Book Description

Come Into My Trading Room
A Complete Guide to Trading

You can become a successful trader. It has been done before, and it is being done right now, today, by people around the world. If you enjoy learning, if you are not scared of risk, if the rewards appeal to you, and if you are prepared to put in the work, you have a great project ahead of you.

In Come Into My Trading Room: A Complete Guide to Trading, Dr. Alexander Elder takes you far beyond the three M’s (Mind, Method, Money) of his international bestseller Trading for a Living. He teaches you to manage your money and time, as well as strategy, so that you can enter the markets with confidence and exit with profits. This essential book educates the novice and gives more power to the professional through expert advice, proven trading methods, and something entirely unique–a visit to Dr. Elder’s own trading room. You get to follow him through several actual trades, whose entries and exits illustrate many of the key concepts of this book.

Come Into My Trading Room offers:

• A complete introduction to trading essentials
• An overview of trading psychology, both individual and mass psychology of the markets
• A practical overview of technical analysis, including new indicators and systems
• A step-by-step guide to risk control and money management
• Exact instructions for keeping records and organizing your time
• A visit to Dr. Elder’s private trading room, reviewing several of his recent trades

Be sure to work through the companion volume to this book–Study Guide for Come Into My Trading Room–before you risk a dollar in the markets. The Study Guide features 100 questions and answers and almost 50 charts to test your knowledge. Grade yourself to make sure you know enough about the nine key areas of trading. Work through eight case histories, select entry and exit points, and find out how well you understand what needs to be done in every trade. Use Dr. Elder’s Study Guide to make sure that you can measure up to your competitors and surpass them.

Come Into My Trading Room will help you master a new way of trading stocks, futures, options, and currencies. Unparalleled depth and a wide range of coverage give you the best chance to become the trader you’ve always wanted to be. ... Read more

Reviews (56)

A Complete Introduction to Trading Essentials
I really enjoyed the first book by Dr Elder, "Trading for a Living" very much. I have just finished Dr Elder's new book, "Come Into My Trading Room" and have enjoyed it very much too. There are several new ideas in the new book. A lot of the material in this book was presented in "Trading for a Living". It is the best book that combined the 3Ms -- Mind, Method and Money Management -- required for successful traders. It expands on the methods presented in "Trading for a Living" and makes the triple screen concept very clear.

I think the great difference between this book and other trading books is Dr Elder's background as a psychiatrist. He provides valuable insights into understanding the human element of market behavior, and the individual trader that makes his work unique. Dr Elder shares his own, successful trading strategy in a clear, concise, and easy to understand style. He does a great job showing some of his successful trades. I'm sure this is one of the finest books on developing trading skills. It is not only fun and easy to read but it is profitable. It pays back.

An Excellent Follow-Up to Elder's Trading For A Living
Alexander Elder gained well-deserved prominence for his first book, Trading For a Living. It's one of my favorite books on trading. Out of this classic came such new indicators as the Force Index, which is one of the indicators I use regularly in my chart software. I read Elder's follow-up, Come Into My Trading Room, in hopes of learning additional insights of the Force Index. While I found some new information here, I was even more impressed by the following lessons Elder shared:

1) "Some of the best trading opportunities occur after false breakouts" - I'm finding this more and more these days, which is why I actively use my Momentum Divergence indicators to separate the fakeouts from the real breakouts. Elder does a great job showing numerous charts throughout his book, laying the groundwork for the divergence examples he explains in great depth when you step into his trading room in the final chapter with many actual trading examples. You need to understand the concept of divergence to trade today's markets more profitably, and this book will be a great help in showing you how to trade divergence setups.

2) Triple Screen - Elder explains the important of using multiple timeframes, though he advocates two to no more than three time frames. The key concept is that whatever timeframe you use, you need to go up to the next longer timeframe to get confirmation. This provides the bigger picture trend to define the nature of your trades, and then you can return to the shorter timeframe and make more tactical decisions with this broader trend in mind as well.

3) Grade Your Performance - Elder actually quantifies trading effectiveness by defining the width of the channel for a stock, and what percentage of the move the trader actually captured to determine his grade. Regardless of how a trader measures his performance, it must be tracked in order to make improvements and experience constant improvement.

4) The SafeZone Stop - While I have not tested this indicator in my systems yet, Elder's SafeZone Stop looks like a more effective way to place a trailing stop than standard moving averages. The SafeZone Stop appears to adjust more rapidly to trending versus flat periods for a stock, compared to moving averages. This new technique should easily be worth many times the price of this book by itself.

5) Chapter 9: Trading for a Living - This chapter was my most highlighted chapter, as Elder covers the stages of growth from beginning to professional trader, covering a wide range of topics on trading discipline, time management, organization and developing a viable trading plan, to highlight just a few.

All in all, Come Into My Trading Room is an excellent follow-up to Elder's Trading For A Living, and I think you'll also find it a quick and thought-provoking read.

Great book. This should be the first one you buy.
The book is very well written and drives home the three Ms over and over. You can't hear it enough because when your finger is on the trigger, this training will help you execute with confidence. You will not be a loser if you follow the plan. The problem is, very few have the discipline.

I have long been and investor, but I wanted to improve my exit strategies. I knew successful traders had to have great exit strategies or they could not survive very long. Consequently, I actually bought a book on trading. The book helped me with exit strategies, but also completely opened up the world of trading. While I still invest for the long term, I have set up an account for short term trading. I read the book and worked through the workbook in about three days. I already had much of the preliminary work established from my investing experience.

Within about a month, I had a trading plan that I liked and a sound money management and trade evaluation system. While I still primary invest in longer term trends, I have had a blast making numerous small short-term trend trades.

This book will help any trader who reads it with an open mind and strictly adheres to the Three Ms - Mind, Method, and Money (Management). If you are and investor, then this book will expose you to what else is going on with your markets.

Sequal to trading for a living
Very good book. I agree that the charts could have been better and more relevant to wha Elder was discussing in the text. His mental toughness section is excellent. Trading is a mental game, and a trader has to stay mentally tough or take a break. Mark Douglas's books are the best on this. Laurence Connors places a big emphasis on this too.

Improvement In My Trading Room
Dr. Elder holds nothing back. The author shares with you a method, a system, and a technique for trading that can be applied to all markets.

This book and the study guide will take you step by step through the process of trading. If you don't have a trading plan this book will show you how to develope one. Also the author nudges you to awareness of the all important step of making the trading plan yours. If you are a novice this can be a huge hurdle to overcome without guidance. If you are a more experienced trader and can admit to yourself your result could be better, buy the book, its worth it.

Dr. Elder includes step-by-step guides for risk control, money management, record keeping and many more trading essentials that cannot be touched on in this review. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman expose the fallacies of standard management thinking in First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently. In seven chapters, the two consultants for the Gallup Organization debunk some dearly held notions about management, such as "treat people as you like to be treated"; "people are capable of almost anything"; and "a manager's role is diminishing in today's economy." "Great managers are revolutionaries," the authors write. "This book will take you inside the minds of these managers to explain why they have toppled conventional wisdom and reveal the new truths they have forged in its place."

The authors have culled their observations from more than 80,000 interviews conducted by Gallup during the past 25 years. Quoting leaders such as basketball coach Phil Jackson, Buckingham and Coffman outline "four keys" to becoming an excellent manager: Finding the right fit for employees, focusing on strengths of employees, defining the right results, and selecting staff for talent--not just knowledge and skills. First, Break All the Rules offers specific techniques for helping people perform better on the job. For instance, the authors show ways to structure a trial period for a new worker and how to create a pay plan that rewards people for their expertise instead of how fast they climb the company ladder. "The point is to focus people toward performance," they write. "The manager is, and should be, totally responsible for this." Written in plain English and well organized, this book tells you exactly how to improve as a supervisor. --Dan Ring ... Read more

Reviews (172)

Common sense leadership
First Break all the rules addresses leadership from a common sense perspective. The twelve questions that reflect on your ability to effect productivity at the most intimate level of any process (the individual team member), are the common thread for discussion throughout this book.

With level of productivity as the measuring stick, leaders are encouraged to ask themselves if among other things, they provide direction, praise, materials, support, guidance, and opportunity for growth.

Buckningham and Coffman assert that good leaders don't try to make a silk purse from a sows ear. They suggest that you hire a sows ear where you need one and find silk to make the purse that you need. They contend that you can't change human nature, so why try. Trying to fill a deficit is more work than working with the positive aspects of your organization.

The authors also assert that good managers focus outwardly for change, and ask "why not." They focus on the strengths and manage around weaknesses. Good leaders know what types of talents that are needed at various levels of an organization; recruit to fill these positions, and develop those that you recruit.

The most useful part of this book is based on the lessons that mom taught you. Be nice. Treat people as individuals. Be flexible. Assert authority when necessary but more often than not, take a personal interest in those who are in control of how well your organization will measure up.

Must read for managers of all levels
If you think you can change people, think again. If you think one of a manager's job is to help people improve upon their weaknesses, think again. If you think climbing the corporate ladder is the best way to improve one's position in the corporate world, well, you got it, think again.

This book, written by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, and based on 25 years of research by the Gallup Organization, on over 1 million respondents, has debunked a number of management "myths". I put myths in inverted commas simply because they were "truths" -- until First, Break All The Rules (published by Simon & Schuster, London, New York, 1999, ISBN 0-68486138-0) came along.

The Gallup Organization discovered, after asking one million people hundreds of different questions on the subject of managing others, that people excel only when their talents are put to use. Talents are the recurring patterns of thought and behavior that can't be turned on and off at will. They can't be created or altered. According to the authors, people don't change much. Managers should not waste time changing their subordinates, or making them into what they are not. You cannot give new talent to a person.

The books suggests that every human being has talent, and all roles/functions/jobs in a company require talent. You cannot train or develop talent, but you can train, develop and enhance skills and proficiencies. Talent leads to interest; interest leads to motivation; motivation leads to a desire to learn; a desire to learn leads to skills and proficiencies

As for the corporate ladder, the authors suggest that you should throw it away. For example, good sales person might not perform well if she is promoted to sales manager position. She might not have the talent to manage others. Instead, let her continue in the sales position, but improve upon the salary and benefits.

Finding the right fit
This book has become priceless to my business. I highly recommend it to any manager who is having trouble motivating and keeping key employees in today's business environment. Happy employees are productive employees and this book gave me ideas that I had never considered when it came down to placing and hiring the right employees . I also recommend Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life by JoAnna Carey as a corporate gift to keep employees motivated throughout the year.

Great Managers help make great employees great
This is by far one of the best management books that I have ever read. The Gallup Organization puts a whole new spin on what makes a great manager great - helping their employees to succeed as well as finding the right "fit" for their talents. This books put a strong emphasis on the different between skills and knowledge, which can be trained and learned, and talents, which cannot. Talents are unique to every individual and will drive all of us to be better at different things. It is the managers job to help us identify and build on these things.
Buckingham and Coffman do a fantastic job at incorporating wisdom and advice from the 80,000 managers that they interviewed which makes this book much easier to relate to. Whether a manager who is looking to enhance their management style, or an employee who is looking for ways to improve themselves and their organization, this is tremendous and very quick read.

A Great book on Common Sense Management
When did we lose our common sense? In college? Whenever this happened (and whatever the cause), this book helps to reclaim our common sense when applied to the world of managing employees of small, medium, and large-based companies.

This book is essential reading for economics majors, MBA students, and those working in management. It cuts through the jargon and helps people realize that management requires an understanding of human nature. It returns us to psychology. After all, the business world is bound by the rules of psychology. Violate the rules and you may harm your business.

The book delivers harsh facts. Not all employees are going to do well at every task. Managers: stop thinking that everyone can do anything. They can't. It's unreasonable to believe it. It's better to create incentives -- both monetary and prestigue -- on the idea that someone may want to continue working in a similar capacity. The book cites attorneys who start out at a law firm at junior associate, associate, senior associate, and then work on to junior partner, partner, and senior partner. Throughout the process, the attorney does not radically change what he or she is doing. Instead, their work merely becomes more interesting and their pay (and equity in the firm) rises over time. That is, rather than promote someone to a position that is radically different from what they are doing, offer perks and monetary advantages as time goes on to your employees.

The book says to promote strengths rather than overcome employee weaknesses. Some people are just never going to be able to do well at certain tasks. The book's realistic edge says we ought to understand this and move on. We can't strive for perfectin in every avenue. Make sure that your employees are doing what they do best at. Therefore, the goals of the firm -- and the employees' morale, will coincide, allowing harmony to exist in the firm. This book has many golden nuggets of wisdom, and it definitely is a keeper.

Michael ... Read more

Book Description

From the most trusted voice on transition, a revised edition of the classic practical guide to dealing with the human side of organizational change.

The business world is a place of constant change, with stories of corporate mergers, layoffs, bankruptcy, and restructuring hitting the news every day. Yet as veteran consultant William Bridges maintains, the situational changes are not as difficult for companies to make as the psychological transitions. In the best-selling Managing Transitions, Bridges provides a clear understanding of what change does to employees and what employees in transition can do to an organization.

Directed at managers and employees in today's corporations, Bridges shows how to minimize the distress and disruptions caused by change. Managing Transitions addresses the fact that it is people who have to carry out the change. When the book was originally published a decade ago, Bridges was the first to provide any real sense of the emotional impact of change and what can be done to keep it from disrupting the entire organization. With new information and commentary on layoffs, corporate suspicion, and the increasing tumult in the business world, Managing Transitions remains the definitive guide to dealing with change. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change
Leading a full-time staff of 20 people and over a 1000 volunteers, and having read a number of books on change, I have found William Bridges book extremely helpful. Many talk about change without thinking about the people that change can effect. William helps us understand that change is situational, while transition is emotional. He puts flesh and bones on change.

This book is well organized, breaking down transition into three phases. Phase I: "The Letting Go Stage", Phase II: "The Neutral Zone" and Phase III: "The New Beginning" In each phase William helps us understand what to anticipate and gives us extremely practical advice and checklists.

I also enjoy the awesome quotes throughout the book. Here are some great qoutes from Phase II:

"It's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it's the place inbetween that we fear... It's like being between trapezes." Marilyn Ferguson

"It takes nine months to have a baby, no matter how many people you can put on the job." American saying

"An adventure is only an inconvience rightly understood. An inconvience is only an adventure wrongly understood." C.K. Chesterton

Get the book. It is well worth your investment. It will help you with your greatest asset: PEOPLE.

Answers the question: Why most organizational change fails?
William Bridges is one of the world's leading experts in the area of managing the human side of change. Bridges originally introduced the notion of "transition" in his first book, Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes (1980), which was a primer on coping with the tumultuous life changes we all face on a personal level. In Managing Transitions, Bridges applies the concept of transition within the context of organizational change.

Bridges asserts that transition is not synonymous with "change." A change occurs when something in the external environment is altered. In an organizational setting this would include changes in management, organizational structure, job design, systems, processes, etc. These changes trigger an internal psychological reorientation process in those who are expected to carry out or respond to the change. Transition is this internal process that people must go through in order to come to terms with a new situation. Unless transition occurs, change will not work.

Bridges believes that the failure to identify and prepare for the inevitable human psychological adjustments that change produces is the largest single problem that organizations encounter when they implement major change initiatives.

Unfortunately, many managers, when confronted with predictable change-induced resistance by those charged with implementing a change, respond in punitive and inappropriate ways that only serve to undermine the change effort. Due to their lack of understanding of transition, they do not possess the skills to facilitate it effectively.

Leaders and managers often assume that when necessary changes are decided upon and well planned, they will just happen. Unless the transition process is handled successfully by management, all that careful decision making and detailed planning will matter little.

We must face the fact that for a change to occur, people must own it. Unless people go through the inner process of transition, they will not develop the new behavior and attitudes the change requires. Change efforts that disregard the process of transition are doomed.

Bridges presents the reader with a simple three-phase transition model that eliminates much of the mystery surrounding the human side of change. He then provides would-be change agents with a series of checklists that serve as a road map for managing transitions in the real world.

Both research and experience remind us that although a change can be implemented quickly, the psychological process of transition takes time. Transitions can take a very long time if they are not well managed. Few organizations can afford to wait that long for the results.

The good news is that leaders can learn basic transition management strategies. Armed with these skills, they can lead employees through complex and difficult changes with renewed energy and purpose, and can actually accelerate the process of transition.

With as many as half of all major organizational change efforts failing, leaders must learn new strategies and skills that will increase the odds of success. Bridges has provided us with a toolkit for managing the human side of change that is well worth considering.

A Must Read!
This is one of the most succinct and clearly written business books you will ever read. Author William Bridges uses language with care and precision, delivering the goods without any superfluous jargon. He cites many welcome quotations on change and innovation from a wide range of writers and thinkers whose work is not usually found in business books. He places these quotations in context with aptly chosen examples of recent business transitions, bringing intelligence and sensibility to a subject too often addressed only with clichés and cant. Only those who have read many business books can fully appreciate the value of such an approach. Others will merely find that they are able to read this book from cover to cover without at any point having to wonder what the author really means to say. Managing transitions is really about helping people deal with fear and uncertainty - the key is to build trust and confidence. Everything Bridges says flows from that common sense insight, and seems obvious and necessary once he says it, though it may not seem as evident to you until you read his book. We highly recommends that you do so.

crap
if you think this book is good, then you are bad.

MANAGING change and more!
This book shows you how to MANAGE transitions and why transitions fail. It is an excellent read. If you want to know how to make the MOST of change, you have to be an Optimal Thinker. So read Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self too. ... Read more

Book Description

The most comprehensive Six Sigma reference available, now revised and expanded

Completely rewritten and reorganized, this second edition of The Six Sigma Handbookcovers all the basic statistics and qualityimprovement tools of the Six Sigma quality management system. This new edition reflects the developments in Six Sigma over the past few years and will help maintain the book's position as the leading comprehensive guide to Six Sigma.

Key changes to this edition include:

• New chapters on DFSS (Design for Six Sigma); Minitab, the most popular statistical software for Six Sigma; Six Sigma philosophy and values; flowcharting; and SIPOC
• Coverage of the core problem-solving technique DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control)
• Dozens of downloadable, customizable Six Sigma work sheets
• New material on important advanced Six Sigma tools such as FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis)

Reviews (13)

The Complete Guide to Six Sigma
The title says it all. Thomas Pyzdek covers everything that one needs to know to successfully implement six sigma concepts. After a brief introduction of the history behind six sigma, Pyzdek provides a detailed summary of the tools, methodologies and techniques necessary to successfuly tackle a six sigma project. Both "soft and hard" tools are described. The methodology is understandable. Pyzdek takes special care to explain where specific techniques can (and cannot) be applied. This is especially helpful for the reader that has forgotten more then they remember about statistics.

Pyzdek is ideallly suited to write this book. He is one of a limited few authors that has a strong statitical education coupled with an in-depth knowledge of business. PLUS he can write.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone that is serious about making improvements through the application of six sigma methodology. Everything that ones needs to know is here in one book. And for those that need additional information the references are excellent.

Not Just Another Statistics Tome
I have been doing Six Sigma projects for GE worldwide for over six years. I was very pleased to find a book that doesn't pontificate about the benefits of Six Sigma without telling the practitioner what to do on a Monday morning. The organization of the tools using the DMAIC framework is especially useful for the beginning BB who is trying to make sense of the weeks of training while they are executing their projects.

Some sections, such as the TVM and Risk and Reliability analysis, are missing from the usual BB training and are welcome additions for extending the traditional Six Sigma methodology to 'Lean' type projects.

Screen shots of Minitab and Excel make it a useful resource for refreshing techniques learned long ago.

The application of reliability analysis to call center abandonment rates is an interesting application of known techniques to a new area.

"The Six Sigma Handbook" is one of only a few reference books on Six Sigma that I have at my desk.

Reviewing for CSSBB? - use Breyfogle
If you are studying for the Six Sigma Black Belt certificate I recommend you use Breyfogle's book as your general reference. Breyfogle's book is more complete and structured in the exams format so its easier to study and reference during the exam.

Good luck.

Complete and Helpful
We have taken the time to extensively read and assess the best selling texts on the topic of Six Sigma. We find this text to be the most complete and helpful for those who desire to be certified as a six sigma professional and for those who are certified and need a complete manual to use as a reference. Our firm uses it for all three levels of Six Sigma Certification training. The value ad of this text is that it also includes valuable topics all managers need if they want to improve the performance of their divisions, departments or lines of supervision. Thumb through it and let your own curiosities be your judge. You will not be disappointed.

Six Sigma Handbook That Gets Used 6 times a week
I've had more than a few occasions to use this text. It is excellently
written and provides a great mix of pragmatic and technical topics that
have helped me on several different 6S teams I'm working. Can't say that
I've read it cover to cover, but can say that it is an excellent handbook.
I'll bet I'm averaging a half-dozen accesses a week.

Joe Maciulla
Manager, Engineering and Advanced Programs QA
Raytheon Missile Systems ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Buy this book!
For anyone involved in business this book gives very practical advice on not only the methodology for pricing new products but also changing the strategy of one's existing pricing policy.

Look for a sustainable competitive advantage, maximise contribution margin, concentrate on value and profitability and then market share will follow are some of the key philosophies contained in the text. Concerning the value of this book, it is worth the price alone just for the chapter on costings and formula for calculating what level of sales a company can afford to lose/must gain after a price increase/decrease in order to break even.

A common complaint about business books is that they are all OK in theeory but contain little in the way of explanations of how to implement - this book however offers not only theory and case study examples but also practical instructions on what needs to be done to improve pricing strategy. Overall very, very impressive and a must read for anyone involved in finance, sales or marketing functions. As someone has already said these guys really know their stuff and it works!!

Superb guide to pricing as business strategy
Written with great clarity, "The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing" is a phenomenal book. It begins with an explanation of strategic pricing, and proceeds to cover competition in the market place, segmentation of buyers, pricing and the marketing mix for industrial and consumer goods, as well as the psychology of pricing. Also covered are models for determining price sensitivity, implications of sales staff price setting and negotiation, and finally, legal aspects of pricing.

After reading this book, you will understand the pitfalls of pursuing market share at all costs and common mistakes businesses and sales people make when setting or negotiating price. You will view your current pricing structure and strategy in a new light, and be able to spot the weak spots. You'll have a better picture of how to attract the right buyers, those that can be served profitably.

The book indirectly touches on topics covered in Co-opetition, and Thinking Strategically, as well as elements of the Theory of Constraints (see Eli Goldratt's "The Goal" and "It's Not Luck" or "Management Dilemmas" by Eli Schragenheim)

I can't recommend this book highly enough. As for the other reader who states:

"After reading this book, I was able to talk circles around the $20,000 "marketing consultant" we were considering."

believe it, it's that valuable!

Absolutely essential !
A must-have practical guide for any marketing executive, interested in improving his organization's performance.

Get into a new world of pricing strategy
One of the most focused book I have read recently. If anyone wants to learn about the factors influencing pricing strategy or developing right value proposition for their pricing decisions, this is the book. A must read. If you're skipping it then I would say that you are missing something.

Scholarly and comprehensive
Strategy and Pricing is the comprehensive work on pricing, with hundreds of chapter sections dealing with academic and business elements of pricing. The scholarly nature of the book is exhaustive. Of the three major price works ("Strategy and Tactics", "Power Pricing" by Dolan, and
"Winning the Profit Game. Smarter Pricing, Smarter Branding" by Docters, et al) I think Prof. Nagle has the definitive treatise. For those who like a more prescriptive discussion of price, and some leading edge ideas, "Winning the Profit Game" might be a better read. Power
Pricing is perhaps better at organizational issues. The Docters book is the easiest read, with some humor along the way. ... Read more

Book Description

Presenting twelve breakthrough practices for bringing creativity into all human endeavors, The Art of Possibility is the dynamic product of an extraordinary partnership. The Art of Possibility combines Benjamin Zander's experience as conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and his talent as a teacher and communicator with psychotherapist Rosamund Stone Zander's genius for designing innovative paradigms for personal and professional fulfillment.

The authors' harmoniously interwoven perspectives provide a deep sense of the powerful role that the notion of possibility can play in every aspect of life. Through uplifting stories, parables, and personal anecdotes, the Zanders invite us to become passionate communicators, leaders, and performers whose lives radiate possibility into the world. ... Read more

Reviews (40)

Stretches your thought process
The Zander's redefine the way you look at things and view situations. I found the book to be a combination of art/creativity and psycho-analysis. Some of the principles I had a hard time really owning.

It reminds me a bit of Zen or Tao. Being in the present, not assigning blame, recognizing that is the way things are...

I couldn't read the book in one sitting. I found that it requires a lot of thought and reflection. Parts that I found inspirational were the white papers that were written by the musicians in response to a request from the conductor.

Some of the principles seemed to really line up well with the popular book from a few years ago "7 spiritual laws of success" by Deepak Chopra.

I would like to hear the authors read this as a book-on-tape, because I found myself thinking about things while I was trying to read. In a nutshell, the book says "put your life into a different playing field, Don't think win-win, think about making a contribution or about making a difference."

Inspiring read for personal growth
This is an inspiring read for my personal life, and certain examples touched my heart deeply. Downside - I don't have much context for the authors' examples, though it's thought there is application of this to the corporate world. Was looking for a "thumping good read" to boost me on the job, and it more boosts me outside work world. Would a book more geared toward work maybe written by the authors+ a businessperson be a good next move? Hard to say. Still, as a former Landmark Education Graduate of many, many adult education classes, it was enchanting to see Landmark's concepts of creating possibility and vision embodied in the book. It's also exciting to consider those concepts being read about by many folks everywhere via Amazon.com

The Art of Possibility
The "Art of Possibility" deeply resonated with me. Creating value by managing risk and uncertainty has been the core of my life's journey. It has been filled with complexity, tension, and dissonance...but it has also been filled with the discovery of possibility and meaning. The Zanders have done a real service in framing the "how" of possibility with their examples and practices.

This gem of a book will be useful not only in managing one's life, but also in helping other's to create their great life stories. The answers to core questions like "which game of success will I choose to play?","will I choose to be a contribution?", and "do I take myself too ___seriously?" are keys to a life of joy, meaning, and fulfillment.

Can you see the work of art within you? Within others? Or are you focusing on the facade? Who is winning the battle between the caculating self and the central self? Are you vulnerable or are you permeable? What is here now? And what do you want to do from here? Get yourself this book and engage in THE joyous adventure of opening up to your possibilities.

1970s Cult Jargon Fest
Ugh. How much of this Werner Erhard inspired sludge will we have to endure before the whole disgusting mess either dissipates or compacts down into an easily disposed of loaf? Familiar to any cult-watcher, the buzz words spill freely here. They are words and concepts that can mean anything to anybody. Fuzzy, new-age pap which the authors unashamedly admit come from the culty, self-improvement seminar called Landmark Education which used to be Erhard's "est."

Sad to say, many Landmark devotees are encouraged by their participation to "create" endless testimonials reflective of their own egos, swelled to megalomaniacal proportions by various psychological tricks and techniques, and the Landmark Corporation by proxy. "Spreading the word" is part and parcel of the whole trip. Keep a shovel handy.

What a snoozefest.
After reading the reviews here, I thought this book might be a nice inspirational read. It has a few decent moments, but for the most part I could barely force myself to keep reading. I got through about 75% of it, then just had to skim the last few chapters because I couldn't take it anymore. I dunno--if you play in a symphony orchestra, you're into reading sappy and/or narcissistic little personal tales, or you just have to read every single inspirational book that gets published, you may like this. Not the worst book I've ever read, by a long shot, but not good enough to keep or recommend, so I'm giving it two stars. ... Read more

Book Description

Bennett-Alexander and Hartman's, Employment Law for Business, 4/e, addresses law and employment decisions from a managerial perspective. It is intended to instruct students on how to manage effectively and efficiently with full comprehension of the legal ramifications of their decisions.Students are shown how to think and analyze employment law facts using concrete examples of management-related legal dilemmas without clear-cut solutions. The methods of arriving at resolutions are emphasized, so that when the facts of the workplace problem are not quite the same, the student can still reach a good decision based on the legal considerations required by law, which remain relevant. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Employment Law for business
As an attorney, manager, and teacher of human resources professionals, I recommend this book. I found that thie information was thoroughly researched. I also appreciated that the legal information was presented in a business context so that managers who are not lawyers could understand the information and readily appy it to real life workplace problems.

Useful Book.
This is an interesting,informative and useful book. I used it for school and it will be one book that I keep. Great case studies.

Employment Law
I think the book is so liberal and it advocate large government. Freedom is not through following the forced laws like affirmative action, ADA, etc. but having a choice especially in employment. Employer should have the say on what they want and who they want to work and not work. The book pretty much tells you that this is the law and its good for you ,so follow or else.
That is socialistic.
We are giving more power to the government to tie us down with more laws and regulation. Their responsibility is to protect the citizens and not to do business. That's for the private sector.

Good book for in the class and in the office
This book gives a good comprehensive look at the mountain of law and regulations encountering employees in both the public and private sector. The examples in the beginning of each chapter are very useful as well as the actual cases used to exemplify how the law has been applied to real-world situations.

So much for objectional literature
The author of this book had a clear agenda, and made it very clear what her opinions were. I for one am tired of having liberal agenda's crammed down our throats no matter what school I attend. As for the material in the book, well she did a good job if putting every case in the world into one book, but there was no substance in between, just opinion, which I for one do not care for, expecially this politically correct one. ... Read more

Book Description

From one of our most perceptive commentators and winner of the National Book Award, a comprehensive look at the new world of globalization, the international system that, more than anything else, is shaping world affairs today.

As the Foreign Affairs columnist for The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman has traveled the globe, interviewing people from all walks of contemporary life: Brazilian peasants in the Amazon rain forest, new entrepreneurs in Indonesia, Islamic students in Teheran, and the financial wizards on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley.

Now Friedman has drawn on his years on the road to produce an engrossing and original look at globalization. Globalization, he argues, is not just a phenomenon and not just a passing trend. It is the international system that replaced the Cold War system; the new, well-greased, interconnected system: Globalization is the integration of capital, technology, and information across national borders, in a way that is creating a single global market and, to some degreee, a global village. Simply put, one can't possibly understand the morning news or one's own investments without some grasp of the system. Just one example: During the Cold War, we reached for the hot line between the White House and the Kremlin--a symbol that we were all divided but at least the two superpowers were in charge. In the era of globalization, we reach for the Internet--a symbol that we are all connected but nobody is totally in charge.

With vivid stories and a set of original terms and concepts, Friedman offers readers remarkable access to his unique understanding of this new world order, and shows us how to see this new system. He dramatizes the conflict of "the Lexus and the olive tree"--the tension between the globalization system and ancient forces of culture, geography, tradition, and community. He also details the powerful backlash that globalization produces among those who feel brutalized by it, and he spells out what we all need to do to keep the system in balance. Finding the proper balance between the Lexus and the olive tree is the great drama of he globalization era, and the ultimate theme of Friedman's challenging, provocative book--essential reading for all who care about how the world really works. ... Read more

Reviews (321)

McDonald's Theory of Conflict Avoidance and More
I've been a fan of Thomas Friedman's New York Times foreign affairs column since September 11, when I found his voice about the Arab world and how it relates to this tragedy and our daily lives here in the United States. This book created a helpful foundation for understanding our changing planet.

The premise on which he bases the book is that there is a conflict in our world between olive trees, which represent our cultural heritage and identity, our spirituality and our rituals, and the Lexus, which is manufactured in technologically advanced factories for people who have cashed in on the globalized American capitalist system and can afford the amenities, and can buy them in increasing outlets worldwide.

Friedman makes a convincing case that this current era of Globalization (he suggests that an earlier era in the late 19th and ealier 20th centuries incited the backlashes that we call today Communism, Socialism and Facism) has replaced the former world order created by the Cold War. Then, everything was bipolar, and nations aligned themselves and propped themselves up
politically and financially with their alliances to either the Soviet Union or the United States. Now, Friedman states, there is only globalization, or global capitalism, and if your nation isn't plugged into it, your people will suffer.

Sometimes the full-bore theme of this book feels heavy, that there is no alternative to market capitalism worldwide seems a little biased, to me. But, Friedman, thankfully, doesn't only concentrate on this, but gives thought, particularly at the end of the book, to the public policies that nations can initiate to protect their olive trees, while not turning their backs on the Lexus.

He has some interesting theories, too, that I enjoyed reading about, particularly the idea that no country with a McDonald's franchise has ever attacked another country with a McDonald's franchise. (His first edition came out before NATO v Yugoslavia, but he still stands by it, as NATO isn't a nation...) His
idea here is that market capitalism can be a stabilizing force in the world because once people have a big enough middle class to support franchises like McDonald's they are hard pressed to risk their lifestyles for war.

I found this edition, which came out in 2000 to be somewhat painful, as his passages about what he calls "super-empowered individuals," who don't need to be in control of a country or its military to attack other nations or groups, somewhat vaguely but eerily predicted the September 11 plot. His position that the
increasing democratization of finance/capital, information and technology can improve life and destabilize it too are convincing, especially in what we've seen happen since the book was published.

The book, written in a pleasant, colloquial style with a lot of well-known examples is engaging and easy to read. I strongly recommend it.

An overview, but not enough for "understanding"
Over the years, New York Times reporter Tom Friedman has earned a reputation for his crisp and engaging writing and his ability to present the complex world events in ways that are easy to understand. If you're looking for an introduction to issues involved in the globalization of commerce, this is one of the best books on the market for it. Friendman's descriptions of things like the "electronic herd" of global capital investment and his McDonald's theory of international conflict bring a lot of sense to an otherwise confusing landscape of issues.

This strength of the book is also its limitation. Friedman is a clear writer because he paints with a broad brush. There is a strong bias at work here, but Friedman tends to try to keep hidden both his bias and points of debate that would contradict his theses. For example, he argues that market capitalism is now the one and only way to participate in the global economy, ignoring that there are several distinct flavors of "market capitalism" (US, Japanese, and European, for example) with very different rules and very different outcomes. Reading Friedman, one might assume that the Asian tigers had achieved their success by following the US model (which is the laissez-faire approach also advocated by the World Bank), while in fact they achieved robust growth through an approach more or less like that followed by the Japanese, which involved a combination of protectionism, currency management, and mandated savings. Friedman uses the 1997 Asian economic meltdown to argue that this Japanese-style approach is no longer valid and that global capital investment will not return until they better conform to the financial market transparency typical of the US. During the current slump, however, capital has fled from the US back to many of these economies because of their performance and not because of their transparency.

The question with globalization isnt whether it's "good" or "bad," but whether and how it should be managed. If you're looking for a more in-depth discussion of these issues and a more honest revelation of the author's biases, there are better books available, such as William Greider's "One World, Ready or Not." But this book isn't a bad place to get your feet wet.

Sort of rambles, has some great anecdotes and analogies.
The Lexus and the Olive Tree is an important book, but in many ways Thomas Friedman renders his own creation irrelevant. He is almost schizophrenic in his writing style, arguing with himself as if he has yet to make up his mind about the things he is writing. In some ways, it seems like he just prefers to share anecdotes (which are vivid and usually humorous) from his travels around the world, rather than the typical kinds of fact-based research one finds in these sort of books. The result is that the reader can understand some of the concepts, but they can also get a little tedious, and it is hard to translate the anecdotes into something that I assimilate into my worldview.

Furthermore, Friedman seems to love to quote people at length, but one wonders if indeed he is quoting word-for-word, or if he is just sort of crafting something to fit his book out of a vaguely similar comment the person may have made. But, then one thinks again, because the book is almost a little choppy in places because Friedman quotes random characters from all around the world for pages upon pages. One would prefer that he just paraphrase or use shorter quotes.

Because it was written 5 years ago, some of the reading is tedious (he explains what a DVD player is, for example), and in some areas he seems to be caught up in the "irrational" dot-com whirlwind. In his revised version of the book, it sort of just drones on, pontificating for about 20-30 pages too much. Thomas Friedman is a very personable guy, and he has a lot of interesting things to say about the world, but honestly, one doesn't care for his own political/religious philosophy being injected, mostly toward the end of the book. It was just awkward to read through the final chapter or two; the book has multiple personality disorder in some regards.

One almost feel like the book is written for an audience of Dick Gephardts. He wants to win the protectionist wing of the Democratic Party over with the book. He seems to be speaking to them. Maybe he is speaking to Republicans as well, but if so, he lectures a little too sanctimoniously on the environment and the notion of a social safety net (he calls Republicans "mean-spirited voices... uninterested in any compromise" and tries to argue that Africa, with its near-anarchy in places, would be a Republican's dream) to win conservatives over entirely. He sort of just randomly breaks into prostheletyzing, arguing, for example, "That the NRA should feel guilty about the Colombine massacres went without saying." Why even go into that? That's just tacky.

Finally, a reader gets sort of annoyed reading his own made-up terms (Golden Straightjacket, Electronic Herd, etc.), over and over, particularly since none of them caught on whatsoever in the past half-decade since the book came out.

Some of it is dead on, though, particularly when he writes as an observer of the world rather than an activist, and this book is a good way to conceptualize globalization for those who are having a hard time adapting their political ideology in the post-Cold War era. In general, I'd say The Lexus and the Olive Tree starts off strong, ends weak, and that's a shame. It was on track to get 5 stars from me, even with the early tributes to Al Gore and other political cheap shots, but the final part of the book was just THAT lacking, that it falls to 3 stars.

Basic, almost insulting.
In the book friedman describes several interesting points ranging from the trade offs of culture and capitalism, to the basic efficiencies of different economies, though the way he describes things is almost insulting. The metaphors and anologies used seem to indicate a journalist writing for the elderly or those who have no idea what a digital medium is. Being a young student this quickly wore on my attention span.

I tried to read the book twice and failed becuase I get so fed up with his style. For example, he has a tendency to end paragraphs with exclamations that are as corny as the saying "click on that!" This drove me to the point where I would read the entire paragraph except the last sentence, obviously not the best way to read a book.

The good news is that the liberal bias seen in From Beirut to Jeuraslim(sp) is nowhere to be seen, replaced by ideas that only the free-est of the free markets would survive, a complete contradiction to his pro-arab Beruit book.

I would recommend milton friedman over thomas friedman, anyday, if you want an accurate portrayal of the power of the free market.

Excellent primer for the novice and interested alike
Friedman's book "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" is an excellent illustration of basic globalization principles and strategies, told in simple and easy language for the layman's point of view. The heavy use of anecdotal evidence also lends a comfortable "storytelling" perspective that generally keeps the reader's attention focused.

One of the things that interested me about this book was Friedman's attempted placement of his work alongside other authors on similar subjects. In the introduction, he plainly states that his purpose in writing this book is not only to fully explain the concept, analysis, and anecdotal evidence of globalization, but also to add to the body of knowledge that is shaping and defining the post-Cold War era in history. Citing other seminal works that have been described as groundbreaking descriptions of this time in history, he lists 3 other books that he hopes to complement on that very subject: "The End of History and the Last Man" by Francis Fukuyama, "The Clash of Civilizations" by Samuel Huntington, and the collected works (books and articles) of Robert Kaplan. In truth, I have recently read all 3 of these selections and can honestly agree that Friedman has successfully accomplished his goal.

For the most part, I already understood globalization (and how it ties in with the greater subject of economics and capitalism) so I thought I might get bored with his tedious simplification and excessive detail... but surprisingly, I found this not to be the case. Overall, I found Friedman to definitely be an expert on the subject, which is often rare for newspaper journalists - and especially the NY Times foreign affairs correspondent who covers the entire planet. This subject is less about "foreign affairs" than economics... but then again, Friedman was the Wall Street correspondent at the Times before he took the foreign affairs desk.

One caveat, though.... this book was published before 9/11 - the first edition was 1999 and the 2nd was in early 2001. So one or two of his predictions didn't pan out, but as to globalization I don't think he'd change much in a 3rd edition. I can only think of one subject in the book where Friedman was dead wrong - his idea that stronger US relations with eastern Europe (specifically the Baltic states) was a bad idea because it might antagonize Russia. Turns out NATO expansion into Europe has gone relatively well... and Russia has practically eliminated their early protestations since 9/11, and in fact are already looking to stronger ties directly with NATO.

Having read those other 3 works, I can honestly say that Friedman has penned a true masterpiece on the post-Cold War body of knowledge. And Friedman is mostly pro-globalization too (unlike the anarchist WTO and G-8 protestors that get all the press), even when he objectively presents both sides of the argument. His overall thesis is basically this: globalization is here to stay, there really isn't anything people can do to stop it (much like the sunrise), so it's best to get used to it, understand it, and realize how you can find yourself moving with it instead of against it. In the end, Friedman uses his considerable journalistic (if not storytelling) talents to offer a subject where readers at all levels of economic expertise can find something to enjoy. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great Book
As a former student of Dr. Bitner, her course and this book made up the foundation that the Services Marketing and Management MBA program at Arizona State Uni. built from. It's an extensive review of how customers are the most important part to a service oriented business, and to neglect them at any touch point is a service failure.
This book will outline the process by which any company, be it real or virtual, can develop world class service.
This book and the SMM program at Arizona State University are highly recommended.

Great!
The book is very clear in the format and structure. It talks about the solutions of the problems arising in service marketing step by step. It first describes what service is and the increasing importance of service. Then, it puts much emphasis on people, the very important marketing mix in service. It focuses on customers: how customers perceive and expect service. Next, it focuses on providers: how companies know what customers expect; how they select the right service designs and standards; how they deliver service to standards and how they match performance to promising.

It is also good to have a very detailed example (case) in the beginning of each chapter and the content will very often refer to that example, which make me easier to understand. But sometimes, I think it would be better if more different examples are used in the same chapter.

Besides, the GLOBAL FEATURE, the TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT and the EXHIBIT make the book even more fruitful and let me know more about the related areas under that topic. Great!

this book may help you.
First of all, I like the structure of this book because it uses Gap Model to connect the content of the whole book. At the begining of this book, it first introduces the importance and tools of service marketing. Then it chooses Gap Model to divide this book into different parts. Under different gap problem, the book shows the ways to close the gap. I believe this structure helps to understand more easily and relate what should be done under different problems.

Secondly, many diagrams are used to describe the concept under service marketing. Service blueprint in the chapter 6 is a good example. It uses diagrams to explain how to draw, how to read and how to use the service blueprint. It is very clear and useful to explain in this way.

However, there are still some drawbacks. For example, when talking about the different kinds of strategies used under service marketing, sometimes the explanation is too simple and not in depth.

An important book for electronic marketers
Essentially everything that marketers do over the Internet, from the ASP to the online retailer, is a service. Services marketers face unique challenges. Today's electronic marketer will find useful lessons in the services marketing literature. You will find either Valarie Zeithaml or Mary Jo Bitner in the byline of almost every important piece of research on services marketing published in the 1990s. Together, they have produced a textbook that is very much worthy of their reputations.

This book is fairly comprehensive, although it does not include Bitner's most recent work on consumer response to self-service technologies. Still, as an electronic marketer reads through this book, they cannot help but find themselves asking new questions about their business and how they can make it better. The book is a relatively easy read, and it is not overly academic--the theories and frameworks presented are simply tools that lead to practical solutions to real problems. There are many examples in the text; often, the company is familiar but the business practices described here are not so well known.

I strongly recommend this book to e-marketers.

Customer as a competitor
All in our life,there are competition which must be handled. I'm sure that whoever feel about customer position's as competitor, but they were not aware it. Your book tells about it. That's good. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Excessive examples, choppy writing, poor proofreading
The book provides useful diagnostic tools and challenging activities and case studies. However, the writing style of the author is poor and very choppy, making it difficult to follow the material. The author uses an excessive amount of real-world examples, but does little justice to covering and explaining the theory and concepts of the subject material.

I purchased a used 7th edition of this text book through Amazon.com. The pervious owner of my book (a student, I assume) noted several errors in the book. For example, in Chapter 3, "The Diverse Workforce:...", page 81, heading "INDIVIDUAL VALUES AND ATTITUDES", subheading "Values", paragraph 2, sentence 1, the published text states:

"Core values are more susceptible to change, and peripheral values are less susceptible (to change)."

However, the sentence in my text book was manually corrected by the previous owner (at the direction of an instructor at another educational institution, I assume) to read:

"Core values are less susceptible to change, and peripheral values are more susceptible (to change)."

When I first read the sentence, I could not agree with what the author had stated. So I did a search on Google.com and verified from other sources that the author had incorrectly stated this premise.

In Chapter 9, Activity 9-5 Behavior Description Questionnaire, page 319, the book provides a table for scoring a 30 statement behavior questionnaire. The activity requires one to select between an A or B statement which is characteristic of their own behavior. However, item number 6 in the scoring table shows two A answers, and item number 7 in the scoring table shows two B answers, making it impossible to obtain an accurate assessment of one's behavior pattern, unless one is able to clearly understand the subject material and correct the scoring table.

These are just a few of the errors noted in the 7th edition of this publication. It appears the author has not adequately proofread the final product.

Reads like a textbook
This book is required reading for a Masters level course, which is the only way it will ever get read. In a subject area bulging at the seams with real-life, practical hindsight, this book truely shows the difference between academia and those working stiffs who are just trying to make a living.
I will say one thing however - the teacher made the class enjoyable. I was sitting there in class one evening, enjoying the reparte between student and teacher, when I realized:
"Hey! I'm actually learning something here."

Old style type and graphics, writing doesn't flow.
It's not a book that makes you want to read it, I find myself just skimming through it. The author can barely go a page without mentioning "the dot-com global workplace", I find that very annoying. There are some interesting case studies but she doesn't give any suggested outcomes so the reader is left wondering what is the best course of action.

Wonderful
I uses this book on Master degree and is really what I'm waiting. One of the most indicated book for people that is taking Oranizational Behavior. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Stock investing is a relatively recent phenomenon and the inventory of true classics is somewhat slim. When asked, people in the know will always list books by Benjamin Graham, Burton G. Malkiel's A Random Walk Down Wall Street, and Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings by Philip A. Fisher. You'll know you're getting really good advice if they also mention Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre.

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is the thinly disguised biography of Jesse Livermore, a remarkable character who first started speculating in New England bucket shops at the turn of the century. Livermore, who was banned from these shady operations because of his winning ways, soon moved to Wall Street where he made and lost his fortune several times over. What makes this book so valuable are the observations that Lefèvre records about investing, speculating, and the nature of the market itself. For example:

"It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight! It is no trick at all to be right on the market. You always find lots of early bulls in bull markets and early bears in bear markets. I've known many men who were right at exactly the right time, and began buying or selling stocks when prices were at the very level which should show the greatest profit. And their experience invariably matched mine--that is, they made no real money out of it. Men who can both be right and sit tight are uncommon."

If you've ever spent weekends and nights puzzling over whether to buy, sell, or hold a position in whatever investment--be it stock, bonds, or pork bellies, you'll be glad that you read this book. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is full of lessons that are as relevant today as they were in 1923 when the book was first published. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards ... Read more

Reviews (114)

Very Interesting but not particularly useful...
I have read this book several times and always find it entertaining. The psychology of the markets is, I guess, always fairly similar; however, this book will not make you a dime. Do not buy this book if you think that you will learn valuable money making insights by reading it.

The worth in this book is in the entertainment value. Experienced traders will relate to certain events and conditions mentioned in this book (at least I do). Really, this book is a just a novel for traders that transcends generations in terms of relevance.

Victor Niederhoffer heavily borrowed from this book when he wrote "Education of a Speculator." In that book, he basically said that he would not give up his trading secrets for the price of a book. What came about was a biography on the basics of how he developed his mind of a successful trader. That is the essence of "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator:" how Edwin LeFevre developed his trading mind.

Will a neophite leap frog elemental educational experience in the financial markets by instead reading this book? I think not. The neophite will also not learn of a succesful money making strategy by reading this book.

This is my "bible" of investing
I have a library of nearly 100 books about the markets. Reminiscences was the third book I ever read and it remains my "bible" more than a decade later. You might wonder how an 80-year old book about the stock market could still be relevant. Well, that is because financial markets are determined by human nature as much as anything else, and human nature acts today as it did a century ago. Greed, fear, herd thinking, impatience - those are the same influences that drive markets today and haunt traders and investors who are striving to make the right decisions. Many of the lessons that dictate my investment philosophy ("Cut your losses, let your winners run", "if you don't like the odds, don't bet") were taught to me by the protagonist, who is the fictional characterization of the legendary Jesse Livermore. That he tells his stories with such color and suspense makes the book completely entertaining beyond its invaluable trading lessons. BUY THIS BOOK FOR YOURSELF. BUY ANOTHER ONE FOR A FRIEND (I've given 4 copies). You'll not only improve your own investing results, but your gift will impress as well.

A Masterpiece
I bought this book after it was mentioned on the book Market Wizards. After I finished reading it, I found myself going back to it over and over again. This is a must read book for anyone that is really interesting in how the trading markets work in real life. It's brilliant, funny... Great!!!!!!!

Dated Yet Insightful
This book's contribution to the literature of the financial markets is incontrovertible. For an investing public starved of trading wisdom in a pre-Markowitz era when stock traders relied more or less on rules of thumb, "Reminiscences" stood out as a true gem. It should be read both as a source of profound insight into the workings of financial markets past and present, and as a critique of speculative activity in the years prior to the bursting of the stock market bubble in 1929.

One of the most important lessons mentioned in the book is that a trader does not have to be invested in the market all the time. It sounds hackneyed today, but this tenet is actually difficult to follow in practice, given the propensity of traders and investors to ride out losing positions.

It is important to remember that, having been written during a massive bull run and prior to the systemic failure of the stock market in 1929, during which the market's 'boundless hope and optimism', as described in Galbraith's "The Great Crash 1929", run roughshod over sentiments that the markets were overheating, "Reminiscences" should be read with an eye towards portfolio preservation, not injudicious speculation.

Hardcover Marketplace Book version worth the price ?
Wonderful book.
However I wanted a version printed on good paper so it would last a long time.
I bought a very costly hardcover Marketplace copy, just to discover that it was printed on weak paper.
It probably is just the paperback version with a hardcover, for which a 4.5 times the paperback price tag is quite rich. ... Read more

Book Description

Take your real estate career to the highest level!

"Whether you are just getting started or a veteran in the business, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent is the step-by-step handbook for seeking excellence in your profession and in your life."
--Mark Victor Hansen, cocreator, #1 New York Times bestselling series Chicken Soup for the Soul

"This book presents a new paradigm for real estate and should be required reading for real estate professionals everywhere."
--Robert T. Kiyosaki, New York Times bestselling author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad

The Millionaire Real Estate Agent explains:

• Three concepts that drive production
• Economic, organizational, and lead generation models that are the foundations of any high-achiever's business
• How to "Earn a Million," "Net a Million," and "Receive a Million" in annual income

Reviews (34)

Never has there been such a manual for success!
This is a system, simple, and direct! Gary Keller has gone to the core of real estate and what it takes to succeed. This book can be used as a step-by-step guide to making any amount of money you wish! His use of real life millionaire agents is inspiring, invigorating, and fascinating. This is a must read for real estate agents and non-agents alike. A job well done goes out to the brilliant authors of this work!

IF IT IS TO BE WHY NOT ME? Or even YOU
This book has changed my way of thinking. Gary Keller and Dave Jenks do a remarkable job of mapping out the path to netting over a million dollars. I am currently reading this book for the second time and I plan on reading it ten more times. Our team has made some serious changes after reading this book and we are seeing the benefits and how easy it can be accomplished. Remember we are all in the Lead Generating Business. I wish you all the success after you follow the MILLIONAIRE REAL ESTATE AGENT Book.

Made My First Year In Real Estate a Huge Success!
I found this book on Amazon when I was just starting out in Real Estate. I read many of the how-to books because I wanted and needed to hit the ground running in my new career. This book, by far, was the most information-packed and practical guide to starting a real estate business. (By the way, another excellent book is "How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate" by Darryl Davis).

I am an attorney and before starting my real estate career, I had my own law practice; and before that, I had my own computer consulting company-both successful ventures. I approached real estate from a businessperson's perspective and this book difinitely speaks to the serious businessperson. There are so many books and articles telling new agents where to spend their time and money that by the time the agent figures out what works and what doesn't, they have spent their entire budget and an entire year, and have not made enough money to move on. That's why 70% of new agents drop out of the field by the end of their second year.

This book helps agents, new and seasoned, stay focused on the bottom line. Moreover, it answered the most important question for me--If I need to generate $80,000 in income per year (salary, not gross commissions), what activities do I need to do and how much will it cost me?

So many of the other books and articles claimed to have the winning formula by telling you that you must knock on 50 doors per week and make 50 cold calls per week to generate business. Their theory is that it must be painful if you are to be successful.

This book, however, gives you lists of ideas and says if you do "x" number of activities from this list, you can expect to receive "x" number of transactions per year. YOU get to pick which activities you perform (if you don't like knocking