Consultants Books

An effective and useful reference book on the "wireless internet." It covers the technologies, markets, products and services, citing many real applications in a easily readable format. I think this book would satisfactorily serve the student and industry professional as a useful single source of information.

Good overview on subject-- like a Cliff Notes, covers the key points but if you need details you'll have to buy books and visit the websites which are listed in the appendix. The book is easy to read (I read the book from cover to cover on flight from San Jose to Chicago last week with time to spare).

This is a wonderful and informative manual for the TC community. The authors clearly have command of current and emerging trends. I look forward the online updates and tools.

A.R.

Provides compelling insight into the world of the Wireless Internet! This is both a technology and business book covering the background and evolution of wireless technology, portable devices, market opportunities. Spellbinding, humorous in parts, it reads at times like a magazine article or a novel, for instance when describing Japan's successful i-mode services or taking the reader through many of the entertaining and imaginative applications. Definitely a reference book for anyone seeking to understand the wireless past and future.

Wireless Internet Crash Course is a must read for newcomers to the world of wireless, the internet space or people who want to know about the future of conversion of communications and computing. The only reason this review is a 4 not a 5 is I am a wireless engineer and I was interested in learning more detailed descriptions of the technologies. This book has a very good explanation of the history of cellular and provides excellent market data and business applications. The book also has a useful glossary and a fairly detailed listing of websites and other books to get more information. The authors do a great job explaining some technical and market topics in an easy to read, easy to understand way. Definitely worth your time. This is a good buy.

This is really a nice book for someone who has been through the strategic planning process a number of times and wants an outline or guideline to facilitate the process themselves. It's not a stand alone aid to someone or an executive staff who have never been through such a process. They should definitely consider outside help.
The book is clear cut, easy to read and understand, and not written for the academic but for the hands-on, roll-up your sleeves folks who have to make the process work.

In Applied Strategic Planning, the authors give a comprehensive step-by-step guide to conducting applied strategic planning. They clearly demonstrate organisations' need for strategic planning. The book is different from other strategic planning models in some significant ways. The major differences are in the values scan, organisational culture, strategic business modelling and integrating business and functional plans. The authors emphasise the importance of application considerations and environmental monitoring as on-going processes throughout the planning period. The authors produced a high quality book that is an important reference source whenever I need to undertake strategic planning.

The book provides the reader with an overall understanding of the process of applied strategic planning and the required steps and technology for using the model in a strategic planning process. The strategic planning model covers application and implementation from the inception of the plan to the post-implementation phase, making it very practical.

The model involves nine sequential steps as well as two continuous functions, namely environmental monitoring and application considerations, that are involved at each of the sequential phases. The sequential steps are planning to plan, followed by values scan, then mission formulation followed by strategic business modelling. Performance audit and gap analysis follow, these two being different aspects of a single phase. The last three phases are integrating action plans, contingency planning and implementation.

I read the book because I would like to increase my proficiency in and knowledge of practical strategic planning and to sharpen my consultancy skills. The book is very practical and easy to follow. As a consultant, I should be able to use the methodology in the course to manage the planning process.

Applied strategic planning provides an appealing model for transforming organisations. The model is future focused and leadership driven. It involves all people in an organisation. It produces a plan that is detailed, comprehensive, understood and accepted, and has the potential to generate energising force to drive the transformation of an organisation.
After going through the book, I feel confident that I could act as a consultant for any organisation.

So, it wasn't exactly an "optional" purchase. It's a little dry, like a text book usually is. But information is overall good.

While browsing through the strategy books, I saw it by chance. I went through the table of contents, hoping it might turn out to be the right one for me as a startup strategy manager. It indeed turned out to be an excellent book on strategic planning in respects of coverage, sequencing of chapters and examples given. I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to make progress in strategic planning in a relatively short time.

This is a very good book. In addition to this, I recommend "Strategic Organizational Change" by Michael Beitler.

If you've enjoyed the previous books in the series, this will be fun reading too. Just don't expect many final wrap-ups.

I had to check since I saw this was the 19th? It doesn't seem that long ago! But she keep the series fresh. I really enjoy Nelson's books, even her new one Dancing with Werewolves.

Long Live Midnight Louie! As a cat love (I have five) I really enjoy the books with cats in them.

I've read this series since it started and still enjoy every one of them. The story stays fresh and entertaining even as the core cast of characters stays the same. That takes talent! I can't wait for the next book to come out!

I love the Midnight Louie series and wish she would get them out more often! Of course, I am a "cat lover" and I just love Louie's personality - a little bit arrogant!

If you have not read any of the Midnight Louie Books by author Carole Nelson Douglas, you are missing out on an entertaining, and incredible series. Louie is a crime solving master along with his partner and self proclaimed long loast daughter Louise.. He takes care of a cast of characters that always seem to find trouble in their hometown of Las Vegas. There is mystery,magic,intrigue,sex and love. One is held spellbound by the mysteries that unfold as told by the master crime solver of all time, Mr. Midnight Louie. Here's the best part...Louie has black fur and four legs and he can out-think and out-smart any human on this planet. This is witty,clever and heartwarming for any cat lover who loves mysteries as well as anyone looking for some clever twists and turns to keep them guessing about "Who Done It."

Louie; I don't know what I'd do without you...keep on rocking!!

Any thought that humans are top species on this planet must go out of the window with this excellent series of cat-assisted crime novels. Without the felines, where would the humans be? Carole Nelson Douglas' writing is very witty. Characterisation is fascinating and I love the way there is a running thread of mystery all the way through this series. I hope that all will be revealed when we finally reach Z and Temple sorts her love life out!

I'm a cat lover to begin with, so this might come out sounding more than a touch biased. My first exposure to ML was Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit. I enthusiastically recommend it, it's got the King, it's got Las Vegas, it's a mystery and most of all it's got Midnight Louie! I have since gone on to read Catnap, Pussyfoot, Cat on a Blue Monday and Cat in a Flamingo Fedora, which is notable for the climactic abduction and forced vasectomy of our hero ML. A damn shame that, since in her debut in Cat on a Blue Monday, Louie's long-lost daughter Midnight Louise alias Caviar, revealed her lack of desire for motherhood and breeding. If only the family line could be continued! we all need more such cats as Midnight Louie, to say nothing of Temple Barr's need as well as that of Las Vegas in general. My basic point, do yourself a big favor and start collecting the ML series today!! Talk about being worth every penny. I'd gladly grab up every title myself if I ever hit the Lotto jackpot!

I'm a cat lover to bgin with, so this might come out sounding more than a touch biased. My first exposure to ML was Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit. I enthusiastically reccomend it, it's got the King, it's got Las Vegas, it's a mystery and most of all it's got Midnight Louie! I have since gone on to read Catnap, Pussyfoot, Cat on a Blue Monday and Cat in a Flamingo Fedora, which is notable for the climactic abduction and forced vasectomy of our hero ML. A damn shame that, since in her debut in Cat on a Blue Monday, Louie's long-lost daughter Midnight Louise alias Caviar, revealed her lack of desire for motherhood and breeding. If only the family line could be contiuned! we all need more such cats as Midnight Louie, to say nothing of Temble Barr's need as well as that of Las Vegas in general. My basic point, do yourself a big favor and start collecting the ML series today!! Talk about being worth every penny. I'd gladly grab up every title myself if I ever hit the Lotto jackpot!

If you read mystery stories, as I do, to provide logic in an often illogical world, Cat in an Indigo Mood isn't going to meet that demand. Douglas' books are clever and quirky, fun and fantastic--but never filled with logic and deduction in the traditional 'mystery novel' sense. The characters themselves are an odd mixture of strange traits and exotic behaviors. Many of them don't really fit into the plot line, and have no reason for being in the novel, other than being delightfully flamboyant and unusual. The reader must accept this and admire them for what they are in and of themselves. But don't expect these creatures to further the plot, or even reappear again in this novel. And expect some of the characters to be dogs and cats who are smarter and more believable than their human counterparts. When I am in Las Vegas, I am always aware that the city I see is a total amusement, built for that reason only. There are gondolas through shopping malls and volcanos atop buildings, garnished with neon and feather exotica. The Midnight Louie mystery series is a lot like that: a lot of enjoyable fuss and floss, an amusement that defies reality.

Three murders with 3 different, yet interconnected victims, a more humanizing look at Det. Molina, an exciting and fresh detour for Matt, and a new beguiling addition to the cast help this latest Midnite Louie outing succeed where the preceding book felt off-kilter. The mystery itself is engrossing and kept me guessing as to whodunit. I'm tempted to recommend it to the beginner in the series because it is such a well-rounded story, but one should probably still stick with starting at the beginning to understand character backgrounds, etc. Good to see Temple and Matt working together as friends to solve the mystery, and Molina soliciting Max's help (on the romantic side, one wonders exactly who is going to end up with whom?) One element I *really* appreciated was that, by this 10th book, Molina 'gets' and even appreciates the feline detecting connection!

This is another fine book by Argyris. I think this, in addition to "Strategic Organizational Change" by Beitler, is very helpful. (Beitler has an outstanding chapter on how to evaluate consultants.)

I recommend everything that Chris Argyris writes. This is no exception. This book has insight about management advice that reminds me of the work of Alfred Kieser at the University of Mannheim (Germany). I highly recommend the work of both Argyris and Kieser.

Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"

The author presents tools to examine advices from executives, change consultants, academics, etc., and offers four basic tests for the actionability of advice. The good advice should specify the detailed, concrete behaviors required to achieve the intended consequences; it must be crafted in the form of designs that contain causal statements; people must have, or be able to be taught, the concepts and skills required to implement those causal statements; and the context in which it is to be implemented does not prevent its implementation.

Argyris' theory of good advice, being highly practical and actionable, is based on the author's theoretical framework of "Model-II", exposed in his book "Organizational Learning II", co-authored with Donald Schoen.

The book does also contain a brilliant section about effective strategic choices, written by Roger Martin in very friendly tone. A high-quality strategic choice, according to Martin, possesses four key attributes: it is genuine; it is sound; it is actionable; and it is compelling. The section uncovers these principles in details.

The book shows the difference between external and internal employee commitment to the advices and helps to create and foster internal commitment.

You can test the actionability of the advices given in this book using these advices themselves.

I would recommend "Organizational Learning II: Theory, Method and Practice" prior to reading this book. I would also recommend "Leading the Revolution" by Gary Hamel in addition to these books.

Since you have an idea what this book is about from the other reviewers, I'll stick to my opinion of it rather than rehash what others have written.

It helped me a lot to know a bit of Argyris' other works (see his articles in Harvard Business Review for the quickest review), and also, to have read the works he critiques. While he always has such superb insights, including asking all the right questions that expose gaps in the business guru's works, because of the writing style (what it leaves out and what jumps it makes), it requires a bit of background if you're not familiar with his main points.

In any case, anyone who fancies him/herself a business consultant, or anyone who gives advice in any context, professionally or even to partners/kids/neighbors, should check out what Argyris has to say. You may find that you're not having the effect you believe you are. And that effect is like waking up from sleepwalking down the middle of a dark but busy road at night, without a flashlight.

Chris Argyris says that management advice - the content of countless seminars by management consultants and human resource professionals - rests upon a discrepancy. The goal of a more democratic workplace with empowered, internally-driven workers contradicts the actual actions executives take to produce this result. Argyris contends that much leadership, decision-making, corporate change and management advice lacks critical thinking. He urges executives to seek specific, testable, actionable advice. Role-playing and numerous examples show how advice givers may fail to understand the nature of the problems they're addressing. This book is valuable in helping managers identify flawed advice and understand why so many management initiatives fail. However, the author's own recommendations suffer from the same lack of testability. It just may not be possible to test for the effects of specific advice in complex situations. Still, this is an important book because it urges executives to think critically about the guidance they are given. We at getAbstract recommend this book to managers and to those who advise them.

I donated this book to charity after reading only the first 15 pages. I've read several books on General George Patton but this is the only disappointing one.

When i was in high-school, i read bits and pieces of this book. Now that i have grown, i have a greater appreciation, and am enjoying the book much more. I would recommend the book to anyone wanting to learn to be a leader.

General George S. Patton, Jr. was one of the greatest heroes this country has ever produced. In addition, he was also one of the most misunderstood. Many thought he was hated by his men, but the truth is that his men loved him. Porter B. Williamson served with General Patton in the I Armored Corps in 1942. Although he did not follow Patton across the Atlantic, Williamson had instilled in him the principles that would follow him for the rest of his life. This book is the best collection of the leadership principles and philosophies of General George S. Patton. Minus the profanity that Patton made famous, this book uses many speeches and talks to the troops that exemplify the leadership principles that helped Patton lead his men to victory. This book is highly recommended for anyone in a position of leadership, and is must reading for anyone seeking a management position.

Gen. Patton often proudly stated that "you have to take the enemy by the nose and kick them in the butt". This book is Gen. Patton's Kick in the butt. Most readers know Gen. Patton as "Ole Blood and Guts" or as the general that slapped a soldier. These and other myths about one of America's greatest leaders are dispelled by a soldier who was there! Gen. Patton loved his men and his leadership style revolved around keeping them alive. Learn how Gen. Patton was fourty years ahead and shoulders above by reading this simple account of his philosphies in story that makes you wish you were there.

General Patton is here for the next generation of managers and CEO's. Wonderfully written in a style that made me feel I was there. I lived the experiences Mr Williamson lived with Patton, and I have learned. One of the best 'how to' mgt books available. I only wish I had found it sooner...

If you are like me and don't know the first (or second) thing about the nuts and bolts of kitchen remodeling, then this book is a good starting place. As other reviewers have noted, this book is short on actual design advice; however, I found the information about flooring, cabinet, countertop, and lighting options useful in helping steer me to suitable design decisions for me. For example, I had been thinking about installing a natural wood floor. After reading the chapter on flooring options, I am now looking at tile - an option more suitable for my lifestyle. For a relatively small investment (I bought a used copy), I received valuable information. And, since I don't plan to do the work myself, I personally found the information about working with contractors helpful.

Although I was very impressed with his other two books (on plastic laminate countertops and cabinet refacing), this book really disappointed me. Kimball seemed to be trying to drum up business for contractors rather than providing a resource for professionals and DIYers who want to actually learn how to do the job.

As a long standing fan of Taunton books I found this book very disappointing. It is not so much the book to read to figure out how to do your kitchen, as it is all the stuff your designer/contractor would want you to know. There is virtually no discussion of how decisions in kitchen design are made, but a lot of discussion of things on which to decide (e.g. lighting), which are always ended with "there are professionals with whom you can consult." This is NOT a book for a DIY of any order, the author gives the definite impression that he thinks the home-owner is an idiot and an inconvenience.

Further, after reading them back to back I would suggest Taunton's other book Kitchens That Work: The Practical Guide to Creating a Great Kitchen, as a much better choice. It handles the design issues in a much more enjoyable (and less insulting) way, while still covering pretty much all the same information. I find, however, that for actual material decisions the Fine Homebuilding Archives have more useful information than either book. For us the only value in this book is the first three chapters: finding and hiring a contractor. If you're really planning a remodel these are probably useful to read, but don't expect the book to be inspirational.

This is a good book for starting to design a kitchen.

Note that it contains NO pictures of kitchens. What it does contain is a pretty detailed discussion of the different options in kitchen materials (countertops, cabinets, lighting, plumbing, appliances, etc.) in a fairly unbiased but experienced way. For example, the author talks about several items he has in his own kitchen, which he likes, problems, etc.

While the information is pretty good, the discussion does miss a few items. For example, he makes no mention of stainless steel or concrete as a countertop material. However, he does cover all the other usual countertop materials available (laminates, solid surface, stone, tile, etc.).

There is also a good discussion on selecting a designer or architect, and on selecting a contractor. Good list of quality resources at the end of hte book.

Over the past two years, my wife has purchased about every kitchen remodeling book there is (at least a dozen) and I've read every one. "The Kitchen Consultant" is clearly the best of the bunch if you're looking for practical, useful information about the many options and decisions that come with kitchen remodeling.

This book is NOT a kitchen design book and it is NOT loaded with beautiful kitchen photos (there are some drawings), and it is NOT a do-it-yourself remodeling manual, but it does what none of those kinds of books (at least that I've seen) do---it clearly explains how to find and work with a good kitchen designer, how to find, evaluate and work with a professional remodeler, and how to make informed choices about things like lighting, ventilation, cabinets, countertops, sinks, flooring, and appliances (there are chapters on each of those categories).

This book is obviously written by someone who knows his subject intimately (the author is a professional kitchen remodeler with 20 years of experience) and is able to present all the information it in a clear, organized, and easy to read manner.

Reading this book is like having a friend who is an experienced contractor come over and help you not only sort out all your options, but also give you his professional opinion and point out some things you may not have considered, but should.

The Kitchen Consultant helped us to make a lot of decisions. For example, it settled a long standing dispute my wife and I have had about the kind of refridgerator we should buy.

I've been using this book for months now and it has never let me down. This pocket consultant is packed with information and excellent.

The best thing about this book is the low price. Most of the commands in the book that I have tried are not correct or don't exist. Because of this, many examples examples do not work. There has to be a better reference for Exchange 207.

I was looking for a book that covers the differences between Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2007; and this book delivered. The author is clear, concise, and very easy to read. He covers everything you would want to know about Exchange 2007. The one issue I noticed is that he stated in several places that Exchange 2007 Standard Edition has a database limit of 16GB; in reality it is 16TB. Outside of this minor issue I highly recommend this book if you are new to Exchange Server, or are planning to upgrade to Exchange 2007.

This 560-page book doesn't quite fit in your pocket, but it is packed with useful information. Includes both GUI and command-line, and I've had no problems with the code samples. Clear and concise, this book has been a tremendous help.

Excellent book, precisely what I was looking for. I used this book in planning and setting up our Exchange 2007. Chock full of useful examples and lots of command line (and the examples do of course work without any problems.) It's a handy book which does just what it says.

Well worth reading if you are looking for some great basic information on starting a consulting business.

This is a good book for anyone considering starting a home-based consultancy. I have been cosluting for many years, the last ten or so from a home office. This is not an easy transition and I found the toolkit helpful in many ways.It would have been extremely useful had I had it when I started out many years ago. Useful when I made the change to a home office and I found it still full of useful things after 35 years in the business.For the consultant that operates alone this book should be on the reference shelf.(after it has been read of course!)
Murray Harvey

First heard about this book/author on LinkedIn. It is excellent and a great help as I start my own business.

This book is an excellent resource for consultants who are new to the field. Today, I have landed my first client using Alan Weiss' practical tips for success. I find the sample templates for proposals a great value as I learn what works best for me and what doesn't. I plan to use this book as a reference guide as I continue to grow my practice. I'd encourage you to purchase this book and use it to its full capability. Use this book along with others to build your library of useful resources. Great book!

Thanks Alan!

This book provides templates, checklists, forms and examples for implementing the ideas, techniques and strategies from the highly successful "Million Dollar Consulting". Guranteed to save you loads of time and enable you hit the ground running every time.

Being a Roseville Pottery collector for over ten years I have purchased all of Jim Jenkins guides. It is exciting to receive a price guide that is helpful, rather than the ones with prices that just go up slightly each year. He "Does Not" put in expermental patterns, for it is a waste of paper, and most peoples time. His prices, if you follow Ebay and other auctions, are in my opinion, the most up to date prices. I look forward each year for his new price guide, for I know the prices are researched, not just last years bumped a little. Jim, thanks so much for teaching all of us how important Roseville is, and keep up the good work.

I have been able to use this book quickly when I need quick reference prices at auctions. I could follow each item quickly as long as I had the number on the bottom of the piece, so I could know how much to bid. I also use the book to price my Roseville for resale. The 3 values they give helps me to be able to price my Roseville accordenly. I contacted the author to see when the next edition would come out and found that a new one will not be available for a year--DARN--The size makes it easy to carry--not big and cumbersome. A very nice booklet.

I have enjoyed this book with the various prices for the pottery. It is very usefull and I like having the numbers and prices at my fingers. As a new collector, I don't recognize all the patterns and the numbers in reference are very nice to have. I recommend this book to everyone. The levels of pricing are something everyone needs when shopping, it has kept me from spending too much on a low line piece and yet I have known when to give top dollar for a higher end item. It's convenient and well worth the money.

I have collected American Art pottery for five years. While this book has a "niche," its scope is too limited for my needs. The price guide is useful; however, it is often limited to certain colors, such as blue Magnolia or green Baneda, and ignores other colors. There are two picture galleries (Wisteria and Tuscany) and one small gallery of experimental glazes. Other Roseville product lines are not shown. Historical information is limited. For example, the discussion of Frank Ferrell is short on facts, dates, and product lines and long on the author's personal observations and impressions. Since I purchased volume V, I suppose that volumes I-IV have a similar format, as will subsequent volumes. Given that Roseville Pottery produced over 90 product lines, often with three colors, a Roseville collector would have to purchase multiple volumes ($21.95 each) to amass a comprehensive set of reference materials. For my money, that just does not add up.

This is a treasure. This is my first book on Roseville Pottery and it has been so informative. The information and layout of the book is compact and very easy to read and understand. It gives you current prices and a discussion of various lines of the pottery. Volumes could be written of this line of Pottery but this guide gives you quick and precise information and prices of the most common pieces of Roseville Pottery. I give it an A+++++.