Book Description

Drawing from his thirty years of entrepreneurial experience, his friendship with Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and years of self-motivated study, Jack Kahl reveals the true spirit of leadership.

In 1971, Kahl made the investment of a lifetime: he bought a small, Cleveland company with revenues of just $800,000, renamed the company Manco, Inc., and began creating one of the most exciting business stories ever. By the time Kahl retired in 2000, the company was selling consumer products to the best retailers around the globe and had achieved revenues of more than $300 million. He sold the company in 1998, sharing 30% of the wealth - some $27 million - with his "partners," a title long held by every Manco employee.With Leading From the Heart, Kahl brings a unique and powerful lesson to all aspiring leaders: leadership begins with a choice - a choice to serve others that comes from the heart.But this choice is only the beginning. The servant leader must be of strong character and seek knowledge endlessly. Today's leaders must be creative, passionate, disciplined, and courageous people who still make the time to care for others.Like a coach calling from the sidelines, urging you to push your hardest and achieve your best, Kahl, with the aid of co-author Tom Donelan, has written a truly remarkable and inspiring book. Leading From the Heart is a succinct lesson - a must read for anyone who aspires to realize his or her potential as a leader, and for all who seek to unite ethics, integrity, and business savvy with the bottom line. ... Read more

Book Description

Brave, Authentic, Loud, Lovable, and Spunky! The keys to sustained business growth and success.

America's small and midsized businesses face unique challenges as they struggle to reach the kind of long-term business goals achieved by larger companies. Balls! shows that successful firms follow certain rules and display six essential traits-they are brave, authentic, loud, lovable, and spunky. Add an exclamation mark for "Do It Right Now Before Someone Else Does!" and that spells Balls!-something all growing businesses need in order to truly succeed. Written by a young executive at one of America's fastest growing small businesses, Balls! looks at business success from a decidedly exuberant and creative perspective, bringing fresh ideas and tactics that any business leader, in any industry, will find immediately useful.
Alexi Venneri (Seattle, WA) is Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Who's Calling, one of the fastest growing companies in America. She joined the firm as employee number 13 and has witnessed it grow to over 300 employees. She is also the former director for the Seattle Mariners who managed all ballpark marketing and fan relations for the team. Her professional career also includes sales management, event planning, training, and marketing for companies in both the U.S. and Canada. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Good news you can use
The success stories in this book make for compelling reading, but good narrative is not the point of this book. Each case study clearly shows how the reader can replicate the successful strategies in their own business.

Energizing and inspiring.

building buzz without big bucks
I met Alexi recently at a convention in New Orleans, and couldn't remember the last time I saw someone with such energy and enthusiasm.She gave me a copy of Balls! and I read it through on the plane home.

I think she's somehow managed to package her personality to a great extent in this quick read, and I was forcefully impressed with one message:to get your enterprise noticed ahead of the pack, you need a positive, pro-customer attitude, but also some temerity and you have to give yourself permission to be alittle outragious.Just that single lesson, which for me translated into creating attention without spending tons on advertising, was worth it.

So I've ordered a few more for my friends in the same business (but not for my competitors!)

T. R.

Very Practical AND Entertaining
I love case studies, so I was predisposed to like this, but I loved the blend of practical information and case studies.Its the kind of read that is quick, but sticks with you.I thought that it pulled together the concept of CRM for sales and account management in a way that was very helpful.

BALLS! - Great Book, Inspiring Stories
This is a terrific book about marketing. It's also an inspiring book about passionate, creative risk taking. The stories & case studies provide insight into some of today's great success stories.
I also found some very handy tips for creating committed customers and managing those realtionships. Tips like, Always deliver gifts in person, remind us that people, not products or even companies, make us successful human beings.
I highly recommend this book to ANYONE who ever has to meet with a client.

A great read that's practical and fun!
Balls! was not only a fun read but also intelligent and witty!Alexi did an amazing job of making the stories practical and still very enticing.I loved the snag the ideas section, and I can't wait to apply some of them to my new job! ... Read more

Book Description

Bill Rancic, winner of the hit TV show The Apprentice, tells how anyone can become their own personal success in both business and life, using his own experiences as a self-made entrepreneur.

Getting back to basics, Rancic shares insights about his own path to The Apprentice -- his work ethic, top business strategies, and lessons learned competing on the show, working for Donald Trump -- and offers a practical, step-by-step guide to climbing the success ladder from first job to Boardroom. From valuable lessons learned as a budding ten year old entrepreneur pitching pancake sales; to starting his own small business to pay for college; to launching an on-line cigar company now worth millions -- Rancic proves you don’t need to be a Harvard MBA to be a success in business.

Includes a foreword by Donald Trump! ... Read more

Book Description

Drawing from his many best-selling books and years of experience mentoring, John Maxwell offers Equipping 101, a concise collection of time-tested principles on how to equip those around you for service. In his trademark, straightforward style, this reference book is a “best of the best” from Maxwell on the subject. The pocket-size format delivers practical, timeless information in a convenient, take-along volume. Topics include:

• Why Do I Need to Equip Others?
• Why Is Equipping a Win-Win?
• What Does a Potential Leader Look Like?
• How Can I Invest in the Team for the Long Haul?

Reviews (7)

Scholarly analysis in an eminently readable enjoyable book
James Utterback has achieved the difficult goal of taking careful scholarship, drawing useful conclusions and presenting the whole package in a highly enjoyable book. He makes a major contribution by distinguishing between product innovation and process innovation and shows how and why the former is likely to come from outside the established industry players, while the latter is more likely to come from inside.

In the process he reaches back into history and covers industries ranging from pond ice to memory chips. Combining his explanation with concepts with Geoffrey Moore's "Crossing the Chasm" provides a powerful means of understanding where innovation comes from and what the barriers are to its success. Utterback's book goes beyond that. It also calls into serious question the idea (posited by Moore and others) that today's "high tech" cycle of innovation is fundamentally different from earlier innovative cycles in other industries. All in all, Utterback uses industrial history in a low-key, fact-based book that shines a clear, bright light on what drove yesterday's technology developments -- and today's.

an understanding of innovation
This book is written in a concise manner that is straightforward and easy to understand. Utterback explains how innovation has evolved over the years, using great examples from a variety of assembled and non-assembled industries. One side note, I found that this book was worth the cover price for the history of industries he mentions alone. Some of the products and industries mentioned in this book include: Incandescent light bulbs, Typewriters, Glass, photography, and Ice. This book is loaded with invaluable nuggets of insight, it is impossible to due it justice in a book review. I highly recommend reading it.

Great stories and data on innovation
Prof. Utterback spent over twenty years studying 20+ industries as they experienced dramatical technological change, trying to understand who were the market leaders before the change, who were the market leaders afterwards, and why?

He studies markets as varied as cooling (the harvested ice industry in the late 1800s), lighting (gas lighting giving way to incandescent lighting giving way to flourescent lighting), typewriters (manual typewrites giving way to electrics giving way to dedicated word processors giving way to PCs), and plate glass.

He observes that the market leaders prior to a technology change rarely are market leaders after the change, primarily because the entrepenuers and innovators are squeezed out of older companies by "incrementalists". This gave me a lot of encouragement and insight into pushing hard on Internet Explorer back in 1994..1996 at Microsoft, and also I think explains why Microsoft is struggling now.

Refreshing and Innovative Perspectives
Utterback explains "how companies can seize opportunities in the face of technological change." There are dozens (hundreds?) of other books on the same subject, notably those written by Geoffrey A. Moore. I rate this book so highly because it is exceptionally well-organized and well-written, because it examines several offbeat subjects (eg the development of the typewriter and the evolution of the typewriter industry, the development of the incandescent electric light), and because Utterback focuses so intensely -- and so effectively -- on real-world situations in which the "dynamics of innovation" are manifest. This book is very informative but also great fun to read. (Those who enjoy it as much as I did are urged to read both The History of Invention and The Lever of Riches.) Chapter 4 revisits the the dynamics of the innovation model (Figure 1-1) and then in Chapter 5, Utterback shifts his attention to developments within the plate glass manufacturing industry. In Chapter 6, he examines the innovation differences between assembled and nonassembled products. Subsequent chapters sustain the discussion of "the power of innovation in the creation of an industry" and then, in Chapter 9, Utterback "draws together some of the lessons of earlier chapters and academic research to consider the relationship between the behaviors and strategies of firms with respect to technological innovation and long-term survival." He concludes his book (in Chapter 10) by addressing "the perennial management issue of how corporations can renew their technology, products, and processes as a basis for continued competitive vitality." It is obvious to all of us that even the strongest product and business strategy will eventually be overturned by technological change. Ours is an age in which change is the only constant. Therefore, as Utterbach explains so carefully and so eloquently, the challenge is to accept the inevitability of change which results from technological innovation ("discontinuities") and to sustain a commitment to cope effectively with such change. Only such a commitment "will win the day."

'Dynamics of Innovation' continues to
The existing reviews really get to the heart of the matter. I can only add that this book continues to provide a powerful framework for analyzing technical innovation - the process and maturation of that innovation within a market. As I survey the rapid growth of trading hubs/net market makers in the industrial procurement space, I am struck by the similarity to the examples in the book. The hyper growth in this space sets the stage for the inevitable shakeout and establishment of the dominant model - yet to be determined. It is exciting to watch the market mature, with the knowledge that the changes are part of a cycle which can be comprehended and has repeated itself in multiple industries. Utterback provides a powerful framework with which technological innovation can be understood. Thank you. ... Read more

Book Description

Incentives are the most powerful tools executives can use to improve worker performance. This is particularly true in today's empowered workplace, where incentives can ensure that workers apply their initiative toward company goals. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Richard McKenzie and Dwight Lee show how to select the right incentives and how to use them for best results.

Generously illustrated with examples from business, industry, government, academia, and professional sports, this superb volume offers a comprehensive overview of incentives, both in theory and in practice, providing a wealth of ideas managers can use to get employees to work harder, smarter, and more cooperatively. Much of the book is quite eye-opening. For instance, while McKenzie and Lee recognize that money is the prime motivator, they urge managers not to overlook the power of non-monetary incentives, carefully evaluating such motivators as fringe benefits, psychological incentives, education, and training. And they examine a host of other issues, including how to take advantage of executive "overpayment" to increase profits; the limits of piece-rate and other pay-for-performance schemes; finding the right balance between current pay and a more generous pension plan; the value of tough bosses; and hostile takeovers as a form of managerial incentive.

How workers are rewarded is often more important than how much they are rewarded, say the authors. The job of good managers is getting the incentives right. Managing Through Incentives shows managers how to apply proven motivators to help any size firm energize the work force, increase its profits, and meet the awesome challenges of today's fiercely competitive global economy. ... Read more

Book Description

Now can you become a more successful manager, a stronger team leader, and a motivator who gets the best results from a group? Ken Blanchard and Marc Muchnick's The Leadership Pill provides the answer. In the bestselling tradition of Whale Done! and The One Minute Manager, their entertaining and inspiring new book is a parable about the competition between two leaders with totally different management styles -- a story that reveals the ingredients of truly effective leadership.

Consider this tantalizing possibility: What if there were a pill that could actually stimulate the natural powers of the mind and body to provide leadership? In the story, an amazing new pill heightens one leader's powers, but contains the wrong ingredients, stimulating him in an obsessive and shortsighted direction with disastrous results. In contrast, the Effective Leader, working without a pill, proclaims that "only through sustainability can our teams remain motivated and successful." An inspiring and supportive leader, he supplies the right ingredients, earning his team's respect and trust with a blend of integrity, partnership, and affirmation. The hard-won result is a highly motivated team producing consistent top performance and genuine success. Ultimately it is recognized that "leadership for a lifetime" is much easier to digest than a pill for leaders looking for a quick fix.

Destined to be a transforming experience for countless readers, The Leadership Pill shows business managers at any level how to apply the right techniques for getting both results and the commitment of their people, even when the pressure to perform is high. ... Read more

Reviews (32)

A Good Read!
Author Ken Blanchard's literary franchise began with the stunningly successful The One Minute Manager. He has mastered the art of a certain type of book for supervisors and higher executives who need to learn more about management, values and leadership. These readers probably don't have a lot of time and they like to get right to the bottom line - Blanchard obliges. His book enjoys the blessing of brevity, and he takes an accessible, creative approach to demonstrating that effective management really matters, that it takes time to develop and that it is not the result of trendy theories or relentless bossy practices. Blanchard encapsulates his lessons in an bouncy parable about a contest between a company that uses a manufactured leadership pill to instill a pumped up results-only approach and a company that uses value-driven leadership based on integrity, partnership and affirmation. Although the medicine may be a bit basic, We recommend this dosage for students of the art of effective leadership. It's a spoonful of sugar.

Fun, clever and with a quick fix message!
The Leadership Pill crafts the message and steps it takes to become stong leaders in a fun, clever and easy-to-swallow way. This well-written, unique twist on leadership analysis demonstrates the genius of authors Blanchard and Muchnick. After reading this book in one extended sitting I am eager to return to work with new strategies to try and several more copies of this book in hand for all of my employees and managers to read. I plan to invest even more in these authors by pitching them to my company for an on-site seminar and leadership pill-based strategy sessions. Thank you Blanchard and Muchnick for effectively and succinctly summing up what being a good leader is all about. In our quick fix society you have addressed the problems of ineffective leaders head on. Thank you for your engaging look at how to build stronger work forces today. I love this book!

Pill Technique!
Ken Blanchard & Marc Muchnick shows the Business Managers at any level how to apply the Right Techniques for getting both results and commitment of their people especially when the pressures of performance rise high. The message is clear with the Pill Techniques that Leadership skills come with experience and is not an overnight success (a quick dose of pill formula don't work that heightens the leader's powers!) The book is in parable form of competition of two leaders with different management styles. A supporting, inspiring and motivating Leader can bring out the best with right ingredients of integrity, affirmation and partnership. There aren't quick solutions with pill technique but leadership skills require thoughtful implementations to encourage team spirits for successful results. Day to day workplace situation requires trust and respect and it is well spread a message by the authors to Leaders, as how to gain the team's confidence to derive positive and profitable results. The Book is great read and itself serve as power pill with right ingredients. A nice read & well focused on leadership skills.

Great book and you have to try the assessment!
I just bought the book the week before last and really enjoyed reading it. The leadership values it portrays are so important to business these days and it helped me a lot in learning how to motivate my staff properly.

But things really got started when I purchased the online assessment for this book I found on the web at TalentSmart.com. The authors of the book created a test that measures how well you size up to the Effective Leader from the book! It was fun and drove the message home. My results came in an e-learning program with movies to show the skills in real life, and a Goal Tracking system that I can use for six months to keep track of my progress and get feedback from others. I'm going to put this tool to use with others in my company.

A story to go back to
I'm always looking for material to use in my work that will appeal to the broadest audience possible, and The Leadership Pill not only has that appeal, it is a great story that reminded me that ethics and compassionate behavior in the workplace are alive and well. The message is solid and delivered with wit.

I have now picked up the CD so I can listen to it when I'm driving or using the treadmill. How gung ho is that? ... Read more

Amazon.com

Smart, direct, precise. These are adjectives viewers of NBC's hit reality show, The Apprentice might use to describe Donald Trump's left-hand woman, Carolyn Kepcher. Kepcher is a tough judge who can make or break hopeful contestants vying to get hired by Trump. In Carolyn 101, readers find a respected business executive and familial leading lady. Kepcher's personal stories draw an entertaining and inspiring picture of a scrappy, former waitress and restaurant manager, with a no-holds-barred approach to getting hired and succeeding in a mostly male-dominated environment in New Jersey--and, eventually, in The Trump Organization.

In Carolyn 101, Kepcher describes how she successfully synthesized her learned-on-the-job business acumen and motherhood duties to become a respected leader in the Trump empire. Plus, readers will love the snippets Kepcher shows of her famous boss, including his empathy to her personal life and foresight in choosing Kepcher for a management role at the age of 25: "I was twenty-five, a woman, and had never run a golf club in my life. But since Donald Trump trusted that I could handle it, I trusted myself to handle it."

It's clear from Carolyn 101 that Kepcher is a renaissance woman through and through. She balances the demands of the show, her job, and home-life, making her success that much more impressive. Those joining the workforce or already in the trenches will appreciate the firm advice she offers through personal stories and short blurbs dotting the pages, like this gem: "When someone hands you an opportunity, don't be afraid to take it." Case in point: Carolyn Kepcher, EVP and COO, The Trump Organization. --E. Brooke Gilbert ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (16)

Another Napolean Hill book?
Those were my thoughts as I was browsing books in the business section of my favorite book store. I already read Think & Grow Rich, Law of Success and Success Through PMA. What else could Napolean tell me?

This book is more like having Napolean Hill as your personal coach. It is like a written workshop with exercises and self analysis techniques. Hill also takes each of the 17 principles, dissects them and explains them in more detail than in Think & Grow Rich.

I always tell people that if you are going to buy just one Napolean Hill book, make it Think & Grow Rich. But if you are like me, if you like to feed your mind with good mental protein, then I would add this one on as well. It complements Think & Grow Rich.

For the price of a meal you can create the mental attitude of a champion. Well worth the price.

The first true proactive success guru.
"Napoleon Hill's Keys to Success" is one of those books that after you read it you begin to refer to the earlier part of your life as "before I read the book." Even before you finish reading it the first time, you will be a changed person - it's that incredible. I say first time because you will want to read it again and again.

Napoleon Hill's books have been a treasured part of my library. I've recommended this one to others countless times. I consider Napoleon Hill to be one of the earliest "proactive thinkers" in the world.

If you haven't read this book before, get ready for profound wisdom. Napoleon Hill makes it easy to understand that our thoughts are things and have God given powers, far beyond what is commonly taught by others. I can tell you from my own astonishing situations experiences that, "your success really is most definitely determined by what and how you think."

You will find that this exciting book becomes a part of you. Don't hold back - let it happen. In fact, you should spend 10 to 15 minutes every morning focusing your thoughts on the truths of this book, thereby allowing them to seep deep into your subconscious mind. If you do this I guarantee this wisdom will most assuredly bring you the success and abundance you deserve.

Enjoy the book and your new life!

Expands on Think & Grow Rich
Although this book should not be compared to Think & Grow Rich, since others already have, all I add is that it expands on the content in Think & Grow Rich. Think & Grow Rich was a great intro to the 17 principles of success and has a lot of content. This book expands on those concepts. Read Think & Grow Rich first, then add this one.

Powerful book by Hill
This book is sometimes confused with The Master Key to Riches, also by Napolean Hill but it is a completely different book.

Keys to success offers more in depth information on how to apply the 17 principles of success.

You will learn the secrets of:

* Definitness of purpose
* Creating a positive attitude
* Building your self-discipline
* Organizing your time and energy
* Cultivating creative vision
* Budgeting your money
* Perfecting your personality
* Making good health a habit

* And a whole lot more

Keys to Success is 18 chapters and 233 pages packed with powerful, life changing information. I recommend that you read this book right away with Think and Grow Rich. The mental exercises, self analysis techniques and principles as explained by Hill made a profound impact in my life and they will in yours as well.

Must reading for all serious success students.

The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement
When I first saw this book in the book stores, I thought it was just another version of Think and Grow Rich. I me an how many times can Hill cover the same topics? No so. In Keys To Success Hill reveals his 17 essential principles of personal achievement, with concrete descriptions of t heir implementations.

Keys To Success actually goes beyond Think and Grow Rich. A fantastic book by Napolean Hill. And a must read for all achievers. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Simple to understand and simple to practice
This book assumes one thing - people like to win!People inherently want to succeed, but they often don't try or bother because they don't know how to win nor do think it matters if they do win, so they just go through the motions, never reaching their true potential.And the way most management operates today, they're pretty right.What this book points out is that in order to excel, people need to know HOW to win and to know IF they're winning or not.The simple way to enable that is to keep score.Keeping score keeps everyone focused on what is important (what's important is what's being scored) and gives them immediate feedback as to whether their succeeding or not.A company I worked for used this book's method, and it was amazing to see the score charts climb up as the workers started to quickly buy into it.(Not that the company wasn't without it's cynics). The whole idea is very simple and obvious and it was amazing to watch. People really do want to win, just get out of the way and keep score.The book does a great job of how to go about doing this, how to incorporate it into different facets of jobs, how to have the person score keep themselves and not have it be micro-managing, etc. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Ted "The Great" Nicholas Spills the Beans!
This is a must read by anyone in direct sales and marketing industry.

Ted has done amazing things using the written word. Now he shows you how he did it. I have see eBooks like this one being sold on the internet for hundreds of dollars. Compared to those this book is a real bargain. Highly recommended.

Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works: How to Get Motivated and Stay Motivated

TOTALLY SUCK !
THIS TOTALLY SUCK ! DON'T BUY THIS!! HE IS STEALING YOUR MONEY!! THAT BOOK DOESN'T BRING ANYTHING WORTHFULL! NEVER BUY THIS! NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!

DON'T PUT ANY MORE MONEY IN HIS POCKET ! KEEP IT FOR YOURSELF!

-----An advised buyer-----

should be "magic words in book's title bring author riches"
my disappointment in this book can only be expressed by the following blunt statement: the purpose of this book is to enrich the author. no benefit to the reader is evident. I would recommend saving your pennies and looking elsewhere.

If You Want To Become A Millionaire Buy This Book NOW.
Quit simply the best book in my library to date,i have had this
book for approximatly 6 months and i have already made more
money in this time than i have made in the last 16 years working
for other people,and those are the facts.

"Are you ready to be rich"?
Let me start by saying, this book was not what I expected. I really thought it would focus on a lot of please & thank-you's, along with the persuasive manipulation of people. I was pleased to find that this wasn't the case. The first sixty-eight pages are filled with amateur illustrations on one page followed by captions such as, "Fly first class for the price of coach"- after which the author would explain how to ask for an upgrade etc.. Needless to say, after reading the first sixty-eight pages I was ready to throw in the towel... But wait, from there the book exploded. This is a book about direct marketing. I am not a marketing specialist by any means, but this book helped me realize that everyone is marketing/selling him/herself in one way or another. From the six year old kid with the lemonade stand, to Sears, Penneys, or Victorias Secret, and Dell Computers, anybody that sells a product uses direct marketing tactics. Even Wal-Mart and Microsoft are direct marketers, very good ones I might add. Ted is a genius in this regard. This book was not only good, it was Outstanding. Oh, one other thing about this book which may discourage some readers is the blatant over-use of advertisement of Teds personal ads on Teds own books. It is very annoying, to say the least. Ted Nicholas does, however, walk his talk. I'm sure that along with the wording, the persistent and repetitive use of his brand of advertising have sold millions of dollars worth of merchandise. I have learned a lot from reading this book, and I have this motto, "Learn something new each day and keep the wolves away". Always keep an open mind as you read. This book is one to read and keep handy for future reference. ... Read more

Book Description

In this empowering book, based on his bestselling video series, T.D. Jakes shows readers how to use Christian principles in the workplace, using faith as the key to happiness and productivity. Bishop Jakes explains how people can rise above petty conflicts, turn obstacles into opportunities, and let God do His work in their lives every day-even when they're coping with complaining co-workers or difficult bosses. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Working-Place Guide of Principles.
The ten principles explained in detail in this book are for the secular, "work" world, and should be remembered along with the Ten Commandments of the Bible.Written by a "bishop" who authored the book and produced the movie, WOMAN, THOU ART LOOSED!

His Ten committments:

1.Know that you are anointed for the job or position you now hold!
2.Don't expect to be appreciated.
3.Embrace opportunities for change.
4.Do the job well while remembering the vision.
5.Don't let the environment get inside of you.
6.Increase your capacity to work with difficult personalities.
7.Where you are is not where you are going!
8.Achieve optimal results with minimal confusion.
9.Do not pledge allegiance to cliques and groups!
10. Always keep your song near you.

As can be seen throughout all ten of these commandments, you are gifted with special and unique abilities to succeed in the workplace where you find yourself; make the most of the opportunities as this chance may never come again.Count Your Blessings! ... 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

Book Description

Lead your organization into the 21st century with the help of this groundbreaking book that is already creating a stir in corporate boardrooms across America!In a book that does for managers what his mega-bestseller, The Team Handbook, did for teams, Peter Scholtes, who is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential Quality leaders of the decade, shows the real root of management problems.Learn how to stop blaming your workers and start changing the systems with the help of activities and exercises that enable you to immediately begin implementing breakthrough improvements in all your work processes! ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Practical, incisive and visionary handbook
Scholtes expects to shock people right from the first page of his Preface. Let me quote extensively:
"More than 95 percent of your organization's problems derive from your systems, processes, and methods, not from your individual workers....

We look to the heroic efforts of outstanding individuals for our successful work. Instead we must create systems that routinely allow excellent work to result from the ordinary efforts of ordinary people.

Changing the system will change what people do. Changing what people do will not change the system.

Certain common management approaches--management by objectives, performance appraisal, merit pay, pay for performance, and ISO 9000--represent not leadership but the abdication of leadership.

Current buzzwords like empowerment, accountability, and high performance are meaningless, empty babble..." (ix-x)

The old organizations's leaders need: forcefulness, ability to motivate and inspire, decisiveness, willfulness, assertiveness, result- and bottom-line orientation, being task-oriented and having integrity and diplomacy.

Scholtes' new leadership competencies (much influenced by Edward Deming's ideas...) are based on a new mentality and understanding of: systems thinking, variability of work, how we learn, psychology and human behavior, interactions of these components, and vision, meaning, direction and focus.

The bulk of the book gives clear elaborations of these new competencies, with charts, illustrations, pertinent questions and many tools. Ch. 4 on "Getting the Daily Work Done" is a tough one, partly because it takes much effort to grasp the author's use of a Japanese term, "Gemba" (even when I can read the original Chinese characters). Issues of waste, standardization, change versus improvement, performance without appraisal, use of measurement data... are all seen in the new light of systems thinking.

Carefully study the differences between "Crazymakers" and "Healing and Learning" in the workplace (pp378-387). There is a summary of the book under "The 47 Habits of Pretty Good Leaders" (pp391-6). Peter Senge's books give excellent background material. This one is a real handbook that should be methodically studied, discussed, adapted and applied to one's own institutions. One must not forget the advice given in Chapter 1: "leaders must be patient with themselves and others, persistent, and humble, and allow themselves and others to be inelegant." (p12,p391)

A reader
Being a disciple of W. Edwards Demming, Peter Scholtes has a quality department's process bias; emphasizing systems, processes and statistics. Was I reading another new age quality assurance textbook? Because of this, I felt he overemphasized the present moment. True leaders are going places and have many loyal followers. The book rarely talks about this visionary thinking or how effective organizations are moving into new areas. This is a good book for beginners as long as you're aware he presents a different viewpoint, and because of this, he did bring some useful ideas that other books didn't have. Ironically, he openly admits that you may not agree with some of his viewpoints.

A Great Manual
Having attended one of his talks, I gathered this book to be condensed from Scholtes' personal experience and practical knowledge which can also be seen in his "Teams" predecessor. A functional manual covering leadership in all aspects, with its depths and substance manifested in simple and easy to follow guidelines.

An ideal recommendation for any modern manager.

A model for the leaders of the future.
I knew that the organization I work for was stuck in the stone-age (Dismal Leaders). Then Something amazing happened. Upper management decided we needed a change. Due to my backround in Teambuilding, I was asked to Champion the change for the future. I decided to utilize most of the things I learned from reading this insightful book. The results to this point have been outstanding. People are beginning to come out of their shells and be creative again. Barriers are slowly coming down throughout the organization. Real Work is getting done through cross-funtional teams of people who care about customer satisfaction. We have a long way to go, but as long as management sticks to their word, change will happen. This book is a useful tool for that transformation.Everyone who is in a management position should read this book and learn what it's like to truely lead your fellow workers. I also recommend the Team Handbook.

Excellent
Great book using the same style that made the Team Handbook such a success - great ideas, well written, easy to use and in a format that makes it easy to use as a reference book. ... Read more

Book Description

Those who have been lucky enough to have Brian Tracy as their personal coach have transformed their lives and careers, increased their incomes, and dramatically improved their levels of success. Now, anyone can have the benefit of his coaching program! And coaches can have the ability to inspire that kind of success.TurboCoach enables individuals to apply Tracy's proven counseling techniques to their own lives, and gives coaches tools to integrate his powerful strategies into their own professional programs. Each chapter begins with a series of self-assessment questions and ends in a set of exercises that can be used to energize an individual's results in that area. Readers will find proven ways to:* Identify their personal strengths * Streamline their work * Get more done in less time * Think and act more strategically * Increase their income dramaticallyBased on more than 20 years of successful work with thousands of people who have learned and applied his coaching techniques to their own lives, TurboCoach shows those in the coaching field how to elicit superior results from their clients, and individuals how to become their own coaches and rapidly improve the quality of their own lives and work. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great read simple principals that will work if you do
I have read several of Brians books and this is a great one. Brian has a mind that can take the complex and make it simple. He offers details in a simple and easy to understand format that makes the book worth buying. If you try you can use it for self coaching. Great book!

Highly Recommended!
If Brian Tracy were your next-door neighbor, he would probably lean over the hedge to advise you on "The Seven Classic Laws of Hedge Trimming" or "The 12 Immutable Principles of Lawn Mowing." Tracy's mind just seems to naturally work that way, absorbing valuable information on the one end and then translating it into insightful factoids on the other. This book, co-authored by Campbell Fraser, distinguishes itself by the way each brief chapter begins and ends. You start by answering one or two pointed questions about your business approach and, after reading Tracy's itemized insights, you feel charged up for the "application exercises" at the end. When Tracy writes a book, you expect every detail to be as tidy and complete as an expensive haircut; this volume does not disappoint. It is vintage Tracy. However, readers are advised this is not a book on how to coach others, but a small package of turbo-charged personal advice. We highly recommend it for anyone on a personal mission to save time, manage a staff and attain greater success. ... Read more

Book Description

Revered management thinker Peter F. Drucker is our trusted guide in this thoughtful, day-by-day companion that offers his penetrating and practical wisdom. Amid the multiple pressures of our daily work lives, The Daily Drucker provides the inspiration and advice to meet the many challenges we face. With his trademark clarity, vision, and humanity, Drucker sets out his ideas on a broad swath of key topics, from time management, to innovation, to outsourcing, providing useful insights for each day of the year.

These 366 daily readings have been harvested from Drucker's lifetime of work. At the bottom of each page, the reader will find an action point that spells out exactly how to put Drucker's ideas into practice. It is as if the wisest and most action-oriented management consultant in the world is in the room, offering his timeless gems of advice. The Daily Drucker is for anyone who seeks to understand and put to use Drucker's powerful words and ideas.

Book Description

Two of the nation's most successful corporate leadership consultants now reveal their proven, systematic program for using the power of "high-integrity" politics to achieve career success, maximize team impact, and protect the company's reputation and bottom line.

Each day in business, a corporate version of "survival of the fittest" is played out. Power plays, turf battles, deceptions, and sabotages block individuals' career progress and threaten companies' resources and results. In Survival of the Savvy, Rick Brandon and Marty Seldman provide ethical but street-smart strategies for navigating corporate politics to gain "impact with integrity," helping readers to:

• Identify political styles at work through the Style Strengths Finder, and avoid being under or overly political
• Discover the corporate "buzz" on you, and manage the corporate "airwaves"
• Decipher unwritten company rules and protect yourself from sabotage and hidden agendas
• Build key networks to promote yourself and your ideas with integrity
• Learn to detect deception and filter misleading information
• Increase your team's organizational savvy, influence, and impact
• Gauge the political health of the company and forge a high-integrity political culture

In addition, Survival of the Savvy helps individuals discover and overcome their own political blind spots and vulnerabilities. They learn step-by-step methods to avoid being underestimated or denied full recognition for their achievements. It shows them how to put forward their ideas and advance their careers in an ethical manner, with a high level of political awareness and skill.

After reading this book, you will never have to say, "I didn't see it coming." Organizational savvy is a mission-critical competency for the complete leader. This timely and timeless book provides cutting-edge strategies and skills for surviving and thriving as you build individual and company success. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

EMPOWERING
John Maxwell's daily dozen are worth learning.

So what are the daily dozen? Attitude, priority, health, family, thinking, commitment, faith, relationships, generosity, values and growth. Note faith is listed. Maxwell realizes not everyone is spiritual. He allows readers the concept of refusing this goal. Maxwell includes examples through others as well as himself to get his points across.

Maxwell is adamant when he emphasizes the wisdom of practicing daily discipline in one's life -- think things through; settle your matters everyday; take care of your financial matters daily; surround yourself with positive people; and most of all remember what you do today impacts your tomorrow.

_Today Matters_ has the ability to empower its readers. Once we learn, we must practice. That's the key to empowering today and having a successful tomorrow. Highly recommended.

Brenda @ MyShelf.Com ... Read more

Book Description

Are you ready for the leadership moment?

Merck's Roy Vagelos commits millions of dollars to develop a drug needed only by people who can't afford it · Eugene Kranz struggles to bring the Apollo 13 astronauts home after an explosion rips through their spacecraft · Arlene Blum organizes the first women's ascent of one of the world's most dangerous mountains · Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain leads his tattered troops into a pivotal Civil War battle at Little Round Top · John Gutfreund loses Salomon Brothers when his inattention to a trading scandal almost topples the Wall Street giant · Clifton Wharton restructures a $50 billion pension system direly out of touch with its customers · Alfredo Cristiani transforms El Salvador's decade-long civil war into a negotiated settlement · Nancy Barry leads Women's World Banking in the fight against Third World poverty · Wagner Dodge faces the decision of a lifetime as a fast-moving forest fire overtakes his firefighting crew
... Read more

Reviews (12)

I highly recommend this book.
Searching for a book on leadership for a graduate level management class, I came across this title and was fascinated. If you are going to read one book on leadership, it should be this book. Michael Useem has written an amazing book in which he shares the stories of nine leaders and the decisions they made in leadership moments. Within each chapter the true story is explained, followed by implications noting the leadership skills applied to make the decision that was made in each case.

VERY ENTERTAINING READ, OKAY ANALYSIS
In this book, Mike Useem describes nine situations in which leadership emerges. The situations outlined are very diverse, including a mountainclimbing expedition, a pharmaceutical company's decision, a firefighter's dillemma, and a Central American emerging democracy's negotiation with terrorism, to name a few. Roughly half of the stories are cases of success, half are failures, which makes it interesting exploration of both sides of the coin.

Overall, the stories are very interesting per se, and worth the read. Some of these are classics of management and ethics, such as the Merck Riverblindness case. At the end of each story, Useem tries to do an analysis of what the leader did right or wrong. In this section, I did in fact disagree with some of Useem's conclusions, and what bothered me was the fact that I felt like the author did not leave enough space for alternative views. For example, he argues that Roy Vagelos of Merck was a great leader because he guided his company to do the right thing and spend all the money on the disease though it would not recoup costs. I would argue that he did recoup, by the free publicity, which Useem helps extend, but Useem never mentions the possibility of it being worth it.

I did like the book and would recommend it, especially the stories, which are told in a very fast paced and easy to read manner. However, not so sure about the analysis.

great service
The book arrived on time, and in great condition. And they also included another book for free with the order!

I only can only hope there will be a sequel !
Useem distills lessons for the reader from the 9 events described in his book. Some of his example case studies have heroic elements to them, yet he focuses on the basis of the decision making process of the principal - rather than only the net effect. Thus, providing the reader with tangible leadership tools to help steer any group, team or organization to their goals.

A good read for any manager, coach or leader.

Leaders in action
Useem's description and depiction of each character deviates from the mundane monologue usually produced in hardcore texts. He presents a diverse set of leaders with unique circumstances. Each case is a dramatic narrative. At the same time, Useem provides readers with the underlying details that occurred prior, during and in the aftermath of the major leadership decisions. This is one of a few accounts that examines leadership of men, women, minorities and international leaders in both corporate and non-corporate organizations. ... Read more