from the cultural and behavioral nuances that made them successful in the first place," Wolf writes. He advises measuring only what really counts.

Too often business books focus on strategy and execution and skip the bridge between these stages. Wolf, a veteran business consultant, advises that leaders must devote more thought, time and resources to integrating strategy into organizations. He suggests that strategy integration is the toughest stage and the most significant test for any aspiring leader. Indeed, dynamic market conditions and changing budgets are among the challenges during this stage. Technologists lacking people skills will likely crash and burn while coping with the ambiguous nature of strategy integration, Wolf notes. So too will managers with people skills who lack operational experience. Fortunately, Wolf offers a valuable framework to guide leaders as they develop, integrate and execute strategy.

From a technology manager's point of view, this is a great book for companies faced with new frontiers. It takes a practical cut at the realities of the business world, reflecting on the "VUCA" of our organization - the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of business planning and development. We will use this framework to help us develop and implement our strategy, and more to the point, we will use it to bring our people and resources into alignment so everyone knows what we stand for, where we're going, and what counts.

Finally, Wolf's tone in Prepared and Resolved is very helpful. He is a pragmatic optimist, which is what one needs to be in companies that really need to grow and change. He puts hard issues into context and he challenges everyone to use their heads and hearts to drive business survival and success. There is a simplicity to this book that is very attractive, as well. No hyberbole about excellence, without any parables about change, and without any nonsense about everlasting greatness, the book targets and directly hits the key idea - focusing on business results.

Bob Urtel
President
Century Extrusion

Prepared and Resolved is an excellent "reader" for executive education and those who want to get into the everyday issues that make or break business strategy. The examples used by Wolf range from large companies to smaller ventures. They illustrate the realities of growth, performance and change and his common sense explorations should be of interest to both seasoned executives and new project managers.

I know that everyone is anxiously waiting for the next approach to business improvement. My own journey started with Ollie Wight himself and the refrain that the days of the expeditor were over. I'm not sure if I was an expeditor at the time but that was my first job and in the week before I retired I did the exact same thing I had done 33 years before. One of our salesmen called me (VP Operations) to make sure we would be making a shipment as the customer's unit was down. The biggest change was that we had received the order in the morning, manufactured the product, and had the product delivered before midnight, to Freeport, TX from Chicago. In the old days we would have told the salesman no, he would have called his boss, who would call my boss who would call his boss, and so on until it reached the top of the company and we were told to do what the customer wanted. Of course by this time we lost a couple of days and no one was happy.

Reading Anil Menawat and Adam Garfein's new book Profit Mapping brings back a lot of memories and the realization that along this path of continuous improvement that some things worked but nothing seemed to be the solution that was advertised. A lot of us have seen great benefits to the lean journey but along the way it always seemed as if we just were not quite there. There are those examples where On-time delivery is 100% and inventories approach zero and analogies of reducing the level of the water to find the rocks drives the next level of improvement but the net result seems that while the business is better, a lot of times the individual improvement projects do not meet expectations or drive the business to the next level.

The book drives the concept that everything in business is a set of processes and that changes to each of the process need to be evaluated for the consequences both intended and unintended. This can be done theoretically before you take action by integrating a financial analysis (income statement) with the various scenarios. It provides a roadmap on how this can be done but to me the biggest value is that it drives the logic that there are no absolutes but that with the facts you can pick and choose those actions dynamically that will have the biggest impact on the business. It may even support the position that it is better left alone but that has its own political complications. The example in the back of the book shows that there are times due to equipment and demand profiles that having inventory in queue is more realistic and better for the business. Some of this is dangerous territory....

For everyone who has been through the mill, this is more than just another book. It hopefully sets the stage for all of us to realize that rules of thumb are just that and to drive a business one needs to do what is right for the customer and concentrate on those things that are proven to truly impact the business and are not just another notch on the belt of completed projects. This book is a keeper.

This book is a "must read" for managers who rely on "rule of thumb," and "best guess" methodologies that have held sway in every business that I've ever been associated with.

The authors set out clearly how you can take control of your future, and test the results of an action or strategy before you commit resources and potentially set off down the wrong road. But first you've got to take on board the idea that simply projecting past results is no way to forecast, because those results came from different demand and capability circumstances than you face now.

I thought that the authors argued convincingly that you must understand the factors that affect your business, and which of them you do and don't control. The ProFIT-MAP methodology then lets you test those factors for sensitivity, so you can concentrate on the things that really matter to the overall goal.

Now you need to know the dynamics of your process. The authors break the business into 3 areas, Processes, Resources and Finance, and urge us to make sure that an "improvement" in one area doesn't result in major disruption elsewhere. (I could never figure out why cost savings in a production process, was rarely reflected in the overall bottom line.) Now I know, "tunnel vision".

Having followed the 6 Phases detailed in the book, you can generate different scenarios and analyse the impact across the board.

It might sound like a lot of work, but you're already doing a lot of work - guess work mostly, and once you've done it the first time, it's easy to continue. Remember, to make the broadly correct decision, you don't need to know the minutiae. But every time you reiterate, you add better data for tomorrow's decision support.

Speaking of figures, the authors offer a specification for real-time data collection and software integration that I have yet to see in the real world. However, help may be at hand, I notice that the Menawat & Co's website now makes mention of something called "ProFIT-MAP Dashboard", which promises integrated analytics. I will be watching this space.

Anil Menawat and Adam Garfein provide in this brilliant volume "a tool for aligning operations with future profit and performance." To their credit, they explain with meticulous care how to drive operational excellence through profit mapping to create a sustainable edge which they correctly characterize as "the management roller coaster." In this context, I am reminded of the familiar assertion that "you can't manage what you cannot measure" and how important it is to "measure only what matters."

The maps with which Lewis and Clark began their journey of exploration in 1804 were crude and over time revised as the journey continued until 1806. The same is true of the documents with which - more two centuries later -- senior-level executives begin an exploration of their own organizations, in search of hidden resources and new opportunities. Following their Introduction to this volume, Menawat and Garfein, examine various challenges to business execution, present a "parametric framework" by which to "drive the system," and explain how to "win before taking action with a structured methodology," then shift their attention practical action steps in combination with two case studies in Chapter 10. The first examines a common dilemma of "doing no harm." The second illustrates ProFIT-MAP's potential to drive radical cost reduction without sacrificing quality or throughput.

With regard to ProFIT-MAP, Menawat and Garfein offer it as a "forward-looking management decision methodology" which enables senior-level executives to "navigate [both] the forests and the trees of business strategy and execution proactively." It consists of six phases: Project Objectives (please see pages 155-167), Process (pages 170-177), Resources (pages 177-180), Finance (pages 181-184), "What if?" (pages 184-187), and Business Execution Option Choice (pages 193-202).

With regard to the first phase, I am reminded of what Peter Drucker suggests in an article written for the Harvard Business Review (1963): "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." Obviously, it makes absolutely no sense to create a totally accurate map - even if guided and informed by the ProFIT-MAP methodology -- to achieve an objective that will not increase profits and improve performance.

To me, some of the most interesting and most valuable material is provided in Chapter 4 as Menawat and Garfein explain how and why the Parametric Activities-Based Framework (pABF) offers a practical approach to measuring the right variables in any enterprise in order to reconstruct the whole system. One of the greatest benefits of the pABF is that it eliminates the need for patches or workarounds. On pages 101-102, Menawat and Garfein cite eight specific reasons why the pABF is a better estimation and reconstruction framework than others which lack a methodology or a process for applying one.

It seems appropriate to conclude this brief commentary with a brief excerpt from Chapter 1 in which Menawat and Garfein duly acknowledge various challenges to profitability and competitiveness. However, although "managers may not be able to do anything about high fixed costs in the near term, they can do a lot more operationally to increase effectiveness and quality while striving to reduce cost. In order to overcome changes in demand and financial constraints, organizations must learn to be become cost-competitive; price competitiveness is not enough. Industry leaders win by focusing on operational execution, cost management, and customers. The devil is in the details, and they understand that success happens only when the plan is grounded in reality, as opposed to invalidated expectations." This is precisely what Thomas Edison had in mind when asserting that "Vision without execution is hallucination."

Congratulations to Menawat and Garfein on a brilliant achievement.

This book helped me to understand my role as the project manager and distinguished the difference between leading and managing my project team. I really liked the section on building and sustaining the project team. This book will be a great reference to me in the future as I progress in my career as a project manager.

I've found this book to be a very useful, practical guide to delivery of successful projects. The reader is introduced to more than just theory, but also to step-by-step approaches to implement from the very beginning of a project to its successful conclusion. Highly recommended for any project management professional.

Many books on project management include a lot of theory. I liked this book because it offers some solid, practical guidance to project managers and project teams to improve their effectiveness at delivering projects successfully. I also like how it covers the role of the project manager and the difference between leading and managing a project team. It also does a great job of describing how to charter, build and sustain a project team and the dynamics that teams go through. This has helped me be a better project manager by understanding these team dynamics.

At first I was a bit perplexed by a CDROM that's more an interactive objet-d'art than a game; and in the first night I played with this for like eight hours, until I thought I'd played it to death and would never touch it again. But I found its strange imagery coming back to me, and I tinker with it more and more now, sometimes just to hear the interesting background music, of which there is a LOT.

The packaging for this CD says it contains over two hours of instrumental music or spoken word performance, and it's true. Some of the music I recognize from "Ugly One With The Jewels", and some of it was even background music that Laurie Anderson did for Spalding Grey's movie "Swimming to Cambodia" (and as far as I know, no soundtrack CD was ever released of that).

If you find yourself wanting to hear the music on its own, it's straightforward to sift thru the CDROM's directories, find the AIFC files (*.AIF), decompress them (easy on a Mac with SoundApp -- I don't know what you'd use for handling AIFCs on other platforms), and burn them to audio CD for your personal listening fun. Now, there's not many CDROMs where the music is so good that you'd want to do that! But this is sure one of them.

I would love to be able to review this CD-ROM, but 2 1/2 months
after placing my order, Amazon wrote that they could not supply
it.

So why does Amazon still have it for sale?

Clicking the "used and new" link, I find some used versions for
more than the "new" price". It seems there was originally a
Macintosh only version, and then a Windows/Mac version.
A "new" Mac/Windows version is available from Amazon seller
"amana2" for USD$225.

Googling indicates that the Voyager company which produced
"Puppet Motel" no longer exists. I can't find a mention of it at
Laurie Anderson's site, though apparently in the past there was
a reference, pointing to Amazon as the place to purchase the
CD-ROM.

"Puppet Motel" is highly regarded, so I gave it five stars in
absentia. But Amazon deserves a negative number of stars for
pretending to be able to supply it.

When I bought this I was a little worried it would be out of date because it is a few years old, but WOW! Incredible, awesome, always surprising, entertaining. I love it more than her CDs!

I have been involved in architecting and designing Microsoft based business intelligence solutions for the past 8 years. I was very excited when PerformancePoint was launched because it filled a very real need in the Microsoft BI platform. It is always a challenge to find training material when a new product is launched so Adrian and Nick's books have been released at just the right time.
I enjoyed both books(The Rational Guide To Planning with Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 (Rational Guides),The Rational Guide To Monitoring and Analyzing with Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 (Rational Guides)) for the following reasons:
They are clear and simple to understand
They highlight the most important techinical and functional considerations without being too high level
They are practical and not theoretical even though the first few chapters set the scene
You don't need to be a subject matter expert to understand them
They are short so you can read them very quickly

They are great books that will allow you to get up to speed very quickly on PerformancePoint Monitoring and Analytics as well as Planning.

Excellent! Just as highly recommended as the authors' companion book, "The Rational Guide to... M&A w/ PPS. This PPS Planning learning guide's effectiveness is especially noteworthy in light of the completely new Performance Management (PM) sophistication that the PPS Planning Module introduces to Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) developers of all experience levels and, of course, the skill with which this text introduces it. Although other books will delve deeper into specific topics (especially Integration and Business Rules), this one sets a high standard with succinct, authoritative explanations and thoughtful skill-building exercises in every major functional area. As a side-note, this book showcases to experienced performance management technologists just how much sophistication and value Microsoft has introduced into the performance management product marketplace.

PART I - INTRODUCTION: The authors begin by introducing the roles that planning and budgeting processes have been intended to play in the business environment, describing how traditional business processes and technologies have inherently limited their real-world effectiveness in terms of the tasks effecting employee workflow, data accuracy, security, and ease of use, and then explaining how each of those tasks is optimized as planning and budgeting roles integrate into a business intelligence information framework. Armed with this high level perspective, readers are mostly prepared to learn how to actually accomplish this, albeit in ways unexpected by most traditional MS BI developers. Specifically, we will now be building automatically recurring write-back mechanisms so that planning, forecasting and budgetting workflows will write-back data to data marts and, by extension, cubes. We will also be incorporating more types of data sources, not as an unfortunate alternative to good ETL, but on a planned, best-case basis as performance management work-flows require. Lastly, we will be highly leveraging Analysis Services' unary operators and account dimensions.

Before jumping into the "how to do it" section, I caution readers, and especially experienced MS Analysis Services 2005 OLAP developers, that, in light of the new PM requirements just described, PPS Planning will have you building both relational and OLAP objects in ways that are ...let's just say "unique". You might not have done it exactly this way for a traditional UDM MOLAP cube. Although your careful exploration of these unique SQL Server objects is encouraged, I suggest that you delay at least some of it until after you well-understand what PPS Planning is accomplishing. Fortunately, PPS Planning automates the vast majority of those nuances, such that readers, whether developers or power-user analysts, can quickly get productive.

PART II - INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION: In addition installation, this section introduces readers to the Planning Administration Console (PAC), wherein PPS Planning applications, model sites, role-based security and data sources are initially configured, and introduces Planning Business Modeler (PBM), wherein most of the subsequent work is completed. Notably, applications created in PPS Planning are instantiated as SQL Server 2005 relational databases, and Planning Model Sites become Analysis Services 2005 OLAP databases with completely-built cubes. As a side-bar, readers are advised, beginning at this point in the text, to take care to document usernames, roles and passwords as entered in this section and to pay extra close attention throughout the book to always login to Planning Business Modeler or the Excel Add-In with the username specified in each specific exercise.

PART III - SOLUTION DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION: Here, we dive deeper. Explanations, followed by respective exercises, covering the creation of dimensions, member sets, business models, model subsites, model security are aptly covered. Although Chapter 9, "Integrating Business Data" -- which will be the least accessible for non-SQL-heads -- provides a balanced coverage of the complex topic so that readers can progress by (carefully) following the cookbook, SQL/ETL pro's will want to decide when (not if) to dive deeper into learn this (by starting with product help files) and learn exactly how it relates to traditional ETL, which it does not replace. Analysts -- prepare for initial bewilderment. Chapter 10, "Defining Business Rules", takes the complimentary approach, without losing stride with excessive business-side detail (and thus losing the interest of ETL-oriented readers), it move readers through the simple use of business model properties, rules and rule sets. Specifically, the configuration of these business rules are close to a culmination of everything learned so far in that, in text examples, they orchestrate the relationship of data "actuals" to "budgets" and "forecasts" within models and thereby govern how budget forecasts and "what-if" analyses are smoothly integrated into a performance dashboard and/or written back into the data mart and OLAP cube without jeopardizing the sacrosanct "actuals" data. Without a doubt, it feels like a very slick way to avoid ever having to say to your DBA, "Well, we've completed our what-if analyses and thanks for the added permissions, but ehhr... we can't seem to find the actual data anymore. But you backed it up, right?" Relax, `cause it won't happen here. Of note, this chapter very briefly introduces "PerformancePoint Expression Language" (PEL), which is an MDX (multi-dimensional expression) short-hand just for PPS Planning. Although additional PEL detail would have been interesting, it would also have slowed the overall pace of learning. Again, see product help files.

The book's last written topic, in Chapter 11, is "Using the PerformancePoint Add-in for Excel". It introduces readers to PPS Planning Forms (and by extension, read-only Reports ) that performance-management users will ultimately use to assign, contribute, review, edit and approve workflow tasks associated with budgeting, forecasting and "what-if" analyses. As before, the book provides an effective, self-contained introduction which showcases some of Excel 2007's new-found sophistication, but which readers will subsequently want to build upon. As elsewhere, it's essential reading and mercifully succinct (unlike this review, I'll admit).

FOUR BONUS CHAPTERS: Although not reviewed here, they are each substantial, virtually essential, and are respectively entitled "Implementing Process Management", "Consolidating Data with Associations", "Operational and Management Reporting", and "Closing the Performance Management Loop". Conveniently, and along with all required databases and code samples, they are available online at no charge.

PREPARATION: As with the authors' "Rational ...PPS M&A" book, the best way to deploy the entire platform to readers' PC's, for learning or light-development is to download the following from Microsoft: (A) Virtual PC 2007; and (B) BI-VPC V 5.1+, which includes tons of software, including PPS 2007, MOSS 2007, SQL Server 2005 Dev Edition. Lastly, I recommend 4 GB of RAM on the machine, and strongly discourage readers' from trying to use the BI-VPC with under 2GB RAM.

For all of the above reasons, this book is highly recommended!

I have a bad tendency of purchasing technical books and never reading them until I have a problem where I need a technical reference. However, I found myself reading this book cover to cover. I have been using PerformancePoint Server (PPS) 2007 Planning since prior to the software release, going back to May 2007. I have also attended a four day long PPS Boot Camp. Even then, I learned a great deal from this book. I found it easy to read and it covers all the technical topics necessary to implement a PPS solution. Before buying a different book, I would recommend checking to see if it covers all the major aspects of Planning, including topics like Business Rules, PEL (PerformancePoint Expression Language), and Data Integration. Data integration is often forgotten or purposely left out due to its complexity, but authors Adrian Downes and Nick Barclay include an entire chapter dedicated to this subject (43 pages). In addition, once you register the book with the publisher online, there's a great deal of bonus materials available for download. These materials include many SQL examples for data integration. You can cut down your development time by modifying the SQL they provided. Also included in the bonus materials are four additional chapters to the book.

This book is great if you're new to PerformancePoint Server Planning or if you've been using it for awhile. I'm using it to study for the PPS exam to gain certification. My employer has tasked me with coming up with a PPS curriculum for other consultants to learn PPS. I'm incorporating this book and "The Rational Guide to Monitoring and Analyzing with Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007" into self study for my peers wanting to learn the software. Both books incorporate a step by step approach that aid in learning.

In summary, this book is jammed pack full of good tips for both new and experienced PPS developers and has a good price point. I highly recommend it.

This is an excellent collection of essays by leading practitioners centering on the nature of human resources in the context of the new forms and dynamics of organization. Topics includes: human resources competencies; measuring effectiveness; redefining and restructuring the human resources function; the new shape and nature of organization; change management; leadership; compensation strategy; and competency-based pay. This gathering of perspectives and some case studies provides considerable insight into the changing nature of human resource management. Recommended. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, author of Stern's Sourcefinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern's Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

Butteriss describes how information technology is impacting the human resources function and how to reengineer work processes and retrain staff accordingly. She examines current hardware and software applications. The volume includes a team readiness questionnaire.

Information technology (IT) is changing the entire organizational landscape and human resource management must be in the vanguard of this transformation. Sadly, this is not the case in many (probably most) enterprises, both in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. Given these realities, and the consequent pressures for keeping technologically abreast in today's competitive world, this book delivers relevant information that is of substantial value. Well written and substantive, we recommended the book for all human resource professionals whose HR department is not yet keeping up with the IT curve. Reviewed by Yvette Borcia, author of Stern's Sourcefinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern's Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

"The equation of Human Resources with the processing of personel forms-payroll, benefits, evaluation, etc.-no longer makes sense to companies diven by global markets, global competition, and new technology...The rapidly changing nature of business in today's economy requires a fundamental rethinking of many HR processes...", Margaret Butteriss writes, "Thus, HR is increasingly becoming an important part of executive planning and actions and far more of an integral part of management than ever before...The HR fuction itself is increasingly being asked to take on new roles, and not all of its practitioners are equally equipped and ready to do this. We are in time when the competencies of individual HR practitioners must be developed to better support the business organization. If the HR function does not meet the challenges of today's global business environment, it is danger of being outsourced or cut out completely...(In fact), some organizations are cutting costs in Human Resources and outsourcing HR because they still see it largely as a transactional and reactive function that can effectively be done by outside organizations. Others are building more strategic partnerships between line, management, and HR experts and are creating a consultative role for HR to cope with the rapidly changing business realities. They recognize that HR can no longer be simply transactional and administrative, but must be far more proactive in assisting senior management plan for the future."

In this context, Margaret Butteriss and other contributors:

* discuss, based on a data from interviews with top Canadian executives and HR professionals, how organizations are being changed by globalization, competition, and advances in information technology, and identify seven key ways in which HR can contribute to dealing with changes in the marketplace and workplace.

* examine general and technical competencies required by HR professionals as they take on more strategic roles.

* define standard measurement ways to measure the effectiveness of HR in organizations such as functional measures, operational measures, and strategic measures.

* provide an example of a company that redefined its HR function in order to meet its current and future business needs.

* identify the fundamentals of Change Management, particularly HR's role.

* look at components of executive leadership development, including the required infrastructure, the process of talent identification, and the selection and resourcing of candidates to fill vacant leadership positions.

* discuss why most performance management systems are either questionable or fail to reach the required objectives.

* define competency and examine the history of competency, and examine the development of competencies and competency scales, both in individuals and job families.

* define the underlying principles necessary for a compensation strategy that supports business direction in a changing business environment.

* look at how individual pay is decided, whether it be on the performance of the individual, the division or department, the team, or the the entire organization.

* discuss how HR professionals can contribute to corporate success by taking a new approach to compensation, and introduce ,based on a case study, the concept of competency-based pay.

I highly recommend.

This is a must read for trainers in any Western discipline. Bob has written a book on how to make a well-broke horse; one that can go in any direction. The information is organized and specific, from evaluating a performance prospect, riding a 2, then 3 year old and on to competition. A great book for anyone looking to lay down a solid foundation for any horse.

This wonderfully photographed and diagrammed book is not just for trainers of reining horses -- riders will love it as well. Loomis presents a clear and methodical training program for the reining prospect. Loomis begins by introducing his philosophy of horsemanship (think not intimidate), the importance of breeding and conformation, then moves to ground work, basic training, conditioning ("never let your horse run out of air"), suppling exercises, body alignment (importance of circles) and advanced manuevers. He is comprehensive, covering shoeing, equipment, and show preparation as well. As the book title says, Loomis approaches Western horsemanship as an art, and he is a master.

Because Loomis is so thorough, non-beginning riders interested in improving their horsemanship will find a wealth of information here. Many horsemanship books suffer from authors unable to convey in written words "the feel" of the horse in response to a cue. With co-author Kadash, Loomis presents his concepts lucidly. The diagrammed sample exercises illustrated throughout the book are another valuable resource for an intructorless rider.

Loomis teaches the reader to think, about how the horse thinks and how the horseman thinks. Trainer or rider, with this book the reader will never stop learning how to improve from whatever level he is at. A tremendous resource!

I first read this book as a beginner looking to get into reining. I found it easy to understand and the concepts very clear. I still refer to it constantly for training and conditioning tips. It's a very well written book, and is not at all 'difficult' to read. In fact, I found it hard to put down! A great book and well worth a look.