Way Books

Kris Vallotton's "The Supernatural Ways of Royalty" is a book well worth reading, and its message is one that could transform the life of the reader forever. Kris' writing style matches that of his speaking, both of which present the Good News in such a way that is profound, yet simple and accessible to anyone with an open heart for the truth.

The royalty of the believer is an uncommon subject in Christian literature; but in his book, Kris openly shares the various occurences in his personal journey that made this truth his reality. Through key passages in the Scriptures, he reveals the hidden road map to the Bride's seat of honor in Christ, which God ordained long ago.

I personally recommend "The Supernatural Ways of Royalty," as it has radically changed the way I pray, worship, view leadership, and relate to people. Most of all, understanding now that God sees us favorably has dramatically changed the way I approach Him in our private time.

The truth of God's Word, as presented in Kris Vallotton's book, will inspire you toward deeper intimacy with God. I highly recommend it.

Outside of the scriptures, this is the most significant book that I've ever read. Incredible insight into the truth of the word of God, and His heart for mankind. Kris is transparent about his own life journey. This book is the fruit of a life yielded to God's redemptive power... a slave becomes a son! An incredible life-giving message. Highly recommended! I truly believe that Kris is a model prophet for our generation.

You are a Child of the King who created you in His likeness and immage.
You are charged to do as Jesus commanded his followers- Bring The Kingdom of heaven to Earth where ever you go. You carry the very presense of the Living God as a believer. You are no longer a mere human You are a New Creation in Christ Jesus. This Book is a call to live out your Christianity daily. The Kingdom does not come in Word only but in POWER this power is avaliable to you through the Gifts given to you freely by your Father in Heaven.

This book was life changing for me. It really helped uncover the wrong thoughts that I have about myself which have prevented me from acting like the child of the living God that I am. It also helped me recognize a wrong attitude that I had towrd my spouse...an attitude of cohabitation rather than a covenant attitude. I would highly recommend this book to those who are pressing in to God to try to walk in the authority and dignity of the royal priesthood that believers in Christ are called to.

This is one of the best books I have ever read! The revelation was so intense and so deep, that I had to slowly digest and marinate in what I was reading, as I was reading. I never had heard of this author before but I have since gone back and purchased all of his other books. This is a man who has the Word of God in his mouth and he is sharing it! So pay close attention!

I have tried to stop smoking many times. I have smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for over 25 years. Each time I have stoped, I continued to crave cigarettes. Alan Carr's method for stoping smoking worked for me, I do not smoke now. I stopped in November of 2007. I dont crave it, I can hardly belive I ever smoked at all. This Method works so well, I have recommended it to many of my friends. Several have purchased the program and have also stopped. This was the best money I ever spent.

I thought this book was very informative,and yet unusual. He reverses your brain by opening our minds to the the brain-washing we were programmed from many years ago.I thought this book is quite incredible. I would recommed this book and Allan Carrs book on How to Quit Drinking as well to anyone who is considering quitting.It's a MUST HAVE!He is an inspiration and genius!

I don't usually write reviews but all the positive reviews about this book helped me make the decision to purchase it and gave me hope. So I hope this helps you.
I ordered this book out of curiosity and was very skeptic about the outcome. It took me over a month to finish it and I doubted myself the whole time. Yet after I finished reading, I put out the last cigarette and felt immediate relief. The first couple of days were a little strange, because I used to plan my whole day around smoking, but it turned out OK.I have more energy, feel better and even endure the company of smokers easily, without being tempted. This book is about putting your thinking in a different perspective, adopting a non-smoker's frame of mind.
Try it even if you're skeptic about it. You have nothing to loose and so much to gain!
I am getting it as a Christmas gift for all my smoking friends.

As a 15-year smoker, I have tried to quit many times, and have had partial success twice with the nicotine patch, quitting for 8-12 months before succumbing to nicotine again and starting back. I was very skeptical that anything short of a medically-prescribed shot or drugs could cure me of my addiction, much less a book. I tried Mr. Carr's book anyway based on the positive reviews here.

What I first considered a negative, was that Mr. Carr is not a doctor and has no professional training. I subconsciously assumed he was if he was writing a book about quitting smoking. He is just a man who used to be a chronic smoker who was able to quit. Several months after writing this review, I realized that this was a positive, since it seems that much of the medical community advocates Nicotine Replacement Therapy, and doesn't understand the true addictive properties of nicotine. This sounds like a ridiculous assertion to say that a doctor doesn't understand addiction, and I thought Mr. Carr was being pompous when he first made the same claim in his book, but given how many physicians smoke, and how many advocate replacing nicotine with nicotine, it is not so far-fetched. The second negative I initially gave this book was the minor annoyances at reading the book due to some of phrasing in it and how many times Carr repeats the same phrases and ideas. After reading it twice however, I realized that this is done on purpose to drill certain concepts into your head.

Carr's method is really just a mind set and a new way of thinking about smoking that makes it easy to quit. He doesn't focus on describing the dangers of smoking to you or try to scare you into quitting. The entire method revolves mainly around coming to the realization that you don't really like smoking, and that the only reason you do it is because you are a) addicted to nicotine b) brainwashed by social stigma. I have only been a non-smoker for a month but I am completely confident that I will never smoke a cigarette again. I am not worried about cravings, peer pressure, or the influence of drinking and being at a bar (my main problem in the past). Carr's method is different than what he calls the "willpower method," where you quit cold-turkey and see how long you can go. His book has completely changed my viewpoint on cigarettes and after 15 years, I finally realize how powerful nicotine is and how dependent I was on it. What's more, you don't even have to quit smoking while reading it. Carr actually recommends against this, and the book is so effective that by the time you finish it, you will want to quit smoking rather than be forced to.

After reading this book twice, the strongest advice I can give anyone is to FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS. If you haven't already (I had), do not quit smoking until you reach the end of the book. I can't stress this enough.

I strongly suggest anyone who is serious about quitting smoking to read this book, and then read it a second time to full understand it. It costs less than a carton of cigarettes, is a quick read, and likely will save your life.

As to the Audio CD Edition:

I previously read an earlier edition of "Easy Way" from the library, and have found that this 2005 edition is somewhat improved over the previous edition. I definitely recommend anyone considering this book to purchase the 2005 edition over an older one. I purchased this Audio CD edition because I wanted every single resource I could use to help me quit. It comes with two CDs, with about 70 minutes worth of material that they could have fit on one. The CDs are pretty worthless. 80% of them repeat the concepts in the book. That's it. Track 2 on the second CD does contain some new information that I found somewhat useful. It explains mainly how to deal with other smokers after you have quit, and how to deal with drinking after you have quit. Unless you are very addicted and think you really need it, I don't recommend the audio cd edition and would advise people to purchase The Easy Way to Stop Smoking: Join the Millions Who Have Become Non-Smokers Using Allen Carr's Easyway Method instead, as it has everything you need.

...and I am still free from cigarette smoking.

The writing style took a little getting used to, but I allowed myself to believe what it is saying, and I found that I was freed from my previously-held beliefs about smoking. "Cured" sounds far-fetched, but that's how I feel now. I smoked for 16 years, and of the many times I attempted to quit, this was the only successful method.

Try it, even if you don't feel ready to. After all, you can keep smoking while you read the book (indeed, the book instructs you to do so).

As a screenwriter and screenwriting coach ([...], I'm constantly looking for ways to eliminate procrastination. Turns out everything I needed to know was in this book!

Great book. Easy, short read gives you the urge to keep reading at the end of a chapter. Great advice, if you follow it. It's changed my life in a very positive way. I bought ten copies to give to those I love.

I was fortunate enough to hear Dr. Maurer speak. He is an excellent speaker and I knew I needed to buy the book. It reenforced what he said and was easy to follow. I recommend it to anyone who is trying to make a change in their lives.

Great Book with great ideas on how to strat major changes in your life with small steps.

Well written, easy suggestions, essentially the message is clear - take small steps toward positive outcomes and keep taking them until they become part of you and your life. In that way, over time, you will find it possible to make major changes in your life. All the kaizen references are a bit annoying, and, as another reviewer stated, the kaizen program is all about manufacturing and as such using kaizen in this way has no real relevance... however, despite that, a very good little book!

My parents gave me this book for my birthday. I'm very glad that I finally got around to reading it. The author was
shot down over North Viet Nam, and spent five and a half years as a POW in several vietnamese prison camps. Dave Carey takes the reader through these experiences, the terror, disappointments, the boredom, and even the humor. I've always liked reading stories of how people get through tough times. It gives me inspiration to get through my own, lesser, tough times. In the telling of an experience more devastating than most of us will ever face, Carey provides a wonderful example for getting through the tough times. His five-point checklist will help anyone get through rough times; it is simple, concise, and eminently do-able in any situation. Thanks Mom & Dad for the gift, and thank you Dave Carey for writing it!

Thank you, David Carey, for sharing your POW experiences. The description of how you and your fellow prisoners chose to spend your time and the attitude you had toward your situation are an excellent example of how we all make choices about how to deal with what comes up in our own lives.

This book is an interesting, easy and fun read. Carey is a great storyteller who makes you feel and understand what they lived through along with how they kept their sanity and dignity.

Great insights from a guy that's been there. Dave has an uncanny knack of applying his challenging POW experiences to our everyday lives. A solid read.

Dave was my roommate aboard USS ORISKANY prior to his capture in 1967. As a Naval Academy graduate and Naval Aviator he was assigned to an attack squadron flying the A-4 Skyhawk. I met Dave the day we departed NAS Alameda for deployment to Southeast Asia, and Vietnam. He had his fiance Karen aboard for a short time in the officer's wardroom for coffee and last minute good byes. The next time he saw Karen was 5.5 years later after his release from a North Vietnam prisoner of war camp. I saw him again at his wedding!

This is terrific read along with Zalin Grants "Over the Beach" about the war, it's history, and the toll it took on countless lives.

i thought i had lived through some tough times before reading Dave's story... if life has got you down, choose this book, you'll begin to feel you too can survive and excel even in the most demanding situations. Dave ties in his Vietnam experience to create powerful insights for daily living in part 2.
My advice... READ THIS BOOK!

This book is wonderful! This is the first parenting book I've read that actually increased the joy in the house. I've been having more fun than I thought possible with my one very easy and one tempermental child.

The book contains really specific suggestions, like what to do in uncomfortable play situations such as when your child points his pretend gun at you. (tell him it's a love gun and it makes you fall in love with him).

Also, the book empathizes with the difficulty for a serious minded adult when it comes to being silly, and provides needed encouragement for being silly.

I have bought probably 20 books on parenting thru amazon, but I've never been tempted to review one before. usually they just aren't worth talking about. Not bad books, just not helpful for our difficult situation.

Now that mommy is silly, the six year old is soo much happier. And it seems to be working. We are more connected, and as a result the tempermental one is calmer.

A pleasant read with plenty of humor and ideas. The author is a nice real human being, not a miracle worker coming from outer space, teaching you how to loosen up and reconnect with your children in very simple ways.
The author offers hope and guidance to parents, helping them understand their mistakes with empathetic insights; empowers you with tools to address your own emotional issues, and covers every possible topic with lots of examples ( I loved that!)
Definitely the best parenting book I've ever read.

Will use some of these ideas in my daily life-i got 2 sons (3&1 year) and really some of these ideas weren't new, but in our busy schedule it's good to have a book like this to remind us that all the kids need are play (among all other necessities :))

This book is a little too "psycho babble" for me. The author gives a lot of explanations by describing moments between himself and his own children that I did not find helpful. I felt like the book could have been only a few pages long and still gotten the same message across. All he really needed to say was, "Play with your children, even during discipline."

I bought this book because I needed help with getting better at playing with my daughter. She always wants to play and I am busy or not in the mood. I was feeling so guilty and not a good mom that I started looking for books on how to be a better parent. After reading this book, I realized how important play is. Is not just a game but a way to build a stronger relationship with my daughter and learning what she is thinking and feeling. Through play she lets me know if she had a good day at the daycare.
I strongly recommend this book.

Bob Prosen has nailed it with this practical methodology for achieving results in businesses. His easy to read style with honest, truthful, practical points make this a handy tool for those days when we can find outselves stuck in the mire. Bulleted points and checklists make this volumn easy to go back to time and time again for refreshers. Whether you are a process oriented manager, or a "gut-check" leader you will find important ideas presented to keep you moving forward.

Kiss Theory Goodbye by Bob Prosen is divided into three parts. Part I is titled: The Big Win: Maximum Profitability and Results. It begins with the Introduction which opens with the following

"What are your top three objectives and how do you know you're achieving them? This may seem like a simple question, but I usually get vague generalities when leaders respond to it."

That short excerpt tells you what this book is about and why it's going to be good. Only someone with real hands-on experience improving business results would know the importance of that question. And a book devoted to sharpening answers to questions like that is sure to be valuable.

The publicity material for this book says it's the next step in the chain of Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't and Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. For once, you can believe the hype. Bob Prosen has written a book about how to execute and aimed it squarely at the small to mid-sized companies that need it most.

In the first chapter called Stuck in the Status Quo: Five Crippling Habits that Attack from Within, Prosen lists five things that companies do over and over and then make excuses for. Here's the list.

Absence of clear directives
Lack of accountability
Rationalizing inferior performance
Planning in lieu of action
Aversion to risk and change.

Sound familiar? If you're like many CEOs I know, the list will provide several shocks of recognition.

Having driven his stake about the situation at many companies firmly into the ground, Prosen moves on to Part II to tell you how to do better. This part is called the Five Attributes of Highly Profitable Companies. There's a chapter devoted to each one. I've noted the chapter number in parenthesis

Superior Leadership (2) is about what you need to do to prepare yourself and your people to improve. Prosen zeros in on the gap between the leaders' perceptions of how things are and their employees perceptions, noting that:

"70 percent of business leaders say their company's top objectives have been clearly defined and articulated. Yet only 48 percent of employees say they understand the organization's strategy and goals."

All of the chapters in this part have the same, helpful structure. Prosen begins by outlining "Strengths and Weaknesses" in the subject area, based on research. He follows that with solid and practical advice.

At the end of each chapter in this part there are three short, helpful sections. One gives you questions to determine whether you "Measure Up" on the issues covered in the chapter. A second lists "Very Important Lessons" from the chapter. And a third suggests "Actions to Take Now." These three sections make it easier for you to move from reading to doing.

Sales Effectiveness (3) is filled with advice for building the top line. Operational Excellence (4) gives you tools and suggestions to maintain margins.

The chapter on Financial Management (5) says that financial management is "traffic control" for your business. Prosen notes that this is often an untapped resource. In my experience, he's absolutely right.

Many C-suite executives in smaller companies lack financial sophistication that would help them do a better job. Many operating executives see finance as a kind of arcane trivia that distracts them from the "real" job of managing. That's reason enough that this chapter should be must reading, even if you skip other parts of the book.

The chapter on Customer Loyalty (6) was the weakest of the five core chapters. Prosen calls loyalty, "the gift that keeps on giving." He's right about that and he has lots of good things to say and suggest.

However he does not discuss Net Promoter Score (NPS) in any way. NPS is based on the The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth, Fred Reichheld's excellent book. Since companies that have used NPS in some form have gotten great value from it and since it is a hot topic in customer service these days, its absence here is one of the few weaknesses in the book.

Part IV is Execute for Results, which starts with the chapter on Bridging the Gap (7). That chapter, in turn, begins with a wonderful quote.

"At the beginning of the day, it's all about possibilities.
At the end of the day, it's all about results.'

Substitute "the end of the book" for "the beginning of the day" and you've got this section in a nutshell. This part of the book is about going from ideas, goals and good intentions to results. These chapters all end with "Actions to Take Now" and they're definitely worth a review.

Chapters on Be Your Competitor's Worst Fear (8) and The Critical Path to Getting Things Done (9) have lots of good advice. Measure what Matters Most (10) gives you ways to assess how you're doing on Prosen's Five Key Attributes. Maintain the Gain (11) shares a look at how companies often get off track.

If you are part of a small to mid-sized company, Kiss Theory Good Bye will help you improve just about every area of your business. Here's summary of the my review.

How this book is different:

This is a solid practical handbook that is aimed at helping small to mid-sized businesses execute better and build long term competitive advantage and profitability. It picks up where books like Good to Great and Execution leave off.

Strengths:

Solid, practical advice from a consultant who's actually worked with the businesses he writes for.

Great organization and clear writing. The chapters on the Five Attributes of Highly Profitable Companies have a structure that begins with Strengths and Weaknesses of most companies based on research. This anchors the advice that follows. The chapters all end with analysis questions, key learning points, and suggested action steps.

Warnings:

There are lots of places in this book where the author drops bits of bait to get you to check out his services or other products. On page 81, for example, he outlines a technique, and then tells you it's one of several that he teaches in his workshops.

Sometimes his ideas of what to do are more exhortations than practical advice.

Bottom Line:

If you're involved in business this will be a good, insightful read.

If you're in a small to mid-sized company this should be a must-read.

From the moment I read Prosen's book, I knew it had to be required reading for the MBA class I'm teaching. Because my day job puts me in the trenches with organizations of all sizes, I knew that this book hit the nail on the head. While other books make the case for getting from "good to great" this book creates the roadmap for HOW to achieve it. With relevant examples, usable tools, and a down-to-earth common sense approach, Prosen provides a timeless tool of common sense for senior leaders of organizations. He also provides applicable reasons for addressing the "nay sayers" in the organization. If you're tired of books that provide a lot of fluff with little take-back-to-your-desk-application, then get this book. My MBA students have assured me that they are keeping this book in their library.

I've just finished reading Bob Prosen's book, "Kiss Theory Good Bye: Five Proven Ways to Get Extraordinary Results in Any Company." I've also read Mr. Kent M. Blumberg's review of Prosen's book, and I fear that some Amazon customers might get the wrong impression of "Kiss Theory Good Bye" from Mr. Blumberg's thumbs-down judgment. I'd like to reply to Mr. Blumberg's review.
When I read Mr. Blumberg's take on Prosen's book, I said to myself, "Blumberg is either (a) a pretentious consultant, or (b) an adjunct professor of management at a third-rate community college."
I wasn't wrong. On his Web blog site, Mr. Blumberg calls himself "a professional and executive life coach," whatever that may be. That's one difference between Prosen and Blumberg: It would never occur to Mr. Prosen, a successful management consultant himself, to describe what he does in language so high-falutin', so vague and voguish.
Blumberg is the type of consultant who is impressed by business books that carry conventionally edgy, smart-ass, offbeat titles. It's a device borrowed from academic publishing. I call them "Cute two-part titles." A cutesy metaphor separated from its explanation by a colon. You know the kind I mean: "Talk to the Elephant in the Room: Dealing with Corporate Failure," or "The Hieroglyphics of Crisis and Change: How to Defeat Fear in Your Company." (No, the title of Prosen's book does NOT fit this pattern. "Kiss Theory Good Bye" is not used metaphorically.)
Here are three actual titles taken from the book review part of Blumberg's Web log:

(1) "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable."
(2) "The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)"
(3) "CIRQUE DU SOLEIL THE SPARK: Igniting the Creative Fire That Lives Within Us All."

Mr. Blumberg has a large appetite for books of this sort. Mr. Prosen offends him by relentlessly sticking to the point, forswearing the current business-book chic, cloudy, smarmy pseudo-inspiration that so impresses Mr. Blumberg, and insisting that doing business successfully is hard unglamorous work. I agree with Mr. Prosen.
According to Blumberg, you need to read $300 worth of specialized 400-page books to get the full story of what Mr. Prosen teaches. Baloney! This is simply the whining of an envious consultant who wishes he had the powers of summary and synthesis and imagination that Mr. Prosen displays throughout "Kiss Theory Good Bye."
Mr. Blumberg says there's nothing new in Prosen's book. In a certain limited sense, this holds water. But in the larger sense, Blumberg couldn't be more wrong.
In Blumberg's words (he's speaking of Prosen's five attributes of successful organizations): "Unless you just crawled out of a cave, you already know what it takes to succeed." This is just more Blumberg-consultant blather. Many business leaders DON'T know what it takes to succeed. Prosen proves this again and again in "Kiss Theory Good Bye" with examples from his distinguished career.
Mr. Prosen's book is full of new formulations of tried-and-true maxims, unconventional restatements of old ideas that work. Even when his formulations sum up ancient wisdom, he still finds fresh things to say.
For example, this gem:

"Today's most prevalent business challenge is. . .planning in lieu of action. . .it's the issue of execution that remains in question. . . What separates the winners from those who struggle. . .is the ability to execute a plan. It really is that simple."

So true. Planning as an excuse for doing nothing is the curse of large organizations. Planning in place of action occupies far too many intelligent people, wastes far too much time, in 90 percent of corporate America. How many elaborate, expensive plans lie dormant, forgotten, useless, laid to rest in bulky ring binders on the CEO's shelf! But who has reminded business executives as powerfully as Prosen that the acid test remains action, action, action?
Or these insights from Prosen on sales:

"Recruit great salespeople; don't teach great people how to sell."

"The president gave me the go-ahead, yet I still had one question: Would he remain supportive if the plan I designed allowed someone [a top-flight salesperson] several levels below him to make more money than he did? He was very willing. Many members of top management have trouble with this concept."

Yeah, I'd say that 999 out of 1000 of the business-school graduates from Stanford, the University of Chicago, Wharton, and Harvard would have a great deal of trouble with that concept.
And that brings me to another of Prosen's basic but brilliant observations: He stresses again and again that he's surprised by the number of executives who ignore or don't know the fundamental ideas he lays out in his book. How can this be?
Good question. It's one you won't find an answer to by reading Mr. Blumberg or the business thinkers Mr. Blumberg admires. And reading Prosen's book, and being shocked by the business ignorance of the American executive, brings up another question: What are we teaching our business school graduates? Why do so many of them know nothing about the basic realities of what they do?
Why are so many of them so touchingly ignorant about how to communicate with other senior execs, other managers, and front-line employees about things these groups absolutely must know to be effective? Why? What are we getting for the $200,000 we spend on educating these M.B.A.- and Ph.D.-degreed ignoramuses in how to run a corporation?
Prosen's book is packed full of suggestive ideas, old and new. Here are a few more of these ideas just on the subject of "costs" (I can't possibly give you all of them):

"All too often leaders become slaves to their financial accounting systems and wait too long before taking action. If you don't completely understand your cost structure. . .Take whatever steps are necessary to get the information you need. There is no excuse for not knowing."

"It's amazing how many companies struggle to accurately determine their true cost of doing business."

"I can't tell you how often I've worked with companies that don't know their cost of doing business in sufficient detail to support their business decisions." [Prosen then gives an amazing example of this inexcusable ignorance from his experience as a consultant. Read the book.]

"Another great way to reduce costs is to periodically challenge why every report in your company is required. . . I applied this seemingly simple strategy inside a Fortune 1000 company and the savings was extraordinary."

"Poor quality and rework can quickly render [a company] non-competitive. With all the investments made in quality processes over the years, you would think this issue would be very well managed. Yet when I ask company leaders how many of them have defined processes in place to reduce inefficiencies and rework, very few do."

"Another great way to focus on problem elimination is to hold recurring operations reviews. The process I like best makes the leader who is responsible for each operating area stand up and present his or her results in front of colleagues and senior management."

"Run leaner than you would prefer--even in good times. It's always a better alternative to budget cuts and layoffs."

Dear readers, Prosen's whole book is packed with insights and sayings and warnings and summaries as valuable as these. Yes, Prosen is relentless. Yes, he pounds home his lessons again and again. Yes, much of what he preaches is superficially obvious. But you know what? All great practical teachers do exactly that. These reflections make me wonder whether Mr. Blumberg actually read "Kiss Theory Good Bye." He certainly didn't read it carefully, or with the least imagination.
I urge you to read "Kiss Theory Good Bye." Don't pay any attention to Kent Blumberg. There isn't a wasted word in "Kiss Theory Good Bye." It's all business. Maybe that's why it offends Mr. Blumberg. It's too practical, too down-to-earth. It insists too much on the necessity of changing what you're doing now by working hard and continuously at what must seem to Mr. Blumberg to be grubby, dull, mean little particulars. Prosen offers no neat but chicly paradoxical inspirational formulas for achieving business utopia instantly.
Here's what I think: If Mr. Prosen had been aware of Kent Blumberg's existence and cared about pleasing him when he wrote his book, he would have chosen a different sort of title. Something like, "Who Melted My Cheese: The 12 Things You Must Do Differently to Keep Your Company on Top." Yeah, that probably would have done it.

Bob Prosen wrote a great book called Kiss Theory Good Bye - Five Proven Ways to Get Extraordinary Results in Any Company.

The goal of the book is to provide a definitive how-to-book on business execution. It is a first person account of how Bob Prosen has helped lead major companies.

I like the simplicity of the book and the rules. I particularly like the chapter summaries that make it an easy read.

Chapter one talks about one of my favourite topics, habits. Although the focus of the chapter has a lot of bad habits and I prefer to focus on good habits. Clearly habits are the first step in any good company. This chapter also talks about doing walk-abouts.

Chapter two talks about leadership. It talks about having no politics. I would modify this to say any company is going to have politics so can they be positive politics. This ties into culture which is one of the main topics that any leader should involve themselves in.

Chapter three talks about sales effectiveness and how to manage a sales force as well as what the difference is between a good and bad sale.

Chapter four talks about operational excellence. Clearly operational excellence is where it all begins and has to do with such things as cost structure, accounting, and just good old fashion execution. It also talks about processes.

Chapter five talks about financial management where information is power. One of SYNNEX's top values is visibility and this chapter talks all about visibilities so you know your costs and where the profit is and where you are making money and where you are not.

Chapter six jumps back to the customer and talks about customer loyalty the one that keeps on giving. This is tied closely to sales but potentially talks more about branding and execution.

Chapter seven starts with a great quote, At the beginning of the day it is all about possibilities; at the end of the end of day it is all about results. This chapter talks about getting results and are you really doing it.

Chapter eight is titled Be Your Competitors' Worse Fear. It starts with, Your competitors' biggest fear is not so much your bright ideas but your ability to turn those ideas into bottom line results. That requires an accountability based culture relentlessly focused on achieving clear goals.

Daily Checklist

End indecision, increase your productivity, kiss theory good bye and get the results you need.

THESE SEVEN STEPS EVERY DAY TAKE:

Give clear directives. Be short, be definitive, and get to the point.

Require accountability. Focus on results, not activity.

Never rationalize poor performance.

Avoid overplanning. When a plan is in place, execute.

Embrace change. Search out opportunities to improve your organization and your results.

Help every member on the team win.

At the end of every day, ask yourself, Did my actions today help move the organization closer to meeting its objectives?

THE LEADER'S ROLE - MAKE EVERYONE WHO REPORTS TO YOU WIN!

Clearly define everyone's objectives, establish quantifiable metrics, and measure performance.


Have each person identify the top three barriers to achieving his or her objectives.


Agree on specific actions, responsibilities, and time frames to remove or minimize the barriers.

Hold everyone accountable for results and disproportionately reward those who achieve their objectives.

Remember, you win when everyone on the team wins!

Chapter nine, The Critical Path: this talks a lot about communication. Clearly nothing happens without proper communication.

Chapter ten, Measure What Matters Most: This not only goes to the accounting and financial measurements which were discussed earlier, but gets into counting what is right. I have always been a big believer of every business having a dashboard and believe each business is dashboard and what should be measuring and looking at differs.

Chapter eleven talks about how you continue with the execution and keep it going.

The Epilogue Beyond Profitability: Doing Good and Doing Well



The old adage is true: You can do good and do well. With the attributes I've outlined, you don't have to cheat to become highly profitable. There's no need to color your reporting or cook the books to achieve great success.

As a Christian Counselor I use many books in my work including this one and "The Man of Her Dreams The Woman of His! 2" (the second book by this same author. I also like the new book A Forever Love Story Surviving Trials in Marriage These books are useful in showing how a Christian marriage should be. They are great "instruction manuals" on doing marriage right that goes well with the Bible. I would certainly recommend all of these books to any couple wishing to better their marriage.

This book is very informative and helpful in the age old conflict between husbands and wives. Joel is to be commended for his eye opening stand on issues that have for too long kept women in mental outlooks of defeat, especially when it comes to a troubled marriage. Joel and Kathy have taken a position of determination to help people realize their responsibilties in contributing to the foundation of trusting love and wholesomeness between a couple. For me, this book has been invaluable for supporting and even encouraging regaining hope that was lost and a renewed self image. That, in itself, is healing. I appreciated the emphasis on men recognizing their God-given responsibilty to lay down their own interests in life, as the head of the home, for the good of their wives. I have always believed that good would come back to them in abundance, if they caught hold of that vision. Love and respect is the main theme throughout this book. What better platform can you speak from then what God has already declared to be His design in the first place.
Hats off to Joel and Kathy! And prayerfully, may this type of writing/ministry be a forerunner to many ministries and counselors who seek to help in the marriage arena. Here is "hole" in our society that needs to be addressed and fixed. I would recommend this book to anyone who is married or even thinking about getting married!! Full of common sense.

This book is awesome and powerful. Joel and Kathy are truly amazing and hit the nail right on the head in every area of how to have the marriage of your dreams!!

Made in Heaven!

When it comes to communicating how struggling marriages can be healed, God has done a mighty work in authors, Joel and Kathy Davisson. And the good news is they have shared what they learned in not one, but two of the most innovative marriage books around.

Book I, The Man of Her Dreams, The Woman of His, tells how their relationship was restored, using sound biblical principals, after the sins of adultery and abuse had taken a huge toll on their marriage.

In Book II, The Man of Her Dreams The Woman of His 2 - Livin' It and Lovin' It! (Volume 2) Joel and Kathy continue to share the insight God has given them which has produced the "outrageously happy marriage" they now enjoy. Such ideas as the husband as initiator in the relationship--the husband sets the tone of the marriage--he is the leader in that sense. They also champion submission--not as it has traditionally been taught, but MUTUAL submission, wherein the wife submits to the husband AND the husband submits to the wife. As in Book I, men are called to "become the man God is calling you to be by being the husband your wife needs you to be."

In both of their books, Joel and Kathy teach tried and true concepts gleaned from the Bible that they have applied to their own once struggling, now very successful marriage. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to have or help others to have a marriage (literally) made in heaven!

Kay Sons

This book, along with using scripture, can help couples identify and address marital problems and remedy them so that their marriages can be blessed and happy. As each spouse is overflowing with the love of God, then their marriage will be happy and blessed. The church and society at large will benefit as happily married christian couples bring God's kingdom into this world.

Just as God's grace is multifaceted, I believe that solutions in life will be as well. There are many good marriage books. I just read an unflattering book review by the couple that wrote this book (which is how I got here), and I am concerned on a variety of levels. The following statements are from the bible and should be lived out. Christians are to submit to God first and then to one another. Christians are to love other christians and non-christians. Husbands are are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Wives are told to submit/obey their husbands. The weight of emphasis is what Joel has an issue with. He expresses frustration with the emphasis that if wives would only submit, husbands would love. I agree with him. But God's order and design for marriage should not be dismissed. I need to love my enemies, regardless if they deserve it. Husbands and wives have responsibilities in marriage whether the spouses deserve it or not.

It is astounding to me that Joel would publicly denounce another book on the same subject matter in a book review on Amazon. He never finished reading the book he criticized. He claims that the bible teaching of women having to submit to their husbands is based on one LONELY scripture and is actually the reason that the church's teaching on marriage has been 'upside down' for 45 years. He purports that his book teaches something inspired by God and corrects the generally accepted church marriage paradigm. On this topic, Joel claims to be prophetic.

He also claimed in his review that his greatest need as a man "is for me to learn what it means to lay my life down for my wife and love her as Christ loves the church," not to be respected by his wife. These are not analogous. Actually, one is his responsibility/obligation (dying for his wife and loving her), the other is a reference to a desired response from his wife (respect). The author of "Love and Respect" (the critically reviewed book) makes that distinction. Husbands and wives are responsible to behave as the Bible teaches, regardless of the number of scriptures that support a behavior (for instance - being a living sacrifice). Respect is something I appreciate from others, especially my wife.

Another strong statement in the review is "I do not want my wife to feel like she is supposed to "respect" me simply because I am her husband or because the bible tells her to respect me. Yes, every man would like to feel respect - but does a Christlike man want his wife to respect him just because he is a male whom she is married to? No. A real man wants to live a life that is worthy of respect and wants to be respected because of the life that he lives." He obviously was not worthy of her respect for many years in their marriage. In fact, his behavior while being a pastor was bad enough to disqualify him from ministry. We as christians should be living lives that please God which will engender the responses of respect and love in return. I would like to illustrate this from a wife's perspective, using Joel's quote, "I do not want my husband to feel like he is supposed to "love" me simply because I am his wife or because the bible tells him to love me. Yes, every woman would like to feel love - but does a Christlike woman want her husband to respect her just because she is a female whom he is married to? No. A real woman wants to live a life that is worthy of love and wants to be loved because of the life that she lives"? I would hope so. We should live what the bible says, even if others are not living the way they are supposed to be living. Proverbs 31 exhorts women to be virtuous. Men and women, regardless of being spouses, are called to be holy and loving.

Joel was a pastor when he was guilty of abusing his wife emotionally, physically, and spiritually. He eventually committed adultery. Interestingly, his parents were involved with pastoring as well, and his father had also committed adultery and left the family. It makes one wonder when a family of pastors can behave so badly. Joel, as the egregious offender, he needed to change, and not blame his wife. But what about when a wife commits adultery? Is it the husband's fault? As David proclaimed, I have sinned against the Lord. Good marriage counseling addresses spousal accountabilities, thoughts and behaviors that are inconsistent with them, and strategies to help change the marriage for the better. Rarely is a bad marriage one spouse's fault.

Before Joel's book was written in 2004, many wonderful helpful biblical marriage books were already written. And if he had read those books, he may have avoided or shortened the length of the abuse and adultery that he was guilty of. A book that balances a husband's responsibility in marriage and a wife's responsibility in marriage is called "The Way of Agape" by Nancy Missler, written in 1995. Her marriage was in shambles as well, but she fought to preserve her marriage just like Joel's wife fought to preserve theirs. Another book that was written from the perspective that a husband's behavior alone could turn a marriage around is called "Rekindled, How to Keep the Warmth in Marriage" by Pat Williams, also written in 1995. Both books take different approaches, but the end result was the same - a saved, vibrant, restored marriage.

Hopefully, in the spirit of Christian love and humility, Joel will refrain from writing additional poor book reviews on marital topics, while promoting his own books. The love he promotes in this book for his wife comes from the Holy Spirit. The same source should influence Joel to be less critical of other marriage books.

This book is an excellent tool. It focuses very specifically on effectively creating a business presentation. The tips were valuable to be and I have been creating presentations for several years. It will also be very easy to reference in the future.

This book is about making CONSCIOUS decisions for balancing the story board itself for hard facts, visual, ethical and psychological aspects, politicily correctness etc. but of course doesnt stop there.

The book shows and discusses which elements you need to convey your story and why you use certain presentation technics over others to achieve your goals.

The book is devided in 14 chapters. Each chapter is focused on either

a) How to create or develop your basic story or on
b) How to enhance it

(by using the described technics and its implications and reactons it will provoke).

What makes this book standing out is the careful analyzation of the aspects that came into play when giving an presentation.

That obviously includes the analytical skills itself but also the time and effort to explicitely mention and discuss (dis)advantages of each element.


The carefully chosen presentation samples will be disassembled throughout the book and taken apart into its peaces, analyzed, explained and put back together.

Where required, the example will be (dis)assembled several times to bring the points across.

Its the analysation of those presentations and its aspects to a granular level and putting the gained knowledge into a conscious presentation creation process that make the book so valuable.

Most books tell you just how to use software to make graphics etc. but this book tells you what you have to present to your adience to actually win them over.

The fact that the many aspects are explicitely explained helps you visualize the options you have at your disposal and the reason why you chose one presentation form over another.

While this book focuses on presentations that show off your assets and the art of persuasion. There is also a companion book "In the line of Fire" which focuses more on the defense to hardball questions.

I do also want to recommend a third book - "Dan Roams: Back of the Napkin" which focuses more on the technical aspects of how to find your story, and a strong focus on visualizing it fool prove and providing rock solid hard facts that wont be beaten.

What Jerry*s books does express very well is the fact that giving a presentation is like being an athlet.
You will have to exercise "verbalize" regularly to be in top form when it counts.

Good luck to you !!

We've all sat through presentations that dragged on forever, but led nowhere. What's worse, we've probably even given a few. As the author puts it, "The problem is that no one knows how to tell a story...and no one knows that they don't know how to tell a story."
Author Jerry Weissman boils it down to telling a compelling story. That's easy to say, but hard to do. With this book's guidance, you can become an effective communicator--whether convincing employees of the need to change, persuading prospects that you have the best solution or leading skeptical community groups to support your cause.

Presenting to Win overflows with practical advice on how to engage an audience by telling your story with a focus on what's important to them. You become an `audience advocate' whose concern for your listeners' needs puts them at the heart of your presentation. As Weissman describes it:
"Persuasion is the art of moving your audience from Point A, a place of ignorance, indifference, or even hostility toward your goal...navigating them through an unbroken series of Aha!s...to Point B, a place where they will act as your investors, customers, partners, or advocates, ready to march to your drum."

By following Weissman's detailed roadmap, we can learn how to tell stories that move and motivate our listeners by keeping them engaged from a compelling start to a big finish.

Silicon Valley Presentation Guru

Weissmann's first career was as a Hollywood producer and screenwriter. His friendship with venture capitalist, Ben Rosen, led him to his second career as a presentation guru. In 1988, he launched a business that taught high tech executives to move from feature-laden, techno-speak dissertations to engaging, listener-centric presentations. Yahoo, Intuit, Cisco, Microsoft, and Intel all benefited from his teachings.

The Opening Gambit is Just the Beginning
Weissman offers plenty of real world anecdotes, how-tos, and helpful graphics that convey how to grab and keep your audience. His opening gambit concept typifies his approach. He first offers the rationale, supports it with multiple success stories, and describes a broad range of opening gambits.
To engage an audience, an opening gambit pulls them out of a state of disinterest or suspicion about you and your presentation. Asking questions is one of seven such gambits discussed. In 1993, Scott Cook founder of Intuit (maker of Quicken and QuickBooks) faced a jaded audience of investment bankers. Rather than launch into a feature packed discussion of his new product, he asked two questions:
* How many of you balance your own checkbooks?
* How many enjoy doing it?
After a round of chuckles, he continued, "You're not alone. Millions of people around the world hate balancing their checkbooks. We at Intuit have developed an easy-to-use, inexpensive home finance tool named, Quicken." With this `Aha' moment, Cook was off and running.
Beyond the Opening Gambit--Components of Successful Presentations
Equally insightful chapters on presentation essentials provide a level of detail and clarity that leaves nothing to chance. They include:
* Story development
* Graphic design
* Delivery skills
* Tools
* Q & A techniques
In each case, Weissman

Presenting to Win: A Blueprint Worth Following

Weissman demonstrates that even those of us who aren't naturals can present to win. Learning what he teaches requires significant effort because his approach contains such a broad range of interrelated elements--and includes variations that differ depending on purpose, topic, and audience. Making it easy for our audience is hard for us. But, as Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, Intuit, and Yahoo learned, the effort is well worth it.

Presenting to Win is a terrific book. I got a clear, structured, sensible system to create presentations that will skyrocket the level of mine. I will keep this handy every time. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Jerry.

Jerry Weissman is one of those rare people who has written an authoritative sounding book about how to present and has the real experience and background to justify every claim he makes.

The book starts with the premise that the presenter must focus on the audience and that he must make them focus on him. He must understand the mental point they are at (Point A) and moves them to Point B. He must understand what is in it for them (WIIFY) and constantly use it as he constructs every slide to walk them to Point B. He must also understand the setting of the audience, and his main points of argument. Finally, he must tie those points together with a flow structure that fits his argument.

That's the first half of the book and as someone who has through some awful presentations, I can only wish reading this book were the equivalent of a driver's license for public speakers.

The back half of the book draws on his background in television and employs standard cinematic techniques to improve the appearance of PowerPoint. It's easy to overlook this part, but it makes a huge difference as well.

I've now had a chance to see people who have used these techniques for years present, and it makes a huge difference. I have also seen someone present in a tough situation using these techniques for the first time. This person is level-headed and not given to fads. His comment? "I wish I had run to Jerry's book ten years earlier."

If you speak in public, this is the one book you have to read, and re-read. It is common sensical, based in fact, and surprisingly intuitive.

This is a fabulous little book. It's a series of fifty very short advisory essays all about how to love yourself when you hate yourself. Specifically, Roth's work deals with compulsive eating, and this is her focus here too, but unlike some of her other work, this book is clearly meant to be more broadly applicable to any and all situations in which one might find oneself swimming in a sea of self-hatred. Roth is a humorous writer. She has a similar sort of wit as Anne Lamott, who has written the introduction to this book. Overall I found this book hilarious and moving. I stayed up all night to read it.

No matter how many times it happens, I'm always amazed when I find that there are other people in the world who go through some of the same things as me. This book really did it, it really showed me that I'm not alone in the frightening world of body-image. By the time I finished the second chapter, I had decided that I was going to get this book for my best friend for her birthday, and by the time I had finished the sixth chapter, I realized that I was going to buy it for every single one of my girlfriends for their birthdays.
This is a really amazing book, and the author really knows how to talk to women who are in need of reassurance as well as a little shove (or a big one) in the right direction.
I suggest it for women of all ages who struggle with any sort of body/self-image, no matter how long that struggle has been going on.

I originally checked this book out of the library. I loved it so much I bought a copy and am reading it again. I also purchased two copies to give to good friends. This book may or may not help me to loose weight, however, it is so uplifting and encouraging it has really helped to change my attitude towards food and not to be so self-loathing.

as a person on the way from recovery from anorexia, this book offered helpful advice in a fun demeanor. would definitely recommend this book to everyone--on either sides of the spectrum.

I read a few books by Geneen Roth, including this one, in the beginning of 2003. After reading them, I gave myself permission to stop "dieting", and allowed myself to eat the food I like, thinking that if I didn't feel deprived that I would eat less and lose weight. I also kept away from the scale. The result was I gained 30 pounds in 9 months, before stopping myself from this upward climb. Its taken over 4 years to lose those 30 pounds. To this day I still regret reading those books. While I don't think its healthy to obsess about food and counting calories and body image, I do think we need to be careful about what we eat.

This book has really helped our marriage. It can be hard to read, but only so far as personally I spent a lot of time thinking "Oh dear, I do that too!". A great eye opener, extremely easy to read and full of really excellent tips than can make a huge difference. I've read a large number of self help books over the years, and this ranks as one of my favourites.

This is a wonderful book. Helpful, clear. My experience with Amazon could not have been more perfect. Sue

This is the best book on relationships I have ever found. Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks show ways in which people trip themselves up while relating to others and how to overcome these personal issues by working on yourself.

Even if you decide not to do the assignments in part II I suggest you at least read them. They can provide additional insight.

If you want to get a deeper idea of how your family system may have influenced your current relationships then make it a double feature and read "Broken Toys Broken Dreams" by Terry Kellogg, which you can also find on his website http://www.liferesources.com/tinfo.html

Another good book is "Bradshaw On: The Family" by John Bradshaw.

These books dovetail nicely with "Conscious Loving".

As I've been reading Gay Hendricks book, Conscious Loving, I've been moved and amazed at how deeply I'm reviewing my life, my patterns and what i really want for myself in relationships. At first I've been uncomfortable actually seeing so much about myself. However as I continue reading I'm grateful for the insight and compassion that is opening to me. I've recommended this book to many of my friends, particularly those who would like to bring depth and more closeness into their relationships.

I first read this book over ten years ago. Recently it has come up in my life again (I just sent this URL to a new "friend" :) ), and I just had to write a review to counter whatever the hell that "one star" is about.

This book changed ME. I've been applying it's principles all these years - not just to romantic relationships, but to family, work, and everybody else. It not only freakin' works, but it will bring more personal joy to you IN GENERAL.

The only regrets in the last ten-plus years has been the times I've forgotten these principles.

They (Gay and Kathleen Hendricks) laid out the core of this book on their website, which I discovered today (when I sent the URL to the...guy..), and it pretty much is the book in a nutshell. Look under "about". www.hendricksinsitute.com. Thank you Gay and Kathleen!

If you're far from the place they're asking you to be, you're not going to get it just from the web page. If you're searching and close, however, you'll get it right away - it's like epiphany after epiphany. In re-reading them, I was surprised at how many of the 7 Principles I have been applying (somewhat imperfectly) to this day.

There are a bunch of exercises in the second half of the book, but that's never been my thing. If you're more of a kinesthetic (experience) learner, though, get the book because the exercises looked pretty good (I guess).

Heavens, I don't know what else to say - except that this book and The Road Less Traveled are the only self-help/psychology books that I didn't think WEREN'T just a smattering of dressed-up common sense, padding, and bull.

Nina

PS:I know this is my first review. I swear I'm not a shill. In retrospect, I like a couple of other books, too like Bradshaw On: The Family: A New Way of Creating Solid Self-Esteem (I forgot that John Bradshaw wrote the intro to this book - I've known about THAT book for almost TWENTY years). But those are the top two.