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Encouraging our clients to read books has always been an integral part of our business. As a result, we’d like to periodically share 10 books that we feel should be included in your business and/or personal library. These books are not listed in order of sales, popularity, or recommendation. The numbers are used only for reference purposes.
I must begin this particular review with a confession. I'm not certain I would have purchased this book myself but, after reading it, I'm thankful and proud to have it occupy a special spot in my personal library. I received this collection of morality tales as a Christmas gift from a dear, long-time friend and began reading it more out of obligation than desire or interest. I'm pretty sure that approach stemmed from my dislike and distrust of most anyone involved in today's political climate ... from dedicated liberals to devout conservatives. However, I must also admit that if I were to be in the least tempted to read anything written by a politician, it would be the works of John McCain. He is one of the few politicians I admire for his courage to speak his mind and do what he thinks is right for the American public. He cares little for the approval of his own party and has an equal number of friends and foes on both sides of the political aisle. Few others can make that same claim and probably fewer have the courage to want to. He is a rare exception to the partisan bitterness in Washington these days, often crafting bipartisan approaches to issues such as smoking and campaign reform. John McCain is a maverick senator and former Vietnam veteran and prisoner of war. The son and grandson of prominent Navy admirals, John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1958, McCain began a 22-year career as a naval aviator. In 1967, he was shot down while on a bombing run over Vietnam. He parachuted into a lake, breaking both arms and a leg. He was held as a prisoner-of-war in Hanoi for five and a half years (1967-1973), much of it in solitary confinement. He actually refused early release—which he saw as a public relations stunt by his captors—insisting that POWs held longer than him should be granted their freedom first. To me, that act alone speaks volumes of John McCain's character! Thereafter, McCain was treated much more severely, but he also had an opportunity to bond with his fellow prisoners. Those experiences strengthened his resolve and eased his transition back into civilian life. He retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1981. McCain's naval honors include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. In Character Is Destiny, McCain and Salter tell the stories of 34 celebrated historical figures and lesser known heroes whose values exemplify the best of the human spirit. He illustrates these qualities with moving stories of triumph against the odds, righteousness in the face of iniquity, hope in adversity, and sacrifices for a cause greater than self-interest. Each area of this book is titled with a general value. For example, part one is titled with the general value honor. Each individual value has specific character traits that make up that particular value. For instance, HONOR includes similar areas such as: (Honesty, Respect, Authenticity, Loyalty, Dignity). Then, the authors share a true story of a person who exemplifies the featured value. Here is the complete set of general values and their (specific character traits) for each part:
Each of the stories exemplifying character traits is well told beginning with a brief summary about the person. Each subject area features a cover page consisting of an impressive hand drawn portrait of the person who is profiled. In addition to the portrait is an insightful quotation from a William Shakespeare play. His choice of heroes and heroines is diverse enough to please both liberals and conservatives. I think he pretty much says it all in his sub-titles. These are indeed stories which should be shared by both young people as well as adults as it is a genuine celebration of the human spirit. The 25 men and nine women featured in this stimulating collection include: Gandhi, Joan of Arc, Winston Churchill, John Wooden, Abe Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Wilma Rudolph, Mark Twain, Mother Teresa, and Tecumseh to name just a few. You'll also learn about the Catholic priest in Auschwitz who offered to take a condemned man's place; the 66-year-old British Prime Minister who, in a renowned eighteen-word remark that would live forever in annals of history, counseled schoolboys to "never give up"; a nun, formerly a comfortable Beverly Hills housewife, who works with prisoners in Mexico's worst jails; and the 27-year-old football player whose love of country led him to turn down a three-year, $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League to enlist in the Army shortly after 9/11 and then make the "ultimate sacrifice" in Afghanistan. This collection will provide you with hours of enjoyable reading, thought-provoking examination, and cherished inspiration.
Prior to every keynote or seminar, we offer the disclaimer that we're about to share with you what you NEED to hear rather than what you WANT to hear. I guess I always felt that was pretty daring and bold in this day and age of pampering audiences and sharing warm fuzzy antidotes in hopes of inspiring enhanced productivity, profitability, and prosperity. Never again. Our remarks seem insignificant after reading this book. Two chapters into Dave Anderson's rantings, I must admit I was angered, insulted, disturbed, embarrassed, offended, irritated and exhausted. I felt abused, almost drawn and quartered. I felt I had been kicked in the shins, slapped in the face, and had the wind knocked out of me. But wait, don't misunderstand. That's apparently a good thing. The author actually predicted many of those reactions. In fact, he claims he would have failed his readers if, in fact, he had NOT provoked those many emotions within us. As he says, frustration and dissatisfaction are unequalled motivators and that's exactly what is needed in today's chaotic business environment. I bought this book at the airport in Los Angeles prior to a long red-eye flight back to Michigan. It shortened the flight dramatically. I discovered very quickly that this is certainly not your typical business book. Anderson's direct and bare knuckles approach makes you realize that he has no intention of inspiring you but has every intention of taunting you into action. He pulls no punches in pointing out that today's business leaders are running out of time. Look around and you'll see that our businesses are mired in mediocrity today. You won't find academic remedies to your business challenges within these fast-turning pages. In fact, you'll find the opposite—tips on how to be a tougher, take-no-prisoners-style manager. He shows you how to be more direct without being disrespectful; how to give honest feedback even when it hurts; and how to hold employees accountable for results. In short, you'll learn how to get the most out of your business. Refusing to beat around the bush, the author tells you how to motivate lazy employees, reward the winners, fire the losers, and run a tight and profitable ship. No doubt this advice will be tough medicine for some companies until they consider the obvious alternative which is reported almost daily in headlines from coast to coast. As a business consultant, I'd like to put this book into the hands of every one of our clients. It's filled with simple, to-the-point wisdom that only sounds clichéd because it works. This is the perfect book for aligning your company and your employees to grow your organization and exceed customer expectations. Anyone using this book as a template for a bold new business model will clearly reach levels only dreamed of in the past! Buy this book. Grab a legal pad. Lock your door. Turn off your phones. Climb into a very comfortable chair. Buckle your seatbelt. Don your armor. Open your mind. If you want real answers to your business challenges, this is the reference book. There is no sugar coating here, just the facts. You'll find many solutions that will definitely work if YOU have the guts to pull the trigger! This may well be your last chance!
This title is one of an acclaimed trilogy of the "literature of possibility" recommended to me by a client who felt I would definitely enjoy it and want to share it with our readers. I should alert you to the fact that you more than likely will not find these titles on the shelves of your local book store but can certainly order them very easily from the store or online. Let me begin by explaining a little bit about this author and what he's accomplished for lovers of great literature everywhere. I'm tremendously impressed with his efforts and overwhelmed at his achievement. This book is one of three very similar offerings that follow the same reader-friendly format. I'll explain that template here and then share the individual content under each title. You'll want to keep this series of books within arm's length in your office or home library.
Remember the faithful Cliff Notes we denied using in high school? This approach reminds me of a compact encyclopedia of Cliff Notes introducing and/or reacquainting readers with 50 of the greatest self-help authors and their inspirational classics. Tom Butler-Bowden has spent more than six years researching, reading, and analyzing hundreds of works to compile these three guides to the world's best literature. Tom is a graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of Sydney. He currently lives and works in both the UK and Australia. You'll want to check out his website at www.butler-bowdon.com. The reader-friendly format I spoke of is certainly conducive to getting the message of the original book with clarity and ease. Each classic has its own chapter which is reasonably short and to the point while extremely revealing. The first page of each chapter begins with a few notable quotes from the classic followed by a feature titled "In a nutshell." This profile summarizes the entire classic in one or two sentences followed by another interesting feature, "In a similar vein," which lists several other classics that address the same subject. Thus far–one page. The author then offers the main idea, context, and impact of the book itself followed by a short, interesting biography of the author. I first thought this collection of classic reviews would save me from having to read the entire book, and I'm sure some may want to settle for that. However, I found that while it gave me an excellent insight to the gist of each classic and author, it also enticed me to want to read or reread the entire content. Either approach will leave you longing for more. Here are just a few of the self-help classics included in this must-have collection.
Here we have the same author (as our third review) utilizing the same format to introduce us to 50 of the most important and inspiring books that already have helped legions of readers unleash their potential and discover the secrets to success in work and life. In this collection, you'll find such classics as:
Biographies of:
This is the last in Tom Butler-Bowdon's acclaimed trilogy. It's a very unique collection of the very best spiritual works that have stood the test of time. Tom has brought together the world's classic spiritual writings in one volume. Spanning countries, centuries, spiritual traditions and secular beliefs, the selections in this collection are breathtaking in range. This obvious kaleidoscope of inspiration lets the reader delve into the ideals that can enrich the mind and heal the soul. Here are just a few of the classics you'll find in this edition:
Autobiographies of:
When many of you read the title of this book, the name P.T. Barnum more than likely came to mind immediately. This famous entrepreneur and showman is perhaps best known today for having said something very similar to this title, "There's a sucker born every minute." As a youngster, I was well aware of Barnum's affiliation with the "Greatest Show On Earth," the Barnum and Bailey Circus. My Grandfather took me to see this spectacle every time it arrived within 100 miles of our home. As much as I cherished every visit to this exhibition of extravagance (give me a break — we had no cable TV or video games) I must admit I had little, if any, respect or feeling for P.T. Barnum. As I look back I'm quite certain it was due to the famed "sucker" comment that was always credited to him. It never set well with me. Now, decades later, I learn from this book that Barnum never once uttered that statement! In actual fact, he believed that there was a customer born every minute, and this belief — that everyone was a potential buyer — was just one of the many solid business principles that led him to a long and successful career. The author of this page turner, Joe Vitale, is President of Hypnotic Marketing, Inc., a marketing consulting firm. To create this best seller, Vitale studied books about Barnum, read stacks of his letters, listened to a rare Edison recording of his voice, watched the various movies and commentaries made of his life, visited with collectors of Barnum materials, and reread his lively autobiography, titled Struggles and Triumphs, the primary source to read if you want to know about this fascinating man's life. Barnum created what the author calls "10 Rings of Power" for making any business into a money machine. These business principles are straightforward, very effective, and obviously timeless. Vitale shows you how to apply and adapt these key principles to your own business. It doesn't matter if you lead an established company or plan to start your own entrepreneurial venture; what worked so successfully for Barnum can do the same for you. In addition to the Rings of Power, this captivating read will provide you with a number of useful new marketing ideas that you can utilize immediately with fantastic outcomes. For instance:
I'd better come clean on this one. I've reviewed 140 books for our web site now and this one has probably been the most challenging for me. I must admit I've been mesmerized by the words of Tom Peters and his unique "take" on business, management, leadership and innovation since first reading his renowned In Search of Excellence 24 years ago. I'm proud to say I have his entire "works" in my personal library and, better yet, have actually read every one of them. I've always admired the exuberance, enthusiasm, and fervor Tom shares with anyone and everyone who will listen to the issues so dear to his heart. I have yet to read one of his books, this one included, that didn't provide me with inspiration, extraordinary insight, many laughs, a few "ah-hahs", and a revitalized dedication to my personal goal of making a difference. I've also disagreed with many things he has championed. Now let's examine his latest and most ambitious offering, Re-imagine! I'm going to use a different approach to this one by separating my positive observations from my negative commentary. Prior to sharing my review of the content, let's examine the physical book itself. You've got to admit that Tom walks his talk. He has always preached the importance of "re-invention," risk-taking, and innovation. He tackled them all in creating his latest best seller. It's larger than most books at 7" x 9" and contains 352 pages, each possessing the potential to blind your eyes, slap your face, shut your mouth, open your mind, sit you down, and force you to take a deep breath as you re-evaluate everything you ever believed to be true. However, that's just potential. In his effort to "reinvent the business book," Tom has pulled out all the stops. Some of you may find it stimulating and enjoyable while others may find the chaotic and unconventional design and layout nauseating at best. This book's design is indeed a departure from "traditional" business books. It doesn't look like any management book you've seen in the past. Every inch of every page is filled with vivid photos, bold colors (especially Peters' trademark red), icons and text-laden sidebars. Word size, color and even typeface refuse to stay stable within a single sentence. Exclamations everywhere!!! CAPITALIZED TEXT. Red text and red backgrounds hit you in the face on most every page. Pictures, pictures and more pictures. There are pictures of products, corporate logos, Hollywood stars, politicians, sports figures, soldiers, and countless famous people from every walk of life. Some readers may find it annoying that pictures of Tom himself can be found by the dozens throughout the book — everything from a full page photo on the cover to every possible cheesy pose you can imagine in every chapter! And before each chapter a page is wasted on a BIG EXCLAMATION MARK! Now let's discuss the pros and cons of the content. Tom kicks things off with an inspiring, even startling, introduction. He avoids his usual histrionics and fireworks starting slowly building his case quietly and firmly. It's quite obvious that he's creating a firm foundation that can handle the bomb bursts of his later frenzies. Momentum builds as Peters steadily presents his major theme: "We're in a new business climate and we'd better make some big changes." As always, Tom does everything he can to move his readers to take action. You can find it on most every page. He doesn't care if you agree or disagree with his philosophy. He simply wants you to take a stand, move to action, and make a difference. He feels our country needs many more voices on every front. Tom admits to previous mistakes as he points out that being correct is not the issue. We need new ideas, new practices, new ways of working before hell arrives in the proverbial hand basket — and the more ideas we can try, the better. We all need to enjoy some excellent failures. As always, he shares an abundance of his stream-of-consciousness phrases and proves once again that he has a profound understanding of our challenging business climate. He's known for his bombastic and passionate ideas and certainly won't disappoint his readers in this best-seller. Like him or not, Tom Peters is one of the most influential management gurus of recent times and this book will contribute much to keeping his legend alive. At the end of each chapter you'll find a thought-provoking and very entertaining "Was/Is" comparison. On a somewhat negative note ... I found that a great deal of the information Tom shares in Re-imagine is not new. Much of what he says was regurgitated from one or several of his earlier works. This will be quite evident to anyone who has read any of his previous books. Repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition. Isn't that aggravating? I found a great deal of repetition within these covers. Many words, phrases, sentences, strategies repeated page after page, chapter after chapter. Repetition can be productive but only to a degree. Tom seems to be promoting his new buzzword, "re-imagine," in the hopes that it will catch on and become part of our business lingo. I don't know how others may feel about it, but I can't seem to come to grips with it. I wish him well but honestly feel this one will fall short. I must admit that I was a bit surprised to find Tom taking a few shots at a few fellow authors. Jim Collins, author of Built to Last and Good to Great, seemed to be one of his favorite targets. I couldn't decide whether it was truly a philosophy dispute or maybe a tinge of professional jealously. It just seemed out of character for the Tom Peters I've grown to know and admire over the years. In summary, Tom's focus is obviously on all things NEW. His chapters include New Context, New Technology, New Value, New Brand, New Markets, New Work, New People, and New Mandate. First time readers of Tom's material will find this book fascinating and will more than likely become true converts ... anxiously awaiting his inevitable upcoming book. Those who have been long time fans who have read Tom's previous books may enjoy this offering but probably won't consider it his best work. Personally, I'm not sure if this one is as good as it is bad or as bad as it is good. Read it, decide for yourself and let me know what you think.
Personally, I can't think of a modern day business person and/or organization that wouldn't benefit from this great read. Let's face it, can you think of an organization that won't be experiencing some kind of staff transition in the future? Are you aware of an individual who won't be dealing with a transition of some sort in pursuit of his/her career track? Webster defines transition as: "a passing from one condition, place, etc. to another." Therefore, we're not talking only about someone becoming a CEO, although that high level transition is certainly covered in this book. Michael Watkins provides a great hands-on guide to anyone dealing with any one of a multitude of transitions ranging from a job change or promotion to launching a start-up or leading a turnaround. Watkins points out the obvious by noting that as long as there have been leaders, there have been leadership transitions. The changing of the guard and the challenges it poses for the new leader are as old as human society. Those challenges have not gotten any easier given the complexity of modern organizations and the speed at which business is conducted. Watkins knows of what he speaks as he is a noted leadership transition expert as well as an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. The author said he was struck, as we all should be, by how few companies invested in helping their precious leadership assets succeed during transitions — arguably the most critical junctures in their careers. Why do companies leave their people to sink or swim? What would it be worth to companies if managers entering critical new positions could take charge faster? I guess I'm amazed why this individual author would ask these questions BEFORE all of these companies would consider it. After all, it's the companies that suffer the losses or enjoy continued growth and prosperity from the gains! The pressure on new leaders to hit the ground running has never been greater, and the likelihood and cost of failure is escalating. For three years he explored these issues by studying dozens of leadership transitions at all levels, by designing transaction acceleration programs for leading companies, and by developing an outline performance-support tool for new leaders. That work culminated in the writing of this book. In this hands-on guide, Watkins provides strategies for avoiding the most common pitfalls new leaders encounter and shows how individuals can protect themselves — emotionally as well as professionally — during what is often an intense and vulnerable period. He provides a road map for creating your own 90-day acceleration plan. The conceptual backbone of the road map is ten key transitional challenges:
If you succeed in meeting these core challenges, you will have a successful transition. Failure to surmount any one of them, however, is enough to cause potentially crippling problems. Concise and actionable, this is the survival guide no new leader should be without. The First 90 Days should be incorporated into every company's leadership development strategy, so that anyone making a transition in an organization can get up to speed quicker and smarter.
I'm old enough to remember that getting fired was something shameful and didn't happen that often in one's career. When it did happen, one could almost expect dark feelings of depression, doubts of your economic worth, and serious damage to your self-esteem. Today, it's difficult to keep score of the many victims of downsizing, right-sizing, global competition, off-shoring, mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, restructuring, reorganizations, bankruptcies, and out-sourcing. It's no longer a disgrace to get fired. However, it still must be dealt with. You're not going to find any life-changing information in this book. In fact, you'd get much of the same advice from your local outplacement consultant or firm. What you will get is an entertaining and enlightening read from one of the world's best-selling motivational and business authors, Harvey Mackay. In fact, you'll probably enjoy a good number of smiles, a warm feeling or two, and maybe even a little motivation to get back into the race. If anyone can do that, it's Mackay. He's the author of four New York Times bestsellers, two of which are listed by the New York Times among the top fifteen inspirational business books of all time (Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt). He's a nationally syndicated columnist for United Feature Syndicate writing weekly articles which appear in more than fifty newspapers across the country. He's one of America's most popular and entertaining business speakers and is the chairman of Mackay Envelope Company, a $100 million company he founded at age twenty-six. Amidst the humor, inspiration, and survival tactics, the author shares some eye-opening "cold truths," such as:
This combination of interviews and short essays could also serve to introduce you to many of the realities of business life such as the fact that today no one is immune to bad judgment and backstabbing. Mackay shares the stories of a variety of people from all walks of life who share one common thread. Although they all lost their jobs, none of them saw themselves as victims for very long. They share their stories and their abilities to bounce back. This book is hopeful, tough-minded and filled with indispensable advice. At the end of each chapter, you'll be exposed to another of Mackay's Morals, a great collection of brief, remarkably quotable life slogans. Frankly, the survival tactics below from the people sharing their wisdom as well as Mackay himself should be taught at new employee orientations so people don't fall victim to the fantasy that their employers will provide them lifelong security. Listed below are just a few of the many contributors to what should be the next addition to your personal and/or business library.
One of my favorite authors, "Anonymous," once said: "You can tell whether a person is clever by his/her answers. You can tell whether a person is wise by his/her questions!" Veteran business consultant Robert Gordman believes success in business is simple: It's literally there for the asking. What he advises executives to ask — and keep asking — are questions that help them understand what their company does well, what it could do better and what its competitors do that lures customers away. Of course, listening without bias and incorporating that feedback into a strategic plan is essential as a follow-up strategy. The expertise you'll find within these pages was developed through over 30 years of business consulting and executive management for retail companies. You'll learn the tactics and wisdom Gordman used to help dozens of companies, such as IBM and Berkshire Hathaway, improve their sale range from about $10 million to an astounding $80 billion! The seven steps and the lists of survey questions he shares with you are simple and easily applicable to any business. When I realized this, my thought was obvious. If so elemental and obviously productive and successful, why in the world isn't everyone doing it? I'm not even sure Gordman can answer that one as this is one of the great mysteries in the history of organizational management. The author shares a number of examples — from Coca-Cola to JC Penney — of companies who failed to employ the seven simple steps successfully and suffered the consequences as a result. He asserts that most companies do not die of natural causes, but from poor decision making that drives away profits, one customer at a time. Take the time to do a little research and you'll find that the majority of business authors and consultants would tell you exactly the same thing after years of observation. Apparently, many see but few learn and respond. I don't want to demean Gordman's "7 Steps To Winning The Customer You Haven't Got" in any way. I say that because his strategy has been proven to be very effective time and time again — for those who have applied it. However, I think you'll agree that each of his 7 Steps are very basic and considered by some to be nothing more than "common sense" ... or maybe we should call them "uncommon sense" because so few are taking advantage of them. After close examination of each step, you'll understand why so many companies have failed over the years and how to avoid that same fate while enjoying sustained, profitable growth.
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Harry K. Jones is a professional speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a firm specializing in custom-designed keynote presentations, seminars, and consulting services. Harry has appeared all over North America addressing topics such as change, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork and time management for a number of industries, including education, financial, government, healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing. He can be reached at 800-886-2MAX or by visiting http://www.AchieveMax.com.
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