Human Resources Books

Great book on managing people and their space in a technical environment. A must for technical managers.

Nice reminder on what should we do during project.
We all know these things, but often we forget on them.

I was surprised at how relevant this book still is more than 20 years after its initial publication. Depressingly, it seems the authors' suggestions have not been followed by many employers. I recently changed jobs and am in a cubicle for the first time. I have been struggling to think in my cubicle, and this book confirms my suspicion that it is my work space and not my brain that is causing the problem. Even when I am not being interrupted, I am always slightly on edge wondering when I will be interrupted. The down side of the book is that the solutions and suggestions for improvements are quite difficult to implement. I just finished the book tonight - I wonder if I will do anything differently tomorrow because of this book. Probably not - maybe the fun part of the book is grumbling about our common work situations.

Quick enjoyable read. Some interesting commentary on team dynamics and the social problems teams encounter. I wish more solutions/suggestions were offered.

I expected the book to contain practical advice. The book covered many undesirable situations and business settings. There were no recommendations made on how to improve a bad situation. The book merely reported on the bad environment. If you are in an unpleasant work environment and want to know there may be others worse off then you, you may like this book.

Christine Durst and Michael Haaren did an excellent job of presenting the major points of what it takes to become a Virtual Assistant. Their approach was very practical and hands on; and yet, potential pitfalls were also listed and discussed. Overall, their advice was sound and realistic regarding what it takes to be successful in this field.

If anyone is seriously thinking about becoming a VA, then this book is a "must read"!

This is a wonderful book for the aspiring Virtual Assistant. The authors go into great detail on all aspects of running your own VA business, and their insight is timely and comprehensive. In particular, you'll enjoy the extensive chapter on marketing, which details various ways that a VA can capture the greatest share of the marketplace. I highly recommend this book as a must-read and a resource to reference throughout the start-up phase of your business.

90% of what this book covers appears in countless other books for small and home based businesses. And, I'm not so sure that the other 10% is really so revolutionary because the concept of working remotely has been around for several decades now. The authors outstanding accomplishment seems to be giving what they believe to be a revolutionary new job category a catchy name. Still, if you've been living on a distant planet, you may find their mention of the basic components, requirements and legalese of starting a business helpful.

I've found a lot of information over the last several months while browsing VA sites, even shelling out a few dollars for information I thought would be helpful. While some of it was ok, I still didn't feel ready to start a VA business based on what I had learned. Nor have I ever felt that paying $$$$ for certification and training was necessary for me.

I decided to buy "The 2-Second Commute" from Amazon. This book fills in ALL of the missing pieces and then some.

Don't spend a penny on anything else related to preparing to become a virtual assistant until after you buy and read this book. After you're done with it, you'll know exactly what you will need to do and/or learn to set up and launch a profitable VA practice that you'll enjoy. This book might just be the only training you need to get started.

Thanks to "The 2-Second Commute", I'll be launching my business before the end of this year. If I had read it earlier this year, I'd be in a profitable practice by now.

Highly recommended - worth much more than the $10.00 Amazon cost.

If you could only buy one book about owning your own VA business, I would highly recommend this one! As there are multiple books on the subject in the marketplace right now, I would still highly recommend this one. This is the ONLY book you will ever need - well, maybe one on accounting principles if you don't know any & have no money to hire an accountant! But this book tells you EVERYTHING you need to know, & the questions it asks (or asks you to ask yourself) & the skills assessment it has gets you THINKING about the actual undertaking of starting your own business. Even if you just read it cover to cover (which I also highly recommend) and never do anything else, you will forever think more concretely about owning a business. It's a true eye-opener.

Every company has those take-them-or-leave-them dead end employees - but then there are those employees who are truly special, and who make the company run as it should. "Love 'Em Or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay" is a guide for managers to making sure they keep these star employees happy and productive, so one's company can stay happy and productive. With countless tips to keeping the cream of the crop producing for your crop, "Love 'Em Or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay" is an essential read for any manager and for community library business collections.

Well worth the purchase. In addition to sound "theory" provides very practical application. If you subscribe to the concept that BEING BRILLIANT AT THE BASICS will get you to the next level, this books is clearly for you. We bought one for all our HR Managers around the country whereby they can utilize the practical application ideas as bet fit their facility.

As a busy professional, it's easy to fall into the trap of tending to the task and not so much the relationship. This book brings me back to that important balance. Chapter six, "Family", was extremely useful and helped me understand that employees have needs that, many times, surpass their pay check. I was better able to work with an employee who had special family needs. This book is filled with practical, relevant, and usable advice on keeping employees engaged. This book is an essential read for leaders today. If you care about developing your people you will understand them better after reading LOVE 'EM or LOSE 'EM.

In any economy, the ability for managers to engage talent is a mainstay, yet few know how to do it. Love 'Em or Lose 'Em teaches `em how. It is practical and down-to-earth, providing leaders, at all levels, ideas which they can implement TODAY. This quick read is chalk full of anecdotes and suggestions that are low to no cost, leaving managers with no more excuses. More business books should take their cue from Love `Em - no wading through troves of mind-numbing theory. It is friendly, approachable, and to the point.
Debra Bogowitz, Accelerated HR Solutions Group

Unlike the hundreds of management books out there that can be rather philosophical and academic on how to create a productive work environment (with many of the concepts capable of being covered in three, not three hundred, pages), this book focuses on 26 strategies with countless practical actions under each strategy that a manager can take to make the work environment (read: "people") highly productive.

Best yet, the authors' strategies for employee engagement and subsequent retention don't cost big bucks to implement. And if you haven't figured out how much payroll dollars you lose by disengaged employees who ultimately leave, you're missing a big chance at improving your bottom line.

If there was ever a phenomenal return for money spent, it's in implementing Love 'Em or Lose 'Em's s6 strategies. But that means you have to first invest in the book! Buy it!

As a Marine veteran, this book gave alot of good ideas. The authors tell you different aspect of how the Marine Corps is ran and they explain why the Marines do this and how to implement it into the business world.

It's a good book. There are a lot of leadership techniques in here that can be applied. There is also a lot of information about the Marines, which is interesting. For a leadership book, I could have used less information about the Marines and more about leadership in business, but it's good for what it is.
One thing, the chapter on women dealt with sexual harrassment, mostly. I think that with everything women deal with (lower pay, glass ceiling, family life, etc) there could have been more info on women and less on sexual harrassment. That could have been a seperate chapter.

Semper Fi does a good job of relating the organizational and cultural strengths of the Marine Corps to successful essentials for corporate America. The beginning of the book emphasizes the importance of recruiting and maintaining the enthusiasm and energy or new hires. The book keeps it focus on sharing the attributes of the Marine Corps' organizational attributes contributing to its success rather than organizing around what corporate America needs and how the Marine Corps has solved those problems. Strongly recommended for HR professionals and managers leading large organizations. Always a good book for former Marines although some may remember a few details of Marine life differently.

Want to develop sound leadership and solid loyalty? This book clears up many of the misconceptions of USMC training and brings the same form of positive supportive leadership into the civilian and business world. Leadership is more than just telling people what to do. Leadership is established by being in the front lines with all your "troops". It's you're willingness to get your shoes just as dirty as anyone else's while providing an example of being out in front and at the same time making sure that everyone is up there with you. You, the leader, are the example! It is extremely well-written and should be in any top sensei's [martial arts instructor's] book collection. Dan Carrison is one of my Black Belts. I recommend this book to all my black belts!

In case you want to know how this 175,000 strong force is led/managed to live up to the "Send the Marines" legend, you will be largely satisfied. Many unique features, including the Buddy System (two friends get recruited, trained, and deployed together), Tour of Duty (a Marine can opt to remain or transfer several times during the enlistment period of four years), the strong emphasis on quality HR and recruiters, the "Crucible" (the 54 sleepless hours of hellish training with only one meal), the need for an officer/NCO to be better in all aspects (esp physically) than his fellow men till his retirement and so on are vividly discussed. However, I am obliged to comment that the successful principles of USMC are not readily applicable to the commercial world, primarily because, as per pg 123, "Unlike the Marine Corps, the workplace environment is not one of self sacrifice. Employees are motivated much more by self interest than by the collective good and are not shy about asking, "Why did he or she get this assignment and not me?" Anyway, this is definitely a good read. Highly recommended!

Below please find my most favorite passages for your reference:-

One of the legends every NCO has heard tells of a young officer who did not return an enlisted man's salute - and was subsequently ordered by the renowned Marine general Chesty Puller to stand there and salute the nervous private one hundred times. pg 66

The "monkey experiment" is a classic laboratory experiment that illustrates exactly what the Marines try to avoid - the thoughtless passing from one group to another of a learned tradition. Six monkeys were put into a cage in which bananas were suspended by chains...when a monkey pulled on the bananas, the entire group received a shower of cold water. It didnt take long for the six monkeys to learn that the bananas were to be left alone. A new monkey was then introduced into the group, while one of the original monkeys were removed. Of course, the newcomer saw the bananas and thought it was in monkey paradise. But, as it climbed upward, the five remaining original monkeys would actually prevent it from reaching the bananas.....Other newcomers were introduced, for each one, a monkey from the original group was removed.....Soon, none of the original group was left in the cage, yet the bananas were undisturbed - by monkeys who had never felt the cold shower themselves and who did not know why the bananas were to be left alone. pg 115

Today, teams of recruits clash in the pugil stick circle so that one learns not to just fight for himself but for his buddy as well. If his buddies are "killed", the remaining recruit must defend himself against multiple attackers, who close in intelligently, as a team. Thus teamwork is taught while defending and attacking. pg 130

If a manager has not called his own customer service desk in a week, then he has no idea how many times the phone will ring before it is answered, how politely the customer will be greeted, how willingly that customer will be helped and then thanked. pg 171

p.s. Semper Fidelis (Always Faihtful), the motto of USMC, is an indication of how much value is placed upon the virtue of loyalty.

More than a book, this "How-To Guide" will help you hire GREAT people - every time. Hire With Your Head teaches you how to define, locate, attract, interview, assess, negotiate, and close A-players. The concepts contained in Hire With Your Head give our organization a strategic advantage over our competition. Understanding Adler's concepts are mandatory for our entire recruiting team. You can't go wrong with this book... order it today!

Ryan Cook, SPHR
VP Recruitment Operations
Sparqpoint Solutions

Hiring with your Head is an excellent resource for new recruiters and veteran recruiters as well. For me this book gives me the big picture of the recruiting process. We may be doing some of the steps correctly but if wee can not see the big picture of how it all works together you are very likely wasting time. The performance base hiring process has helped me adjust my own interviewing and I am already seeing results. It has been fascinating to see how it really works.
Mandy Calvert
Executive Recruiter
Premier Executive Solutions

Yes, I have been a big fan of Lou Adler, I have registered to his website and they always have interesting articles and web casts.

The book was detailed, well written and very informative. I have many years recruiting experience and his book was very welcoming. A good to have book.


Thanks for the continuous support Mr. Adler!

If you have the opportunity to attend his webcasts, please do so.. He is a definite leader in his profession.

Thank you Lou Adler. Hire with your Head is a great resource for recruiting. This book not only explains why you need to use performance-based hiring but it tells you HOW to follow through with implementing the process. This book is going to be an excellent tool for me to utilize in coaching my hiring managers to help me create accurate job requirements based on Performance Profiles. Hire with your Head is a great resource for any person involved in the hiring and screening of potential employees. I just wish someone gave me the book earlier in my career!

Hire With Your Head: Using Performance-Based Hiring to Build Great Teams
Fairly new to recruiting, this book is a must have for all hiring managers. It is an invaluable tool for any individual given the great responsibility of hiring for any organization.

I have 10 years experience in managing consulting company. When I red just first chapters of this book I immediatelly have started to implement some ideas described there and it gave greate results!
No matter if you plan to start new business or you are mature partner with many years of experiane in professional services business - this book is a must and greate reading. Enjoy!

I have used this book to implement many new processes into my business. This sits in my bag or on my desk all the time. It's a great resource.

This book is worth its weight in gold. Well written, great ideas, very helpful for anyone involved in or starting a consulting firm.

We build websites and I wanted to learn more about how professional service firms operate since its basically the same thing (lawyers, accountants, engineers, website programmers, etc). The book helped me realize an important maxim to a service firm:

Success = Perception - Expectation.

If the client perceives they received something better than they expected, they will be happy. This is the key to client service; managing their expectations. While obviously quality, timeline, cost, etc. are all important, in the end they only matter if the client is happy.

The book covers many different usable ideas to manage clients better.

I expected that this book would be interesting to read, but the reality was even better than my expectations. The book provides very specific "how-to" recommendations for managing PSF. Thank you!

Alan Gregerman's book Surrounded by Geniuses was a great read! Not only did it pertain to my work life, but also to my personal life. I would recommend this book at everyone.

A fun read. Delivering compelling value is key and Dr. Gregerman has hit the nail on the head with his observations about products and services in our own neighborhood that do it daily.

A delightful and thoughtful book that reminds us to take time to look at our surroundings. The best ideas in business need not be the most complicated. A little bit of "back to basics" plus a little "thinking outside the box" can take one a long way.

Gregerman has put together a unique array of narratives from the cheetah to Lockheed's rocket science program to delineate key attitudes and mindsets toward maximizing both the potential of your business and value to your customer. I see value in this book for both non-profit and for-profit entities/professionals. Highly recommended.

Surrounded by Geniuses is a delightful read that imparts a very important lesson: genius surrounds us if we choose to see it. In his book, Dr. Gregerman gives insights on how to create compelling value for our customers by applying innovative, yet intuitive, approaches drawn from the diverse worlds of business, entertainment, science and ...even selling Girl Scout Cookies. For me, one characteristic of a good book is my tendency to pick it up again and again. Surrounded by Geniuses is such a book.

While the title of this book..."The Three Signs of a Miserable Job"...might suggest a less than positive message, I found the take-aways from Lencioni's writing here to have a positive focus. More specifically, the book highlights the three signs of a miserable job, as identified by Patrick Lencioni, and focuses its message on how to identify...and avoid...these "signs" in the workplace.

Lencioni's books share a "fable as lesson" template and offer simple to follow...but difficult to implement...managerial practices. While difficult to implement, I generally find the author's practices sound and logical.

This book offers a good perspective for managers...if nothing else, it should highlight three characteristics of a job that should be avoided and/or eliminated across an organization.

Lencioni always writes a good, easy to read story that helps make sense of the workplace. It's a simple story that is well written and is essential to better management.

This book is a must for all Managers! Lencioni continues to bring a refreshing perspective with clear methods to connect with the team. I found this book inspiring, motivational, and directive. We all need this information in today's workplace. WOW!!!!

I first heard about this book through John Maxwell's Maximum Impact and was intrigued by the title. I got the book and read the whole thing in one sitting.
Excellent and quick read. Recommended for those who mentor, work, minister to adults.

This book is a great fable (like The Five Dysfunctions of a Team) that could describe any company and any manager. The situations and "signs" are common to many industries, so the concepts apply to a wide range of managers and employees. It's great for managers to learn how to get to know their employees' needs and for employees to learn what they need from their managers. I plan to share this book with my boss and other senior managers.

With Martha Finney, Libby Sartain has written a book that is, in her opinion (as of 2003), the first one written "by an HR practitioner for HR practitioners about managing your own unique career as well as dealing with the special challenges of daily life in the world of human resources." As she explains, most of the stories she shares are taken from her 13-year tenure as Vice President, People at Southwest Airlines. Since 2001, she has served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Chief People Yahoo at Yahoo! Inc. This book was published in 2003.

She is a staunch advocate of what she characterizes as a "fully empowered" HR career, viewing it as a "calling" and asserting that it can - and should -- provide a competitive advantage to any organization, especially now when competition for human talent is almost ferocious. Those equal to the challenges of such a career in HR possess both highly-developed business acumen and what Daniel Goleman defines as emotional intelligence. Sartain insists (and I wholly agree) that a corporate culture "based on respectful treatment of all the company's employees is essential to the company's long-term success...The most successful companies are the ones that make it their business to help their employees achieve their highest potential and use their gifts and talents most fully." It is no coincidence that on Fortune magazine's annual lists of those companies that are most highly admired, most valuable, and best to work for, several of the same names appear on those lists year after year after year. Presumably each of exemplary company has "fully empowered" HR resources and capabilities.

With regard to Sartain's advice to those already embarked on a career in HR or who are now preparing for one, she focuses on "six essential ingredients of every great HR career" in Chapter 3. She commits a separate chapter to each and they are best revealed within her narrative, in context. Throughout her book Sartain addresses just about every conceivable issue relevant to those "essentials," helping her reader to consider all plausible options and then make decisions appropriate to his or her own talents, experience, goals, and concerns. She also suggests a number of "dos" and "don'ts" based on what she has learned throughout her own career thus far. She seems by nature to be an enthusiast, one who would prefer (as the old bromide states) "to light a candle rather than curse the darkness," but she also reveals an abundance of street smarts.

She is passionately committed to helping HR executives to establish and then sustain a "fully empowered" career, in terms of both personal and professional development, one that is fulfilling and thus satisfying to them but also in terms of how much value they can add, not only to the given organization but also to the personal as well as professional development of those whom they are privileged to serve. I use the phrase "privileged to serve" deliberately and presumably Sartain concurs.

If empowered with sufficient resources (including the support of senior management) and if properly prepared and fully committed, a HR professional who is both competent and compassionate can help to achieve objectives such as these:

1. Continuous recruiting of those who have the talent, experience, and character that may one day be needed

2. Interviewing and hiring procedures that are rigorous, thorough, and cordial so that each candidate is given every opportunity to "shine," of course, but is also treated with utmost respect

3. Orientation that accelerates the process by which each new hire becomes an integral part of the given organization and its culture

4. On-going formal and informal training that develops in participants the leadership and management skills that are needed at every level and in all areas of the given enterprise

5. Performance measurement conducted formally (at least quarterly) and informally (each day) that is based on criteria that are clearly explained, mutually understood, and consistently applied

One of Sartain's key points is that hearts as well as minds must constantly be nourished. In many (too many) organizations, HR professionals have been "so distracted by the need to be taken seriously that [they have] been tempted to jettison any discussion of how [their] personal feelings and principles are factored into the business equation. As a result, the HR profession has been cultivating a reputation that I am tempted to say it often deserves - that of being a single-minded administrator with a big, red, rubber stamp that reads: `No! Against Policy and Procedures!'" Sartain is convinced that in human resources, indeed in all relationships within and beyond the workplace, head and heart should not be mutually exclusive. "That's what it takes to build a great business." In the concluding chapter, "How Do We Get There From Here?," she suggests nine "major points" that must be covered to reach that destination.

Bon voyage!

Those who share my high regard for HR from the Heart are urged to check out The New American Workplace co-authored by James O'Toole, Edward E. Lawler as well as The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy, and Performance co-authored by Brian E. Becker, Mark A. Huselid, and Dave Ulrich. Also, two of Fred Reichheld's books (The Loyalty Effect and Loyalty Rules), David Maister's Practice What You Preach, two of Jac Fitz-enz's books (The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies: How Great Organizations Make the Most of Their Human Assets and The ROI of Human Capital: Measuring the Economic Value of Employee Performance), Dean R. Spitzer's Transforming Performance Measurement: Rethinking the Way We Measure And Drive Organizational Success, and Enterprise Architecture As Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution co-authored by Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, and David Robertson.

I had seen Libby present at a conference and bought her book there. I read the book on the plane ride back and dog eared several pages. It is a good no nonsense book on what HR professionals do. I liked it so much that I purchased a copy for our entire HR department and we used it as a discussion during Business Partner meetings.

The group loved it...you will too.

Writing this book as an HR professional's guide is a tragedy! Part 2 (HR is Your Company's Best Asset) is a truly enlightened guide on people management and should be read by everyone who is in, or who aspires to be in, a leadership position in any organization. Including Part 1, (Your Own Career is Your Best HR Asset), this from her heart advice guide by practitioner Libby Sartain (Southwest Airlines) is not just well written, it is superbly written - the thanks for that may go to Martha Finney; but the thoughts are surely the wisdom of a hands-on expert in people management.

Focusing on Part 2, let's look at a few examples of what Sartain has to say: Hire the Person, Not the Resume - hire for fit; Don't Forget the Stars You Already Have in Your Ranks - promote from within; Start Your High-Potential Employees in Customer Relations - they carry an understanding of customer needs ...throughout their entire career. And, her "Show Them the Money!" and "Using Benefits to Build Relationships" chapters may be the best ever for understanding compensation's role in engagement. But, it gets better; Chapter 32 is titled: Recognition, Rewards, Fun: The Triple Crown of Employee Engagement. I could go on, but you get the picture; this Part 2 of the book contains wisdom for anyone in a management role. The whole book is recommended as a must read for HR professionals, Part 2 is recommended as a must read for managers.

Dennis DeWilde, author of
"The Performance Connection"

HR from the Heart is an amazing guide for HR professionals who genuinely want to serve their companies. Lifetime learnings and analysis of human behavior have been compiled in this book.The book is wholistic and it is a guide for all aspects of the HR function. Today's companies need to have unique recruitment, orientation, learning, developmental and performance systems. Great people attract great people, and great people want to work for great people. Companies mission must be a cause around which everybody is motivated and energised. The companies need to have a differentiating culture and all leaders in the company must promote the culture. All leaders must embrace new attitudes and conduct themselves in new and different ways. The language of communication is important as it give the company it's edge over the competetion. The workplace should be friendly and people must have fun doing their duty.Lastly, HR's job is to serve others and to humanise the work.

I have been involved in the HR field for some 21 years. Like any HR professional, we have a lot of stories to tell. In this book, Libby Sartain has a way of melding her stories with solid HR theory. At times, the book is simple and colloquial but more often than not it weaves its simplicity into a picture of HR I think and practitionaer would want to establish at their workplace.

A lot has been said about HR "at the table" and being a "strategic partner". This book shows how that is accomplished not so much by providing means to that end but by showing how doing what is right and good can get us to that end.

Judging from its Amazon sales rank (88,428 at the time of this writing) the book hasn't made it into too many hands. But don't let that stop you. If you are in HR (or someone who wants to be) this book is essential for giving you the big picture and getting you started on the path to achieving your end.

This book is a quick read that motivates anyone to manage, lead, and live at a greater dimension. Engaging the workplace and those around you is a wonderful gift and sharing true compassion & good will to see others dream come to pass it what AMAZING leadership is all about. Thank you for challenging us to think better so that we can lead better. Awesome book!!!

The Dream Manager offers some keen insights into how we may take control our own dreams & aspirations while assisting employees, family & friends realize & accomplish theirs as well. Our dreams can & should be our motivating force. Its critical that we have dreams & persue them.
Matthew Kelly is a gifted, understandable author & speaker.

This is one of the best business concepts that I have ever heard. This book is a must own for everyone, but especially for business owners. The wealthy already understand this simple (yet profound) premise. What are you waiting on?

-ski

Matthew Kelly's little book, on the importance of employees' dreams, is well worth reading. For any manager who is wrestling with issues of engagement and retention, check this one out.

Being in a management position, I thought the book was supposed to teach me how to be the dream manager. I soon found out that it is much better than I expected. It teaches you to start dreaming again. The reason why people are so miserable at work is because they do not feel that they make a difference. I live and breathe this philosophy now at work and in my personal life. The 12 areas that we can dream guide you toward your personal achievements. I am forever changed in the best way possible. A must read for all.