Book Description

If you listened to the original Buffettology, you know exactly half of what you need to know to effectively apply Warren Buffett's investment strategies.

Buffettology was written specifically for investors in the midst of a long bull market. Since then we've seen the internet bubble burst, the collapse of Enron, and investors scrambling to move their assets -- what remains of them -- back to the safety of traditional blue chip companies. As price peaks turned into troughs, worried investors wondered if there was any constant in today's volatile market. The answer is yes: Warren Buffett's value investing strategies make money.

The New Buffettology is the first guide to Warren Buffett's selective contrarian investment strategy for exploiting down stocks -- a strategy that has made him the nation's second-richest person. Designed to teach investors how to decipher and use financial information the way Buffett himself does, this audiobook guides investors through opportunity-rich bear markets, walking them step-by-step through the equations and formulas Buffett uses to determine what to buy, what to sell -- and when. Authors Mary Buffett and David Clark explore Buffett's recent investments in detail, proving time and again that his strategy has earned enormous profits at a time no one expects them to -- and with almost zero risk to his capital.

The New Buffettology is an essential companion to the original Buffettology, a road map to investment success in the worst of times. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

I loved the book and enjoyed the CD
This is great book on investing and I highly recommend it. The CD is great to listen to in the car and gets all the points across. I suggest that you also get the book. It's way better than the Graham books - which are very dated - they give you the tools to buy stocks selling at below book value - not a lot of those around any more. Besides Buffett got over Graham years ago.

A Complete Joke
This book tries to reverse-engineer Warren Buffett's investment strategy and does a horrible job of it. Like all of Mary Buffett's books, this is long on hype and short on credibility.

For about the same price, you can buy the Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, a book that Warren Buffett personally recommends reading. ... Read more

Book Description

It's the American Dream--to be able to make so much money at an early age that you could decide when to retire, knowing that you have enough money stashed away to ensure a life not burdened by financial restraints.Here, in the fifth book in the phenomenal Rich Dad series, financial guru Robert Kiyosaki provides practical insight on how to put together a financial plan which will not only make you prosperous but will also allow you to map out the freedom to choose your own retirement age. ... Read more

Reviews (107)

A "MUST READ" if you want to be wealthy.
Robert doesn't give you any "get rich quick" schemes, this is a straight forward, easy to read book about changing your mind set in order to obtain wealth. You cannot become a wealthy person without thinking like a wealthy person first. This book is very similar to "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" because it makes you question your core beliefs about money and how to obtain it and how to stop having a "loser" or "chicken little" mentatlity. A lot of books out there give you the details of what to do but do not discuss the personal psychology behind wealth-buiding. I was introduced to Robert's books almost 3 years ago by my father at the beginning of my college career and have taken all the steps necessary to ensure the fact that when I graduate in may of 2003, I will not have to type up any resumes, go to any job fairs, or interview for a future career with XYZ corp. of America because I started a business, heavily invest in real estate with my business partners, and continue to learn about wealth buidling tactics. If I can do this before I graduate from college, anyone can, you just have to change your mindset from a person who works for money to a person who lets money work for them.

Very relieving
What a relief it is to realize that I will never have to depend on social (in) security, a company pension, a 401 (k) (just glorified savings accounts or that whopping .50% return in a bank savings account or 1%-2% on cd's to retire on.

I feel sad when I see people who were planning on a great retirement and believing in some or all of the above, having to go back to work when reality set in.

Kiyosaki offers a better way. His Rich Dad taught him a better way and now Kiyosaki so kindly and humbly offers the advice to the rest of us.

Yes you can get rich quicker today
I have to agree with the review that precedes mine indicating that it is not possible to get rich easier than ever before. The speed at which people like Michael Dell and Steve Chase have become billionaires is incredible. But keep in mind that these two gentlemen made their fortunes over a decade ago...it's even easier today.

What I like about book like Retire Young Retire Rich is that it blows past self induced limitations about wealth or even the ability to retire. If you follow conventional methods, you'll be lucky to retire at all.

Retire Young Retire Rich is must reading for anyone who wants to create wealth early and quick enough to enjoy it. Some parts are similiar to his other books and other parts are completely new.

Interesting how many unhelpful votes that CPA who wrote a very nice review here is getting (presumably from 1 star reviewers) Isn't it funny how some people have nothing better to do with their but attack successful people like Robert Kiyosaki who so kindly and humbly want to help the rest of us, discredit the guy and when someone of note comes along, they blitz that person with so many unhelpful votes? If you ask me, I think their actions are driving more people towards Kiyosaki, not away. Book sales are increasing not decreasing. And more and more people are becoming more successful than ever before.

This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to get rich quicker in todays world.

Can you get rich quickly?
This installment in the Rich Dad series Retire Young Retire Rich is also subtitled How To Get Rich Quickly and Stay Rich Forever.

Kiyosaki tells us that it took Rockefeller 16 years to become a billionaire in his time. And it took Bill Gates 10 years to reach the billion dollar status. However it took Mike Dell and Steve Case only 5 years to become billionaires. It's easier than ever.

In Retire Young Retire Rich, Kiyosaki pounds to death the concept of leverage. One chapter I found interesting was the leverage of generosity. Kiyosaki discusses how his Rich Dad taught him reciprocity and service. He states an age old law "Give and you shall recieve." Kiyosaki says thath is rich dad taught him that if you want to be rich, you must first be willing to serve as many people as possible.

Aaccording to Kiyosaki, Rich Dad believed inthe law of reciprocity and in the idea of being generous was the best way to becoming very, very rich.

Kiyosaki also talks about networks and network marketing. He goes on to discuss the power of networks and the importance of leverage ratios and goes on to say that you can b ecome exceptionally wealthy in a short period of time by doing so and at a fraction of the cost.

I noticed that Retire Young Retire Rich is recommended here by a Nationally recognized CPA. I am glad that people of quality appreciate Rich Dad's and Robert Kiyosaki's work.

I'm with a company that does business around the world and the most successful people I know are exercising the concepts espoused by Kiyosaki and are becoming very wealthy as a result.
So can you.

Probably his best book
I read Rich Dad Poor Dad, CASHFLOW QUADRANT and RICH DAD's GUIDE TO INVESTING first and learned something new from each book. Retire Young Retire Rich is ideal for anyone who is sharp enough to realize the folly of betting on social (in) security, a company pension or a 401 (k) (should be called 101 (k) based on what they are worth after following your company's advice)

With the advice in Retire Young Retire Rich, we all can truly retire young and retire rich. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent!
It's worth paying! I recommend evryone who want to become a good public speaker, this is the must listen audio book.

Good luck, San Kim ... Read more

Book Description

From world-renowned motivational author Napoleon Hill comes his classic work that has inspired millions, Think and Grow Rich.

Anything your mind can conceive and believe you can achieve. That is the philosophy of Napoleon Hill, author of the world’s #1 motivational book, Think and Grow Rich. Inspired by the lessons he learned while a protégé of Andrew Carnegie, Napoleon Hill gives you the money-making secrets that earned Carnegie, and many of the world’s other most prominent people, unprecedented riches. Think and Grow Rich tells you what to do and how to do it. Apply Hill’s basic techniques to your life and you too can master the secret of enduring success.

Success is not an accident, it’s a habit. Think and Grow Rich is where that habit begins. Throughout this inspirational masterpiece, which has influenced men and women on every continent, Hill gives examples and detailed analysis of how hundreds of exceedingly wealthy people earned and maintained their fortunes. It has sold millions of copies by laying down a blueprint for a life of prosperity, and helping people become the winners they’ve always wanted to be. Napoleon Hill’s plan will inspire you, motivate you, and enable you to make your dreams come true!
... Read more

Reviews (225)

Great book--Great foreward by Melvin Powers
Over the years I have bought several copies of Think and Grow Rich but this particular edition, original unabridged version is perhaps the best and my personal favorite.

Think and Grow Rich is without a doubt one of the most prestigious and beloved books in the field of motivational literature. This version is a reprint of the original, unabridged, classic edition of Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill. No doubt, Think and Grow Rich has helped shape the lives of millions of people around the world. Perhaps moreso than any other book ever.

In Think and Grow Rich, Napolean Hill shares his brilliant philosophy and practical techniques for achieving your financial goals, reaching your highest potential, and ultimately creating a life that brings you great personal happiness.

Think and Grow Rich will teach you how to harness the awesome mental magic of your mind. You are given a blueprint for self mastery. You learn that there are no limitations to what you can accomplish, only those you impose on yourself.

Napolean Hill said, "If you can conceive it, you can believe it." This precept has proven true repeatedly throughout history. Did we not send a man to the moon and accomplish other seemingly miraculous feats in many fields of endeavor? Every one of these feats began as an idea that was then transformed into reality. Think and Grow Rich shows youhow to transform your dreams into reality too.

Melvin Powers inspiring foreward and indicating how this great book transformed his life adds just on more great testimonial of the power behind Think and Grow Rich.

If you were to buy just one book on personal development, you wouldn't go wrong by making Think and Grow Rich that one and only book.

Thank you Napolean for sharing your wisdom!

Bugaboos of the Mind Revealed
Why do some achieve great wealth when the vast majority wallow in poverty?

Napoleon Hill interviewed nearly 500 wealthy men (including steel magnate Andrew Carnegie) to determine the underlying causes of wealth. In addition, Hill interviewed thousands of financial failures to determine what drove them to poverty.

Think & Grow Rich is a remarkable text that outlines what Napoleon Hill learned from his vast number of interviews. Hill enables readers to emulate the traits of the wealthy while shunning those characteristics of the financially challenged.

Several highlights of the text are:

(1) Prerequisites to wealth acquisition include a statement of: (a) the amount of money desired (b) the sacrifice one is willing to give in exchange for the money (c) the deadline for obtaining the money (d) a definite plan for acquiring this money (e) a declaration of this statement twice daily once before sleeping and once after waking.

Hill remarks, "You may as well know, right here, that you can never have riches in great quantities unless you can work yourself into a white heat of desire for money, and actually believe you possess it."

(2) The subconscious mind can be a powerful ally (or foe) in the pursuit of wealth. One should truly believe that one will become wealthy and "the subconscious mind will hand over the plan that you need". This belief should be infused with emotion.

(3) Create a Master Mind group of encouraging individuals who can provide the specialized knowledge necessary to achieve wealth

(4) "Success requires no explanations; Failure permits no alibis"

(5) Common causes of failures include: Lack a well defined purpose in life, Lack of ambition, Lack of self-discipline, Procrastination, Lack of Persistence, Lack of decision.

(6) Persistence is absolutely critical to wealth. Hill mentions that "I had the happy privilege of analyzing both Mr. Edison and Mr. Ford ... I found no quality save persistence that even remotely suggested the major source of their stupendous achievements."

(7) To develop persistence one must have a: (a) specific goal with a yearning for its attainment (b) definite plan (c) mind closed against negative influences (d) friendly alliance with those who will encourage one to achieve the goal

(8) Sublimate your sexual urges to a yearning to accomplish your goals

(9) "You have absolute control over but one thing, and that is your thoughts"

This is a remarkable book that is a paean to the power of the mind and its ability to create wealth in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles ...

Excellent! but the hardcover version is abridged
Wonderful book, which inspires me and makes me think big and stay motivated. I love the unabridged version from wilshire book company. Unfortunately it comes only in paperback. I recently bought the hardcover, collector's edition. Unfortunately it is abridged, in some chapters several pages in total. The format in this book is among the best i've seen though. Leatherbound, goldedges etc. Anyway, great book!

It Helped Jim Carrey, myself and it can help you too...
What can I say? I bought this book at a church bookstore, ironic huh? Having been fortunate enough to attend elite academic institutions in America and Europe, I can say without a doubt that the principles espoused by Mr. Hill's writing are by far more valuable than much of what I learned in a formal academic environment--this is real education....SELF education, i.e. knowledge of Self.

Jim Carrey reputedly read this book while working a low wage job before becoming famous, applied the fundamentals and the rest, as we say is history.

I always like to point out interesting teaching points from books and here are a few:

**"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve"

**"There are no limitations to the mind EXCEPT those we acknowledge"

**"Both poverty and riches are the offspring oof thought"

One of my greatest ambitions is to actualize the level of success I envision for myself and in doing so, be in a position where I can mentor others about the principles of success such as those. Mssr. Hill teaches. One of the first things I shall do is give this book away in order to complete the cycle of giving and receiving.

I also recommend reading this book along side Joseph Murphy's book "Power of Your Subconscious Mind" and Claude M. Bristol's "The Magic of Believing" along with "It Works" by RJH. These books along with Think & Grow Rich can truly enable you to achieve whatever you desire not only financially but in health, relationships, peace of mind and true expression--true wealth.

I have personally achieved some wonderful results through the application of these principles and look forward to applying them even further for higher and higher levels of achievement. I hope you do so as well!

Not his best, but a great book by Napolean Hill
Think & Grow Rich is a condensed version of Hill's 17 principles of success; he course that he used to teach in over 17 lessons via weekly lectures and is still available in other books and tape programs like Your Right To Be Rich.

Nonetheless, Think & Grow Rich is an excellent intro to the principles and techniques that Hill discovered after interviewing the wealthiest people of his time.

Think & Grow Rich will open your mind and open opportunities to you. Great book by Hill. ... Read more

Book Description

"One of the most successful financial advisors in the country" --Dow Jones Investment Advisor

How have a secretary, a firefighter, a retired naval officer, a housewife, a construction worker, and a pharmacist become wealthy?  They, along with five thousand of your neighbors, have discovered the same secrets to attaining wealth.  Their years of hard-won financial success -- the result of a lifetime of trial and error -- can now be yours.

All you have to do is buy this audio.  Consider it your first wise investment.

Looking at the habits of thousands of financially successful people, bestselling author Ric Edelman has found that they share eight fundamental strategies for attaining wealth.  These include: Don't measure your success by the S&P 500; Rarely move from one investment to another; Don't diversify the money you put into your employer retirement plans. 

You can adopt these same strategies yourself, and Edelman shows you how.

By combining his years of experience as a financial advisor with the experiences of these ordinary investors, Ric Edelman provides you with the tools to help turn the wisdom of these real-life stories into practical steps that can help you create wealth.

Reviews (68)

Don't waste your money
First off I'd like to say that the information in this book,8 so called secrets,is valuable. Mr. Edelman explains it in an easy to understand way. The reason I say not to waste your money is this. Each secret has a chapter with an average length of 11.5 pages. So basically the good information is in about 90 some pages. The rest of the book is filled with the authors' clients telling you how they do the things that the book says. In my opinion this should be a 100 page book at the most. It took me 2 hours to get all the valuable information out of this book(it is good information). I think the author expanded most of his energy trying to sell you his other books by the numerous footnotes telling you to by his other books. He was trying to be humorous most of the time with the footnotes but it became annoying.

My recommendation is..The library

A great addition to The Millionaire Next Door
I've noticed that several people are comparing this book to The Millionaire Next Door and making it as a either/or deal.I ve read The Millionare Next Door as well as this book and I believe they compliment each other, even though they also contradict each other. Who says that anyone has a corner on truth or that there is only one way to become financially successful? The Millionaire Next Door beats the frugality concept to death and shows how ordinary people can become successful via frugal living.Ordinary People/Extraordinary Wealth also shows how ordinary people achieve extraordinary wealth only with a slightly different method.Edelman, and his successful clients, recommend not paying off your mortgage early (I did but took out a home equity line of credit later) I didn't initially agee with Edelaman on this, but I do now.A paid off mortgage may make you feel good but it ds you no good. It's like money in a shoebox generating nothing.Some people also compared Edelmans book with the poular Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, another great book. Kiyosaki emphasizes that a house is not an asset and that money is better used to invest in real assets as opposed to paying off a non asset---mortgage. In this regard, Edelman and Kiyosaki are very similiar.To me it makes more sense to invest in assets like rental properties and equities than to pay off your mortgage to be debt free (you are also cash flow free). Although I wouldn't have said that 10 years ago--live and learn!All three books: The Millionaire Next Door, Rich Dad Poor Dad and Ordinary People Exxtraordinary income make great, highly instructional and profitable reading.These books deliver only if you follow through on the advice given.If you are new to Edelman, I highly recommend that you read The Truth About Money first, then move on to Ordinary People Extraordinary Wealth.

No Epiphanies or Elixirs Here
The reason I give this book two stars is that it emphasizes the potential rewards of risk without emphasizing a responsible, balanced approach. Other publications, such as the bestseller, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and excerpts from The Millionaire Next Door communicated more clearly that what separates the financially independent individuals from those who are trapped in the paycheck-to-paycheck rat race world is that the former are made up of compulsive savers and investors while the latter are made up of compulsive spenders who entrap themselves by spending increases that correlate with pay raises.

Author Robert Kiyosaki at least hit the nail on the head when he said that the road to financial success is to increase your ability to build interest income, a goal well highlighted in Dominguez and Robin's Your Money or Your Life, by building assets and reducing liabilities. In fact, his terms made investing in the stock market appear a whole lot more attractive an option than what this book, with its bits and pieces of anecdotal evidence, could ever begin to express.

Sorry, still 2 stars. The way that the chapters were laid out did not strike me as being overtures of a road to victory for every person. Why? Because, unlike other reliable sources, such as Kiyosaki's works, it does not go deeply enough into the process of thinking about what defines financial intelligence and what the financially intelligent thing to do would be for a given situation.

With the quick jump to placing a seemingly blind faith in investing the stock market and with the few stories of how several became "successful" with his strategies (and they may be financially sound), this book resonated the pitches of a snake oil salesman.

Ric Edelman is, perhaps, an intelligent man, but don't confuse this "Yadda, Yadda, Yadda" with "Yabba Dabba Doo"!

Recommended for any young investor
This book provides a good survey of where to start thinking about your investment possibilities, and offers some good advice on what to do and what not to do. The most valuable part of the book is the personal experiences shared by the financially successful individuals at the end of each chapter. I agree with another reviewer that this booked was basically a sales brochure, however, it offers some good advice. Recommended if you have no clue what you're doing but know you have to do something ASAP.

8 secrets on how 5,000 people achieved financial success/
The fact is that the 8 secrets revealed in this book have already worked for over 5,000 people. That is a pretty impressive record.

Some of the tips you will learn include:

How to turn your mortgage into a wealth-enhancing tool

Why small investments work better than big ones

How to max oout your employer sponsored retirement plan

Your investments: when to hold them and when to fold them

Financial news: when to pay attention and when to turn it off

And a whole lot more.

This book was written prior to the Clinton Stock Market Crash that occurred in 2000 but as a reader of Ric Edelman, I am happy to say that after following Edelmans's advice, I was a victor not a victim. I listen to Ric, not self serving brokers or out of touch magazine authors who think they are qualified to write on personal finance. ... Read more

Book Description

Where can a person go to learn how to become a better team player?Your choices are definitely limited.

John C. Maxwell takes the pain out of knowing what makes a team tick.If you want to have a better team, you have to develop better players.Great team players, like great teams, are formed from the inside out.

The qualities Maxwell teaches quickly take you to the heart of teamwork.Anybody can understand them and apply them -- whether at home, on the job, at church, or on the ball field.If you learn the 17 essential qualities of a team player, you can become the kind of person every team wants.If everyone on your team does it, there will be no holding you back.

Reviews (13)

THE QUALITIES OF A STRONG TEAM PLAYER.
I enjoyed this book for the wisdom it contained. Whether one is part of an office team, a charitable organization or on a sports team, it is not always as easy as one might think to develop strong teamwork. There are those who can never master the feat of being a team player and those, if you are fortunate to find them, who excel both as a team player and independent worker. The author has demonstrated the 17 essential qualities of a strong team player. Learning specific skills can be much easier than learning new habits or changing negative personal qualities which have often developed over a lifetime. Employers should remember to take that fact into consideration during the hiring process; you need to match an individual's qualities to the job to achieve the desired result. Not everyone possesses the essential qualities to be a team player. To the book's credit, it contains accurate and proven theories on creating a strong team. The author bases his theories on such factors as self-descipline, competence and being prepared to adapt and change your ideas and actions.

The minor downside of the book is the various quotes by well-known successful people. They are interesting but they have appeared in print so many times before that they come across as "classic cliches". Also, the book is relatively short and it would have been twice as interesting if the author had expanded on his words of advice in more detail. Overall, the positives far outweigh the negatives. The book is well worth reading, and the reader will likely find the stories quite inspirational.

Maxwell hits the bullseye again!
John Maxwell has written an easy-to-read, easy-to-apply book on teamwork. Anyone beginning a new team or taking the leadership of a team already in progress is sure to find information from this book helpful and applicable. Beware, however, that Maxwell is beginning to repeat the same stories and lessons from his previous books. These stories and lessons can be good reminders although it may be time for Mr. Maxwell to research other people and companies in the leadership field.

Thought provoking yet very easy to read
I thought that the book was very easy to read and it's shorter length makes it very accessible to those with very busy lives.

I really enjoyed the little stories and the descriptions of the elements that compose the 17 qualities were very well written. The main thing I enjoyed about the book was not that it taught me a lot of things I didn't know, but that it put those things together in a more coherent picture and made me ask myself some hard questions about how I can be a better team player and whether or not I've neglected some areas.

I find I perform at a much higher level when I keep these sorts of ideas in mind as I plan my tasks. This book is small enough to travel well and profound enough to keep pushing me to higher levels.

Love this book recommend highly
Recieved the book and i amenjoying it very much so far it has been very helpful to me would highly recommend to church team players in leadership spots

Excellent Teamwork Resource for Organizations
I purchased this book as a resource for my graduate students in a university course on school leadership. I was disappointed to learn that the website cited in this book did not work. After a search on the internet I did locate the site under a different URL title -- http://www.lawsofteamwork.com/

John Maxwell has many valuable insights into organizational leadership and principles of teamwork that many of my graduate students enjoy. This book relates several good stories about the importance of teamwork, including one about former MLB player Reggie Jackson and Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver. The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player is a great resource and a fast read for those interested in learning more about leadership and teamwork. ... Read more

Book Description

The Oakland Athletics have a secret: a winning baseball team is made, not bought.

I wrote this book because I fell in love with a story. The story concerned a small group of undervalued professional baseball players and executives, many of whom had been rejected as unfit for the big leagues, who had turned themselves into one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball. But the idea for the book came well before I had good reason to write it—before I had a story to fall in love with. It began, really, with an innocent question: how did one of the poorest teams in baseball, the Oakland Athletics, win so many games?

With these words Michael Lewis launches us into the funniest, smartest, and most contrarian book since, well, since Liar's Poker. Moneyball is a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the front offices of major league teams, and the dugouts, perhaps even in the minds of the players themselves. Lewis mines all these possibilities—his intimate and original portraits of big league ballplayers are alone worth the price of admission—but the real jackpot is a cache of numbers—numbers!—collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers and physics professors.

What these geek numbers show—no, prove—is that the traditional yardsticks of success for players and teams are fatally flawed. Even the box score misleads us by ignoring the crucial importance of the humble base-on-balls. This information has been around for years, and nobody inside Major League Baseball paid it any mind. And then came Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland Athletics.

Billy paid attention to those numbers —with the second lowest payroll in baseball at his disposal he had to—and this book records his astonishing experiment in finding and fielding a team that nobody else wanted. Moneyball is a roller coaster ride: before the 2002 season opens, Oakland must relinquish its three most prominent (and expensive) players, is written off by just about everyone, and then comes roaring back to challenge the American League record for consecutive wins.

In a narrative full of fabulous characters and brilliant excursions into the unexpected, Michael Lewis shows us how and why the new baseball knowledge works. He also sets up a sly and hilarious morality tale: Big Money, like Goliath, is always supposed to win...how can we not cheer for David? ... Read more

Reviews (209)

major eye opener onto the field of baseball
This book is about the power of critical thinking. It traces the moves made by a general manager--Billy Beane--who, with the help of statistical geeks, was able to find undervalued players and dish off overvalued players. The author points out that players are commonly misappraised because their value is generally tied to things like "looks" and statistics like "batting average" and "rbis" and "saves" and "fielding percentage" which do not adequately reflect the extent to which a player's performance contributes to value to his team. For example, Mr. Lewis describes formulas which have been derived that accurately predict the number of runs a team will score over the course of a season, and these formulas do not depend on some very commonly used (or misused! stats) After you read this book you will get the point that on-base percentage is 3X more valuable than slugging percentage in the formulas. One drawback of the book is that the formulas discussed are not explicitely stated and their validity is not conclusively demonstrated. Another aspect of the book I also wish was expressed in more detail is the new set of pitching statistics that are devoid of any aspect of luck commonly built into today's commonly advertised stats, like "wins" and "era." In the end, the lesson of the book is that you must always ask, "why, why, why." Why do I care if this pitcher has 30 saves? Why do I care if this outfielder made 10 errors. This books explains in a fun way why you shouldn't necessary care about these questions at all!

Misleading Title, Great Book
Even though I enjoyed Lewis' Liar's Poker, The New New Thing, and Money Culture, I wasn't planning to read Moneyball. I didn't really care about the economics of baseball. Then I found out that Moneyball is about the Oakland A's, computers, and statistics. I had to read it.

Lewis reveals how the A's became (and have stayed) a top team even though they have one of the smallest payrolls in baseball. Billy Beane's (the general manager) method of using massive amounts of statistical information tells him what players to draft and what plays to execute under different conditions. The scouts and even the manager have become less important than his small staff of number-crunchers.

By following certain statistically-determined rules such as "never sacrifice bunt," (the numbers show that historically, it doesn't pay off) the A's have gone to the playoffs year after year. Beane refuses to draft players out of high school, because they haven't faced enough real competition to determine, statistically, if they will be any good. It's only in college and the minor leagues that players compile meaningful stats.

Not much money in Moneyball, just great writing, and a terrific story.

Thinking outside the box
Michael Lewis deftly inserted himself into the A's front office to find out how a professional baseball team with a $40 million payroll can win 102 games and consistently 90 or more wins in subsequent years and compete with teams like the New York Yankees who have payrolls exceeding $130 million.

What he reveals is that by approaching baseball in a more rational, analytical way and doing away with all the traditional conventions, you can compete with anyone who doesn't do the same. Too many GMs and coaches are seduced by speed, home runs, and batters who swing at bad pitches when the simple truth of it is that in baseball the most precious thing you have are your three outs per inning. Anything that risks losing one or more of those outs is something you should avoid. As a long-time fan of the game, it's hard for me to swallow some of the anti-traditional things Lewis describes in this book. But the proof is in the pudding as they say and the A's success over the past several years is hard to argue with.

The focus of the book is A's GM Billy Beane, a former A's player himself who had a world of talent but could not transform that talent into a Hall of Fame career. He didn't have certain intangibles that are needed. Beane now recognizes those talents in the players he drafts, recruits and trades for. Beane's obsessive personality and unorthdox ways make for interesting reading. He's a man who seems horribly tortured by the game and yet thrives on his success in the game as well.

There are excellent mini-biographies in the book including one on A's first baseman, Scott Hatteberg, a Red Sox catcher who was thought all but done with baseball after he ruptured a nerve in his throwing arm. The A's reclamation project recognized a diamond in the rough and brought him aboard to train him as a first baseman, mostly so they could benefit from Hattie's shrewd batting.

Chad Bradford, the A's middle relief pitcher with the unorthodox pitching style and uncanny ability to get outs, is also profiled. A's minor league phenom Jeremy Brown, a former University of Alabama catcher who broke all sorts of NCAA records but wouldn't get a look from most pro teams, is also profiled. You get the sense from this book that there IS no traditional upbringing for a pro baseball player. The A's unusual collection of "misfits" all came from different backgrounds and most have taken a rather odd path to success.

This book is a great insiders look at a pro baseball team and how they approach the game from a very unique perspective. The most fascinating thing of it is, the A's didn't invent what they're doing at all. They're exploiting baseball wisdom that was anyone's for the taking for the past 30 years. You just need to know where to look.

If you're a baseball fan or just someone who can appreciate creativity and ingenuity in a world that promotes imitation, you'll enjoy this book.

Lewis Played Like a Banjo
Michael Lewis seems unaware that the A's front office is hamming it up in front of him. Poor journalism if he couldn't figure it out.

Great Reading!
"Moneyball" is an oustanding read if your are interested in baseball, economics, and or statistics. Michael Lewis does a great job telling the story of the Oakland A's and just why a team with one of the smallest payrolls in baseball has compiled one of the best records. This was a book that I found almost impossible to put down and I know that everyone at work got sick of me talking about it, but it was fascinating!! Don't miss reading this one!! ... Read more

Book Description

In today's world of exponentially increased communication and responsibility, yesterday's methods for staying on top just don't work.

Veteran management consultant and trainer David Allen recognizes that "time management" is useless the minute your schedule is interrupted; "setting priorities" isn't relevant when your email is down; "procrastination solutions" won't help if your goals aren't clear.

Allen's premise is simple: our ability to be productive is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve stress-free productivity and unleash our creative potential. He teaches us how to:

• Apply the "do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it" rule to get your in-box empty
  
• Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations
  
• Overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed
  
• Feel fine about what you're not doing
  

From core principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done has the potential to transform the way you work -- and the way you experience work. At any level of implementation, David Allen's entertaining and thought-provoking advice shows you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down. ... Read more

Reviews (98)

Time Tested Principals
I attended one of David's seminars in 1986. As a result, I was able to successfully manage 101 concurrent projects, finishing on time and under budget. Fast forward to 2001. I keep this book by my side at all times (David publish it in Ebook form so it's easier to carry!). The company I'm with now wonders how I get the "impossible" projects done. Using David's techniques in the book, it seems like I can complete a full work day in fewer hours because I know what all my "next actions" are, and do them promptly. Gives me a lot of worry free time.

This is a book you "DO" not just read. Be prepared to work when you start out, but when the initial work is done, that's when the fun begins.

I cleaned my inbox and email box of 300 items in less than 15 minutes, filtering out the junk, the things that needed immediate attention, and the "someday maybe" things (like buying my first Harley).

This works for my personal life too. No more missed anniversaries, birthdays, phone calls, errands, etc.

Do you ever think about work projects at home? Do you ever think about home projects when you're at the office? Ever worry about that phone call you need to make or that errand you need to run? Forget it! Get the book. It's awesome. Get the book - period. If you don't, you deserve your stress.

Truly the guide to stress-free productivity
I manage a team of twenty, in a very stress-filled IT environment. We juggle multiple projects with overlapping deadlines all the time. This book taught me far more than the well known time management guides and gurus. I learned to put EVERYTHING - my work life, personal life, dream life (to be a millionaire without being the weakest link or swallowing bugs!) into one place, and organize it all based on me - my life, current job, etc. I also used it to help my team. We now breeze through our deadlines, with lots of productivity and very little stress. We are able to work long hours when needed, and take time off when needed. Hopefully, future releases will bring a companion workbook and this book unabridged on tape or CD. FYI - Mr. Allen has a wonderful web site ... where you can sign up for his free weekly newsletter and continue to learn and grow. He also lists lots more helpful tips, etc. on the web site that you can download and share with your peers and staff members. I urge anyone who is feeling overwhelmed in their life and career to give this process a try. You will be very glad you did.

DAM! (David Allen Method).
The real gist of this book is this;

First, tangibly ALL your thoughts to do something must be somewhere in order for you to PHYSICALLY apply it. Hence, you must write them down or put them all (stuff) somewhere, notes, post-it, napkins, etc., ANYTHING, just make it physically tangible. This is the only way for us to now LOGICALLY apply it. Because we are physical creatures, we must see our thoughts physically also. Down one.

Number two: when all of this is done, get the little ones out of the way, hence the "two-minute rule". Anything under two minutes DO IT NOW. DAM! (David Allen Method) yeah!!!

That's basically the "d.a.m." (pardon the pun) method. For details and even a better understanding buy or borrow the book.

When you think about it, it's all about logic. Delineate the process, divide, then conquer. Sort of like eating a big steak, you have to cut it to make it chewable, then taste, and decide to swallow, chew, or just spit it out, and before you know it, it's gone! It's funny we never applied this logic to our business, maybe below will explain why!

One thing that bugs me is that if something takes 2 minutes and we now need to do it now, there is one section about a guy going through 800 e-mails. If each one took two minutes, the e-mail "project" then took more than 26 hours!!! He didn't mention that in the book! Should he then delegate it, defer it, dump it, or simply call the waiter??? Note: vomiting is NOT an option!

Works, I'm Using it.
I have read both books first from the library and only bought the paperback of Allens second book, Ready for Anything.

I am now buying the hardcover edition for this book because I plan to use it over and over. I have been a student of effective work flow for 15 years and this is one of the best methods I have found to clear your work surfaces and your mind to get down to creative, fun productive activities.

I looked like I was OK but my cupboards were full of junk
I was one of those people who looked like I had things under control, and wasn't far from it, but my cupboards, drawers and email files were full of junk and felt like a ball and chain. I heard about this book at an Optimal Thinking seminar and decided to buy it. I knew it was in my best interest to clean up the junk and proceeded with Dave Allen's system. If anything took less than two minutes to resolve, I did it on the spot. I have to say that almost everything is in place now. I feel free of a huge load and am proud that I took control of it. This is a terrific book. I recommend it if you want a simple system to get things done. If you want to learn how to make the most of your thinking to achieve emotional mastery and get the most from every situation, read Optimal Thinking-How To Be Your Best Self too. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A top-down commitment to top-notch customer service is a critical element in the battle for corporate survival. In their Customer-Centered Growth: Five Bold Strategies for Building Competitive Advantage, Richard Whiteley and Diane Hessan of The Forum Corporation, a training and consulting firm that emphasizes just such customer focus, show readers how other companies have successfully placed customers at the center of their operations. They also provide 15 tools for self-assessment and strategy planning. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This Audio Tape Is an Outstanding How-To Guide for Growth!
It has been almost two years since I read this book.On a recent trip toNew York, I realized that I had the audio cassettes, but had never listenedto them.So I did.What a wonderful surprise this was.

There are fourcassettes and each is read by the authors who alternate.Both have goodspeaking voices, and use a good pace.It is easy to listen to them andfollow their voices.

Unlike many cassette series which are overly edited,this one is just the right length.You get a good overview of all of thepoints on the first side and a half, then go into each one in more detailin the remaining three tapes.

As much as I liked the book, I likedthe cassettes better.The authors are obviously used to speaking andteaching, and I felt like I was having them speak directly to me in aone-on-one session.I turned the tapes off whenever I had an assignmentfrom them, and did the assignment.Clearly, this advanced my thinking muchmore than reading the book did.I was not as deeply into the concepts fromreading as I was from listening, and did the assignments from a much morefundamental perspective.

Their first principle is to focus.The idea isto find what your most profitable customers find most valuable to them thatyou do best.This caused me to see our firm's relationship to our clientsin a totally new perspective that is very valuable to me.

The secondprinciple is to hard-wire listening to the customer.Although I rememberedthis advice from before, I was struck by realizing how few of the companiesI know well take this advice.Customer listening is usually continuous,but is usually not well integrated into focusing the firm's attention. This is usually because most people don't see the information, or don'tknow how to interpret it.

The advice on how to create cooperationroutinely throughout the organization is very good.I especially liked thevariation on the internal customer concept espoused here whereby you areencouraged to both stay focused also on what the external customer needs.

Not only should you buy this resource, but you should then take adriving trip so you'll have a chance to listen to it.I suggest that youdo as I did, and switch the tapes on and off so you can do the exercises inyour mind (and later write down what you learned).

When you are done withthis, I suggest that you also consider how this kind of approach could helpyour personal life.What should you be focusing on?How can you hard-wirelistening to those around you?How can you all become morecooperative?

... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (60)

I have extremely mixed feelings about this book
Well, first I have to say that this book is very well written. I wish I was as good at the use of adjectives as Mr. Spence is. I bought this book thinking it would deal largely with logical structure and identification of fallacies, ect. Instead, this book dealt with none of that but focused entirely on psychological issues such as power and control. This was actually a good thing and I learned a few things from it and made a few realizations about myself when I argue. I should however point out that less then half of the book actually dealt with this. About 60% of the book is dedicated to his own political and philosophical opinions which I personally am totally oppossed to.... He's also defended some real scum bags in his time and tells the reader how he defended this one guy from killing his own wife in front of their children! The defence was insanity, (the guy had a bad childhood but was not insane.) We the reader are asked to step down from our high and mighty pedistools and pity those born under less fortunate circumstances. As usual, not a thought or word is given to the wife, (the real victim.) Mr. Spence also makes some comments that I felt were absurd, (ie we give God power!?)
So I have to say that about half of this book I enjoyed, (the parts that dealt with the actual confrontation of argument, their roots, results, ect.) and half of this book I absolutely hated! So I give this book a rating of 2.5 stars, (I wasen't given this option on the Amazon scoring system so I was forced to round it up to 3 stars.) One reviewer before me said that you might do better to learn about this subject by buying a good book on rhetoric. Another reviewer said that this book could have been reduced from 300 pages to 100 pages. Both were right.

A Must Read !
This book changed my life. I had all these thoughts wondering in my head, and Mr. Spence displayed them out on paper in such a wonderful story manner. Anyone who knows anything about people skills, will know the importance of presenting thoughts in a story form. People love stories, they feel for stories, and most of all, they remember stories. This is an important point in Mr. Spence's book. His stories are sensational with compelling arguments. This is not a miracle book that can make an antisocial person into a great orator. You must have some ablity to convey your message. And if you do, this is the book for you. It can change your life. You will see others arguments in a different light. The best argument lets the winner win, without allowing the loser to truly lose. I love this book, just read it, you'll see.

Pretty helpful....
Overall the book presented a lot of good ideas. The best was probably the concept of story-telling. I always looked for better ways of effective communication but never thought of actually rephrasing my dead words into stories that are 'alive'. The listener/reader automatically holds his attention longer and more raptly and it truly works wonders.

I totally agree that 'winning is getting what we want'. If only everyone understood it. Very often do you see people exalting over defeating an opponent and goes on to tease or even insult him/her but that is not what we should be doing. If we are right, we should be happy that we have successfully communicated the proper view to the opponent, correcting his view. And if we are wrong, we should be glad that our mistaken view has now been corrected by our opponent. There is no embarassment in 'losing'. In fact, as Gerry Spence rightly puts it, we win on both counts.

He got a bit off-track in the last two chapters about children and work but those were the more interesting chapters I guess. I have to disagree with most of his views regarding arguing with children as he seems to write about a rather utopian scenario where your kids will self-discpiline themselves if you give them freedom. Unfortunately, kids abuse the opportunity more often than they use it.

But in the end, it clarifies many things about the philosophy about arguments in general and is in indeed worth reading...

How to state your case.
As the previous reviewers have stated, there are some words of wisdom from the thinking of Gerry Spence. There are also some whoppers, which detract from the book. Spence is verbose, and this also takes away from the book. This makes him seem arrogant. Also, as some of the other reviewers have stated, Spence is liberal and you can sense this from his writings.
One thing this book reinforced in me is speaking from emotion. If you say what is in your gut, it is a more convincing argument for an audience. Spence convinces us through his choice of words and tone. I learned some like minded principles going to Dale Carnegie. Other common sense suggestions such as thinking through what you say, then commiting it to paper are also there.
Suggestions on arguments in the family are also good sense. These are the good points of the book. Most of the rest is just fluff, and can be left to better authors.

If one is in the law, this is a great book. Other readers can look for better books on how to get your point across.

A few good points nestled among the bad
While there were a few good points in the book, there were far more bad ones. Among the good ideas were:
1. Truth is powerful.
2. The use of stories helps involve the listener in a way technical arguments alone cannot.
Among the bad ideas were:
1. Words are virtually irrelevant- the tone conveys your message.
2. The truth can be found in emotions, not logic.
3. You can win every time merely by denying your opponent your permission to beat you.

I had heard that one should keep one's argument as pure as possible thereby avoiding to needlessly alienate people through issues unrelated to the main point. The author contradicts this completely by sprinkling his liberal ideology throughout the book, making it significantly more difficult for non-liberals to keep reading.

In the beginning, the author says that this book is itself an argument. Well the argument failed to win this reader, and thereby contradicted its title. ... Read more

Book Description

"What is the difference between and employee and a business owner?Why do some investors make money with little risk while most investors just break even?Why do most employees go from job to job while others quit their jobs and go on to build business empires?

THE CASHFLOW QUADRANT answers these questions and guides readers in finding their own path to financial freedon in a world of ever increasing financial change.It is a book written...

- for people who are ready to move beyond job security and begin to find their own world of financial freedom.
- For people who are ready to make deep professional and financial changes in their lives
- For people who are ready to move from the Industrial Age to the Information Age

Have you noticed that many of the brightest graduates from our universities want to work for college dropouts...dropouts such as Bill Gates of Microsoft, Richard Branson of Virgin Industries, Michael Dell of Dell Computers, Ted Turner of CNN?Dropouts who are today the mega-rich oof society.Why does this happen?As THE CASHFLOW QUADRANT reveals, it is simply a matter of knowing which quadrant to work from and when." ... Read more

Reviews (221)

Become a business owner - I agree!
In this followup to Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki goes even deeper into the various quadrants and explains why and how anyone can go from the E to B to I to S Quadrants. And I am pleased to see that Kiyosaki is telling the truth about network marketing and why it is such a powerful S-Quadrant.

In fact, Kiyosaki offers two examples; one a friend who didn't have the money to start a conventional business so dove into network marketing and over time, built a very successful bsuiness.

The other was a real estate investor who was continually being probed by people on how to become rich. When he told people that he made his fortune in million dollar real estate deals, they were depressed because they knew that they did not have the capital of the skills to do that. So this guy got into network marketing solely to provide a vehicle that people with limited capital and limited sales skills could dive into and begin creating cash flow and residual income immediately. His circles of influence saw his success in network marketing and knew this was something they could do. And they succeeded!

Cash Flow Quadrant discusses the various quadrants. It describes the personalities of the people in each quadrant. And describes how to become more than a business owner but to reach the S-Quadrant, the ideal quadrant which provides financial and personal freedom. It gives you both time and freedom.

Its Work, and Its Worth It
Robert Kiyosaki presents a solid theorem that clearly states what people need to do to shift from the paycheck-to-paycheck life to the financial freedom lifestyle. As an advisor to business executives, investors and entrepreneurs, I can say without reservation that he is right on the mark.

We now give this book to clients of the firm and prospective entrepreneurs as a must read. To benefit from this text, and to be successful in the "B" and "I" quadrants he defines, individuals must make a paradigm shift. To grasp paradigms, they should read Paradigms : The Business of Discovering the Future by Joel Arthur Barker. Paperback (May 1993). This is another must read for our clients.

Here is the bottom line: Cashflow Quadrant makes it clear that people desiring financial security and financial freedom need to shift from the "E" or "S" quadrants to the "B" and "I" quadrants, and must change what happens between their ears as the starting point. It requires going to a different kind of university to learn and apply new things. Without reading books like Cashflow Quadrant, most people won't have a chance to cross over because they won't understand the underlying psychology that makes the difference between success and failure.

Regrettably, in our experience, and in the experience of other firms, we find that most people won't make the shift because they can't handle the emotional risk, even when they can handle the time or money risk. The emotional risk is the show-stopper.

This is what Robert Kiyosaki's rich dad pointed out to him when he told Robert that he must go into sales and hone his skills before he had a chance at becoming wealthy. Selling requires precisely the emotional development needed to handle emotional risk, and handling emotional risk is one of the keys to success. Without it, you can't get there from here. As Robert Kiyosaki points out, for many people, network marketing will more likely be their opportunity and proving ground, rather than buying a national franchise or a corporation. The best network businesses provide the kind of "university" people need, as the author explains. And, there is much less downside risk to network businesses than buying or building a corporation.

This is an eye-opening, eye-popping text that readers should study as one of their first steps in their journey to make the successful transformation from an "E" or "S" to the "B" and "I".

An absolute must read!
I read Rich Dad Poor Dad which was great and got me hooked on the series, and that was the perfect warm-up for the Cashflow Quadrant. I learned more about the way the world of money REALLY works in the 2 days it tooks me to read this book than I have in my entire life. I'm 28 now, and if I had read the Rich Dad series before I ever got my hands on a credit card, I'd be a millionaire by now. Chapter 6 of this book especially blew my mind. It's very much like the movie "The Matrix". I had no idea what was really going on in the real world before I read the first two Rich Dad books and they opened my eyes up to the systems the rich use. The problem is, most people that are not born rich feel like they can not achieve great wealth, but it is very attainable if you have the knowledge and the courage to act. These books are priceless to me, and I'm trying to get my parents to read them and break out of their "Industrial Age" way of thinking that has kept them in debt their whole lives with very little saved for retirement. Read Rich Dad Poor Dad first, because it lays the foundation perfectly for this book. You may hear people complain that there is too much repetition in these books, and there is to some extent, but it only reinforces the concepts they are trying to teach you. I don't mind that all, since that's the way you remember things, just like studying for a test. Don't listen to naysayers, these books are gold!!

Powerful book for generating cash flow
This bookis awesome. I bought it on Friday and already have developed cashflow strategies that will enable me to exit my 9-5 job. Thank you Robert Kiyosaki.

Mostly More of the Same
At the beginning of "Superman 2", we are given a quick review of what happened in the first movie. This was necessary, I guess, in the days before home video and cable TV in every home. Cashflow Quadrant, the sequel to Rich Dad Poor Dad, contains far more than a quick review of the first book, and with the advent of libraries and on-line bookstores, I really have to wonder why they repeated the information. In fact, it repeats so much of the information from the first book that I question the reasons for making CQ into its own stand-alone book at all. It feels more like "the rest of the information" than subject matter for a completely separate book.

I thought Rich Dad could have used tighter editing, and if it had, it would have been a much shorter book. CQ is exactly the same way, meaning that if both were edited down to avoid repetition, they could be combined into a single, highly-informative book of about the same price.

Am I exaggerating? Perhaps, but consider that this is my impression based on the ABRIDGED audio version.

But I digress. The real question is how informational this book is. To be sure, there is a good bit of information here, but I felt a little disappointed by the end. Kiyosaki spends most of the book stating why we should change but only a very brief conclusion tells us how to begin the process.

I still have more questions than answers, and I'm starting to wonder if the Rich Dad series will actually tell me what I need to know. For example, Kiyosaki says you should typically become a B (business owner) before becoming an I (investor). What is the next book in the series? Rich Dad's Guide to Investing. *Sigh* I want to take your advice and build a corporation. I have no money (so investing is out of the question), but I'm ready to get serious, and now you won't tell me how to get started? He ends this book with the this advice: "Take baby steps." His next book gets you ready for the Olympics. Either I'm missing something or he is.

So I must say I give this book high marks for philosophy (just like its predecessor, CQ has helped reshape my thought patterns), but if you want much actual information, you will be spending more money on books. If the purpose of this series is to teach you how to have more money with less work, Cashflow Quadrant is an ironic waste of time and money.

Quick note on audio CD: the narrator's habit of extreme annunciation definitely takes some getting used to. ... Read more

Book Description

In the more than fifteen years since its publication, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has become an international phenomenon with over fifteen million copies sold. Tens of millions of people have dramatically improved their lives and organizations by applying the principles of Stephen R. Covey's classic.

Being effective as individuals and organizations is no longer merely an option -- survival in today's world requires it. Accessing the higher levels of human genius and motivation in today's new reality requires a sea change in thinking, a whole new habit. The crucial challenge of our world today is this: to find our voice and inspire others to find theirs. It is what Covey calls the 8th Habit.

So many people feel frustrated, discouraged, unappreciated, and undervalued -- with little or no sense of voice or unique contribution. The 8th Habit is the answer to the soul's yearning for greatness, the organization's imperative for significance and superior results, and humanity's search for its "voice." Profound, compelling, and stunningly timely, this groundbreaking new audiobook will transform the way we think about ourselves and our purpose in life, about our organizations, and about humankind. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

The only book you'll need on effective selling
Zig Ziglar's "Secrets Of Closing The Sale" is probably the best book I've ever read. Not only does it provide you with everything you will ever need to be successful in the world of selling - it thoroughly entertains as well. "Secrets" provides readers with interesting and humorous stories meticulously tied in with step by step actions and exact scripts for sales people to use in specific situations.

All you have to do is adapt these scripts to your situation and you are ready to start selling more of what you sell.

Zig covers - how to use a tape recorder to explode your selling power - how to use voice inflection to communicate your message more effectively - how to make you and your prospect both winners when you close the sale - and so much more.

Ziglar even has various free items that he will send you scattered throughout the book. Just by responding I've already received three free gifts including an incredible audio casette on voice inflection. It's incredible.

I hope to get to see Zig live one day. He's an incredibly powerful speaker and author. Get this book - even if you have to steal it.

If you do steal it though, read it, learn to sell, sell something, get your commission, then go pay for the book. Zig deserves to get paid. He did a fine job on this one.

The only book you'll need on effective selling
Zig Ziglar's "Secrets Of Closing The Sale" is probably the best book I've ever read. Not only does it provide you with everything you will ever need to be successful in the world of selling - it thoroughly entertains as well.

"Secrets" provides readers with interesting and humorous stories meticulously tied in with step by step actions and exact scripts for sales people to use in specific situations.

All you have to do is adapt these scripts to your situation and you are ready to start selling more of what you sell.

Zig covers - how to use a tape recorder to explode your selling power - how to use voice inflection to communicate your message more effectively - how to make you and your prospect both winners when you close the sale - and so much more.

Ziglar even has various free items that he will send you scattered throughout the book. Just by responding I've already received three free gifts including an incredible audio casette on voice inflection. It's incredible.

I hope to get to see Zig live one day. He's an incredibly powerful speaker and author. Get this book - even if you have to steal it.

If you do steal it though, read it, learn to sell, sell something, get your commission, then go pay for the book. Zig deserves to get paid. He did a fine job on this one.

Raymond A. Mardo III Mailto:raymardo@raymardo.com

Don't pollute your mind with this waste of time.
These techniques may have worked 40 years ago but, now, in 2004, buyers are keen to this "old pro's" dialogs. After reading this book, "The Closers" and "How to Master the Art of Selling", you will see the difference I'm talking about and realize that this book is a joke.

zig you're alright
but your book didn't knock my socks off. At least two thirds of the book are more or less a waste of time and teach about closing only in the form of annecdotes - then every little story has a headline and the "close" gets a name, the soundso-close, and he drones on and on and then towards the end of the book finally he is getting somewhere. Still, I think that Ziglar is mostly good at selling cooking pots, (I even believe he was good at it), and himself. But since buyers and markets always change and salespeople should change alltogether with them in order to stay on top, we should turn to other authors in the meantime. I recommend SPIN Selling and QBS. This one here is still at times enjoyable and I am not saying I didn't learn anything or that I wasn't inspired at times. But not a treat and no matter how good he's been and still is, old school is over and I am looking for something fresh. When you're not Zig, don't sell like him, it may not work. Everything from chapter 25 on, however, is worth the money, this is where he covers objections and how to handle them. Also, I never knew the guy (I'm German). When I started to listen to his audio programs on motivation (How to stay motivated) he made a lot more sense to me.

Invest in "Secrets"
While attending a sales class last spring, I met a salesman in my company who was consistently performing at top levels. I asked him his secrets, and he suggested I buy this book and read it. "I could let you borrow my copy," he said with a smile, "but if you invest in your own copy you'll get a lot more out of it."

He was so right. This book shows a lot of tips on closing the sales: how to make the sale when your customers don't show up for appointments, how to handle complaints on price, how to help the prospect sell HIMSELF on the product/service. I don't know how I was ever selling anything before reading this!

It's a delightful read, written with humorous stories and pertinent examples in every chapter. And despite its age (written in the 1980's) it consistently provides good advice. Everything I have read in "Secrets" has been a boon.

Does it work? Well, now I'm the top salesperson in my market area and in the top ten in my region, whereas before reading "Secrets" I was near the bottom in both. ... Read more

Book Description

Since joining the Yankees in 1996, Joe Torre has quickly reestablished the team as one of the great success stories in all of professional sports. But Torre has not only shown his outstanding managerial talents by leading the Yankees to two championships in three years. He's also survived the pressure-cooker of big-market media, established a calm, effective working relationship with George Steinbrenner, and cultivated clubhouse harmony on a team packed with distinct personalities. That harmony, together with Torre's emphasis on steadiness, optimism, serenity, mutual respect and responsibility, pa