Practice Management Books

I found out about the nuclear link to cancer (radiation.org is one source) after I got non genetic breast cancer 11 months after my mother died of it. I realized our government was not telling the public about the nuclear dangers and the impact on our health. Then I read this book. This book begins with an FBI agent describing a criminal investigation that explored the involvement of the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI superiors. Learn about these nuclear crimes, the government's role and the people who stood up for the truth. Stunning information! Fabulous book!

it arrived in a timely manner, which was important because i bought it for class work that i needed. thank you.

I LOVE this book! I am an instructor and president of an online medical billing training website. I taught a CPT coding class last year, and the book the school required was horrible- I wished I had been able to use this worktext for the course!! Now that I have opened my own online training site, I am able to use this text for our 'CPT and ICD-9 Coding for the Medical Biller' course! It is an excellent text for an introductory course! Instructors, if you find your students are struggling with the current text you use---get a copy of this--you'll be so glad you did!

A terrific overview of the sometimes complex concepts surrounding a change in leadership or ownership of design firms. Lays out the options for a couple of different ways to transfer ownership/leadership and includes case studies that show how different options have been carried out. It's a solid book that talks directly to architects, interior designers and landscape architects. Recommended for anyone being considered for a future leadership role in a firm - and definitely for anyone or any firm getting ready for a transfer of ownership or leadership.

THE ART OF DISCOVERY: FUELING INNOVATION FOR COMPANY GROWTH
by Wayne Bundy

For a relatively concise format, with only 70 odd pages, this wonderful book is packed with fresh insights as well as valuable practical guidelines for the pursuit of creativity & innovation within an industrial &/or technological landscape.

It offers a more holistic model for creative discovery, with a dynamic balance of aesthetics, scientifc method & serendipity. This model adds two stages to the classic model: knowledge gain piror to preparation, & stimulation coactive with incubation, as illustrated below:

- Knowledge gain;
- Preparation;
- Incubation;
- Stimulation;
- Illumination;
- Verification & Commercialisation;

The author contends that creativity will not happen without knowledge gain, which is the first stage in the model.

This model resonates relatively well with the Japanese model envisaged by Dr Yoshiro Nakamatsu, or Dr NakaMats as he is better known, the world 's most prolific inventor with 3,280 inventions to his credit. He invented the floppy disk (for which a licence was sold to IBM), compact disk & digital watch. He calls it the Five Tier Pagoda Approach to Inventions (The author readily admits that the Japanese are geniuses in making incremental advances, & they make great improvements in profitability by this means.):

from the top:

- Leap of the Mind;
- Experience;
- Knowledge;
- Mind Body/Connection;
- Spirit;

According to Dr NakaMats, the most critical stages are the top three, & of those stages the fifth could not exist without the third & fourth stages. In other words, one must have a broad exposure to knowledge & experience before attempting creative solutions & applications. He argues that his process of invention depends on two basic skills:

- applying the requisite knowledge to bring a product concept to the prototype stage where it can be tested for feasibility, practicality & marketability, & eventually patented;
- understanding the needs of the users;

The author of this book holds exactly the same line of thought.

For stimulation co-active with incubation, the author provides three general kinds of mental actions that can help in the stimulation step of discovery: basic research, external stimuli & specialised thought processes. Obviously, the author's approach in this respect takes a more or less structured & conventional route. In contrast, Dr NakaMats takes a more radical approach to incubation & stimulation. He uses a planned sequence of provocative techniques, from spending time in a 'calm room', then, to a 'dynamic room' & finally, to 'underwater brainstorming'. However, this approach is definitely not suitable for the faint-hearted!

Nevertheless, in this book, the author outlines the various modes of thinking that can lead to discovery, in the form of Chapter II from page 27 to 46. I like this particular chapter because of its broad coverage.

On page 50 of the book, as part of Chapter III, the author also outlines a series of helpful sequential steps to be taken against the five key steps of the model. Figure 13 on page 54 shows an schematic of the model.

The last chapter, Chapter IV, pertains to the Technically Creative Enterprise. Despite its brevity, it contains enough good information to allow readers to get the day's work done & still stay informed on a good variety of concepts.

On the whole, The Art of Discovery, has been a good book to read. If you are a R & D engineer, GO FOR IT!

This is an excellent, short book with valuable advice for any medical consultant about to enter practice or already established. It gives specific "do's and dont's" in a succinct easy to read format. Even non-physicians may discover useful hints for anyone trying to develop a consulting business.

This book is an excellent collection of studies on this subject. I have used it as a reference many times. The emphasis is on reefs for biological enhancement.

You may know a lot about the stuff, but here can find the frame where to put everything. A lot of real answers coming from someone that did a great deal of "perspiration" on the issue.

Although not an in depth study of every facet of the Assurance Technologies area (Reliability, Maintainability, Safety, Quality Assurance, Logistics Support, Human Factors, Software Assurance, and System Effectiveness), this book provides an excellent overview of all these various disciplines and how they integrate to improve the cradle-to-grave assurance process for products and software. The references and personal anecdotes included by the author provide insights into the how, what, why, and when for each of these disciplines. If you have interest in any of these topic areas, this is a fine book to demonstrate how much these topics all contribute to the success of a product's concept, design, development, manufacture, field support, and maintenance. The book is designed by the author to: "bridge the gap between academia and industry". At this task, the author has succeeded very well indeed!

The Case Study book is an excellent guide when learning about auditing and how it has taken a toll on the industry through real-lifef examples