Business Books

Decker's story is novel quality, for the characters become very real, making the issues and principles of effective organization change truly understandable. Any organization about to launch a significant change should distribute this book widely!

Brad Smart

In particular, the lessons you can learn about identifying and resolving conflicts are absolutely priceless. This and Corporate Canaries are MUST buys if you are a manager in any sort of capacity!

For books like this to work, they have to have both an engaging storyline and real-world characters. This book has both, and I found myself re-learning a lot about dealing with change, managing difficult people, and understanding how different types of people have different styles of working. The group discussion questions in the back are particularly useful. I will probably suggest that my whole department get copies and read it together. There are some on my team who need a little coaching, and this is a very non-threatening way to deal with difficult issues. Great job!

If you think you have read every single business book that you need to read, reconsider this one. I heard the author speak at an event in Newark recently and was impressed with his assessment of the difficulties associated with people with undiagnosed depression. The characters are so three dimensional that you'll think you know most of them. This is like a "Desperate Housewives" in cubicle-land, and it totally works.

My own boss is a little like the damaged main character, and I put this book on her desk anonymously. I saw her carrying it around for a few days and then at our department meeting last Monday she told people we should all read it because it had some excellent advice. I really thought she was too far gone but this book seems to have changed her. I hope it's for good.

Even if not, the book is a fun read that I think just about anybody will get a kick out of.

Charles Decker is vice president of an electronic publishing company, does work with business publishing initiatives, and has coauthored Beans: Four Principles for Running a Business in Good Times or Bad. Lessons from the Hive is about a fictionalized organization that is reinventing itself and was created to teach positive ways of viewing changes in an organization, how to deal with fears of the unknown, the importance of trust, and how to deal with conflicting interpersonal relationships. It is of the business-fable genre that uses a week-in the-life approach for five players in an organization including a recently installed CEO, a newly hired employee, and a seasoned director of marketing with personal struggles at home and at work. The junior change agent uses mantras many people call clichés such as Happiness is a choice; Inspire yourself, others will follow; Vanity is not a team sport; Enthusiasm will take you 90 percent of the way; and Change your thinking, change your life. This book can be used in classrooms and in businesses. Many people learn better by stories and examples than by other methods. This is a brief but powerful message. There are questions at the back of the book to assist reflection about each chapter.

This book was written by someone who understands the real world of corporate America: the world of the cubicles! You will not learn the lessons in this book from corporate trainers. These witty, often hilarious, bits of wisdom come from the core of cube city. Those who have been there will read this book and think: Why didn't I have this when I first started to work? Those who have not been there need to read it to understand what it's really like to be one of the folks who do the work in corporations. A great read!

Lights, Cubicle, Action!: 100+ Directives For Survival In Corporate America is a collection of sound tips and insights by A. A. Cantor into surviving the perils of working for large corporations. Each insightful revelation or sage piece of advice is enhanced with a brief, no-nonsense explanation. From "Employees would rather read a blatant lie than hear incontrovertible truth."; to "Succeed at what you dislike and you will be forever condemned to it."; to "Success breeds success - but a great deal more contempt.", these memorable vignettes offer a true window of perception into the often twisted maze of office politics.

I found it to be very informative and inspirational for looking at our attitudes about our jobs and our dreams. I have been teaching a business course for Middle Schoolers, and it is now required reading in my class. Thank you for writing this book Tony!

A delightful book filled with workplace truisms that will make you think. Each is a paragraph or two, perfect for a quick distraction. Loved it!!

Judging by the cover, LIGHTS, CUBICLE, ACTION! appears to be yet another Dilbertesque comic book making light of the corporate world. Appearances in this case would be very deceiving. A quick perusal of its pages reveals the truth behind corporate rhetoric, unvarnished by any gloss or glamour. Instead, the wisdom offered is hard hitting, intensely critical and remarkable insightful. Indeed, its rather scathing evaluation of the cubeville reveals the harsh truths of cube dwelling that your boss would like you to forget.

A.A. Cantor captures the brutal heart of corporate America in every page. Occasionally amusing, always astute, each page deftly reveals the ruthlessness of business and the keys to survival. Moreover, LIGHTS, CUBICLE, ACTION! offers far more than the cheesy optimism of teamwork and chasing the cheese characteristic of most books within this genre. A must read for all cube dwellers, LIGHTS, CUBICLE, ACTION! comes very highly recommended.

Great book, must read for anyone that loves missionary type stories. Power of God is displayed in this young man's life. Fantastic.

This true story is testimony to the fact that miracles still occur. I was very inspired to exercise my own faith in the face of great opposition. Vanya's faith was such that he almost seemed naive to the problems of being so open as he was in a Soviet system.

What a testimony!

-doug

This is a book about God's faithfulness to His own in spite of suffering, persecution and death. It is about one man's relationship with the Living God, to whom he had abandonded himself totally. It's a book about what is truly important and worth clinging to when there is absolutely no other hope. I read the story of Ivan Moisyev years ago with tears, awe and humility and the memory of Ivan's story of faith, suffering and, ultimately, martyrdom for the cause of Christ still haunts me. It left behind on my soul the burning questions, "If I were faced with such terrible persecution how would I respond? Would I remain faithful to Christ to the point of death? Could I really love and forgive those who might so terribly persecute me?". All these years later I'm left with the challenge to be willing to surrender everything, including my life to God in Christ.[...]

Vanya was a young man drafted into the Soviet Army in 1970. He had been a believer for only two years, but during that time he had internalized the Scriptures, even though he didn't even own a Bible. His first priority upon arriving in the Ukraine for Basic Training was to find a private place to pray each morning. Thus before he had been in the Army for a week he was already in trouble for his religion.
This book chronicles, using the God's-eye view approach to telling the story, the relentless persecution that followed, culminating in his heroic death by torture for refusing to recant. Fearless before the might of the Evil Empire, Vanya was the stone upon which many stumbled and were broken, but only became more hardened to all efforts to conform him to the Soviet Ideal. Though plagued by doubts, Vanya found his faith miraculously strengthed in his darkest hours, and left behind a trail of new believers and demoralized interrogators wherever he was taken.

His death accomplished what his life couldn't: the Soviet Army admitted defeat and never again applied its utmost force to a believer in hopes of turning him from the faith.

I loved this book; the adventure, the trials and triumphs, and the amazing ending. A fascinating story from beginning to end. It is another favorite in my personal library. A treasure!

Tim Smith's pure approach to keeping customers loyal shows how disciplined use of the right talents can separate us in this world of mediocrity. This is one of the milestones of being a Professional Sales Rep. I would suggest it to any sales rep regardless of the industry.

This book way better than Kaizan or other Japanese book. Tim Smith the Shogun of samurai salesman!!

Tim Smith has given sales people a practical guide to establishing lasting relationships and a loyal customer base. Mr. Smith has broken the sales process down into 7 steps, which when followed, result in a powerful relationship and long term success.
Mr. Smith's approach is logical and easy to follow. Examples of how this process works are plentiful and buttress his points very well.
I found the book readable and amusing. I will strongly suggest this book to my sales colleagues who are looking to improve their sales skills.

Being a sales representitive in a competitive industry can be intimidating! Tim Smith's book Loyalty Based Selling gives you the tools to suceed from the start. Loyalty Based Selling is a quick read that avoids all the warm and fuzzes about selling and gets right into the meat of it. Tim offers a unique perspective and specific examples of whats's made him #1. Sales reps make many mistakes that could easily be avioded if they use the tools and game plan that Loyalty Based Selling offers. The book walks you through how to introduce your self to a prospective customer to celebrating the close of a big deal. This book is a must read for all sales reps.

This book is outstanding! It takes a very simple approach to communicating the best way to maintain business with current customers and grow your business with both existing and new customers. Each one of us can implement the seven steps into our selling. Mr. Smith did a great job of giving us examples we can work with. I have already recommended this book to several colleagues!

Roos and his team have succeeded in extracting the value of working with the IC framework in real life company examples. The book demonstrates how a structured and analytical approach to various managerial and strategic challenges can be the key to make considerable improvements both in financial and non-financial performance of the company. The theoretical foundings are solid and without match in the contemporary IC management literature, which will certainly satisfy even the most demanding reader. On the other hand, the basic IC concepts and their application give a compehensive picture even to the beginner and an incentive to apply them in real life.

The book demonstrates that the IC theory has moved to a new era: once strongly research driven, the IC framework has made a breakthough as a powerful management concept. Highly recommended to anybody who is interested in getting to the core of value creation and management!

In 1999 I started to look for any information about intellectual capital. There were many pieces of articles, ideas, reasoning and less then 10 Web- sites of companies which did something in ICM. It was big interest to value creation problem. We knew that intellectual capital is main resource to creating and increasing in value. But we did not know how it works. Goran Roos was one of the pioneers who revealed the way of intellectual capital management. What is the intellectual capital, how to measure it, how to transform another recourses into IC, how to manage by intellectual capital and how to create and to increase value - he knows and tells us in this book. He is author of unic, original all-embracing approach. This approach is not only fantasy of professor but result of wide practice. All ideas of the book are confirmed in ptactice. It is very useful and easy as any work of genius.

This is a fantastic book for all organizations and executives exploring the world of Intellectual Capital. Whilst it explores the theory and principles behind value creation from intangibles, knowledge and intellectual capital, it also provides a practical guide to applying the principles. This book goes beyond others on the market, as it gives the reader a hands on methodology of measuring and applying intellectual capital principles to every day business. For those looking for a competitive advantage through effective Intellectual Management practices, look no further than Goran's publication.

I strongly recommend this text for those managers who want to take advantage of the potential of the intangible assets, and for those who want to increase the value creation considerably by managing the intangibles, like networks, brands, knowledge, etc.
You wil find many examples of several companies tha illustrate different approaches to increase the value of intangibles. There are also several management tools, which can be easily used in a company, once adapted to the specificid circunstances and constrains.
The book really shows how to work for the availability of key intangible resources in the organization and how to employ them to execute the strategy successfully.

For people who work in public policy, there are many challenges in creating a framework for establishing, definining and assessing a course of action when dealing with competing stakeholder interests. This book provides many useful, practical methods to assist those who need to manage ambiguity yet achieve real outcomes. The book is written for the practioner as the concepts are described in an accessible and logical manner. Too many books in the organisation and business strategy field fail to stimulate one's thinking and excite - this one does. Highly recommended.

Excerpt from review on bsmDigest.com:
"Mark Lutchen's groundbreaking book continues to influence technology leaders with its vision for building mature IT organizations. As more CIOs and CEOs grapple with the challenge of applying effective management processes to their increasingly critical technology organizations, this engaging book offers very practical advice for doing it successfully. Drawing on his experience both as an actual CIO managing a large, global IT organizations and as a management consultant working with many large organizations, Lutchen delivers a clear, integrated vision for enlightened IT management."

Great help for someone that has just upgraded
from IT Management to a CIO role and needed to
upgrade as well his agenda. Excellent source of inspiration
and perfect guide for a profession that is still
under transformation. Definitely a must have.

The book is focused (and written by) on world class CIO positions,
but I found it equally useful for smaller scale CIOs.
It's exactly there that it lacks some information
on the organization of smaller IT groups (<20 persons).

If you are a CIO then buy it. If you are an IT manager
you need something else.

In the fall of 2003, the Harvard Business Review published an article advancing the proposition that "IT doesn't matter." The article's author suggested that because IT was now a commodity, and everyone had it, it no longer conveyed any distinctive competitive advantage and therefore, strategically, did not matter. In fact, at many companies, IT doesn't matter as much as it should - not because it is a commodity that other companies also use, but because most companies don't get every potential benefit from their IT. To advance your business agenda effectively, make IT a real part of the business. Author Mark D. Lutchen shows managers, particularly CEOs and CIOs, why IT is not fully a part of business at the moment, and what it will take to turn IT into a competitive, strategic asset. We recommend this useful, well-written, clearly organized book to anyone whose job involves decisions on IT budgets, organization, investments or strategy.

This is a fabulous book for experienced or aspiring IT managers whose goal is to prepare for ascension through the ranks, especially to the CIO level. In simple yet rich language, Mark presents a clear picture of the future of the IT organization and the competencies needed in the CIO and senior team heading up this professional services operation. The examples and case studies are rich with insights. In short, this book is pragmatic and weighty, yet also highly readable and I dare say outright enjoyable. I highly recommend it as a must read for anyone who wants to develop an effective IT career roadmap. Thank you Mark Lutchen.

Joe Santana,
Co-author Manage IT

I have only one simple statement - where were you Mark when I started my IT career 17 years ago? Today I would have been a CIO! I highly recommend this book for those starting out their careers in IT as it gives a big picture look to the field. Own it and refer to the clear and relevant graphics in the book.

I picked up this book because I have always found e-mail to be an effective way to begin and develop relationships with interesting people I would never have otherwise met. That's one of the many reasons I like to write reviews on Amazon.com. Since most books about the Internet are extremely simple and out-of-date, I had low expectations. Imagine how pleased I was when I discovered that this book not only answered many of my questions (such as how to get started with e-mailing to opt-in lists of people who have given permission to be contacted with information in certain subject areas) but also provided information that I did not imagine existed (such as sites for posting e-mail press releases and statements of competency to reach the media). Best of all, the ideas here take little capital and expertise so most people who are active on the Internet can use them.

Here is the table of contents to give you a sense of how the book is organized:

Chapter 1: E-Mail Newsletters

Chapter 2: Discussion Lists

Chapter 3: Online Networking

Chapter 4: Signature Files

Chapter 5: Autoresponders

Chapter 6: Customer Relationship Management

Chapter 7: Promotions and Direct E-Mail

Chapter 8: Online Public Relations

Chapter 9: Advertising in E-Publications

Chapter 10: E-Mail Marketing Rulebook

Chapter 11: Technical Know-How

Chapter 12: Measuring Results

Chapter 13: Opt-In List Brokering

Chapter 14: Worksheets

Chapter 15: 20 Recommended E-Mail Publications

As a result of reading this book, I began to wonder if I should also offer a free e-mail newsletter of more analytical and detailed book reviews covering those books I like best, with the reviews organized to be easier to access. Your opinions on that subject are most welcome!

The technical support in the book can save you some money on implementing by allowing you to do more of the work yourself. You are also directed to examples and organizations that can help you. I wrote down more than 30 web sites I want to investigate as a result of reading this book. That's about 27 more than I got out of the last 400 books I have read.

Another positive feature of the book is that it is anti-Spam. If you are like me, you get about 40 Spam messages a day that have no connection to any interest you have and seem to be created by people with little talent. One reason I have been slow to use more e-mail marketing is because I am very anti-Spam and didn't want to become a Spammer even by accident.

The best advice from the book is to build your own lists from people who reply to you and give you permission to contact them again, and use those to establish and maintain mutually supportive relationships. That makes sense to me. My web designer has been urging me on with this idea for years, but I never quite got the point before. Now I see what I should be doing. Even though I have read and liked Permission Marketing, the idea just hadn't clicked before.

Even if you don't plan to do e-mail mass marketing, the ideas in here for online public relations will make the book valuable all by themselves.

The authors also offer you access to their web site for more information and help.

A revised edition is planned for a few weeks from now, and I suspect that it would be a good idea to see what is in that edition as well. I wouldn't wait for that one, however, to get started. You can make significant progress in the meantime with this edition.

After you have finished reading this book, ask yourself what is the one thing you could do today that would help get valuable knowledge out to those who need it most. Then take that action. I also urge you to make that question and action step a daily process thereafter. This book should make you very capable of doing this!

For anyone looking for an experienced and relaible method of managing opt-in email marketing this is for you.

Marketing With E-Mail is a quick reading that broadens your horizon by giving you a concise, to the point overview of the different tools available to market a company and its products/ services through e-mail. Permission marketing is the mantra of Marketing With E-Mail and her author, Shannon Kinnard. E-mail marketing, though important, is not a stand-alone communication channel. By offering your prospects and customers multiple response paths, you increase the probability that they will respond to your product offering. In addition, Marketing With E-Mail and the companion web site refer to many resources that you can explore to get additional insights into that new field of marketing. Shannon Kinnard, however, does not cover the economics of e-mail marketing thoroughly. Case studies are not usually backed up by any in-depth financial analysis that should definitely convince you that investing in e-mail marketing provides a sensible return on investment and positively influences customer lifetime value. Hopefully, Shannon Kinnard will further share her (financial) expertise with you in the second edition of Marketing With E-Mail that will be released soon.

I am a technoid (See my about me area) so when I first started reading this book and Kinnard described the tools I thought the book was going to be fairly boring. Later when I entered in the chapters on marketing I was thrilled with an entry level book.

I needed (and still need) good ideas to help me market my business. I used my highlighter a great deal in this book. In almost every one of the later chapters I found really good ideas. Also the structure of the book was wonderful. The beginning of every chapter is a series of descriptive or narrative paragraphs, case study, resources and a cheat sheet. The structure that Kinnard uses makes this a tool for reference as well as a good read.

Finally, I think Kinnard has an excellent style. I think one of the great tasks of writing a book like this one is that most of the audience really is not interested in reading the material. We just want to know it so that we can use it. So, time spent reading and learning about email is tiresome. Kinnard does a good job of making the paint dry quickly.

As a web designer for small businesses, the task of bringing visitors to a site often falls into my lap. It's a daunting task and with internet marketing still in it's infancy it's difficult to look to anyone as an expert. Ms. Kinnard is worth her weight in gold; demonstrating how to handle the new field of e-marketing and expertly giving how-to advice.

Many of my clients are regional shops and businesses that do not have the big business (big $$) marketing budgets. Not only do I often find myself referring to this book often, but I recommend it to all of my clients as well.

Business owners are often one of the biggest draws for a business; their personality, eye for detail, or craftsmanship is what attracts customers. By reading this book, my clients are able to market themselves, which my all accounts is a win-win scenario.

If you own a business or if you represent a business that is trying to increase their market share on the Internet, make this mandatory reading.

Book is overly pendantic teaching for instance how to switch the directions of the mouse.

In learning how to use FrontPage 2003 step by step, this is the book. It's very colorful & informative, it provides all you need to get started in the development of your own website, you're going to like it very much.

I bought this for my daughter and she said it was very easy to follow. She has already started designing web sites for her friends.

I have just begun to use this book. I am an extreme beginner and find the book attractively laid out and well-illustrated. I have not finished my web site yet, but I'm on my way. There are a few details that are "over my head" but I think I can work around them and still get good results.

FrontPage was a new application to me and somewhat different than other web page applications. I was asked to take over website updates and didn't have time to go through a class, etc. This book enables the user to look up the task at hand and then basically follow the step-by-step instructions. It has been a fabulous tool. It is very user friendly for the novice but still has enough technical information to satisfy the HTML hound. I found it to be a more effective tool than Microsoft's on-line classes.

If you can only have one book on FrontPage, this should be it.

If you're looking for a step by step how to guide on how you can create Million Dollar Mailings on a shoestring budget, then skip this book.

On the other hand, if you're an advertising professional charged with the task of effectively spending your client's money on marketing and advertising, then by all means, buy this book. This is your chance to look over the shoulder of a seasoned professional as he looks at some of the most successful direct mail pieces in history.

As for the cost of the book... a course on "marketing" at your local community college costs more and won't provide 1/10th of the information contained within this book!

Wow says it all. Read the prior reviews. Pound for pound this book is worth more than gold per pound to anyone who writes copy. A life time of learning for way less than $100. Have spent 10X as much for a fraction of what this book will give you. Thanks Mr. Hatch

Thousands and thousands of different direct mail packages are mailed every year.

A few are super successful. This book collects the cream of the crop. the "control" letters that made these companies fortunes over the years. And explains why they worked. Will cut decades off your learning curve.

You can use these time tested successes to duplicate. So that your own mailing will be a success. Shows all different types of formats for mailing. As well as different types of offers.

Two other recommended books to learn from are Herschell Gordon Lewis' "World's Greatest Direct Mail Sales Letters" and "The Greatest Direct Mail Sales Letters of all Time" by Richard S. Hodgson

But both of these are hard to find and expensive. Who knows how long Million Dollar Mailings will be available for?

However, there is a danger in that you'll see how stupid some of the marketing has been done, and is being done, by others in your company. You might get restless, run out the door and scream.

Worth it's weight in doubloons.

Caveat: Bean counters, and bean counters masquerading as marketers, will not understand this book. If all you send out are post cards and self mailers (ads with postage stamps), and you think they're effective, keep doing that. We true direct marketers will gleefully steal your lunch money with Mr. Hatch's assistance.

Expensive, but definately worth it if you can afford it. Like others have said, don't expect a "how to" course on putting together a direct mail piece. However, the mail pieces included provide some real invaluable insights into what works (and there is a pattern).

The only thing I could add is that maybe some of the old control pieces could have been added so you could examine why they were beaten.

Otherwise - really top notch!

This is a very good, practical guide, on how to become a million dollar producer. The book is straightforward and full of practical information that anyone can immediately put to use.

The author is a former regional manager at Merrill Lynch and refined his system over many years of working with top producers at the firm. New advisors and those looking for a significant jump in productivity would be well advised to adopt the book as their business plan.

I use the book and have worked with draft copies of the materials for two years and have seen a significant lift in my productivity, client satisfaction and my own professional satisfaction.

The book has info on how to structure your practice, what activities matter, managing investments, niche marketing, working with your assistant and much more.

This is a great companion to Nick Murray's classic book "The New Financial Advisor"

As I begin my own financial services practice I find this book to be very helpful in two areas.

1. The author gets at motivation first. We need to ask the WHY of what we are doing. We need to answer that question in our own lives if we are to be successful. Set goals and then work to achieve those goals. It begins with the reasons we are in this business.

2. Practical steps. The author takes the reader through very practical steps of time management, and even lays out some very basic marketing plans and ideas.

This is a marked up book that will be a constant reference for me.

David Mullen's main theme is a variation of Thomas Edison's oft-repeated words that "genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration." Although his book is repetitive and circular, he adds a little more information each time he loops back to an idea. Aspiring brokers will find the effort of following Mullen's train of thought worthwhile: He provides scripts and sample letters, and describes helpful techniques for handling rejection, communicating with prospects and closing sales. He includes information about how to work in teams and how to train sales associates. Mullen's advice is not groundbreaking, but it is specific and practical - although, strangely, he never mentions the importance of developing investment expertise. Thus, getAbstract recommends this book to those who already understand the field and want to use what they know to start selling.

Follow these principles and be your own coach! David Mullen combines strategic planning and how-to-do-it with clarity. Topics include market planning and realistic steps to building a million-dollar practice, as well as building blocks necessary to create a firm foundation. This is the #1 book I recommend in coaching FAs.

Just recently licensed, I was searching for a book to help me get started, since I will be working as an independent financial adviser. Ordered this book because of the high reviews and I have to say this book did not let me down. It was better than I expected. This book breaks down exactly what you need to do, step by step, to grow a million dollar practice. My favorite chapters were the first (Overview) and the third (The numbers you need to succeed).

The Overview basically tells you what to expect, explaining that as a new adviser 70% of a 10 hour day should be spent on marketing. Also provides a break down for your weekly marketing goals, time commitment, and target markets.

The Numbers chapter breaks down how many appointments you must set weekly, how much assets you must get under management on a monthly basis, the minimum qualified prospects to keep, and a specific road map to growing your business to a million dollars.

The book also contains marking plans, scrips to help you get started and much more. This is a great book for any new adviser that is serious about growing their business to a million dollar practice!