Business Books

All hyperbole aside, this book saved me six figures on my home purchase. I cannot encourage you enough to read this book before beginning your home search.

Excellent book! Bought copies for friends (rare event) because it's so informative about sales psychology overall- not just realestate. You may get this book on buying realestate, but after reading it you'll be quite informed about buy anything else & negotiation potential is involved. The book has helped me - saved me lots of $$$. It's an easy read too.

I recommend this book to home buyers who are looking to buy a house in the same area they are currently living in who also have either no or manageable time pressures. Very few tips are given to aid a buyer that must shop for and make an offer on a house when time only affords him a single trip to a new city (as my husband and I had to do)...which is not surprising, given that this is no way to get the bargains promised on the cover.

That being said, the tactics that are laid out seem reasonable and workable, but are repeated ad nauseum. An additional annoying feature of the writing is the tendency to spend several pages giving the reader a drawn out anticipatory build up to the few tactics the author will convey on the upcoming pages. The point-diluted anecdotes about poorly orchestrated buyer negotiations are followed up by several paragraphs that give the reader a pep talk without really conveying any information, making the book feel like an infomercial as one reads through it.

...This buyer acted poorly and spent way more money than he needed to. Don't want to be like him? Well you should read this book! Here's another story about a buyer that did something stupid. Don't want to be like her, either? Well, keep reading! Eventually, I'll get to the 5 sentences you need to read in order to know what to do instead...

Perhaps others would disagree, but as a reader with an engineering background, unless I'm reading a book for pleasure, I skim for the pertinent information. Separating the wheat from the chaff, this book should be about a third of the thickness that it is. However, if you have the time the time to shop around for a house (and by time, I mean *at least* a month or two to actually go out and look at houses) *and* to read through and separate the useless parts of this book from the parts that actually contain good advice and tactics, I would recommend it.

I bought this book four years ago when I was shopping for my first house. I got fed up with my realtor and decided I didn't need one, as long as I could handle the negotiations myself. So I turned to this book.

The book is geared toward using a realtor or buying agent, but I found everything was just as applicable if used "going it alone." Especially some of the resources listed in the back for comps, etc. It's a very easy book to read and it doesn't try to make you a slick rapid-fire negotiator. It teaches you very simple yet effective techniques that may be common sense to some other readers, but they weren't to me. Admittedly, Cummins is repetitive in his messages, but I think the repetition serves to firmly ingrain the techniques in your mind so when you do actually get in front of the seller/realtor, you don't let your emotions get the best of you.

As a result of what I learned from this book (and also by not using a realtor), I saved $25K on a $185K house. I also used the techniques in negotiations during a car purchase and during salary negotiations for a new job. Best 17 bucks I ever spent.

Now I'm starting to look for my second house, so I'm re-reading the book (and going without a realtor again). I'm holding onto the first house as a rental, but I hope that if I ever have to sell, it's not to a buyer who's read this book!

If your buying a house for the first time, whether its an investment or primary residence, read this book. plain and simple.

I have a 1975 copy of this book, with pages that have lost their binding and it doesn't stop me from going over and over the pages for new insights as I move towards my goals and dreams. When I first began studying the mind, this book helped me to understand the incredible powers that I hold within myself. I learned about integrity, resistence, and how to overcome any difficult situation like a true leader.

I learned about the importance of controlling my emotions, in order to be a true leader. I love the question and answer format in this book that allows me to follow along with whatever questions I might be having. The answers hold so much wisdom and direction, that self-change is imminent.

This book is very deep and requires serious thought as you go through each chapter. If you want to rise above life's daily pressures, and use the power of your supermind to move you towards your desired end result, this book is a must read! I think its time for me to invest in a new copy of this gem of a book that will always be on my Top 20 list of "must reads!"

Andrea Samadi, author of The Secret for Teens Revealed: How Parents, Teachers, and Teenagers Can Inspire Leadership and Transform Lives

If you don't learn something about yourself after reading this book, check your pulse.

This book should be required reading for every member of the human race.

I bought this book used for like 1.50 and some change for shipping. If anyone had any idea that the end of suffering could come about by a transformation beginning from a little book on amazon for 1.50, I think they'd laugh at the idea. This man definately knows what he is talking about and although I have already been practicing work on myself, many new ideas are also introduced. 5 stars get the book.

This book is one of the better books on spirituality, not the best but one of the better. It has heaps of good ideas, thoughts and wisdom. every pages is a new insight. The drawback for me was that it was too much on ideas , so many that I could be thinking too much after about it.I cannot be hard on this book because as I say compared to most others on the market these days it is very good.

After reading "Mystic Path to Cosmic Consciousness", and "Esoteric Mind Power", I thought that any other writtings by Vernon Howard would just repeat what I had already read. I can safely recommend this book along with the other two. Some ideas do overlap, but many bring clarification. Just read my reviews on the other two books to get an idea of what this book has to offer.
There may be more sophistocated writtings on the subject of self awakening, but none written in such plain English, squeezing as much insight into one book as there books by Vernon Howard.

Although this may seem like an outdated text, these principles are as pertinent today as when the author wrote it. You need to reflect on how they apply to today's business climate and your own personal situation. I always enjoy reading WC Stones works due to his sincerity and enthusiastic style.

The Success System That Never Fails is the golden key to a glittering future and I wanted it in my collection.

I highly recommend the AUDIO MP3 version of Success System That Never Fails The Success System That Never Fails

It's a good book, but I mainly wanted the audio-book that came with it. It is a very poor recording, with the narrator seeming as if he thinks he is on a stage and feels the need to project. I felt as if I was being yelled at and was unable to listen to the recording for more than a few minutes.

When I was about 14 years old my dad a self made successful real estate broker in Inkster Michigan insisted I read this book. This book has been etched in my mind ever since. 43 years later, I've found an original copy of this book to give to my dad as a gift. That's how important this book is. If you do a you tube video search you can hear Stone in his own words give you the first 8 segments of the book. After hearing him, I know you'll want to buy this book. I like this book because 1) he gives you practical, useful stories of how he developed a success system which never failed for him in business. He gives concrete ideas on what to say and do to develop a success system. The most important thing you will take from this book is a perspective and behaviorally specific tips on how to become successful. What this book shows you is the key to your own wealth: you will learn that you need to track all of your activities, behaviors and goals and do a critical analysis, and apply that which works in every step of your processes. What you will discover combined with the principles he's sharing, is your own success system which never fails. Sometimes we forget when involved in our daily activities is the necessity to look at what works and discard what doesn't. We need to fine tune our approach to tasks and develop systems which can be duplicated over and over again. If you're one of those type of people who yearn to understand how "self help" works and how it can be applied in "your" life then this book is for you. There is no fluff; at the time Stone wrote this book I think people were less enamored with manipulation and more focused on helping people.

"Ripples from the Zambezi" is a beautiful, simple, common sense book with profound implications for catalyzing successful small business creation and growth. It was recently recommended to me by an economic development agency official working in an affluent, conservative U.S. Midwestern county. He felt some of the approaches might work for his area; and in reading the book, I concur with his conclusions.

In efforts to inform work on strategic innovation and marketing, I have plowed through far too many derivative, nonsensical business titles over the years. Before I picked this up, I was a little concerned that it might be a cult book; however, given the importance of rural renewal, I was willing to give any earnest voice the benefit of the doubt.

It was wrong to have prejudged "Ripples from the Zambezi." If this has risen to the status of a cult book, then Mr. Sirolli would be the first to suggest that you never mindlessly apply any approach he might propose. In our left-brain weighted society, it is easy to mistake an enthusiastic voice for a naïve one--but there is a basis for this enthusiasm that is powerful, and which Mr. Sirolli explores fully.

The ideas here are different. Mr. Sirolli speaks to the potential and the results of connecting with each entrepreneur holistically to engage heartfelt intention and remove obstacles to successful growth. The message--that individuals can realize hope for themselves, for their families, and for their communities borne of connecting passion with skill and action is a big message--and the Renaissance man who delivers it is capable to the challenge.

Every paragraph of Ernesto Sirolli's book is loaded with mature, interdisciplinary insight. It is a book whose "time has come" and whose wisdom is carefully woven through the subtext: it's personal, easy to read, and gut-wrenchingly smart.

Don't read this book. DO WHAT IT SAYS! I seldom applaud things. This I do.

I loved the book. Not only it gives great insights on enterpreneurship, it also teaches us that facilitation can be applied in all aspects of life, from work to family with fantastic results.

I highly recommend the book.

"I can't myself raise the winds that might blow us, or this ship, into a better world. But, I can at least put up a sail so that, when the wind comes, I can catch it."

E. F. Schumacher

This was a fun and insightful book to read. Amidst all the discussion about radical, disruptive and breakthrough innovation, this book is a refreshing reminder that small things can make a big difference. It's a reality check for big budget innovation programs and economic development programs that usually end up stealing a company from one community in order to develop the economy of your community (a zero sum game by the way). This book is about dedicated, skilled innovators with a passion for their innovations and facilitators who provided the missing ingredients preventing these passionate innovators from making their ideas a reality. Sometimes, those missing ingredients were connections to the right people. Sometimes they were small sums of money (ridiculously small amounts of money that yielded great returns). And, sometimes it was adding small supportive or enabling innovations that turned an idea into a viable business model. And, always it's about the pattern of product, process and procedure innovation that worked.

Sirolli's journey began as a member of an Italian economic aid organization in Zambia. They noticed that the land along the Zambezi River was incredibly fertile. They thought that if they brought modern farming knowledge and applied it to the land, they would demonstrate to the natives just how much they could benefit. Of course, what did the Italians decide to grow? Tomatoes. The soil and weather were perfect. And, the tomatoes grew - the biggest most beautiful tomatoes the Italians had ever seen. The Italians watched with pride as their crop matured. The natives silently watched and laughed among themselves. One morning, just when the crop was about ready to be harvested, Sirolli reports that they came to the fields to find them totally destroyed. The hippos of the Zambezi had eaten all the tomatoes and laid the fields to waste, and the only tell tale signs were the ripples in the water.

Sirolli quotes Pliny the Elder, "There is always something new out of Africa." Sirolli writes, "Those who have worked in an African country will tell you, if they are honest, that they always learn from the expereince much more than they had bargained for...I am no exception." Later he states, "I became conscious of the fact that we were not doing the right thing - and consciousness is an extraordinary thing."

"Right now, in your community, at this very moment, there is someone who is dreaming about doing something to improve his/her lot. If we could learn how to help that person to transform the dream into meaningful work, we would be halfway to changing the economic fortunes of the entire community," the author comments. This is Sirrolli's credo. It is clear upon reading the book that the author has had a good classical education (formal or informal). His thinking about innovation is colored by Schumacher, Maslow and Rogers.

His advice, based on Schumacher is, "If people don't ask for help, leave them alone. And, there is no good or bad technology to carry out a task - only an appropriate or inappropriate one. Something big, modern and expensive is not necessarily best; it all depends on the circumstances."

"Because of Maslow and Schumacher," he writes, "I came to understand that successful development has to do with the quality, not quantity of life." Human beings are striving creatures. When one level of need is met, people move on to higher levels in an endless cascade. Is it any wonder that this country grew as it did because the founders understood this about people and claimed equality, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

With this framework, the author was able to explain his experiences in Africa. "They were secure and did love and had self esteem in the same proportions Western people had, maybe even more. Some of them were beautiful, wise, self-actualizing people reaching for the apex of full humanness," Sirolli writes.

The level of what is enough at each stage of development is set by cultural and psychological factors. Some people get stuck in the pursuit of material goods and others have lower levels of satisfaction and move on to the next higher state of development. The natives had enough food, safety and security for them, and they could move on to higher levels of human development.

From Carl Rogers he found that "that it was possible to help people heal themselves by simply being there, listening, facilitating and responding to the client's needs for communication and finding values to live by." "The aim is not to solve one particular problem but to help the individual to grow so that he can cope with the present problem and with later problems in a better, more integrated fashion."

Later, he continues, "Reading about the champions of the human race, I couldn't avoid creating, in my mind, a demonology - that is, a list of the demons oppressing us. Contrary to Dante's Inferno, however, my hell wasn't populated by naked gluttons, greedy merchants, and assorted petty sinners. The torturers had no tails; rather they were well-dressed authoritarian figures who, in the name of an idea, would torture and beat the psychological life out of the people in their power. From unyielding bureaucrats to religious fanatics, from political extremists to avid do-gooders, my demonology started to contain anybody who dreamt up a code of conduct and tried to manipulate or coerce others to follow it."

Sirolli's encourages his facilitators to support clients who have a marriage of both passion and skill. "But becoming what we are is invariably difficult," he writes. "We have to commit ourselves to a course that may prove to be unpopular with our peers, unfashionable among our friends, and unbecoming in the eyes of our parents. Striving for individuality is always a lonely business. Passion is what propels us during our solitary journey." Commenting on skill he writes, "Our generation is a generation without masters. We are still under the impression, and like to think, that The Beatles didn't have to learn how to play music; that Jimi Hendrix picked up a guitar one morning, put a big joint in his mouth, and started to play like a god. Does the next, younger generation, understand that there cannot possibly be art without skill?"

"Facilitation," he writes, "is based on the belief that it is human to dream and desire. Faith in human nature is what makes it work." "The skill of the facilitator is to become available to those who have the dream and to help them acquire the skills to transform it into meaningful and rewarding work. The skill of facilitation is therefore a communication skill with a twist. It isn't so much that facilitators have to communicate to their client; rather they have to be the kind of person one likes to talk to." Their role is to simple remove the obstacles that stifle a client's growth.

He identifies the characteristics of facilitators:

 Facilitators are passive
 Facilitators are visible
 Facilitators provide just-in-time help
 Facilitators work in confidence
 Facilitators act like swans
 Facilitators love action
 Facilitators are a loaded spring
 Facilitators assess the person and the motivation behind the idea.
 Facilitators understand that ideas are cheap, passionate individuals are rare
 Facilitators establish true communications and build trust
 facilitators don't play power games
 Facilitators are non-threatening, unassuming friendly listeners who make people want to talk to them.


The book is full of examples and case histories, and is divided into 14 chapters:
1. Out of Africa
2. The Technology Fix
3. Homo Cupeins - The Desiring Man
4. Out of the Mountain Cave Back to School
5. The Art of Shoemaking
6. The Esperance Expereince
7. The Esperance Model Applied
8. On Facilitation
9. Training Facilitators
10. A Word of Caution
11. Facilitation and Economic Development
12. A Quiet Revolution
13. The Politics of Personal Growth
14. Epilogue - Civic Society, Social Capital, and the Creation of Wealth

As you can see from the outline, the discussion covers a good deal of territory and Sirolli has meaningingful insights in all the topics. For example, "The shift by governments away from resource driven economies to valued-added ones cannot take place without recognizing that our greatest assets are not the ones that lie underground. Our greatest assets must be our energy, imagination, and skill - our commitment to good work and to the pursuit of excellence and the courage to fulfill our ambitions. Every single person is important in the creation of a better, wealthier, smarter society. Whether employed are not, engaged in export service industries, in the arts, sports or tourism, the quality, both of personal and professional, of every single person is what will make a country prosperous."

And, "Thus the freedom to become is the key to unlocking civic society and long term economic prosperity. Wealth can be generated in the short term in exploiting natural resources, but 1,000 years of prosperity can only be created intelligently by working together, exchanging ideas, sharing technology and resources, and helping each other do well in the understanding that a myriad of wealthy self-employed people produce an economic system immensely more resilient than any alternative."

And, "The beauty of Maslow's theory is that it explains that helping each other is not done out of charity, but out of our need to be appreciated, loved and respected."

Michelangelo, who believed his role as a sculptor was to release the images that were already in the stone, wrote:

"The best of artists hath no thought to show
which the rough stone in its superfluous shell
doth not include; to break the marble spell
is all the hand that serves the brain can do. "

To make his point, he carved a series of "unfinished" works depicting humans emerging from the rock (The Prisoners).

Metaphorically, the facilitator's role is the same.

And, if the facilitator is blessed with double insightful vision and can not only see the beauty inside the innovator, but can see the community that could emerge as a result, then a community transformation can occur.

You just have to read this book. And, when you do, write something about it. Better yet, use it.

I work with small businesses and developing entrepreneurs and this book helped me see another view and perspective in the work i go. I recommend it for anyone who works in the small business (and micro business) community and who would like some new direction on how to build local economies.

This book is great. I found it to be written so that anyone could understand retirement planning and immediately use the information to change the way you see retirement planning.
I've read dozens of books and this is one of my top pic's!

This is a GREAT book on retirement investing that readers can actually use. It takes the "mystery" out of retirement plans and investing. I walked away with a better understanding of my retirement plan options and a good strategy for investing the money. I was able to take what I learned and change my 401k investments with confidence.

The book includes discussions of the types of retirement accounts (401k, IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP-IRAs, etc) and how they work. The author includes information for all income levels ("do you earn too much for an IRA"; "advice for low-income people").

The best part of the book explains how to create a diversified portfolio of retirement investments. The book explains different types of mutual funds (large-cap, mid-cap, etc) and how to pick a good balance. Then the author shows how this can be applied to pretty much any 401k plan. There are discussions on "dollar-cost-averaging" (which she recommends) and "timing the market" (which she doesn't recommend).

Besides being full of great information, the book is also very readable (not too dry and boring). This is a book that even the novice investor can use to get started and I highly recommend it.

This the best investing book that i have read.Clearly explained and to the point.Buy this book, the advise that you get will be worth it bigtime.

I have learned so much about retirement funds! I am recommending it to my children,colleagues and friends.

What I like best about this book is that it offers specific, detailed advice about how to divide up your retirement portfolio amongst different types of assets - and explains why you should divide it that way, and how to adjust the proportions over time. The author provides historical trends and an explanation of the global stock markets so that you can understand for yourself why she offers her advice, meaning that you're not just taking her at her word. Best of all, after you read this book, you really just need to implement her advice and then rebalance your portfolio every year. I loved it and have recommended it to everyone I know.

This book provides excellent examples and guidelines to putting the respected values back into corporations. I especially enjoyed the chapters on valuing the worker, transparency and integrity and customer care. I have seen how these, when in place, really explode the popularity and the growth of corporations, and when management deviates from the values for the short term buck, then corporations are then exposed in the media and start to fail (and people even cheer for their downfall). This is a great follow up to "The Naked Corporation" book, and both state that some sort of plan of transparency should be in place.

David Batstone's excellent book on corporate integrity is a must-read for executives and managers who want ideas on how to create profitable but soulful businesses that show heart as well as logic. This is not a text that preaches from the pulpit or revels in moral condemnation of Enron's misdeeds. For those of us who are sick to the teeth of reading Enron/Anderson post-mortems, Batstone's book will come as a refreshing change.

Reputation building has always been a profitable way to grow a business. `Reputation is not the same thing as a brand' Batstone says. Instead he says, `Reputation is the perceived character a company holds to public eye', which is probably the best definition this reviewer has read. Using the eight principles outlined in the book, managers are guided through examples that have helped or hindered individual companies. IKEA vs Home Depot for example is cited in the Community section of the book - the underlying principle being `A company will think of itself as part of a community as well as a market'. Which one would you rather have open a store in your community, and why? For the record, the residents of Mountain View, CA (a pretty town near to Silicon Valley) said they'd prefer an IKEA, and not because they like modular Swedish furniture.

The eight principles outlined in the book are:

Principle One: The directors and executives of a company will align their personal interests with the fate of stakeholders and act in a responsible way to ensure the vitality of the enterprise.

Principle Two: A company's business operations will be transparent to shareholder, employees and the public and its executives will stand by the integrity of their decisions.

Principle Three: A company will think of itself as part of a community as well as a market.

Principle Four: A company will represent its products honestly to customers and honor their dignity up to and beyond a transaction.

Principle Five: The worker will be treated as a valuable team member, not just a hired hand.

Principle Six: The environment will be treated as a silent stakeholder, a party to which the company is wholly accountable.

Principle Seven: A company will strive for balance, diversity and equality in its relationships with workers, customers and suppliers.

Principle Eight: A company will pursue international trade and production based on respect for the rights of workers and citizens of trade partner nations.

If you are looking for one book to share with others in your organization to start a discussion on integrity and reputation, Saving the Corporate Soul should be it.

This book is written very well and is pretty straightforward. So straight forward you can get most of the concepts of the book by reading the table of contents. There can't be much to argue with in the book because virtually every corporate hack who raked in the money during the obscene years is now preaching the same messages of corporate redemption. Expense stock options, treat employees fairly, create an environmental scorecard.... wake me up when it is over. In short, there is nothing new in these pages but the way it is recapped is very sweet primer on the subject. But my question is why did Batstone stop where he did? Where are the chapters relating to the ethics of afdvertising and PR? The ethics of obscene campaign contributions and political lobbying efforts? Where are the chapters about companies holding communities hostage by leveraging the threat of relocation for sweet tax deals? The chapters about what truly sustainable business practices mean about the globalization of companies?
Batstone does a nice job on the content he handles but fails miserably in addressing the core problems at the heart and soul of corporations today.

Batstone shows by numerous examples, compelling stories, and shrewd analysis, that running a business with integrity and values intact is indeed "good business". This refreshing book provides welcome reading in a time dominated by corporate scandals and public cynicism. I recommend this book to EVERYONE!!

I say this book is worth reading, after watching The Corporation (the documentary).

You can read many books on "corporate responsability", ethics, and caring for the environment. But, when pressed for profits, in real life, when your job is on the line, would anyone "do the right thing"?.

Don't get me wrong... I praise the author for writing books like this one. And more like it are needed. But the question should be: aren't corporations, often almost-run by stockholders (with CEOs always on the line and on the brink of getting a kick by angry shareholders) and also the executives heavily influenced by wall street gurus, are all of them capable of "corporate responsability" and a long-term strategy?. I'd say no.

I think that companies that "sell out" to the stock market lose their soul, and become tools for a few speculators to "make a quick buck". A stable, responsible company then starts sailing at the mercy of a few stock market gurus and the volatility of the international stock markets. But of course, that is my personal opinion.

The Canadian documentary titled "The Corporation" (can't wait to see it on DVD - for the moment check out www.thecorporation.tv ), argues that Corporations as we know them today, and specially mutinational ones, are flawed by design.

The movie surprisingly got a great review on financial publication The Economist, which praised it:. It begins with a potted history of the company's legal form in America, noting the key 19th-century legal innovation that led to treating companies as persons under law. By bestowing on them the rights and protections that people enjoy, this legal innovation gave the company the freedom to flourish. So if the corporation is a person, ask the film's three Canadian co-creators, what sort of person is it?"

"The answer, elicited over two-and-a-half hours of interviews with right-wing captains of industry, economists, psychologists and philosophers, and left-wing intellectuals, is that the corporation is a psychopath. Like all psychopaths, the firm is singularly self-interested: its purpose is to create wealth for its shareholders. And, like all psychopaths, the firm is irresponsible, because it puts others at risk to satisfy its profit-maximising goal, harming employees and customers, and damaging the environment".

I repeat: try to read this book, and then watch The Corporation (the documentary), which shows the opinion of real execs, in real life. Both essays will make you think, probably getting in the way of your good night's sleep.

I have found most books concerning "foreigners" or "foreigners running businesses" in Japan to be either overly pedagogical, overly repetitive, or downright depressing. Kudos to Carl Kay, Tim Clark and the editors. They have done a marvelous job putting together a fast-paced book, rich with facts and unique insights on real "gaijin" success stories. And, it's not about the typical white, Anglo-Saxon corporate raider from New York City. We hear feel-good stories of Chinese and Indian entrepreneurs, too. I couldn't put the book down. Order it now and you'll end up recommending it to your friends, as I have.

The authors accurately portrayed how foreigners living in Japan can become successful entrepreneurs and address the country's unmet needs in financial, real estate, IT and health care services. Shortcomings in the market have been corrected by persistent foreigners who don't take "no" for an answer.

Although this 2005 book was intended for non-Japanese readers, it contained so much insight (which was not available in Japanese publications) that it had to be translated into Japanese.

In the 1980s, Japan was seen as an unstoppable economic juggernaut, a tsunami that would wash over the entire world. Then, suddenly, everything went wrong. Japan went through a decade of correction for its sudden rise. China and India stepped up on the stage as Japan faded into the background. An entire sub-industry of knowledge - that of the so-called "Japan expert" - has mostly disappeared. The general consensus seems to be that Japan rose rapidly, stumbled, and is now quickly on its way back to global irrelevance.

But then Carl Kay and Tim Clark produced this small book. It essentially says, "wait a second, there's a lot of opportunity in Japan. In fact, now might be a better time than ever!" It is a message that is absolutely correct, and one that the outside world still seems to be ignoring. Outsiders seem to get caught up on the macro issues in Japan; the aging and shrinking population, the looming national debt, the general national malaise, the long and prestigious list of foreign multinationals that have gone to Japan and failed. What Carl and Tim's book advises us to do is to understand and embrace what is still there. Japan is still the world's second largest economy in nominal terms. Even after the "lost decade," Japan's economy is still larger than China's and India's combined. There is a shortage of workers, and a shortage of new ideas. Japan doesn't need foreign multinationals to come in and swallow up her domestic companies. Japan needs entrepreneurs! Japan needs thinkers and builders! And unlike China or India, foreign entrepreneurs won't face hundreds or thousands of domestic entrepreneurial competitors.

Carl Kay and Tim Clark interviewed dozens of entrepreneurs in Japan, many foreign born, some Japanese, all of whom succeeded because they "thought different." It is a testament to Carl and Tim's skills as writers that each story is clear, engrossing, and illustrative. It is the best book on Japanese business or economics I have read in at least two decades. Read this book, become inspired, then move to Japan and make your dream reality.

This book is good value for money. In accepting the end of Japan Inc, it shows how and where opportunities are opening up in a range of service related areas from healthcare to shopping malls. The economics behind the book is that Japan neglected services and frills when it was playing economic catch up with the West. The business potential stemming from that is immense; while the Japanese excelled at making electronic gadgets, they lagged in a range of other areas. Instead of clobbering us over the head with a dense academic treatise, the authors give us plenty of examples where huge gaps in the market are creating lucrative market niches for a range of foreign players. If you are interested in running a service business in Japan, this small book will give you quite a few hints and a lot of hope. Definitely worth a read: so much so that I gave my copy away to some fashion designers who are making headway here.

As a layman who is neither well versed in Japanese business practices nor inordinately interested in Japanese culture, I found this book to provide fascinating insights into Japanese culture. The book is easily accessible for the non-MBA type and for those who are not intimately associated with the nuances of Japanese culture. Very interesting read and I would highly recommend it.

Ken Jennings and John Stahl-Wert utilize a short story format to teach the attributes of leadership. In a consultant's interviews with community leaders revitalizing the inner city, the attributes of true-to-life leadership are demonstrated by action in the narrative.

They highlight the astonishing truth that the best leaders' focus upon building up the people around them, that no man is great on his own.

This very readable leadership 'story' - thankfully light on matrices or charts -draws out more purposeful insights than most books on the topic.

These guys have done a great job with what I call semi-fiction. Following the journal of a consultant as he reconnects with his father and learns the lessons of being a serving leader. This book goes further than Collins' Level 5 leadership and takes you into 5 practical pathways for becoming a serving leader. Excellent read.

A very well written, thoughtful and practical book that courageously tackles the challenge that all successful leaders ask themselves at some point in their careers- "OK so I have made a big impact on the numbers- and achieved my goals- but why do I still not feel satisfied?" The authors correctly point out that it is all about what you give to others- and not just to impact top or bottom lines in business- but also to impact the communities around us. Those who have not really dug into what a Servant Leader is- and does- may well have their exising paradigms upended. Servant leadership is NOT about being spineless or too nice- it IS about setting a very high standard and holding people accountable- but also caring about and investing in them to help them to hit and surpass this high mark. Having been a keen student of leadership over the past 20 years, I have seen trends and fads come and go and many leaders rise and fall. What I like best about The Serving Leader is that its principles are timeless and fad-proof. One will never go wrong being the type of Servant Leader described in this book- and they may become the leader who has the type of impact that they never dreamed big enough to conceive. A great read!

This book is truly exceptional for anyone who wants to be able to truly understand the heart of servant leadership. If you are ever able to meet Dr. Stahl-Wert, you will understand that he does not just write about it and talk about it, he lives it in his own personal and professional life which makes the book even more real. Do not read this book unless you are ready and willing to commit to the call to servant leadership and what it can mean for you and your organization.

Jennings and Stahl-Wert know what they're talking about. Unlike many "leadership experts," this book rings absolutely true. A very moving, honest, hopeful story that helped me a lot. Thank you for getting to the deeper heart of leadership.

This book was a revelation, I see too much of myself and mistakes I made. A must read for any investor!

It is a must read for anyone who is serious about investing. Great investment details with personal stories, and it can be beneficial to both experts and beginners.

SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF INVESTING: HOW TO CONQUER YOUR WORST IMPULSES AND SAVE YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE probes the psychology of investors and investments, sharing the knowledge Maury Fertig has gained from a long career at Salomon Brothers to help save investors from their self-defeating impulses. Each investment decision holds possible dangers: the author analyzes common problems and paths and offers up solutions based on psychological insights.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Making money in the stock market would be a lot easier if we did not succumb to the whim of our emotions. In order to beat the stock market, you must assess your weaknesses and overcome these emotional traps: envy, pride, lust, avarice, anger, gluttony, and laziness. The author explains how all of us are sinners, but some of us can be saved.

Simply saying that you will avoid making these mistakes is easy but doing so when under the pressure that the market inflicts is much more difficult. Every trader needs to go through the list of emotional breakdowns above and think about how they react to these emotions. Write down the mistakes you make because of fear or greed. Think about times when you have been reckless in your trading and write down a plan to overcome them.

Before you make another trade, create a plan to overcome the seven deadly sins of trading. Doing so will do more to your profit than anything else you can do.

This is an unusual book on investing, as it provides neither advice on investing nor investment strategies. Instead it focuses solely on explaining the negative impact of specific investor emotional traits on investment performance. It is written in an easy-to-understand, friendly, conversational style.

Specifically, Fertig covers seven psychological factors that result in causing investors to perform poorly. These factors include: envy, pride, lust, greed, anger, gluttony and sloth. He covers these topics one at a time, and includes interesting personal stories and examples that clearly illustrate his key points.

From my own investment experience spanning 49 years, I can attest to the critical importance of keeping your emotional behavior and psychological weaknesses in check, otherwise investment results suffer. Too many investors buy at the top and sell at the bottom, because they were never strong enough to overcome their weaknesses. Hopefully, by reading this enjoyable book and thinking about their own situations and need for discipline, and taking corrective ACTION, the reader will improve his/her investment performance.

We live in an age of instant gratification, instant messaging, and an overabundance of stock market commentary from the TV talking heads and media outlets. All this extraneous information (not knowledge) negatively impacts investors thought processes. Investing is not a game and should be considered a place to have fun. Investors need to get control of their internal weaknesses and realize what factors need to be overcome to be successful. This book fills that need very well. Along with books on charting and stock market strategies, this book is part of the trilogy of books that potential investors need to read to become successful.

This is a must read for anyone who uses a computer for their work. The book suggests the reader skip to the summary in the back and save even more time by not reading the book - great idea. Since what Bill Jensen has to say can be said in so few words because he know what he wants to say, how he feels about it and what he wants the read to do.
Read it or at least the summary; then just hand it to a co-worked, family member or anyone you just want to help out.
I have deleted more e-mails without opening them then ever in my life. Since I read this book it has handed back hours a day to me that I was wasting on work and e-mails.

I think this book is the best book ever written for dealing with the business world today. I feel like it was written for me. I wish I had access to this book 5 years ago, I could have used it.

Thank you for your contributions for helping to make a healthier more informed work environment and employee for those who take a long time to get there.

Bill Jensen's ideas and tactics have crystallized my ability to be effective. I read "The Simplicity Survival Handbook" before reading Jensen's original "Simplicity", and for me, "Simplicity" is superior because (1) it explains the rationale behind Jensen's ideas and (2) offers invaluable guidance on effective presentations. "The Simplicity Survival Handbook" 's examples were not as helpful to me as the initial wisdom and suggestions in "Simplicity". Read them both!

What I like about this biz book:

1) Its fun and challenging "If your boss doesn't get it, and has a high likelihood of never getting it... time to say "goodbye". Pretty simple right?

2) Attitude of "You don't have to be a victim of corporate crap"... reminds me of a refrain I have heard from my husband when he talks about his day job "They can't even run their own life, I will be damned it they run mine"

3) Respect yourself more. Your time is valuable. Push back.

4) The complexity starts from within. From within my own company, within myself.

The How To Section(s)
Email
Scan incoming subject and author, if not relevant hit "delete"
Scan email for 1) action to take 2) deadline date.

In sending messages use the 3"x5" space constaint.

If it is simplier it is more likely to be done. Make it easy.

Remember the key: what do you want them to know, feel and do!

Presentations:
Turn the one point you want people to know into a question. Provoke conversations. Give everyone handouts. Use of Stories is a good thing.
1 hour presentation = 20 slides MAX!

Meetings Big Idea!! When you agree to chair a meeting approachit as if you have just been handed a portion of someones life. Because you have. Run a meeting like one that you wish you had been invited for.

Helpful hints 1) get only the important people 2) get the right people 3) define what success looks like 4) Mentally see the successful meeting 5) Put the objective of the meeting up front
6) Be passionate about the people and reason of the meeting.

With a title like this, Jensen's book should be flying off the shelf. I know it caught my eye when I first saw it. We all want to "do" less and "accomplish" more and there are some excellent ideas in this book to help you do just that.

Nothing in this book is easy, though. Someone as inclined to follow the rules like myself will find it difficult, if not impossible, to implement the more demanding recommendations. This is a shame, as these people are those who would probably benefit the most.

Even if you don't think of yourself as a rabble-rouser, you should still read this book and take heart that there are some possible methods of extracting yourself from business situations that leave you feeling busy, but not very productive. There are ways of escaping the bureaucracy and yet keep your job.

The cutest, yet still effective, idea in the book is the "Less-O-Meter" associated with each chapter. These graphical gauges give you an "at a glance" reading on how much Courage you will need to put this tip in place, how difficult it can be and the possible yield to your productivity and happiness.

You may be ready to take on your whole company and engage in full-scale "pushback", but implementing even one idea from this book could do a world of good for you, your job and your career, while helping your company, as well.