Competitions Books

The aim of the book is to change your thinking about business in order to lead you to find out new ways about how to improve continuously your business model. There are many useful examples and questions in the book that help you gradually to change your company , starting from the analysis of the current business model, then helping you to create an improved business model and finally to create a business model innovation for continuous improvement. It is an amazing book.

This book will open your mind on how to launch a bew business or innovative product or server. However the authors could write this book in a more simple way and not with a hard to read english text.

Mitchell and Coles have done businesses a tremendous service in writing this excellent book. They have done so by providing a practical toolbox of ideas with which to stimulate entrepreneurs, business leaders and managers to enhance and improve their business prospects in today's very competitive marketplaces.

I must admit to having struggled with this book for a long time. Not because of difficulty in reading and understanding. To be sure this is a very lucid and comprehensible book and is accessible to all levels from a twelve year old bringing out his lemonade stall for the third year in a row and adding iced tea to his product range to the CEO of a major corporation.

My struggle was with trying to make overarching sense of what lessons the authors were trying to encourage readers to learn. It became clear to me after several periods of reflection upon completion of the text. The crucial significance of this book in a practical way lies in understanding how deep into national economic systems the process of globalisation has seeped. We see the reults in our everyday lives, how quickly new or improved products come into the marketplace. We see how quickly established businesses change or die, we see cheaper and better products come from remote parts of the world leaving us a greater part of our disposable income to spend on the things we would prefer to spend on them.

It is clear that in life and not just in business the process of change has quickened and that as individuals we must be more adaptable and more attune to the world around us to the opportunities that exist. It is as if we need to become our own business in ourselves.

Mitchell and Coles focus on but one part of this continuous change and that is on the business model. Their strong focus on this area has great strength but we must also learn the broader lesson from their well researched work. To survive in today's world we must not only accept change but we must embrace it as people, as workers, as entrepreneurs. It is as Schumpeter pointed out inherent in the nature of capitalism. But, to be sure it is inherent in the nature of all life, as Hayek observed. We must change or die.

I would heartily recommend this book to everyone, for there is much to be gained from within it's pages. Mitchell and Coles have produced an excellent book which far and away exceeds it's remit as a business book.

The Ultimate Competitive Advantage is a gold mine with a rich vein of unusual ideas from Mitchell and Coles' nimble minds. Its stated purpose is to help readers develop and implement a superior management process for continuous business model improvement. The book goes ahead to do just that.

The authors' approach make deliberate what used to be an accidental, hapazard, uncertain and hard to repeat process.

This book, like Mitchell and Coles' others, is best used as a workbook. After each chapter, several questions are posed to stimulate your thinking, and 95% of the value of the book will be unlocked for you when you take the time to think through them rigorously. Serious entrepreneurs looking for fresh ideas for getting out of the rut and improving their businesses will.

This is a practical book, but it is not a "how-to-book" instead, it deals with the what, when and why; with such tangibles as pricing, cost of doing business and benefits to stakeholders. The authors- Donald Mitchell and Carol Coles researched and found out that unsuccessful companies doggedly apply outdated business models while the successful ones improve their models every 2 to 4 years. The book provides a straightforwad and a systematic method which any company can use to review and improve its business model basing on its key components: pricing, cost of doing business and benefits to its shareholders.

This small book by one of the most renowned sports figures of all time has less to do with Coach Wooden's winning records as a player and coach as it does with his broader views on what defines a "winner" - in attitude, in action, and in thought. As applicable in the business world as it is for athletics, this book, reflecting the author's example, is deeply profound and profoundly modest. Highly recommended.

I felt that this was a nice "thought for a day" book. He offers some very sound and basic ways of living with values. It is a quick read and enjoyable.

I bought this book for my student/athlete son. I had him read the book and find five things that he could immediately apply to his life. The book is written in such a manner that the parallels between sports and life are seamlessly interwoven. By using sports as a platform of relativity, I feel I am raising my son to be a confident and responsible man. This is a must-read for fathers and sons.

This is one of my favorite books of tidbits. Basically coach Wooden gives his ideas on life, hard work, sports and manners. Through different stories of his life and experiences.

It really was a pleasure reading this book and I feel that the philosophy of coach wooden, based on hard work, trust, learning and being a good person is straight forward and a throw back to simpler values.

I have never heard of John Wooden until last Thursday. This book was recommended to me by two friends, as first I thought how is a retired basket coach going to give me some direction and clarity on life? WOW!!!!! Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down! I took to every word and read it in one evening (not a long read, but it makes you ponder over each sentence) and I was really sad that the book was coming to an end. It's an amazing book, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it anyone no matter where you're at in life. This is a book that I will refer back to time and time again throughout my life (I just know it!).

This is hands down the most helpful parenting book I have read. It will not only help you understand why you may have experienced rivalry with your own siblings, it will help you prevent these same issues from injuring your own childrens' bonds. The authors use support group participants' real-life examples to discuss how we, as parents, unknowingly label our children (He's our athlete, she's our artist, etc.), create unfair comparisons (Your sister ate all of her vegetables, your brother made an "A", etc.), become the referee in disputes rather than facilitating problem-solving, and many more. Unlike many other parenting books available, this will leave you with specific guidelines and ideas that you can actually use and receive immediate results.

I have two daughters who used to get along quite well. But since the summer, their acceptable level of sibling rivalry has escalated to a very uncomfortable level. We were desperate to "nip it in the bud" before things really got out of hand. This book is already doing the trick - and it only arrived in the post yesterday! I practically devoured the book as soon as I took it out of the package!

My husband gave me the task of reading up on things, because I'm a very fast and focused reader, and we needed the help a.s.a.p! I finished the book today, and have started reading it again to take notes and make summaries to keep on hand. I have already put some of the lessons into practice and notice the difference already. For example, arguments are easily diffused because feelings are validated. I've also stopped "positive comparison", after I read, with horror, the potential harm it can do.

This book may be a bit of a shock for parents who are used to saying, "because I said so!" or who use physical punishment. However, for us, it is another step forward in the journey of being the liberal parents we consider ourselves to be.

This book not only helped me with my relationship with my kids...it helped me understand some of the issues between my siblings & me & my parents while growing up. Must read if you have children!

Sibling Rivalry is an area that we as parents must address early on. This book is very helpful, but I think the best book that deals with helping all kids get along with each other is Bully-Proofing Children: A Practical, Hands-On Guide to Stop Bullying. Through scripts, activities, routines parents learn to teach children how wonderful it is to respect and get along with each other. This is a must-read for any parent with 2 kids or children about to start school... so empowering for children.It goes so far beyond bullying.

With a toddler and a newborn it's hard to find time to read anything. This book was such an easy read. The cartoons are a great help because it's simple. I borrowed this from the library but owning one is a must so that I can refer back to it whenever I need to.

I picked this book up out of sheer curiosity and read it to its entirety in one sitting. Jenning's presentation style and narration are excellent - the book flows perfectly and many of the points brought up can be taken and applied.

Stories of successful businesses fill this book. The author got "down and dirty" and did in-the-trenches research to find the best performing companies in the world. Then he spoke with the CEO's to find out what makes them and their businesses tick.

This book is an excellent example of the types of practices and procedures almost any company can follow to be successful both financially and ethically.
Jennings cites numerous companies who have carved out success while still remaining true to their customers, their employees and their values.
Not surprisingly, few of these companies are ones that so called pundits regularly review.
As the other reviews have noted, these companies are very successful financially, but they get there by asking the really pertinent business questions, and not by hiding behind an air of executive invulnerability. The leaders are real leaders, more focused on growing the company, serving customers, and doing right by employees.
What vividly differentiates these companies from the "name brands," is that in the "name" companies, executives are more concerned with their own compensation, preserving their own existence, and with profits at all costs, than long term success.
The questions you should ask yourself after reading this book are, "Where have all the leaders gone?" and "Why don't all companies follow many of Jennings' researched best practices?
After that, I would run, not walk, to one of these companies and see if you can start at the bottom and learn what it's like to work in a real company.

This is not just another book about the secrets of famous companies. It is, instead, a book about the secrets of somewhat obscure but great companies. The principles that author Jason Jennings propounds are familiar enough, but most of his examples will not be familiar to the general reader. That is no drawback. Although some of these companies are less well known, they have all achieved great business success (if not fame) by applying some of the most tried, true and proven axioms of management. Treat people with respect, pay them for performance, focus on one clear and understandable mission - there is nothing new about these principles, except that they keep proving their efficacy even in the unlikeliest places. Do not look for a deep examination of management here. The book provides frustratingly scant background information about the companies themselves. But we assure those seeking a handbook of solid if venerable management advice that you will not go wrong with this interesting little book.

This spring, I had a night-flight from Houston to Europe. I never got any sleep due to this book. It reads like a fiction novel while the focus is very much on the softer issues of productivity businesses. The well-written behind-the-wall stories and interviews with successful top executives give us insight to many issues that usual case stories do not explain.

Business magazines often glorify top executives by telling about the grand strategic plan behind the success. This little book shows us a different story. It provides insight to the many seemingly small traits of the lean culture that only works because they taken serious by the organization and used in combination. These are the 11 traits required for the leader of a highly productive enterprise: attention to detail, high moral fiber, embracing simplicity, competitiveness, long-term focus, disdain for waste, coach leadership, humility, rejection of bureaucracy, belief in others, and trust.

I'm sure you're really not impressed of this list. Neither am I. But try challenging some of the advice. Humility? When was the last time you saw a big company using this as a standard. When you hear the story of many head offices visited in this book, you'll understand humility. Often you'll find a very simple and humble office building for a huge company. No art on the walls! No lavish entrance hall! In these companies, you don't find huge corporate staff creating immense bureaucracy and all sorts of information requirements from their operating companies or business units. These organizations do actually "walk-the-talk" on lean - unlike many fad-driven major firms who's paying lip service to a lean culture.

PERSISTENCE is a word missing from the 11 traits, though attention to detail and long-term focus do include some of it. They never lose sight of their BIG idea or focus. It includes their performance measurement. "Everyone who works for SRC gathers once a week in their respective lunchrooms and takes part in a review of the business's financial performance for the previous week. By DOING IT WEEK IN WEEK-OUT FOR MANY YEARS the exercise has also become a system".

Okay, I'm sure that the book's research on productivity could have been better. And some of the firms reported on may experience difficulties, though most are still flourishing. But don't read this book for the hard stuff. Read the soft issues that over time usually turn out to be the hardest to beat.

I agree that it resembles "In Search of Excellence" to some degree, but remember that this book is on the lean culture of Cost Leadership firms (my interpretation, not the author's).

Peter Leerskov,
MSc in International Business (Marketing & Management) and Graduate Diploma in E-business

I selected to read this book for a school project. However, I did not look at it as a chore. Instead, I was extremely excited to further my knowledge about not only my favorite sport and one of its best coaches of all time, but previously unknown aspects of leadership as well. I had high expectations heading into this book, and it did not disappoint. Wooden on Leadership reminded me of The Last Season, by Phil Jackson, but with a much more applicable-to-life feel, meaning that it is both enthralling and informative.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Wooden, the game of basketball, or sports in general, along with anyone who is interested in learning leadership techniques and how to achieve success in their own lives, no matter what their angle. Although the ideas in the book are derived from the mind of a basketball coach, the messages in the book are anything but limited to sport. Rather, Wooden finds a way to turn them into universal lessons, and deliver lessons on the game of life, all while discussing the game of basketball. Being an avid basketball fan, it was more exciting and interesting for me to learn leadership techniques through real life sport, rather than through a bland step-by-step guide, and I feel that it was equally as informative.
At no point did the book get boring or repetitive. In fact, it was often difficult to put down, and I finished it in a matter of days. It was the rare book that I found to be both entertaining and informative. Although I selected this book for a class project, I would have gladly read it on my own, and willlikely read it again, along with using it as a reference. It has also made me want to read Wooden's other works.
Overall, I cannot find anything negative to say about this book. It provides important life lessons, and explores leadership techniques all through the perspective of sport. Coach Wooden is a celebrated coach and a renowned leader, and this book illustrates why.

The more I read about John Wooden, the more I admire him as a man, and a coach. WOW! This book is terrific, taking his simple (not easy) principles of life, basketball, and leadership and standing them up to let them take shape in the form of his stories from his coaching Days.

Another great part of this book are the notes and examples from Coach Wooden's previous players and staff. Each chapter has a story that punctuates the main point presented.

This is a book that every leader should own!

Hands down this is the best basketball philosophy book. This tells exactly how Wooden ran UCLA's basketball program and explains why they won 10 national championships. To truely understand the mind of one of basketball's greatest coaches, you must read this book. From discipline to practice planning, Wooden on Leadership has it all.

It is one thing to read a successful coach's leadership story written by the coach, but it is quite another experience to read the personal accounts of a coach that other coaches look up to, and to have those accounts reinforced and complemented by commentaries from peers, players, competitors, and assistant coaches from throughout that revered coach's life and career. This excellent book is that other experience about a once-in-a-lifetime man, coach, teacher, mentor, leader, and winner in the most important game of all - the game of life.

The book's fifteen chapters are organized into three parts ("The Foundation for My Leadership" (Wooden's legendary "Pyramid of Success"), "Lessons in Leadership," and "Lessons from My Notebook"). Each chapter finishes with a summary called, "Rules to Live By," which did a great job of highlighting the chapter's main points. Particularly enjoyable were the many great inspirational quotes, passages, and anecdotes that perfectly reinforced and complemented Wooden's text. Also, while the third part was completely devoted to Wooden's famous notebooks, excerpts from those notebooks (typed and hand-written) were included throughout the book and added a great 'personal touch' to the overall contents.

There are many "So-and-So on Leadership" books in the market, but none can match the richness of character and the unequalled quality of the lifetime body of work specified and implied in the simple title of "Wooden on Leadership."

After taking a class where much time and focus was spent studying leadership I began reading John Wooden's book titled Wooden on Leadership. I found this book extremely interesting as Hall of Fame coach, John Wooden, allowed readers to understand his very own philosophy of leadership.
As many may know, Coach Wooden is a legend. As a basketball coach at UCLA He coached four perfect season and led his athletes to ten national champions in twelve years. With many accolades bestowed upon him it is interesting to see just how he become so successful and what actions helped him to reach his goals. This Coach of the Century (named by ESPN) and basketball hall of famer explains just how he reached success throughout his entire novel Wooden on Leadership.
Filled with personal beliefs, lessons, and excerpts from his personal notebook Wooden and co-author Steve Jamison work together to explain the leadership qualities Wooden used on the basketball court that can help make any business successful.
The novel begins with his attempts to reach "Competitive Greatness" by explaining his "pyramid of success" which include his fundamental leadership qualities and characteristics. He also thoroughly discusses such aspects of teamwork, desire, confidence, and improvement.
Wooden on Leadership focuses mainly on key points Wooden has derived from coaching basketball for many years of his life, but such aspects explained in the book, he insists, can help make any team, business, or corporation a success. This book is filled with great lessons, notes, and even stories about how and why Wooden believes what he does.
I considered this book a very easy read. At times, I found myself so thoroughly into his lessons that I found it hard to put down. Each chapter starts with a new lesson to help lead any business to success and ends with personal recollections from those who have been under the guidance of Coach Wooden in the past. Each recollection provided by those who have worked with Coach Wooden serve as direct support in the belief that his lessons and methods have worked in the past and if applied correctly, will continue to bring about success in the future. All aspects of this book were, as a coach myself, easy to relate to and understand. Wooden on Leadership also provides many great quotes and phrases to help inspire or motivate the team you work and communicate with.
I would recommend this book to any leader, coach, or teacher who is responsible for guiding those around them. It provides first hand insight on leadership and direct lessons to cultivate success. This coach is one of the most winningst coaches in basketball history and can now add another `success' to his lists of accomplishments with this particular book!

It's been more than a decade since this book was published, and it's still as relevent today as it was when it came off the press. A great book which shares methods, techniques and strategy. I highly recommend.

I've only read this book once. I'm more of a copywriter
than a one-on-one salesperson, though I have to do that to
sell my services often enough.

The thing that stands out to me is this unoriginal thought:
Great salespeople get that way not by making huge breathroughs
in one area but by making small, incremental improvements
in dozens of areas.

Excellent book. It tries to cover nearly every aspect of what
makes a great salesperson and does an admirable job. It ends
up being long though and for that reason may be a better
reference book than a straight-through reader.

Advanced Selling Strategies: The Proven System of Sales Ideas, Methods, and Techniques Used by Top Salespeople is far and away the one book I would recommend to anyone involved in sales or interested in learning more about the sales profession. I always recommend this book to everyone who asks me how they can become better at sales and anyone who wants to make more money and to take control of their lives.

This hard cover book is available for what? $0.35 used here on Amazon. If you can't invest $0.35 in your life and career you are hopeless. Buy this book, study it and put it into practice. You career and your finances will take off.

What else can I say, I lOVE this book. Dog-eared and underlined it holds a prominent place in my professional library.

This is one of the most in-depth and well written books on the entire sales process I have ever read. Brian Tracy knows what he is talking about.

The chapters cover all aspects of sales,

1). The Psychology Of Selling
2). The Development Of Personal Power
3). Personal Strategic Planning For the Sales Professional
4). The Heart Of The Sale
5). The Profession Of Selling
6). Motivating People To Buy
7). Influencing The Buying Decision
8). Prospecting: Filling Your Sales Pipeline
9). How To Make Powerful Presentations
10). Closing The Sale: The Endgame Of Selling

If you read and understand this book and then use what Brian is teaching you, you will have a much better chance at being successful in the sales world.

two other sales book I highly recommend you also read are Zig Ziglar's Secrets of Closing the Sale and How to Master the Art of Selling

I recommend this book to any person who is interested on reaching difficult customers and closing important deals. Brian Tracy brings with simplicity and profound knowledge a path which facilitates the prospecting stage and brings more confidence to the closing stage.

A previous reviewer compares the author's work to Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. Considering a usually successful use of self-deprecating and anecdotal humor, I can understand the comparison between the author's style and Bill Bryson's style. The author is undeniably funny. Relying entirely on the author's passion for adventure, the narrative describes a theatrical series of events fit for a screenplay.

However, that is all this book offers and why the comparison to Bill Bryson falls well short of accurate. The strength of Mr. Bryson's writing is the purpose underlying the humor, especially self-recognition through experience. The reader can internalize Mr. Bryson's experiences, see the world from Bryson's vantage and ultimately identify with Mr. Bryson's motivation for writing the book.

Mr. Davis' The Underdog falls short of Mr. Bryson's achievements. Instead of relating to narrative, the reader must watch from the sidelines. In this case the author's strength is also his weakness. How many readers can identify with first hand-experiences of bull-fighting or sumo wrestling? The effect is, essentially, a Hollywood blockbuster in a book. What you see is entertaining, but fails to stimulate any further thought.

Furthermore, and what was most disappointing to me, was the lack of conclusion. I kept waiting for the author's epiphany to explode off the pages and into my conscious, but instead of an explosion I got a series of undeveloped thoughts more analogous to a shotgun at 200 yards than a grand-finale. In the final passage, the author's last chance to tie the whole book together, he opts to wander off on a completely new tangent relating his experiences to the untapped potential of the internet (Did Wired ask you to plug The Long Tail, or was this your idea?). Instead of finishing the book with an appreciation for how this author's struggles to find his purpose in life might assist me in finding mine, I was left with questions:

Was this about the unquenchable American spirit? Or, was it about the changing definition of achievement and success? Alternately, it might have been about appreciating your own family, your talents, your opportunities, etc instead of admiring your neighbor's lawn. Honestly, I don't know.

In essence, The Underdog is a funny one time read, but certainly not deserving of such glowing reviews as it has received here on Amazon.

This author sent me an invitation to be his amazon friend. Hello! All of my reivews are bitter and sarcastic, why would I want to buy your book? Maybe I should you spam about "enlargement" products. How would you like that? The book might be a great story. Frankly, I don't care! I would rather read a book about the mating rituals of worms than me spammed by an author that wants me to buy his book.

From the moment I read the first three pages of the introduction I was hooked. This book speaks of and to the American spirit with humor and wit. Not only did I laugh out loud every time I opened it, but I cried a few times too. It's the kind of book that you read so fast because it is so good, but you don't want to so that it will last longer.

If you are looking for a book that inspires you through narrative and challenges you to go beyond your day-to-day life, or, if you want a hilarious window into the zany life of some "average" Americans, look no further. We are told to follow our dreams in a culture that is not set up to handle it when all of us do. This book is for us an answer to that problem. I look forward to many more insightful books from this talented author.

I think this book was funny and adventurous. My favorite part was the sumo wrestling. I recomend this book to parents and older kids.

A quick read; fun and emotionally transparent. Our little hero graces his way through eccentric adventure after eccentric adventure, all the while proving that even the least talented among us can be champions (or at least, very nearly so). There is a tenderness in this book. In its Quixotic madness, it transports us into worlds of danger, adventure, greatness, and saunas in Finland. A true story of sporadic unshakeable dedication and glorious redemption...and courage. The Underdog clearly underscores the ideal: it's not whether you win or lose, it's how many fat guys you can yank by the g-string. A great read.

By Lorenzo Contreras, age 13, White Plains, New York

Have you ever wanted something so bad you would do anything to get it? This is the case with the realistic fiction book EVEREST, book three the summit. The author Gordon Korman makes you feel like you're on the mountain with the climbers.


This book is part of a three part trilogy; it is a story of Dominic Alexis and four other young climbers who are trying to be the youngest person ever to summit Everest. He is going on the trip with a team of other kids who won a contest to get a spot on the team now that the summit athletic team is on Everest as they start to climb for the second time as the first attempt failed. Many obstacles occur and one of the other climbers is trying to sabotage Dominic and when the the news about the storm comes even more problems arise. My opinion of this book is that it is great for all ages because it keeps you asking questions and on the edge of your seat. It made wonder if they would ever make it to the summit in time before the climbing season ends.

This book reminds me of two others I have read one is called Everest Book One The Contest. And Everest Book Two The Climb these are the other two books in the trilogy. The theme of this book is being that being over competitive can be dangerous. You will learn how this theme makes sense if you read this book.

I highly recommend this book because it is very interesting and is filled with action and will keep you guessing. The target audience is ages 9-13.

Everest. The climber's ultimate dream. Four teens are about to climb it to become the youngest person ever to summit the highest point in the world. The climbers names are Sammi, the only girl, age 15, Perry, age 15, Tilt, age 14, and Dominic, the youngest, age 13. If Dominic is to summit he would crush the record by almost 3 years. Unfortunately, there midnight summit try is ended early because of a rescue mission. The kids have to go back to base camp where the Nepal government comes and says it is "too dangerous" for Dominic to climb, so he will not be able to climb with the team. However, the story takes an unexpected turn when Dominic climbs with Ethan Zaph, the current record holder. If you want to find out what happens next, read Everest Book Three: The Summit.
In Everest Gordon Korman pulled me from my beanbag to the Lhoste Face where I was climbing with Sammi, Perry, Tilt, and Dominic. I thought Everest was an amazing book. Unfortunately, one of the climbers is sabotaging the others. The book ends with a happy and sad ending. There is a record broken but also it ends with a funeral. If you want to see what happens to Ethan and Dominic, or see who breaks the record, read Everest Book Three: The Summit.

Are you looking for an outstanding adventure book? Look no farther than Everest, Book Three, The Summit by Gordon Korman. Four kids, Dominic, Tilt, Perry, Sammi, and veteran climber Cap Cicero, take their chances to climb Everest. Two of them, Tilt and Dominic, are eligible to beat out Ethan Zaph and become the youngest to reach the summit. One of them will do anything to beat out the other, even if it means death. This book is realistic fiction; the realistic part coming from the places they pass, (i.e. Southern Col, The Balcony) which are real places there. The book shows determination of young teens who try to climb Everest. You may want to read the first two books, but when I did, I easily caught on. If you are a young teen or not and want to read about determination of kids to climb Everest, check out this book.
Everest, The Summit is one of the best books I have ever read. Dominic is my favorite character since he has such determination to climb. My favorite part of the story is when, well, maybe I shouldn't give it away. The last thing I'll add is the book ends with a funeral. I'm not telling you who. You have to read to find out!

It was thrilling and kept our son interested to the end. The book is just the right length to keep one reading but not too long to overwhelm a young reader.

This is truly one of my favorite books I have ever read. It is packed with action, has a very rich plot, and is very well written. The trilogy is approx. 440 pages, and can easily be read in less than 1 week. It has a lot of detail that, while it is very exciting to read, is easy to forget, which allows for it to be read over and over again without getting old. I am now reading it for the 4th time, and I am enjoying it as much as I read it the first time. I also love the trilogy setup, even though it means the books (especially 3) do not mean anything without reading the others.

If you are looking for a perfect mix of action and drama, this is the book you have been seeking. It also does an excellent job of bringing new life to the classic adventure theme of 4 children facing challenges against time and the elements. If you liked Korman's trilogy Island, then you will definetly enjoy this book. It is very involving, very vivid, and reading it will make you feel like you are on the mountain, climbing with the characters. You will grow to love them and feel like you are a part of the "family".

In terms of the mountain in reality, the book is extremely accurate, and I have learned quite a bit from it. If there is a downside to the book, it is the fact that it is addictive. Once you read it, you will not be able to stop; once you finish the book, you will be obsessed with Mount Everest. If you are already educated in Everest, then you will all the more enjoy the book because of its bullseye accuracy and vivid descriptions. It also leaves plenty of room to let your imagination run wild.

Here is a brief description of each of the 3 books in the trilogy:

The 1st book is themed around 20 kids at a boot camp in Colorado, training for a month to climb Everest. As the story goes on, the training becomes more harsh and intense, and as people are eliminated to form the final team of 4, freindships become increasingly strong. It also has a very exciting life-or-death climax at the end as the team goes through their final simulation of what they will be doing on Everest.

The 2nd book takes place on the mountain, as the kids are introduced to the world's tallest mountain. It is packed with drama and action together, as almost everything in relation to the climb is an uncertainty. Even more loveable (and loatheable) characters are introduced, and everyone's personality and goal on the mountain comes out even more as the freinds become a family. I love how the book introduces the 4 camps, at which they stay, one by one and how it shows the chances of successfully summiting the mountain going down as the summer monsoons approach. This book, like the 1st, also has an exciting life-or-death climax at the end, only it is much bigger and much more amazing.

The 3rd book is really 1 big scene, taking place in Everest's harsh early-summer weather. It is a breath-holding race against time as they try to get themselves up to the summit before the final blizzard arrives. Challenges they face include temperatures so low that they can freeze an eyeball solid, 200mph winds that can rip a climber off of a mountain like a napkin, and a 30% oxygen level that starves the brain and causes bad thinking. In the end, though, they do have to pay a huge price. The climb ends with a bitter moment that is in one way completely unexpected and in another way a necessary fate. The story has an excellent ending, though, and the story is polished off very nicely.

I would strongly recommend this book to any young reader, especially one who is interested in adventure/survival. It just might be the start of something new...

Mr. Lane:

I am at page 180 of your book, Killer Brands. I had to write to let you know how the book has affected me. The Prostestant reformer, Martin Luther, described himself as finding a "gateway to Heaven" after he finally understood the phrase "righteousness from God" in Romans 1:16-17.

He said the whole of Scripture took on a new meaning for him from that point on.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not preaching the Bible here. What I am saying is Killer Brands has opened up to me a "gateway to category leadership."

I have been reading the book for a few months now, and just yesterday finally "got it".

Your five principles of choice, expectation, focus, alignment and linkage have given the discipline of branding a whole new meaning to me.

In fact, I will be taking, per the instructions of your book, these principles to heart and using them to create Killer Brands in my area.

Thank you for sharing such an incredible amount of practical advice, knowledge, and experience.

James Dominguez

"Killer Brands" provides very interesting case studies, but more importantly, great advice. Rather than overwhelm the reader, the book empowers you to take control of your brand. After reading this book, you will be far more prepared to move your product to the next level and will be excited about the work required. There is potential for big return for a minimal investment of money and time.

Few have the ability to panoramically explain and teach with clear focus expert brand marketing techniques like Frank Lane. Filled with keen insight this valuable work concentrates on examples of proven techniques from the past and present. I commend this work to all business leaders who want to increase their understanding, while simultaneously gleaning deep truths, that will challenge you to brand marketing greatness. This practical guide is filled with many years of wisdom and understanding and with focused application will deliver extraordinary, "Killer Brand," results in this vast and changing world we call the marketplace. You will truly do yourself and your business a favor by reading this book! I am so impressed with this book that I am on the third reading of it! I have purchased five copies to give to my Marketing Director, General Manager and friends.

Mason F. Pacini/President
Rain Clan, L. L. C.

Killer Brands is a great read. It is well written. The principles are applicaple to a broad range of personal and professional objectives. I am using the book to lead my team at work through re-branding. I am so impressed with the book that I have purchased ten copies to give away to friends and key business contacts.

- John Greaves, CPP
Georgia Power

I waited for years for Frank to write this book. I first met him in 1982 when I left my position of Senior VP and Creative Director of a major international ad agency to pursue a new product idea I had developed. I was recommended to Frank who had just formed Peachtree Creek Consulting Group. But instead of launching my idea, we became partners in Peachtree Creek and worked together on a multitude of projects for Fortune 500 companies, large financial institutions and technology companies.

I left the group in 1988 to start my own advertising creative service with clients that included GMC, Gold Bond, Ban Antiperspirant, Icy Hot, Dexatrim, Wells Fargo Bank, Thomson Electronics, HammerMill, No Nonsense and BullFrog, the sunblock that Frank had co-created.

I have used and worked successfully with every principle that Frank outlines in this wonderful, easily read, marketing "bible". In addition to being one of the most instinctively brilliant marketing gurus I have ever known, he unselfishly shares his thinking in a clear, easy to understand fashion.

This book is a must read for anyone who markets a product, large or small.

A good selection of illustrative business cases, occasional thoughts that we had at the back of our mind organized and presented in a clear and enlightning way. Logical and convincing theory. Good reading for managers who want their daily routine to be in tune with the global picture.

This book is about how to create profitable growth and sustain that growth indefinitely. Achieving this state of indefinite profitable growth is called momentum. Momentum results from an intense customer focus that permeates the enterprise. Notions relating to customers - insights, value, equity, offering, satisfaction, retention, and engagement -- are given qualifying labels, explicit momentum oriented definitions, and represented as modules of a system of an iterative synergistic process. This process develops traction with customers and removes resistance to growth while focusing all the sources of energy of the firm on building and keeping the momentum going. This is a complete framework for what the title of the book claims - how to ignite exceptional growth. Each stage of the process is described along with related case studies that provide evidence of the effectiveness of the process.

Applying this momentum framework as an interpretive lens to businesses reveals compelling insights. One insight is that a business with a disciplined approach to providing compelling customer value and creating vibrant customer satisfaction actually does this at a lower cost than a business not so oriented. And, of course, the kicker is the phenomenal profitable growth and value that accrues to the firm practicing the principles of momentum. Another insight is the cumulative results that come about with such a tight-knit discipline. Over time, even small advantages in cost or growth factors in the business result in tremendous leads over competitors - like the miracle of compound interest - putting a firm into a whole new arena, i.e. leaving competitors trailing in their wake.

What is particularly good about this book is the thoroughness with which a very complex subject has been addressed. Each essential idea, such as `compelling equity' or `power offering,' is explicitly defined to bring home what it means specifically to this process. Frameworks and constructs explain how to pragmatically address the essential idea in each module of the overall process. For example, there is an Insight Discovery Matrix for flushing out Compelling Insights. There is the Customer Value Map and Wedge to define what the customer perceives as value. The frameworks bring effective guidance to what are otherwise too often unstructured activities. One particularly powerful framework is the Action Roadmap to Momentum that guides the mobilization of stakeholders, detects friction and insights, and converts customers. Disciplined use of this framework, even by the most successful firms, will prevent management from falling into the traps of hubris or complacency. Essential to effective management, possible performance metrics related to each of the essential ideas are provided as well.

What I think makes the momentum approach particularly effective is that the inherently messy process of exploration is given the structure needed to manage it but, at the same time, not destroy the messiness that is essential for creativity to thrive. A vital element of exploration is the technique of iteration. The power and value of iteration is often unrecognized and untapped by impatient management. Here it is a central theme to the whole approach.

An important contribution to the discussion of business models is noting the design and execution of the firm's offering as a business model in and of itself. Larréché identifies three renditions of an offering creation business model as it has evolved over time. First is the product-focused model: develop the product, make the product, and sell the product. Next is the value-delivery model: select the value proposition, create the value, and communicate the value. These first two models are linear models. The third model, the momentum model is an iterative, interactive, and integrative model that brings the design and execution of offerings into one symbiotic relationship.

The employee momentum, the internal momentum that complements the external momentum, is addressed with the same model and principles as the one that addresses the customer. The leadership to build momentum and create synergy between customer momentum and employee momentum is also addressed. Both the employee momentum and momentum leadership are part of the overall momentum puzzle to be solved.

A lot is packed into this book. It may require some study to capture its full value. It is a valuable contribution to the art and science of management.

First off, this book is NOT for know it all types who believe their product and marketing is far superior already or those looking for quick fixes. What JC outlines is continuous sustainable improvement. Executives or business owners looking to improve quarterly numbers may walk away disappointed because there aren't a bunch of one time "jewels" in the book that can be implemented today with results to follow in a few hours.

JC's enthusiasm for the topic shines through like a beacon on a dark and dreary night. It's contagious as you read through the book. There are a lot of takeaways including but not limited to:

1. Small changes can have a huge impact on your business. For instance, 1% improvements in key areas can make exponential differences.

2. Look for traits in people you want your business to emulate then train them on the tactical stuff.

3. Build relationships by connecting emotionally with your customers and creating delightful experiences.

4. Give customers what they need--the extras are unnecessary. Make sure they're satisfied above all else. This seems to be a view being echoed by more and more marketing experts.

Among the benefits you may obtain:
A. 8 steps to a long term winning strategy. Who couldn't use that?

B. Review case studies which are beyond traditional statistics that demonstrate applied theory to relate back to your business.

C. Develop a holistic philosophy for your organization that incorporates excellence throughout.

D. Drive 80% more shareholder value through high performance marketing.

E. Challenge the status quo and your way of thinking so that you look at things from an innovative perspective.

Finally, this book builds upon Blue Ocean Strategy, and I would highly recommend it if you're looking to develop a culture of excellence in your organization.

With so much being written about 'delighting customers', the 'customer experience', 'customer satisfaction' and the like it is great to read a book that really goes beyond the ordinary, to really dig into how organisations can really leave their competitors behind.
And it's none of this; engage customers differently or deliver compelling offers, this book really takes it to the next level.....Compelling Value, Power Offers, Vibrant Satisfaction, Vibrant Engagement and Vibrant Retention.
Great descriptions that really help organisations understand the need to go beyond good to the heart of building momentum.
If you've read all the standard texts on the topic, I'm sure you'll find a stimulating, thought provoking journey beyond ordinary thinking.
Enjoy!

THE MOMENTUM EFFECT - HOW TO IGNITE EXCEPTIONAL GROWTH covers all aspects of management, both external and internal, of a successful company sustaining high growth. It demonstrates how momentum powered firms significantly increase value for all stakeholders, including customers, employees and shareholders through the following eight steps:
* Momentum Design
o Compelling insights that can only come from time spent with customers;
o These insights lead to compelling values by understanding the deeper human drivers;
o Compelling values lead to power offers meaning power with customers and power to generate growth;
o Power offers generate customers with compelling equity maximizing the value of customers to the firm;
* Momentum Execution
o Power offers are continuously tweaked and improved until they become irresistible;
o The delivery of the power offer leads to superior customer satisfaction what the author calls vibrant satisfaction;
o Vibrant satisfaction leads to vibrant retention and
o Vibrant engagement of the customer. Momentum companies engage customers at an emotional level to generate positive, momentum-driven action.

Each of these eight essential components of momentum strategy are described in detail and richly illustrated by real life stories from momentum companies like Wal-Mart, BMW, Skype, Apple and IKEA, to name just a few. These momentum driving components allow you to systematically harness the powerful, sustainable energy that can take your firm to the new efficiency frontier, driving the exceptional growth that will propel you into a different league. Finally, the Momentum Effect is a never ending journey, not a destination.

Jean-Claude Larreche is professor at the renowned European management school INSEAD and a consultant with leading global corporations.

THE MOMENTUM EFFECT is a joy to read and a must read for anybody who needs to excel in today's competitive world. Kai Wenk-Wolff (MBA INSEAD) is a turn-around specialist for manufacturing operations.