Business Books

I came across the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership in a leadership training program at my company. It's a great book because it's very practical and the advice points you in the direction you need to head if you want to succeed as a leader.

Another book we read in the class that I highly recommend for leaders is The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book

This is very good book it helps retrain the brain on tasks that were
forgotten over the years.

The subject matter of the book is really great, but in my humble opinion, the delivery of it is pretty boring. I purchased the book to pre-read before sending off to my 23-year old daughter (recent college grad) and I know it won't capture her attention...it didn't capture mine.

I enjoyed reading this book. It gave me valuable insight to the mindsets and principles required to being an outstanding leader. I agree. Leaders are sometimes born, but more often than not, you too can be a better leader if you develop and follow these sound principles.

I found "The 21 Laws" to be all that it's hacked up to be, and I think I've read most of the Leadership tomes. Now I have luckily found the new book called "Going Beyond Leadership of Character" by West Point author Norman Thomas Remick which took me to the next step in leadership, trying to become not just a good leader, but a great leader. You might say, like the book, "Good to Great", shows you what makes some companies go from being good to being great, the book, "Going Beyond...", shows you how leaders can go from being good to being great. After reading the Maxwell book, and then going further by reading the Remick book and putting it into action, I think I'm on my way. That's why I recommend "The 21 Laws" and "Going Beyond Leadership of Character" to everyone.

Looking for a key word or phrase and/or having writers block? "2600 Phrases for Effective Writing" really comes in handy. Being in the military and writing performance reports on a daily basis, this book has helped me out all the time. Not only does it help for the good reports, it also does for the bad.

I just love this book. I use it a lot, as a guide to give feedback to my employees. Also, i've found it useful as an appraisal guide. I selected some of the phrases that reflect the needs of our company, and made a test. I've used as a 360º feedback. I love the consistency of its concepts.

Reviewing this book2600 Phrases for Effective Performance Reviews: Ready-to-Use Words and Phrases That Really Get Results, I found it to be a useful resource for ideas when writing performance reviews. I have twenty reviews to write every quarter! Guess what? Sometimes I run out of ideas and ways to state something intriguing about each team member. If you are the type of person that gets 'blocked' when under pressure to get a report out, try this book. It will prompt you with phrases and catchy words that will jumpstart your brain. If you need support in writing an effective review, I think you will find that this is the book to try; I know I found it helpufl and will keep it for a resource on my shelf.

As a current director of human resources for a F-500 company, I can honestly say this is one of the most useful books I have bought. My only regret is that I didn't have this great little book years ago as I struggled to find the correct word or phrase.

The quality of your written communication is critical to one's overall career or the lack thereof. Furthermore, I have found through the years that your written communication can often make or break you in a court of law. In essence, we are not simply talking about making our jobs easier with this book, indeed, we could be talking about profitability or loss.

I highly recommend this book for everyone in management.

Michael L. Gooch, SPHR - Author of Wingtips with Spurs

Communication & Cooperation
* Regularly displays constructive information
* Asks well thought out questions
* Explains complicated issues clearly

It will give you a better understanding and prospective about Network Marketing. If you are or going to be one of the Network Marketer, please do read this book. It will change you life especially select the right Networking Company.

If you want to succeed in Network Marketing you need a book to carry in your back pocket. This is your book to carry.

Easy to read. This book was recommended to me by a speaker with 10 years experience in a huge Network Marketing Company. I am a novice when it comes to N.M. and found this book excellent.

The 45-SECOND PRESENTATION really will CHANGE your life. It's the most important book for new networkers!

This book was an easy read, very informative, to the point that I am making up an outline of it to share with my downline to use as a guide. I am a seasoned networker, and I wish I had had this information when I got involved in networking in the past, and it also would have helped me to weed out the ones that I should not get involved with. This book doesn't say "don't do this or that company", but once you see the information, you can see which companies fit with the important points necessary for a positive money-making experience in networking!

This book is well written. It lays the basis for why the reasons people leave is mis-understood. It gives specific guidance on things you can do to bring new employees in and keep them.

This was a very informational book. It was a quick read and a great tool. Managers should be reading this book.

Leigh Branham has done it again. The phrase, "a must read" is probably overused and a bit shopworn today, but Leigh's book truly is "a must read" for anyone who leads, serves or depends upon people to get the work of the organization done. As with his earlier book, "Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business", Leigh's style is highly informative and academic yet warmly conversational and user friendly. His clear and compelling guidance will carry the reader to greater understanding and facility with the talent management challenges that are already upon us. The 7 Hidden Reasons is a comprehensive, no-nonsense and energizing learning experience.

Leigh's years of study, focus and practice in this crucial area of the talent management life cycle is clearly evident. Leigh is one of this Nation's leading experts in the world of retention and engagement.

Leigh's 7 Hidden Reasons really are hidden, quite real and too powerful to ignore. Enjoy reading this one . . .

Branham has given us powerful and practical tips for running a better enterprise. The implications of understanding why good people leave their employer are far-reaching. The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave book tells us what tell-tale signs to look for, and how to conduct exit interviews so that we can collect the real reasons people jump ship and act on them. If you've ever experienced turnover and scratched your head about why folks are leaving (as I have), you will benefit from reading this book. It is very easy to read and a good reference book for the office bookshelf.

I am in the sales department of a top pharmaceutical company. Retention of top performers is a real concern in our industry. This book offers practical steps you can take immediately to improve retention. It not only shows what you need to do to be an employer of choice but also reinforced for us what we were already doing right. A must for all managers who care about the bottom line and know that taking care of your high performers is the way to see the best profits.

this book is absolutely wonderful in guidence in the interview process. i havent' been in the managers position in about 10 years and had forgotten what was allowed and not allowed to ask. i'm glad this book was there for me to review and learn from. the "red flag" information was a great help in determination of review. very to the point and easy to understand.

This book was an excellent resource in recent interview preparations for a new hire and I will definitely keep it in my collection. I was able to quickly compile ones I thought were applicable and have a handy list for the interview. My only wish is that they made more interview books suited towards public sector jobs. Still I highly recommend it.

From a job seeker perspective, this book has been worth personally more than 2000 times its list price. It is like being able to read the other team's playbook before the championship game! If you are seeking a job in Corporate America, don't go in without reading this book because this book will get you half way there......and in some unfortunate "buzz-word company" cases - all the way. It tells you everything they want to hear and why. Satisfy HR first, and then worry about your potenital new boss. Why waste your money on learning what you could say during an interview from other books. This book truly allows you to switch seats with your interviewer. This book is truly deserving of the yellow cover with black stripes and should be entitled, "Interviewing in Corporate America"

Falcone offers invaluable advice as to how to "identify high performance candidates, probe beyond superficial answers, spot 'red flags' which indicate evasions or untruths, get references which provide reliable information about candidates, and negotiate job offers which attract winners." The value of this book is perhaps best indicated by the results of research conducted by Bradford D. Smart of more than 4,000 executives in 50 of the "Fortune 500" companies, shared in Topgrading which I have reviewed previously. The results confirm Peter Drucker's assertion that "The ability to make good decisions regarding people represents one of the last reliable sources of competitive advantage, since very few organizations are very good at it." For me, the most stunning revelations in Smart's book are found on page 50, in Figure 3.2, "Cost of Mis-Hire Study Results." According to the results of Smart's extensive research study, the sum of total costs of a mis-hire (on average) are as follows:

Base salary Less than $100,000: 14 times salary

Base Salary $100,000-250,000: 28 times salary

All Salaries: 24 times salary

Sobering statistics indeed. In his book, Falcone includes two recurring sections which define the context within which each of the 96 questions is asked: "Why Ask This Question?" and "Analyzing the Response." He also alerts the reader/interviewer to relevant "Red Flags" which might otherwise be invisible. Books such as this (and it's one of the best) can guide and inform a rigorous process by which to identify those candidates which offer the strongest talent, skills, and (yes) character. I strongly recommend this book to any and all decision-makers and decision-influencers who are involved in their organization's hiring process. But please keep in mind that candidates may have also read this book. For interviewers, it is highly desirable to reveal the person "behind the resume." It is also imperative to obtain "real information" from credible reference persons. My own opinion is that they as well as candidates need to be thoroughly checked out.

Paul Falcone worked as the Employment Manager for a very large mortgage company. His 96 questions are a compilation of questions that he gathered over the years that help narrow down a candidate pool. These questions are above and beyond the normal tested legal quidelines, they ask whether a person can do the job as described.

If you are a hiring manager, this will help you to have a template to ask great job related questions. For those organizations who like to have structured interviews, this can be used to pick and choose questions for various managers to help compile a great profile from the interview process. Structuring allows you not to repeat the same questions and shows the candidates that you are careful in your selection process and are interested in getting the best.

If you are a recruiter, manager or even a job seeker wondering what may be asked in an interview, this is a great tool to have in your library.

I have read about half the book so far.

One thing that irks me is all the footnotes. I have not counted them but they must total in the thousands. While I agree that it is important not to use somebody else's work without acknowledgement, this book seems to take it to the extreme. I can tell that the author(s) must be English majors because normal people would simply not use so many footnotes. It would have been better to use the "shotgun" approach - a statement something like "some statements in this book are not entirely those of the authors, other works have been used blah, blah, blah...."

As for the content of the book, there is the overwhelming hint of inside advertising for various companies. Examples are good, I agree, but I get the feeling there are many hidden advertisements for various companies.

A lot of the information is common sense. I thought this book would give me more insight into the way advertising works, so far I have been underwhelmed to the point of disappointment.

I can only hope the rest of the book will make up for a lackluster beginning.

If I had to choose one book as a survival book in the adfield, this would definitely be my weapon of choice.
It has down to earth and truthful advertising insights about how things work or don't in the advertising universe.

It really, really is a must have for all us who deal from the agency side or the marketing side of the ad business.
Better if any agency and client read this before to fully understand one another, in working better off as one team aiming to one vision.

This book details and focus everything from the psychological point of view.
This one is definitely a keeper!

I was introduced to this book several years ago when I was in the ad agency industry.
Since then, my issue has been read and re-read, referenced countless times.
My copy mysteriously disappeared (hey who could blame them??) so have just rebought the newest version of this book.
The book is brilliant because it gets behind the psychology of the buyer, allowing you to really and simply understand the thought process behind the buying decision.
Others who have touched on the subject of the psychology of reasons why we buy have made the content too heavy, too theoretical and let's face it - Boring with a capital "B" ... but not these authors.
It has great examples of ad campaigns throughout the book.
Personally this book has helped me design and write more responsive advertising campaigns as the many learnings from this book have stayed.
This is a must-read for anyone in an ad agency, students of marketing and advertising, and anyone in the marketing industry.
Buy this book, you won't regret it.

and you should read it. it keeps it's promise(advertising and the mind of the consumer:what works what doesn't and why).its all there in the book, explained, with plenty of examples and pretty complete. if you are interested in this field buy this book, and then consider other books if you really want to, but dont miss out on this book.simply a very good book. we should have more books like this.

The most clearly illustrated book about the once mysterious mechanics behind advertising. I wish I would have read it ten years ago when I joined the ad. industry.

Negotiating is one of the most basic yet complex social interactions that people undertake. These sessions can be straightforward or highly strategic, and can involve the exchange of everything from sheep to global conglomerates. Since negotiations are the products of intense human relations, they produce great stories founded on basic social science and psychology principles. Author and professor G. Richard Shell has done a masterful job of presenting the art and science of negotiation. That must be why he is known as one of the most highly-rated business school professors in the U.S. This book is educational and entertaining, and contains great examples of negotiations from such varied sources as African tribes and J.P. Morgan. getAbstract highly recommends it to anyone who wants to find out more about this intricate social interaction. Learn exactly how to become better at getting what you want.

The book is a very helpful tool in learning negotiations. His style of explaining the concepts makes it easy to understand and makes you want to get out and try your new skills.

This book is a must have for every one. I have been in Sales, Product management and Sales Management for 15 years and read numerous books on the 'sales' side though this book sums up what most people including sales people do 90% of the time - negotiate.

As a long time mediator I've read many books on the subject of negotiating. I found Bargaining for Advantage so informative I bought copies for my grown children. Shell brings science into the "art" of negotiating and makes sense of an often mysterious subject. My two daughters especially enjoyed the discussion of women and wages and why women may earn less than men - because they don't ask for more! If there are two or more people in a room, then there likely is negotiating taking place, at one level or another. Do yourself a favor and get this book.

I found myself dozing off to sleep sometimes just trying to get past some of the "duh" moments in this book. Perhaps only for newbie b-schoolers or those getting a start in a career where heavy negotiating is key will this book really be a benefit. Otherwise, the best parts were the self-assessment to determine your personal negotiation style, and the chapter about "leverage." Recommended for those who may not have had very much business or sales experience, or experience particularly in a global forum where dealing with international company execs is uncommon.

I think you could use the ideas in the book without taking them so far, and making the mortgage companies so much money.

The subject that most intrigued me in this book was the discussion about Effective Percentage Rate. It's amazing how considering the home as an investment can change your strategy and overall wealth creation over time.

I wish my family would read this book! They don't realize how they are throwing away countless opportunities to enhance their financial plan and protect their assets. I know they would benefit from the tables within the book that illustrate how choosing a loan strategy can dramatically impact the accumulation of assets over time.

As someone who truly cares about financial independence, this book educated me on how I can take advantage of my real estate holdings and increase my wealth. Using a counterintuitive way of thinking really opened my eyes. Utilizing these simple strategies of leverage, liquidity, tax savings and arbitrage will increase anyones balance sheet. If you are serious about keeping your hard earned money, and don't want to transfer your wealth to financial institutions, you must read this book. People who understand interest earn it, people who don't pay it! Make sure you understand this simple concept as explained in this book.

Everyone always pay attention to the management of their assets, few people realize the management of their liabilities can create as much or more wealth. Being a mortgage lender who for 25 years encouraged everyone to pay their mortgage off as soon as possible I have in the last few years learned that is not always sound advice. The financial planning revolution in the mortgage industry has accelerated in the last 5-6 years as a result of planners such as Douglas Andrews ("Missed Fortune 101") and Ric Edelman ("Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth" among his many) showing the industry and the public that in most cases paying your mortgage early is a bad strategy. We all think that we want to be "mortgage free" and for the most part this is because our parents and grandparents have always advocated this. This thinking goes back to the depression where banks could foreclose on a house even if the payments were current. The banks did this because they had to have liquidity to fund the run on cash from stock investors facing margin calls.

The basic premise is to use only a small part of your downpayment on the mortgage and invest the rest. The government allows you a tax savings that subsidizes your mortgage payment and you have the rest of your funds to invest in a side account. This account will grow and through compounding will increase to a point that in most cases far before the mortgage term is up you have sufficient assets to pay the loan off in a lump sum. However it is wise to keep that liquidity and let it grow. Besides the investment growth you are keeping your funds liquid in case of a financial emergency. If you lose your job or your house is destroyed by nature (Katrina) you have funds to live on because the bank won't loan you money against the property in either case. By being liquid you can weather whatever situation arises.

While financially carrying a large mortgage is the smart thing to do I have many clients that say peace of mind is worth more than the wealth growth or liquidity. Regardless of the financial advantages, to many people peace of mind is more valuable than additional money. No matter how you feel you owe it to yourself to investigate the options and make up your own mind. I have seen a lot of people totally change their mindset from this book and the others I mentioned.

Definitely a must read for anyone seeking to become financially sophisticated in his understanding of how real estate, particularly his home, functions in terms of overall wealth creation.

In this country, we are taught to consume rather than conserve. With the looming threats of the government eventually eliminating social security and corporations no longer offering pensions, we need to protect our future and you can do this more confidently by following the 7 Steps to Borrow Smart and Retire Rich!

The "7-Step Borrow Smart Solution" is an exciting process that provides all of the necessary tools for deciding how best to finance your home. Most people don't realize that there are things to consider other than interest rates and loan fees.

Reading this book will help you to tear down the wall of financial misconceptions acquired in your life, and will give you new knowledge and the confidence to apply what you have learned in a more practical way in order to obtain the results you once thought impossible.

I want my clients and my fellow advisors to understand how owning your home can affect many areas of one's net worth and that there is a new and better way to evaluate one's financing decisions. I've learned ways to increase my family bank safely and conserve it by following the tools provided in this book.

Many fortunes,
Chuck Oliver
CEO American Equity Advisory Group
The Chuck Oliver Team

Every leftist political movement has its `high holy days' of remembrance, or it should. The international labor movement has May Day and in the America labor movement today, Labor Day. There are, however, other days worthy of celebration by militants here in America (and internationally) like the anniversaries of Sacco and Vanzetti, the great general strikes of 1934 in Toledo, Minneapolis and San Francisco and the subject of this review the great `Bread and Roses' strike in the textile mills of Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912. That, until recently, this heroic (and victorious) strike was not remembered officially under any conditions by that very representative working class city and that its continues to remain shrouded in ignorance tells as much about contemporary American labor as any other indicator. That ignorance is something that Professor Bruce Watson has with this effort attempted to remedy. As an important work of labor history Watson has done more than a commendable job. Moreover, because he has done such a scholarly, well-written and easily readable work today's militants can draw many lessons from that seemingly long ago labor struggle.

On completion of this book I was struck by the parallels between the conditions that fostered that 1912 strike, the social composition of that work force and the attitudes of those bosses and today's `globalized' capitalist working conditions. The ethnic and racial groupings today that make up the core of the American working class, for example, are somewhat different from those that fought the 1912 where South and East Europeans predominated. However, the much overused sociological term `melting pot' still applies to the extend that the working class is not heterogeneous in its racial and ethnic makeup, a factor that not only aids the breakdown of class unity but is, a more or less, conscious stratagem of the bosses to divide the working class at the base. Moreover, although we are not talking about fighting for nickel and dime raises like those asked for then today the wage system has created a wider gap between rich and poor that would not be unfamiliar to those strikers long ago. And certainly the bosses have not changed, although they are certainly slicker than in those days of William Woods and the other textile magnates. And they put their money where their mouths are, spending over a billion dollars a years to defeat unionization drives and strike action.

One question, on which there is no comparison, or none worthy of mention, is the difference in labor leadership as the 1912 strike evolved and today's labor leadership. This refers not only to the differences in political perspective of the Bill Haywood and Joseph Ettor-led Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and today's Democratic Party-embedded labor leadership which are striking enough but about the nature of society and politics. Fundamentally the old preamble to the IWW constitution drawn up in 1905 is correct in its assertion that there are two distinct and different class interests in the world and at the end of the day they are irreconcilble. Today's labor leadership acts as if there wasn't a capitalist that it did not like. An interesting sidelight to the IWW-led 1912 struggle was the attempt by the conservative traditional craft unions associated with the AFof L during the strike to break away from the bulk of the unskilled laborers who formed the core of the textile industry. That has happened in later struggles as well.

One thing that was clear then and has been muddied by today's labor bureaucracy (with no little help from social democratic and other leftists) is the role of the state. If any mass struggle in the last one hundred years points out the capitalist class nature of the American state it is Lawrence. At every critical point from the first day of the strike and from the lowest level of government the police and military power of the state was used against the working class and in defense of the interests of the capitalist class. This is the class struggle in the raw, up close and personal, that usually only gets exposed in pre-revolutionary or revolutionary situations.

If nothing else, whatever Professor Watson's personal political sympathies may be, he has performed a great service by placing the Lawrence strike in the context of the development of American capitalism, especially in its post-robber baron period; the development of the multi-ethnic working class; the role of the development of light industry and the Merrimack Valley in the development of American capitalism; the creation and furtherance of a radical response to the primitive capitalist production conditions; and, the role of the state in capitalist society. One may fault Professor Watson with a bit of a `kitchen sink' approach to this work when he brings in every possible event and personality that can reasonably or logically be connected with the Lawrence strike in any way. Even Marxists recognize limits to the interrelatedness of events in any particular situation. However, that is a small price to pay for this important addition to labor history. Kudos.

Bruce Watson's "Bread and Roses" tells the captivating story of the 1912 textile strike in the mill town of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Now known as the "bread and roses strike", it united dozens of communities of immigrant workers under the leadership of the radical anti-capitalist Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) to win a months-long struggle against all odds. One of the IWW's greatest victories, it also proved to be a short-lived one. In less than a year, the union in Lawrence had been all but exterminated, victim of a violent reaction the likes of which wouldn't be seen again until the jingoistic hysteria of the First World War and subsequent red scare.

Watson's telling of the story is a beautifully written, meticulously detailed and documented account. His fast-moving, journalistic history stretches beyond the strike itself in frequent tangents, to provide a glimpse at labor organizing and class conflict in early twentieth century America, starring Big Bill Haywood, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, "Smiling Joe" Ettor and hometown organizer Angelo Rocco, with cameos from Gene Debs, Joe Hill, Clarence Darrow, "T-Bone Slim", Morris Hillquit, John Reed, Emma Goldman, Teddy Roosevelt, Nicola Sacco, and many others.

My chief criticism of Watson's account is actually that he makes it too much a story. He gets swept up in the romance and legend of the "Wobblies", which leads him to neglect a serious analysis of their program and goals. Watson never really comes to grips with the radical anti-capitalist agenda of the IWW and the strike itself, characterizing it merely as part of the "struggle for the American dream".

Although Watson tries to maintain journalistic neutrality, it becomes clear that his sympathies lie with the strikers, if not their self-proclaimed "historic mission... to do away with capitalism". This is especially the case when he discusses the aftermath of the strike, when the union was violently suppressed and equal violence was done to history. In the sanitized history of the strike that was then established, Lawrence was a peaceful, idyllic town, with no poverty, no slums, no hunger, no low wages, no oppression. Then a handful of outside agitators descended on the town, exploiting flighty and feeble-minded immigrants, to manufacture a labor dispute where none truly existed.

Nonsense, of course, and Watson does a good job of demolishing it, and an even better job of telling a more accurate tale. The story of the Lawrence strike is one we all should know, and even those already familiar with it are not likely to find a more engaging account of it than "Bread and Roses".

I saw this reviewed on one of the public television shows. I read it, then passed it on to my Union to add to their library. Excellent work, very informative.

I was raised in Lawrence. My grandmother was a polish immigrant weaver at the Wood Mill and my grandfather was an Irish plant foreman at the Arlington Mills as was my father. I have been reading and researching Lawrence for some time. In fact in my book about growing up in Lawrence "A Summer with Charlie" now listed on Amazon, I include a short synopsis of the Strike of 1912. When I saw Mr. Watson's book advertised, I had to have it. He did an excellent job as did Mr. Moran on "The Belles of New England". If you really want some fun books about Lawrence get Images of America, Lawrence Massachusetts by Ken Skulski and friends. These are two volumes full of old pictures and descriptions of good old Lawrence. Whenever I get nostalgic and lonely for the old days and the good times I go over and start browsing through one of these volumes.
Bruce Watson's book is much the same - I loved walking with the strikers up and down all those familiar streets and learning about the history of my old hometown. This book should be a required reading at Lawrence High and Central Catholic, that's for sure.

I grew up in Lawrence and had several members of my family work in the woolen mills....

Although the strike was not talked about, I was very aware of how hard the work was and how much sacrifice was made by each family.

Sadly, the history of the strike was not taught in our classrooms - I strongly believe that it is as relevant today..... I urge everyone to read this book and to take it to your heart. Bruce Watson did an extraordinary job presenting this story.

I always was and always will be proud to be a member of one of those hardworking immigrant families.....and continue to be proud to have been raised in Lawrence.

Having been a start-up company within the past twelve months, BREAKTHROUGH NETWORKING was the perfect guide in developing my personal networking style and identity. Lillian Bjorseth provides clear and easy-to-apply examples of "How to Introduce Yourself" and "How to Work a Room," among many others. I'd recommend it to any businessperson interested in either defining or revising their business identity and actions to maximize success.


Dino Romano
President
www.GreaterCashFlow.com

Breakthrough Networking: Building Relationships that last - delivers huge and is considered a must read for the Progressive Intelligence, LLC members. Each page is loaded with an infinite amount of wisdom creatively outfitted with substance that provides you the understanding to unlocking the whole premise to life - building relations. This is one of those books that you most definitely will keep reading over and over again, as you continue to build your networking arsenal in your quest for certainty in your business and personal lives. This book was so inspiring that it has caused to seek further into Lillian's intellect and experience, where we found, and were inundated with a wealth of information not only during numerous seminars, but through her various other books and publications. Thank you Lillian for helping us set the foundation of Progressive Intelligence, LLC as we continue on making our social contribution in society.

Ryan J. Lewandowski
Chief of Sales and Marketing
Progressive Intelligence,LLC

Now in an newly updated and expanded second edition, Breakthrough Networking: Building Relationships That Last by syndicated columnist Lillian D. Bjorseth is a truly "user friendly" guide to building networking skills in order to control one's own career path and uncover bright future prospects in an era where corporate cradle-to-grave job security is a thing of the past. From presenting the best possible personal image; to staying in touch; to engaging in ice-breaking activities; to dealing with gender-specific discrepancies, and a great deal more, Breakthrough Networking is particularly recommended reading for aspiring and practicing free-lancers in any vocational category or job level.

Breakthrough Networking offers practical, hands-on suggestions for building on networking and communication skills. I have found it a useful and informative resource.

"Breakthrough Networking: Building Relationships That Last," by Lillian Bjorseth, addresses problems that many people have with meeting people, building relationships, and projecting a professional image. In an era where cradle-to-grave job security is a thing of the past, it is beneficial to continue building relationships throughout your career.

"Breakthrough Networking" makes it easy for anyone to network. Bjorseth discusses different networking styles, and through a series of questions about everything from appearance to desktops to office enhancements, the reader can establish his or her own networking personality type. Bjorseth addresses each networking style separately, listing strengths, weaknesses and suggestions for improvement. This personalized approach helps the reader understand how to effectively communicate with other networking styles.

In addition to networking styles, "Breakthrough Networking" also examines the effects of the personal and printed images. Bjorseth explores the positive and negative connotations of different colors, gender-specific discrepancies, and even the importance of seating arrangements.

Another valuable tool is Bjorseth's insight on setting networking goals. She includes checklists of questions to help readers refine their target market and networking strategies. Also included are suggestions on how to find groups to join in order to build a networking pool and how to get more specific results from those suggestions.

Bjorseth also includes a section of ice-breaking activities, games, and workshop exercises to flex the networking muscles such as "Networking Bingo" and "Networking Poker."

"Breakthrough Networking: Building Relationships That Last" is a guide to networking and building relationships from which anyone, regardless of profession, will benefit.