Review of The Business Coach: A Game Plan for the New Work Environment (Hardcover)

"Often today's managers find themselves not in the old role of functional leadership - The expert, the source of power - but more often a Team Leader, an influencer, a facilitator - a coach!" In this one sentence, Jim Doyle summarizes the foundation and theme of his well written and insightful book, "The Business Coach". I totally agree with Doyle's analogy that sports and business coaching have many parallels: -Both sports and business coaches strive to motivate and inspire -Both demand commitment, action, and results -Both build trusting relationships with their players -Both need focus and vision -Both play to win.The new style of leadership in business today is not dictatorial. An effective business leader influences and encourages, directs and supervises, sets an example for others to follow.Today's leader knows how to get along with multiple personalities. Jim Doyle calls upon a great quote from Tommy Lasorda, former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers: "Managing is like holding a dove.Squeeze too tight and you will kill it. Open your hand too much and you will let it go. That's the way it is with players." Coaching in today's business climate requires flexibility, creativity, and fresh approaches to new problems.Effective coaches evolve and grow - they don't stay the same. Jim Doyle very effectively explains how to become a better business coach. You will enjoy his clear communication and application exercises at the end of each chapter to help you "Walk the Talk".Jim Doyle's book, The Business Coach, is practical, empowering and represents a philosophy of business coaching which is so necessary in today's complex and competitive business climate. Become a more effective business coach and you will become a more effective business leader!

Product Description
IMAGINE a workplace that fosters collaboration, trust, and empowering relationships with others. Where supervisors listen, nurture, develop talent, and facilitate learning in an environment of mutual respect, trust, and accountability. And where, as a result, employees become self aware, self correcting, and truly motivated, thus helping their company ward off competition and stay on top of its game. Sound too good to be true? It's not-it's a description of a company that practices "coaching". Businesses today are becoming less invested in the old top-down management approach and instead are employing this proven leadership style, building world-class team spirit, cohesion, and optimum performance, and enjoying new levels of success.

In this book, author James S. Doyle demonstrates how to apply the coach concept to the game of business and establish a successful coaching relationship with any employee, within any organization. More than just tips and techniques, The Business Coach is a highly practical guide that leads the reader through a step-by-step process of growth and mastery. The coaching relationship, according to Doyle, grows from the "inside-out." It is not a role that can be picked up and put on like a uniform. It requires a shift in thinking and behavior, as well as a true commitment to "being" a coach, not just the desire to act like one. This book provides the necessary mind set, skills, and attributes needed to allow this internal transformation.

Drawing on his personal experiences coaching in one of the largest multinational companies in the world and leading business coaching seminars, Doyle explains why everyone in business needs a coach, and why the coaching relationship is so effective. Using practical examples and real-world business scenarios, Doyle teaches the strategies, methods and language used by the business coach to create a high-performing team. He reveals how coaches develop people on purpose, looking for the possibilities in each employee that they may not see for themselves and involving them in the process of planning, creating, and problem solving.

Many executives will agree that the toughest job a manager has is confronting poor performance and encouraging behavior change. Doyle shows how becoming a business coach can combat this, adding to the tools managers already possess as the reader learns how coaches support peak performance and advocate successful behavior. Doyle teaches how to avoid a false start at fostering a coaching environment at work, by working with the reader to build coaching competencies and create a climate where successful business coaching can take place. He also includes application exercises and self-assessment tools for practice and awareness raising, permitting the translation of creative ideas into the real world of business at a sensible pace.

For anyone who is ready to become a true business coach, willing to get in shape by going through the learning process and determined to "walk the talk," as Doyle would say, The Business Coach is the game plan to follow.

"Executives seeking to do for their organization what championship coaches do for their teams would benefit from The Business Coach." -Jim Collins, coauthor, Built to Last

"The Business Coach provides managers with the skills they need to develop their people." -Whitney MacMillan, Chairman Emeritus, Cargill, Inc.

"The Business Coach is an invaluable book for all those who wish to be more effective as leaders and mentors." -David McNally, author, Even Eagles Need a Push and The Eagle's Secret

"Jim Doyle educates your entire management team on the principles of becoming a business coach." -Robin Peterson, Executive Vice President Coldwell Banker Burnet Home Services

"Today's managers need coaching tools to guide their teams. The Business Coach gives you those tools." -Rhonda Kirkwood, Vice President, North American Sales, Cleaver-Brooks

"The Business Coach teaches you the 'inside-out' of becoming a coach, so you can take your employees, your business, and yourself to the next level of success." -Judy Anderson, Golf & Business Coach, Business Golf Unlimited

"The Business Coach will equip you with the playbook for success." -Ken Melrose, CEO & Chairman, The Toro Company; author, Making the Grass Greener on Your Side: A CEO's Journey to Leading by Serving

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Business Coach: A Game Plan for the New Work Environment (Hardcover)

Review of The Joy of SOX: Why Sarbanes-Oxley and Services Oriented Architecture May Be the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You (Paperback)

I make a living leading seminars discussing topics on software project estimation, requirements, and project management. It is not uncommon during one of these seminars to have a participant ask how the practice under discussion would impact or aid Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. What I wanted out of Hugh Taylor's book was a deeper understanding of SOX and some pointers I could give my students.

The Joy of SOX delivered on the first half of my quest. While not an accountant, Taylor did a good job explaining the key points of the act, focusing on section 404. I grew in my understanding of the role software systems play in acting as a "control" and the impact of changes to those systems. A simple definition of a "control" is that it is a device (practice, checkpoint, division of roles) inserted by a company to assist in the determent and detection of fraud.

Taylor, after painting a very bleak picture of what it means to comply to SOX (i.e. insert and maintain all the necessary controls), goes on to propose a solution that allows a company to react as necessary in business while keeping compliant. His solution, using a web based Service-Oriented Architecture. For those who are not buzzword compliant, that means using non-proprietary methods over the internet to communicate between different computer systems. Most of the time today, companies have to pay software development professionals to write a proprietary method. That takes a lot of time.

It is on the second point of my quest that I felt a little let down. Being a software development person, the word "agile" has a lot of baggage with it. He uses the word to mean the fundamental fluidity of the business to engage in new business practices. We software people want to enable that but we use the word an approach to software development. The two don't quite mean the same thing. So when I got to his prescription, I was into an alphabetic soup of software development acronyms that I have never quite liked, even being in the field. Perhaps his way would work, but I think the hype machine is still on over XML, SOAP, SOBA and the like. Hey, given the alternatives he paints in the first half of the book, it is probably worth considering.

So, who should read this book? Well, if you want a decent way of understanding what SOX means to a public business, then the first half is worth reading. The use of the case study makes it a little HBR like and I enjoyed that. If you are a software development professional like me, well, the first half is worth knowing and you can skim the second half. If you are a business professional, you better know the first half. The second half? You can read it but this is what my friends and I would call "beer discussion" topics. There is no "right" answer, only answers that are better given the situation. Maybe bring your favorite IT person along for the beer.

Product Description

• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was passed in 2002 in response to a series of high-profile corporate scandals and requires that public companies implement internal controls over financial reporting, operations, and assets; these controls depend heavily on installing or improving information technology and business methods
• Written by one of the most visible personalities on the tech-biz side of the SOX discussion, this highly readable, engaging book provides a clear road map for integrating SOX compliance into the fabric of everyday IT infrastructure and business practice
• Shows the reader how to leverage and use service-oriented architecture (SOA), a set of technologies that enables interoperation of heterogeneous computer systems, to achieve the level of internal controls over IT that SOX mandates

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Joy of SOX: Why Sarbanes-Oxley and Services Oriented Architecture May Be the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You (Paperback)

Review of The Joy of SOX: Why Sarbanes-Oxley and Services Oriented Architecture May Be the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You (Paperback)

I make a living leading seminars discussing topics on software project estimation, requirements, and project management. It is not uncommon during one of these seminars to have a participant ask how the practice under discussion would impact or aid Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. What I wanted out of Hugh Taylor's book was a deeper understanding of SOX and some pointers I could give my students.

The Joy of SOX delivered on the first half of my quest. While not an accountant, Taylor did a good job explaining the key points of the act, focusing on section 404. I grew in my understanding of the role software systems play in acting as a "control" and the impact of changes to those systems. A simple definition of a "control" is that it is a device (practice, checkpoint, division of roles) inserted by a company to assist in the determent and detection of fraud.

Taylor, after painting a very bleak picture of what it means to comply to SOX (i.e. insert and maintain all the necessary controls), goes on to propose a solution that allows a company to react as necessary in business while keeping compliant. His solution, using a web based Service-Oriented Architecture. For those who are not buzzword compliant, that means using non-proprietary methods over the internet to communicate between different computer systems. Most of the time today, companies have to pay software development professionals to write a proprietary method. That takes a lot of time.

It is on the second point of my quest that I felt a little let down. Being a software development person, the word "agile" has a lot of baggage with it. He uses the word to mean the fundamental fluidity of the business to engage in new business practices. We software people want to enable that but we use the word an approach to software development. The two don't quite mean the same thing. So when I got to his prescription, I was into an alphabetic soup of software development acronyms that I have never quite liked, even being in the field. Perhaps his way would work, but I think the hype machine is still on over XML, SOAP, SOBA and the like. Hey, given the alternatives he paints in the first half of the book, it is probably worth considering.

So, who should read this book? Well, if you want a decent way of understanding what SOX means to a public business, then the first half is worth reading. The use of the case study makes it a little HBR like and I enjoyed that. If you are a software development professional like me, well, the first half is worth knowing and you can skim the second half. If you are a business professional, you better know the first half. The second half? You can read it but this is what my friends and I would call "beer discussion" topics. There is no "right" answer, only answers that are better given the situation. Maybe bring your favorite IT person along for the beer.

Product Description

• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was passed in 2002 in response to a series of high-profile corporate scandals and requires that public companies implement internal controls over financial reporting, operations, and assets; these controls depend heavily on installing or improving information technology and business methods
• Written by one of the most visible personalities on the tech-biz side of the SOX discussion, this highly readable, engaging book provides a clear road map for integrating SOX compliance into the fabric of everyday IT infrastructure and business practice
• Shows the reader how to leverage and use service-oriented architecture (SOA), a set of technologies that enables interoperation of heterogeneous computer systems, to achieve the level of internal controls over IT that SOX mandates

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Joy of SOX: Why Sarbanes-Oxley and Services Oriented Architecture May Be the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You (Paperback)

Review of Antilogic: Why Businesses fail while individuals succeed (Hardcover)

It was the sub-title and a review I read (not on Amazon) that intrigued me to want to read this book. The book did not deliver on my expectations. I still walked away at the end saying, "So what?" It didn't seem that any particular premise had either been introduced or supported in a way that would make it 'applicable' -- so that you would have dropped the book several times during reading to run off and try a concept or two.

The most disappointing was the obvious 'filter' the author makes the reader look through because of his financial background as a CFO. And (someone please correct me on this if you can...I'm open for debate) I was most bothered by a premise that the entire book rested on. Where the concept of the efficiency of free markets was aligned to financial markets, including the stock market! I don't recall that association ever being a valid one when I was in business school.

Product Description
Antilogic is the opposite to logic, not the absence of logic as in random or chaotic events but the mirror image of logic, in a similar relationship that antimatter has to matter. It is the systematic pursuit of a course of action that may on the surface appear rational or impressive but in reality is little more than a generator of vapour. As with a looking-glass, if the reality and its mirror image meet they negate each other.

The word, 'Antilogic' has very early origins having been associated with the Sophists in ancient Greece. It is, however, alive and strong in the modern world of business and finance. All too frequently people have difficulty in distinguishing logic from Antilogic and cash from Vapourcash. Most people will be familiar with examples of Antilogic, such as share prices that drop on good results and poor managers who are given golden farewells or large salary increases while good staff is worked to exhaustion.

This thought-provoking book challenges conventional wisdom and helps readers to see through the vapour. It sweeps through time and over continents, from the Yap islanders to the English mercantilists, from Groucho Marx to the indigenous peoples of Papua New Guinea. The author's wide-ranging knowledge and his astute business expertise will challenge, delight and inform the reader.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Antilogic: Why Businesses fail while individuals succeed (Hardcover)

Review of Slices: Observations from the Wrong Side of the Fairway (Paperback)

I love golf as much as I hate it, and I.J. Schecter understands how I and most other golfers feel. The great thing about this book is that he writes it for the majority of golfers instead of the few at the top. It's about the challenges we all face when trying to feather a chip, or hit a downhill putt, or just keep our damn drives straight some of the time. And he describes this stuff in extremely funny ways that are so original. You feel like you're on the course with him as you read the different stories -- half the time laughing out loud. I don't know if I was laughing at his experiences or because they make me think of my own, but the point is I was laughing, and smiling, and enjoying myself. What a great book to have. It reminds you that most golfers are in the same boat together, and it gives you lots of great laughs at the same time.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Slices: Observations from the Wrong Side of the Fairway (Paperback)

Review of First Flight: The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Airplane (Hardcover)

By Bill Marsano. The centennial of flight has given us a spate of Wrighteous books this year, but few can match this one for expert knowledge and for pleasurable reading. Heppenheimer is an aviation expert and writer who has covered the ground exceedingly well. Most important, he avoids the folkloric view of the Wrights as a couple of plucky, red-cheeked mechanics who somehow kicked an airplane into being for a lark. They were, in fact, a pair of solid and serious young Midwestern businessmen who looked the part: Even in the workshop they customarily wore jacket and tie. They flew with their hats on. Generally they resembled a couple of bankers who are about to turn down a loan application. Beyond that, they were not merely mechanics but natural-born engineers and self-taught scientists who observed, studied, tested--and learned from their mistakes as well as their successes. Most of us have heard the 'story' of the Wright Brothers--this book helps us comprehend the astonishing magnitude of their achievement, which took them less than five years, working part-time and paying their own way.

Heppenheimer brings a lot of color into his story--the Wrights and others are revealed to us as human beings rather than icons--and he goes far afield, too, bringing us the stories of those others who preceded and competed with the Wrights. The result is a nicely rounded saga of man's long struggle to progress from wishes to wings. He also answers a question people often forget to ask: The Wrights produced the first man-carrying powered airplane in 1903; they set the world on its heels when, in 1908, they went to France for their first large-scale public demonstrations (before an extremely skeptical audience)--so how was it that they faded so quickly from the scene? I won't reveal the answer here (though I will suggest that the facts seem to pre-figure the later struggle between the Apple and the PC). And I will strongly urge you to read this book.



Click Here to see more reviews about: First Flight: The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Airplane (Hardcover)

Review of In Praise of Good Business: How Optimizing Risk Rewards Both Your Bottom Line and Your People (Hardcover)

I am a corporate strategy consultant and business book author.Many companies that I work with would benefit from reading and applying this book.Companies flourish when they take on tougher challenges, using theright tools.In some companies, great rewards are provided for "belowaverage" performance.One of the things that impressed me about thisbook is that Judith Bardwick has changed her philosophy since DANGER IN THECOMFORT ZONE.I thought that book was a little unrealistic.She haslearned from her experiences since then that giving companies maximumcurrent earning's performance makes leaders arrogant and unresponsive insome cases.This can lead to problems later.She now suggests thatcompanies operate with a little less profits in the near term, and a littlemore anxiety.In a sense, she is suggesting something closer to the AndyGrove model in ONLY THE PARANOID SURVIVE.Anyone who is interested inimproving corporate performance should read this book and apply itslessons.I look forward to her next book to see what new lessons she willhave learned since writing this book.

Product Description
"Judith Bardwick really dishes it out in this challenging book and does it in her own unique style. She...brilliantly illuminate[s] the darkness around innovation and risk and its enemy, entropy. What shines through is a seminal achievement of how organizations can maintain a delicate balance between risk and recklessness."-Warren Bennis, author of Organizing Genius

"...an excellent resource for any CEO faced with transforming a 'no-consequence' culture into one of 'reality-driven action.' Her insights ring true and are tremendously reassuring to those of us facing intense and/or very different competition for the first time."-Erroll B. Davis, Jr. President and CEO, Alliant

"Judy Bardwick here sets out a bold new management paradigm, where employees learn to take risks and accept accountability. A powerful and long overdue message."-David G. Robinson, President, CSC Index

"Insightful, thought-provoking insights into human behavior and leadership...a must-read book."-Ned Barnholt, Executive Vice President, General Manager, Test and Measurement Organization, Hewlett-Packard

"...offers a pathway to instill the confidence required for success through positive consequences and accountability. It offers examples, guidelines, and actions that engender success in both people and profits. Managers who want practical advice to overcome real problems will revel in the book and find many nuggets which can be immediately applied."-David Ulrich, Professor of Business Administration, University of Michigan and Editor, Human Resource Management Journal

"Every living system, including human beings, needs a certain amount of tension to operate at its best. People achieve the highest levels they're capable of, and feel more vividly alive, when they're challenged by risks."-Judith Bardwick

In Praise of Good Business celebrates the great business turnaround of the 1990s. But it does more than that. It shows the management skills needed to continue the management revolution. In her 1991 international bestseller, Danger in the Comfort Zone, Judith Bardwick showed the basis for the hard management decisions that provided the framework for the American economic resurgence. She now cautions us not to rest on our success and lays out very specifically how we need to manage in the new economic environment.

Drawing on her work both as a psychologist specializing in management psychology and her 25 years as a consultant to the Fortune 500, Dr. Bardwick explains how and why the benefits of today's best business practices-those forged in the crucible of a global marketplace-extend well beyond a healthy balance sheet. Human beings thrive on manageable risk, and, by compelling employees to take more risks, accept more responsibility and succeed, business is not only achieving record profits, but it is also helping to create psychologically healthier people and a more resilient society.

To more vividly illustrate her points, Dr. Bardwick presents fascinating and instructive case studies of uniquely successful companies across North America. From these she extracts valuable object lessons and action steps, and she develops a revolutionary new management model based on the principle of productive insecurity. A style of management pitched to the demands of a "borderless economy," her prescriptive approach entails steering a middle path between the macho, show-no-mercy downsizing approach and the "no-consequences" model of too much security and too little accountability. Both, she contends, are a leading cause of company failures.

In Praise of Good Business presents a very positive message. Offering an elegant, highly doable prescription for creating more courageous, self-reliant employees ready to meet the challenges of today's supercompetitive global economy, In Praise of Good Business is an invaluable working resource for executives and managers in organizations of all sizes. Far-reaching and grounded in the very nature of the human psyche, this is the only management book you'll ever need.

In her more than two decades as a consultant and speaker, Dr. Bardwick has researched and contributed much to broaden business's understand-ing of the key contributing factors to human and organizational effectiveness. Her client list includes dozens of Fortune 500 companies, including Hewlett Packard, Champion Paper, IBM, Andersen Consulting, and National Steel.

Click Here to see more reviews about: In Praise of Good Business: How Optimizing Risk Rewards Both Your Bottom Line and Your People (Hardcover)

Review of Managing for Sales Results: A Fast-Action Guide for Finding, Coaching, and Leading Salespeople (Hardcover)

I read Managing For Sales Results when it first came out and was floored by how simple Ron Marks has made a topic that brings pain to many, and utter anguish to yet others.

I only wish he would have written it 25 years ago when I got my first taste of leading a sales team.

As Marks says, managing sales people is like trying to provide adult day care -- easily the hardest job in management...hands down.

I immediately understoodthe things I was doing that were undermining my chances of success; how to change both my own behavior as well as that of those who work with me; and it has given me a solid base for talent management and acquisition.

If you're a sales person and want to learn how great sales managers should operate, this is a valuable read. If I were going back into the field full time, I'd love to think it would be for someone who manages the Ron Marks way. And if you ever want to break into management, then this is a must read.

This book can be devoured in one cross-country flight, or a week's worth of lunches. You're THAT CLOSE to a sales management breakthrough.

Read the book, then hope Marks comes to your city for live workshops. I attended two of his courses and reading the book ahead of time made all the difference in the world.

His teaching style, in person, is just like the book...easy to get into and pick up the information. I've attended other workshops and seminars where the ego of the instructor was such a barrier to learning, and I wound up glad for it to end. Not so with this guy. He's a world class teaching talent.

So, if you're perusing Amazon because sales management hasn't turned out to be the walk in the park it once was made out to be, grab this book and implement just one of Ron Marks' strategies. I believe that you'll quickly be back for the rest.

Product Description
This book looks at various methods for recruiting salespeople, from the traditional to the radical, and shows you how to make the smartest, most profitable hiring decisions for your team. It argues that sales managers should put more emphases on coaching and recruiting, making it a priority for your sales organization. With the right recruiting and training strategies, you can find a constant stream of qualified candidates and beat your competitors to the best sales prospects.

From the Inside Flap

Some say that managing salespeople is like commanding a ship. As captain, you hold the responsibility of guiding your crew and keeping the ship afloat. Unfortunately, sales managers almost never receive proper training, and without the proper skills, they end up crashing their company on the rocks.

But now, sales managers can turn to Managing for Sales Results for the answers they've been looking for. It assists you in improving your leadership and communication skills and provides valuable information on how to handle every type of salesperson. Packed with step-by-step guidance, this practical sales guide will help you lead your staff to greater profit.

This comprehensive guide explores the unique behavioral styles of salespeople and shows you how to work with their diverse personalities. You'll soon be able to forge a loyal, dedicated, and effective sales team and master the critical core competencies that sales managers need to succeed in today's sales world.

From interviewing candidates to training new hires to managing established sales pros, Managing for Sales Results covers every aspect of quality team-building and sales management. Plus, you'll learn how to design and implement team sales strategies that lead to lasting success.

Step by step, Managing for Sales Results will help you build an effective, devoted team and lead them to consistent, superior results. Based on his long experience as a top-performing salesperson, Ron Marks gives you the proven and practical guidance needed to motivate individuals and teams, counsel salespeople for improved sales results, and maintain consistent and positive morale.

This expert, comprehensive guide is the only resource today's sales manager needs to improve sales performance and ensure lasting competitive advantage.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Managing for Sales Results: A Fast-Action Guide for Finding, Coaching, and Leading Salespeople (Hardcover)

Review of Marketing for Rainmakers: 52 Rules of Engagement to Attract and Retain Customers for Life (Hardcover)

There are a lot of marketing books out there, and I've read or glanced through the majority of them. The key problem with most marketing books, though, is that they take one good idea and milk it for 300 pages. What I liked about this book is the breadth and variety of ideas. While not every single one of the 52 Rules of Engagement provides a breakthrough insight, they are consistently valuable and uniformly easy to put into action.

If you're looking for a book to tell you how to run an ad campaign or use web marketing, this is not the book for you. It's not a how-to-do book; rather it's a how-to-think book. How to think like a marketer and increase your rainmaking skills.

The book is clearly aimed at professionals and independents, but I think it has a lot of application for corporate-based marketers as well. Early on in the book, Fragasso stresses that neither marketing or rainmaking are God-given talents -- and his book succeeds at increasing the reader's skill level at both.

Product Description
You are a successful entrepreneur with a brain for business, but you're indecisive about marketing and need a guide that will help your company distinguish itself, inspire customer loyalty and increase profits. Marketing for Rainmakers: 52 Rules of Engagement to Attract and Retain Customers for Life presents practical concepts, helpful tips and real-life examples to help you take your business to the next level with marketing that focuses on the customers' needs. Fifty-two business-building ideas will inspire you to take immediate action and develop a marketing mindset.

From the Inside Flap
It's one thing to be great at what you do, but it's quite another thing to be able to convince customers of that fact. If you're a professional service provider, salesperson, or independent contractor, marketing is a critical ingredient in your company's success. Marketing for Rainmakers presents a collection of fifty-two business-building, loyalty-inspiring marketing ideas for anyone who wants to increase their customer base, improve customer relations, and make more money doing what they love to do.

Inside, you'll discover a wealth of tactics and strategies, practical tips, and real-life examples guaranteed to help separate you from the competition and build profitable long-term relationships with your clients. Fully practical and applicable to your small business, Marketing for Rainmakers shows you how to build a thriving professional practice using a marketing mindset based on intense customer focus.

Many professionals find marketing mysterious and tricky. Few people truly understand it. This book breaks good marketing down to its simplest goal-to motivate people-and shows you how to do just that. In fact, this straightforward marketing guide will turn you into a true marketing rainmaker-that person who can motivate customers and build long-lasting, profitable relationships with them.

Step by step, you'll learn to master the skills and attitude of a marketing rainmaker. If you're driven to succeed, Marketing for Rainmakers will show you how to make the most of every marketing opportunity and approach every aspect of your business with true dedication to your customers. Once you master the skills and attitude of a marketing rainmaker, you'll bring in more customers than you know what to do with-and keep them coming back for more.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Marketing for Rainmakers: 52 Rules of Engagement to Attract and Retain Customers for Life (Hardcover)

Review of Do It Yourself Advertising and Promotion: How to Produce Great Ads, Brochures, Catalogs, Direct Mail, Web Sites, and More , 3rd Edition (Paperback)

Like many of us running small businesses, I have no choice but to come up with ads, brochures, press releases, etc. myself.This book gives me a systematic way of doing so, and I credit it with saving me a lot of money in missteps.If you follow the guidelines and checklists carefully, you will probably produce advertising and promotional material that at the very least avoids being amateurish, and will probably sell some products.I like that it concisely gives an overview over each of the areas of advertising and promotion.It explains insider terms without being condescending.Any Gripes?If I could afford the "test" runs of 5000 mailing pieces before I made my "real" mailing of many times that, I wouldn't be reading this book now would I?!But I am probably making excuses for not following their advice on testing advertising, and would be better off if I followed it.The book has been a great help in building my business, and I consult it frequently.

Product Description
Praise for the Second Edition

"Mr. Hahn's background in an industry where the creative stretching of promotional budgets is a daily necessity serves well the reader of this book. His advice is both practical and imaginative, and delivered with wit as well as wisdom."
-Andrew McNally III, Chairman of the Board, Rand McNally

Create Madison Avenue advertising on a Main Street budget with Do-it-Yourself Advertising & Promotion

Now the most complete guide to do-it-yourself advertising includes totally new sections on branding, the Internet, and Yellow Pages advertising. This updated edition of Do-It-Yourself Advertising and Promotion offers the latest information on launching your own homegrown, successful advertising campaigns and new desktop publishing techniques.As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you'll find tried-and-true, low-budget promotional tactics. With every chapter updated and expanded, this new third edition is better-and more comprehensive-than ever.

Author Fred E. Hahn and expert contributors show you how to create successful high-impact advertising on a limited budget using practical, time-tested techniques. This friendly and accessible guide explains each method step by step-with concrete advice on planning, scheduling, budgeting, creative issues, and production procedures to help you develop effective:

Newspaper and magazine ads - Flyers, brochures, and invitations - Direct mail campaigns

- Catalogs - Web sites - E-mail and Internet advertising - Teleservicing - Audiovisual materials - Publicity tools and techniques - And more!

From the Publisher
This new edition features four new chapters coverings topics such as how to select print media for your ads, how to create ads in the comfort of your own home, and how to advertise via the broadcast Fax and the internet. The book offers practical, field-tested techniques and insights into every major form of advertising such as newspaper ads, flyers, direct mail brochures, catalogs and audio ads. For the reader's ease, each form of advertising is covered in a single self-contained chapter. Detailed checklists and step-by-step instructions also make producing ads easy for the reader.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Do It Yourself Advertising and Promotion: How to Produce Great Ads, Brochures, Catalogs, Direct Mail, Web Sites, and More , 3rd Edition (Paperback)

Review of Wills, Probate, & Inheritance Tax For Dummies (Paperback)

This book is a great resource for any law library.It makes a usually difficult subject easy to understand.

Sonya Armfield

Product Description
Planning how to pass your estate on doesn't have to mean complications, legal jargon and huge bills. Wills, Probate and Inheritance Tax For Dummies, 2nd Editiontakes you through the process step-by-step and gives you all the information you need to ensure that your affairs are left in good order. It shows you how to plan and write your will, minimise the stress of probate, and ensure that your nearest and dearest are protected from a large inheritance tax bill.

Discover how to:

• Decide if a will is right for you
• Value your assets
• Leave your home through a will
• Appoint executors and trustees
• Choose beneficiaries
• Draw up a DIY will
• Work out how inheritance tax works and if you're liable to it
• Find out what can and can't be taxed
  

From the Back Cover

Includes advice on how to write your own will

Get your financial affairs in order and minimise inheritance tax

Planning and writing your own will doesn't have to be a nightmare of expense and confusion. This jargon-free book gives you all the information you need to write a legally binding will and organise your estate properly. Covering all angles of inheritance, from taking care of your own affairs to administering probate for the first time, this reassuring guide helps you to minimise stress and keep your family's tax bill down.

Discover how to:

• Help your family pay less inheritance tax

• Make the right probate choices

• Set up a trust for your children

• Troubleshoot and change your will

• Decide when you need to call an expert

Click Here to see more reviews about: Wills, Probate, & Inheritance Tax For Dummies (Paperback)

Review of Geology of U.S. Parklands (Geology of Us Parklands) (Hardcover)

I teach a course in geology of America's National Parklands at a community college. I have tried another book for the required text for the course, with mixed success. Thereforewhen I found out thatGeology of U.S.Parklands, fifth edition, was being released, I ordered it for the courseeven before I had seen my review copy.Previously when traveling I haveconsultedThe Geologic Story of the National Parks and Monuments by thesame authors, and was sufficiently impressed with the content, clarity ofwriting,and extent of coverage that I eagerly ordered the revisedversion.In my opinion this new book is THE one to use for similar collegecourses, and should also serve well for travelers with or without geologictraining who want to know more about the geology of the magnificent federalparklands of our nation.There is a sufficient short course on generalgeologic principles in the initial chapter. I like the clarity, accuracy and dry humor of the text, which is better than the style and content inthe book previously used - Geology of America's National Park Areas byBrooks Ellwood.Although the latter is quite a bit less expensive and hasbetter quality if not more useful pictures, it is often too simplistic formy use in this course.I may have more to say after having used Kiver andHarris book as a text for a quarter or two, but my initial reaction to itis very favorable.Other books cover the geology of one or a few parkareas, but this book has the entire country including Hawaii.However, forsome reason the parklands of Alaska are excluded, probably because theirinclusion could add many pages to what is already a massive volume (902pages).I should have liked to see higher quality photographs and a lowercost, but other than those minor quibbles, this book will very likely setthe standard to which all others on the subject will strive.

Product Description
The National Parks of the United States provide some of the world's most spectacular examples of a wide range of geological features. From the shores of Cape Cod to the volcanoes of Hawaii, this book teaches the principles of physical geology by example, re-creating the history of the earth and the development of its landforms, mountains, rivers, and oceans. By presenting a brief outline of the science of geology, and devoting chapters to individual geographical regions, the authors describe in detail the stunning geological features of each park.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Geology of U.S. Parklands (Geology of Us Parklands) (Hardcover)

Review of The Modern Bride Survival Guide (Hardcover)

I got engaged on February 12th, 2008 and since then I have amassed a very large collection of wedding books, which have just left me confused and caused me to over analyze lots of unnecessary things.

I highly recommend this book in conjunction with the Knot "Complete Guide to Weddings".This book is beautiful, has bright well appointed pictures, excellent classy ideas and gives just the right amount of information.Whereas the 'Knot' book gives a great level of detail which is sometimes needed but not always.

Ladies, do not make the same mistakes I did and over do it.Sometimes too much information is a bad thing.This book is simply wonderful!!!Highly recommend.

Good Luck!!

Product Description
SPECIAL OFFER! A one-year (6 issues) subscription to Modern Bride magazine is included with the purchase of this book. Please see the back flap of the book for offer and refund details.

When it's time to start planning for your special day, there's no better source than Modern Bride. This stylish, contemporary guide is packed with all the information and advice you need to create the wedding of your dreams, from planning the perfect ceremony and reception to surviving any challenges you may face on the way to your big day. It's simply the most inspiring, thorough and up-to-date wedding planner you'll find anywhere.

From the Inside Flap
For decades, Modern Bride magazine has been helping women turn their dream weddings into reality. Now, the Editor-in-Chief of Modern Bride has created today's ultimate wedding planner-an indispensable guide to getting ready for your special day, from selecting the ideal dress to planning an idyllic honeymoon. Bursting with expert advice, The Modern Bride Survival Guide will help bring your fantasies to life with a perfect combination of inspiration and advice.

Illustrated throughout with gorgeous color photography, this one-of-a-kind guide walks you through everything to consider as you approach your big day, from creating a budget, planning the ceremony and choosing vendors to orchestrating the rehearsal dinner and reception. You'll find detailed pointers and suggestions on the ceremony, reception, caterers, cakes, flowers, music, photography, destination weddings, and more-everything you need to make choices that fit your style but also fit your budget. And the book includes checklists and calendars to make sure nothing slips your mind, including "Questions to Ask" your vendors, a budget worksheet, a wedding-day countdown, and a comprehensive to-do list that takes you through the big day from start to finish.

Best of all, this guide is packed with the tips you need to survive the challenges a wedding can bring, from tactfully limiting the guest list to keeping the peace among relatives. Sidebars throughout feature wisdom from well-known wedding planners, "Q&A" sections feature commonsense guidance on typical dilemmas, and "bride to bride" tips share down-to-earth insights from real-life brides. With the authoritative advice and answers you'll find here, you can feel confident that your wedding will be exactly what you want it to be.

Full of ideas for all budgets and every imaginable wedding style, The Modern Bride Survival Guide is the most useful and up-to-date wedding planner available.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Modern Bride Survival Guide (Hardcover)