Book Description

The Great Boss Simple Success Formula

Companies Do What the Boss Does
Groom 'Em, or Broom 'Em
Hire Slow, Fire Fast
Don't Be Tired
The Rule of the Ds
Delegate Down, Down, Down
Don't Hire a Dog and Bark Yourself
Don't Shoot from the Lip
Never Be Little, Never Belittle
Listen to Phonies, Fools, and Frauds
Don't Check Expense Accounts
"Quit" Is for Scrabble
It's Okay to Be Quirky

Did you ever have a great boss? Everyone should have one, but not enough people do. If you're a boss, or hope to become one, or have a less-than-great boss, then this is the book that could change your career-and your life.

In times like these, being a great boss can be harder than ever. If you want surprising and useful advice on how to handle the tough stuff -- from having to fire a long-time employee to being a new boss with a demoralized team -- the stories, observations, and advice contained in this gem of a book will set your feet in the right direction. And if you just want advice on living up to the legend who preceded you in the job, or even ways to emulate someone who was a great boss to you, Jeffrey Fox has gathered anecdotes from some of the mightiest and most respected bosses in America. The bestselling author who brought you How to Become CEO and How to Become a Rainmaker knows the territory about which he speaks.

Fox is the master of the counterintuitive angle. For every boss who has implied "I know what's best, that's why I'm the boss," Fox counsels, "Listen to Phonies, Fools, and Frauds" and "Don't Check Expense Accounts." His stories from bosses who have cared equally for employees' lives and the bottom line will inspire you to see that profit counts, but so do camaraderie, motivation, and a great place to work.

In a time of considerable corporate downsizing, it's more important than ever for bosses to surround themselves with motivated employees. Jeffrey Fox's newest volume will have a place on the shelves of top brass everywhere who want to remain leaders of their pack. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Lots of useful ideas for any work setting
Recently, I read HOW TO BECOME A RAINMAKER: THE RULES
FOR GETTING AND KEEPING CUSTOMERS AND CLIENTS by
Jeffrey J. Fox . . . it was one of the best business books that I have come across in a long time.

So when I came across an earlier book by Fox--HOW TO BECOME
A GREAT BOSS: THE RULES FOR GETTING AND KEEPING THE
BEST EMPLOYEES--I just had to get hold of it . . . and I did, getting the chance to listen to the taped version . . . I'm glad I did, too; it's another winner!

Fox presents nothing brilliantly new, but he writes in a clear and readable fashion . . . in doing so, he presents lots of ideas that you can immediately apply to almost any management
situation . . . he also makes it clear that management involves
just about anything that we do, and a result, we should perhaps
think of many folks as "managers" that might not ordinarily
fit into that category (I'm thinking parents here, for example).

In particular, I liked his following "Great Boss Simple Success
Formula":
1. Only hire top-notch, excellent people.
2. Put the right people in the right job. Weed out the wrong people.
3. Tell the people what needs to be done.
4. Tell the people why it is needed.
5. Leave the job up to the people you've chosen to do it.
6. Train the people.
7. Listen to the people.
8. Remove frustration and barriers that fetter the people.
9. Inspect progress.
10. Say "Thank you" publicly and privately.

Advice with attitude
Jeff Fox writes his chapters short and sweet, just how I like them. No drawn out, boring examples, just "in your face" advice that you should know.

The draw back to this book is that it's mostly things I've read elsewhere. The advantage is that Fox says it more succinctly than others, so for the time-challenged, that is a nice perk.

If you've already read dozens of books on management, you may not need to pick this up. If you're a new boss or having trouble with employees, this is probably a worthwhile read.

Not the least bit helpful
I normally don't write reviews but I just read this book and I couldn't believe how much of a waste of money it was. Here's the book in a nutshell- Hire good employees and fire bad ones.

Simple and right on target
Simple and right on target. This book gives great tips and suggestions for improving your supervisorial skills. Written in short, thoughtful, digestable chapters, this book is a must have for anyone who supervises others and want to be better at it.

Puts things into perspective
"How to Become a Great Boss" is simple to read and allows you to formalize what you might already know. Many of the ideas/suggestions are instinctual characteristics of a good manager that Fox puts into words for all to understand.

Very straight-forward tips. When finished reading the short chapters you get the message and have an idea on how to apply in real life.

One of the best books I have read since becoming a Manager. Cuts through the BS and gives you direct advice. ... Read more

Book Description

STATISTICS FOR MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS is the worldwide best selling business statistics text. It is currently being used at hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the world. This text teaches students how to apply statistics to real business problems through the authors' unique three-step approach to problem solving. Students learn to IDENTIFY the right technique by focusing on the relationship between the problem and data type. They then learn to COMPUTE the answer either by hand, using Excel, or using MINITAB. Finally, they INTERPRET the results in the context of the problem. This approach enhances student comprehension as well as practical skills, and offers maximum flexibility to instructors wishing to teach concepts by hand or with the computer, or by using both hand and computer methods. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

My Bible
This book became my statistics bible. After never attending any statistics classes at the University, I was suddenly forced to work with multiple regressions at work. This book helped me understand all about statistics that I needed for my business purposes. The examples are very helpfull to understand what the tests actually do and how you can solve your own inference problems. I read the whole book in about 10 days (2 hours a day) at the beach and now work mainly with the overviews in the last chapters when I have a problem to solve at work.

A lot of ambiguity and errors
I had to use this edition as text book for my Statistics Course in an MBA Program and found multiple errors and ambiguities in describing basic concepts. Lack of rigurousity in presentation is pervasive. Although an engineer by formation, I found this book a terrible reading as an initiation in statistics!

Warning don't go near the 5th edition
The 5th edition of this book, available still in many places, is one awful book. The instructions for most of the Minitab examples are incomplete and in many cases worthless. Many explanations are superficial and the tie in to the overall statistical picture is weak. I have heard the 6th is better, the 5th should not have been printed.

Basic an clearly understandable
This book covers a wide area of fields necessary for business and economic students. It also explains how to go on if necessary conditions are violated. Time-series analysis, which is very important for economic students, are not covered to the extent as other topics, but it nevertheless gives a good introduction of other statistical concepts necessary for understanding following books on time series analysis. For my opion there are a little bit to much exercises than necessary, for an autodidactic study but enough for class room work. A very fine feature is that there never come up terminologies which has not been discussed before and one can use MS-Excel.

It's a very usefull book
It's realy usefull for to problem solving. It helps to learn easly to solve the problems with Excel. ... Read more

Book Description

Secrets for developing leadership and competitive advantage in any organization

The Extraordinary Leader is a research-based book about leadership. It analyzes 200,000 assessments from 20,000 managers and presents new insights that demystify this complex subject. It clearly establishes the importance of developing great leaders versus being satisfied with merely good ones, and highlights the link between leadership behavior and an organization's performance.

From the authors' research, a new model of leadership emerges that challenges long-held beliefs about leadership competencies. The authors identify 16 competencies that tower above all the others-­­the ones that separate great leaders from the average. One of the book's major breakthroughs is its focus on the importance of maximizing strengths as opposed to merely correcting weaknesses. Further, the importance of balanced strengths is introduced: when strengths are clustered in one area, the leader is less effective than he or she could be with strengths in different areas.

Reviews (3)

Packed With Knowledge!
In this volume, two battle-scarred veterans of what might be called "The Leadership Wars" - that is, the exhaustive effort over several decades to define the elusive nature of leadership and how it can best be nurtured - present insights on leadership that are based on a series of formal surveys conducted with companies nationwide. They also present 16 core competencies that affect the perception of whether you are, or aren't, a great leader. In many ways, they demystify leadership. Being a great leader, they tell us, isn't a matter of genetics or tea leaves: by studying what it takes to be a great leader, you can become one yourself. We strongly recommend this book for followers who want to become leaders, and for leaders who would like to be a little less lonely at the top.

Rich in Facts, Excellent in Examples
Unlike many studies of leadership and management, this book roots out how human behaviors affect results - with robust research and anecdotal evidence that provides readers with progressive but comprehensible logic. It is the best business book I have encountered, because it balances reality against theory, and effectively reconciles the two. It is a bonus that the authors did not impose academic terminology on those of us in the real business world.

The great thing is that the authors took the time to quantify and then explain how perceptions of leaders translate into actions by those they lead. The best thing about the book is that it lists specific levels of characteristics and competencies that distinguish adequate from excellent. A reader can quickly paint a self portrait (or picture of fellow leaders, for that matter) that reveals strengths and flaws. Then, one can easily identify what is needed to move up the ladder of respect and esteem. The hard part is that many leaders, as they say in the book, "think that being 'good' is good enough". For those who truly have an interest in greatness, this book gives the recipe.

Easy to follow, it thoughtfully breaks down the elements of leadership, starting with broad categories that are boiled down into actionable behaviors and traits. The Extraordinary Leader also gives some surprising insights based on findings that will hopefully change how business leaders establish value systems and shape company culture.

This book has become an extremely valuable tool in my consulting practice!

The best book on developing leaders - by far!
For the past two years I have been working as a consultant on the creation of an executive service for the UN. More recently I have played a similar role for the US federal government. I have become a student of the thinking and the books on developing leaders. This book is by far the most important book to read. Its based solidly on research findings but more importantly on intuitively valid conclusions. It makes practical sense.

It takes the current state of the art and moves it forward. It also raises important questions about prevailing beliefs and practices. The ideas developed in this book make you realize why most executive development is not productive.

I see this book as a companion piece to another of the great books on the subject, Results-Based Leadership. Jack Zenger is one of the authors of both books. ... Read more

Book Description

The explosive growth of the coffee shops across the country has been phenomenal. Few people realize Coffee is now the largest food import to the United States! There is money to be made on those beans!Here is the manual you need to cash in on this highly profitable segment of the food service industry. This new book is a comprehensive and detailed study of the business side of the specialty coffee and beverage shop. This superb manual should be studied by anyone investigating the opportunities of opening a coffee cafe, tea shop or coffee kiosk. If you enjoy meeting people and love coffee, this may be the perfect business for you, but keep in mind Specialty coffee retail looks easy, but as with any business, looks can be deceiving. This complete manualwill arm you with everything you need includingsample business forms, leases, and contracts; worksheets and checklists for planning, opening, and running day-to-day operations; sample menus; coffee drink recipes; inventory lists; plans and layouts; and dozens of other valuable, time-saving tools of the trade that no coffee entrepreneur should be without.

While providing detailed instruction and examples, the author leads you through finding a location that will bring success, learn how to draw up a winning business plan (The Companion CD Rom has the actual business plan you can use in MS Word tm.), how to buy and (sell) a coffee shop,basic cost control systems, profitable menu planning, samplefloor plans & diagrams, successful kitchen management, equipment layout and planning, food safety & HACCP,successful beverage management,legal concerns, sales and marketing techniques, pricing formulas,learn how to set up computer systems to save time and money, learn how to hire & keep a qualified professional staff, brand new IRS tip reporting requirements, managing and training employees, generate high profile public relations and publicity, learn low cost internal marketing ideas, low and no cost ways to satisfy customers and build sales, learn how to keep bringing customers back, accounting & bookkeeping procedures, auditing, successful budgeting and profit planning development, as well as thousands of great tips and useful guidelines.

The manual delivers literally hundreds of innovative ways demonstrated to streamline your business. Learn new ways to make your operation run smoother and increase performance. Shut down waste, reduce costs, and increase profits. In addition operators will appreciate this valuable resource and reference in their daily activities and as a source of ready-to-use forms, web sites, operating and cost cutting ideas, and mathematical formulas that can be easily applied to their operations. The Companion CD Rom contains all the forms in the book as well as a sample business plan you can adapt for your own use. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Companion CD ROM is invaluable !!!
The book is great and the most updated on the subject - but the CD rom included with the book is superb and a very nice added bonus! It contains a full 50+ page business plan in Word for easy editing with financial statements, over 50 customized forms for your use in PDF format, and a check list of thousands of items you need to open - these are all bonus items included on the CD ROM !!!
We have looked at other business plans and software and all were over $100.00 - this is a great value - my only comment is the book is so packed with info. the type size is a little small for my aging eyes...

There is alot of money in those BEANS !
The explosive growth of the coffee shops across the country has been phenomenal. Few people realize Coffee is now the largest food import to the United States! There is money to be made on those beans! Here is the manual you need to cash in on this highly profitable segment of the food service industry. This new book is a comprehensive and detailed study of the business side of the specialty coffee and beverage shop. This superb manual should be studied by anyone investigating the opportunities of opening a coffee cafe, tea shop or coffee kiosk. If you enjoy meeting people and love coffee, this may be the perfect business for you, but keep in mind Specialty coffee retail looks easy, but as with any business, looks can be deceiving. This complete manual will arm you with everything you need including sample business forms, leases, and contracts; worksheets and checklists for planning, opening, and running day-to-day operations; sample menus; coffee drink recipes; inventory lists; plans and layouts; and dozens of other valuable, time-saving tools of the trade that no coffee entrepreneur should be without.

While providing detailed instruction and examples, the author leads you through finding a location that will bring success, learn how to draw up a winning business plan ( The Companion CD Rom has the actual business plan you can use in MS Word tm.), how to buy and (sell ) a coffee shop, basic cost control systems, profitable menu planning, sample floor plans & diagrams, successful kitchen management, equipment layout and planning, food safety & HACCP, successful beverage management, legal concerns, sales and marketing techniques, pricing formulas, learn how to set up computer systems to save time and money, learn how to hire & keep a qualified professional staff, brand new IRS tip reporting requirements, managing and training employees, generate high profile public relations and publicity, learn low cost internal marketing ideas, low and no cost ways to satisfy customers and build sales, learn how to keep bringing customers back, accounting & bookkeeping procedures, auditing, successful budgeting and profit planning development, as well as thousands of great tips and useful guidelines.

The manual delivers literally hundreds of innovative ways demonstrated to streamline your business. Learn new ways to make your operation run smoother and increase performance. Shut down waste, reduce costs, and increase profits. In addition operators will appreciate this valuable resource and reference in their daily activities and as a source of ready-to-use forms, web sites, operating and cost cutting ideas, and mathematical formulas that can be easily applied to their operations. The Companion CD Rom contains all the forms in the book as well as a sample business plan you can adapt for your own use. ... Read more

Book Description

Based on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's five-million-dollar, five-year study on the future of the automobile, a groundbreaking analysis of the worldwide move from mass production to lean production.

Japanese companies are sweeping the world, and the Japanese auto industry soars above the competition. Drawing on their in-depth study of the practices of ninety auto assembly plants in seventeen countries and their interviews with individual employees, scholars, and union and government officials, the authors of this compelling study uncover the specific manufacturing techniques behind Japan's success and show how Western industry can implement these innovative methods. The Machine That Changed the World tells the fascinating story of "lean production," a manufacturing system that results in a better, more cost-efficient product, higher productivity, and greater customer loyalty. The hallmarks of lean production are teamwork, communication, and efficient use of resources. And the results are remarkable: cars with one-third the defects, built in half the factory space, using half the man-hours. The Machine That Changed the World explains in concrete terms what lean production is, how it really works, and--as it inevitably spreads beyond the auto industry--its significant global impact.

Reviews (14)

a Manufacturing Mustread
The Machine That Changed the World; The Story of Lean Production
A great book that although becoming a little outdated portrays the ongoing trends in the automobile production industry in three major cultural areas.
The three areas are;the Asian lean production (Toyota) v.s. the American system,(mass production) v.s. the European craftsman system. On a larger scale it will and is affecting manufacturing everywhere.
Henry Ford was the founder of the American mass production system, and Ford was very successful adopting it to the aircraft and steel industries. American companies adopted this system and it is one of the main reasons for American pre-eminence in many industries worldwide. Toyota has become the founder of the Lean system of manufacturing. Most of the
early adherents to this system were other large Japanese companies, and responsible for the Japanese manufacturing miracle since the 1960's, as it was adapted from automotive to all manner of industries.
The book is well written and interesting even though it is based on an MIT study of global trends in the auto industry. I would like to see an update to this book. The one anomaly I see is the German Automobile industry. If Japan and Korea have some of the most efficient auto manufacturing plants in the world and
North America is becoming more competitive, what is happening in Europe comes as no surprise. Many European automakers have yet to fully embrace American mass production techniques and are now faced with the greater efficiencies of Lean
production. The book does not explain in my mind the success of the German Auto industry. It seems to be the one exception to the rule.

Excellent in-depth analysis of the automobile industry.
In "The Machine That Changed the World", Womack, along with several other individuals, give an analysis of the Automobile Industry within global boundaries. This book was the summarization of a five year, five million dollar study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Analysis was provided for both foreign and domestic automobile manufacturers with an eye toward the future. This book spoke "globally" far earlier than it was hip to speak in such terms, analyzing such foreign automotive powers such as Toyota, with their Toyota Production System, perhaps the greatest example of Lean Manufacturing in the world. For anyone who would like to learn anything about the automobile industry in general, or even further, would like to learn about successful business practices, I highly recommend this text.

Don't "Machine" - try "Lean" instead
If you are just starting out learning about Lean Manufacturing, and you only have time to read one book, "The Machine that Changed the World" is an historically important book but "Lean Thinking" is the one that actually gets you started toward implementation. It's one of those rare occasions where the sequel was better than the original.

Lean should be a journey not a destination
This is the first book that I planned to read as a part of learning about lean, the other two books are "Lean thinking" and "Becoming Lean" , so far I could say that the "Machine that Changed the World" is a good benchmarking between craft, mass and lean producers. It mainly gives you an insight of the differences between lean and mass producers from the production, sales, marketing, customer relation and other dimensions. If you don't know about lean I really recommend you to start by reading his book because it will make you start to think in a lean way, if you know about lean and convinced about what it can do to you organization start with lean thinking and then go to "Becoming Lean".
This book is aimed at strategic level and as a key tool to convince old timers about the lean-mentality against the push-mentality.

Excellent Introductory Book
I usually refer to this kind of books as "Open Minds", are written in a very simple way that may seem that the content is simple, BUT IS NOT. This book is in my opinion a must read for any Industrial Engineers, Managers, Supervisors. It can be used also for training and kaizen events.
Silly is that one that reads this book expecting that he will know everything about lean manufacturing, JIT, or modern IE.
In summary, this book is the entrance to a new world with a new way of thinking and doing thins and it is a necessary complement to any technical book. ... Read more

Book Description

This leading book in international marketing features comprehensive cases that cover consumer, industrial, low tech and high tech, product and services marketing.Specific chapter topics examine the global economic environment; the social and cultural environment; the political, legal, and regulatory environments; global customers; global marketing information systems and research; global targeting, segmenting and positioning; entry and expansion strategies: marketing and sourcing; cooperation and global strategic partnerships; competitive analysis and strategy; product decisions; pricing decisions; channels and physical distribution; global advertising; promotion: personal selling, public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing, trade shows, sponsorship; global e-marketing; planning, leading, organizing, and monitoring the global marketing effort; and the future of global marketing.For individuals interested in a career in marketing. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The up to date Case
This book has easy to understand & have up to date case. The Harley Davidson case is one of the cases that showing us how's struggling US to face Japanese company offensive. This is the good case to picturing the dawn to earth marketing strategy compare to arrogant & not efficient strategy willing by US Company.

good service
the service is very good and efficient

clear, understandable jargon
Marketing concepts are explained within global marketing frame in an understandable manner using the jargon everybody can understand. The principles that each company must take into account both at home and abroad are revealed. Especially, I liked "18 Guiding Principles of the Marketing Company". Articles from the scholars at prestigious business schools are related to global marketing concepts in most understandable way. This makes the book richer. Another thing making the book richer is Global Income and Population estimates, that is both put inside the text and at the end of the book as appendix. These estimates give clear grasp to the reader about world demographics and economic structure, and helps reader understand the subject at hand and, in general, world dynamics better. Interesting and information & expertise-loaded cases differentiates the book from other boring textbooks. The future of global marketing section of the book gives the reader an invaluable horizon. I suggest that you read it carefully, you will get too many things from it.

Students found this to be informative but not presented well
Valuable, current information presented in a rather dull, uninteresting format according to MBA students. Very comprehensive. ... Read more

Book Description

Classic insight for modern times.

The world's foremost producer of personal development and motivational audio programs now offers a completely unique approach to learning leadership skills.

Most programs on leadership present the successes of contemporary men and women as role models for study. While valuable lessons can be learned from their examples, few models or success stories reveal the true essence of their leadership abilities or can anticipate the special circumstances, conditions, or situations that you deal with as a manager.

In the runaway bestseller Leadership Secrets Of Attila The Hun, author Wess Roberts draws from the imaginary thoughts of one of history's most effective and least beloved leaders, Attila the Hun, to discover leadership principles you can apply to your own situation. In a uniquely creative and entertaining approach to a most serious task, "Attila" reveals his principles for successful morale building, decision making, delegating and negotiating, and gives advice on overcoming setbacks and achieving goals. ... Read more

Reviews (28)

A Good Read!
Wess Roberts draws on the life experiences of the leader of the Mongol hordes to craft imaginative monologues on leadership - an attribute as valuable today as when Attila united the Huns in 415 AD. The advice is general. Its effectiveness probably depends on how well you apply it, although the idea of a historic icon of barbaric vengeance counseling us in cultural sensitivity seems a bit of a stretch. While the treatment is certainly colorful, you might worry about ways some modern-day chieftains could misuse Roberts' principles to justify their own Visigoth approach to management. We from getAbstract recommend this book to those looking for new and interesting ways to approach the perpetual management issues of team-building, inspiring loyalty, setting goals, and achieving objectives.

Pretentious
This book was entirely too pretentious to read. He should have tried to write in the active voice and with a reasonable vocabulary. I bought it used for less than a dollar plus shipping--I got wripped off.

Great work if you can get it
What a country this is! How else to explain this book? Take an historical figure about whom little is known, ascribe certain banalities about leadership to him, jazz it up with some colorful language, set it in a guidebook format with short chapters and lots of bullets--and sell huge numbers of copies! Get Ross Perot to endorse it!

This book cries out for a spoof--heck, it already seems like a spoof. I'm thinking of taking a few days to write "Leadership Secrets of Spongebob Squarepants" and see how it sells.

Great leadership primer
Sure, if you're looking for an in-depth treatise on Attila or Leadership you are bound to be disappointed. I have read this book numerous times and have assigned it to my subordinate managers as required reading. In every case those people have been pleasantly surprised with how easy it is to read, understand and apply to improve their leadership and management practices. It gets individuals interested in picking up other, more detailed works on leadership and management that they might not have been drawn to in the first place.

Do Not Waste Your Time: Low-Brow Business
Well... where to begin??? Wess Roberts is really a good example of an initial interesting idea milked and warped to horrible proportions; neither the historical metaphor nor the advice he gleans from it really ascends above the line of a comic book. Read the "Economists" review of this book and their trashing of its author -- who appears to be rather less than he appears. I can add little except to say that I bought it in a rush in an airport and then after the first page I realised there was something terribly wrong with this book (it is written for about someone who has a 12 year old reading comprehension level).

If you are a person who sees the world in a Manichean world view of "good and evil"/ "us and them" then you may ultimately see some kind of value in this book. All research however indicates that a successful business relationship is formed on the basis of honesty, trust and committment to a win-win relationship with the client. Without that fundamental understanding business and corporations do not advance. Those companies that practise the Attila mindset will ultimately remain Neanderthals and will condemn themselves to always being small-time, cheesy presenters with a life time of believing in the simplistic explanations for complex behaviour.

I would have given it a 0 if I could have. This book has the distinction of not even being worthy to grace the shelves of my personal business library. Spend your money on Drucker or even Napolean Hill. You will get a better return. ... Read more

Book Description

This new hybrid book integrates both e-commerce and traditional legal environment issues, serving as a bridge between the two by covering the legal environment of business and its extensions into e-commerce. The text fulfills the need for greater understanding of the role of law, regulation, and public policy. A major focus is on how existing laws will accommodate the transition and on what issues new perspectives are needed from legislation, regulation, judicial interpretation, private contracting, industry self-regulation and public policy. ... Read more

Book Description

A colorful look at Avon's journey to the top
Avon is the world's largest direct sales company, with a record four million representatives in more than 140 countries worldwide. Its product line has expanded from cosmetics to vitamins, weight control products, clothing, and jewelry. In The Avon Story, author Laura Klepacki offers an in-depth look at how Avon grew from a small business selling books door-to-door to one of the world's leading cosmetics companies. Through exclusive interviews with company executives--both past and present--as well as analysts and other experts in the beauty and cosmetics industry, Klepacki reveals how Avon has built a global empire by addressing the needs and customs of women around the world as well as how it has managed to thrive in all economies even in tough times. Readers will also discover how this cosmetics powerhouse has maintained and increased its market share through new product introductions, the use of technology, appealing to different customers, including men and teens, rewarding its best performers, and giving back to society with financial support for such causes as domestic violence and breast cancer. The Avon Story also takes a look at the leadership principles that have allowed Avon to prosper over the years. Engaging and entertaining, The Avon Story offers readers a well-rounded account of one of America's most respected and successful companies.
Laura Klepacki (West Caldwell, NJ) is an experienced journalist who has covered beauty, marketing, and other consumer issues. She is the mass-market beauty editor for Women's Wear Daily, where she specializes in articles on the multibillion-dollar health and beauty care industry in the United States. She frequently travels to industry conferences to meet with senior executives and has close contacts with consultants and analysts in the cosmetics and fashion business. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Idea
I think it's a great idea to have some kind of knowledge in making this business a success for everyone.I never thought they would come out with a book, but if and when it comes out, I am going to read it!Great job at making something so lucrative in helping the women of today advance further! ... Read more

Book Description

Managing employees in today’s rapidly evolving workplace can sometimes feel like negotiating a minefield. Such recent new trends as flextime, telecommting, 360-degree feedback, the flattening of hierarchies, and the increased use of temps and contract workers present tough new challenges for supervisors in every field. This timely, completely revised and updated edition of Ferdinand Fournies’s classic management coaching "bible" shows you proven ways to get workers to perform at the highest level while eliminating the self-destructive kinds of behaviors that have become increasingly prevalent in recent years.
In this book, you’ll be taught specific face-to-face interventions you can use to enhance performance in every kind of workplace situation--from sales to creative brainstorming. There are also interventions uniquely suited to resolving problems ranging from low productivity to absenteeism to conflicts between individuals. You’ll learn precisely what to say and do so that each person you supervise will want to give you his or her best work--even when that person was previously thought to be a "problem employee." Packed with brand-new case studies from Fournies’s latest research into the dynamics of the modern workplace, this classic guide takes all the guesswork out of becoming the kind of inspired, "hands-on" manager that every company today is looking for! ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Coaching for improved work performance
If you are responsible for the day-to-day supervision or management of human resources in your company this book is a must. This book will help you deal with your employees performance and redirect their behavior in ways not taught in a traditional classroom setting. This book, from a legal and humane perspective, outlines the perfect way to manage a group of people, shedding the need to deal with attitudes or personalities and dealing with the behavior-based performance issues that result in measurable improvement. Your employees and your company will greatly appreciate the techniques outlined in this book, and it will keep you out of trouble at the same time. If you are in management of people, this is the most important book you can ever read. More important than any other single managerial aspect, redirecting people's behavior through coaching is your prime respponsibility. You get paid for what your people do, they are your scorecard. You do not have to be an expert in whatever aspect of the business you are engaged, you must get things done through others and help them be successful. Your people are your experts, and when they fail, you fail. This book should be required reading in every college management program, simply because this book encompasses the real nature of what managers will be getting paid to do for the remainder of their careers. Buy it. You won't be sorry.

My success using Coaching.
As a consultant for small companies, I have found using Ferdinand F. Forunies' book,"Coaching for Improved Performance" an outstanding success. It has been very well accepted and an easy read for "Leads". The Coaching Analysis prepares them to then know when to use the Coaching discussion. New people to the supervision field come not knowing what to do. After reading the book and seeing the "Face to Face" video are ready to be trained in working with their employees for improved performance. I have not found any material that comes close to this material as a training vechical. I have used this material for over 15 years.

Coaching for Improved Work Performance
No No No. I have read these reviews and read the book. It's very important to make this distinction clear. If you are a coaching professional or interested in becoming a personal or business coach DO NOT get this book. In this book "coaching" is just another word for "managing." If you are truly interested in learning how to work with someone on THEIR agenda (vs. imposing yours or the company's on to them) and if you are truly interested in helping people achieve progress in areas they want to develop then go to another book (i.e. Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others by Flaherty). To Fournies defense, he wrote this book before the modern coaching movement (i.e. CoachU, ICF, etc) took hold. But, books tend to stay around and his definition of coaching pollutes the desired meaning of modern coaching professionals.

However, if you are a manager in a traditional hiearchy and you are looking for "tricks" and "techniques" then maybe this book is for you--but I can think of MANY better books for being an effective manager.

A "Must Have" for new and seasoned managers alike!
There are so many challenges in being a manager in today's world and so little time to figure out how to deal with them all. This great little book provides a very pragmatic approach for improving work performance. Too many books provide general guidance that tends to fall apart during implementation. The methods in this book work and don't require months before you see the results. If you have performance problems with even one worker, you need this book!

Ferd shows us how it is done on the line, every day
To me, this one is a classic. I have introduced the "Book of Ferd" to many of the younger managers in my department, with encouraging results. "Coaching" puts the problem of people management where it belongs, in the lap of the manager, but remarkably (and atypically) provides specific direction as to "what to do differently" in order to overcome the unproductive behaviors of either (or both) the manager or the subordinate. The author provides templates and practical examples on how to handle the actual interview situation (a.k.a. the "confrontation")-- one of the most useful aspects of the book. Some of these examples deal with especially surly and insubordinate employees, and the author shows in dialog form how they can be dealt with in real time-- something they don't cover in engineering school. The only criticism I would make is that some of the strategies described in the book are most directly applicable to managers who are dealing with production or sales people; situations where output can be readily measured. In the case of employees such as engineers or R&D personnel, where evaluating performance is not so simple, the author punts by saying that if you have a hard time finding an objective measure of job performance, it means that "you haven't found a way to measure it yet". Not too helpful. Having said this, however, from experience, many of the performance problems we encounter in technical management are not so different from those found on the production line. By applying the techniques described in the "Book of Ferd" any manager can feel much more confident and deal more effectively with problem--and high-performing--employees. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Simple Solutions to Big Problems
In my study of modern work systems I have often found that the top-performers are characterized by those that communciate well. Rick Maurer's feedback Toolkit is a very simple model to better communications in the workplace. Most of it is simple common sense, but the bottom line is that these simple solutions are still not being used in many organizations today.

The book is easy to read, and written step by step. No one could miss the meaning in this book. After I read it, and highlighted everything that was contradictory to what was happening in my organization, I slipped it under my bosses door. No doubt positive change is coming!

what a gem!
Don't judge a book by the number of pages- this short guide is a wonderful gem. Extremely practical how-to's, and how-not-to's, for giving and receiving feedback. Many organizations espouse feedback as critical to organizational learning and performance-- the skills gained from reading The Feedback Toolkit may actually make it so.
... Read more

Book Description

- Turn beans into bucks -Build a winning sales team -Deliver WOW! customer service ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Best book for the beans
We are opening a coffee house in 4 months and, needless to say, I have been reading and researching tons of books. Not just on the coffee world, but on insuring a small business as well as other legal insights. This book has been a HUGE resource for our venture. It is an easy read, meaning, it doesn't numb your mind for countless pages discussing, say, insurance. Let me add that it does talk about insurance, and I thank the authors for that. They explain complicated business talk with clear and consise examples. They also tend to weigh situations against other situations. For example, when drawing up the plans, they give you three ways of doing it (yourself, a draftsman, and an architect) and explain the pros and cons of each. This is consistent throughout the book and they go on to explain why or why not certain things work. They discuss marketing, staffing and the interview process, equipment tips, design layout, decor, etc. This is obviously written from the stand point of people who have been there. They cover all the bases about getting your shop up and running while touching on some potential pitfalls and how to avoid them. And if you get in a bind, they discuss how to get out of it. My highlighter has gotten a workout and I am passing this on to my co-owners to read. I am grateful to have found this book and only wish I had found it sooner to save money on the previous "coffee house" books I have purchased. This book exceeded my expectations as it went beyond the basics and truly is the only book you'll ever need. I was impressed to see that they covered LLC's, C corporations, and, S corporations...where people can't sue and go after your homes, bank accounts, personal assets, etc. Our attorney recomended an LLC for our type of operation and I was relieved to see that this book brought the topic up. Thanks to the authors for being the most complete work out there (in my opinion) on starting your business THE RIGHT WAY from the start.

Excellent book.
I found "Start and Run a Profitable Coffee Bar" an excellent book for restaurant novice such as myself. I have operated a business but not a restaurant or coffee shop. This book is excellent. It provided many different forms which would be useful in running a coffee bar. The book also included in an appendix coffee organizations and suppliers, helping the novice tremendously. I would definitely recommend purchasing this book if you are interested in starting a coffee bar or shop.

Not Worth the money
This book did not really come up with anything that one can not find at the public library or the internet. It tells you about the good things that you would like to hear and thus painting a rosy and an unrealistic picture. The information is somewhat general, and for the most part not realistic and/or outdated. In short, it's not worth the money.

GREAT!!!!!
This book was absolutely wonderful! I did not want to put it down. The authors put a lot of thought into what you should know about opening and running your new or already established coffee bar. Very detailed! I wanted to run out and open my business right after I read this book. :-) But, research, research, research will have you better prepared. It wouldn't hurt to have this book under your arm the whole time either!

I am so glad I bought it! It was well worth my time and money! Thanks for the reviews on this book. They played a huge part in purchasing this book.

Very good book for beginners.
This book offered different ideas and suggestions that I had not thought of while planning for my new business. It was well written and easy to understand for a beginner. I really enjoyed learning about different coffees and roasting techniques without getting so much information that I thought that I was in school or something. It gave just enough information and helped provide a good starting point for my business plan. ... Read more

Book Description

Innovation is rapidly becoming democratized. Users, aided by improvements in computer and communications technology, increasingly can develop their own new products and services. These innovating users -- both individuals and firms -- often freely share their innovations with others, creating user-innovation communities and a rich intellectual commons. In Democratizing Innovation, Eric von Hippel looks closely at this emerging system of user-centered innovation. He explains why and when users find it profitable to develop new products and services for themselves, and why it often pays users to reveal their innovations freely for the use of all.

The trend toward democratized innovation can be seen in software and information products -- most notably in the free and open-source software movement -- but also in physical products. Von Hippel's many examples of user innovation in action range from surgical equipment to surfboards to software security features. He shows that product and service development is concentrated among "lead users," who are ahead on marketplace trends and whose innovations are often commercially attractive.

Von Hippel argues that manufacturers should redesign their innovation processes and that they should systematically seek out innovations developed by users. He points to businesses -- the custom semiconductor industry is one example -- that have learned to assist user-innovators by providing them with toolkits for developing new products. User innovation has a positive impact on social welfare, and von Hippel proposes that government policies, including R&D subsidies and tax credits, should be realigned to eliminate biases against it. The goal of a democratized user-centered innovation system, says von Hippel, is well worth striving for. An electronic version of this book is available under a Creative Commons license. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

State-of-the-art
The book comprises an outstanding publication in the field of innovation management.It has the potential of becoming the central textbook in the field of user-centered innovation which is an increasingly important research area.

The objective of this book is to provide a state-of-the-art overview of research in the field of user innovation.Also, it aims to show how the different (so far more or less isolated) aspects are related.These are ambitious goals.

From my perspective, the manuscript fully meets them.It offers a profound, concise and easy to read overview of the research done in the past decade.Its outstanding quality is that it manages to relate different aspects in an innovative way and shows the rationale of the research field.It delivers new insights even to a researcher active in this field for some years now.

The book it interesting for a broad audience.It is stimulating even for a specialist in this field.But of course, the main audience is much broader.It should be of interest for scholars and students in the fields of innovation management, new product development, market research, economics and other.It will be of interest also for practitioners and policy makers in the corresponding areas.

I really like the many easy-to-understand examples and its conciseness.One does not necessarily have to have an understanding of the research field before in order to learn from the book (and enjoy it!).

More than another open innovation book
This is a wonderful book beyond the typical managerial how-to-do checklists. This is the reason why I recommend this book especially to managers and practitioners (innovation management researchers will read the book anyway as Eric von Hippel is one of the leading scholars in this field). Managers may find the book, on a first glance, academic, full with tables, numbers and references. But von Hippel is driven throughout his book by the motivation to present not only a fascinating new idea, but to show that this idea is already a reality and that there is empirical evidence that his concepts provide value for companies and customers. This is the main difference to other books in the area which present various fuzzy weak signals but no proof.

Von Hippel's book goes also beyond the open innovation idea of Chesbrough and others as mentioned by the first reviewer.Chesbrough names a lot of important actors in the innovation process, but neglects the - in my opinion - most important one: the customer or user of the innovation. Von Hippel starts exactly here. His approach is focused on the role of users and customers for the innovation process. In this regard, he builds on his earlier word of the 1970s and 1980s, but has a new story to tell: that user innovation is not only changing the corporate innovation process but also the nature of value creation: If manufacturing is outsourced to Asia, and users take over innovation (and perform this process superior to internal innovation processes), what is left for the corporation?

An insightful and practical view on the future of innovation
Democratizing Innovation covers a lot of new ground.It is important both for those responsible for generating innovations inside of companies and those researching how innovations occur.

von Hippel's first book showed that in many cases users innovate ahead of firms.Democratizing Innovation goes much further and systematically presents a new framework for an entire user-centered innovation system.Many people are often puzzled by the success of open source software, wikipedia and other user-centric systems.This book explains why users innovate for themselves and why user innovation is rapidly increasing in importance.Von Hippel shows why users tend to freely share what they develop, why user-innovators tend to band together into communities, and why user-centered innovation is a really good thing from the point of view of both society and economy.

Far from being overly academic ­this book gives very practical advice built onto a clear framework.It offers many concrete examples as to how firms can link to and benefit from product and service developments by users.It is a must read for CEOs­ not just junior staff!

the editor was asleep
I have been for most of my working career a "practitioner," that is someone in business struggling to out-innovate current or future competition.Von Hipple's earlier book, "The Sources of Innovation," back in 1988, was a pathfinding work and got many of us to look more closely at "lead custoners and users" for new ideas and innovations. They were a great source!

In recent years, a new concept, "open market innovation," has helped many of us go beyond our corporate walls to the outside world for new ideas and innovations in designated fields, primarily using the Internet to help cast our net widely.

Proctor & Gamble, for example, help to pioneer this concept, starting in 2000. In 2003, Henry Chesbrough's book, "Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology," went into some detail telling us how to use the concept to improve the flow of worthwhile ideas. His book was followed by C. K. Prahalad, Venkat Ramaswamy's work,
"The Future of Competition: Co-Creating Unique Value with Customers.

Yet, for some reason von Hipple makes no mention of the Open Market Innovation concept to help cast a net to early adopters and way, way beyond. I wonder why? Certainly, he's not that far out of touch.

But more fundamentally, von Hipple's book is too academic - perhaps written more for an academic audience than practitioners who should be interested in applying his ideas in practice. Perhaps his editor was asleep, or couldn't quite figure out what he was trying to say.

In spite of this drawback, I recomment his book. Perhaps senior executives will give a copy to a junior worker and ask him/her to translate it and recommend what their company should do.

Sam Felton ... Read more

Book Description

Completely Revised and Updated

"This book on valuation represents fresh new thinking. The writing is clear and direct, combining the best academic principles with actual experience to arrive at value-increasing solutions."
–J. Fred Weston, Cordner Professor of Money and Financial Markets, Graduate School of Management, UCLA

THE #1 GUIDE TO CORPORATE VALUATION IS NOW BETTER THAN EVER!

"A ‘how-to’ guide for corporate executives who want to get at the unrealized shareholder values trapped in public companies."
–New York Times

Hailed by financial professionals, professors, and students worldwide as the single best guide of its kind, Valuation provides crucial insights into how to measure, manage, and maximize a company’s value. This long-awaited Third Edition has been comprehensively updated and expanded to reflect business conditions in today’s volatile global economy and to provide highly effective ways for managers at every level to create value for their companies.

In addition to all new case studies, Valuation now includes in-depth coverage on valuing dot.coms, cyclical companies, and companies in emerging markets, along with detailed instructions on how to drive value creation and apply real options to corporate valuation. Here is expert guidance that management and investment professionals and students alike have come to trust, including:

• Valuation’s acclaimed chapter devoted to insights into the strategic advantages of value-based management
• Strategies for multibusiness valuation, and valuation for corporate restructuring, mergers, and acquisitions
• International comparisons of the cost of capital, differences in accounting procedures, and how valuationworks in different countries
• Detailed, actual case studies showing how valuation techniques and principles are applied

This timeless, respected book on valuation allows you to face the crossroads where corporate strategy and finance meet with more confidence and winning strategies than ever before.

Please visit us at www.WileyValuation.com

WileyValuation.com is a premier Web site devoted to all things valuation. At this unique online community for financial professionals, you will enjoy the following features:

• New information on valuation topics and links to key valuation sites
• Valuation message boards and chats
• Downloadable valuation spreadsheets

... Read more

Reviews (38)

Superficial and lacking in depth
The first part of the book covers very basic material that may be found anywhere on the Internet or in a beginner's finance text book. This portion will be valuable only to introductory students of the subject.

The second two parts, which deal with actual valuation techniques, are very verbose, but lacking in organization and depth. This half assumes that you are already familiar with concepts such as WACC, Free Cash Flows, and other accounting and valuation terms. Although several valuation techniques are indeed discussed, by no means is the list comprehensive. Furthermore, no systematic approach to deriving or explaining the formulas is available, and often, terms not introduced earlier are used.

On the positive side, however, the book makes easy reading and focuses on a more practical, rather than academic or theoretical, discussion of valuation.

This book may not provide much value to a serious student of valuation. Furthermore, I do not believe it will make an ideal reference for the experienced professional either. At best, it will make a good second reference for a graduate level course in valuation.

Good but bad Excel support
I liked this book. In Russia it is one of the most popular books on valuatuion. But when I can get the perfect excel support for Investment Valuation by Aswath Damodaran or good web support for Valuation Methods and Shareholder Value Creation by Pablo Fernandez, I ask the authors, why don't they put supporting material in disk? I think that the price of their sowtware ($94.50) is too high compairing with the book ($56 with discount), because there is no supporting materials - only 1 spreadsheet (from my point of view does not conform to McKinsey, as the leader of consulting business). I hope, for the 4-th edition we will have a good excel support.

Adequate, but not Original
I hoped that McKinsey would have something new to say on this subject. There are two corporate finance texts and various finance books that cover the ground better or at least as well, so it is hard to see why this book was written.

In light of recent corporate shenanigans with off-balance sheet products, it is unforgiveable that this book doesn't address how lack of value can be disguised using off-balance sheet products. Total return swaps, an off-balance sheet financing tool, isn't discussed, and credit derivatives, another off-balance sheet tool aren't even discussed. For coverage of these topics and offshore vehicles, read "Credit Derivatives" by Tavakoli.

User-unfriendliness at its best
Hmm I wonder if those giving this book five stars actually work for McKinsey. As a practioner, I don't know anyone in the industry who has actually read this book. It looks impressive on the bookshelf, but the content is anything but impressive. A lot of topics are covered, but each one only superficially and the writing is extremely dry and boring. I actually found reading this volume *painful*, and I'm supposed to like this stuff since I do it for a living! My advice for any potential buyer is read a few chapters first before you shell out for it.

Logic jumps
This book is useful if you're already quite familiar with common valuation methods and can fill in the jumps & gaps. However, if any of the areas you're looking at is new to you or if you would like a more logical, well-reasoned approach or simply a discussion of all the various valuation methods in use, buy Damodaran's text instead.

This book was the prescribed & provided reference in the Corporate Finance department I worked in but most of my colleagues and I purchased our own copies of Damodaran's text "Investment Valuation, Wiley, Aswath Damodaran", which is superior in breadth as well as logical description of valuation processes. ... Read more

Book Description

Since publication in 1996 there have been tremendous advances in business and management which have necessitated the development of a new, improved second edition. IEBM 2nd Edition addresses these advances by updating all existing material as well as adding a great deal more. This revision means that the printed encyclopedia now fills 8 volumes with fifty percent more entries and four million words. Additional countries are profiled in the new edition and there are even more biographical profiles of influential management thinkers, making IEBM 2nd Edition bigger and better than ever. Full-length entries, equivalent to any secondary critical work or journal paper, serve as excellent introductions to the debates and literature of a given topic or concept. Each entry is fully cross-referenced and a further reading section is carefully annotated to indicate the level and importance of the work cited which proves especially useful for the student to take their research further. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A book to complete any businesss library.
Without this book all business libraries are incomplete.With articles rangeing from the biographies of such legends as Bill Gates to fully referenced and peer reviewed articles on world regions and their economic statuses and of course a thorough grounding in the business basics.This not only superseeds the first edition but comprehensively betters it. ... Read more

Book Description

Invaluable." --SUCCESS. "In simple, straightforward language, Fournies offers practical solutions to the problems of employee performance ... [This book] should be on the desk of anyone who manages others."--ENTREPENEUR. THE TOP 10 REASONS EMPLOYEES DON'T DO WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO:
10.They don't know why they should do it;
9. They don't know how to do it
8. They don't know what they are supposed to do
7. They think your way will not work
6. They think their way is better
5. They think something else is more important
5. They think they are doing it
4. They are punished for doing it
3. They are rewarded for not doing it
2. It's beyond their personal limits
1. No one could do it
This book tells you how to avoid or handle each situationÑand the 6 other reasons that comprise the total list of reasons employees don't do their jobs. Universally praised and a perennial best seller, this book made The New York Times business bestseller list in early 1998--10 years after it came out! Why? Competition to attract and keep good employees is fiercer than ever. Today's employers need the no-nonsense people-management skills this book teaches. Based on real experiences of 25,000 managers surveyed by a Columbia Graduate School of Business professor, this results-oriented guide--newly updated for todayÕs changing workplace--provides proven, straightforward methods that work on real jobs, in real businesses, in the real world.This updated edition also gives you new input from 5000 additional managers, plus more help with temp workers, service industries, flex time, computers, telecommuting, stress, and safety! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Kinda weak
There's probably some stuff in here that would be useful for a manager who is completely clueless, but I didn't find much that would be useful insight for someone further along than that. I gave it a few chapters, because a friend I respect recommended it, but then gave up. I guess the book is okay for what it is, but it isn't likely to make any lasting improvement in your relationship with your employees. It generally comes from a perspective that has been somewhat popular in recent years, to the detriment of business, one that says:
- Process is more important than substance.
- Management can be detached from leadership.
- Management is more about skill than about character.

Employees follow and build loyalty to leaders who lead, not administrators who manage. When you've proved yourself as a leader, when you've proved (by consistent actions over time) to your employees that you really have their best interests at heart, and when you've shown that you'll work with those who want to improve, but will deal decisively with those who poison the work environment, then amazingly enough, employees tend to start doing what they ARE supposed to do.

I'd recommend skipping this one and picking up a copy of Leadership as a Lifestyle, by Hawkins, instead.

Somewhat simplistic, but still decent.
I work as a Customer Care supervisor at a Call Center. I purchased this book, along with quite a few other management books, in an effort to immediately and consistently improve my management and leadership skills.

I didn't find this particular book to be very helpful in that endeavor. Many of the chapter subjects are common sense.

The positive side of this book, for me, is that I have worked under, and dealt with, many very poor managers with counter-productive leadership habits. During such unpleasant circumstances, I've often wondered if the individual in question really didn't get how their behavior and habits were adversely affecting morale and productivity.

I'm not currently in such a situation, but if I were, I'd carefully study these simple solutions to the common management problems, and try to gently make suggestions toward their implementation by the manager with whom I'm struggling.

What seems like common sense to someone actively pursuing self-improvement, might not be so common to the hopelessly mediocre manager. It mig