Performance Books

Mr. Garrison does an excellent job in presenting the underrated skill of restaurant service. I found his style of writing informative yet entertaining with clever analogies and examples which made his points come across very clear. I regret not having this book in my hands years ago! I would also highly recommend this book for restaurant/bar owners who are looking for skilled staff to increase their profits. Stephen makes a lot of sense! Enjoy (:

Someone had recommended this book to me becasue i was thinking of becoming a waiter during the summer to help make ends meet money-wise. So i got a job waitering and almost immediately i was making as much and even more than the people that had been there years before me. My idea of a summer job sortof turned into a great paying job. This was the perfect book, it was easy to read in an hour front to back and i was one of the best servers at our restaurant. Thanks.

I am so glad that I discovered this book. It is very comprehensive. Just to note that it is more about the mental preparation before the audition.

This book is extremely useful for artistic persons. Everyone can find there a great number of effective practical psychotechniques based on NLP-approach to the human being.

In the business market today, change is certain. Businesses MUST stay ahead of the competition. The way to do that is providing great customer service. This book is exceptional in developing your valuable employees into top-notch representatives by simple, easy-to-follow tips. Your management employees will also benefit with outstanding coaching and feedback techniques.

As a small business owner this book has been an invaluable resource.
It is full of practical, easy to implement advice for both employees and managers.
If you want to be your customer's #1 choice and give great service, this is the must buy book!

Newman's command of the primary source materials and his rank as an unsurpassed keyboard virtuoso make this book absolutely indispensible for every serious keyboard player. Each page engages the reader with his infectuous enthusiasm, answering essential questions concerning tempo, metre and note groupings with a comfortable and direct writing style which is never dull or pedantic. Newman addresses performance issues on all keyboard instruments, including the piano. Without doubt, the most useful of all books to date on the subject of keyboard performance of Bach's music!

Amazing! Brilliant! Such insights! Newman has once again outdone himself. As if his virtuoso recordings were not enough for the Bach enthusiast here comes the definitive tome on the master himself... from the master himself.

This is an excellent resource. Nowhere else have I been able to find just the information I want; printed in logical order. I'm building a web site about my truck, and the BPD is my bible for determining just the right gear combinations to maximize my performance with the Gear Vendors gearsplitter I've installed. I don't have a lot of money for R&D, and this book has given me just the right info I need. Thank you!

I am an enthusiast and I love the car crafting hobby. For years I have been saving all of my back issues of various magazines for formulas, tips, and tricks used in building many of my cars. After purchasing this book I was able to get rid of them. It is one of the most informative pieces of literature I have ever seen. Forget those pamphlets that tell you to buy a bunch of bolt-ons, this is real world horsepower.

This is a beautiful book that include photographs of ballet performances from around the world, with pencil drawings that show, in detail, the positions in basic leotard. What I love about this book is that it covers a wide range of movements... from warming up and stretching, the basic positions, steps and movements, to pas de deux. Every line and stance is drawn perfectly - from finger tip to toe. My daughter's dance instructor borrowed the book to illustrate some of the pas de deux movements in her partnering class, and I wanted to buy a copy for her. It's a shame this book is out of print, I would highly recommend it - it's worth the search to acquire a copy!

I happened upon this book somewhat accidentally when I was accompaning the Southern Ballet Theatre in Orlando, Florida. Being new at accompanying, I searched for books that would help me learn the movements for class. Most of them were small and technical or very large (and expensive) with lots of photos of famous dancers. When I found "Ballet Steps" I just could not get over its beauty. It is very instructional, yet the book is an art in itself. All of the illustrations are hand-drawn and really convey the flow of movement and the elegance of the ballet. The author/illustrator based his drawings on photos of actual dancers perforing their art, usually in the class. Since he would do the drawings later at his own pace, he was able to make corrections to even the slightest imperfection so we end up with an incredibly beautiful book. The author's aim was to help the dance student or the ballet-goer to understand the language that ballet is based upon. He not only achieved this but he surpassed all of my expectations with this eye-inspiring volume.

This is a book that should be on the desk of anyone who is involved in analytical development of biomolecules and biopharmaceuticals. The content is well organized and written in a format that is easy to grasp and understand. The content covers almost all the different modalities of HPLC analyses and applications and provides real life examples of the techniques. It includes innumerable suggestions on how best to develop a validatable HPLC method and analyze the data appropriately.

I would highly recommend this book to both new and old members of biotechnology, especially the developmental, analytical, and quality assurance groups where there is frequently a need to implement a solid reliable method for analyzing biomolecules in a more rational fashion.

This is without a doubt the most brilliant and poignant depiction of HPLC and CE of biomolecules in modern history. My extreme hyperactivity disorder usually means that I'm not able to sit still for such weighty topics--not without large amounts of abused Ritalin; but Cunico's work was so compelling and finely wrought that I found myself spellbound, even when drunk, even when driving in the backseat of a stolen car across the Mexican border at Tecate. I am not going to recommend drinking heavily and stealing cars. But I do recommend BASIC HPLC and CE OF BIOMOLECULES by Robert L. Cunico. By the way, I am extremely drunk right now.

This book is short yet captures all the essential components of a succesfull benchmarking program in the non-profit sector, including government agencies. Although the examples are specifically geared for non-profit organizations, the concepts and principles taught apply just as well for any governmental entity. Saul writes exceedingly well, treating a subject with surprising zest that has been handled dryly by others. The structure of the book is perfect, as it leads the benchmarking neophyte through each step of the process, from organizational preparation to benchmark process implementation. Saul gives clear definitions and terms, and provides ample examples of each so that the reader is not left adrift. The forms provided to assist in the benchmarking process are also very helpful. Particularly original is a "quadrant" form, reminiscent of Steven Covey's four quadrants form that captures the combinations of urgent/important/not urgent/unimportant. In Saul's treatment, the four quadrants cover the combinations of controllable/important/not controllable/unimportant - a wise reality check before undertaking major change. Saul also gives a siginificant example of an organization that appeared to be doing well based on the measures it was tracking, but was actually failing in its core mission because those measure were not appropriate. I would recomment this book as a primer for anyone interested in beginning a benchmarking program in a non-profit or government.

This book is an essential for every nonprofit manager's bookshelf. The straighforward writing style of Jason Saul, coupled with practical tools, will help create an effective benchmarking and outcomes management system.

Camp does a marvelous job of providing the reader with the why's and wherefore's of the benchmarking process. Very easy reading yet quite complete and informative on the methodology and the use of benchmarking analyses.

This is a well written book on the concept and practice of benchmarking. The book gives a comprehensive coverage of a wide range of topics on benchmarking including a clear explanation of what benchmarking is all about, how to use it and the benefits from employing it.

The author did a good job of coming up with a reference book that can be used by managers in all departments of an organisation. He clearly explained and illustrated the subject, making it interesting and easy to follow by anyone with a responsibility for the performance of a section or department. The book is well written with easy to follow explanations and worked examples. One can quickly learn about benchmarking through studying reference guides. The author provides valuable tips that help the reader to implement the concept to their own circumstances. The reader will find the book easy to follow due to the author's extensive knowledge and experience in the subject.

The book is recommended reading for managers in all departments of an organisation in a commercial enterprise or non-profit organisation.

"This book describes a process through which corporate leaders can create a high-performance organization capable of sustaining a lasting competitive advantage. It is an approach that takes into consideration all of the factors that affect organizational performance. By examining the whole organization, and by aligning its systems, structure, and culture to enable all employees to excell and execute the company's chosen strategy, corporate leaders can successfully transform their organization...Although targeted at corporate leaders, this book will benefit anyone interested or involved in any aspect of organizational change. By understanding the components of organizational change, frontline employees and middle-level managers alike can more effectively participate in and guide the change effort in their part of the organization. A successful organizational transformation is never the sole accomplishment of a leader and his or her senior team. Rather, the transformation is achieved through the hard work and commitment of all types of leaders througout the entire organization" (from the Preface).

In this context, Christopher W. Head:

* by asking/answering some critical questions such as What is going wrong? Why are so many change efforts failing? What is an organizational transformation? defines organizational transformation and indicates key factors to a successful transformation.

* by both asking/answering the following questions: What characteristics do transformational leaders possess? What must these leaders do in order to prepare their organizations for all of the difficult challenges that lie ahead? and comparing transformational leaders and traditional/transactional leaders, discusses the leadership factor for a successful corporate transformation.

* explains how leaders can lead effective change by creating an environment that fosters participation and ownership, and presents a detailed change management plan (more detailed discussion of this plan see Chapter 3).

* by asking/answering the following questions: How can leaders create a work environment that fosters high-levels of involvement from all of their employees? What are the elements that truly empower and involve all employees? How do organizations benefit from having an empowered workforce after the transformation process has been completed? discusses the steps needed to establish a high level of employee involvement within organization.

* by asking/answering the following questions: What is the best way of getting employees committed to leading the change effort? What are the transition teams? Why should they be used? Who should be on these teams and how should team members be selected? What are their core responsibilities? What kind of assistance do these teams need from top management and internal or external consultants? How should transition teams involve customers and suppliers in their work? examines the role of employees and employee teams (transition teams) during the transformation process.

* by asking/answering the following questions: What is core process redesign? What steps should organizations follow to redesign and align their core processes? What are the roles and responsibilities of the steering committee and transition teams during this stage? What other groups need to be involved? discusses how transition teams can successfully redesign and align core processes.

* by asking/answering the following questions: What can organizations do to make sure they create 'good' jobs for all employees? What elements are needed to make 'natural' work teams successful? examines the terms 'good' and 'natural' and their importance to realize drastic performance improvement.

* explains the changing role of middle management and the additional structural changes that an organization must make to support the newly established work teams.

* argues that "traditional measurement systems, solely focused on functional outcomes and overall financial performance, fail to provide the natural work teams with the necessary feedback they need to improve their performance", and hence presents an alternative performance measurement system.

* in addition to new performance measurement system, presents a new performance-based compensation system that rewards and motivates.

* argues that "an organizational transformation is never truly complete. Rather, it is series of large-scale changes - to the culture, processes, structure, and so on - over the course of a given time period, approximately one to three years, followed by continuous learning and ongoing improvement by all employees. Eventually, despite such improvement efforts, industry conditions and/or technological developments will necessitate another transformation in the years ahead", and describes how innovative companies are creating continuous improvement by 'learning organizations'.

Finally, C. W. Head suggests that "organizational transformation is not easy. The path to a successful transformation is often met with many obstacles. You will be confronted with people who doubt your plans and resist your every move. Do not fight your resistors. Rather, help educate those who do not yet understand the value of transforming the workplace, who have yet to tap into the potential of all employees. Be patient, stay focused, and do not lose hope. Your perseverance and dedication will pay off as your organization succeeds".

Highly recommended.

Beyond Corporate Transformation provides a refreshing view about organization change. While many consultants get caught up in their terminology, the author, Chris Head, seems to be genuinely concerned that the reader gain something useful from his book. This book is great for anyone who doesn't have an understanding of whole system design or who would like a process for implementation. The author's key point that the future organization cannot succeed without tapping into each employee's potential should be heeded by all organizations.