Careers Books

The purpose of this book is to alert business leaders to strategies that they should be implementing to achieve competitive advantage. As is pointed out in the introduction, the strategies are not brand new. They've been kicked around for a while, and most have been road tested. According to the author, "their sources of advantage are not only clear but undeniable."

The five strategies are: Supply Chain Gymnastics, Side Stepping Economies of Scale, Dynamic Pricing, Embracing Complexity, and Infinite Bandwidth.

Embracing complexity is one that interested this reviewer most. The author positions this strategy as a departure from the "keep it simple" mantra espoused by so many. Keeping it simple, he argues, involves taking things away and thus removing complexity. Trouble is many clients demand complexity (e.g. more choices, more customization).

Stalk's views don't seem to completely contradict the "keep it simple" doctrine. There are different levels of simplification. For example, you may offer 1,000 different kinds of shoes for sale (i.e. complexity), but build a front-end web application that's easy to use and that guides the customer through the process of choosing a perfect pair in seconds, and you've hit the jackpot. You've taken advantage of technology to successfully managed (embrace) the complexity and simplify the user experience.

The book is an interesting read. It's also very short which is nice. All 5 strategies could benefit companies depending on their circumstances. Some are already reaping the rewards.

-- Nick McCormick, Author, Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager

This is a slender but useful little book. Early in it, George Stalk notes accurately that all too often, the media announce the next big thing long after cutting-edge companies have learned about the change, dealt with it and moved on to the next innovation. High-profile stories trail real change, rather than reporting it as it happens. If you're trying to plan for change by following the mass media, you're going to be left behind. This leaves Stalk with a difficult challenge: to address key changes that are emerging just now. The result is a bit uneven; the text is speculative at times, and his desire to write a brief treatment means that he skims some areas. But that said, this is a more specific and applicable treatment of the future than most books present, and getAbstract recommends it to anyone planning realistically for change.

George Stalk hits a home run with this little volume entitled "5 Future Strategies You Need Right Now". Stalk's approach, with John Butman's able support, gets to the heart of the matter immediately. Each chapter begins with a compelling challenge, setting an immediate tension. All examples are real and relatable. Stalk doesn't give easy formulaic answers. Instead, my creative imagination and strategic mind were instantly engaged. His approach is invitational and his tone is intimate. It felt like he was a trusted advisor and we were having a viirtual dialogue. He's passionate about his ideas and often playfully irreverant. The chapter on "Infinite Bandwidth" alone is "worth the price of admission".
I like this HBP series. The concept and formats are user friendly. Each book really does feel more like a memo. The ideas are timely. The brevity makes it easier to refer to and recommend. Stalk's book is staying on my desk, not on my bookshelves.

It is exactly what it is supposed to be: a memo to the CEO.
This means it does the job you want, meaning get some new ideas for the future of your business.

I must say that at the beginning of my read, I was not that impressed with it. It gets improved as one reads, and especially after the third strategy of running your business better.

You will not get tired with it, you will read it in a few hours and I think you will feel happy you have purchased it.

This is one of the titles in the "Memo to the CEO" series published by Harvard Business Press, each less than 200 pages in length and superbly produced. In fact, none is a "memo" or written solely for a CEO. In this volume, George Stalk explains how to become alert to "faint signals" of what could prove to be early indicators of possible opportunities to gain competitive advantages. Once those opportunities have been verified (Stalk suggests how to do that), appropriate strategies to exploit them will be needed. He focuses on five examples of strategies whose "sources of advantage are not only abundantly clear, but undeniable": supply-chain gymnastics (i.e. adroitly managing a global supply chain), sidestepping economics of scale (i.e. a "disposability" business model), embracing complexity (i.e. four ways to attract customers who are looking for a higher level of complexity), and infinite bandwidth (i.e. effortless receipt of any amount of information whenever and wherever desired and at no cost).

Stalk offers "a high-level introduction to each of these emerging issues, along with suggestions for how to turn them into competitive advantage." He devotes a separate chapter to each of the five categories, then in the final chapter shifts his attention to examples of potential strategies that are "no more than faint signals today," identifies two emerging strategies on his "Watch List" awaiting further evidence of their potential to create competitive advantage, and then briefly discusses various "hallucinations" for which there are currently no corporate examples but are "worth pondering" nonetheless.

But Stalk doesn't limit the narrative to what he has observed and tracked. He reassures his reader that other faint signals "are likely to be found in the world around you," in the reader's own competitive environment as well as beyond it to other industries and competitors to spot insights of others "who may have found a new way of operating and competing that can be transplanted into [her or his] industry to the great confusion of others...and then `plagiarize' the idea." Or when coming across an anomaly, to "understand its implications and use the insight to drive the business to new levels of performance."

Comment: Over the years, I have worked with the owner/CEOs of countless small companies and have urged each of them to form an unofficial "advisory board" consisting of their banker, attorney, accountant, insurance agent, and at least one C-level executive of a large corporation if at all possible. I suggest that they meet as a group at least quarterly, perhaps for breakfast or lunch. After a brief update, the owner/CEO identifies one (and only one) especially important issue his or her company now faces and then chairs a brainstorm session in which advisory board members participate. Invariably, comments and suggestions from a wide variety of perspectives help the owner/CEO gain a better understanding of the issue and then to address it effectively. Having now read Stahl's latest book, I think providing a copy of it to each advisory board member would be a good idea.

While reading Stalk's comments about aggressive but principled competition, I recalled Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win? that Stalk co-authored with Rob Lachenauer. The focus of that book is on winners in business who "use every legitimate resource and strategy available to them to gain advantage over their competitors...[and by doing so] attract more customers, gain market share, boost profits, reward their employees, and weaken their competitors' positions." Hardballers are wholly committed to winning "the game" and do so, key point, by always playing by its "rules." Their goal is always decisive victory so as to sustain dominance. With regard to social responsibility, it is noteworthy that Stalk and Lachenauer quote Milton Friedman's observation that there is "one and only one" in business: "...to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud."

Stalk has prepared those who read his brilliant book to be alert for "faint signals" of other anomalies, unmet consumer needs, nascent trends, etc. that they can add to their own "watch list" until their potential for competitive advantage have been evaluated. At least a few candidates for future strategies will emerge from this rigorous process, separated from other provocative but ephemeral issues that Stalk calls "hallucinations." Of course, meanwhile, it would also be beneficial if those within an organization who possess especially inquiring minds were to get together on a regular basis and discuss what I call "What ifs..., "Why nots...," and "Have you ever thought abouts..." as well as other discussion primers such as "Why hasn't someone invented...," "What really upsets me is....,"and "I really wish I had..." or better yet "I'd give anything for...."Mental calisthenics (isometrics?) such as these eventually led to the development of a built-in handle for containers of liquid detergent and a built-in funnel for containers of motor oil; also locating the striking area of a book of matches to the reverse side, making postage stamps adhesive, Post-its, ATMs, frequent flyer mileage programs, and ergonomic kitchenware.

Those who share my high regard for Stalk's insights and eloquence in this book are urged to check out his other works, notably Competing Against Time: How Time-Based Competition Is Reshaping Global Markets co-authored with Thomas Hout and the aforementioned Hardball as well as his various articles that appeared Harvard Business Review. Most can be purchased online and easily be downloaded.

Came in a timely manner and was described well by the seller.

This is a great book - more for what it organises than what it adds as new ideas.

Barney sets a model for Competitive Advantage (VIRO) and them compares strategic models as potential sources. It places many of the modern attempts in perspective. Without this starting understanding, the modern gurus (Hamel) are almost impossible to apply as their ideas lack the perspective on the role of strategy within an organisation and within all of the other management tools.

It places Michael Porter within a framework where his work can be better used.

For managers and post graduates, this book sets out the fundamentals of strategy and where it can take you.

Not cheap (by a long way) but a fair price for the knowledge.

Jay B. Barney has written an enduring, understandable user's guide to corporate strategy that is a must read for any business student. Barney helps would-be business leaders frame their strategic decision-making process. Barney first explains to his audience the concepts of strategy and performance, and their relevance to the corporate organization both internally and externally. Barney then explores the different strategies that the corporation can adopt in dealing with its competitive environment: Cost leadership, product differentiation, tacit collusion, and alliances. The author does a very good job in demonstrating to his readers that the four strategies are not mutually exclusive but occasionally complementary. Finally, Barney explores how a company can structure itself across markets over time. He successively addresses the issues of integration, diversification, mergers and acquisitions, and globalization. Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage has been one of the most influential business textbooks that I have ever been asked to read.

Jay B. Barney has written an enduring, understandable user's guide to corporate strategy that is a must read for any business student. Barney helps would-be business leaders frame their strategic decision-making process. Barney first explains to his audience the concepts of strategy and performance, and their relevance to the corporate organization both internally and externally. Barney then explores the different strategies that the corporation can adopt in dealing with its competitive environment: Cost leadership, product differentiation, tacit collusion, and alliances. The author does a very good job in demonstrating to his readers that the four strategies are not mutually exclusive but occasionally complementary. Finally, Barney explores how a company can structure itself across markets over time. He successively addresses the issues of integration, diversification, mergers and acquisitions, and globalization. Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage has been one of the most influential business textbooks that I have ever been asked to read.

This is a very concise and interesting book on competitive and corporate strategies. It compiles all the main issues regarding studies on competitive advantage withouth losing focus on the specifics of each different kind of strategy.

I would recommend using the book only after a review of microeconomic concepts. This will allow graduate business students coming from other areas (like engineering) to grasp the strategy concepts more easily.

One suggestion: it would be nice if the authors included cases at the end of each chapter. Since the book presents the theory from a basic up to a more advanced level, this would let students to quickly fix the concepts by applying them in real world situations.

C. Vann Woodward's "The Strange Career of Jim Crow" was the first major effort to analyze the segregation system in the American South. Appearing in 1955, the author's treatment of this institution refuted contemporary statements made by several public figures who argued that racial separation was an ancient phenomenon that would last indefinitely. Not so, argued Woodward, as he proceeded to prove that the South experienced a time after the Civil War when the two races often intermingled without widespread hostility on the part of southern whites. Woodward's book expresses the heartfelt belief that since segregation was a recent development, the possibility existed for the South to reject its separatist doctrine and eventually embrace integrationist principles. The first chapters deal with the period during and after Reconstruction, what Woodward refers to as the First Reconstruction, when the South grudgingly accepted conditions forced upon it by the North. The author argues that blacks in southern urban areas often lived side by side with white citizens, as well as rode in the same streetcars and dined in many of the same restaurants. There were exceptions to these incidents, but overall monolithic, legalized segregation measures simply did not exist.

One of the reasons for this lack of overarching segregation policies concerned southern politics in the post-Civil War South. The author outlines three political philosophies during the 1880s and 1890s that worked to capitalize upon black support. Southern liberalism went nowhere with its arguments that all citizens must have equal rights in all social spheres. Conservative southerners took a position between liberals and radical racists, arguing that in every society there existed superior and inferior elements. Obviously, conservatives claimed, blacks occupied an inferior position to whites. This did not mean that blacks should be treated harshly or denied privileges. The conservatives were paternalists and used the goodwill they earned from blacks to capture elective offices from the Redeemers. The conservative political philosophy collapsed when widespread corruption swept its proponents from office. The Populists, the last southern political structure Woodward discusses, also attempted an alliance with blacks. The movement was short lived, and with external pressures of the 1880s and 1890s such as economic depression and northern indifference to blacks, southerners blamed blacks for their social ills. Moreover, southern politicians weary of the years of malicious infighting decided to seek a measure of unification, and they achieved this fusion by blaming black voters for economic and political discord. It is at this time, writes the author, when segregation laws blossomed across the South.

The second section of the book deals with the emergence and consequences of what Woodward calls the Second Reconstruction. Starting during the Second World War and emerging fully during the 1950s and 1960s, this era of race relations saw increasing waves of attacks directed against Jim Crow in the South. The first maneuvers came from the White House, with Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman launching several initiatives aimed at integrating defense jobs and the armed services. The second wave came with a series of Supreme Court actions seeking to integrate the school systems. With action came reaction as the segregationists finally launched an offensive against Brown vs. The Board of Education when lower court judges in the South upheld the higher court's ruling. The resulting attempts to undercut the judgment by southern state governments coupled with periodic outbreaks of violence led to even more civil rights initiatives from the federal government. Kennedy proposed and Johnson pushed through Congress measures aimed at accelerating integration and restoring the black vote in the South. The Second Reconstruction ended after the riots of the 1960s in northern cities caused civil rights organizations to shift from a role of non-violence to militant black nationalism. Woodward's book concludes on a rather pessimistic note when he observes that black-white relations seem to be reverting to a new form of racial separation.

It is difficult to find problems with "The Strange Career of Jim Crow." The book was the first work to sum up the civil rights movement in the United States. Moreover, the author wrote a book broad enough to give historians plenty of material for further research, something scholars always appreciate. Even the form of the book, with its lack of footnotes and energetic style, is more of a plus than a minus. By writing a friendly, accessible treatment of the issue, Woodward managed to reach beyond the walls of academia and find a wide public audience. It is not difficult to imagine that many of the young people registering black voters or going on freedom rides could cite this book as a major influence in their decision to make a stand against segregation. As the afterword shows, even Martin Luther King, Jr read and quoted Woodward on occasion. Finally, the fact that this book has never gone out of print underscores its seminal influence on the country at large.

No book is immune to criticism, however. Woodward often fails to incorporate into his narrative what actions blacks took in response to segregation. This critique is not always valid: the author does cite a black newspaperman who toured the South in the late 1800s, along with several members of the Black Panther Party. But in several places the book needs some description of black agency, especially the chapter concerning southern politics. Woodward presents the black population in the 1880s and 1890s as a passive force palmed off from one white political faction to another. Are we to assume that black voters simply bowed their heads and acted the role of dupes to savvy white politicians? Perhaps many did due to a lack of education and a lingering submissiveness from the days of slavery, but there were people who attempted to participate in the system in order to earn their rights.

The most fascinating thing about this book is not just the particular events in history, or the misconceptions and myths that Woodward discusses, but rather how truly complex the issue of race is in America. Since emancipation, there has always been a struggle between and among whites and blacks to figure out how to understand each other and themselves, and how to occupy the same place. This history is indeed strange, and to have an idea of why race is still such an issue today, it helps to know how racism, segregation, and civil rights changed over time.

Woodward's book cautions us against taking simplified views that the South was always racist, and the North was not, and he begins by describing various accounts of life in the South right after the Civil War. According to Woodward, the venomous prejudice that sustained the Jim Crow laws decades later wasn't foreseeable at that time. Much of his explanation of the racist sentiment that so desired segregation is framed in the context of politics, and he tries to analyze many of the events he discusses in terms of political and economic pressures, as well as in terms of reactions to preceding actions.

If the Civil War is to be seen as a war for racial equality (and there are many other ways of seeing it), then it can easily be argued that it continues to this day. It is often most comforting to think of the wiping out of Native Americans, and then the enslavement of Africans as hideous scars that America carries in the past, while believing that America today is a different, tolerant place. But Jim Crow laws were a product of the twentieth century, and the racial tensions still exist in a very real way. Woodward's book, first published in 1955, and last revised in 1974, is still immensely relevant today, and reading it can only enhance your sense of American history.

I have the 1957 edition of the book, and so can't comment on the new chapter.
This is a fascinating book which should be read by anyone interested in racial issues, US history, or US politics.
The major surprise to me is Woodward's description, complete with many contemporary quotes, of a time in the late 1800's post-Reconstruction South where African Americans were treated largely equally with regard to public accomodations and voting. Segregation, then, was considered to be a "lower-class white attitude."
It wasn't until approximately 1900 that a very segregationist attitude came about in the South, largely as the result of the interplay of Republican, Democratic, and Progressive politics.
This is course gives the lie to assertion through much of the 1900's that de jure racial segregation was a time-honored part of Southern life, and there was no possible alternative.
Woodward then goes on to describe the depths to which Jim Crow legislation sank, describing the effect of African American migration within the country, World War II, how our segregationist policies hurt the US image abroad, and on to the beginnings of the civil rights movement, ending shortly after _Brown v. Board of Education_, well before the major civil rights events and legislation.
Fairly quick read, and a great book!

C. Vann Woodward's The Strange Career of Jim Crow is not only a fine introduction to its topic -- the segregationist period in the South -- but one of the most significant and influential books of its time.

Originally published in 1955 (by Oxford University Press), Professor Woodward's tome kicked off the Civil Rights era with a bang, debunking the ludicrous myth (and mantra among segregationists) that separation of the races had always existed in Southern life, and generally dissecting an ugly monstrosity which had come to be accepted simply as "the way things are." Ten years later, in a second revision which came just as the legal battle against segregation was almost won, Woodward added a wealth of information which helped finish the job of winning the people's hearts and minds: in the words of Robert Penn Warren, Woodward's work was "a witty, learned, and unsettling book. The depth of the unsettling becomes more obvious day by day; which is a way of saying that it is a book of permanent significance." And ten years later still, in this -- the third and final revision -- Woodward capped off the era with an examination of the more violent, less integrationist movements which arose after Watts, with leaders like Huey Newton, Eldridge Cleaver and Bobby Seale.

Woodward is an equal-opportunity myth-exploder. On the one hand, he demonstrates at great length that segregation was not a mere expression of racism, but in fact a complex and corrupt outworking of many political and economic interests in the impoverished, post-Reconstruction South. On the other hand, he also shows conclusively that segregation took time to develop: it was not, as its supporters claimed, the way things had always been, or even the way things had come to be immediately following the war, but had actually arisen thirty and even forty years later, with the removal of Northern troops, the disintegration of Republican influence, a national "taking up of the white man's burden" with regard to "colored" peoples abroad, and increasing economic distress which allowed successive Populists and Democrats to consolidate power by limiting white exposure to the threat of competing (and competitive) blacks. These things, combined with a series of Supreme Court rulings sanctioning segregation, produced a wicked stew which more modern readers found extremely unpalatable upon Woodward's closer examination.

Beyond these things, Woodward's treatment of the Jim Crow era itself, as well its demise, were and are excellent, and were especially provocative at the time of their writing. Based on a series of lectures delivered at the University of Virginia in 1954, the book is not annotated, and even in a third edition remains quite brief; yet it is thorough and engaging, and suffers only a bit for these points. In all, it remains not only an excellent history -- produced by one of America's finest scholars -- but also a key source document of its era, and is a very good read as well. It continues to be vital to a proper understanding of the South, as well as the whole misbegotten concept of "separate but equal."

C. Vann Woodward's "The Strange Career of Jim Crow" remains one of the most important books written about post-Reconstruction Southern America. In the space of very few pages, Woodward brings to us the proposal that the assumptions we have all been making about Jim Crow laws and the development of segregation were all wrong from the very beginning. We are taught the lie from grade school forward that "that's just the way it always has been in the South." Not so, according to Woodward.

We learn very quickly when reading this book that not only were there three or four decades following the Civil War wherein there was virtually no major segregation in the South - but the conditions with regards to segregation and equal rights in the South were actually better than in the North for several decades as well.

The lies of a racist South and a desperate North (desperate to make a moral issue of something that they too were guilty of in trying to keep blacks from having equal rights) somehow stuck in the Southern psyche, and all along we've been thinking that people were racist because "that's all they knew." Woodward blows this theory out of the water, and exposes the truth about the post-Reconstruction South.

Not only was segregation not popular in the South in much of the late 19th Century, but blacks voted often. There was very good participation - enough to put a lot of blacks and Republicans in public office in the South - for a time. It was not until the 1870s that a gradual change began in the South. That change brought about the Jim Crow laws - changes that were unwelcome to all of humanity. Booker T. Washington believed that the South could not advance and still leave the blacks behind: Woodward came about a few decades later and showed us all just how right Washington really was.

The Course of Miracles can be daunting especially if you decide that you are going to go at it alone. People usually buy it, read a few pages, and up on the shelf it goes. There's even a joke in Course in Miracles groups, that it has a shelf life of 8-10 years before it gets picked up again. That's okay, because Truth, like Beauty, stands and waits. Truth is Like Love, it never pushes its own way. Besides, Truth really isn't in a book whether it be the Bible or Ralph Waldo Emerson or A Couse in Miracles. Truth is in you now. In Truth, Truth is who you are...

That's okay, you can be a little startled. But I invite you to simply breathe in the statement; Truth is who I am...
and breathe it out, Truth is what I am...

Again, you don't have to force this to be True. It already is. You don't have to accept it. You can reject it. In fact, many of us have spent many lifetimes doing so. But I just want you to know, there is Something calling you to this teaching because at a very deep level, you know that you are of God...of Spirit...of Life. You know that you are not of this world. At a certain level of things, deep in our subconscious minds, we remember the Original Ectasy of being created out of Pure Love, Pure Joy, Pure Innocence. On a human level, we think that if we had the fancy home, or the shiny Mercedes, or the "right" partner, we'd be happy - and I'm not knocking these things - but what we really desire, what we really, really want is to be One with God, again.

Well, good news, we already are and we can never leave home without it...sorry, bad joke, I know.

This book is not as intimidating as the actual Course in Miracles text. The format is much easier to read than the Course. If you hadn't read the Course, there are certain parts of it written in iambic pentameter. The very same style of writing that William Shakespeare and John Donne would use. Once you get used to it, however, it flows beautifully, but if you are not used to it, you'll find yourself stumbling and tripping over the lines. At least, this was my experience.

This book is perfect for just leaving on the nightstand and reading just before going to bed or right after waking up - or both -it's a great way to begin your meditation. Usually, I'll shorten the quote even more to just a sentence and take it into meditation. Here are some examples:

Let forgiveness be the substitute for fear. This is the only rule for happy dreams...

Every choice you make establishes your own identity as you will see it and believe it is...

There is nothing outside you...

Love will immediately enter into any mind that truly wants it...

A therapist doesn't heal, he lets healing be...

The last one I have laminated and put over my desk. I have to remember as a Spiritual Counselor, I don't heal anyone. I see their Truth now. I see only Spirit...only Love...only God...and if I cannot see Spirit, then I must heal my mind about them.

I love this book. I wish the pictures were in color, but that would make for a very expensive book, but it is a wonderful addition to any Spiritual Library. And, if you are still hesitant about the actual book, I invite you to attend a Course in Miracles Study Group. I had my own for almost six years and I absolutely loved it. Now I attend one and it's a big difference going from facilitator to participator.

Buy this book as a gift to yourself. Allow the wounds of the past to be healed once and for all. Make 2008 great because you deserve to be at peace. Afterall, something within you already is.

Peace & Blessings,
john, 'the Light Coach'

This book was given to me by a dear friend in a time of great changes in my life; it allowed me to see the real meaning and joy in the fiber of life. It is absolute love, every page. Please do yourself and everyone you love a favor, purchase this gift, you and they will treasure it always.

I must confess that I have not yet read "The Course in Miracles" - Due to it's sheer size, I've felt a bit intimidated. I have, however, read many, many books that deal with the ideas espoused in "The Course", and I've foud these ideas to make quite a lot of sense!

This particular book, "Gifts from a Course in Miracles", is written in such a way that each major "tenet" is further broken down into smaller sub-sections - each dealing with a part of the "tenet" being discussed - and it's written quite similar to the form of a poem. I really like the format, as it makes the info. easier to digest.

If you are at all interested in finding out about the ideas espoused in "The Course", or even if you're already a student of it, I would highly recommend this book.

A wonderful interpretation of the ideas expressed in The Course In Miracles. Great for daily meditation. A lovely gift for anyone.

This is truly a very special book. I have bought quite a few just for presents. It is great for anyone who is already a student of "A course in Miracles" or if they just want to get a glimpse at what it is really all about. The introduction alone by Marianne Williamson is worth the price of the book. It also would be a terrific book for anyone who is thinking about joining a Study Group for the Course. The book is edited by two people who have been students of the Course for many years and it is their favorite sections put together in a very special way. A must read!!!!
Dorothy Gautier

Vanderkam shows that what you do doesn't have to be a grind. It's a great resource for people who are ready to step off the corporate treadmill and get on with their lives.

Vanderkam's book is insightful, well-researched and, most importantly inspiring. It is filled with compelling case studies and tips that motivated me to explore a new career path. I have since hopped from the grid, am working from home and doing what I love!

Grindhopping provides a look at living life outside the box. The decision to take the veer off society's typical path is a difficult one, and Vanderkam offers assurance that, provided you're willing to put in unfettered enthusiasm and hard work, this path can be a wildly successful one. She also outlines the practical, nitty-gritty details on how to make this lifestyle choice work.

Vanderkam offers practical advice for jumping out of the world of the 9-to-5, bosses, and the low and middle rungs of the corporate ladder. The title of the first chapter illustrates the author's straightforward tone and approach for the rest of the book: "Always Be Your Own Boss: No compromises, no excuses". She offers compelling reasons to take this path and practical advice for getting there (e.g. how to find reasonable health insurance, how to keep expenses down, and how to maintain multiple projects in the "Craig's List Economy" to keep the money coming in). Vanderkam draws on her personal experience as a freelance writer as well as a number of case studies of "Grindhoppers" who have found success or are on their way. She also addresses the downsides and risks of striking out on your own head-on and offers sound and empathetic advice for dealing with these. But she also confronts the downsides and risks of staying in the grind to your long term career success and satisfaction.

As with other career/entrepreneur books, Vanderkam stresses the importance of planning, goal setting, saving money, and, of course, networking. Yet, she delivers her advice and personal experiences in a way that feels somehow more authentic than with other books I've read. For example, in the networking chapter, she talks about her own tendencies towards shyness and how she overcomes and works around these. She opens up her own life and experiences to the reader just enough and in a way that is not self-indulgent. She succeeds in striking the right balance between focusing on her case studies and her own trials, tribulations, and successes in the world outside of the grind. Her writing is honest, and at times refreshingly quirky. (Check out the section on hunting mastodon and you'll see what I'm talking about.) Highly recommended.

Why is it that so many career books--unique among how-to books--advise you to settle for less? Diet books don't tell you to settle for being overweight; relationship books don't tell you to settle for dysfunctional partnerships; cookbooks don't tell you to settle for takeout. Yet career books often tell you that the only way to get ahead is to settle for putting in time that feels more like doing time. If you're not the kind of person who can ignore how much cubicle slavery feels like any other kind of slavery, then these kinds of self-help books are no help to you--and no wonder. As Grindhopping makes clear, the days of slow and steady wins the corporate race are long gone. So even if that is your comfort zone, you'd do well to read this book instead of all the others premised on a corporate model that's all but extinct. Grindhopping actually examines those statistics that are always cited to discourage free-lancers and entrepreneurs and exposes how they're skewed. But this is not some unrealistic fantasy book for impractical dreamers. Grindhopping covers common pitfalls first-time entrepreneurs fall into--often by blindly following that same outdated corporate model. It also addresses the very real concerns that keep so many chained to their cubicles: student loans, credit-card debt, health insurance, risk management. But unlike career books that only acknowledge the risks of putting your dreams into action, Grindhopping lays out the just-as-real risks of putting your dreams permanently on hold. In a rapidly changing world, survival of the fittest means survival of the most flexible, and this book practices what it preaches, providing real-life examples from every field imaginable of how the shortest distance from here to your goals isn't necessarily straight up the corporate ladder. Grindhopping refuses to ignore the question: If sitting at a desk all day, every day, putting in face time isn't the most efficient way to get the experience and contacts you need to achieve your goals, then what are you still doing there? Instead this book offers concrete strategies for networking, project juggling, delivering results, and learning what you need to know outside of school. Nor does it advise an all-or-nothing mentality: if hopping out of the corporate grind for a while enables you to gain more quickly the experience and contacts you'll need to hop back in later at a higher level, then more power to you. Conversely, if you need a steady stream of cash to pay off debt or need to learn about a particular industry, then a temporary stint in the daily grind may be to your advantage. The main thing is not to let temporary steps along the path to your goals turn into permanent dead-ends, but to weigh risks and make decisions based on whether or not each move you make brings you closer in some way to where you ultimately want to go. Instead of telling you to abandon your dreams, Grindhopping tells you how to make them a reality.

I met Michael a few years ago, and at the time he had been writing this book, and I was priveleged to have read a draft of it before its publication.

Michael is an extraordinary man and writer, and his generosity of spirit is evident in everything he does. This book is a truly worthy reflection of who he is as a human being, providing the hope and inspiration which affects the reader in such a way as he or she never feels alone. I wish him the best in the promotion of this book, as it cannot be but an earnest inspiration to all who would read it.

Warmest regards, Michael...[smile].

I was given Michael Dennis' book for Christmas by a friend who knew I was a little depressed and hoped this would make me hang on and try to get over it. It worked. It is an amazing story, and it certainly gave me hope that I could pull myself out of the bad feelings I had fallen into...especially after reading what Michael Dennis went through as a child and still lifted his head in hope and prayer. It helped to make me understand myself better and look to my strengths instead of where I was weak. I think it is a good book to help people get back on track with their lives. If Michael can do it, we all can do it. I believe it, and things ARE looking up for me. Melody Norris

You'll be thankful to Michael Dennis for sharing his beautiful and sometimes humorous poetry, as well as his life experiences, inner struggles and revelations. All in a touching, intimate way: I found his inner strength and determination to rise above his abusive childhood and challenges very amazing, and encouraging at the same time. Encouraging that we all can do. "I think I can"! Thanks be to Mr. Dennis, for giving us the wonderful gift of his thoughts in Halfway to Heaven. I look forward to more of his writings.

This is a sensitive and moving story of a man's journey to self discovery. He tells of an abusive childhood and how he finds his way out of this pit of darkness into the light with the help of his personnel Angel, the help of his friends and his deep faith that there is more for us in life than unhappiness. Mr. Dennis shows how he overcame very difficult situations by keeping focused on his hopes and dreams. He shares his travails enabling the reader to identify with the difficult situations that affect us all and how we can overcome adversity with positive persistence.

In an extraordinary way, the author has put into words how he rose above such a painful childhood and problems in his life. I can relate to some of the painful things mentioned in this book, which is reason I felt compelled to write this review on it. By Mr. Dennis sharing his life through this book, he makes it clear that we can overcome very difficult situations in our own lives with our own hopes and dreams. How wonderful that he has shared his life like this. And the poetry alone is remarkable! I feel this book is worth giving, as I have also bought one as a gift for a dear friend. I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I look forward to future writings by Mr. Dennis.

Excellnt book for new comers. It really informs you of the proper procedures for starting a consulting business.

The first time I've read Tom Lambert's book, I did it because I was reading a book called "How to Read a Book", and needed a good piece of writing which would also justify my time spent reading it.

The initial objective was simply to see what the book was about, identify the main ideas and finally decide whether to buy the book or leave it where it was. I am glad that my choice was to take the book home and read it, and then apply what I'd learned from it to my personal business of being an employee, who's an internal consultant to my clients, in the various divisions of the business.

There is no doubt that Tom's work is making my life easier, the more I learn and apply the knowledge acquired from it. His work is easy to read, detailed and informative. It has been written by a Master in the art of consulting. If there were black belts awarded for this craft, Tom would be the one handing them out, so much has he know about the business of consulting.

The way I see the book is like a detailed map you would take, prior to going exploring a new and exciting land, a type of adventure that would be very rewarding, but would present a certain degree of risk if approached without appropriate preparation and with the right attitude. It has significant details in each of the 16 chapters, and caters to all consultants, from beginners to advanced.

The book opens your eyes for the perils and tribulations that are likely to lurk around the corners, and it helps you decide what to do. Personally, I liked the parts where Mr. Lambert helps one to decide whether becoming a consultant is a good idea or not; having decided to take on the profession, should you be a specialist or generalist and the pros and cons of each, and what to do to avoid trouble.

I wish I was more fluent in writing reviews. Since I am not, the best thing from my point of view is keeping it simple: If you are interested in consulting - either as someone about to begin in the profession or a seasoned professional, buy the book. Regardless of where you may be in the profession, it will be of benefit to you. Chances are that you will be entertained and educated at the same time. It is a book that is very likely to save you money in many ways, by teaching you how to market your services the right way, and what works and what doesn't when marketing your practice.

For the price you would pay for the book, there probably is not a more cost effective piece of reading, if your objective is to start well, or keep yourself on track or improve if already an old pro in the game of consulting. I believe that Tom Lambert's book is a present, a gift to be taken and used. I for one am grateful to have come across this book and refer to it often, to my great benefit.

This book is not only a valuable tool for a consultant but also it is a useful book for everyone that involves in business. Tom Lambert is a wellknown consultant with great experience in business. Thus, his book is an excellent resource about everything related to consulting. It is absolutely comprehensive and practicable book, with many useful examples from his experience and inside its pages you can find the solution for everything that you meet as a consultant. Great book!

High Income Consulting offers a comprehensive practical guidance on how to become a successful consultant. Consulting is multibillion-dollar business that is growing at a good rate. There is however a great different between good consultants and successful ones. This book put emphasize on becoming a successful consultant by teaching on how to build your practice from writing winning proposals, setting up your fees professionally and working to a contract. It further narrates low-cost yet effective techniques of marketing your practice.
It is a book for both beginners and experienced consultants as it offers advanced skills on consulting roles, strategies for each stage of consultancy assignment and how to avoid problems while maintaining good relation with the client. Thanks to the Consultant's Toolkit part, which is the action-based summary of the skills taught in the book and it can be used as a quick reference guide to both beginners and gurus.

The author of High Income Consulting, Tom Lambert, is a renowned international consultant and writer with several years experience in consulting. His book provides a practical guide to newcomers and experienced professionals on how to build and sustain very profitable, high quality professional practices that consistently provide high and secure income, irrespective of the state of the economy. The book is based on exhaustive research on what is actually done by top earners in Europe and America.

The author explains about how to develop and sustain a high income consultancy practice. He explains the tools and techniques of the profession as well as its ethics. The book teaches about being a good and successful consultant. It is an important reference book that will help the reader to develop an effective business strategy to attract and retain clients.

I have done some part-time consultancy services in the past. I was a good consultant but not a successful one as I tended to charge low fees. I had no guidance on how to price my services properly.

Having read the book, I learnt how successful consultants build their reputation, status, practice and income. I now know how to maximise my income and avoid giving my valuable services away with little or no payment.

My organisation sometimes hires consultants when the knowledge pool in the organisation has run dry. By understanding how good consultants work, I now maximise the chances of a successful relationship.

A few years ago, as a college student, I had the opportunity of hearing a speaker who got his start as a copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather. While speaking, and in private group sessions, he disclosed that before going into advertising, he had just gotten his degree in Political Science, a subject totally unrelated to the fast-paced, crazy-creative, lucrative world of advertising. He bought this book, followed it to a T, built his portfolio, and was able to bluff his way into his first job in NYC. He impressed me so much, that I've been looking for this book ever since. I'm so glad that I was able to find it, (still in print, thank goodness) and am anxiously waiting for its delivery. As of December 2000, I have my degree in advertising, but I wasn't prepared for the angst of breaking into the business, and I was given so little guidance in preparing a 'book'. I think this book is really going to help.

I bought this book in the mid-80s when I was a fledgling copywriter in New York City.

It was helpful in focusing on what was important in putting my book together. But not everything in this book is a hard-and-fast fact. For example, in the author's opinion, it is okay to simply have stick figures for your visuals. But every ad person I talked with said this thinking was completely wrong. The truth is, you need to have as professional-looking a book as possible, which means you need to hire, at the very least, a professional art director to draw your visual for you. Better yet, get some photos for your ad if that is what is meant to be there.

Competition for jobs is just so fierce, you need to do whatever you can to package yourself ahead of the next guy. Great ideas are not enough anymore; they need to look great, too.

In the end, I was always given the "great book, no jobs" refrain. After three years of pounding the streets of NYC, I never got a job. There was even an ringing endorsement from a New York creative director on the back cover which read "I will give anyone who follows this book's advice an automatic interview!" I never even got a return phone call from the guy.

I would recommend this book to a beginner, but with the caveat that the ideas inside are just one person's opinion, and should not be considered gospel.

Many people ask me which book they should read to help them get a job as a copywriter. My usual answer? Get Maxine's book. It is absolutely "must" reading and the first and last word on the subject!

This is one of those books that even the laziest of readers will finish in one sitting. Alright, maybe two, but I'm pioneering a higher kind of lazy.

Many people ask me which book they should read to help them get a job as a copywriter. My usual answer? Get Maxine's book. It is absolutely "must" reading and the first and last word on the subject!

David Fogel has done a painstaking job of examining the historical record of Evolutionary Computation (EC) and recording both early and seminal papers in field. As a lecturer on EC, I have found the book to be an important, intriguing and insightful supplement to the course.

I think the book's strengths are twofold. First, that the important ideas in EC "popped up" in many earlier guises. I find it fascinating to discover concepts like "schema theory" and "bloated programs" addressed in at least a primitive form in papers going back to the 1950's. EC may be a "new science" but it clearly has deep roots. Second (and a more general point), that ideas themselves are not all that is required to do science. Timing and other factors play a role in how ideas get pushed forward and recognized by other researchers. It is a point that would be well taken by young researchers in any field.

There are some things that could be improved. One could quibble about the selection of papers, though I think Dr. Fogel's selections are well justified. For readability's sake I think the formatting of some of the papers could have been redone. Furthermore some papers might have been better presented in an abridged format. Overall, however, I think the book's minor flaws are far outweighed by its contribution to the field. Serious students in EC should definitely look at this book.

The collection of papers included in this book not only serves to explore the origins of evolutionary computation, but also shows some contributions that could had been turning points in the field but that somehow never received enough attention. The comments of David Fogel preceding each chapter are refreshing and show a deep and extensive knowledge of the field. His meticulous work of selecting, editing and commenting this valuable collection of papers certainly deserves my highest admiration. I have decided to use some of the papers contained in this book for my Graduate courses and seminars on evolutionary computation because I think that these early attempts (either successful or not) to simulate evolution in a computer must be studied by any serious EC researcher.

This is not your ordinary volume of collection of papers, this is a treasure chest for all those who truly want to understand the "evolution" of the ideas behind contemporary Evolutionary computation. David Fogel's thorough knowledge of the field and his passion for>tracking down the origins of the key ideas are evident in his introductions to each group of papers. Each time I have opened the book I have made delightful and often quite unexpected discoveries for myself. I wish to thank David Fogel for this outstanding work.

Evolutionary computation techniques (i.e., techniques based on the metaphor of natural evolution) constitute one of the most fascinating areas of computer science. Despite a long history of research spanning over several decades, evolutionary techniques are still of increasing interest because of their applicability to many real-world problems in science and engineering. However, many recent discoveries have their roots in the past (this is probably true in any discipline of science), and perforce, it is important to "look back" at some of the early developments in this field. Apart from the interesting ideas that emerged many years ago (e.g., artificial life, co-evolution, evolving computer programs, etc), a number of papers in this volume contain latent ideas that have not been fully exploited.

David Fogel accomplished a great feat by searching, reading, and selecting a collection of papers that constitute "the fossil record of evolutionary computation." This volume contains almost 30 important research articles that establish the foundations of evolutionary computation, including seminal articles written by Ingo Rechenberg, Lawrence Fogel, John Holland, Hans Bremermann, Nils Barricelli, Alex Fraser, Michael Conrad, and John Koza. All the articles were grouped carefully into meaningful units, each prefaced by an introduction written by David Fogel.

Researchers will find this volume to be an extremely interesting guide to the background of concepts of evolutionary computation. It is appropriate for anyone who is in search for such answers as: where did these techniques come from? where are they going? and what is their potential? But, above all, the book provides a unique experience of addressing the most fascinating question: "how is an idea born"? For this reason alone, this book is a must for any researcher in this or any other related field.

A rare piece of scholarship by one of the leading scientists in the field. Evolutionary Computation has only recently matured to the point of being a separate discipline. The Fossil Record is a remarkable compilation of foundational research. Fogel does an excellent job of placing each work in its historical context. In many cases, he was fortunate enough to interview these pioneers of computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematical biology, engineering, cybernetics, and evolutionary theory. As such, he provides unique insights into the motivations, methodologies, and philosophies of some of the most original thinkers in science.

Russell W. Anderson, Staff Scientist, HNC Software, and Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation

Hub Culture is a book in Marketing that describes the 21st century young urban professionals. They are much more globalized than their previous generation in the eighties. They travel the world either for work or for fun. As a result, large cities, such as New York, London, Bangkok, and Hong Kong, etc. have become the hubs of the world. This book describes the characteristics of this consumer group. Detailed topics include various aspects of their lives: travel, relationships, work, leisure, and their mobile nature with all kinds of electronic gadgets. Then the book talks about the most effective technique for marketing to them, which is mainly word-of-mouth.

This book gives a good description of this consumer group and it is well-written.

I adopted this book in an undergrad class I taught on cultural globalization. Stalnaker kindly offered to upload my students' comments on his website, but I didn't get the minimal number of reviews I had set. Nonetheless, I edited below some of their comments about "Hub Culture" - with their permission. They are bright students, with a critical look on the hub. All I am going to say is that, even if we do not like aspects of this mobile lifestyle, this book deserves five stars for providing an introduction to this emerging yet largely unknown phenomenon of upscale cultural globalization. AD'

R.C.:
One of the reasons I took this class was because the book was on the reading list. As someone who has spent a good part of his formative years studying at an international school in Manila and traveling around Asia, Europe and the US, Hub Culture immediately grabbed my interest as it spoke of an experience I could only talk about with people who had grown up in a similar environment. While Mr. Stalnaker focuses mainly on today's globetrotting yuppies, people are already experiencing this new culture at a younger age (...).

C.K.:
Some of the problems with Hub Culture will prove to be major issues. It seems that the majority of these people are unable to create and maintain successful and healthy relationships. Although Stalnaker argues that some members become married and live happy lives, this is not true for a majority of this population. In reality, as Stalnaker describes it, Hub Culture leaves little or no room for substantial relationships, let alone having a family. Perhaps it is through these issues that the new spiritual element of Hub Culture will emerge.

L.P:
Hub culture may seem very alluring and it is. Jetting around the world, meeting exciting and attractive people, buying trendy, expensive things seems so fascinating and fresh. This seems to be a fulfilling existence and experience, one that is laudably supported by those who are less nomadic because of the allure of the unknown. Most people leave their familiar surrounding to find something that fulfills them, not realizing that a permanent passport in the world of hub is not a solution but rather just a pretty cover-up in the form of the newest line of Louis Vuitton luggage en route to Hong Kong. While hub culture is not disapproved off by the majority of the world because it seemingly has no consequences on the people, it can almost be compared to a drug addiction. It has very similar traits, but not the same reactions. (...) With all this traveling, one loses contact with reality of life, abandons former friends and habits, doesn't establish deep connections with other people and prefers impersonal ways of communication. One is essentially never there to have some kind of natural interaction. (...) But with hub culture you get praised for this glamorous life, not realizing that in the process one is being fooled by the quickness and fake closeness that is exhibited by their peers. But even if one doesn't see this as a problem, one question remains: What happens when one is not physically or financially capable to keep up with this lifestyle, what happens when the Hotel Costes soundtracks just don't do it for you anymore and you realize that you missed doing some gardening now and then? At this point, if you settle down permanently in one place, will your needs still be met by the hub culture or will you be kicked out, regarded just as one of those who couldn't handle it any more while laughing at your last season Gucci shoes?

C.E.:
The question I ask about "hub culture" is simple: is it really a culture unto itself? Perhaps "hub people" are a distinct group, but are the systems of meaning defined within this group really all that unique? Over and over again, in the book, Mr. Stalnaker refers to them as consumers: of fashion, music, art, the things we associate with "culture." Indeed, they are the consumers, not the creators, of this culture. (...) I would say that hub "culture" is simply the set of people who live the work-hard/play-hard lives that have become available through technological innovations and marketing strategies which have made them believe that they can afford it. This leads, then, to another question: is there any difference between "culture" and "marketing demographic?"

This book is a few years old so there are many changes that have taken place, but I still found it useful as I had not read much about this culture. One can use it as the next 'installment' in tracking a particular generation and others who will be adopting this lifestyle. It shows where this culture emerged and the direction in which it is moving through expounding upon different aspects of these peoples' lives. I am relatively new to reading up on random subcultures and this book has prompted me to further my knowledge in this area.

I found this book very useful in understanding the role a special kind of transnational elite is playing in early 21st century globalization. As shallow and superficial as their lives may seem, these young globetrotters are in fact important players in quietly, in the shadows, building a new planetary civilization and monoculture.

I give this book 4 stars instead of 5 only because I would have liked to have seen a more detailed and impartial sociological treatment. Stalnaker is clearly writing for a marketing audience, probably as a hub player himself, rather than for a more general readership. This is currently the only such book I am aware of that deals with the hub elite, but I hope more studies (with a few more pages) follow this work.

Interesting for students of globalization, this is also a useful book for people considering going expatriate, and developing an overseas life and work strategy.

I enjoyed this book a lot - Stan Stalnaker has written a great profile of some of the most influential yet difficult-to-reach consumers on the planet. His pace and style are good and chatty - with plenty of anecdotes and real-life examples.
While it rather runs out of steam towards the end, it is (as far as I know) the first and only book to examine this interesting and growing group of people - a group that Stalnaker neither over-romaticises nor patronises.

When I read the blurb I thought that maybe Stalnaker had just rediscoverd cultural imerialism - but his knowledge and understanding soon convinced me that it really is is much more complex than that. These people are the conduits of cool, they know more than anyone about what is happening around the planet in terms lifestyle and fashion.

If I have one criticism it is that he skips over the less glamourous side of this culture - drugs and alcoholism are not mentioned very much nor are the rootless sometimes lonely aspects of being a foreigner in a strange city. He doen't do much to investigate the parallel group of younger, less well educated "Hub Culturists" from Eastern Europe as well as Latin America and Asia that work in service industries in the "Hub Cities" while learning languages and developing international work skills and outlook - they too are very much world citizens and I suspect just as influential in their own way as the North Americans and Western Europeans mostly covered in the book.

I'll be looking out for his next book. Stan is a good thinker, an entertaining writer and certainly "one to watch".