Business Books

Guy's intro says it all - [it] "is a tweaked, updated, edited, and supplemented compilation of the best of my writing."

And what a powerful compilation!

I began with the midpoint at Chap 45 and it's quick, instructional reading, bullet-pointed to be memorable and it's really, really useful. This book gets the motors revving and the brain whirling and warms you up to greater, and greater achievement, all while having fun!

Purified Kawasaki. That's my favorite term for this book. And you can read a few of the 475-plus pages over many days, months, or even years. It's all good, timely stuff.

This book kicks butt while building confidence so newbies to old sages can find something in Reality Check.

And you can take that kind of check to the bank!

Shirley de Rose
[...]
Enterpreneur, business coach, public speaker

As you read through Reality Check, you will often mutter to yourself, "Well, that makes sense" or "Seems logical to me..." Problem is that not many entrepreneurs or even salaried professionals use the common sense that Guy Kawasaki has captured here. You may have heard it from your parents long ago, "Be nice to people and they will probably be nice to you", or as Guy has phrased it, "The Art of Sucking Up" but don't forget "The Art of Sucking Down." Or, maybe something you observed from sitting in too many boring presentations, "Entertain your audience... if your speech is deathly dull, no amount of information will make it a great speech."
Unfortunately, we don't often practice what we we've been taught. Guy breaks it down into bite-sized morsels that can be pulled out for a pick-me-up snack when the start-up world is beating you down. Great book... go buy it!

This is best stuffs, heavy and condensed stuffs from Guy Kawasaki. I am a fan, since the day of "macintosh way", and all of his books. I bought all of Guy Kawasaki, Tom Peters, and Peter Druckers' book. The 3 of them have their own way of seeing things in Business that complement each others.

It is still very easily read, funny, relevant and yet powerfully useful for all entrepreneurs and entrepreneur-to-be.

The well arranged materials come from Guy's blog and previous writings, reworked and arranged into 12 Sections with 94 Chapters!!!:

The Reality of Starting: This one will wake you up to the reality of strat up.
The Reality of Raising Money: Personally for start ups outside USA (or Silicon Valley) there is a bit difference we should know, but the essense is similarly important.
The Reality of Planning and Executing: Great Stuffs that works....
and on and on to the folowings.....
The Reality of INNOVATING; MARKETING ; SELLING and EVANGELIZING ; COMMUNICATING ; BEGUILING ; COMPETING, HIRING and FIRING ; WORKING ; and DOING GOOD.... So much to read, so much to absorb, it will be a week-long enjoyable read.

I got this book 3 days ago from amazon and halfway through, and I have the urge (after a long silence of doing review here at amazon) to RECOMMEND this book highly to any future (and working) Entrepreneurs.

I got back here at amazon to order more to GIVE AWAY TO FRIENDS, and here I am writing for you all that this is a GREAT BOOK to buy, read, re read, and re read again and again.

This is not a 4 hours flight and done book. This is more of a REFERENCE book on all aspects of business start ups, worthy of re reading and rethinking all the time.

I have personally started up many businesses of my own (google my name, Tanadi Santoso) and I always use THE ART OF THE START as my Best Recommended Book on Entrepreneurship for my public speaking audience. With one warning: you have to ajust if you are in Indonesia or other Developing Countries.

500 pages of condensed material, this book will be staying around and dog-eared and marked and used many times over. You should get your copy soon!

Tanadi Santoso, Surabaya, Indonesia

I found this book to be a "reality check" for anyone thinking of starting a business or anyone who has started one and isn't doing so well at it. I kind of liked it. It was an easy read. It felt like I was reading a bunch of blog entries (94 to be exact) that had been grouped into the following 12 chapters:

1. The reality of starting [1-5]
2. The reality of raising money [6-15]
3. The reality of planning and executing [16-24]
4. The reality of innovation [25-31]
5. The reality of marketing [32-37]
6. The reality of selling and evangelizing [38-43]
7. The reality of communicating [44-52]
8. The reality of beguiling [53-63]
9. The reality of competing [64-67]
10. The reality of hiring and firing [68-78]
11. The reality of working [79-89]
12. The reality of doing good [90-94]
13. The reality checklist

Chapter 13 was just a conclusion with a short checklist of key points made earlier in the book. The author admits nobody can incorporate all the points made earlier in the book into their entrepreneurial efforts.

I like a lot of what the author preaches. However, he is a product of Silicon Valley and the venture capital mentality. I'm not a fan of that way of doing things. Not all businesses need either angel investors or venture capital firms to help them along. And I certainly do not buy into the author's take on business plans. He says they should be short, simple, and no longer than 20 typed pages total if they need be written at all. I think this is just plain bunk! An entrepreneur needs to fully understand what she is going to do when she starts a business BEFORE SHE DOES IT. She needs to know how much things are going to cost to get the business running. She needs to know how she is going to do them. By writing a 25-35 page typed business plan with financials she will know exactly about cash flow and breakeven analysis. By winging it she won't. And a failure to plan by not writing a sound business plan is a plan to fail!

Maybe an entrepreneur who plans to give their company away to angel investors or venture capital firms can get away with not creating a business plan. In fact, the less they write the easier it will be for the company to be swiped out from under them. But lets get one thing straight: business plans are a tool for an entrepreneur to use to master their business in order to avoid losing their shirt by starting it on the fly. Business plans are not primarily created merely to qualify for loans or investment dollars. This point is so critical to startups (except for the very few that qualify for venture capital funds) that the credibility of the entire book is tainted to a degree in my view. 4 stars!

Guy Kawasaki is one of those business Zen masters who is full of wonderful insights and observations that provide us with those flashes of insight that cause us to say, "A ha!". His books don't provide a systematic guide to business, but he never claims they do. He is at his best in the short form thought rather than the extended exposition of ideas. This substantial book is 474 pages long. He groups its 94 chapters (plus introduction, conclusion, and index) under 12 headings. Now, you or I might see this as 12 chapters and a bunch of sub-headings or bullet points within each chapter, but we don't see things as Guy does. Each tiny chapter is its own insight and is meant to be thought about on its own rather than pushed through to finish the larger "chapter".

The idea of this book is that the reality of business is usually very different than what we think it is supposed to be. We too often behave and act as if these illusions in our minds were reality and this causes us to put our business into jeopardy unnecessarily. The twelve headings deal with the actual realities of starting, raising money, planning and executing, innovating, marketing, evangelizing, communicating, beguiling, competing, hiring and firing, working, and doing good.

This book is amazingly frank about the realities of being an entrepreneur. For example, chapter 10 provides a few pages on the top 10 lies of venture capitalists. What a refreshing read that was! On the other hand, to show you the kind of statements I refer to as Zen just look at the checklist in the conclusion: 1) Are you making meaning? 2) Does your product jump to, or create, the next curve? 3) Is your product Deep, Intelligent, Complete, Elegant, and Emotive? 4) Do you have a mantra for what you do? 5) Do you have a 10-slide pitch with no font smaller than 30 points that you can give in 20 minutes? 6) Have you figured out a way to take your product to market with no budget? 7) Are you helping people who cannot help you? 8) Can you blow away an audience with a demonstration of your product? 9) Would you hire `imperfect' job candidates who love what you would do, as well as people who are better than you? 10) Are you only asking people to do things that you would to, too?

I also enjoyed chapter 66 on "The art of driving your competition crazy". Well, I enjoyed a great many of the chapters, but some resonated with my own experiences in business more than others.

This is a very interesting book and I am sure that you will find ideas and insights here that you can use. More than that, I think that you can find ideas here that will fire you up and allow you to work with greater motivation, focus, and purpose. No, this is not a recipe for success book. Instead, it is a book that helps you see what reality is asking you to do to find success. And that is what we are all after.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

If there's one thing Bertie Wooster should never do, it's make elaborate plans to bring estranged lovebirds back together.

And he demonstrates just why in the second full-length Jeeves novel, a screwball disaster saga that sees Bertie confidently trying to fix people's lives. Of course, things go horribly wrong, and Wodehouse's arch, nutty look at what happens next is an absolute gem.

When Aunt Dahlia summons him to Brinkley Court for a prizegiving, Bertie sends his newt-fancying friend Gussie instead -- especially since Gussie is enamoured of a girl staying there, the soppy Madeleine Bassett. But when Bertie hears that his cousin Angela has broken off her engagement to Tuppy Glossop -- and his aunt is in need of money -- he rushes down to assist all his relatives and pals by advising them to feign such sorrow that they're unable to eat.

Unfortunately his plan falls through, and they manages to enrage the cook Anatole to the point where he storms out. Even worse, the prize-giving is a disaster and the wrong people end up engaged -- and pursued by homicidally angry exes. Only Jeeves' formidable brain can somehow save the day -- and Bertie's behind.

P.G. Wodehouse made a pretty good living off of spoofing the upper crust of England, and the subtlely intlligent servants who bail them out. "Right Ho Jeeves" is a prime example of his writing -- some small mistakes rapidly balloon out into a crazy tangled mess, which only an intelligent manservant can rescue Bertie from.

Much of the book's charm comes from its complex plot and series of disasters (such as Tuppy's homicidal rampage). And as usual, poor Bertie finds himself the object of young ladies' affections -- in this case, the appallingly goofy Madeleine thinks he's madly in love with her, when she's not rambling about fairies and bunnies. If there's a flaw, it's that Jeeves' final solution is a bit limp.

But Wodehouse's writing is what really makes the book timeless. It's arch and wry, whether he's describing basic actions ("He leaped like a lamb in springtime"), or goofy dialogue ("But if you were a male newt, Madeline Bassett wouldn't look at you. Not with the eye of love, I mean").

Jeeves and Bertie are the perfect comic team -- Bertie is proud, goofy, and not terribly bright, while the quiet Jeeves is a towering intellect with wry wit. And they're backed by a colourful, small cast of nutty aristocrats, schoolboys, sharp-tongued aunts and cousins, newt-fancying fish-faced men, and a girl who talks about how "every time a fairy sheds a tear, a wee bitty star is born." Yech.

"Right Ho Jeeves" is a hilarious, tangled farce of love, money, jealousy, dinner jackets and the mating rituals of newts. Absolutely priceless, from start to finish.

"Right Ho Jeeves" was first published in 1934 in the UK, though was first published in the US under the name "Brinkley Court". The book is set in England and features Wodehouse's best known creations : Bertie Wooster and his valet, Jeeves. Bertie is the book's wealthy, good-natured and rather dim narrator. He's a member of the "idle rich" and, rather than having to work for a living, lives off an allowance provided by his uncle. He spends much of his time in the bar-room of the Drones Club, is fond of the occasional wager and has an appalling dress sense. Luckily, Bertie has Jeeves, to look after him. Without Jeeves, Bertie's life would be a mess : he makes an excellent hangover cure, his bets usually win and is intelligent enough to rescue Bertie from nearly any situation. He disapproves of Bertie's more garish items of clothing, and will - occasionally - take it upon himself to deal with the offending item.

The book opens with Bertie's return from Cannes, having spent two months on holiday with his Aunt Dahlia, his cousin Angela and Madeline Basset - Angela's best friend. Arriving back at his flat, Bertie is surprised to learn that Gussie Fink-Nottle has been a frequent caller in his absence. Gussie, an old school-friend of Bertie's, is something of a reclusive character : he doesn't drink, looks rather like a fish, prefers country life to the city and is a noted newt-fancier. Gussie has apparently fallen in love, and has - wisely - taken to visiting Jeeves for his advice on how to win the young lady's heart. However, following a disagreement with Jeeves about a white mess jacket purchased in Cannes, Bertie decides to take over Gussie's case.

By sheer coincidence, the object of Gussie's desires is none other than Madeline Basset - who, after the trip to Cannes, has returned to Brinkley Court (Aunt Dahlia's stately home). Bertie sends Gussie off to the stately home in question - though his motives aren't entirely noble. As well as spending time with Madeline, Gussie will also be delivering a speech at the local grammar school's prizegiving day - a job Aunt Dahlia had intended for Bertie. However, when word comes through that Angela has brokern off her engagement with Tuppy Glossop, Bertie and Jeeves race off to the countryside to offer their support. Naturally, Bertie's attempts to ease smooth things over land everyone in a great deal of bother.

A very easy and enjoyable read.

got the blues? melancholia got you in its grip? the prospect of death got you down? jeeves to the rescue! nothing like a good wodehouse read to cheer one up. problem is, the man wrote just short of a million books, and not all of them are good. so where to start? right here, with this book. of all the wodehouse books i've read, this is my favorite, the most consistently entertaining. just what the doctor ordered to smash you in the funny bone and get a smile going on the old face.

If you love Monty Python, Faulty Towers, and the like, you'll love RHJ. The glowing reviews on this page are spot on. This is timeless stuff. And Cecil's reading (if you incline towards the recorded version) is terrific. Laugh out loud funny. I adored every moment!

It is rare that I derive such pleasure from a book, but Right Ho, Jeeves, gave me a delightful surprise. Not only does Wodehouse make an art of the satirical novel, but in the process wraps the reader up in the witty speech of Bertram Wooster and his strange arrangement of friends, family, and butler. Bertram, or "Bertie," as he is commonly known, stumbles through the entire novel with the idea that he alone must bear the weight of being the sole aid to his friends' problems. Despite several attempts at a kind reprimand from Jeeves, his personal servant, ("I beg your pardon sir... What I intended to say, since you press me, was that the action which you propose does seem to be somewhat injudicious."); Bertie continues to give it his best. Among other things, Wooster implements the best intentions while attempting a match between old friends, but with little success: "All he had to do was propose." "Yes, sir." "Well, didn't he?" "No, sir." "Then what the dickens did he talk about?" "Newts, sir."

Despite the playful banter, colorful characters (such as a sensitive French cook), an inept yet lovable narrative voice found in Wooster, and of course, Jeeves, behind all is an incredibly clever satire on the "upper crust," so to speak. Although, admittedly, many readers cannot associate directly with the early-middle twentieth century, one cannot help but feel the idle, privileged and somewhat clueless lives of the English aristocracy seep from the pages of Jeeves. Wodehouse does a wonderful job of capturing the lives of people who have nothing better to do then dabble about ridiculously in the lives of one another.

Indeed, Wodehouse does much to reflect the over-privileged lives to which Bertie and company cling to so humorously. However, what might have become a novel filled to overflowing with hilarity and drama is brought back down to a more substantial level with the constant subtle humor and patronization brought in by Jeeves. "Jeeves, don't keep saying `Indeed, sir?' No doubt nothing is further from your mind than to convey such a suggestion, but you have a way of stressing the `in' and then coming down with a thud on the `deed' which makes it virtually tantamount to `Oh, yeah?' Correct this, Jeeves." The nature in which Bertie and the rest are virtually ignorant to Jeeves' little jibes such as this shows clearly the statement of Wodehouse, how the aristocracy is too self absorbed to notice even the slightest. In short, this is a wonderfully clever novel, which keeps the pages turning with quick wit and snappy humor. I highly suggest it.

This book contains a lot of helpful ideas. If you are new to facilitation it will give you an excellent start and you will probably refer to it many times for ideas. If you are an experienced facilitator, I think you will find many new ideas here. This one of the few books of this type where I actually read the entire book, cover to cover. Well worth the price and the time to read it.

The secrets of facilitation is a great account of what experienced facilitators should already know. I did not find the book to possess any new secrets or tricks of the trade, however, it is a must read for the novice facilitator.

A great book for those engaged in facilitation. It is well written and easy to understand. It is one of the better books I've found on the topic. The reason for 4 start instead of 5 is the price of the book. Books that would compliment this are "Leading Through Collaboration" and Leading Groups to Solutions: A Practical Guide for Facilitators and Team Members

Well written -- brief and to the point. Valuable even if you only read the first and last chapters. If you think you want to work on Facilitation skills -- get this book!

This book starts with good real time situations to describe the common problems in facilitation and how to overcome them. It helps both beginners and serious facilitators. Through a series of real life examples it teaches the best practices for effective facilitation.

Many insights to bring you a turn around in a small business. Written in an engaging fiction-style, many insights are taught to help you recognise the valuable resource you have in your small business and make the most out of it, and bring it to its potential for profit and success without going more deeply into debt or pouring money into forms of advertising that don't work. It gives great hope to business owners who have been discouraged by heavy adversity.

As I have said elsewhere, I think Steve Chandler is among the wittiest and most intelligent guys around. His writing is a lovely combination of autobiography, insight, humor and analysis. His "self-help" books are among the finest I've read.

I'm guessing I've read a few more novels than the folks who poured out the 5 star reviews. Because this is a very bad novel, revealing the flaws of those who think that fiction writing is easy and who have access to a publisher. Any editor would have prevented this dog from being published as is.

Here's one sentence emblematic of the many things wrong with this book:

Jonathan looked around for a while before seating himself at a quiet table by the window and waited until a large, overweight gentleman who looked to be anywhere between 50 and 70 came to the table with a menu and a pitcher of water.

If you like that, you might enjoy this book. If you find it a bit of a run-on, with sloppy redundancies, irrelevant detail, an endless parade of prepositional phrases (a guaranteed murderer of snappy prose) and poorly chosen modifiers, as I did, then you will stop now.

As another reviewer suggests, read their non-fiction. It works. This doesn't. Well, at least it was brief.

I stumbled across Steve Chandler's writings as I was meandering one day through the local bookstore. I was frustrated and disillusioned by my small business and wondering if I should continue it. I accidentally (if you believe in accidents) found his book, "9 Lies That are Holding Your Business Back...", co-authored by Sam Beckford. The first chapter deeply offended me; so I knew that I needed to buy it. These guys knew way more than I did about business and I wanted to learn every bit.

This discovery led me to other Steve Chandler treasures and I promptly purchased this book, The Small Business Millionaire. First of all, we meet our hero, Jonathan. I was shocked to discover his obsession with the hit show Magnum P.I., because I currently am watching the entire series via DVD with my husband.

Jonathan's character obviously has a 'wealth mentality' and he assists his friends, Jennifer and her father Frank in their restaurant business. Anyone who has ever owned a business will see their thoughts mirrored in Frank's comments throughout the book. Anyone who hasn't lost hope in their business will eat up every word uttered by Jonathan. Jonathan obviously has a good heart with an excellent business mind; the challenge for us is not only to listen, but to be brave enough to follow his advice.

My small business has improved dramatically in the short timespan that I have read this book. I'd like to see where I am in a year from now, as I apply these techniques to my everyday life. This book is worth every penny, along with "9 Lies" and "Reinventing Yourself". Thanks Steve:)

Annie Bathgate

Yesterday was a long day. Up at 4:30AM for a flight down to LA. A day of meetings then back on a plane to get home by 10:30PM. Too wired to sleep and nothing on TV but people talking about Michael Vick. Time to grab a book.

I figured that I would read a couple of chapters then off to bed. A couple of hours later and the book was finished. It is not a surprise that it only took a couple of hours, the book is barely over 120 pages. The surprise is I finished it before going to bed. I was that tired and it was that good.

This is an easy book to read, and it is a good story, but at 120 pages, I do not think it will teach you how to run a business. It does make you think about the business side of business.

There are two really good things in this book, you have to love business nearly as much as you love the business you are in and don't waste money on advertising.

The author's depiction of advertising sales people is classic. "Of course this Ad will help your business, you just have to keep advertising until people recognize your name." Right, but do you guarantee this will bring in customers? "We can't do that, of course. How do we know why someone came in? But, just keep running the ad and I'm sure it will work." I have been there often.

The danger after reading it is that you may conclude that you should never advertise. Not true. Advertising may or may not be great for your business. Maybe the kind of advertising you are doing is not right.

I ran a business where we were spending $15,000 a month on ads. How did we know what ads worked? We asked. We kept track of which ads worked and which didn't. We changed what the ads said. We changed where they ran. We changed when they ran. And, we asked customers how they found us and noted how much they spent. All of this data helped show that the $5000 we were spending a month in yellow page ads was wasting lots of money and the $3000 a month we spent in Val Pak coupons was bringing in 50% of our business. The other 50% came from repeat, word of mouth, and the rest of the $15000 we spent on other types of ads.

Because we asked, we started running much smaller ads in Yellow Pages and moving that money to send out more Val Pak ads. Sales increased. We then set aside some of the budget to experiment with. We used it to try all kinds of things. Those that worked earned the right to continue, those that didn't, well let's just say Edison had a lot of failures too.

There are many good books on advertising out there, Much thicker than this wonderful novel. I like Dan Kennedy's stuff for how to test and write copy. The guerrilla marketing series is also very good.

So why 5 stars? Because this book does a great job at what it does. It is not trying to be a complete business book. It does a great job in showing you that there is a difference between having a hobby that you are good at and turning it into a business. The difference is you have to spend as much or more time doing the business stuff, as you spend on the fun stuff. And if you do not excel at the business side, there will be a lot of pain.

Reviewed by Stephanie Rollins for Reader Views (1/07)

"The Small Business Millionaire" is about a mysterious patron of a failing restaurant who aids the owners in restoring their business. The cook/owner of the restaurant, Frank, just wants to cook. He really does not want to run the business. His daughter Jennifer was just a college student who worked in the restaurant. She then, inspired by the annoyingly mysterious coach, Jonathan, quits college and starts managing the restaurant. She sees it as means to saving the restaurant and increasing her practical business knowledge. This brazen move worries her father. Is Jennifer making a foolish decision?

There are only 121 pages in "The Small Business Millionaire." I thought it would be concise and to the point. This is not the case.

When I began to read "The Small Business Millionaire," I was surprised to see that it was a novel, not a textbook-like guide to getting rich quickly. I read through the first half of the book, hoping that the degrading preaching would end, and the exciting novel would begin. No such luck.

I felt hostage in one of those get-rich-quick seminars. It was as if the doors were locked or the television could not be turned off. The coach in the book would not answer a question in a straight-forward manner. Everything had to be in riddle form.

I am sure that there were many great lessons to learn from "The Small Business Millionaire," but I could not get past the fact that the book was written for the lowest common denominator. Why insult your readers by dumbing down the material?

Regardless of how poorly written, "The Small Business Millionaire," Chandler and Beckford are superb coaches. To learn from Steve Chandler and Sam Beckford, skip reading "The Small Business Millionaire." Read "9 Lies that are Holding Your Business Back." You will learn so much more. I also recommend visiting their website.

Selling is not easy, specially "the major sale"... this book gives you a real start point after reading the SPIN Selling book (must read first).

The only reason I'm giving it 4 instead of 5 stars is the presentation of the paperback version. Fieldbooks should only be hardcover, mine is all bent and dirty now, only because i'm using it the way it is supposed to be used.

I speak around the world on lead generation and marketing strategy. Neil did an outstanding job crafting "The SPIN Selling Fieldbook" to give you a roadmap on how to master complex sales strategy.

There is no other resource I can think of where you can "easily perfect" your approach and positioning sales strategy.

Neil gives you step-by-step plan that anyone can follow in their quest to excel at marketing their products or services.

The SPIN Selling Fieldbook gives you valuable "hands on" tools. I recommend the "SPIN Selling Fieldbook."

It is an invaluable resource that any salesperson or sales executive should have in their personal library.

Joe Heller, Trust Cycle Selling

This field book is better than the original book was. If you are going to buy just one of the two you should probably just buy the field book. It allows you to apply the ideas very quickly.

Usually is not enough to read a book to have the knowledge, you need to practice, and that is what this book helps to, giving you ideas on how to put SPIN method into practice.

This book is a 206 page powerhouse, but I want to direct you to pages 50 and 51:

"The Good News"...

"The good news is that the Spin model has proved to be a versatile sales tool, works across cultures, applies across industries, is equally applicable to selling services or products."

"The Bad News"...

"Our one million users would tell you in one voice: It's a lot harder than it seems. SPIN isn't a magic pill that you can take and turn yourself into an instant sales success. It's hard work. One of the immutable laws of business is that there's always a link between risk and reward. The more rewarding the outcome, the tougher it is to obtain. If SPIN questions were simple and automatic, then everyone would be using them already, and there would be no competitive advantage from the model. "

So there you have it. You will not only have to learn the basic principles of SPIN (Situation - Problem - Implication - Need Payoff), you will also have to personalize these principles into a game plan for each prospect, current customer, former customer...

...and in doing so you will be ahead of the curve. You'll be far down the road from the people who are still fumbling around for a "simple and automatic" approach. You will find few books on sales that are as honest as this one. Author Neil Rackham hands you a powerful set of tools, but make no mistake about it: your success will come entirely from what you choose to do with them. VERY highly recommended.

What does General Douglas MacArthur know about business? How can a strategy that Napoleon employed many years ago be relevant in the corporate world? Jorge A. Vasconcellos e Sá has written a distinctive business book, though it is not an entirely easy read. His contention - which he supports with many well-informed examples - is that the detailed rules of war also can be applied to business. He maintains that understanding strategy greatly increases a leader's chances of defeating any rivals. The author concedes that no leader can control all the variables, so good fortune plays a major role in business and marketing. However, a CEO who follows the time-tested rules of battle will be in a better position to catch a lucky break. We recommend this detailed, if dense, take on the usual business and battles analogies.

This is an invaluable strategy manual.

Glenn Baker, NZ Business

This is a book no company should be without.

Sheena Rawcliffe, Algarve Resident

A stimulating technical analysis.

Bruce Lloyd, Long Range Planning

This book is an invaluable strategy manual for managers, marketers and entrepreneurs. The profusion of examples and activities makes for an engaging read.

Mark Whitley, Strategy Magazine

I have read and then reviewed most of John Maxwell's previously published books and on occasion I became concerned that he was merely recycling some of the same core concepts he first examined years ago. In this volume, he asserts that "talent is never enough." If it were, "then the most effective and influential people would always be the most talented ones but that is often not the case...Clearly talent isn't everything." That said, he hastens to add, talent is worthy off our admiration and must be perceived in the proper perspective. For Maxwell, it is "a God-given gift." For others who do not share his faith, it is nonetheless usually referred to as a "natural" as opposed to an acquired capability. All human beings possess talent but differ in terms of number, nature, and extent of what Maxwell calls "giftedness." The challenge is to maximize one's talents. In this context, I am reminded of Darrell Royal's suggestion that "potential" means "you ain't done it yet."

Maxwell has identified thirteen key choices that can be made to maximize one's talent. None is a head-snapping revelation, nor does he make any such claim. "Make these choices, and you can become a talent-plus person. If you have talent, you stand alone. If you have talent plus, you stand out." He devotes a separate chapter to each of the thirteen. Once again, as in most of his earlier works, he includes a number of especially apt quotations from what must be a substantial collection of what he has accumulated from various sources thus far. He also includes at the conclusion of each chapter a set of "Application Exercises." Maxwell fully understands that sustaining self-improvement initiatives involves a process, an extended journey, one that requires a compass, a map, and sufficient resources once begun. He is convinced (and I agree) that specificity is imperative: Goals must be written down, frequently reviewed, and when appropriate revised. Self-improvement must be results-driven. And, more often than not, improvement will be incremental. Maxwell insists that "belief lifts talent." Henry Ford once spoke to the same point when pointing out that "whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." Without faith in what is possible, why bother?

Passion energizes talent, initiative activates it, focus gives it direction, preparation positions talent properly, practices sharpens it, perseverance sustains it....and so the list of choices continues. Maxwell's key point is that all of us have a choice, actually several choices, and can determine to what extent (if any) we take full advantage of the talents we have, such as they are. He concluded with "The Last Word on Talent" (Pages 273-275), once again urging his reader to become a talent-plus person. "If you do, you will add value to yourself, add value to others, and accomplish much more than you dreamed was possible." Earlier, I expressed my concern that Maxwell would sometimes recycle some of his core concepts about leadership and human development, notably in works such as The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization. That does not happen in this book. To me, this is his most personal book thus far...even more so than is Leadership Gold: Lessons I've Learned from a Lifetime of Leading which I consider to be his most valuable work thus far.

Those who share my high regard for Talent Is Never Enough are urged to check out Geoff Colvin's Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else. Colvin set out to answer this question: "What does great performance require?" In this volume, he shares several insights generated by hundreds of research studies whose major conclusions offer what seem to be several counterintuitive perspectives on what is frequently referred to as "talent." In this context, I am reminded of Thomas Edison's observation that "vision without execution is hallucination." If Colvin were asked to paraphrase that to indicate his own purposes in this book, my guess (only a guess) is that his response would be, "Talent without deliberate practice is latent." In other words, there would be no great performances in any field (e.g. business, theatre, dance, symphonic music, athletics, science, mathematics, entertainment, exploration) without those who have, through deliberate practice developed the requisite abilities.

Colvin leaves no doubt that by understanding how a few become great, anyone can become better...and that includes his reader. This reader is now convinced that talent is a process that "grows," not a pre-determined set of skills. Also, that deliberate practice "hurts but it works." It would be "tragically constraining," Colvin asserts, for anyone to lack sufficient self-confidence because "what the evidence shouts most loudly is striking, liberating news: That great performance is not reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone." I urge those who read this brief commentary to read both Colvin's book and Maxwell's. Each is a singular, brilliant achievement.

Globalization is quickening and will continue to have an increasing impact on your professional career. With globalization there will never be a shortage of Talent. Having the best talents and proven capabilities is not enough anymore. As the author puts it, we need to become "Talent-plus" person. If you do, you will add value to yourself, add value to others and accomplish more than you dreamed was possible.

This is an excellent book that can be applied in the real world. As an IT Project Manager, I was able to apply the learnings from the section on Teamwork to inspire my project team.

Other books on the same subject seemed very philosophical "common sense" with no practical actionable take aways. This book, however, explains things in very analytical format with examples that I could relate to, both personally & professionally. Recommended!

This book forces you to examine your character more than your talent. It offers concrete information with great examples.

This book is truly highly motivational in moving ourselves beyond what we believe are our talents and gifts. I really feel much can be gained from reading this phenomenal book.

John C. Maxwell truly has a gift with words and speaks from the heart. This is definitely highly recommended.

God bless you all.

I hate to sound harsh but I found this to be just another book with stories and examples to make the reader feel good. The author tells the reader if you aren't motivated then others can't motivate you and yet that is the underlying premise of this whole book. Would not recommend to anyone serious about wanting insight to leadership, coaching or anything near the two.

Tell Your Clients Where To Go! is required reading for creatives or anyone in the agency world. Whether you have daily contact with clients are not, Todd Sebastian gives very simple techniques that, if followed will help you be a more effective team member as well as take your career to a new level. All of his techniques are backed up with personal examples and results. As a designer with 13 years of experience, this was a wonderful refresher of the basics of business while providing some new ideas and approaches to client services. I wish that I had this book when I started my career!!!!!

Tell Your Clients Where to Go! is an invaluable resource for individuals that want to improve their relationships with their clients. Todd Sebastian lays out his practical advice in a way that is understandable, but more importantly, actionable. His approach to the topic of client leadership is insightful and he drives his key points home with real-life examples that are easily transferrable to any client-facing role. This is an excellent read for those new in their role and refreshing for those more advanced in their career.

Leadership on Paper! Years ago, I took a course at P&G called "Leadership on Paper", which changed the way I approached writing and produced dramatically different results. Now, Todd Sebastian's book, "Tell Your Clients Where to Go!" has changed my view of what clients really want. And it's NOT service!

Designers, art directors and creative directors will also benefit by reading Todd Sebastian's "Tell Your Clients Where To Go". Fully understanding your client's needs, wants, goals and challenges is the key to producing great creative. Being able to produce beautiful designs or develop intriguing copy is one thing...being a partner with your client, knowing how to sell your ideas and contributing strategically is what will catapolt your career. This is a "must read" for any creative team.

I am a marketing veteran, and I can tell you, if P&G is your client and you want to be viewed as top account talent, just follow Sebastian's advice to the letter! There is no doubt the same would be true with any client.

This is a thorough and systematic review of the important traits that will lead to fully meeting and exceeding client expectations.

The book really speaks to the most urgent problem in todsy's workplace in my view: lack of trust. As we are all asked to do more with less (time, people and money), it is more important than ever to establish and sustain trust in the workplace. The techniques and skills set forth in the book are applicable to every walk of life. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to improve their relationships with others, as well as with themselves.

Hi - this book has helped me explain to my employees and colleagues the importance of trust in the work place and how we can enhance it.

We've probably all experienced that really bad job that drained every bit of creativity, energy, and enthusiasm we had. Perhaps you had that overbearing boss who had unrealistic expectations or that supervisor who wouldn't just trust you do your work. Maybe you worked in a place where suggestions or attempts to solve problems were quickly quashed or met with anger.

Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace unequivocally illustrates that such situations not only make the job a hassle but also inhibit the potential productivity of all employees. Basically, as the employee realizes that he or she (or others around them) is being devalued, he or she becomes less committed to doing the best job possible.

Dealing with the resulting morale issue is extremely challenging. Even if the actual problem is addressed, often lost trust is difficult to repair. For instance, if the company attempts to encourage employees to report potential problems, few will likely come forward because they can't possibly believe that they won't get yelled at or have their issues ignored once again. Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace explains that this situation need not be futile. There are ways to rebuild trust and address past issues to create a stronger, more productive business.

This is an excellent work that cuts through the typical babble that fills many pages of others books on the subject of trust. The content is exceeding meaty. The organization of the material is first-rate. One of the very best books on the subject. Highly recommended!

The Reina's develop understandable definitions and offer a well researched and thought out framework for both the development and practice of trust. They also offer practical and accessible vignettes and case studies illustrating the 'trust behaviors' that are so crucial to effective organizations and relationships.

Probably the most powerful part of the book is the section on Betrayal. Betrayal is a huge factor in our lives and we rarely talk about it. This book offers a language, method, and solution for both talking about betrayal and beginning the process of healing from it.

This is an important book for people interested in getting to the root of systemic problems in institutions, families, and relationships.

I highly recommend it!

Although this book is rather machine-specific, I found that it had some good advice for the beginning machine quilter. It was a little technical and I had to really study it rather than just read through it, but it was helpful in the long run. It would be the perfect guide for the quilter who owns a Gammil quilting machine.

This book is helpful for those who want to manually guide quilting. It has no information on using the computer to place designs for a longarm machine, such as my HandiQuilter ProStitcher. It has good tips for starting a quilting business.

This book is everything I had hoped for. I actually do short arm quilting, but this book was very helpful in the questions I had. I would recommend it to anyone who has a long arm or short arm quilting machine on a frame.

This book has some great tips and has very clear instructions and I found it to be very helpful. I recently purchased a longarm machine and this book has some great ideas that are very useful. Well worth the money.

Linda Taylor's book, The Ultimate Quilt to Longarm Machine Quilting, became my teacher after purchasing my new longarm quilter at the 2007 Houston International Quilt Festival. Quilting friends highly recommend the book and the book became my teacher and companion for the past six weeks. The book clearly defines terms and how the machines work. Quick References decipher quilt jargon, how to load a longarm, what tools you need most, defines quilt jargon, pantographs, tips on how to start a business as a longarm quilter and how to avoid longarm body problems when quilting too long without exercise. I am a long time sewer and a three-year quilter. I am a retired teacher that learns most by reading and then by watching. This book is well written, has good photography to support the techniques and a great book for the new longarm quilter as well as a experienced quilter. My book is already dog-eared and showing the wear. IT IS A GOOD BOOK!