Professional Resources Books

I am semi-retired and been practicing Real Estate for the last year and a half and really enjoy it. I have been looking long and hard for someone who is willing to speak the truth about the Real Estate industry and tell it like it is without trying to be "politically correct". This book by Danielle Babb is the best item I have found so far that meets my requirements and thus I give it a favorable review. I hope to find some others that provide a more complete picture or I'll just have to write one myself. At this time I don't know if this is a threat or promise or both.

REAL ESTATE IS CHANGING: so what else is new? The use of the Internet is changing the way we shop for almost everything. I wouldn't dream of buying anything of value (car, TV, SPA etc.) without first searching the Web for information and downloading printing the spec. sheets. Of course my actual purchase may be made in a retail store where the sales agent is usually totally useless when competing against what I learned previously via the Internet.

All Danielle says in her book is that the housing marketing is following the same path and any agent who wishes to survice in this business had better prepare for the future. It is very hard to not agree with this perception in light of what is happening in many other industries such as autos, books, loans, insurance etc. She does not pretend to have the best answers but rather identifies a number of ares to investigate that may allow future agents to have some "value added".

My only disappointment with this book is that it did not highlight more of the other conditions and shortcomings in the real estate industry such as a complete lack of knowledge about building practices and codes preventing most agents from being able to ensure the purchase of a home without major defects. Many home inspections are pretty thorough but I have yet to meet an agent that will help the buyer fully understand the report.

BOTTOM LINE: This book is a quick read which I highly recommend while trying to determine what your "value add" will be in the upcoming years.

Bravo for Danielle Babb's new book, "Commissions at Risk"! Real estate agents have feared the technology revolution for years, but until now they have not been armed with a plan to pro-actively become part of the future of real estate. In her new book Ms. Babb lays out in a methodical manner the who, why, what, where and when of the fundamental technology shift that is taking place today in residential real estate brokerage. She shares with the reader how to embrace the change and use it to increase their market share and closed transactions. Explaining in detail how to get ahead of the competitions learning curve, any agent serious about staying in the business should read this definitive book.

Chapter titles include: Technology and Real Estate, Background of the Process, The Internet---Turning Services into Commodities, Knowing Your Competition, The Future of Real Estate and Technology, So What Can YOU Do About It?, and Investors Creating Markets Ripe for the Picking. Plus a Introduction, References and an Index.

My favorite part of the book talks in-depth about Web Based Versus Web Enabled. Many agents need to start thinking about the shift towards integration. Integration offers a web-based transaction, where all related information is stored and accessed by the principals, lenders, escrow and title companies. The final step includes the electronic signature of the client. This might sound new-age to some in the traditional brokerage industry, but be forewarned , your market share is being taken one percent at a time by new enabled brokerages. A must-read for existing and new agents, brokers and those looking to enter the future of real estate.

Mark Nash
Reviewer

Book was obviously authored by someone who hasn't had any practical real estate experience. She purports to advising agents but has no idea as to the value of an agent in a real estate transaction. I was disappointed in the content and would not recommend this book to fellow agents.

I found myself constantly waiting for the meat of the subject. The message that real estate agents are on the way of the horse and buggy was so redundant that I almost tossed it. Although there are occassional good points of interest I felt that I could have spent my time better. An experienced agent will question the experience of this author with the industry and a newbie might be misled without a basis in reality. No question that the industry is becoming dominated by third parties using the Internet to cash in on this mega-bucks industry but, this author seems to believe that you can purchase real estate like an airline ticket without accounting for the various laws regulating the industry on a state level.

Dr. Dani has done an excellent job of evaluating the Real Estate field from so many angles, that if you are not willing to learn and adapt, you could become one of the future casualties that she outlines in her book. As an IT professional with real world knowledge of real estate investing, Dr. Dani has THOROUGHLY researched each topic, and has provided examples from the perspective of the realtor, lender, appraiser, and several others. If you are introspective, and looking to increase your performance, or just want to stay on top, this is a GREAT book for you to read. I've gone back to sections of the book so many times, that I may need to buy another copy.

This book will let you know where you stand. I had a lot of trouble with the problems the first time through. The book served as a good evaluation of my weak areas. I would recommend this as a PE exam study aid.

Graet book with broad covering topics.
I couldn't logically understand answers with some problems.

I'm taking the PE exam in April 2007.

This book provides a good variety of challenging problems.

But I reported errata in addition to those listed at PPI website. Such quality is disappointing, expecially for a 3rd printing of the same edition.

Without errata, I would rate this book a 5.

The review manual has been very helpful in preparing for the exam so far. It has many problems with complete worked out solutions that are very helpful. I would recommend it to anyone preparing for the PE exam.

I took the WR afternoon session and the questions in the test were nothing of the magnitude in this book. The problems in this book were WAY harder than the actual PE. While studying with this book, I was constantly frustrated by not making the same assumptions the author did in order to solve a problem. No assumptions on the PE, mind you, other than standard weights, measures, etc. Get the sample problems from NCEES instead - very much worth the money!

Very positive, abstract, and florid.

Helpful points.

It sounds good. But will it be followed?

This book could have provided specific examples and real-life situations.

Still worth having, however.

Jeffrey Krames' book allows you to gulp in quickly the easy to apply and often powerful bite-size success strategies of Jack Welch. This book is the perfect buy for any manager who wants a condensed version of the Welch Way, with an opportunity to apply the lessons learned on a personal level. Great job!

Talk about a quick read! This really shouldn't be a book -- it should be a magazine article. The book does provide some valuable insight on how to successfully run an organization, but as short as the book is, it can be somewhat repetitious. Although this is probably a valuable tool and its simplicity can be a virtue, it is too brief to qualify as a bona book. It can easily be read in about 10 minutes.

The Welch Way authored by Jeffrey Krames is a real handy employee handbook for enhancing corporate performance. I found the book educative and entertaining with easy to use and easy to apply lessons to work life. This short book is different in the sense that it offers profound information and value in the form of 24 lessons from the wisdom of the world's greatest business leader, Jack Welch. No wonder The Business Week aptly describes Welch as 'The Gold standard against which other CEOs are measured'. During his tenure he transformed GE into the global benchmark for corporate leadership, maximizing productivity and labor efficiency.

The lessons offer insights into the aspects - Lead Vs Manage, importance of being informal, keep it simple, face reality, embrace change as an opportunity, challenge tradition, fight bureacracy, respect intellect and values, live speed, instill confidence, articulate vision and have fun etc.

The three most important points to pick up are - simplicity, speed and self-confidence.

It is learnt that on the foundations of boundarylessness Welch constructed his learning organisation. The declaration of Welch that 'Six sigma is the most important thing we've ever had - it is better than going to Harvard Business School' is interesting.
Further his 4E's of leadership - Energy, Energize, Edge and Execution inspire any leader. He says speed is everything which keeps business and people young. He declares that Business is about passion, winning, creating new things. Business is about ideas and fun and excitement and celebrations - a superlative perspective indeed !

Jeffrey Krames, Publisher of McGraw-Hill's business books has given a wonderful gist of what Jack Welch has to offer to the corporate world. The book is crisp in rendition and short. An ideal refresher and a handy handbook for all employees.

A must read to reflect and share the wisdom with colleagues.

Jack Welch, the former chairman of General Electric, is still a heroic managerial figure to many businesspeople, and his wisdom has found its way into the book market in many and various ways. Of course, numerous books are available about Six Sigma, the managerial philosophy that Welch made famous. But Six Sigma was only part of Welch's legacy. In this slim guide to the counsel of the man who earned the sobering sobriquet "Neutron Jack," author Jeffrey Krames summarizes Welch's philosophy in 24 leadership principles, followed by brief notes and exercises for training managers. We recommend this admiring condensation of Jack Welch's managerial strategies as an introductory summary which may whet your appetite for a deeper look at Welch's distinctive take on corporate leadership

This book is straight from ACE. It is complete with a section in the back that breaks down what the Ace test will cover. I have not taken the Ace test yet and so I cannot comment on whether or not this book alone will be sufficient enough as a study aid for the Ace Group Fitnsss Instructor exam. I found it extremely informative and very well organized.

Satisfactory reference book. Would recommend American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Reference Manual instead.

While it is true that this book is "boring", one must understand the nature of the beast. This is a "resource" book, not intended for leisure reading. It is a preparatory text written to prepare fitness enthusiasts to gain a full understanding of the many requirements of BECOMING a group fitness instructor. This book is sold on the acefitness.com website along with a preparatory guide book and sample test. The purpose of such a text is to prepare an individual to take an ACE exam to become certified as a group exercise instructor. This book does so quite exhaustively, but, yes, it is dry reading. I write this only to inform potential buyers that the book is an excellent resource for would-be professionals in the fitness industry, but if you are looking for leisure reading, this is not the right book. I AM an ACE-certified fitness professional and happen to know that their exam is one of the top 2 in the nation. So, if you're thinking of becoming a fitness professional, you need to read this.

I have never read a book that was so boring. It was like reading a college text book. It's a book you have to know if you want to pass the ace certifications and I don't envy the people taking the test. It is a big book with definitions you wished were more broken down.

The level of information in this book is outstanding. However it is delivered in a very monotonus way. I know the material presented and I utililized other reading and documentation to support the ACE book. With my education and background and supplemental information I would have still passed the exam. However if the ACE reference book was my first and only encounter with the subject matter the exam would have been a nightmare. The book is a good reference guide. As I have completed my graduate coursework in the kinesiology area, this book has been of great value.

Ms. Horibe has written an excellent resource for everyone who must manage or interact with knowledge workers in any field. This work specifically addresses how to achieve the best possible performance with a team whose skills, attitudes and motives are vastly different than in years past and which operates in a new and dynamic business environment. I highly recommend "Managing Knowledge Workers."

A lot of the business books that I read offer theory that sounds promising, but that I have a hard time using in my real world. This book takes the theories of knowledge management and gives practical, usable ideas for how to make them work on the ground with today's generation of workers. There are even actual dialogues showing effective and ineffective ways of dealing with situations that ring very true (sometimes uncomfortably so). The author clearly knows her field and has a breadth of real-world experience behind her...and a sense of humour to boot! (That's a breath of fresh air in my business book library.) I found this book well-organized, a pleasure to read and full of practical wisdom. I heartily recommend it.

An easy to read, simple description of the basics of people management in knowledge organisations. It brings together well established principles and practices and puts them into a 'knowledge' context. Could be useful for managers in the early stages of movement from a 'traditional' to a 'knowledge' mind-set.

This is an excellent, useful book. It provides practical, down-to-earth applications of knowledge management concepts to the real world of the manager. It is obvious that the author has solid management experience and can speak with authority on what works and what doesn't. Fortunately, it is not a dry, academic treatise. It is, rather, a humourous and highly readable blend of theory and practice which would appeal to senior managers who want to learn how to create the conditions for high productivity from well-educated workers.

Ms. Horibe has written an easy read. Unfortunately, it is too simplistic and lacks any conceptual rigour. Her suggestions are trite and her writing is not original. She spends way too much space paraphrasing others and regurgitation the research and results of her colleagues.

This results in a text devoid of originality. I suggest you search for another text from an author who has more advanced thinking in the field of intellectual capital and knowledge management.

It's an OK book. However, more coverage needs to be involved with mental health issues, because of my interest in it professionally.

This book tries to cover Spanish for Health Professionals from the receptionist to the Doctor/Dentist. It does not adequately cover any of these areas. It tries to teach by showing the reader a conversation, but it goes no further. It has no discussion of common phrases or grammar, and the conversations are too situation specific. It does have a list of colors, months, numbers, etc. in the back of the book. The software portion is more of the same. I have limited knowledge of Spanish, and bought this book for a medical trip to Peru and found it to be practically useless. I would recommend spending your money on a good dictionary or phrasebook, or looking into some of the Spanish language software that is available.

A great buy. This book and CD does not make any reference to grammar, these are strictly many hours of listen and repeat drills that help you with your pronunciation. I learned a lot with the CD, now I speak more Spanish at work and they understand me! I give it five.

I am a clinical social worker who works with Spanish speaking clients, primarialy around issues of sexual abuse. This compact book has helped me in the medical and mental health portions of my job. The authors have managed to choose phrases and expressions that are really right on target for getting the job done. The dictionary in the back of the book has the words I really need to assess my clients- these are not words that help you order dinner in a resort! I found the CD/ROM very useful, being able to replay a phrase as often as necessary to correct my pronunciation has made me feel more confident.

For a product titled "Interactive Language Exercises" and referring to its "workbook", I expected a textbook-like format with actual "exercises"-- fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, translate this phrase, etc. All this has is a list of phrases in English and Spanish. All the CDROM does is pronounce said list of phrases. The only "exercise" is rote memorization of these phrases. There is no instruction on grammar or why you say things the way you do, so there is absolutely no flexibility in learning how to say anything other than the exact phrase they have.

I personally already speak quite a bit of Spanish, so I could use these phrases to pick up some more vocabulary, but I could do that just as easily and much more conveniently from a medical dictionary or from my other variety of much cheaper medical phrasebooks. For someone who doesn't speak much Spanish I think this would be terrible. Who can rote memorize "680 dialog situations, 1200 vocabulary terms, 200 common expressions"? This TEACHES absolutely nothing!

Good ideas for signs in front of churches. Some ideas better than others. Worth the price of purchase, although I'm not certain I would buy the many other versions of the "sentence sermon" books.

Somewhat simplistic and "pat" at times, although they are attention-getters.

The author has provided a book of 701 short, inspriational messages for church or business signs or bulletins. This book would be a nice addition for these libraries and for a personal library also! Congratulations to the author!

The author provides his readers with new, fresh, concise church sign messages not found in most other sign books or sources. A very useful book. Many messages quote actual scriptures. Wish it had more than 701 messages, but understand Volume 2 is in the works! A welcome addition to any sign changer's library!

When our church added a new front sign on which to list church events and/or quaint sayings, I purchased a couple of books with such sayings. 701 Sentence Sermons was one of the books I purchased. The sentence sermons are fine as far as content goes, but they are just a little too long for us. So, if you have limited space on your sign, or a limited number of letters to use, this may not be the book for you. Our church has found the book "Forbidden Fruit Creates Many Jams" to be a much more useful book. Even still, 701 Sentence Sermons does offer a nice collection.

Bishop Willimon is an excellent preacher and teacher--no doubt about it. He sets a high standard for clergy ethics, and rightly so. I agreed with most of what he said until he began discussing the clergy family and the stresses put upon it.

I'm a clergy person, and I'm currently at home caring for two young children. According to his own experience, his wife benefited from parents who were often absent from the home, attending to the needs of the church instead of as he puts it "selfishly" turing attention to the family. I want to raise my own kids, and I frankly see it as a pretty selfless choice; I know a lot of totally messed up clergy kids, and more than enough clergy marriages that are intolerable. Much of this has to do with the needs of the congregation (read: everyone else, and the clergy person's own need to be externally validated) being prioritized over the real felt needs of the family.

I will probably return to some form of parish ministy when my kids are in school, but this sort of attitude really hardens my heart toward the traditional ways we do "church".

This is a book about clergy ethics, but Willimon does not take the normal path of ethical discussion, trying to determine right and wrong actions, setting up situations and discussing the ethical choices involved. Instead, for Willimon, ethics in general and clergy ethics in particular are all about one's relationship with the Lord. Rather than asking "what should I do?" in a given situation, Willimon argues that we need to ask "Who am I to be?" This doesn't seem like an earth-shatteringly original thesis, but in the legalistic world in which we live, it's refreshing to see someone focussing on the Big Picture rather than on the quotidian minutiae of finely split hairs.

For Willimon, an ethical life comes from habits of biblical study, submission to the will of God and the church, living in community with one's flock and one's colleagues, bearing the crosses of ministry faithfully and patiently, and developing a humble sense of humor in one's ministry. This last one is interesting, because he isn't calling on ministers to be entertaining (though that might come through the use of humor); instead he encourages ministers to develop a sense of irony and satire that serves the counter-cultural calling of the church. In other words, we should develop a sense of humor like Jesus'. After all, if the Church cannot highlight the foibles and follies of modern life, then what institution can?

Excerpt from the book, Chapter 2, under the heading "Clergy Characters", page 52:

"A person of homosexual orientation who was living a life of sexual abstinence could make a remarkably good candidate for ministry. Living as we do in a society that elevates a person's sexual orientation as the supreme mark of humanity, it is countercultural, radical and downright faithful to encounter a person, more disciplined than myself, who is willing to forego worship of Eros in order to serve the church."

I would advise a close study of God's Word before believing the opinions of man.

In an age intoxicated by techniques, quick formulas, and market surveys, it is refreshing to receive advice on pastoral ministry that not only doesn't appeal to these things, but rejects them as insignificant to true Christian ministry.

According to William H. Willimon, the first question a minister must ask himself is not, "What ought I do?" but rather, "Who am I to be?" These two questions are connected, but must be considered in the appropriate order. A minister's identity is vitally linked to his sense of God's calling on his life. "What pastors do is a function of who pastors are... Our danger is that we might 'black out,' that is lose consciousness of why we are here and who we are called to be for Christ and his church" (p.21).

Only a strong sense of purpose arising from God's call can sustain a pastor in the hard work of gospel ministry. Willimon quotes Robert Wilson on this point, "You can't pay people to do the things that ministers routinely must do... They need to think God has called them, or ministry is miserable" (p. 22).

Neither the approval nor the needs of his parishioners must control the pastor's ministry, lest he lose sense of his true calling and purpose in the life of the church. "In a culture of omnivorous need, all-consuming narcissism, clergy who have no more compelling motive for their ministry than 'meeting people's needs' are dangerous to themselves and to a church that lacks a clear sense of who it is" (p. 24).

With this as a foundation, Willimon highlights the ethical challenges peculiar to clergy and "the way in which clerical character informs these challenges" (p. 12).

In his chapter concerning the character of the clergy, he argues that faithful ministers must have such a strong sense of God's calling that they are able to "love the truth of Christ even more than their congregation's affections" (p. 48).

In his discussion concerning the pastor in community, Willimon argues that the Pauline "test for the ethical appropriateness of a given practice is, Does this edify the body?" (p. 61). American Christianity is far too individualistic. Willimon laments, "I am conditioned by my culture to ask, 'What does this mean for me?' rather than to ask the corporate, 'What is the Bible saying to us?'" (p. 76).

In his chapter on crossbearing, Willimon argues that no true gospel ministry will be without troubles. If Jesus' ministry was wrought with troubles, rejection, and betrayal, contemporary ministers should expect no better. Like Paul, faithful ministry will demand that pastors are "willing to provoke division, call names, condemn, accuse, and judge" (p. 96) for the sake of the cruciform gospel they proclaim. Put simply, the "[c]ross produces conflict" (p. 111). Willimon warns that parishioners will not prefer this kind of ministry but will prefer a comfortable social club setting instead. Out of all the minister's responsibilities, the one last aspect of ministry that parishioners still approve of is personal counseling. Everything else is tolerated, even though considered irrelevant by most congregations.

Another aspect of crossbearing for the clergy is the time crunch that comes from their numerous commitments. Willimon, rather than giving the standard scheduling advice offered in most books on this topic, calls on clergy to give themselves away in ministry. The cross calls to service, sacrifice, and even suffering. "What is immoral is not one's suffering in service to the gospel, but rather one's suffering in service to triviality" (p. 113). Jesus does not take away burdens, but makes burdens worth bearing. However, the pastor must examine the way he spends his time by asking himself, "Is this service to the cross of Christ or merely servitude to the omnivorous desires of North American discontented consumers?" (p. 113).

He concludes with a chapter on God's new creation, emphasizing the hope that ministers have that all their labor will end in glorious fullness.

Willimon's book is a breath of fresh air for pastors. It is a book that presents many of the pitfalls and hazards of gospel ministry and addresses them, not with simple formulas, but by stressing the character of God's office-bearer and the need to secure one's identity in light of God's call and not primarily people's felt needs.

This book may be OK if you are on the board of a national or international ministry such as a missions organization or a seminary board. This book was targeting pastors and people on the board for a local church and they really missed their target. There are some good ideasand it breaks things down in detail, and maybe the name of the book could be called "Board Membership for Dummies." It just didn't seem to help me much looking at it for the church.

Superficial in content regarding many aspects of church boardsmanship. I would not recommend for this reason.

Before I read this book I was uncomfortable in my role as a board member of a 300-member church. Our board wasn't much of a help to our pastor. I had no idea of my responsibilities as a board member and we weren't very effective. We had no formal orientation to bring new members up to speed and our bad habits perpetuated. In a practical way, this book laid the foundation necessary to turn that around. It helped me realize my role and step into it, which helped us lift some of the burdens from our leader. I applaud Mr. Biehl for this work and would highly recommend it to any non-profit board member.

This book has proven an excellent help for our church board members. Most people elected to these board positions lack the training on might find in the corporate arena. We reccomend this book and are purchasing one copy for each of our board members. Don't be uninformed.

This is a reasonable summary of current techniques and strategies for training. The writing is a bit dry, and I got the feeling that this book was oriented towards human resources professionals. There is nothing wrong with that, but my preference is for a less academic style of writing. Still, it's not a bad choice, just not one of my favorites.

I bought this book because my company asked me to conduct some sales training courses. Although I knew what the content should be, I needed help in structuring the training, making it compelling and keeping the audience involved. What I was looking for were some basic outlines for a training class as well as some ideas of group exercises, team builders, etc. This book did not provide any of that. I ended up turning to an old training binders I had received from my previous classes I attended and tried to follow their pattern.

I'm an independent trainer and often look for resources that can keep me on top of my game. I have a library of training books -- some very comprehensive; some with only a few chapters of information that I can use. This book concisely covers mostly everything that I need to know as an experienced trainer. It's also a useful guide for new trainers or those who facilitate learning. Every bit of it was useful. If you need a good book to add to your own reference library, I would highly recommend it.

A good resource that covers everything from Facilitation to Techniques passing through evaluation and personal development. If you are a beginner or you are asked frequently to help other beginner-level trainers, then you would probably benefit from this book.

The Book is written in an easy and simple style that takes the reader through the different aspects of training logically and smoothly.