Resources Books

A well researched book detailing the advantages of "E" learning in the corporate world. By combining interviews, various "E" learning techniques and the IBM experiences the author is sure to change how "E" learning is viewed in the classroom and in business. By following the blueprint set up by IBM, utilizing "E" learning in tandem with traditional means of learning, this book shows that "E" learning will become the corporate model going forward to be used jointly with traditional instruction.

This book surpassed my expctations, in that the author laid out a highly detailed and disciplined business approach to reserching and documenting his findings. The author doesn't present IBM's experience as the "corporate" model. He extracted the business case elements and decision points critical to the successful development and application of E-Learning techniques. While written from a business perspective I think it has great application value to the academic world - given the ever spiraling upward costs of formal education.

If you are considering an investment in e-learning or looking for a competitive advantage Tai has done a major portion of the research to allow user and reader to make an informed decision. This research is very beneficial to corporate decision makers and students considering a degree on-line. Well worthwhile for anyone researching e-learning. Having an insight into best practices at IBM is an added benefit. Should be required reading for teachers and corporate trainers.


Liam Collin Eugene

While this book focuses on e-learning (electronic learning) as a powerful tool for corporate training, there are many insights and recommendations that could be useful for professional educators in high school, college, and adult education programs. As both a business executive and college teacher, I found ideas throughout the book that could expand both the reach and effectiveness of my educational activities. Here are some examples:
-- E-learning can provide "just in time" training, rather than "just in case" learning. Computer technology can bring information to an employee's desktop or laptop at the very moment they need that information to complete a task. This is called "on demand" learning.
-- Electronic technology allows you to "repurpose" or re-use valuable material or content for future use. For example, the information from a dynamic live business conference can be captured on video, edited, and delivered to a broad audience through e-learning.
-- Using e-learning for "pre-class" work provides students with a common starting point and the same degree of preparation prior to traditional classroom or hands-on training. It provides students with the "threshold knowledge" required for a class. This concept of "blended" learning is adaptable to any educational situation.
-- There is no substitute for a gifted instructor and a skilled teacher in delivering an educational program or course. There will always be a need for face-to-face instruction. Some educators have rebelled against the emergence of e-learning. Enlightened educators need to grasp the power of the technology, such as the ability to reach thousands of students at one time rather than just a handful. It does not replace traditional instruction. It supplements it.
I highly recommend this book. It is must reading for corporate training professionals and for professional educators looking to expand both their reach and effectiveness.

Unlike other e-learning books which focus on e-learning implementation problems, this book covers the e-learning lifecycle from justification through execution and illustrates the effectiveness of e-learning as measured by IBM's experience. Extremely well researched, the author's in-depth interviews documents the how and why e-learning programs are developed and instituted. The book exemplifies the concept of why e-learning is not a field of dreams. Because you built it doesn't mean they will come and learn. Above all, the author demonstrates through IBM's experience why e-learning should only be considered if it makes strategic and economic sense. A must read for any corporation contemplating e-learning.

I used to read a lot of the church growth books, but became rather disillusioned with many of them. Too much marketing strategy or this is the way we did it at First Mega Church (which means it probably won't work very well at Small Town USA Stuggling Church). This is among the better ones I have seen. It sounds like the strategies would work. Some good food for thought and some good exercises for church leaders to be involved with to discover their church's identity.

This book was the foundation on which a 'new' (or rather renewed) church is being built. I've had the privilege of working with Richard and Robert and am seeing wonderful changes in our church as a result. We've been able to put into words who we really are and be true to ourselves. As a result we have been able to attract those who have been seeking a church just like us. They have been able to find us now that we can say "This is who we are! Join together in our spiritual journeys toward God!" I look forward to both Book #2 AND Book #3...especially #3!

I've been implementing some of the procedures in Cracking Your Congregation's Code, and I've found it answers many basic needs of busy pastors and lay leaders. I know it helps answer mine. It's a practical book, that's easy to read, and easy to use. It describes how a church can transform itself. The surveys the authors provide for the four congregational systems give a church a way to quickly evaluate and strengthen their work. From my standpoint, as someone looking for how-to's, I'd say the information in chapter seven on how to create a strategic map is worth the price of the book alone.

My congregation worked with Southern and Norton over the course of several months. We found their strategy for church growth and renewal to be easy to follow, highly participatory, and full of wisdom. It has totally transformed our congregation and organizational systems!

"Cracking Your Congregation's Code" is a great contribution to the church growth movement! It not only offers a theoretical framework for congregational health and vitality, but provides easy to use surveys and inventories. Their recommendations for church growth and renewal are not "one size fits all" but are easily tailored for each congregation's unique "DNA". The end result is the development of a "strategic map" that will guide one's congregation to a new place of enthusiasm and growth!

Concise, easy to read, easy to understand. A good read for any pastor or church leader who wants to get some clarity on the strengths and uniqueness of his or her congregation. The REALLY good news is that this is NOT another "How I Did It" book. To be sure, "How I Did It" books are inspiring, and you can pick up a lot of good tips and tricks. The trouble is that most of them probably won't work in YOUR situation! What Southern & Norton have done is given us a method which will help us understand and analyze our own unique settings - to discover our own congregation's values and unique giftedness - so that we can focus on doing the things that are right for us, not for somebody else! Share this one with key leaders in your congregation!

Graham and Englund have achieved something quite remarkable in the second edition of "Creating an Environment for Successful Projects." The original book from 1997 provided a very good road map for organizations looking to improve their project and program management capabilities, and this update significantly improves on it. There are many fresh insights and specifics about what works (and what doesn't work) drawn from an extensive circle of organizations, including many that the authors consulted with personally.

Even more than in the first edition, the message is that excellence in project execution does not just happen - it requires planning, ongoing investment, and the right encouragement. I think the best parts of the book are chapters 3 through 8, because they provide the most concrete and actionable advice for managers of project leaders; they are filled with good practices on what to do and on what to avoid.

This book was reviewed in "The Journal of Product Innovation Management" May 1998, an international publication of the Product Development & Management Association (PDMA):

A book which discusses how companies can effectively create a healthier and more nurturing environment for product development, based on companies like Hewlett-Packard, DuPont, Raychem and others.

"As the title implies, this book is about managing project management, not about managing projects - an important concept... Its purpose is to get upper management to understand how and why to develop project management as an organizational competency... Relevant across industries from high tech to low, from product to service, and from consumer to industrial or business-to-business... Its key strengths are: 1) its comprehensive treatment of key issues from the role of strategic direction across the project portfolio to the need for cultivating project management learning; 2) its practical recommendations for change; and 3) its easy-to-read examples... The book is well organized with an overview chapter that includes a call to action and an overview of the remaining chapters. The next seven chapters go on to describe each of the elements of creating an environment for success projects. Laid out as pieces of a complete puzzle to signal their importance as a system" (Mark Deck, Pittiglio Rabin Todd & McGrath, May 1998)

As a project management consultant, I get asked alot 'how do I implement PM into my company'. There is no one cookie-cutter approach to this since every company is different. There is also no one book out there that adequately covers this subject. This book is the closest thing that there is. If you are looking for a good coverage of the things that you need to be aware of in implementing PM into your company, this book is a good start. It is also well suited for executives looking to implement PM into a company who are curious what PM involves - since a major problem in implementing PM into a company quite often involves executives who are unaware or unconcerned what their responsibilites are for PM. All in all, a useful book that I have used extensively for clients.

If you want to understand the underpinnings of what makes projects work or not ... this book is a "must read".

It is full of the kind of plain yet profound logic that my grandmother used to pass on to me when I was child. It just made so much practical sense ... .

One of the better books on project management, the focus is not so much on specific best practices for project managers to implement on their own within their teams, but how upper management can create an environment that is conducive to project success. This book is exceptionally good at helping to understand how management causes organizational perversity - mucking things up by applying departmental best practices that are totally inappropriate and bad practices for project teams. Great insights into how this happens without upper managers being aware they are doing the opposite of what they intend. Could be used by a Project Office to convince upper management that they might be the main problem that keeps other best practices from being effective. It also highlights those areas where you can get the most leverage, most out of your efforts to get an organization to improve its overall project management effectiveness.

Amazing how a book written in 1997 seems like it was written for current times.

I purchased this book to help me see a better way to really implement differentiated instruction into my classroom. It was of great help in giving me real examples and ideas to putting differentiation into action!!! =)

This book was a fountain of knowledge. I am slightly overwhelmed after reading it. Every aspect of DI was described, breifly so you understood it and yet didn't spend hours reading it. The reason I bought it was because of the activity and response forms for both students and for myself as a teacher. These forms made the overwhelming infor easy to manage for lesson planning. The only thing missing was a chapter or reference to classroom management. DI is only as good as the classroom manager and as stated in Teachers Change your Bait (2005) by Martha Kaufeldt DI can be a "three ring circus..." (132). I do, however, reccommend this book for the information and response forms. I reccommend Kaufeldt's book as well.

Super book with clear explanations on theory and a wide variety of practical suggestions, templates and examples. Great for all classrooms including secondary.

Differentiation in Action presents a wealth of strategies, tips, techniques, and resources on differentiated instruction that is easy to use for all educators. I have used it with groups of teachers and they readily find ideas that can be implemented in their classes immediately. Each chapter presents a specific topic with the theory neatly complemented by a wide array of strategies, so the book would be a wonderful resource for a study group in any school setting. Judy has taken the best ideas and put them all into this one powerful, teacher-friendly book. A must-have for teachers.

I have known that differentiation in the classroom is key to student success. Practical application has been my stumbling block. Finally, a resource has surfaced that offers theory and practice! I was able to use the strategies immediately. The format of the book is easy to follow. I have already recommended it to my teammates. This is a must-read for classroom teachers. (I wish my own children's teachers would read it as well!) Another plus is the abundance of other resources, including websites for more in-depth information.

Dr. Gladys Hankins has done an excellent job at highlighting many of the subtle forms of racial prejudice and discrimination in corporate America. Her insight is rather compelling with documented real-life interviews and workshops with working adults of different races and gender, as well as individuals working in different capacities and corporate levels. She presents very balanced and fair perspectives of individuals of different racial backgrounds and gender. She has excellently highlighted rather destructive but subtle forms of racial prejudice and discrimination that are designed consciously or unconsciously to stifle or frustrate many talented and hardworking individuals in corporate America. She has presented these issues in a constructive and non-judgmental manner. No well-meaning company executive and leader would read this book without being propelled to "question" their own stand on fostering true diversity which must include fairness and equity in giving all deserving individuals (regardless of race and gender) equal opportunities for career development and vertical promotion. After reading this book, any well-meaning company executive and leader would be propelled to playing an imaginary role of switching places with a very qualified and hardworking woman or minority man. Such a person must then ask how they would feel if a glass or concrete ceiling were placed on them regardless of their output, productivity, talents, abilities and skills. In this book, Dr. Hankins does a terrific job of bringing out your humanity and reminding you that empowering others equates to empowering yourself, your company, your community and the country as a whole.

Dr. Hankins very nicely addresses the White Male fears of seeing any kind of advancement of women or minority men. She brings to light that the feelings and fears of the White Male must be adequately addressed before real progress in corporate diversity issues can be measured. Finally, she offers empowering statements to women and minority men reminding them that to value self from within still surpasses external value by others.

This book pierced through the very heart of many subtle forms of racial prejudice and discrimination in the workplace bringing to light the "Diversity Blues". Blues that continue to limit great minds and potentials, and essentially causing many companies to operate at 50% of their human potential. This book is a "must read" for every company executive and leader because it holds many empowering tools that can help any company maximize the potentials of their intelligent, hardworking, well-meaning and well-deserving employees of the human race. Five stars to "Diversity Blues" and congratulations to Dr. Hankins for an excellent job!!!

Well done! Dr Hankins does an excellent job of recognizing the state of discrimination and prejudice as I experience it in my life (easier to ignore than 20 years ago). She does two things that really opened my eyes and compelled me to act. The first is identifying the problems as they look today and bringing to light the erosion of productivity this causes. The second is presenting a solid business case for why I should take action to fix these problems. Dr Hankins' style is refreshingly logical and direct. I was compelled to read each next chapter and was ready to spring into action when I finished the last page. This is required reading for everyone who cares about their world.

This book is a real eye-opener to everyone who thinks, "we're in pretty good shape as far as diversity is concerned". Its numerous insightful and moving testimonials involve the reader both intellectually and emotionally and convey that modern racism and sexism in the workplace are still a sad reality.

Dr. Hankins challenges readers to examine and revise their own beliefs and assumptions about people who exhibit differences. She reminds all of us regardless of our gender and ethnicity to assume responsibility and ownership for creating the kind of environment, and ultimately the world, we want to live in. To do that she offers strategies to those who are the targets of prejudice and discrimination, encouraging them to address issues from a position of empowerment rather than victimization. She also provides sound guidelines to leaders on how to develop a comprehensive diversity management strategy that goes beyond mere diverse enrollment.

A truly enlightening and inspiring book!

Dr. Gladys Hankins has done an excellent job at highlighting many of the subtle forms of racial prejudice and discrimination in corporate America. Her insight is rather compelling with documented real-life interviews and workshops with working adults of different races and gender, as well as individuals working in different capacities and corporate levels. She presents very balanced and fair perspectives of individuals of different racial backgrounds and gender. She has excellently highlighted rather destructive but subtle forms of racial prejudice and discrimination that are designed consciously or unconsciously to stifle or frustrate many talented and hardworking individuals in corporate America. She has presented these issues in a constructive and non-judgmental manner. No well-meaning company executive and leader would read this book without being propelled to "question" their own stand on fostering true diversity which must include fairness and equity in giving all deserving individuals (regardless of race and gender) equal opportunities for career development and vertical promotion. After reading this book, any well-meaning company executive and leader would be propelled to playing an imaginary role of switching places with a very qualified and hardworking woman or minority man. Such a person must then ask how they would feel if a glass or concrete ceiling were placed on them regardless of their output, productivity, talents, abilities and skills. In this book, Dr. Hankins does a terrific job of bringing out your humanity and reminding you that empowering others equates to empowering yourself, your company, your community and the country as a whole.

Dr. Hankins very nicely addresses the White Male fears of seeing any kind of advancement of women or minority men. She brings to light that the feelings and fears of the White Male must be adequately addressed before real progress in corporate diversity issues can be measured. Finally, she offers empowering statements to women and minority men reminding them that to value self from within still surpasses external value by others.

This book pierced through the very heart of many subtle forms of racial prejudice and discrimination in the workplace bringing to light the "Diversity Blues". Blues that continue to limit great minds and potentials, and essentially causing many companies to operate at 50% of their human potential. This book is a "must read" for every company executive and leader because it holds many empowering tools that can help any company maximize the potentials of their intelligent, hardworking, well-meaning and well-deserving employees of the human race. Five stars to "Diversity Blues" and congratulations to Dr. Hankins for a brilliant job!!!

At this crucial point in the history of the world's major organizations, when far too many are struggling for economic survival, Dr. Hankins makes it painfully clear that Diversity is often misunderstood, undervalued, and benignly, if not overtly, neglected. She goes on to make a compelling case for proactively managing diversity; not the least of her arguments is that an ongoing process for managing divesity must be built into every facet of an organization's business. Her prescription for a healthy organization is to implement ongoing diversity that affects a real change in attitudes so that its members acknowledge and respect human and cultural differences. She makes good common sense! A healthy organization is empowered and enabled to deliver critical results that assure business success and profitabilty. Finally! A book on diversity for the boardroom and the lunch bunch!

While accomplishing a clear and valid intellectual case for "principle-based diversity in today's workplace, Dr. Hankins conveys a deep understanding of the negative human emotions that foster racism and sexism. She challenged me to introspection and reflection by presenting more than statistics and scientific data alone. Personal and group interviews, along with her own personal experience and observation uncover the raw, destructive nature of racism and sexism.

Then, with style and savvy, Dr. Hankins shares a vision for a prejudice-free, discrimination free-organization and addresses key roles all of us must play to create it. Unlike any other dissertation I've read on diversity, "Diversity Blues" has inspired me to reaffirm my commitment to be part of the solution of living a principle-based diversity.

Although this book is now a few years old, it's still 100% applicable to the e-learning situation in today's workplace.

This book is still the most consise and most readable quick overview of e-learning. A busy person like me will find that an investment of less than a couple of hours will give you a comprehensive overview, and let you really understand the issues and the tradeoffs at stake.

After reading this, I feel I could hold my own in a discussion with experts that have years of experience.

Henderson's book on e-learning is one of the most straight-forward, honest looks at e-learning that I have seen in recent years. His Q&A format allows the reader to quickly jump to points of interest without spending time on topics that do not pertain. As a person who has had to deal with business training "gone wrong", Henderson's suggestions for a successful e-learning environment make a lot of sense. As other reviewers have pointed out, I believe that this book and the concepts it describes will translate over to academia readily. Universities and Junior colleges would greatly benefit from taking a step back and focusing on the basics. Schools that are currently attempting online classes could be improved if the took to heart the topics that Henderson describes. Since his experience at IBM has given him a first hand look at how online learning can be done right, companies and learning institutes would be wise to pay attention to what he has to say.

By focusing on technical details, real-life cost, and the practicality of using learning on the web, the reader is able to quickly get up to speed on all the issues that must be considered when online training is attempted.

The practical guide was very useful; it was so easy to find information quickly that I am recommending it to my company's training division.

Allan Henderson's E-LEARNING tells how to make the most from an online learning environment. From budgeting costs for e-learning to supporting employees who respond to e-learning opportunities, this is packed with interviews with experts plus examples of e-learning in sales, legal training and HR. An exciting survey.

This book is a quick glance through various aspects of e-learning. The coverage is not deep, but very broad. This book tells what is e-learning all about; provides specific case studies and interviews with e-learning leaders; presents economical analysis; shows how to apply e-learning to your business; and describes the IBM 4-tier learning model.

However, I do not agree with the author's assertion that "Learning is work, not entertainment". A good learning is always pleasurable and amusing.

This title is easy to read, you may wade through it once and then keep it as your personal e-learning FAQ reference book.

Al Henderson does an excellent job of demystifying e-learning by describing the many facets of corporate e-learning in a style that is both informative and enjoyable. This book will appeal to a wide audience, whether the reader is new to e-learning or has spent many years in the field. The book can be used a reference, an introduction, or a guide to the capabilities and possibilities that e-learning has to offer. The case studies are useful in linking concepts to practical application. Readers will enjoy the perspectives on the future of e-learning provided by industry thought leaders.

If your organization is considering e-learning, I would recommend reading this book and reviewing the concepts with your stakeholders to ensure your are pursuing e-learning for the right reasons, and are approaching it with realistic expectations.

Training is my specialty, so this book explained everything in detail and the show me the future of training.

Employee Training and Development is a very interesting book to read. It helped me out in planning a training and delopment plan at my job.

Fast shipment. Delivered as promised. Would reccomend amazon again for textbook purchases. Thanks for the savings!!!

This book was an excellent tool for my Training Methods class. There were several sections on new training methods, and explained in easy to understand terms, the proper methodology in developing a training program. I would recommend this for anyone needing help in developing a training manual, or who needs general guidelines on setting up a training program for others.

Very good text for the novice in Employee Training & Development. I would recommend this book to those considering study in employee performance improvement or training.

This book should be required reading for every policy maker whose job involves food production. We're on the wrong track and heading for a cliff, and very few areas of the ocean are being properly managed. The book offers a wealth of data, is easily readable, and the conclusion is inescapable; we must learn to grow fish sustainably. The author knows this, and refers in a few places to the way to doing this, but is obviously unaware of the methods of truly sustainable aquaculture, namely aquaponics. Please, if you read this book, also look into tilapia and aquaponics, which CAN solve the problem of seafood depletion if we're smart enough to implement it in time. Unfortunately at this time there are no comprehensive books on the subject, but look it up the technique is being taught at UVI in St Croix by Dr James Rakocy.

Did you know that nets abandoned (or lost) by fishermen become 'ghost nets' that can perpetually go on fishing? Did you know that certain fisheries throw away (or discard) as much as 80% of the species they catch?

This is a book that anybody should (or must) read. The plundering of the oceans is being quietly executed at an alarming scale that we must be aware of the dangers of depriving future generations of the pleasures and benefits of fish eating.

The book is greatly executed and researched. Each of the major subjects of fishery is compartimentalised (if I'm allowed the expression) in compact chapters around 20 pages each so it's easy to read. Charles Clover is a journalist, so he certainly wants to appeal to the broadest audience possible and wants to pass his message in a clear, almost newspaper-like style.

However, if this is the main strength of the book it is also its main weakness. This journalistic style has boundaries, and I'll make clear what I'm saying by citing a few short passages. For instance, in chapter 8 Clover recounts a trip to Newfoundland, Canada, and tells us that, while driving, the radio is playing Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac... Later on, he arrives at Harvey Templeman's cafeteria, who pushes across a cup of free coffee and helps Clover locate the person he is supposed to meet that day.

This is my point: does the reader have to know about Templeman's coffee or radio music in Newfoundland? Fortunately, these detours are short and only consume a few paragraphs, for Clover immediately dwelves into the subject matter... Yet pushing the journalistic style too far could alienate certain readers who are looking for more of a scientific discourse.

Clover makes frequent analogies between hunting in the Oceans and hunting on land. For instance, whenever the case of animal reserves is championed, nobody worries what the construction industry has to say... But whenever a fish marine reserve is planned, the fishing industry has to be consulted. Fishermen are 'stakeholders' but (as Bill Ballantine says in chapter 15) few consider that the real 'stakeholders' of the Sea are our children and their grandchildren.

Why do land-based industries abide to stringent pollution laws (risking legal action if these laws are not respected) while fishing vessels go about plundering the seas running a very remote risk of penalisation?

To continue with the land-sea analogy, we might say that, with current rates of overfishing, our seas are rapidly becoming marine 'deserts'.

Finally, if I must choose at least one major attribute of this book, I would say it is global in scope. Charles Clover can take the reader, seamlessly, from the waters of New Zealand to the Argentinean Antarctica; from the Lofoten archipelago to the high seas off Peru. Fishing, like almost everything these days, requires a global approach.

This is an excellent primer on fish mining. It's well researched and easy to read. The future of industrial fishing looks bleak, and Clover clearly explains why.

For those of you who are concerned about the state of our fisheries and declining fish populations worldwide, I would suggest a newly published book, "The End of the Line," by Charles Clover. As The Independent suggests, his book is "the maritime equivalent of Silent Spring." Clover takes the reader on an unbiased tour of many of the most important fisheries throughout the world from Africa to Iceland, offshore to nearshore. His appraisal and commentary of fishery management is candid and insightful. I highly recommend this book to anyone who finds themselves trying to contemplate the disequilibrium between fishery management and sustainability. The book ends with some positive examples of fishery management of which there are sadly too few, and he has some helpful tips for all of us to do our part to ensure fish stocks for the next generation.

"The End of the Line" is a well-written, highly informative book which addresses a serious global issue.

"Imagine what people would say if a band of hunters strung a mile of net between two immense all-terrain vehicles and dragged it at speed across the plains of Africa.... left behind is a strangely bedraggled landscape resembling a harrowed field... this efficient but highly unselective way of killing animals is known as trawling... it is practiced the world over every day, from the Barents Sea in the Arctic to the shores of Antarctica and from the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean and the central Pacific to the temperate waters off Cape Cod."

Overfishing is a serious problem that must be addressed. The statistics are staggering. As journalist Charles Clover shows in his global exploration of the destruction caused by overfishing, we have inflicted a crisis on the oceans in a single human lifetime greater than any yet caused by pollution.

Many books on influence and persuasion give "5 steps" or "10 laws." This book takes you beyond concept and anecdotes, or "the Walk" of inlfuence and gives you the tools to look and your own communication behavior, or "the Talk." In very practical ways, you can begin to assess your own communication choices and make simple alterations that can help you connect with others and talk about the practical matters of getting things done- together!

Exercising Influence is one of the most useul books I've read in years. I'm tempted to buy a dozen or so copies as gifts for some of the miserably untalanted negotiators I've encountered in my two decades of practicing law. The book taught me two things (at least) of significant personal value:(1)The skills necessary for selling one's point of view to others can be learned; (2) These same skills overlap and improve one's abilities in the related areas of mobilizing public opinion; motivating partners, employees, and family members; communicating authority; making an impact; exercising leadership at home, in business, and in the community; getting results with and through others; implementing ideas; and making a positive difference. This eminently readable book is filled with charts, graphs, examples, tips, and instructions. What the book teaches is practical and immediately applicable to real-world situations. Kim Barnes'20 years of studying, writing about, and teaching the subject are amply in evidence in Exercising Influence. It deserves, and likely will receive, a wide and receptive readership. Five stars.

Exercising Influence reveals many uncommon, unrecognized flaws of casual, ineffective influencing. The author approaches this skill, as you would a physical skill- build up your strengths, address your weaknesses, try and make mistakes. Repeat. Plus, every chapter concludes with application tips. Highly recommended for anyone trying to lead change- at work, home or in communities.

This book can make it a lot easier to deal with people. Not just difficult people, but everyone in your life. After reading the book and practicing the principles, I began to see how ineffectual many of my influence "tactics" were. They were ineffective in that they didn't help me to get what I wanted, or I did get what I wanted but in a way that made it much harder the next time to get something from that person.

You can apply these influence principles anywhere. I also enjoyed the focus on balance between "receptive" and "expressive" behaviors. It's amazing when you start to use new behaviors how soon you get new results that were near impossible the old way.

Exercising Influence is and excellent book! I have read many books on influence and power and this one tops them all. It is based on solid theoretical underpinnings while at the same time being practical, actionable, and straightforward. I plan to use it extensively in my executive coaching practice. It provides lots of models, action steps, and guidelines which can be used by executives at all levels as well as by individuals in other walks of life. I have been hunting for such a practical explanation of a difficult subject. Pleased to say, I have found it in Kim Barne's book1

Jenifer Renzel, President, The Aptos Group, Aptos, California

For grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, I would give "Forty Years" a 3-star review. It became more clear as I continued reading that the manuscript skipped a stage or two in the editing process.

But who cares about that? Really, nobody reads an investing book and worries about grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. We're there for the meaty details of how to make the most with our hard-earned money, and "Forty Years" is chocked full of meat. I've never been one to accept the conventional manner of investing - buy and hold the blue chips - so I'm taking this as an opportunity to stretch my muscles a bit in the world of gambling, er, investing.

Scared money doesn't make money, and, finally, with Carach's advisement, I have a channel to vent my desire to make money before I'm 70. Thanks Fred!

I read this book with great interest because for the past four years I have been using similar investment strategy. From my experience, I can confidently say that the strategy in this book really works. My own research convinces me it will continue to work for quite a long time to come. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to protect or enhance their wealth. In fact I would suggest reading it at least three times.

This is the best book I have read regarding penny stocks and how to get started. There is more practical knowledge in these 142 pages than anywhere else. This is a down-to-earth book by a down-to-earth investor.
One of the best parts for me is the section entitled "What a Bargin Looks Like" - listing seven key areas to look for when purchasing a stock. Big Al also list stocks from his own portfolio. This is a big help when evaluating your own picks - by reviewing his.

This is a great little jewel of a book. After reading it, the writer has provided great details about his strategies and how he plays the market to make a good return on his investments of about 106 different stocks.
The best part is that you can start small and build up your investments and get paid doing so. This book should be in every serious investor's library and you won't find any hype or fluff in this book, its compact with just hard hitting facts and how to make money on a shoestring budget.

What a great, great book! I don't usually leave reviews, but I am something of an investing book guru, because I own dang near all of them. In the past year or so I've read 12 "penny stock" books and (while this isn't entirely all about penny stocks) this the best one hands down. Aside from being an entertaining read, this book is filled with information regarding sectors I never thought about for penny stocks. This book is worth whatever I paid for it just for his one single penny stock strategy. Let alone he gives his whole investment strategy is this 100 or so page book. I enjoyed reading this book and wish the author would write more, because his hatred for the wall street hypocrit/coward nearly matches mine.