Consultants Books

This book is not so good. It just states the things which should be obvious to anybody who is getting into business. One can learn more for free by just joinging some pro forums online.

I would consider this book required reading for anyone interested in ensuring their photography career is a profitable one! Focus On Profit is a sensible, easy read with a wealth of information about running a successful business.
The computer software "Photobyte" that is included with it has streamlined my business more than I can say.
I highly recommend this book.

Photography: Focus On Profit isn't just another beginner's how-to guide on taking or marketing pictures. Photography: Focus On Profit culls the industry's best practices, using software to put its lessons into practice. Photographers are given all the information needed to incorporate profitability into their efforts. Chapters provide specific guidelines geared to profitability, from buying equipment only when and as needed to generate an immediate payback, to defining a potential customer base. An essential, basic guide.

Beginner,amateur or professional; "Photography-Focus on Profit" by Tom Zimberoff is a must have for all photographers. Tom provides a written road map that is invaluable to not just the individual, but to photographers as a whole. He guides you from the basics of starting out; continues through the do's and dont's on up to maintaining profitability in this tight market.

That's not all. He also includes the "PhotoByte" program. This amazing software keeps track of all assignments from birth to conception. It guides you step by step.

Want to know how much profit you have made from a particular image? It does it! It keeps track of all profits in general and by individual photographs (it even displays the photo). Want to know which customers still owe money, which one's pay on time and how much profit (or loss) from a particular customer? It does that as well.

Don't want customers seeing the markup on your services? Enter the item(s) and Photobyte shows it on the screen and calculates everything for you... automatically. It even add's the sales tax for you! Keeps track of equipment (with serial numbers), customers, jobs...

This program is heaven sent which means Tom is an angel. If you need direction then this book will give it to you. The program is just icing on the cake.

As a former photographer for the military in Hawaii; I moved to Puert Rico to start anew due to the economic slowdown caused by the 9/11 tragedy. I've worked for many people but never on my own (photography). I had the practical photo experience. But the business side was a stretch and I could only go by "general" business practices.

Tom's book showed me that "general" does not apply to photography. "Focus on Profit" is exactly that. "Focused".

Thanks Tom. This is the best Photography business book I have ever read. It stays on my desk at all times.

What a gem! This book is for anyone who has remotely considered photgraphy as a business. A straight talk step by step guide to setting up and maintaining your operation right down to properly pricing your fees so you make a consistant profit. A great desk reference every photography entreprenuer should not be without.

A great book! I have given this as a gift to two brides to plan their weddings. What difference does it make if the author eloped or not? We do not need to know her reasons. Get past that point and stick to the advice or information given in the book. A good writer researches his/her topic and does not necessarily have to have "lived" through the exact same experience.

This book was a pleasure to read and was incredibly helpful in my wedding preparations!!!!

I've admired Leah Ingram's other books on wedding-related topics (she's a recognized expert in this area--and I've given several of her other books as gifts to soon-to-be brides!) so when it came time to plan MY wedding, I couldn't resist buying this book. I wasn't disappointed--it's chock full of useful tips that were relevant even if you're planning a wedding overseas. I recommend it highly--don't let the posts from the previous poster dissuade you. This author really knows her stuff!

The Portable Wedding Consultant is a great find...and its reference to "saving your time money and sanity" is completely on the mark. Great tips and advice...and a terrific voice of reason during the insanity of planning a wedding. I bought another copy for my sister-in-law as an engagement present and she's already told me how helpful it is. Any bride-to-be...or groom-to-be for that matter...needs this book.

The Portable Wedding Consultant - Invaluable Advice from the Industry's Experts for Saving Your Time, Money and Sanity, by Leah Ingram. Just released in 1998 offering advice on everything from Bridesmaid Dresses (I let them choose their own), to Changing Your Name (still thinking about it), to the Honeymoon ('twas fabulous!) This book was a great resource, especially due to it's chapter on internet sites and resources, including: - the automatic wedding speechwriter - the site for Canada's Wedding Bells magazine - comprehensive wedding resource site in a magazine-style format.

If Mr. Weisman had used the title above, it would have given the reader a better idea of the book's content. While eviscerating the entire Neo-Con movement and being fairly uniquivocal concerning the failures of the Bush Administration, Weisman again and again explains away Perle's culpability. Where others are duplicitous and downright evil, Perle is charming and naive. The Perle explanations that Weisman accepts without repudiation are absurd, bordering on insulting.
Some of Weisman's CBS "Journalism" chops are displayed in moments like a Reagan Gorbachev pre-summit where Reagan is described as sitting with a look of confusion and fear on his face. No attribution. Weisman wasn't there. Makes good TV, I guess - but not a very good book. You'll find the hard cover on the bargain racks for $4.99 so don't order it for more.

Prince of Darkness is a must-read for anyone interested in the fundamentals of Washington politics, particularly the conservative side. Well-written, never boring, always enlightening. Highly recommended.

A real only-in-America story about a man who came from next to nothing, yet rose to command the attention of the most powerful in Washington. Although despised by plenty along the way, Richard Perle became the principal shaper of a US foreign policy destined to affect the next millennium, if we last that long.

Told with inimitable style by the author, clearly an insightful reporter and master story teller, "Prince of Darkness" gets under Richard Perle's fingernails and also the reader's, regardless of political persuasion. This is a good one for both sides of the aisle. Check it out.

This book gets right to the heart of why America is in the position it is in today. Perle is not an elected politician and has never run for public office. He is a "whisperer." He whispers in the ears of politicians. He does not have to account to anyone. Yet, he wields the kind of influence that puts our troops in Iraq and for what ? So the big boys can make a fortune on weapons deals and reconstruction ?
Alan Weisman has written a quite a report not only on Richard Perle but the behind the scenes workings in the Washington. I don't know why network news has not followed this trail. Loss of access ?

Alan Weisman's profile on Richard Perle is a careful examination into the life of one of Washington's most feared politicians. Although the media loves to hate Perle, Weisman paints a well-balanced picture, citing Perle's achievements in areas like arms control, as well as his complicity in going to War with Iraq. Weisman's seamless rendering of the facts with quotes and Perle's personal anecdotes makes me feel like a real insider. I own a copy and am already on my second read of the biography.

I have read them all, and this is by far the best.

I found Michael Lane's book "Secrets of the Wealth Makers" to be very informative and an easy read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in accumulating wealth or understanding how to protect and transfer their existing wealth.

As one of the Registered Investment Advisors (RIA's) interviewed by Michael Lane for his newest book, "Secrets of the Wealth Makers", it was with a certain level of excitement that I spent my weekend reading it cover to cover. Although I recognized some of the other advisors by name, I had never met nor talked to any of them. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised by the consistency of our advice.

It is important for any reader of "Secrets of the Wealth Makers" to understand that this is not a technical manual on the latest investment strategies or a "how to" book on managing your money. There are plenty of those out there, even though most of the recommended strategies are far from proven. In contrast, Lane focuses on an investor's human relationship with the investment marketplace. It looks at both the intellectual as well as the emotional issues that individuals must deal with to be successful investors. In keeping with his relationship theme, Lane does an excellent job of helping the reader understand the role a professional Registered Investment Advisor plays in the search for financial peace-of-mind.

This book is also helpful in identifying the issues that need to be considered when an investor selects a professional advisor. But don't confuse this book with one of the many available about investment gurus. None of the advisors cited by Lane here professes to be a guru and, in fact, Lane seems to suggest that successful gurus (over the long run) don't exist. Instead, Lane identifies "top advisors" as those who are genuinely concerned about their clients' well being. These advisors clearly understand the human side of investment issues.

One of the best elements of "Secrets of the Wealth Makers" is that it encourages readers to raise their expectations of service from any investment professional they're considering. In this day, with everyone from stock brokers to insurance agents to bankers calling themselves financial advisors, prospective clients need as much information about evaluating these professionals as they do about investment techniques.

"Secrets of the Wealth Makers" also provides broad coverage of most of the wealth management strategies currently in use, and has an excellent index for reference. With Michael Lane's easy to read style, combined with interesting stories from top money managers, you'll find this book not only a quick read, but one you'll want to refer back to often in your search for a professional investment advisor or in evaluating your existing advisor.

Another good book you might consider is "Twenty Five Myths You've Got To Avoid If You Want To Manage Your Money Right" by Jonathan Clements. It is real information about the real world of investing, debunking the hype.

This book does not convey any new ideas, but is a good overall summation of some very sound wealth creation techniques and theories.

"If I were a rich man," goes the song. Well, if you were, this is how you would invest. Michael F. Lane draws on the advice of top money managers and financial planners to help readers in five key areas: 1) wealth planning, 2) wealth accumulation, 3) wealth without tax, 4) wealth transfer and 5) wealth protection and preservation. The book is aimed at the individual investor with a relative lack of experience in the financial marketplace. The broad overview includes basics of planning your portfolio, E-trading, making investments more tax efficient (for U.S. investors) and estate planning. This solid guide emphasizes fundamentals, although sometimes the discussion becomes repetitious. And, when different advisers give contradictory advice, the diversity of opinion can seem confusing. Lane might have done more summarizing and synthesizing, but we [...] recommend his solid book as a generally good guide for prospective and new investors who want a reason to sing.

Picked up a copy of Shakedown Beach after reading the New York Times' review of it. The book actually lived up to the review. Great satire -- at a time when the country desperately needs some humor -- and an interesting look at how political operatives work behind the scenes. Sometimes a bit over the top (just like a Carl Hiaasen novel), but overall, a very fun and fast read. Perfect for summer, perfect for coping with the coming election.

Shakedown Beach has it all: mobsters, crooked politicians, a true 21st Century Femme Fatale, and-- just for good measure-- a former pro wrestler turned private eye that might just be Dezenhall's best character yet!

Character development really is Dezenhall's strength... he captures everything that's good and bad in human nature, adds a touch of "Jersey" and mixes it all together to form a cast so real that you will feel like you are literally "down the shore" as they say in the Garden State.

This book belongs on anyone's summer reading list, and what a great primer for the upcoming election season!

I discovered Dezenhall when I read his first novel, "Money Wanders," loved the follow-up "Jackie Disaster," and have been really looking forward to this latest offering in his series of excellent Jersey-based mysteries. "Shakedown Beach," featuring the return of the wonderfully developed central character--disgraced political pollster Jonah Eastman--is a masterpiece, and Dezenhall's best work to date. I actually read it in one long sitting because I could not put the thing down...(seriously)

"Shakedown Beach" is loaded with political chicanery, suspense, scandal, love (both the 'good' kind and the 'not so good' kind), and a host of mobster-types and other wonderfully bizarre characters ("Chief Willie Thundercloud" and "Irv the Curve" being my favorites).

Probably the best thing about it, though--and something I love about this author--is that yes, this is a serious suspense / mystery-type book, but it is also HILARIOUS throughout. Lots of incredibly clever and even laugh-out-loud moments.

Great book, great author. This one should be turned into a movie.

Jonah Eastman, a can do political operative had a whopping problem:a candidate who wont tell him the truth,a half wit trying to kill him and an election he must win.When his philandering client Rebound Rothman switches his position on riverboat gambling Jonah gets the picture_someone has some very damaging photos of Rebound.
What Jonah has going for him is the wisdom passed down from his mob grandfather, Mickey Price.He calls in Chief Willie Thundercloud,an ex wrestler with a bunch of local muscle, and Willie runs interference while Jonah uncovers,literally,the Governors secret_a molten tart named Simone Lava who the Governor has stashed in a lovers lane motel practically under the Atlantic City Boardwalk.While the scheming Governor demands that Jonah trash his opponent, an uptight WASP named Digby Stahl,Jonah suspects that Governor Rothmans problems with Simone Lavar are only the tip of the volcano.Maybe the Governor needs a get out of jail free card.Working in concert with a hot shot reporter known collquially as Barium Enema_Jonah delves into the long ago death of Nora Kelly,a one time flame of Governor Rothman that prematurely burned out.Piece by piece Jonah is drawn into a twenty year old mystery of murder ,lust, ambition and retribution that he must solve to salvage his own self esteem and save his sinking marriage.Relentlessly with a killer on his tail Jonah pursues the truth ,figuring if it wont set him free at least it will provide sufficient cash to take Rebound off his back and an honor a few outstading markers.
Written with the pulse of Atlantic City beating beneath the surface,SHAKEDOWN BEACH,is an extrordinary tale of good and evil providing readers an adrenalin rush as powerful , provacative and surprising as a dive off the Atlantic City Pier.

New Jersey Governor "Rebound" Rothman runs for the senate with plans to go for the White House next. However, Rebound has three-decade-old skeletons in his closet. He has hidden away one female intern, former township beauty queen winner and All American bimbo Simone Lava, in Atlantic City's Celebrity Motel, run down since the first Johnson Administration. . However, someone films Rebound's tryst proclivities.

Rebound hires pollster Jonah Eastman to fix his senate run. Jonah handed Rebound the governorship when he painted the opponent as causing a hurricane the size of Asia that destroyed rural South Jersey (do not laugh; there really is a rural Jersey). Spinning the assignation film is easy. Dealing with Rebound's support of riverboat gambling in light of a credibility gap involving crooked casino owners is complex because investigative reporter Barri "Barium Enema" Embry needs political exposés to connive his way to cross the Hudson. Jonah brings in the troops, damage control expert Chief Willie Thundercloud and nonagenarian former mob enforcer Irv the Curve to spin a tale that Machiavelli would appreciate.

As with JACKIE DISASTER, SHAKEDOWN BEACH is a terrific look at modern day image making that our leaders spend fortunes on to include painting the opponent in a bad light. Truth is meaningless as Jonah and his associates know that for Rebound to win they must provide an Atlantic Ocean size lie or two about their client and his opponent. Witty, humorous, but in many ways frightening, the story line will shake readers as they realize Madison Avenue not oil runs the country. Eric Dezenhall makes New Jersey the spin capital of the world with a tale well worth reading especially with the election coming soon.

Harriet Klausner

Excellent stuff. I belong to the Mystery Book Club in the Ypsilanti District Library (sometimes Ann Arbor lets us read their authors) and this was our June read.

A nice story of the NC2A, The Big House, murder most foul, and the struggling relationship that Anneke has with herself. Ah. To surrender to love . . . or not? Susan certainly has the Ann Arbor crowd going. I only got 20 pages before I put on my smoking jacket and put a Miles Davis CD on the Sony. (Sorry it was only a Sony. I wonder if there's a help group in A squared I can join?)

Great fun. Tight descriptions. Lots of characters (don't you love Zoe?) seamlessly introduced. 5 stars. Larry Scantlebury

This mystery takes place at the University of Michigan in the mid-'90s. Anyone around town then will find a lot of fun, familiar elements in this book. Early on in the book, a meeting is held in Michigan Stadium, which is unusual but not unknown since the stadium is generally open during the day. For the uninitiated, "maize" is the specific shade of yellow that Michigan uses in its school colors.

There is a lot of journalistic intrigue in the book, too, as a writer for the campus paper (the Michigan Daily) competes for scoops with the Detroit dailies. All in all, it's a fun read.

Computer consultant, Anneke Haagen, is anticipating a special weekend of football festivity, especially since her live-in love, police lieutenant and former pro football star, Karl Genesko, will be honoured at the event. But the fun turns to suspicion and unease when student reporter, Zoe Kaplan, breaks a story about recruitment impropriety at the University of Michigan. Unease turns to shock when a National Collegiate Athletic Association investigator is murdered with a flagpole through his stomach.

Although I don't know much about football, I do know it has lots of rules. Susan Holtzer's BLEEDING MAIZE AND BLUE taught me that the recruitment of promising athletes appears to have even more rules. In cities like Ann Arbor, Michigan, where football is a huge deal, breaking recruitment rules is almost a deadly sin, one that ruins careers and reputations.

For some, these are high stakes indeed, but they aren't for Anneke and this is part of the problem with this novel. There was far too little tension for the protagonist. Anneke's only just met the people who have the most to lose by the recruitment scandal, not to mention a murder charge. Despite some reference to Karl being a suspect, this angle isn't pursued. Other than befriending Zoe and satisfying her own curiosity, Anneke has no real stake in solving the crimes. Another problem is that the subplots aren't developed. We do learn that Anneke has her own consulting business, a new home that needs repairs, and a part-time housekeeper who clearly doesn't like her, but other than flitting in and out of her office, showing a friend her home, and dealing with the housekeeper, we see too little of Anneke's life. The tension could have been ramped up by giving Anneke her own work deadlines, renovation nightmares, or real threats to her and Karl's safety. Still, the main plot held together well and for those who love football, it's an entertaining read.

I am a cozy mystery addict, and extremely hard to please. This book by Susan Holtzer satisfied my craving for cozy and passed my picky muster. The plotting is a joy, the characters are well-developed and the humor is chuckle-making. Bleeding Maize and Blue is warm, well-written and just too much fun.

An offbeat entry to the series - the various mysteries are more engrossing than the feline hero for once. The reader gets to hear Max's side of the story (one of 2 men PR-person and sometime-sleuth Temple Barr is attracted to) while getting caught up in a mystery involving a haunted house and a seance. There's also a fascinating sidebar with Temple's other fellow, Matt, and his glimpse of an-all-too-real ghost from his past. The overall atmosphere of the book is rather haunting and melancholy, marred only by Louie's slightly ridiculous take on things. I'm fond of the feline, but kitty seanaces? A little too over the top for me....

Midnight Louie is known as a big, bad, streetwise kind of guy, but in his latst antic adventure, the beguiling cat-about-town shows his sensitive side. In "Cat with an Emerald Eye" both feline super sleuth Louie and his human companion, Las Vegas public relations woman Temple Barr, find themselves communing with the occult, and Louie, needless to say, proves to be the more adept. "I am beginning to think that I am as superior at seeing what is not there as I used to be at seeing what was there," the super sleuth meows. There is indeed a murder involved...but you get the feeling that the murder is almost incidental in Carole Nelson Douglas' mysteries. The real mystery is which of her two beaux will win Temple-Mystifying Max the magician, who is "like a volcano, unpredictable and exciting," or the ex-priest, Matt Devine,"who made her feel so utterly secure it was...divine. Max was caffeine, Matt was...chamomile tea. Max was edgy nerves, Matt was nirvana." The two men are linked not only by their love for Temple but also by two dead bodies, a connection that is played out slowly, book by book. In this one, Matt believes he glimpses one erst-while corpse, his wicked stepfather, making his way through Las Vegas. But the advantage, nevertheless, belongs to Max, for whom the dead magician/medium was a mentor. Though Max "needed to keep secrets about himself the way some other peole bled personal data like information-age hemophiliacs," he does, at last, give Temple some insight into his teenage summer in Ireland, when all his troubles started and he got into hot water with the IRA and involved with Interpol. But the motely crew of psychic suspects, Temple's tempestuous love life (not to mention her world-class shoe collection) and Max and Matt's past and present problems are just part of the fun. It's hard not to be charmed by Temple's eccentric landlady and her astral-projecting cat Karma ("the little piece of pussycat pixiedom" Louie calls Klinkerball). Louie's semi-retired father, Three O'Clock Louie, also makes an appearance, as do shades of Elvis, Amelia Earhart, Orson Wells and the late, great Harry Houdini. You never know what madness and mayhem you'll find in Douglas' mysteries, but you can be sure it will be wild, witty and utterly irresistible.--reviewed by Alix Madrigal

I have read all of Ms Douglas' Midnight Louie books to date and thoroughly enjoy them. There are two different points of view in the chapters of her books. Some are from the point of view of our heroine Miss Temple Barr, a Vegas PR agent, and some are written from the point of view of her very streetwise cat Midnight Louie. I really enjoy reading his chapters and their uniquely slanted opinions of all things cat and human. Somehow Miss Barr and Louie always find themselves in the middle of a murder mystery. And of course, Emerald Eye is no exception. As much as I love this series, however, I must rank this particular volume a bit low as the whole concept seemed a bit bizarre to me. Seances in general don't do much for me, and a seance held with the idea of raising the spirit of Harry Houdini - too much. All the spiritual and new age frou-frou were things I could happily do without. Also there is a back-of-the-story tale going on with Temple and her two loves Matt and Max which I am enjoying following. This volume made little progress with that story line and I missed it. If this is your first Midnight Louie book, don't judge the whole series on the basis of this one. Check out some of the earlier volumes, or better yet, start with the first and read them all

Cat With an Emerald Eye sees that irresistable inter-species team of Temple Barr and Midnight Louie, PI up to their respective heels and paws in the occult when a psychic is murdered at a seance held to contact the ghost of Harry Houdini. When it turns out that the victim was really a magician attempting to expose phony psychics, this dynamic pair is off searching for the killer. Temple must turn to one of her beaux, the Mystifying Max Kinsella, a friend of the victim while juggling her feelings for Matt Devine, the handsome ex-priest and martial arts practitioner. Louie, on the other hand, must reluctantly rely on Karma, the mystical Birman who lives with Temle's landlady, Electra Lark. While Temple and Max search for the killer in the victim's own files, Matt sees a ghost from his past-the once and future Cliff Effinger. Meanwhile, Louie's life is complicated, not only by murder but by his relationship with his daughter, Midnight Louise, his own father, Three O'Clock Louie and the revelation that his now has his own neamisis, a dude who threatens his very future. Once again, the reader is taken on a roller coaster ride in this, the sixth book in the Midnight Louie series and left wanting more, more mysteries and more of the characters Douglas so skillfully creates.

An insightful way to understand and gain more value from consultants from a client perspective, and a useful guide for consultants to understand how to improve the method of delivery.

A rather misleading sub-title aiming to be controversial when the content is actually informative and practical. The tone is sometimes too jocular for the content.

Very interesting book, gives a great view, for a lot of people a not very well known view, on the consultancy market + guidelines how to get the most out of consultants and not to be conned.

This is one of the most unusual business books I have ever read. It simultaneously takes the view that management consultants are a necessary and helpful resource, and that they are also dangerous to the health of your business and career. Then, he seeks to innoculate you against every possible mistake that you may make which could turn management consulting into a danger (at at least a waste of time and money). All of that sounds very high minded, doesn't it? Yet he uses a language that has definite shock value (at least to these American ears). Management consultants are described as pros (as in prostitutes) and cons (as in con artists and seemingly, convicts). Yet the author's perspective includes having been a management consultant for six years with a reputable firm.

To me, the most valuable part of this book was a survey taken with alumni of the London Business School to find out their views of and experiences with management consultants, both as consultants and as customers. Whether these experiences are the same as what happens in other countries or not, the results make for fascinating reading. Both the consultants and the clients are skeptical of each other. The consultants think the clients are hiring them for the wrong reasons and assignments. The clients think the consultants are uninformed and unoriginal. I certainly intend to reread these findings from time to time, to better understand what my own clients might be thinking. I hope these reminders will help encourage me to asks questions and speak in a way that will surface these concerns so that they can be addressed in a way that best serves the client's interests.

The basic point of the survey is that clients generally see management consultants as adding value. On the other hand, clients also see much room for improvement from their consultants. In particular, clients see the consultants as mainly looking out for themselves rather than for their clients. That reflects a traditional supplier-customer relationship rather than a professional-to-client relationship.

On the whole, this book adds value for clients and consultants. A consultant will do a better job for a client who follows the advice in this book. A client who follows this advice will be more pleased with the consulting results. Consultants and clients will both make more money. Clients will see their firms and careers do better.

The only place where I objected to the harsh tone of the book was in chapter 9 about becoming a consultant. There is a survey there to test your selfishness versus your selflessness (and interest in your clients) that encourages you to be selfish if you want to be a consultant. This is clearly an attempt at humor, but I think it will confuse and mislead some. The rest of the book is encouraging better practices, and this cuts against that purpose.

Here are some of Mr. Ashford's key principles for clients.

1. Define the business issue. What are you trying to change and what do you want to get as a result?

2. What help do you need from consultants that you cannot accomplish internally?

3. Write down down your answers to (1) and (2) so you can share them with the consultants, and keep your purpose foremost in your mind as you hire and work with the consultants.

4. Check for commitment in your organization.

5. Select the consulting firms that may be able to help you.

6. Prepare those firms to be able to create proposals for you.

7. Get proposals that you can evaluate compared to your purpose.

8. Select who you want to work with by checking out those who will actually do the work, relevant references, the capability of the firm for handling your problem, and the emotional chemistry.

9. Consider how you want the results implemented.

10. Confirm the plan for doing the project and implementing it.

11. Mobilize your own resources to help the project.

12. Make time to work on the project and stay in touch.

13. Review, challenge, and understand.

14. Insist the project get refocused whenever it drifts away from your purpose and plan.

15. Keep the consultants focused on the completion steps you need.

16. Have a formal post-project review with the consultants so you can both learn how it could have been done better. There may still be things that they can provide you that you don't realize.

My reaction to this list was that this was a big burden on the client. But I realized that clients of mine have used a similar approach when they needed a great answer from the consulting project, and they got it because of using this process. Obviously, if the project is more minor, you can spend less time on each element, but you will probably be rewarded if you avoid skipping steps. When time is precious, you will have to consider whether or not you have the time to devote to properly commissioning and supervising the project. Perhaps you don't have the time, and should not do the project.

If you would like to have a good laugh at the expense of consultants, this book will also provide you with a lot of fun. It has the wicked humor that is often found in British comedies.

After you have read the book, I also urge you to think about places where you are not going to be as successful as you might be without external help, whether from partners, allies, or consultants. Then think through this process to see whether consultants as a temporary resource are the right people to use or whether you need the more permanent access to a partner or ally.

In any case, good luck in getting better results.

As an old consultant myself, this book is revealing and foremost, extremely entertaining. Not only does the author capture the management consultancy business, but he also describes the management of the "victims" very entertaining. Unfortunately, what he describes is very common, not only on the part of the MC business, but also of its clients that in reality should know better.

When I'm bored (or expecting to be bored) or have to handle longer negotiations, this book always accompany me, its great fun at the hotel room, and every time I look into it, I seem to learn a trick or two that can be useful.

In short, whatever your persuassion, buy it and read it, if for nothing else, it is very well written.

I bought this book 8 years ago and since that time it has been very useful in order to show value to my customers in our consultant assignments.

Phillips provides a good, general overview of the metrics to consider in evaluating the return on consulting engagements. However, the book could have been significantly improved by the addition of at least one complete example of an application of the suggested method for calculating ROI, including a more in-depth treatment of the many survey methods suggested. Further, some of the snippets of the quantitative examples are simplified to the point of being misleading. Finally, the concept of the scorecard, which was part of the title of the book, was not developed in the text.

As any consultant - and author Jack Phillips - will tell you, the days when a consultant could make a living by sharing the latest trendy approaches to business are long, long gone. Today's executives expect consultants to adhere to the same standards of accountability that consultants themselves have advocated for years. Therefore, the ability to determine a consulting project's return on investment is an important skill for both executives and the consultants they hire. Phillips offers a practical approach to ROI that somehow avoids consulting jargon and complex formulas. Although it lacks case studies that show how to overcome specific obstacles to data collection and interpretation, this is a valuable book that fills in an important piece of the consulting puzzle. Best of all, it does so in a common-sense way that can be understood by carbon-based life forms, therefore we [...] recommend this book to consultants and those who hire them.

Just like the soup, this book is mmmm...mmmm...good!

As a client, the book provided a very clear guideline to keep consultants accountable. I now feel that I will know when hiring a consultant is both a good idea and cost-effective. Knowing that I had read this book, our consultants were able to better communicate with us. Overall, incredible!

With Cool Cache Patricia Smiley has again elevated the female detective genre, and her own work as well. In her fourth novel of the series, heroine Tucker Sinclair is on the hunt for a chocolate loving killer while simultaneously trying to protect her pal and part-time employee Eugene Barstock. Against her advice Eugene has gone deep undercover, so deep she can't find him. He is searching for that same murderer, but for reasons of his own. Eugene has something to prove to himself and to others if they'll only listen. But is it worth his life?

This is engaging if standard fare. What sets Cool Cache apart is Tucker's very real persona fraught with doubts, decisions, and lost love. The character is so genuine and appealing you want to ring her up at her beachside home and arrange lunch at a Santa Monica bistro or an Inglewood taco stand. And that's the other Smiley trademark - knowledge of the Southern California scene from geography, to history, to the LA attitude. You almost need sunglasses and tanning lotion when you read a Smiley novel. For sure you need to fasten your seat belt.

Cool Cache shows us a more somber Tucker Sinclair than we've seen previously, but she's all the more believable for it. If you can't cruise the barrio, the beach and Rodeo Drive yourself, this book is the next best thing. And if you can visit those places, get the book anyway. Tucker Sinclair is just too much fun to miss.

Patricia has an amazing ability to swiftly bring in new characters and have them enhance the creativity of Tucker. She leaves you wanting more of this story.

Cool Cache is the fourth book in this very entertaining series that just keeps getting better. Tucker Sinclair, a great cast of characters and the authors habit of injecting actual business information into the series make it very entertaining.

Authors with the ability to interject real word business information into entertaining "who-done-its" are rare and Patricia Smiley has clearly joined their ranks. While this book is certainly not a business tutorial I do find books that provide insight into different businesses to be particularly enjoyable.

In this book Tucker becomes involved in both retail chocolate and the dating business while tracking down a murderer, and her missing assistant. Mix in some interesting slices of LA life and the continued development of a wonderful supporting cast and you have a great addition to the Tucker Sinclair series. This book is my favorite of the series to date and I can't wait for the next installment.

Not long after starting this book, I had a serious fit of chocolate-envy! Just reading "Cool Cache" may require either large infusions of chocolate (specifically truffles), or willpower of steel! This delightful new addition to Patty Smiley's Tucker Sinclair series is filled not only with mouth-watering chocolates to read about, but also a fascinating mystery.

Tucker Sinclair and Associates is a business-consulting firm, although the only "associate" besides Tucker is her male "executive assistant," Eugene. Keeping a close eye on her clients brings Tucker into a murder case involving a client, an upscale chocolatier in Beverly Hills, and a quirky clue, a rare green Quetzal feather, native to Guatemala, and symbol of an East Los Angeles gang. The narrative quickly gets more complex when Eugene decides to go undercover, sucking poor Tucker into the case, despite her best intentions to stay out of it.

So many things keep this mystery (and others in the series) from being banal, or a run-of-the-mill cozy. Smiley pulls in sub-plots about gang activity, stolen antiquities from Guatemala, and (besides the awe-inspiring candy) a role reversal, gender-wise, as Tucker is soon riding to the rescue of her intrepid male assistant. Woman to the Rescue! This is the fourth book in the series, yet, even though a part of a series, each book stands alone magnificently.

I would have loved to see a recipe or two in the book for making chocolates--but of course, I still recommend this book highly. It treats the readers intelligently, addresses awkward subject matter, and stays within the bounds of the rules of cozies with its amateur detectives, clever plot twists and dynamic dialog and characterizations. Cool Cache is certainly perfect reading for a hot summer day or for a cool spring evening!

by Laura Strathman Hulka
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women