Business Systems Books

Future Prospect provides immense insights on the shape of the future of e-business that will be of great value to technologists and business leaders seeking to understand and take advantage of the mega strategies taking place in the market space. Books like Future Prospect come along too infrequently, but when they do, the power of human creation is unleashed, transforming our business landscape. Future Prospect is the most talked about book in the current era.

Future Prospect raises the bar for any professional involved in business performance and development. This book clearly explains the core concepts and strategies underlying in any business and advances the business activities and processes to world-class level. And it provides how-here-and-now you can make enormous impact on your business results.

The first book to explore the impact of ebusiness in any business for any one aspiring to reach world-class status by guiding the readers to the changes that are taking place now, and an intriguing look into the future of business.

Future Prospect has served us as an irreplaceable map to chart our ebusiness visions and strategies and to drive our company to be number one.

Penetrating through the swirling mist of high-tech business scenarios with vision and simplicity, Future Prospect offers the vital tools to configure your business for tomorrow's prospects. It offers executives and analysts with a roadmap and agenda they need to advance their carriers.

Practical, straight-forward, simple approach to EMS implementation! We have used as part of our standard training with employee teams.

We have used this book as a training tool and as an appreciation gift for clients and staff. The book has a very practical approach. I've described the book as better than "Cliff Notes" but not a dissertation. We have clients requst bulk orders to use as training materials for their staff.

As an EMS project manager I found this book to very comprehensive with easy to follow case studies that were clear, concise and proved to be very valuable. So much of implementing an EMS deals with change management and this handbook lays out what changes an organization and skills a project manager needs to consider as it makes steps on this path toward ISO 14001 implementation. Another benefit is the excellent, easy to read examples created for each element of the standard providing a great starting point from which to take that leap! I recommend the handbook to others investigating environmental management systems.

This handbood explains the elements of ISO 14001 and how to implement them in a clear and concise manner. The authors make the reader feel confident that they can implement an EMS no matter what their industry.

I like how they step through each element of the standard, explain what it means and then show how others have addressed that element with real world examples. We hear from environmental managers in five companies (from a small, Midwest tool manufacturer to a mulit-national pharmaceutical conglomerate) how they implemented their EMS. Actual copies of policies, aspects lists, management meeting notes and cost data as well as tips and advice are, sprinkled throughout the book. There is also a list or resources and related websites listed in an appendix.

This is an easy read (a plus for anyone with limited time) and would make an excellent addition to an EMS training package. I will recommend it to my membership.

Curtis Lindskog, President, Pacific Industrial and Business Association

It is often the curse of wise, visionary ideas: When they're new and haven't yet gained widespread use or brand-name familiarity they somehow seem more complicated--and difficult to implement--than in fact they are. This "appearance" of complexity keeps well-meaning people or companies from moving ahead--and so progress stalls. For those directly involved, and for the rest of us.

Such is the case with ISO 14001, an elegant new way for organizations to bolster their bottom lines--and their communities' environments--at the same time. The ISO idea only seems complicated.

This book demystifies the seemingly arcane concept and makes environmental management systems readily accessible to smokestack industries, high-tech companies, even government organizations.

When I needed to understand the hows and whys of environmental management systems for a project I was working on, the straightforward language and clear design of this book made my education quick as well as thorough. It made what felt like a huge and complex undertaking seem not only manageable but worth doing.

Today, if I were implementing an EMS in an organization, I'd get copies of this book to all of my key people and make sure they had the time to read it and then discuss it together. I can't recommend this volume highly enough.

Alain Paul Martin gives us a new, non-traditional, and thought-provoking guide to intelligence gathering and strategic planning. This book is must reading for decision makers. Its incisive analyses, practical framework, and real-world examples provide valuable lessons that can be immediately put to use as we cope with our ever-changing world. Mr. Martin deserves our congratulations and our gratitude for this masterful work.

Alain Paul Martin's "Harnessing the Power of Intelligence, Counterintelligence & Surprise Events" is a great pleasure to read. This practical book is clearly based on extensive research and fieldwork in competitive intelligence in America, Europe and Japan. For over a decade, Japan has been shifting from large-scale manufacturing to a knowledge-based economy, and moving production facilities to Asian countries. The competitive-intelligence method and road maps described in this book can help managers fast-track projects and new-product development, and succeed in this new environment.

As a scientist who has made the transition from managing R&D in a global company to educating graduate students in management, I recommend Martin's book to entrepreneurs, scientists and fellow educators. I also agree with Harvard Professor Mark Thompson who states: "Alain martin has deftly incorporated, adapted, challenged, and complemented the insights of Fuld, Porter, Sun Tzu, and others to achieve a superb practical guide to the strategic and tactical management of institutional information."

Professor S. Ohara, Chiba Institute of Technology, Japan

I have read countless publications on strategy and competitive intelligence. Since I was often disappointed, I was hesitant to buy the new book "Harnessing the Power of Intelligence" and commit precious hours to study its content. But I quickly changed my mind after glancing over the long list of testimonials from well-respected intelligence experts and executives who highly recommend the book. It is now clear to me that author Alain Paul Martin has distilled the lessons of his extensive field experience to craft a practical framework that has been successfully applied in the private and public sectors.
Apart from the first Chapter, which I skipped, here is my impression about the rest of the book.

Chapter 2 "Building A High-Performing Organization" offers tips on the role of chief intelligence officers, issue managers, intelligence collectors and other scanning resources in an intelligence-centric organization. The section on intelligence culture deserves a greater coverage.

Chapter 3 "Building Intelligence Capital" starts with a brief discussion on scanning but the competitive-intelligence road map is a real gem.

Chapters 4 and 5 on intelligence platforms, search engines and the invisible Web are relevant to a wide range of occupations and activities beyond competitive intelligence. Just by applying the tips in the Brain Stem-Cell Case Study, I got my money and time worth within a week of reading Chapter 4.

Chapter 6 "Intelligence Security in Business and Government" does not provide new material to intelligence experts but is a good primer, filled with examples, for managers.

Chapters 7 and 8 examine the process of opportunity and threat incubation through the lenses of Martin's powerful paradigm. The illustrations suggest that the instrument is already used to capture new markets, and anticipate and manage various risks. The appendix on the Mad-Cow issue in Britain supports the framework and adds credibility to it. It is written by Dr. Brian Morrissey, a veterinary scientist who led government R&D on a host of complex national and global issues related to food and health protection.

The ideas and tools described in both Chapters 9 and 10 are the most advanced I have ever came across on stakeholders' analysis. Chapter 9 offers novel tips to identify the players who can make a difference in managing projects or reaching deals. It also sheds a new light on the role and power dynamics between these players. Chapter 10 helps readers map the positions and perceptions of the stakeholders, a pre-requisite for strategy formulation. Chapter 11 is a basic introduction to psychographics and VALS. Chapter 12 completes the book with concluding remarks about the application of intelligence to our personal lives.

The book is highly recommended to managers and students in military colleges, business and public administration. Chapters 7 through 10 will be of great interest to intelligence analysts who are constantly in search of new ways to connect the dots. I hesitate between a rating of 4 out of 5 stars for expert readers and 5/5 for managers. Actually, the framework alone is worth 5/5 and is without match in the world of competitive intelligence.

The stories featured in A. P. Martin's Harnessing the Power of Intelligence are fun to read and talk about, at work and at home. I have used some of them to alert my customer-service team about hidden risks and untapped opportunities. We have been applying the ideas of the first six chapters (Part I) for about three months. Our interactions with customers are yielding better results. We are now moving aggressively to prevent tampering with our information assets as noted in the section titled "How Good Organizations Lose Intelligence".
Four of my high-school educated supervisors, who read the book, found Part I a down-to-earth eye-opener, and right on target, for making wiser choices and avoiding costly errors. They, however, thought Part II would be more applicable to middle and senior management. A drawback: the cases in the chapter on Psychographics lack the detail necessary to be useful.
I have also read C. S. Fleisher's Strategic and Competitive Intelligence. Both books represent, in my opinion, two different, credible and complementary approaches to intelligence-based decision-making. Except for some references, there is virtually no duplication of content. A big bonus!

"Ninety percent of the information used in organizations is internally focused and only ten percent about the outside environment. This is exactly backwards." -- Peter Drucker

As usual, in one pithy phrase, management sage Peter Drucker captured the central problem facing organizations in uncertain environments -- they look in the wrong place. In volatile times, humans tend to hunker down in the cocoon of the controllable. Effective leaders embrace such times as an opportunity for greatness, when the prepared organization can jump ahead of ostrich-like competition.

Yet, few management advisors opine on how to combat these human tendencies and systematically scan, analyze and act in uncertain environments. Michael Porter's classic works on Competitive Strategy and Competitive Advantage did dispense advice on competitive intelligence gathering, but did not attend to the conversion of intelligence into commercial advantage. Alain Martin's new book "Harnessing the Power of Intelligence" compiles tested processes which create such value.

Martin's frameworks are based on research at American Express, Boeing, Dell, DuPont, GlaxoSmithKline, and Microsoft as well as application of his ideas in businesses, government, and the military. The book has the most up to date, and complete list of intelligence sources. For example, Martin cites the University of California at Berkeley "invisible web" project, which has shown that search engines only document about 15% of the business intelligence available publicly, because the vast majority of it is either not in a standard hypertext format or not linked to a public domain name (the silent campers). His framework on issue incubation, shows that large scale issues go through a relatively predictable process of incubation and development. Many leaders make the mistake of getting on an issue too early or too late. The issue incubation process delineates ways to recognize the progression of topics, and provides advice on if, when and how to intervene. Martin also has a tool called, Factional Analysis that helps a manager analyze who is likely to influence a volatile situation (from allies to adversaries). This tool is much richer than the traditional stakeholder analysis for it includes roles that do not fit in the normal economic calculus. For example, he includes "fanatics" in the analysis -- people whose sole purpose is to disrupt.

A leader can take the advice in this book and use it to guide outward looking intelligence, assess the current state of issues (or do a triage on a surprise event), and then take concerted action.

At points, the book does suffer from the same weakness of Porter's books in that its desire for completeness, the text often has a "list-like" feel. But, on balance this book provides a framework full of tested tools to turn uncertainty into value.

I love this book. It's very detailed and doesn't let you forget a thing about the business of childcare. Keep every dime you earn!! I don't think you will regret the investment.
Try it!

As a professional in the childcare industry, it was quite refreshing for me to see such a valuable resource being made available to childcare providers. I have researched all of the various recordkeeping products that are available on the market , and I found that the The Home Daycare Complete Recordkeeping System is hands down the best resource currently available! The author of this book has obviously taken alot of time to explain practices and procedures in a manor that is professional as well as educational.

In my professional opinion, The Home Daycare Complete Recordkeeping System is a must have reference book for all childcare providers!

When you're in business, you don't have time to think about high level concepts -- you just want to know how to get things done. Thompson does an excellent job of giving you the information you need in a format that's easy to follow. I'd recommend this book to anyone who owns a daycare business -- Thompson is thorough in her examples and showed me several areas where I was missing potential deductions. This is a great book for daycare business owners!

This is a must have for anyone in the Home Daycare business. It is easy to follow and has saved me thousands of dollars over the past three tax years.

The Home Daycare Complete Recordkeeping System is chocked full of detailed information (w/examples!) and is a reference tool I continue to use. Every business needs a recordkeeping system and if you are in the DAYCARE business-this book is a must-have for your reference library.

Integrated Enterprise Excellence Volume III fuses enterprise strategy with operational execution. In the most comprehensive step-by-step Lean Six Sigma manual on the market today, this 1,100+ page guide is the perfect companion aid for any engineer, technology or business student, consultant, project manager or Lean Six Sigma practitioner who is serious about their career advancement and driving enterprise excellence in their company.

From business strategy and balanced scorecards to project management steps and detailed design of experiments, this is one of the most important handbooks on business performance improvement.
- Frank Shines, former IBM Principal and Director of Industriaplex

Integrated Enterprise Excellence Volume III (IEEV3)is one volume of a three volume series - but as a standalone text, it is essentially a highly evolved sequel to the award-winning Implementing Six Sigma (ISS) books which were first published nearly a decade ago, in 1999. Although the second edition of ISS (2003) introduced a substantial amount of new reference material to the original book, it was still largely a handbook for implementation of conventional Lean/Six Sigma systems at the operational level. IEEV3 introduces new topics, new text, and new graphics to provide a significant step beyond both earlier ISS books in scope, structure and content.

Although both earlier books generally address the wise application of improvement systems and analytical tools to resolving business problems, the scope of IEEV3 has been broadened to acknowledge and more clearly define two distinct yet interdependent levels of study and improvement: the operational level and the enterprise level.

IEEV3 takes the position that to focus on specific operational process improvements without consideration of effects throughout the enterprise can result in suboptimization of results if not counterproductive unintended consequences. To be effective, operational level improvement projects must derive from the study of enterprise level "top down" requirements that consider the needs of the entire enterprise.

At the outset, IEEV3 reviews the limitations of traditional improvement systems and methods and describes how, using the principles of IEE, established project improvement tools - like DMAIC and TOC- can be combined with innovative analytical methods for enterprise level goal setting and measurement to avoid problems and enhance performance.

The main body of the book walks the reader through a detailed DMAIC project level execution (P-DMAIC) roadmap using the enhanced measurement and scorecard techniques of IEE. It also includes extensive discussions on essential project management techniques: building team effectiveness, encouraging creativity, and how to document and present resulting improvements.

The Appendix includes additional concepts that are used in the enterprise process or project execution roadmap steps, including drill downs, check sheets, and reference tables.

In summary, Volume III of the new series is an expanded sequel to Forrest's previous award winning book - Implementing Six Sigma . It focuses on meeting the demanding business challenges of the 21st Century and avoiding the unintended consequences of earlier implementations. It provides additional analytical tools and a new, expanded and improved practical roadmap for successful implementation of Lean Six Sigma and the DMAIC process at the operational level, orchestrated to align with business needs and support the attainment of meaningful enterprise level goals.

If anyone wants to understand how process management works on an enterprise level, this is the book to get. If anyone wants to know the future look of Six Sigma, this is the book to get. If anyone want to understand Lean principles and how they should work, this is the book to get. Forrest Breyfogle has been one of the most proflilic writers in the world of Six Sigma and process improvement. Even people who are afraid of math and statistics will understand the value of the tools and techniques that he writes about. His crisp style and many examples help the reader to understand the fundamentals and the outcomes of using these approaches to business excellence.
Every Six Sigma practitioner should have this book.

Integrated Enterprise Excellence Vol. III is one of Forrest's best books that must be read by anyone who is seriously thinking to implement Lean Six Sigma, and it is also an excellent reference book for those who jobs entail the start and sustaining continuous improvement initiatives. This books presents and describes in detail a road map of DMAIC process that, if it is followed and the tools presented used, will lead to success.

Forrest packs a wealth of information into this edition. It can serve as guide to both project selection and execution. It helps you identify and use the tools that are most appropriate for the specific opportunity. Both traditional Lean and Six Sigma tools are covered. This volume is quite strong on DOE's and other advanced tools for analysis. Would highly recommend as a solid reference for anyone leading continuous improvement efforts in their organizations. Would also make a first rate text book!

If you are serious about solving your difficult problem, there is no better starting point than Dettmer's book. That said, the process is not easy. You will identify the undesirable effects and construct diagrams to help you discover the root causes. You will identify the limiting factors that prevent you from achieving your goals. You will identify the intermediate objectives which help you reach your goals. And you will learn more acronyms than you thought you could ever remember. Perhaps you will even become a better thinker. Use this book to understand Goldratt's Thinking Process, and to solve your difficult problem.

the book not just tell what the thinking process is and show how to conduct the process. with this book's help, I came from knowing TOC to using TOC.

Bill has produced an exquisite update to his earlier works, well recongnized as the definitive source for the logical thinking process. With some new simplifications and very effective process summaries, this book is an essential tool when you have a serious problem to address. Bills clear and concise writing makes the material accessible to all. His personal experiences improving many organizations ensure results.

I wish our politicians could use a process like this to address the systemic problems that plague Washington DC and our nation, such as Health Care. One can only hope...

Regardless of whether you're interested in TOC this book is one that can really add some critical tools to your toolbox. Logic trees are one of the more powerful tools available for helping people think through cause & effect relationships ... a process most people don't do well. This book gives lots of great examples and advice for building the trees.

The new text by Dettmer is a good text for learning the the latest about the thinking processes of TOC. One of the major uses of the text is to be able to understand the definitions and language of the TOC.

This book is a wonderfully engaging, well-written autobiography; it also brings vividly to life a crucially-important part of recent US social history. Charles Halpern worked at the heart of an era of progressive change in law and society that started in the 1960s, and he stayed creatively active even throughout the subsequent period of reaction--which arguably has lasted down to the present day.

But Halpern's autobiography goes further even than providing a vivid, personal chronicle of our recent past. It also gives readers a present-day model of and incitement to progressive change-making. It models change-making as an intensely creative and imaginative activity, as it charts Halpern's succession of activities as an architect and leader of Center for Law and Social Policy, the nation's first public interest law firm; then as the designer and first dean of the CUNY Law School, an educationally and socially innovative institution that focused on public interest law; and ultimately as head of the progressive Nathan Cummings foundation. The scope and sheer variety of Halpern's constant, ongoing innovation and institutional invention is fascinating and even breathtaking.

At the same time, Halpern writes of what informs and grounds this unusual creativity. His book is also an account of intellectual and spiritual growth, as Halpern experiments with and incorporates contemplative practice in his life--drawing on it to sustain and empower him in his public career. Halpern then feeds back personal discovery back into institutional creativity, as he sets up a series of programs devoted to transforming intellectual and professional practice in a wide variety of fields--in law schools, colleges, universities, and social movements.

Making Waves and Riding the Currents takes a life well-lived and transforms it into a book that will interest, involve, inform and inspire generations of readers.

I highly recommend this engaging memoir, which is an inspiration and fast read. Charles Halpern graduated from Harvard and Yale, and parlayed a legal career into the first public interest law firm and law school. Upon discovering meditation, Mr. Halpern, incorporated his practice into his life's work. As a result of Halpern's efforts, oil pipelines were put in Alaskan soil sustainably, DDT was banned, public interest lawyers found their needed education, and graduates started influential environmental groups such as EarthJustice. The ripple of Halpern's positive wave continues, and you can catch it by reading Making Waves and Riding the Currents.

No matter what your political persuasion or your profession, this book is a great source of wisdom and insight. Beyond a fascinating history of the birth of public interest law, Charlie Halpern provides a deeply personal and affirming account of how to pursue one's ideals in a way that is nurturing of our deeper selves and respectful of others. A key lesson of this book is that it is not just what you stand or fight for, but who you are and how you act as you do it. By cultivating an awareness that allows a deeper wisdom to emerge, Charlie points to ways we all can contribute to the world in a way that contributes to far greater tolerance and balance, without compromising our effectiveness. And in the process, we also become healthier and more loving and also create a world that reflects this.

Making Waves and Riding Currents is a book that everyone should read. No soft tale here but a journey not unlike rafting white waters. Charles sees the real and the ideal, the what "could be and is not yet", takes time to grasp the whole, sees the way and then takes it. He combines courage, a genuine interest in life and a willingness to "live and learn" both on a professional and personal level. This is a story of major entrepreneurial ventures that impact our own lives, created and co-created, experienced and shared in ways allowing every one involved to learn, use their experience, as well as to question and relinquish old patterns, recognize blocks and crack open into wider realms of understanding and living that center on Wisdom. This book documents changes in thinking that have make our society more humane and just. This is not your usual "lawyer" story. This is speaks to everyone's potential to develop wisdom, played out large, and saying: Come on, you can do it! I can't stop thinking about what one life can do.

From the beginning of this tale of Charles Halpern's remarkable accomplishments, it was obvious that he was an intelligent, effective individual with many skills. But competent doesn't necessarily mean wise. Fortunately for us readers, interwoven with the story of his doing is the story of his psychological/spiritual development -- the story of his growth in wisdom and the integration of that wisdom into his many activities.

Halpern had the courage to place himself in a wide variety of challenging, often uncomfortable, growth-fostering situations. Too many to recount here, they included a winter camping adventure in the Adirondacks, a week-long vision quest based on Native American traditions that included many hours in a sweat lodge, and a five-day mindfulness meditation retreat led by Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. This last was a watershed event, about which Halpern wrote: "The experience of extended meditation practice...awakened my interest in exploring the connection between meditation and wisdom. Could I undertake to practice wisdom, living the wise life that would generate wise actions and decisions? Could this be a new way to approach activism, to start from the place of wisdom and compassion rather than the place of anger and insistence on legal rights?"

Meditation became a central focus in his life, and numerous retreats followed. To some extent facilitated by the Nathan Cummings Foundation of which he was now President, he met and got to know many of America and the world's foremost spiritual teachers. "Longtime meditators and respected teachers," he wrote, "gave me a new model for a way to be in the world--committed to serving others, cultivating wisdom, being open to changing themselves, and exposing their own vulnerability." Currently, Charles Halpern is Chair of The Center for Contemplative Mind and Society.

MAKING WAVES AND RIDING THE CURRENTS is a truly inspiring and uplifting book. It is the tale of a life marked by great accomplishment and developing wisdom, told with an engaging frankness about his own vulnerabilities by the man who has lived it.

I am very carefull about the books I buy simply because most books just teach you the alphabet again. This one is a rare exception. Very exhaustive coverage and an important reference book in my collection.

If you are experienced in IT governance and processes, this book is a great reference. This is a great tool when combined with other frameworks such as CMM, ITIL, and COBIT.

This book is really good.It gives clear picture of software developement methdologies. I really enjoyed reading this book.This will be my one of the favorite books.

Excelente para el desarrollo de grandes proyectos tanto en Web como de todo tipo de sistemas.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Roger Fournier's book. I am a voracious reader with many books on Client-Server, Web technology, systems development, etc.; however, Mr. Fournier's methodology is a welcome addition to my library. This may be the most practical book that I have seen for systematically approaching the development of complex systems. I plan on incorporating much of his methodology and ideas in my future projects. I would recommend it for anyone interested in learning about client-server or web technology and it is a great reference for professionals involved in project development (both large and small).

I am encouraged by the books honesty in stressing that building large systems is hard work. Too often the literature touts "sure-fire" success if you follow a particular "cook book" sequence or employ specific technology. As anyone in the business knows, good preparation, realistic goals, teamwork and attention to detail are more important than choosing the latest "hot" technology. The book walks through the stages of a projects life cycle and provides much "food for thought" in how to get each stage right. But it never deceives one into thinking the process is easy and it never implies that the proposed methods are the only logical approach to take.

Although the title focuses on C/S and Web Application development, the methodology presented has a much broader application. It provides an excellent framework for development of any complex system. The book is well written. It provides broad coverage from requirements discovery through project deployment. The book contains so much information that the reader may want to focus on specific areas of high personal interest at first- such as Web architecture or systems analysis. Fortunately, Mr. Fournier's style is such that you can concentrate on the chapters that are most relevant to your needs first and later read the other sections without a significant loss of continuity.

As an Enterprise Architect, I have found the book very helpful. It contains useful information for project managers, enterprise and system architects, analysts, developers and test engineers. Without going into details I'll say that the tables, checklists and web-references presented throughout the book have been very useful.

I believe the survey, analysis and joint facilitated session chapters are well presented and offer a lot of information on project definition and scoping. They certainly make clear the importance of up-front planning to a projects success. For my purposes, the C/S and Web Architecture chapter was of high interest and was well presented. I was glad to see a chapter devoted to software re-use. However, I would like to see this chapter expanded to include more information on infrastructure, middleware and components. I would recommend anyone interested in the book to quickly scan the table of contents to see the wide range of information that can be found.

Mr. Fournier mentions that there might be a follow-up book focusing on the project management aspects of building complex systems. I sincerely hope he writes this.

I was intrigued by one of the author's earlier book's title, Start with NO...The Negotiating Tools that the Pros Don't Want You to Know Start with NO...The Negotiating Tools that the Pros Don't Want You to Know, and thought since this was a newer book maybe he had refined his No Negotiating skills and given us some new insights in this newer book.

Since I haen't yet read his earlier work I don't know how this one compares to it, but I can say this is a fine alternative to the win-win style of negotiating that is so often taught and praised.

His experience of trying to negotiate with foreigners while an airline pilot made him wonder why they would turn down his offer of trying to get a good deal with the promise of future sales benefits to come.

After being rebuffed in his negotiations he later on looked up negotiate in the dictionary and it dawned on him that what he had been thinking did not apply to other people. The whole concept of thinking that if you gave some to get a deal or that others would be resonable and give something for future profits didn't apply after all in parts of the real world.

But there is a lot more talked about in the book.
** Neediness is one of the issues that he discusses and how you don't really need what you might think you do, and also how others can spot your neediness thinking and demand more from you to save a deal you think you reall need. ** Sometimes it is to your best interest just to say no.

But besides business deals common everyday things like talking to teachers about your kids or other everyday situations are also discussed in the book. That is why I say it is about so much more than just a style of negotiating, it is about life in general also.

After ordering but even before the book arrived I used the idea of just saying no twice and it worked. Just thinking about the bold title of this and his previous Start with No.. book changed my whole outlook on possible offers.
I have used the win-win model of bargaining many times in my life, but this whole way of thinking from reading the book has put another tool into my arsenal of negotiating tactics.

Sometimes contrarian attitudes can be useful. You don't have to use this mindset all the time but being able to look at things in a different light can make you much stronger in getting what you ultimately want out of life.

I bought this book for an MBA course in negotiations. It has proven to be one of the more valuable books I've read on the subject, with several principles I've applied directly to both my coursework and outside negotiations. The central theme (that NO is a beginning, not an ending) is unique in this kind of writing, and though I'm not sure about that idea, the peripheral themes are immensely helpful. A very nice counterpoint to some of the classic texts on the subject (Getting to Yes, etc.).

After meeting Jim Camp 19 years ago his System has had an incredible impact on my career. As the Director of Business Development for a National Sales organization it is required reading for all on my team. I recommend this book and Jim's "No System" as the only system to success a negotiator will ever need!!!

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Seriously now, this book opens in Chapter 1 with a phenomenal concept that I've never seen fleshed out so well in a negotiations book. That concept is "neediness". More importantly, understanding that neediness is a state of longing for or desiring something that you don't actually need in most cases and then rooting this out of your thinking in relation to the negotiation process. When you don't feel needy, it's easier to say no.

Also, the book points out how the other party's neediness can be played to your advantage. Watch for signs of this like not wanting to end the discussion, giving more information than is needed when answering questions, being overly enthusiastic, etc.

From here the book moves on to typical concepts covered in negotiation books and differs little from the rest of the pool. However, the first chapter and a few nuggets throughout the book make it well work the reading if you are involved in negotiations of any kind.

I just ordered "No: The Only Negotiating System You Need for Work and Home" after seeing ads and reviews and Camp's StartWithNo.com web site.

The web site offered a "10 Tips" download which I promptly downloaded because I like to study contrarian approaches. All ten were useful, but it's the first one that validated why I know I'm going to love reading "No: The Only Negotiating System You Need for Work and Home"

-- Never begin by asking them to say yes and agree. --

Wow. I've been struggling for years with advice from other gurus suggesting that I change my style this from this. It just is so natural to me. Next time I negotiate, I'm going to be a lot more at ease knowing I've got Jim Camp's advice on my side.

If you're tired of doing the reasonable thing (Another excellent book.. "Be Unreasonable" by Paul Lemberg), look for unconventional thinkers like Jim Camp, Tim Ferris(4 Hour Work Week), Ben Mack(Think Two Products Ahead).

There are still some new tricks us for us old dogs to learn.

I think this book is the best up to date reference on Operations Research. The book is very well written, very didactic and addresses mainly the practical use of OR. That is, the book isnt so good for algorithm details but it is superb on modeling, interpretation and examples.

This is one of the excellent industrial engineering books. From deterministic and simple linear programming to stochastic systems such as queueing models or dynamic programming, you may read and "learn" lots of things about OR. However, for stochastic cases you will need extra help for its matematics. But if you want to learn something about industrial engineering or something related with it, that is the book you must buy.

A wonderful compendium of Ops algorythms. It has everything from linear programming to queing theory.

I am in my first semester of an MBA program. The required text for my OR/MS class (An Introduction to Management Science, 10th ed., by Anderson, Sweeney, Williams) left something to be desired. I work with the SAS programming language, and happened to be discussing the SAS/OR product with a SAS technical support rep. He recommended this Winston text. I think it explains concepts much better than my Anderson text and has helped me a lot in my OR/MS class.

I have used this book for five years in my Operation Research classes. Its emphasis is in the mathematical modeling. The explanations are complete and clean. But, the exercises are the best part: a lot of examples and modeling exercises. A very good book for engineering students.