Business Books

I bought the book more for fun but I found out that the advices that are given can be applied to almost any type for job. I did learn quite some stuff there.

I found the information to be very helpful in understanding the worlds of working in the entertainment industry. Having insider information on the Hollywood industry should provide guidance for people deciding if this is the work career place they want. I got the book out of curiosity about the industry that provides the public with amusement products. The information is well arranged and easy to understand. The publication does not hold back from warnings about making mistaken moves while working in Hollywood.
It comes across as a very useful workplace guide.

This book is very funny with practical experience for just about everyone! I brought it on my honeymoon and both my husband I couldn't help but read it aloud. The book has great tips for anyone, not just those looking to work in Hollywood. It is very well written and really keeps your interest.

Absolutely hilarious. If you work in the biz, everyone will be jealous when you bring this book to the office. They will all want their hands on it. Taking the quizzes out loud in a group is the most fun you'll have. Unlike some books, it's not just a clever title/idea- it's perfectly executed. You'll be laughing out loud. You'll be learning too. A must if you're are an asst, want to be an asst, used to be an asst, or if you just feel sorry for your asst friends and want to feel so glad you're not one.

It's 85% humor and 15% real sold advice. Seems like the 15% could be extremely helpful and the whole thing goes down like candy.

I received the book right away in the mail and read it one day! It has great advice about people wanting to move to LA and doesn't beat around the bush. You get honest suggestions and advice through experienced people. There is a great sense of humor throughout the book to keep you laughing while you realize the crazy things you do if you want to become a Hollywood assistant!

I read this book in one evening because I could not put it down once I started. Hug Your Kids Today reminded me of many things I already know, but in the 'busy-ness' of 'business' I sometimes forget. It has great ideas, suggestions and strategies for staying connected with kids, showing affection, and accepting and loving them for who they are. Whether you're a stay at home mom or a parent who works 80 hours a week outside the home, there is something in here that will speak directly to you.

One of my favorite parts of this book was reading about Mark's story; Nichols' 8-year old son who died of brain cancer. I enjoyed getting a glimpse into what a brilliant, insightful child he was and the wonderful message he left behind. "Tell a joke, share, and be a good friend." These are great words to live by for anyone of any age. The author's frank look at the devastation and horrible aftermath of losing a child makes you want to run straight to your child, hug them, and never let go.

While many parenting writers come across as preachy and flawless, I really appreciated the author's candor with regard to her own shortcomings, which all of us have and can identify with, and learn from. Nichols also gives readers simple strategies and ideas for building connections with kids and creating fun (sometimes crazy) memories in our families. Hug Your Kids is a super easy read, has fantastic anecdotes, and definitely has something for parents in all ages and stages of life. I loved it and have hugged my kids like crazy every day since!

Michelle, Mark me down as one of the read-it-all-at-once club. I almost feel honored that you shared this with the world. Thank you. I am already recommending it to others, including an online message board community I go to that has a book and blog forum. It has made a difference in my life and I know it will bless so many others.

I recently experienced the privilege of hearing Michelle Nichols speak at an eWomen Network event in Reno, NV. Her personal story and the wisdom in her message moved me deeply. Then, I read her book. It was journey of tears and laughter. A journey I am grateful that I took; a journey that I will encourage others to take. Everyone should read this book, parent or not; the message will advance humanity.

Why is a man with no children like me buying and reviewing this book? Because as a former corporate executive who is soon to become a family therapist, I feel that this engaging and uplifting book belongs on every working parent's desk.

This is really two books in one. The first part of it takes you into the heart of every parent's worst nightmare, as Michelle walks you through the sudden death of her 8-year-old son from a brain tumor, and how their healing process turned into something much bigger than themselves: the start of a national Hug Your Kids Day.

Which leads us to the second part of the book: a five-step process for keeping your balance and perspective as a working parent. It starts *and* ends with hugging your kids every day, in a path that goes through closeness, laughter and faith along the way. Nichols, a former Business Week columnist and successful speaker, has turned her passion into a national movement that played out everywhere from baseball stadiums to freeway billboards across the nation this summer, and will hopefully continue to grow into a force for happier families.

Hugs are a powerful metaphor for family life. The dynamics of a family can turn in many different ways, but underneath it all a family that laughs, loves, and hugs each other regularly is in my view the key to an authentic and fulfilling life - as well as happier and more productive workplaces. That is why this book has something to say to everyone from working parents to corporate HR executives with parents in their workplaces. So buy this book now, and then go hug your kids!

You better buy two copies of this book, because once you read it, you will want to share it, but not give up your copy! This book is a diamond! It will revolutionize our families and workforce for the better, if we would simply read it, and apply the insights and principles found inside. This book made me laugh, cry and think. This book is worthy of your time, and one you will be proud to share with others.

This book was recommended to me by several people at a recent ESOP conference. Feeling that employee input was one of the best ways to build an ownership culture, I purchased the book. I was only 3/4 of the way through it when I found that we had another employee working on an ideas program, planning to give 10% of savings as employee bonuses. I quickly passed the book on to him. As it did with me, it totally changed his way of thinking; he scrapped his initial plan and will be proposing a completely different program that rewards all employees who submit ideas, without the reward being based on the savings.

In "Ideas are Free," the authors synopsize idea programs at several high-performing companies worldwide. They also point out the pitfalls of trying to develop and manage rewards based on savings, instead recommending making idea generation and implementation a part of everyone's job. Finally, they help walk you through how to implement a program at your workplace (although I haven't been able to read that part yet, because my co-worker still has my book! -- He has ordered his own, so I hope to have it back soon.).

I highly recommend this book. It is non-technical and easy to read.

Since my company has an idea program which I believe could be improved, I've read this book. It's short and to the point. It addresses the importance of small ideas for the improvement of the company and the engagement of its employees. It accompanies most of the points with real case stories which make the point even more compelling. Also very important is the chapter related to rewards and the counter-intuitive effects.

Alan G. Robinson and Dean M. Schroeder's IDEAS ARE FREE is for employers who would tap into the riches of employee ideas and insights. Employees are quite opt to recognize both problems and opportunitiestheir managers pass by - but most organizations don't encourage sharing such insights, much less reward them. IDEAS ARE FREE: HOW THE IDEA REVOLUTION IS LIBERATING PEOPLE AND TRANSFORMING ORGANIZATIONS shows how to tap this hidden wealth.

Ideas Are Free: How The Idea Of Revolution Is Liberating People And Transforming Organizations by Alan G. Robinson (Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts) and Dean M. Schroeder (Associate Dean and Director of Graduate Programs in Management at the College of Business Administrations at Valparaiso University) is an innovative guide to saving money, effort, time and also provides an informative introduction to entirely new ways of doing business with front-line employees, making the most out of opportunities and maximizing the benefits of sound, effective management. Robinson and Schroeder aptly examine the intricacies of the business life and include an analysis of a more prosperous, ease-filled advancement for opportunities granted to all, and situational manipulation for a more competently finalized project. Ideas Are Free is very highly recommended reading for all business consultants, corporate executives and departmental managers.

The authors show how important it is to gather ideas and encourage people to think creatively. I wish they would have described more how they could gather these ideas more effectively.

I must admit, I was a skeptic. I NEVER thought anything about "IT" (which I now know to be "IS"...) would be interesting to me, but this book proved me wrong. Simply put, it is well-written with clear examples of the theories and frameworks it introduces as well as great business cases that can be used for discussion. More than just providing a clear lesson in IS, this book was engaging and enjoyable to read.

In the end, I feel better educated about a subject that will no doubt be vital to successful managers in the future. Studying this subject and reading this book was definitely time well spent.

I am a professor at an Ivy League university who used this book in her undergraduate required IS course. After years of struggling to find an effective textbook for non-IS majors, I have finally succeeded thanks to Prof Piccoli's insightful and engaging text. I recommend this book for undergraduate and graduate courses. The mini-cases and conversational style of the text makes it easy for students to understand the value of information systems in business.

I used this book for my Strategic Information Systems course - and was glad to use have it as the course textbook! The book provides many (simple) examples, and is great for non-IT students as well. After using this book, I became more interested in reading Strategy materials (such as the HBR magazine). I would recommend this book to be used for IT and Information Systems courses.

The mini-cases in each chapter are also great gateways for class discussion! I learned a lot after reading the chapter and discussing the cases.

I will definitely keep this book on my shelf. What separates this book from all the other IT texts is the fact that it is written for business people not technology people. Anyone can understand the language used in this text and the book provides many business examples that will help non-technologically inclined individuals understand IT concepts. This book is best in breed for understanding information systems in a business context.

This is definitely the best Information Systems text book I have read. Apart from its use of plain, simple english it is also full of practical examples and business cases that describes the applicability of its teachings to real life situations.

Trust me, you dont want to pass on this one.

What a superior career guide! After looking at several books, I found Ms. Williams' Insider's Guide... and used it to prepare for a pharmaceutical sales career. Three weeks after buying the guide, I have a job with Pfizer!! There is no way that I could have prepared for those FIVE interviews without the Insider's Guide... I wasn't surprised by a single interview question. This book is the best investment I've ever made. I can't recommend it enough to anyone who wants a career in pharmaceutical sales.

I'm writing this review because the previous comment by "Chris S." is wrong. This isnt a book you should "read in one night" and it is not just general information. This book is an insider's GUIDE to pharm sales, not the insider's guide to info on pharma companies. The guy doesn't know what he's talking about. This book has EVERYTHING you need to know about getting into pharm. sales. It's the one stop book of info. that will give you exact interview questions, complete overview of the entire interview process, in depth explanations of what's expected of a pharm. sales rep, and a good overview of well, everything. It's almost like sitting with a pharm. sales rep and asking him/her questions. I was a college grad with barely any sales experience. I had a friend in pharm. sales who recommended this book, and with the help of the book and my friend, I was able to get through 6 VERY competitive interviews with a pharma powerhouse company. Again, I didn't have any professional sales experience. I bought other pharm sale books as well and returned them. Nothing compares to this book. If your looking to get into the world of pharmaceutical sales, just like the title says, then this book is for you. Don't pass it by and if you get the interview, don't for to ABC - Always Be Closing!

Four stars to Jane Williams for writing a comprehensive text like book on getting a job in pharmaceutical sales. Excellent content but could have been a bit more original in both style and format. I chose this book because after reading the reviews it promised to be the most comprehensive guide available. I was not dissappointed, but in order to be the most comprehensive information, I also ordered PharmRepSelect audio book CD and Interview Insight CD along with this book. Good choice, because it provides different view points from authors with different styles and experience.I recommend information on different formats, keeps it way less boring, together this is a five star package! Thanks to Insider's Guide book and PharmRepSelect audio CDs I aced my interview and now work for a pharmaceutical company selling anti cancer drugs. Going to work is rewarding and I thank these authors for their help in getting me a career I enjoy.

Okay people, I bought the book 3 months ago, and I must say it is the bomb!!! I have no sales experience, but this book guided me step by step. It even gives you various scenarios with various answers. It is outstanding for a newcomer to the industry. Take heed and get the book!! I wanted the newest edition, but it hadn't come out yet and I was desperate to begin my research. I had 2 interviews with the same company--I was referred by my pharmaceutical sales rep friend--and I believe they went well. I am waiting to proceed to the next step, which is with the district manager. Needless to say, I was overly prepared. The binder the book suggests you put together totally "WOWED" the interviewer. 2 words...THE BOMB!

As a professional sales consultant, I am always looking for books that I can utilize as a consultant. The new 7th Edition of the "Insider's Guide..." is absolutely fantastic! This book offers excellent advice on networking, the pharmaceutical industry and the new physician call guidelines for pharmaceutical sales representatives, understanding the interview process, using personality profiling to your advantage, 150 specific detailed pharmaceutical sales interview questions and answers as well as major pharmaceutical company profiles and contract sales organizations contact information.

The book is very well written, professionally edited, and reflects the author's credibility. It is easy to see why this book is being utilized by college and university sales and marketing professors for their sales and marketing courses and special sales classes.

I have always been interested in how great software products are built. In the early 90's, I took several "software engineering best practices" courses at Boston University as part of my doctoral studies and since then I have read many books and articles and have lead many software product development and product management teams. Now I even teach a course at Stanford on product management and the software product lifecycle.

Marty's Cagan's book is by far the best book I have ever read on software product management, or really on how to build great products.

His general theme of discovering products that are "valuable, usable, and feasible" is brilliant. He discusses the role of the product management including contrasting it to product marketing, project management, design, and engineering. He lays out a guideline for product management processes including how to succeed with agile methods, waterfall processes, in a start-up, and in large companies. It is hard to believe he covers so many useful topics (cutting features vs. slipping dates, market research, innovating in large companies) and classic problems (confusing product management with product marketing) in this relatively short, very straightforward, and very readable book.

If you are a product manager or just want to learn how to build great software products, but this book! Then buy one for everyone on your team, for everyone around you, and especially for your CEO. (Oh, you are the CEO? then what are you waiting for?)

I think this book is excellent. It covers every area of product management in just enough detail. One can tell that it was written by a real practitioner with a great experience and track record in product management.
If your organization is a product organization I recommend this book as your product management manual.

With any book regarding Product Development, one will be looking for valuable insight and, most of all, application of knowledge. Marty does an excellent job and both of these.

There are tons of books on marketing, user interface design, business strategy and technology, but this is the first book I've ever heard of that really attempts to codify and describe what good product management is all about. There is shockingly little material that describes even the basics of this vital function, and Mr. Cagan's book covers not only the basics but also some of the more esoteric elements of a product manager's existence. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand product management more effectively as well as to practicioners who need a reference guide. As a product manager myself, I will keep this book right on my desk at work, and over time I imagine it will become well-thumbed!

I just finished reading Inspired by Marty Cagan. Marty runs the SVPG group in Silicon Valley and offers onsite consulting related to product management in software companies. In a series of essays, Inspired explains the basics of product management. What's the difference between product management and product marketing? What's the difference between product management and project management? What are personas and when do you use them? How does product management work in an agile environment? What is agile and what is waterfall? These questions and more are addressed in the book. Inspired is a great combination of what to do and examples of how to do it. If you're new to product management, check out this book.

As an aspiring actress author Ayun Halliday wished to keep her business commitments and work life flexible: her Job Hopper: The Checkered Career Of A Down-market Dilettante provides both a funny and thought-provoking review of these many jobs which avoided regular paychecks, hard work, and a dress code. This could have appeared under 'humor', but any involved in business and the work world will especially appreciate Halliday's humor, and will find Job Hopper packed with funny realism.

What a fun idea for a book! I love the comedic tour through various jobs, some of which I have held (and in the same area, since I graduated from the same University, albeit a decade or so later.) Classic Ayun Halliday style is applied to her adventures through the world of the classic jobs of youth. Humor, honesty, candor, fun, rollicking storytelling; all that you'd expect from this author.

Some of these are the jobs we've all had at some point in our lives: temp, telemarketer (ok, I've had these jobs). Others are jobs we've only thought about: larger-than-life department store Bert and Ernie, failed costume maker.

Wherever life takes Ayun Halliday, antics are sure to follow. Romping with us through these fictionalized reflections on her somewhat checkered career past, Halliday sheds a light reminiscent of Barbara Ehrenreich's on serious issues like poor wages and working conditions... without ever crossing over into self-pity or depression.

Halliday's book, we know, has a happy ending - her regular readers will know she's gone on to become a successful mama, zine publisher, author, wife and more. So this chapter - this series of chapters - reads like a funny preface to Halliday's REAL life, the life that began when all this job hopping ended.

A light, quick and insightful read. Brava!

This book hits ever so close to home and the "what if" thoughts that flash through my mind once in a while when I fall into crazy reveries while slogging through the slower parts of my, albeit awesome, job.

I too was a theatre nerd (but, you know, the cool kind) and spent a short period after college exploring the same path as Ayun: half-heartedly working crap jobs by day, and doing experimental theatre [......] Fortunately, my low tolerance for audition rejections and the sickening appeal of paid vacations, forced me to bail on "the life" a mere 18 months later and I became a willing tool of the Man for nine surprisingly swift years (now I'm a used car salesman in Little Rock, jealous?).

Seriously, I loved (and deeply commiserated with) this book. You just can't make this stuff up. Believe me, I tried. Even if you didn't come a whisker away from this lifestyle like I did, the stories will draw you in, make you shake your head and wonder how some people get through the day without being arrested or accidentally killing themselves. These are sociological findings that college professors pay good money for, not to mention being hilarious. Ayun is a wizard at taking all forms of misery, and the jackholes that play supporting roles, and making it funny. This is something I'm put in the position of doing all too often, so I know it ain't easy.

Good one Ayun.

Ayun Halliday is one of my favorite writers. I've been a fan ever since reading her East Village Inky zine years ago, which she continues to publish. I've also gotten to see her read live, and she is one of the most lively readers I have ever seen. Anyway, this excellent collection of stories about her various jobs is charming, honest, eye-opening, touching (especially the story of her job at Dave's Italian Kitchen), and most importantly, hilarious. The picture of Ayun at the end of her introduction is a perfect represenation of how great this book is: It's nostalgic, a bit-crazed, and funny. My favorite story is the last one, about Ayun's experiences as a massage therapist. Very revealing about the nature of the job, about customers, and about one particualar boss... Quite a character. I highly recommend this book.

This book contains good insight on leadership. With the retirement of the baby boom generation, there will be a significant shift in leadership in most organizations. This book addresses some of the issues that this dynamic will create.

This book uses the fictional journey of one person to explore a number of important leadership issues. It is an easy read with good truths for those entering new leadership roles.

I have found that how-to books on leadership too often are predictable, cliched, or simply poorly written. Few are memorable. So it was genuinely refreshing to discover that "The Journey of the Accidental Leader" avoided those traps. At each stage of the fictional protagonist's journey, the leadership lessons highlighted go well beyond conventional wisdom and especially come alive in the context of the story. Best of all, the fictional parable itself is a work of well-written fiction: I cared about Sam, the protagonist, and consequently the lessons illustrated by Sam's plight had real sticking power.

The Journey of the Accidental Leader provides excellent pointers and insight for the new person on the job to the head of an organization or company. Its fable format makes it a quick and enjoyable read. Having supervised for several years, the book made me appreciate what I have done well as a leader and made me think hard about what I could do better. It also gave me some ideas that I have already put to use at work. This book will not be buried in my bookshelf collecting dust. I have already shared it with some of my colleages and pulled it out the other day to use one of the lessons. Enjoy and learn!

This is exactly the kind of book I wish I had read years ago, when I found myself accidentally in a leadership position. In Dr. Gladis's business parable, leadership lessons come alive through the journey of Sammy, an Accidental Leader. The Ten Leadership Lessons Learned are reinforced through Sammy's experiences as a new CEO, and are clearly summarized at the end of each chapter, for effective retention. Recommended for both accidental and intentional leaders.

Steve translates leadership into action steps you can implement immediately after reading the book. Extremely well written. Terrific book for a new leader or someone who wants to become a more effective leader. Well done!

Excellent reference. I used this in my Six Sigma Black Belt course. I referenced it many times. I could not have passed the test without it. Some of the chapters (e.g. quality in foriegn countries) did not interest me, but seemed to be well written -- such is the case anyway with references. I heard Dr. Godfrey speak at a national conference -- he is a real champion for Six Sigma.

For decades Joseph Juran has been a famous name in the quality movement. He formed his own institute for quality and has for many years edited an extensive volume on methods for improving quality in manufacturing processes. This Quality Handbook, now in its fifth edition has long been the basic reference for quality engineers and statistician alike. To honor Juran, the fifth edition is titled Juran's Quality Handbook. The volume is now over 900 pages and consists of 48 chapters and 5 appendices. There are 53 authors including Juran himself and his colleague and co-editor Blanton Godfrey. Many other well-known persons have contributed. It includes a chapter on government services by Vice President Al Gore. Prominent statisticians who have contributed include Don Marquardt, Stu Hunter, Bill Meeker, Luis Escobar, Gerry Hahn, Ed Schilling, Ed Dudewicz and Necip Doganaksoy.
As a statistician, I particularly like having a wealth of practical statistical information and tables in one source. Dudewicz provides the introductory statistical material necessary to understand the four other statistical chapters that follow it (SPC by Wadsworth, Acceptance Sampling by Schilling, Design and Analysis of Experiments by Hunter and Reliability Concepts and Data Analysis by Meeker, Escobar, Doganaksoy and Hahn). These are all distinguished authors who are excellent writers and several have written whole text books on these subjects. This edition is up-to-date with the latest advances in quality techniques. Statistical advances in robust design (Taguchi methods), bootstrap methods, process control and capability are all included. Juran and Deming had major practical impact on the quality movement because they both emphasized the need for proper process management. This can be seen in many of the non-statistical chapters that deal with successful management techniques such as six sigma.

This edition is even better than the previous editions and is indeed worthy of the title of bible. Despite the high cost this book is prominent on my bookshelf. I recommend it to anyone heavily involved in product reliability, even if they own copies of previous editions!

"Juran's Quality Handbook" is an excellent book on Quality by one of the most well known quality gurus. The book gives a comprehensive coverage of the subject of quality management. It includes the latest techniques on quality as well as quality theories.

This is a very useful book for those who are interested in producing quality goods and services in a customer focused organization. This huge tome is of immense value to all those involved with the quality profession and is an excellent reference book that covers the wide range of topics and subjects pertaining to quality.

This is a well written book that is very useful for all businesses where quality matters (that is, all businesses). This should be essential reading for quality specialists such as control and quality assurance personnel.

Excellent reference..........Oh man the language and the content rocks. You need to read other books to appreciate this book more.
Quality pro's..........you need to have one of this for sure.

Warning: Not a best choice for "just preparing for a certification exam". It is too much of content for a "small goal of exam". Primer seems to do a good job

The most complete quality reference available.
The fifth edition includes new material on ISO 9000, benchmarking, the Baldrige and other awards, adoption of Strategic Quality Planning and TQM, management leadership for quality, self-directing teams, quality function deployment, and Tuguchi Methods.

The author presents the values of life in a story telling manner. He even goes beyond the peripheral and queries into the mind and touches the heart and solves the personal problems. The Golden rule soothes the mind and heart. It is excellent worth reading.

Just Golden rule for better business is brilliant comapassionate, encouraging, and all the more easy to read,and for human understanding and those who follow this golden rule can embrace peace, tranquility, love and human happiness.

I can very well tell that this book gives inspirational thoughts and encoragement. I can use it for my business and for my personal development. if the author is given more description about the golden rule then it would be more helpful for the ordinary people. This book is very interesting and very nourishing.

This is a great book, with plenty of encouragement. I think I can suggest my students to read this atleast once. This book gives motivation.

I read and I find this book is useful.