Practice Management Books

Only an absolute madman would give his wife the keys to the family finances!

Unfortunately, I had to learn this lesson the hard way. Growing up in a liberal democrat household, my parents told me all this nonsense about how men and women should co-pilot the marriage. When I did eventually get married, I carried out my parent's instructions. I told my wife she didn't have to change her last name, went to all her feminist happenings, and last but not least, I bestowed upon her the family wallet.

I was a complete rube!

Even though, being a man, I made almost twice as much as she did, she spent all the money! Whenever I would come home from a hard day's work, there would be bags from Bloomingdales, Macy's, Bath and Body Works, and every other store women frequent, all over the house! My wife spent me into the poor house.

If that wasn't bad enough, when she found out my money was gone she split! There I was alone and in debt thanks to my parents silly liberal ideals. I went to them and asked them how their marriage worked with such flawed thinking. Then they sprung it on me. "We never were married, son. We liberals have evolved past that archaic pastime." My father stated sternly.

"Then you never gave her control over the finances?" I asked naively, eyes wide with innocence.

"Me? Give your mother control over the money? You gotta be putting me on. That feminism stuff is fine on paper, but I wouldn't recommend actually trying it out." He walked away with a sadistic chuckle.

Ellie Kay does a masterful job helping families manage finances. In fact, the book should be titled, Family Guide to Finances, because she has the whole family involved! Having been raised by immigrant parents whose values helped me to become a responsible spender, saver, donator, Ellie's book still offers reasons to keep reading--from the eight money-saving/spending personalities (including, Love Ya Louie and Balanced Betty), resources for saving money online, keeping track of what we spend, to the Money Pyramid (starting with 10% FUN money). Most of all, her stories and digressions make this a real page-turner filled with valuable nuggets.

Written with light humor, this book on a serious subject is a delight to read. Ellie writes as if she is sitting across a cafe table, drinking coffee with you. What makes the book fun to read - and interesting so you keep turning those pages - is that Ellie uses experiences from her own life and turns them into lessons for readers.

The advice Ellie gives in her book is rock solid and makes perfect sense, and she doesn't just tell you what to do, she gives the reader steps on how to do it.

This book is not a "How to Get Rich" book. It does not delve into the dark mysterious sometimes boring world of the inner workings of stocks, bonds, banks or international finances. "A Woman's Guide to Family Finances" is a book that tells, step by step, what a woman can do to get herself out of debt and into the black in the most painless, easy to understand methods possible.

Chapters begin with interesting information, usually a personal experience Ellie has had. She then tells the lesson she learned from her experience. Then she lists the steps taken to correct the problem or make the success discussed.

I would recommend this book to any woman, no matter what stage of your life you are in. Young and just beginning to "I'm too old to change" (which I don't believe is ever true).

This book gives practical advice to any woman interested in getting control of family finances, whether she is married, single with kids or on her own.
It also includes help for financial recovery for the deeply in debt and for the suddenly unemployed.
Divided into two sections, Ellie Kay jumps into the hard truth with "Where Did All The Dough Go?"

Ms Kay's description of the America's normal family:
1. Married with two children
2. Modest home with a 30 year mortgage
3. $40,000 annual income
4. Savings account with less than $500 in it
5. $8,000 in credit card debt
6. Two car payments
7. No household budget
8. No long-term retirement account
9. They want their children to go to college


Where they hope to be One Fine Day
1, Paid off mortgage
2. Paid off credit cards
3. Nice savings account
4. IRAs
5. Kids sent to college
6. Retirement

And where they will actually be if they continue their financial habits shows a vast divide that hits all too close to home for many of us.

Ellie Kay asks, "What are you willing to do today in order to make your family's financial dreams cone true in the future?"

She goes on to show the different personalities and emotions that drive financial decisions. Chances are you will find yourself in one or more of these personalities as I did.
But, take heart, she gives practical ways to break free from the destructive spending cycles that accompany each of these personalities.

After facing the hard truth of who we are and how we spend, we get to take action in Section 2 "Money Management For Everyone"
In this section there are action steps such as Ten Tips to Save Ten Bucks in Ten Minutes (or less) and establishing a household budget, based on The Fifty Thousand Dollar Pyramid
This section is packed with useful information about everything from choosing a mortgage to garage sales and Ebay.

The last chapter brings home the spiritual reason for being financially secure. - So that we can give generously, in very practical ways, to those in need.
I enjoyed Ms Kay's entertaining sense of humor, which got me through even the painful areas of `self-recognition' and 'plastic (credit card) surgery'.

Do you dream of the day when . . .

. . . Your credit cards are paid off?

. . . You have a savings account and an IRA?

. . . You can take a once-in-a-lifetime family vacation?

Then A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO FAMILY FINANCES is the book for you. Written in an entertaining, easy-to-read style, Ellie Kay will teach the reader how she took her family from over forty-thousand dollars in credit card debt, to being completely debt-free in two and a half years.

Ms. Kay shows in easy to understand chapters how to budget, how to save on essentials, how to go on a debt diet, and how to weather financial set-backs, including losing your job and looking for a new place of employment.

I don't usually like to read how-to books, but this book reads like a good novel. I had to keep reading. I learned some really valuable tips and relearned others that I'd forgotten and am looking forward to putting my new budget into operation.

A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO FAMILY FINANCES is a book to read through once, but then come back to time and again as you are ready to make more financial changes. She advices you start small and build your way up so you don't go into shock and stop trying to save money. Whether you are a born spender or saver, A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO FAMILY FINANCES is a book for a keeper shelf to be read and studied over and over. I'd recommend having your teenagers read it too, especially if they are soon to be on their own.

=== reviewed by Laura V. Hilton for Christian Bookshelf

Contract negotiations are often tedious and frustrating. This book was refreshingly useful because it laid out strategies for achieving desired negotitated results. The book's advice and approach can be applied with profit to any contract negotiations, but it's examples are based on negotiating the complicated agreements between Owners and Architects. I've used it with success to explain the Architect's needs and concerns to Owners and, just as frequently, I've used it when representing Owners to explain why a certain compromise and position in negotiations with Architects makes sense. It is a book with balanced advice on how to negotiate in general and how to do so in particular in the Owner/Architect context. It's many specific examples and suggested solutions to typical negotiation issues have saved me hours of time attempting to articulate to opposing counsel or my clients what the author has already compiled in this book.

I've found its contents so useful that I've taught portions of seminars to Architects, Contractors and Owners using lessons and insights taken from the book. The attendees always have commented favorably on the concrete, practical advice they have learned from those portions of the seminar.

This is a valuable book. If you're involved in any negotiations, especially construction, it is worth purchasing.

Ava Abramovitz has distilled her years of experience as attorney, advisor and mediator into a wonderfully readable book. Her insights and suggestions will benefit every architect who has strugged with uncertainty during contract negotiations. A wonderful addition to our professional library.

Did you know that negotiation can be taught? Most architects do not understand that the rest of the world NEGOTIATES. This book is absolutely ESSENTIAL to the business end of architecture, as well as to life. How do you handle a client who wants full ownership of documents? Do you know what liability that can open you and your firm up to?! Do your key employees know how to negotiate? What about negotiating design? Are all aspects of the design so important that you're willing to walk away from the job, the client and future work; or do you know how to negotiate a win-win situation? This book is for ANYONE in the firm who is in direct contact with the client or other representatives of the client. GET AND READ THIS BOOK! (It will even help with non-professional relationships.)

I am not an architect, but I loved this book. It clearly laid out steps real people can take to negotiate tough problems -- whether construction-related or not. The chapter on communication skills and the one on dispute resolution alone were worth the price of the book. In fact, I would say, as a senior manager of a growing business, that anyone who seeks to accomplish anything important in any business would benefit from the information this book contains. It should be required reading for all.

I teach architecture students a course on professional practice and have made Architect's Essentials of Contract Negotiation required reading. Of all the sources I've read on this topic, Ava Abramowitz offers the most accessible and well-reasoned explanations of what every design professional must understand about negotiation (and communication).

Abramowitz's many years of experience as a counselor, teacher and mentor to architects has clearly given her insight into how architects think, and she uses this insight to great effect. My students enjoy reading this text (especially Chapters 3&4) because it connects to the way they see the world (and helps focus that vision) in language that rings true. Don't be fooled by the word "Contracts" in the title; this is a great book about architects and negotiation in general and one that I believe all architects should own.

I met David Mullen several years ago in his Merrill Lynch office in south Denver. A colleague and I visited with David for a couple of hours and enjoyed lunch and a enlightening conversation about Mullin's views and support strategies he was implementing for and with the financial advisors under his charge. I smiled as I read through this book hearing many of the same practices and methodologies he shared with me then. This book is about proven system. Mullen has helped hundreds of financial advisors become successful and achieve the pinnacles of their careers.

Anyone who is new to the financial services business, or is thinking about switching to a career in financial services would do well to read David J. Mullen Jr.'s very helpful handbook on how to become a top producer in a million-dollar financial services practice. As a former regional manager with Merrill Lynch, Mullen gained experience working with several top producers and summarized what he learned from them in this book. As a managing director at Merrill Lynch, Mullen hired and trained more than 500 financial advisers.

Mullen cuts to the heart of the matter by spelling out in detail what needs to be done every business day to achieve success. On top of the list are self-discipline and clarity of vision. After providing an overview in chapter one, Mullen takes the reader step by step along the path of developing a million-dollar practice. Most of the advice is very specific - how many qualified prospects you should keep, how much in new assets you should get under your management each month, and how many appointments you should make for each new week. And, throughout the book, Mullen stresses that there are no shortcuts in the road to success but there are clear right steps to take and each step must be taken.

Besides being very specific, the author also takes a global, comprehensive approach when covering such broad topics as sales, prospecting, marketing, and time management. The broader looks produces his system that offers "how to" advice on such things as getting the appointment, converting prospects to customers, balancing current customers with prospects, building relationships, retaining customers, using niche marketing to your benefit, increasing the services each customers depends upon you for, and attracting millionaire clients.

Mullen also provides sample letters and model scripts that are proven templates to success. The sample letters and scripts are why many of my friends are keeping Mullen's book on their desktops to be referred to often. Especially useful for repeated reference is the his15 Market Action Plans. The templates alone provide reason to buy this book but the real benefits are those gained from paying attention to the advice of a man who has succeeded and wants you to succeed also.

By Darin Manis
CEO and Founder
RJ & Makay
www.rjandmakay.com

I recently obtained my series 7 and series 66 licenses, along with all the insurance lines! After completing my studying and passing all the tests, I had no idea as of what to do next. This book gives you detailed, step by step processes that will make you accountable to yourself. This is the best road map I have seen for financial advisor type professionals. Follow this book, be successful!

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.

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!

INNER PEACE FOR BUSY PEOPLE, written and read by Joan
Borysenko, grabbed me from the moment I saw the title . . . this
was a book that speaks to me, I thought, and I was right.

If you're like me and sometimes feel overwhelmed by the pressures of work,
family and a whole host of modern-day stressors, then this is the
perfect resource for a number of practical tips on how best
to cope with them . . as one such example, perhaps my favorite one:

Keep in mind: Everything is over at the end. If it's not over, it's
not the end.

Or this one also struck home:

* Life is not an endless series of tasks that you complain about
because you're busy.

In addition, I thought this was an excellent suggestion:

* Make on oxygen list . . . the things you want to make a more
important part of your life. Then choose one item and make a
commitment to actually do it.

There were many other useful tidbits I gained from this excellent
program; among them:

* My good friend Loretta LaRoche asks, "What's the purpose
of getting everything done?" Your tombstone will still say:
Got it all done. Dead anyway.

* Our goal should be to wake-up on Monday and say, "I'm so glad
to be alive. I can't wait to see what's next."

* You want to get to a state where the guy in the antique store
says "Let me tell you a story." And you respond, "I'd like to hear
your story."

And then there was this one that I will attempt to implement
as soon as possible:

* To be mindful in he shower, say to yourself, "This is all I will
do. I will plan my day now." Better is for you to savor your shower.

I'd like to tell you more about INNER PEACE FOR BUSY PEOPLE;
however, I must stop now . . . to take my shower!

I WAS REALLY STRESSED OUT, HAVING PANIC ATTACKS, REALLY DOWN ON EVERYTHING AND TAKING MEDICATION FOR ANXIETY. THIS BOOK CHANGED MY THINKING ABOUT LOTS OF THINGS. I BECAME SO POSITIVE ABOUT LIFE AND ITS MEANING THAT I EVEN STOPPED MY MEDICATION AND FEEL GREAT.

A MUST READ.

This lady is slowly turning my life around. Everything in the book is common sense but in today's busy world we no longer think that way. I've gained a new outlook on life and am approaching situations that would normally leave me stressed in a more peaceful way. It has something for everyone.

This book offers practical strategies to help readers achieve inner peace in a busy, chaotic world. Each of the 52 strategies are realistic and simple to implement. Dr. Borysenko offers strategies in each of the main areas of our lives including: overall life, taking care of yourself, time, managing your mind, developing compassion, kindness, and clear communication, and creating wisdom and purpose. She offers a specific action for each strategy so the reader can begin transforming their life immediately.

"Inner Peace for Busy People" is definitely worth the time to read.

Chapters are short. Nice read before bed. Good and thoughtful information. Worth the money.

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.

This book is well written and contains a lot of great content about Internet marketing. It was written by three CEO's whom have made their own success. I would say that its focus is more from the serious business perspective than for the armature home business newbie looking for some "how to?". But still this book was definitely worth my time. It was easily worth my 12 dollars! This book has many references which will really help out and all the theory is backed by statistics making all the data very convincing. I am sure that if any of those dot com's had this data, there would be more of them still around :)

One of the hardest things about being successful on the Internet is keeping up with the pace at which the playing field keeps changing. I found this book to be extremely well-written, and more importantly, presents information in a way that's not dated by the time you've read it. It's good, simple, common-sense advice for what works. Loved the case studies. It's an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs who can benefit from others' experiences.

There are many titles that deal with the topic of web marketing. Net Results.2 stands head and shoulders above the rest. It addresses the complexities faced by both novice and experienced marketers and provides solid, understandable advice for achieving success at either level. Great case studies help pull the advice into context and give the reader insight into tried and true methodologies that really work. The real beauty of this book, however, is that it provides AFFORDABLE advice for how to garner online success and build traffic. I believe that many of the now failed dot.com startups would still be around today had they heeded the advice available in Net Results.2.

Bought this to read over the weekend. Was a very good read, but what I found amazing is at least 1/3 off the web resources they list are either dead links or offer a totally different services than what was discussed in the book. Great for basics, great ideas - but they really need to update the book (which I would buy)

NetResults.2 is an overview of what is necessary to market a web site. Nine chapters explain things from Investment Goals to Public Relations. Each chapter has pictorial examples of the explanation and a Resource section at the end of each chapter. The book is printed in an easy-to-read font, large enough to make reading a breeze.

The Content section contains seven pages, an appendix of Internet Resources is nine-pages and the index section is seventeen pages long making it user-friendly. On each cover is an extra "turn over" so you can "bookmark" where you stopped reading and as an added incentive, the book cover is plastisized so you can read and drink your coffee without fear of spillage!

It is too bad that way too many managers, supervisors and leaders in the secular world will not follow the timely and true advise Mr. Sanders lays out in this book.

This is the first book I have read that has the correct way to view the secular world with a biblical reference. With that said, I dare you to read this book AND try some of the points in it and see if your work will not succeed!

An Important Book written by
Dan J. Sanders
CEO United Supermarkets

Reviewed by M. Joyce McMenamin

CALL IT THE CLEVERLY PACKAGED LITTLE BOOK
THAT CAPTURED MY ATTENTION & INSPIRED US TO
CREATE A NEW SECTION IN OUR
LITTLE MAGAZINE!

CALL IT WHAT YOU WILL, WE THINK THAT MR. SANDERS HAS DONE A SUPERB JOB OF POSITIONING THE IDEA THAT "BUYER & SELLER'S INTUITION", COMBINED WITH EMPIRICAL DATA, CREATES A BLENDED SUCCESS MODEL OF THOUGHTFUL & INTELLIGENT PROFITABLITY & LONGEVITY.

SANDER'S GOES BEYOND MERELY MIMICKING PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED MODELS AND
WE WERE ACTUALLY IMPRESSED WITH THE DOWN-TO-EARTH MODELS PRESENTED IN
THIS NEW BOOK BY THE CEO OF UNITED SUPERMARKETS. NO SMALL FEAT. THE CAREER,THE BOOK, NOR THE SUCCESS OF THE ORGANIZATION. ASIDE FROM THE
"INSIDE THE BOOK" ADMIRATION BESTOWED BY BEST SELLING BUSINESS AUTHORS,
STEPHEN R. COVEY & KEN BLANCHARD, THIS BOOK DELIVERS ON IDEAS THAT NEED
TO BE DISCUSSED MORE IN THE FUTURE. IDEAS THAT NEED TO BE TAUGHT IN BUSINESS SCHOOLS & NEED TO BE PUT INTO PRACTICE BY ANY ORGANIZATION THAT
WANTS TO GROW AND THRIVE, LET ALONE SURVIVE, INTO THE NEXT DECADE.
THIS IS A MESSAGE THAT ALL LEADERS NEED TO HEAR, BELIEVE & PUT INTO ACTION.

SANDERS SHOULD GET A TEAM OF FACILITATORS TOGETHER TO BUILD WORKSHOPS
AROUND HIS PRINCIPLES & TAKE IT TO THE MILLIONS OF MANAGERS OUT THERE THAT
STILL DON'T "GEDDIT". BACK WHEN I WAS CONSULTING & FACILITATING CORPORATE GROUP SESSIONS, I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE HAD MATERIAL LIKE THIS TO DRAW FROM. SANDERS GETS IT!

WHAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE?

IN A WORLD WHERE TOO MANY, WHO "SHOULD KNOW BETTER",MERELY SPEAK TO THE METRIC-MODEL, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT SANDERS & UNITED LEARNED HOW TO WALK BEFORE THEY TRIED TALKING. SOMETHING MANY PROFESSIONALS SHOULD EMULATE. IN LIFE LEARNING HOW TO WALK, STUMBLE, FALL AND GET BACK UP AGAIN, IS THE NATURAL PROGRESSION TO GROWTH. WHO KNOWS? IF THIS BOOK HAD BEEN AROUND 20 YEARS AGO MAYBE WE'D STILL HAVE A STRONG AMERICAN AUTO INDUSTRY! BY THE LOOKS OF THINGS, UNITED SUPERMARKETS AND THE GROCERY INDUSTRY IN GENERAL ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE... AFTERALL, WE ALL GOTTA EAT, RIGHT?

BRAVO!
UNITED, WE STAND & APPLAUD.

Reviewed by: M. Joyce McMenamin
Publisher, Producer and author of The Integrity Channel [m.j.m. estrada]
Network Abundance sponsored by Sensitive Pie Productions

This review originally appeared in NoNiche Magazine November 2007 Issue

This is a beautiful business book. It really teaches you that your business vision and mission must serve a higher purpose in this life. Your mission should not be money, but instead of servitude to humans. All businesses must serve, lead and help their employees and customers attain a higher purpose in this life, and you as a business leader must do just that instead of focusing on profits. Read it, you will have a different view of business after you are done with it.

United Supermarkets, the company Dan Sanders runs, has long been a strong presence in the community I live in...a very strong and a very positive influence.

The environment and culture Mr. Sanders talks about in his book are evident, from a customer's view point, so it was great reading what was going on behind the scenes of this corporation to help create this atmosphere. He does practice what he preaches.

The most difficult thing a person can achieve naturally is a requirement and achievable in Christ, and that is to serve another human being.

We try and do things our way only to end up pursuing wealth, power, status, stuff and things. All along we miss out on the one thing that will bring fulfillment into our lives.

There are many books written on Management and Leadership; most prescribing tools and processes that when implemented over time the companies eventually retreat to nothing but empty warehouses and broken livelihoods, placing cities and towns under a burden of unemployment and families and governmental structures in a deficit. Built to Serve hits the nail on the head by providing practical steps on how to operate in a process that is proven to work.

Serve the people and they will spend more money just to be served; serve them well and they will drive great distances to spend their money because of how being served by your company made them feel. The three keys that I feel made this book so outstanding is that it deals with the reality of a current business mindset which operates in most businesses today which is that you the customer should be glad we are here to take your money and treat you like the ignorant customer that we you and believe you are. Go into businesses and organizations right where you live and you will surely come across this mindset and current prevailing attitude. Serving, the value of people (internal/external customers), and keeping the faith, are all keys that this book really addresses. Combine all of these together and you find yourself in relationship with your customers. Greater is the fact that you can actually begin to reproduce quality leaders.

This book touches my heart for people and helping them to employ daily their talents to assist people and bless their employers. I look forward to the day when more businesses, PNP's, companies, and organizations begin to apply the right tools for today's business problems. This is well written and contains many great truths...good job.

Book is in perfect condition and arrived promptly. I have only read a little of the book, however it has been referenced by many of my graduate classmates.

The textbook was received in perfect condition and in a timely manner.

this book is excellent for any nurse who wants to understand Patricia Benner's theory on how we learn and develop our skills as nurses caring for others needs moving from the task oriented to seeing the big picture of care.

This book should be required reading for all nurses in all nursing programs. It is an unspoken nursing student idea that when you graduate from your nursing program that you should, "know it all." This is unrealistic for the new/novice nurse. This book explains the process and gives comfort the the new nurse that expecting you to "know it all" is unreasonable and is not an expectation of the profession.

Patricia Benner started taking a common-sense approach to nursing research, when everyone else was out there in the clouds. She actually did something no one else was doing at the time- she asked nurses what they thought, and observed real working nurses to describe her learning model. She aptly describes how nurses learn at the bedside, and why they make the decisions they do, based on what stage of learning they're in. I recommend this book for new and experienced nurses, preceptors, and nurse educators. A must-read for anyone in the profession.

An almost too simple invitation to an otherwise complex topic so highly advocated by people so influential as Pankaj Ghemawat, Nancy J. Adler and Orly Levy ... the topic of developing of a Global Mindset! Global Mindset is the ability to handling very complex cognitive challenges in a cosmopolitan world - this takes Personal Leadership! In the book `Personal Leadership' you are as reader invited on a voyage that - if you allow it, will change your efficiency as leader in Global context... enjoy!

I loved the book. Some of the concepts were familiar. When I read the original authors, I found them too abstract. The way that the authors laid out the principles and practices so clearly and practically with exercises converted all that abstraction into a useful tool. I thought of a least one situation where I could apply it immediately. The authors were very open and generous in sharing personal stories. Congratulations on this significant achievement.

This book is a key to understanding how to build effective multicultural organizations. It is a must read for every leader in all organizations - including corporate, government, education, and non-profits.
This is a book for "our time" and includes an easy process that is important to practice on an on-going basis. This process is the key to making a difference in the world.
Dr. Ann C. Schauber, Professor Emeritus, Oregon State University

The word "Leadership" in the title of this book is the Trojan horse that suggests that those who are in or want to be in leadership positions order this book off the Internet and drag it within their mental and emotional gates. Reading it, we wake up to the fact that the leadership the authors speak of has nothing to do with (and everything to do with) leadership in the normal sense of the word. The key is the adjective that precedes it, i.e., "personal." The book is actually a presentation of a self-development methodology or spirituality of being and doing that consists of two principles (mindfulness and creativity) and six practices or steps for cultivating those principles.

The authors represent a training enterprise, Personal Leadership Seminars, LLC, whose programs are delivered by experienced interculturalists using the methodology described in the book. The methodology itself is a combination of humanistic psychology, spiritual disciplines and philosophia perennis that bloomed in the late 1960's and has continues as a subculture in the USA as well as abroad. There are no surprises here, just a well knit set of mental and emotional disciplines and an invitation to a community of support.

If not new, what is the currency of such training and a book about it? The key is, as the authors point out, practice. A bankruptcy of ethics and spiritual discipline as well as the deep desire for it has resulted in a search for fundamental well-being that has led many into extremes of religious fervor where self-immolation and Armageddon are seriously embraced and encouraged by the so-called political, religious, and military "leaders" of the day. So, Personal Leadership proposes an alternative set of spiritual practices aimed at bringing about awareness of self, one's internal and external environment and how the "others" live in them for us so that our responses are creative rather than destructive, real rather than stereotypical, affirming rather than conflictual.

We might say that "leadership starts at home" in the sense that enlightened leaders in politics, business and organizations will do well to have their personal act together if our world is to find its way out of the wars and destruction that much of its current leadership has presented it with.

But it is not only leaders who need personal leadership, in the sense that following the crowd and the demagogue is as much a part of the problem as are those who maladroitly direct the world scenarios. It is trite but true that people get the leaders they deserve.
So there is a set of values here that eschews knee-jerk certainties, "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!" The silver bullet is practice, practice, practice. Shakyamuni's dying words are reputed to have been, "Be a lamp unto yourselves."

Today's psychologically-honed expertise for economic and political manipulation is not going unobserved. Naomi Klein in her recent book Shock Doctrine how a runaway economic paradigm enables political and financial leaders to manipulate populations through fear and misinformation. Psychologist Clotaire Rapaille, in The Culture Code points out how people around the world live and buy as they do behaving according to predictable culture codes, largely driven by unexamined unconscious urges--the lizard brain. In other words, great careers and great fortunes are to be made if the blind can be encouraged to invite the blind to lead them, and are satisfied with the cake crumbs that fall from their masters' tables. Whether one blows the whistle on these practices or strives to make a buck off them, the effect is the same, more of the same, more of the same...

This book shows us a way of stepping outside the maelstrom. It is long overdue, particularly in the sense that the intercultural field has largely ignored psychological and spiritual factors in the development of intercultural competence in personal development. This negligence has to a great degree contributed to the irrelevance and ignorance of intercultural work for religious, now become political contexts.
Personal Leadership is evidence that the Buddha and the Tao and Fritz Perls are still pointing the way to enlightenment for those willing to take the steps to seek it. The payoff of personal leadership is in the experience itself, as the many personal accounts of self-engagement in the book illustrate--the book is worth reading for these alone. Coming to see the self and the world more directly and clearly is empowering, but there is no cheap grace. Fortunately we learn to drag ourselves kicking and screaming, leading ourselves to places in and life where we have not been before.

In a sense, this is a book that I didn't know that I was waiting for until I read it--an impetus to do more and better of what has made me do somewhat well in directing my own life and enriching and empowering those around me.

"Letting this book into my psyche" strongly reminded me that Moses, Jesus and Mohammed have left great spiritual traditions with powerful disciplines for development that unfortunately lay dormant but capable of being aroused even in those whose starting point is fundamentalist and authoritarian. Who will have the creative flash that will lead to taking greater benefit from sunnah, theosis, the Exercitia Spiritualia and the halakah etc., in those traditions that so many people feel themselves a part of, the empowerment rather than the opiate?

There will likely still be a place, and an important place, for cultural dimensions, value descriptions, and generalizations about cultural difference for decades to come. Yet such knowledge-focused tools are only a small part of the cultural competence equation and can be rendered futile when not matched with the right mindset, skills, and behaviors.

Personal Leadership helps address this need. It rests on the powerful premise that intercultural development is a lifestyle and daily practice--not simply a skill you get taught in a cultural training course--and offers a new approach that transcends a focus on specific cultures or limit to training or teaching environments. As such, it is an approach synonymous with and symbolic of the intercultural work of the future.

Back in 1999, I decided to do some estate planning. I decided to buy about 5 books to first learn the basics of estate planning......then see an estate planning attorney to set up my estate plan.

Of the five books that I read on estate planning, Kraemer's book was by far the best book. The main reason I liked Kraemer's book was his use of example flow charts, which show what happens to the money as each spouse dies. These flow charts also allow you to easily calculate the estate tax due at each step of the process.

The other books were very dry and boring.......and without the flow chart approach...it was not clear to me how bypass trusts work.

I highly recommend Kraemer's book as the best book on estate planning.......primarily due to the flow charts.

Kraemer also explains that the use of disclaimers can be a good thing.......and a good way to deal with the changing estate tax laws.

Kraemer's book allowed me to understand the basics of estate planning and bypass trusts. I was able to save time and money then working with an estate planning attorney to set up our bypass trusts.

Other good books on investing which may help you build a large enough estate so you get to worry about the problem of estate planning are shown below:

Index Mutual Funds: How to Simplify Your Financial Life and Beat the Pro's
The Richest Man in Babylon
Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor
The Millionaire Next Door
The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
The Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On With Your Life
The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

The "60-Minute Estate planner" does the best job I've seen of being comprehensive, and yet easy to read at the same time. The graphic flow charts with their accompanying tables are a great aid to understanding. Even if you're not planning your estate this book is important to read. The book deepens your appreciation of how important it is for the Congress to repeal federal death taxes.

Required reading for those wishing to estate plan with a systematic and informed approach. Excellent step by step directions help the reader learn information needed to work efficiently with an estate planner or other professionals and achieve desired results. Unique, innovative charts, flow diagrams and planning documents clarify concepts difficult to grasp through words alone. If you have an estate plan in place this excellent volume will confirm its appropriateness and provide helpful fine-tuning tips. This book contains all the various scenarios of estate planning allowing the reader to choose the relevant ones. It is interesting, well written and a valuable reference resource.

This book, like it's earlier volumns is a must read for anyone facing the challenges of estate planning either for themselves or their loved ones.

The 60-Minute Estate Planner has been an invaluable resource. I have all three editions and continue to find this book very useful. It provides quick and accurate answers to a variety of questions. This is the best book I've seen on estate planning.

H. Thuesen