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| 1. Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh | |
 | Hardcover
(2010-06-07)
list price: $23.99 -- our price: $13.25 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0446563048 Publisher: Business Plus Sales Rank: 181 Average Customer Review: 
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Editorial Review Reviews
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| 2. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen | |
 | Paperback
(2002-12-31)
list price: $16.00 -- our price: $8.45 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0142000280 Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Sales Rank: 386 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review
Reviews Two last quick points: first, it requires no special binders or refills. You could use a cheap spiral notebook if you want. Personally, I use a palmpilot, which works well. Second, (IMHO) the Weekly Review is the cornerstone of making this system work, and its worked for me for two years. Remember that; it'll make sense once you read the book :) Now if I could only get David to come up with a system for procrastination....
Everyone has experienced times when everything seemed effortless, and progress limitless. David Allen has captured ways for you to achieve that wonderful state of mind and consciousness more often. His key concept is that every task, promise, or assignment has a place and a time. With everything in its proper place and time, you feel in control and replace the time spent on vague worrying with effective, timely action. As a result, the accomplishments grow while the pressure to accomplish decreases. As a result, the book contains many insights into "how to have more energy, be more relaxed, and get a lot more accomplished with much less effort." The key psychological insight of this book is that rapid progress occurs when you take large, unformed tasks, and break them down and organize them into smaller, sequential steps for exactly what to do and when. The book provides lots of guidance and examples for how to do this. The book is organized into three sections. The first gives you an overview of the whole process for how to get more done in a relaxed way. The second spells out the details of how to implement that process, in a way that a personal coach might use. The third provides subtle insights that help you appreciate the benefits that follow from using the process. Like all good coaches, Mr. Allen understands that appreciating a subject from several perspectives and getting lots of practice with it are critical steps in learning. The process advocated by this book is described with lots of systems flow charts that will appeal to all of the engineers and left-brained people. The right-brained people will find lots of discussions about emotions, feelings, and stress. So both types of thinkers should do well with this material. The essence of the process is that you write down a note about everything when you take on a new responsibility, make a new commitment, or have a useful thought. All of this ends up in some kind of "in" box. You then go through your "in" box and decide what needs to be done next for each item. For simple issues, this includes identifying the action you should take first and when to take it. For tougher issues, you schedule an appropriate time to work the problem in more detail. You organize the results of this thinking, and review your options for what you should be doing weekly. Then you take what you choose to do, and act. Think of this process as the following five steps: (1) collect (2) process (3) organize (4) decide (5) act. For the tougher problems, you start with identifying your purpose and principles so you know why you care how it all turns out. Then you imagine the potential good outcomes that you would like. Following that, you brainstorm with others the best way to get those outcomes. Then you organize the best pathway. Finally, you identify the first actions you need to take. Then you act, as in step 5 above. From this outline, I hope that you can see that this is not rocket science. It is simple common sense, but with discipline. The critical part is the discipline because that is what focuses your attention where it will do the most good. For example, rather than sitting on something you have no idea how to get started, you can decide right away to get ideas from others on what the purpose and principles are that should be used in selecting a solution. So, you are in motion, and you have saved much time and anxiety. What I learned from this book is that many people allow a lot of time to pass without taking any useful steps because they cannot imagine what to do next. This process should usually overcome that problem by showing you what to work on, providing methods to accomplish that step in the process, and guiding you to places where you can get appropriate help. As a result, this book should help overcome the bureaucracy and communications stalls that bedevil most organizations. This fits from my own experience in helping people solve problems. If you simplify the questions and make them into familiar ones, everyone soon finds powerful alternatives drawn from a lifetime of experiences and memories. Keep things broad, abstract, and vague, and peoples' eyes glaze over while they struggle for a place to begin. After you have finished reading and applying this book, I suggest that you share your new learning with those you see around you who are the most stressed out. By helping them gain relaxed control of their activities, you will also be able to enjoy the benefits of their increased effectiveness in supporting your own efforts. May you always get the tools you need, understand what to do next, and move swiftly through timely actions!
This is a book you "DO" not just read. Be prepared to work when you start out, but when the initial work is done, that's when the fun begins. I cleaned my inbox and email box of 300 items in less than 15 minutes, filtering out the junk, the things that needed immediate attention, and the "someday maybe" things (like buying my first Harley). This works for my personal life too. No more missed anniversaries, birthdays, phone calls, errands, etc. Do you ever think about work projects at home? Do you ever think about home projects when you're at the office? Ever worry about that phone call you need to make or that errand you need to run? Forget it! Get the book. It's awesome. Get the book - period. If you don't, you deserve your stress.
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| 3. The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing by Natalie Canavor, Claire Meirowitz | |
 | Kindle Edition
(2009-12-16)
list price: $15.99 Asin: B0031PXEGS Publisher: FT Press Sales Rank: 9232 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Business writing that packs a punch: Make the most of your message to get what you want! Simply the best thinking THE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH This book reveals 52 proven, bite-size, easy-to-use business writing techniques that work. Reviews
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I got this book hoping to get some tips on writing for the Web and self-marketing but I got far more than I was hoping for. When I got this book I found myself reading through the first 6 or 7 chapters (or writing "Truths" as the authors call chapters) without intending to.
It says something when you pick up a book to flip through, and find yourself drawn, page by page, through the first 6 chapters. But it says even more when find yourself using the suggestions literally an hour after reading them. After I was forced to put the book down and go to work, I found myself recalling two very specific rules when writing emails. The first was to "Cut to the chase" and put the bottom line at the top, which is brilliant since it put what people needed to know on line one. It was un-missable. I was impressed how quickly these "Truths" came back to me. The authors laid out 52 "Truths" in a concise and digestible format. Many are themed on very basic ideas, which unfortunately are often forgotten. For an example in the first 6 chapters there is a focus on setting goals for your writing and keeping your audience in mind. These are pretty basic writing rules, but again, often forgotten. However, the authors go further and tailor "Truths" to day-to-day business writing. Again, I lifted a "Truth" right from the book by wording an email to my boss' viewpoint, showing how a change we wanted to make helps the whole department. It garnered a compliment and acceptance from our boss, just by keeping the focus on how he sees our workflow. OK, so an hour of reading and same day application. Can't beat that. I'm now on to day two and I have started Cherry-picking chapters. I have read the chapters on Web content and I see that I really need to rework a lot of the content on my site. Usually I wait until I finish a book before writing a review for it, but the jury is in for this one. If you do any type of writing for work or pleasure you should get this book. You can read it like a daily devotional and revolutionize your writing just by getting basic guidelines in your head each day. I'm sure this will become a reference for me. This book has actually gotten me excited about writing. Before starting this review, I read the "Truth" on Jargon and Passive, then rewrote the paragraphs on my home page, and it is night and day. Add to that the "Truth" of less is more and a half dozen other ideas the book gave me and my copy is 100 times better. Alright, I'll stop gushing now. But seriously, if you haven't thought about your writing process in a long time, get this book. It is not a grammar primer, it's an effective guide to everyday writing.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This compact volume offers plenty to differentiate itself from the scores of other similar offerings promising an express ride to clear business writing. Natalie Canavor and Claire Meirowitz take on the complex world of Information Age business writing, and break it down into 52 manageable, readable chunks of theory and practice. They address both modern options (email, blogs and web writing and the ubiquitous challenges of PowerPoint) and "legacy" modes.
You've heard much of this before, and they don't break what I would consider any significant new ground. But their message bears listening to again: Consider your audience. Re-write. Edit mercilessly. Be direct. Be concise. Have a plan. Their packaging is relatively painless for content that many people may want to run and hide from. While dividing the content into 52 sections may suggest chewing in weekly bites...don't wait. Their ideas are well organized, illustrated with realistic examples, and can help even the hopelessly verbose and disorganized get a handle on their most important professional communication tasks. The book invites registration at a companion Financial Times press web site. In return for your personal information, you get access to three .pdf files (guides to style sheet creation, document design references and an online resource guide). Overall, I would have preferred that these simply be included in the book. You'll also be offered a 35% discount...on the book you already own. Go to the business writing section of a large brick and mortar store, or browse amazon's offerings. The choices are dizzying. Choosing this one can help cut through some of that confusion. If you are competing with your peers for scarce fiscal or personnel resources in the workplace, remember this. Among equally qualified, reasonably competent professionals, the edge in the battle for resources often goes to the better communicator. This book can help you gain that edge.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) The authors practice what they preach in making every word count in this short guide. Chapters are brief and to the point with 52 truths or writing points laid out under 9 main parts. Bulleted items and headers in red or bold guide the eye to important elements in each chapter. I especially liked the before and after examples where the authors showed how to make writing that was okay or inappropriate into writing that was excellent. Everything in this valuable reference work is relevant in today's fast changing world of business and communication. Some of the topics covered are letters, emails, web content, grants, and reports and proposals. You can't get what you want if you can't communicate effectively and this book will go a long way toward showing you what you need to make your case.
Authors Natalie Canavor and Claire Meirowitz communicate their message in an easy to read style with the material so well organized that readers will easily find what they need, whether it's the right approach for a request to a supervisor or the best way to interview someone. This is a great reference guide for anyone who works in the business world.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I've had my own marketing business since 1996. I write all day, whether it's emails, proposals, bids, marketing copy, etc. This book has taken the skills I already had and sharpened and refined them.
It is very well organized into 9 basic parts (Chapters) - like 'The truth about what makes writing work' and 'The truth about successful e-mail'. Each section is then detailed into "Truths" like 'Tone makes-or breaks-your message and 'Less can be a whole lot more'. Each "Truth" section is 3-5 pages that make for quick reading. It is easy enough to peruse through a few topics or sit down for a longer read. Since there is so much information with specific detail, I found that after reading through a few truths it was hard to remember all the details. I revisited topics when they were pertinent to what I needed. I especially liked all the suggestions about writing e-mails since this is my biggest method of business communication these days. It is hard at times to stop and think about changing a writing style you are so familiar with using but when you have the time to spend a few extra minutes, refining your message, the payoff is great and eventually it will become your new style. Since "less CAN be a whole lot more" I will finish up by saying that this is a great reference tool for any business person. It will pay for itself very quickly in the successes you gain because of the professionalism and clarity of your writing.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Communications today in business is vastly different than it was even a few short years ago. People skim their letters, emails, blogs, reports.... attention spans are quick. Blink and you are on to something else.
Enter this book. A worthy contender in trying to address the information saturation and overload of our day. Good business writing is still essential. But the times have changed, so the writing has to adapt or be lost in that elusive blink. Whether its email, business letters, web, reports, this book takes them all on and then some. Offering solid tips, strategies and insights that can help writers do a better and more effective job. Open anywhere and you can pick up tips. No need to read cover to cover, though you should to get the most of it. A great business tool for our fast-paced world.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) "Yeah, sure," I thought as I picked up this book. "New Rules" would undoubtedly focus on email, blogs, texting, and other new media forms of communications. The authors would expect that their readers are barely able to turn off their Caps Lock or remember not to use smiley faces in memos to their company CEO.
But I was surprised. So surprised that instead of skimming through the book, I sat back to read each chapter closely. The chapters are more than advice as to how to properly construct an email. They include approaches that enable readers to gradually move up through the corporate ranks. How can we convince, inspire, and energize the recipients of our written word? The chapters assist from this political perspective while educating readers about approaches to literacy that work well within today's fast paced society. Naturally the obvious rules of thumb are incorporated: don't rely on spellcheck, don't click 'send' without proofreading, don't be critical. But these rules are built in to a chapter-by-chapter process designed to help the reader not only communicate thoughts but achieve goals as well. The result is a straight-forward and well-written (as one would hope for in a text about business writing) text presented in bite-size chunks. Well worth a few hours of close attention; you'll also want to keep this on your shelf for quick reference.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) If everyone followed the business writing tips from this book, the workplace would be a much more efficient place. I cannot tell you how many times a day I have to deal with extremely verbose emails or documents. This book shows you examples and also the thought process for making your writing more concise and to the point. One of the biggest tips that is pretty much common sense but no one does is taking the time to read over their writing just once before sending. This book covers not only business writing for emails and summary reports but also writing for webpages and blogs. I found the writing tips for webpages to be extremely helpful and will be revamping my homepage to incorporate some of their ideas. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that communicates with others in a written form.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) "The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing" is an excellent book for those wanting to learn about how to be more efficient in their writing, communicating with clients and even on social media sites.
Writers Natalie Canavor/Claire Meirowitz (Founders of C&M Business Writing Services) write about "52 Truths" when it comes to writing and the chapters are broken down into the following: PART I: The Truth About What Makes Writing Work Examples: "Me" Focused Messages Fail, Forget Yesterday, Write for Today, Tone Makes - or breaks - your message, etc. PART II: The Truth About Self-Editing Examples: The best writers don't write; they rewrite, Less can be a whole lot more, passive thinking and jargon undermine clarity PART III: The truth about successful e-mail Examples: Know your e-mail do's and don'ts, use e-mail to communicate in the fast lane-powerfully, etc. And then you get into the more important chapters such as.. PART IV: The Truth About Letters PART V: The Truth About Reports and Proposals PART VI: The Truth About Web Sites PART VII: The Truth About New Media PART VIII: The Truth About Writing to Self-Market PART IX: The Truth About Tricks of the Trade And also the ability to access more materials by registering your book online. JUDGMENT CALL: Personally, "The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing" could be a useful tool in college curriculum. In college, having taken writing classes that dealt with Associated Press writing, it was ingrained in our heads by our professors to write a certain way, to use words that most people don't use in their vocabulary and to write intelligently. But when I took a business class which emphasized "Chicago" writing style, it was what we learned to write memo's, e-mails and business communication writing. But as more and more people communicate via E-mail, chat, Twitter or utilizing social media, most people are in a hurry and don't bother to rewrite. And how many times have you had people take a message you wrote out of context. Sometimes good writing requires repetition, good etiquette and for the most part, both Canavor and Meirowitz do a good job in showing people how to write effectively. Overall, "The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing" is an excellent resource for business writing and communication and for those who know they are having problems with communicating via memo, e-mail, tweets, etc. ... Read more | |
| 4. Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money-That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki | |
 | Mass Market Paperback
(2010-01-01)
list price: $7.99 -- our price: $7.99 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 044656740X Publisher: Business Plus Sales Rank: 685 Average Customer Review: 
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Editorial Review Reviews
Kiyosaki will tell you some things you don't want to hear. He is controversial. So is Donald Trump. Rich people are always controversial, but who are the people that make Kiyosaki and others controversial? Certaintly it's not the wealthy. The wealthy agree with Kiysosaki becuase that is how they became rich. Kiyosaki tells us that a house is not an asset. I have to admit that I had a problem with that one myself. I a lways felt that real estate was the one safe have out there and like most, was taught by parents and other early mentors that a house is an asset. Then I got a house and found out that Kiyosaki is absolutely right and so were my mentors. A house is not an asset for the buyers, people like you and me but it certaintly is an asset for the banks, real estate agents, insurance people, the local government who wack you with high city taxes and so on. The biggest problem is that many people think that a big house is a symbol of wealth. It is a symbol of wealth to the bank. Most people tyupically take out 30 year mortgages. How much do you think banks make on that while you are paying for the equalivent of three house payments over time? Conventional wisdom tells us to get a great education and you'll get a great job. Well it started in the Clinton era and has been escalating ever since---downsizing. People who spent tons of $$$ on a college education, invested years in their jobs being servants to their employers and for what, to be downsized? And then there is the typical way that people invest. Conventional wisdom tries to tell us that we can't do it on oour own. We need brokers (so named because they make us broker with their advice) or other financial advice. Those who do try it on their own usually get bad advice and go to deep, deep discount brokers looking for the lowest commissions or on the other end pay fees for loaded mutual funds which are supposed to be better managed (HINT: They are not!) Kiyosaki offers a newer, better, more effective way. Unfortunately like some others who have come before him, Kiyosaki has stepped on some toes, the very people who are using your ignorance for their bliss. Rich Dad Poor Dad is a life changing book. It is highly recommend for anyone who really wants to survive the new millenium. I highly recommend Rich Dad Poor Dad, Rich Dad's Guide to Investing and Rich Dad's Success Stories (prooves that Kiyosaki's naysayers are wrong as usual) Good luck!
Most people know by now that this is the true story of Kiyosaki's two fathers, one, his real dad had a high income but was poor. The other, his friends dad, but Kiyosaki's mentor and Rich Dad. Kiyosaki learned that income alone does not create wealth as he learned from his "Poor Dad." Seeking financial freedom, Kiyosaki learned from his "Rich Dad" the keys to wealth. Kiyosaki went on to amass a fortune and lost it. But remembering the lesson taught from his "Rich Dad", started over and amassed yet another fortune and retired at age 47. The book will tell you some things you don't want to hear like a house is not an asset, 401 (k)s and so called "safe" investments are not quite so safe. That there is no such thing as job security and the world is full of "bullies" who will tell you how much money you can make, when and how many vacations you can take, lunch breaks etc. Kiyosaki's "Poor Dad" was fired at age 50 and learning from this, Kiyosaki tells us that the only real security and freedom is in being your own boss. Kiyosaki goes on to say that both of his dads were "honest, good, honorable men" but his poor dad, although a hard worker was weak and consequently ended up broke. Interesting is that Kiyosaki pledges his first book, "If you want to Be Rich and Happy, Don't Go To School?" to his poor dad.Goes to show that Kiyosaki has class and truely loved his Poor but real dad. Rich Dad Poor Dad is an excellent book. The main message is to take responsibility for your life. You are either a master of money or a slave to it. In addition to Rich Dad Poor Dad, I also recommend "Cash Flow Quadrant", "Rich Dad's Success Stories", "The Millionaire Next Door" and "More Wealth Without Risk."
I contend that it only takes three things to make this program work: 1) You must have a white hot burning desire. Many people have a feeble wish, not a white hot desire. They are not willing to pullthemselves away from the tv set, the internet or whatever (how much money is that making you or more importantly, how many people are you helping with those disciplines?) And many people are NOT teachable, they want to hold on to old dogma taught to them traditionally by parents and other early mentors so when something like Rich Dad comes along, they dismiss it because it doesn't coincide with what their early teachers told them. Of course it never occurs to these people that those early teachers were never rich. Rich Dad has a great program. Follow these three keys. Read the book or listen to the tape or both and get to work. You'll be glad you did! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY RICH DAD!
No, instead, I would recommend Rich Dad's Rich Kid Smart Kid and then move them up to Rich Dad Poor Dad and Rich Dad's Success Stories after that. Great to see the the Rich Dad books are still best sellers and that intelligent people are NOT taking that single one star basher too seriously. Poor guy must have a very boring life! ... Read more | |
| 5. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher, William L. Ury | |
 | Paperback
(1991-12-01)
list price: $16.00 -- our price: $10.88 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0140157352 Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Sales Rank: 555 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Reviews
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| 6. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler | |
 | Paperback
(2002-06-18)
list price: $16.95 -- our price: $11.53 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0071401946 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Sales Rank: 754 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review A PAPERBACK ORIGINAL "Most books make promises. This one delivers. These skills have not only helped us to change the culture of our company, but have also generated new techniques for working together in ways that enabled us to win the largest contract in our industry's history."--Dain M. Hancock, President, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics A powerful, seven-step approach to handling difficult conversations with confidence and skill "Crucial" conversations are interpersonal exchanges at work or at home that we dread having but know we cannot avoid. How do you say what needs to be said while avoiding an argument with a boss, child, or relationship partner? Crucial Conversations offers readers a proven seven-point strategy for achieving their goals in all those emotionally, psychologically, or legally charged situations that can arise in their professional and personal lives. Based on the authors' highly popular DialogueSmart training seminars, the techniques are geared toward getting people to lower their defenses, creating mutual respect and understanding, increasing emotional safety, and encouraging freedom of expression. Among other things, readers also learn about the four main factors that characterize crucial conversations, and they get a powerful six-minute mastery technique that prepares them to work through any highimpact situation with confidence. Reviews
The book addresses a topic that is largely misunderstood and vastly underestimated: high stakes dialogue. The authors define crucial conversations as those where 1) stakes are high, 2) opinions vary, and 3) emotions run strong, or in other words, much of both our professional and personal lives. We're all involved in crucial conversations at home and at work but most of us are not very aware of the interpersonal dynamics at play and/or we're unskilled in how to respond differently. The book helps the reader first understand the principles involved in "crucial conversations" but then also helps the reader develop real skills and abilities to choose or change their communication patterns. The end result is remarkable. The book's impact is a much bigger idea than simple communication--it's all about effective human interaction and getting results with and through people. The book is highly readable, extremely engaging and actually quite fun. It is filled with illustrations and stories from all walks of life: business examples, personal examples and family examples. The fact that the principles and skills the authors teach can be applied in all dimensions of life--work, home, personal--is very appealing to me and made the book extremely helpful on many fronts. I benefitted most from this book from a business standpoint and have found that applying these skills has made a real difference at work. I'm more courageous and more considerate at the same time. I understand people better but I especially understand myself better. I'm far more conscious and aware of my dialogue with others and I've greatly improved my skills and abilities to lead effectively. The bottom line is, I'm helping my company get better results and I'm far more effective personally. If more people in business were to apply these principles and skills in the frequent crucial conversations they have at work, they would make better decisions, achieve better results and do it all in a way that would build the trust and strengthen relationships. I couldn't give a book higher marks. Outstanding!
My confidence and productivity has increased in every area of my life (My business has increased by 30%-50% since I read the book the first time) and I am now effectively handling conversations with my wife that once caused constant upset. I would recommend this book for anyone 1) wanting increased results and 2) willing to have a profound breakthrough in how they communicate. It has made a profound difference for me.
I offer one snippet the books ideals. They say, If you behaved badly apologize but if your intentions have been misunderstood don't apologize do a clarifying "don't/do" statement: "Don't think I mean this awful thing you have been thinking. Do realize that I mean this." They indicate that such statements are just the beginning of repairing what they call safety. This repair was crucial to obtaining today's agreement. Try it!
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| 7. The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires (Borzoi Books) by Tim Wu | |
 | Hardcover
(2010-11-02)
list price: $27.95 -- our price: $15.37 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0307269930 Publisher: Knopf Sales Rank: 815 Average Customer Review: 
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Editorial Review
Reviews
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Warning: This is not light reading. The book is well-written but is not designed as entertainment. If, however, you are concerned about the Internet and potentially where it might go in the near future, or more specifically, how it might wind up controlled, this book will be an interesting and informative read. Important too because communication and information dissemination are vital to the freedom of us all.
Columbia University Professor Tim Wu takes us on an in-depth tour of the history of the communication empires of telephone, radio, television, and now the Internet. Wu's analyses and conclusions are both brilliant as well as at times somewhat surprising. Every page gives evidence of Wu's thorough research, careful thinking and insights that went into the writing of this fine work. The internet has become part of the lives of almost everyone, with its freeing and empowering presence; in fact in important ways it has become indispensable. A not-too-surprising worry might be that the federal government may someday try to control it, not so overwhelmingly as does the government of China of course, but the possibility is there. What Wu so sagatiously points out is that that threat of control could just as easily, or actually more easily, come from the private sector, because in fact the existence of the internet and its smooth functioning are dependent, not on the government, but private enterprise. A different kind of monopoly looms ahead of us as a distinct danger, and this present information age presents new policy and regulation challenges. One hopes that the right government officials at the federal level take heed to this awesomely researched book. If you would like to understand more accurately recent decades as well as the present time the huge corporations that have in the past but also could one of these days control the ways and means of communication, by all means give this worthy work a read. Highly recommended.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) The Master Switch is part history, business theory and technology presented in a clear and enjoyable read. This is neither a business book, nor a history book, nor a novel but it has the best elements of all three. Some advice for the reader, be prepared to read a book about business information and technology this is deep, complex, expansive and thoroughly enjoyable.
Wu demonstrates throughout the book his ability to research and capture the historical events that led to the world we have today and present them more like James Michener than a dry recitation. The details and descriptions led me to feel like I was reading a historical novel more than a business book. Yet all of the conversation revolves round issues of information, technology and business ownership of it. Wu demonstrates his business thinking through the book and research findings. This is a business book as it discusses how information and new technologies often start out as an explosion of small companies that coalesce into a few dominate firms that then often explode into smaller more innovative companies. Those ideas, the decisions and actions behind them are the context that gives the business history context. The Master Switch is a rare combination of history, theory and technology. People looking to read the book from one of these perspectives will either be delighted or deeply disappointed. As a history, the book is a delight as I learned things I never knew before. As a business book, one with a very clear argument, sequential prose and an explicit `bottom line' this book suffers because it meanders through the history parts. Readers looking for a business book should reset their expectations and get the Master Switch. Reset their expectations from the perspective that rather than loading your brain with `programmed' messages, it may be better to get a broader perspective that will let you think through these critical issues. Setting your expectation to read something enjoyable, informative and comprehensive and you will not be disappointed.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Unless you're very young, you have memory of the "Dark Ages" of technology. Yes, there was a time before the Internet...even a time before the ancient 14 kbs modem. I know it's hard for us to believe, but you used to have to be there if somebody was calling AND you didn't know who it was until you picked up the phone! The answering machine could have been available in the 1950s, but why didn't they come out until a few decades ago?
The book has interesting points on technology cycles, which I'll get into in a moment, but first I'd like to congratulate the author on doing such a great job of giving a background history lesson. The topic helps because the history of information empires is every bit as interesting as the rise of military empires. It's all about strategies, "bloody" battles, and luck. It's just the weapons used that differ. Still, most of us have seen even exciting history made boring by poor writing. Mr. Wu keeps things interesting by giving the personal reasons for certain decisions and the circumstances leading to them, not just a bunch of dry dates. Some of the history discussed I was familiar with, but a lot of it was brand new to me. Several ideas presented on the cycles were thought provoking. Most of us are conditioned to immediately think monopoly = bad, but the point of view of the monopolists helps explain why society allowed them to exist. For example, before modern telephone infrastructure existed it almost took a gigantic AT&T to have the drive to force to link up every person to a phone line; while their methods of dealing with opposition were at times abhorrent, they still succeeded in using the monopoly's advantages (economies of scale, no duplication of research by different companies, steady income, etc.) to do a great deal of good. Bell Labs not only researched phone related technologies for the company but also provided resources and advancements in entirely unrelated areas. On the other hand, all was not altruistic. The same advantages that helped it expand and provide service also stifled progress as the monopoly jealously guarded itself against competitors and devoured or squashed possible competitors. They succeeded in connecting nearly everybody for the common good, even rural farms that likely would have been unconnected far longer because of greater costs per user in small population areas. However, those who are old enough will remember when there was only one choice of phone and it was an AT&T phone only. Once AT&T was broken up, we saw tremendous advances in technology and cost benefits to customers. The point being, things aren't purely black and white. The issues of information control and free speech were also fascinating. To me the most interesting was censorship in Hollywood. It's a lesson in unintended consequences. The big studios' very "monopoly" allowed them to succumb to rules of conduct that had married couples depicted sleeping in separate beds for years. In that case rules came from the private sector in the form of religious groups threatening boycotts. There too you see a dichotomy. On one hand, the threat was private individuals in a sense voting with their money and what could be more democratic than voting? On the other hand though, people who didn't agree with those rules had their ability to watch uncensored materials taken away from them in the name of somebody else's view of the public good. It's this kind of struggle for balance we see over and over and over again with the advent of new technologies. I love reading about history and watching documentaries. The adage "History repeats itself." is shown to be true time after time. It's funny how we all think we're so unique, doing things for the first time, but looking back (in some form) most everything's been done before. From the phones, to radio, to the Internet, you can see how the cycle of inventor becomes a wide open free-for-all becomes a tightly controlled industry, and eventually is usurped by some new idea from the outside that changes the rules of the game. It's all one big cycle of progress. Now if only I could figure out what the next major cycle will be, I'd be a very rich man...
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) THE MASTER SWITCH is a highly entertaining tour of the history of today's major media industries: telephone, radio, television, motion pictures and the internet. It is also a work of theory, as Wu uses several lenses by which to view the developments in these industries. There is the "Kronos Effect" - where dominant companies swallow upstart firms who might grow to be threats; there is "The Cycle" - the constant push and pull between open and closed models; and there is "The Master Switch," which Wu demonstrates has been the constant goal of many a mogul and media titan, to centralize the flow of information so that it may be controlled by a single man. (They have all, so far, been men.)
The book reads like an extended New Yorker article, with the personalities and drama behind the developments of revolutionary technologies sketched briefly, yet with riveting, compelling detail. Coming from a man who (it is claimed) coined the phrase "net neutrality," I expected there to be more theoretical discussion of what constitutes information control and information freedom. But in the end, Wu mostly allows the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. The chapter on how Hollywood films were able to be censored for years by a few pious moralists, simply because those censors needed only capture a few choke points, is particularly illuminating. This was not a government intervention, but a self-appointed private group. Wu implies that we need to fear similar interventions in our modern telecommunication systems since today's business leaders, Steve Jobs most definitely included, have designs on consolidating information behind their own Master Switches. It is precisely because so much telephone traffic goes through AT&T's switches, Wu points out, that the US government was able to enact its warrantless wiretapping schemes post-9/11. All in all, this is a fascinating, informative book, well-researched and deftly composed. Highly recommended for folks who liked THE LONG TAIL, THE TIPPING POINT or THE BLACK SWAN.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) It is not often that you read a book that simply makes sense, and Tim Wu strings together a series of events evocative of the old "connections" TV show. Tim paints a picture of the difficulties that companies have cannibalizing current product lines and products in favor of the next big thing. By using AT&T and other companies throughout his book, you can see how difficult it would be for a manager to back the unproven "next big thing" when the current product set is still making tons of money and is very profitable. The picture that he portrays shows that companies are naturally disinclined to support technologies, processes, and ideas that are disruptive to profitable products.
We can see this with Microsoft struggling with Cloud Computing, and the Music and Movie industries having such a difficult time moving to a viable digital model in the internet era. The music industry has railed against every change in technology since the player piano and sheet music saying that it would decimate sales, only to find a working economic model that would allow them to be successful selling sheet music and player piano roles. This book will leave anyone transfixed, and has information for people who are familiar with disruptive technologies as a product line as well as general people who have an interest in how disruptive ideas eventually work their way into the mainstream, even it takes 40 some odd years as it did with the voice message machine that we take for granted today. This book is truly 5 of 5 stars, I sat down and read it in one sitting unable to put it down. Well worth reading for all levels of interest from managers to employees, nonprofessionals to experts there is something here for everyone. Tim writes an eloquent book about technology, corporate and business model disruption, and why companies have a hard time working with disruptive ideas that might not be the next big thing. Moreover Tim points out why a disruptive idea might be more suited to smaller companies who can afford high risks, rather than a tried and true blue company that has different ideas of business lines and profit models.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) "The Master Switch" by Tim Wu is a fascinating history of information technology and policy in the U.S. with profound insights for the Internet economy. Mr. Wu is a gifted writer who seeks to share his knowledge with a wide audience through a highly accessible text. Indeed, as one of the world's foremost thinkers on the topic, Mr. Wu's timely book is certain to have a major influence as we struggle to maintain an open society.
Central to Mr. Wu's analysis is 'the Cycle' or the tendency of information industries to move from open to closed systems. Mr. Wu documents how the telephone, radio, motion pictures and television initially began as low cost platforms that were more or less accessible to almost anyone. Sadly, we are reminded of the dashed utopian dreams of prior generations of Americans who had great expectations about the liberating potential of mass communications technologies. Time and again, we learn how capital swooped in, using their financial muscle and influence over government to control the markets to suit their own private, profit-seeking interests. Importantly, Mr. Wu shows how disruptive new technologies can set the Cycle in motion yet again. In nearly every instance, the challengers are first accused of criminal mischief, as in Mr. Wu's intriguing case study of how renegade cable operators challenged the broadcasting industry by connecting underserved communities with television service. Yet, as the upstarts validate their technologies by creating new markets, they frequently become the new, monopolistic sheriffs they once seemed to oppose in rhetoric, if not in deed. If we have learned anything, Mr. Wu suggests that when industry is left to its own devices the profit motive will trump the public's need for information every time. With the painful lesson of AT&T's calculated suppression of innovation and unflinching support for a Big Brother surveillance state firmly impressed upon us, Mr. Wu convincingly makes the case for a "constitutional" approach to regulating the information economy. In Mr. Wu's judgement, this means enforcing a separation of the powers that produce and distribute content (including, of course, the all-important physical infrastructure) in a way that allows fair and open access to all. Without such a framework in place, Mr. Wu fears that the Internet as we know it could meet the fate of other once-promising technologies. As his book makes abundantly clear, the possibility that the Internet could become the private fiefdom of an AT&T, Apple, Google or some other corporate behemoth and/or combination thereof should not be taken lightly. I highly recommend this exceptionally entertaining, informative and empowering book to everyone.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) The Master Switch is an interesting read on history that many Americans probably do not know. In The Master Switch we learn that while knowledge is power, the ability to distribute information is more powerful. Movie, radio and phone technologies are covered extensively, along with the influences of multiple parties in how those industries developed in the US.
These are powerful technologies with the ability to dictate the course of human thought and societies. Those that hold the power can either use it for the public good, or abuse it, but no matter how the power is used, that same power tends to want to perpetuate itself at the expense of innovation. The cycle is simple. A technology takes hold through small steps. Then it is consolidated over time, usually by a corporation, and with infrastructural considerations and support from government. Disruptive innovative technologies are slow to enter the marketplace because the giants are too large and present either huge financial or legal obstacles. Eventually, a disruptive technology cannot be ignored, and the old ways must adapt; just as TV replaced radio as a primary entertainment medium, and the web is slowly eroding many different telecommunication industries. Then the giants slowly embrace and work to control that new medium, consolidating power once again. The Master Switch makes a case for moderate regulation with the input of industry, but not at the expense of neutrality or diversification of power. There are some interesting ideas about net neutrality in this book, but in the end, the devil will be in the details, and it is still questionable if the cycle can be broken. The evolution of Bell Labs, ATT, CBS, NBC, ABC, Apple, the FCC, and google are contrasted and compared. Clearly written and interesting history worth reading and understanding as we at a cross roads of the cycle in regards to the continued evolution of the web.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) There are those who want to control the money/I care not what puppet is place upon the throne of England to rule the Empire,...the man who controls Britain's money supply controls the British Empire. And I Control the money supply. - Baron Nathan mayor Rothchild. The control of information is no less ambitious.
There are those who have controlled the flow of information and want to continue to control that medium. The internet is in their crosshairs, and they have, without exception, hit every target medium of communication there has been to date.This then, has become the author's preoccupation: those who seek to control information/in the past, present and tomorrow... In Part 1 he traces the genesis of cultural and communication empires, in what he terms the first turn of the cycle. History has shown that the oscillation of information industries between open and closed is a typical phenomenon that Tim Wu has termed: the Cycle. He shows how each of the early twentieth century's new information industries(telephony, radio, and film) evolved from a novel invention. In Part 11 he focuses on the consolidation of information empires, often with state support, and the consequences for the vitality of free expression and innovation. In Part 111 he examines the ways in which the sranglehold of information monopolies were broken after decades. In Part IV he shows how the size & scale of the information giants led to a new generation of information. In Part V he looks toward the ultimate question: will the Cycle of history repeat itself. This internet revolution, which we are part of, is so explosive that no one can see where it would lead. Will the Cycle close or will the people prevail with an internet that is in the community's interest. In today's world of privitization, where the Public has become enemy #1, where the mantra has become: socialize the cost/privitize the profits/the fat lady has not as yet sung. The author likens the outcome , almost like the weather, the flow of information defines the basic tenor of our times, the ambience in which things happen, and ultimately, it will depend upon the character of our society. So, as Fred Freindly, onetime CBS News president, made clear, before any question of free speech can be addressed, comes the question/Who Controls The Master Switch? HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!!!!!!! P.S. Those wishing to keep up on the issue of net neutrality google: Free Press Media Reform Daily & sign up. P.P.S. Goggle: viddler interview tim wu/click ahead 24:30 to 44:00 and listen to show explaining net neutrality approx. 20 min P.P.P.S. The control of money is no less ambitious: google- Real Deal with Jim Fetzer/ then click- Friday Oct 15, 2020 Carl Herman google Fall of the Republic youtube
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) As an IT pro with a strong interest in the history of technology (especially those I use every day), I thought I knew about the development and history of communications technology. After reading this book I can safely say that I knew practically nothing beforehand. Wu has gone through each of the major communications technologies - radio, TV, movies, cable TV, and the internet, and showed how they were invented, developed, and adopted. He discusses the individuals, the companies, and the government agencies that helped shape the way we use each of the technologies. The brilliance of the book is when he shows the parallels in all of them - how each technology starts as an open and decentralized system. Only after it is taken over by a corporation (often with the help of government regulation), does it become closed and centralized. He ends the book with what can best be described as a call to action for what he calls his "separations principle" where the producers and distributors of content are separated by regulation. Having showed the risks that come with allowing vertical integration in communications technology, the reader will almost certainly be forced to agree.
Wu employs excellent scholarship and tis work is both thorough and detailed, making it the best arguments against regulated monopolies I've ever read. His writing is excellent - too many non-fiction authors try to dumb down their language for a mass audience. Wu has none of that, and it is a pleasure to read a book by someone who knows and uses the English language so well. ... Read more | |
| 8. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: (Pmbok Guide) | |
 | Paperback
(2008-12-31)
list price: $65.95 -- our price: $38.22 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 1933890517 Publisher: Project Management Institute Sales Rank: 914 Average Customer Review: 
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Editorial Review
Reviews
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| 9. How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie | |
 | Kindle Edition
list price: $15.00 Asin: B003WEAI4E Publisher: Simon & Schuster Sales Rank: 365 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review For more than sixty years the rock-solid, time-tested advice in this book has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. Now this previously revised and updated bestseller is available as eBook for the first time to help you achieve your maximum potential throughout the next century! Learn: * THREE FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUES IN HANDLING PEOPLE * THE SIX WAYS TO MAKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU * THE TWELVE WAYS TO WIN PEOPLE TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING * THE NINE WAYS TO CHANGE PEOPLE WITHOUT AROUSING RESENTMENT Reviews
I have found that following its advice does not make me phony or narcissistic - rather just the opposite (I suppose you can choose to try to pretend to care about people, but people are wiser than that). The book promotes understanding others' behavior and could have the very positive effect of reducing day-to-day conflict. Your blood pressure could lower and relationships flourish. It certainly has had this effect in my life. And the(at times)dated language? Classic! I recommend it highly!
Aaron J. Ruckman
However, the first time I attempted to systematically put this book into practice, I was working with a domineering, loud, opinionated and outspoken person who subsequently stamped all over me and my "Carnegie" principles. True, many people (maybe a majority) will respond positively when you practice Dale Carnegie's plan, but there is a sizeable minority who will walk all over you regardless. And a person who has self-image problems? I hate to say it, but Dale Carnegie's book can set them up to be mowed over. I have balanced Dale Carnegie with Manuel J. Smith's book WHEN I SAY NO I FEEL GUILTY. I found it more effective when I built a good, healthy respect for myself first. Then guess what! I found myself winning more friends and influencing more people!
It's been proven that success in any field is related MORE to "people skills" than to mere "technical know-how". And, NO-ONE has put together the principles by which these skills can be acquired better than Dale Carnegie. ... Read more | |
| 10. Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences by Nancy Duarte | ||||||||
 | Paperback
(2010-09-28)
list price: $29.95 -- our price: $19.77 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0470632011 Publisher: Wiley Sales Rank: 1244 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Product Description Presentations are meant to inform, inspire, and persuade audiences. So why then do so many audiences leave feeling like they've wasted their time? All too often, presentations don't resonate with the audience and move them to transformative action. Just as the author's first book helped presenters become visual communicators, Resonate helps you make a strong connection with your audience and lead them to purposeful action. The author's approach is simple: building a presentation today is a bit like writing a documentary. Using this approach, you'll convey your content with passion, persuasion, and impact. Presentations don't have to be boring ordeals. You can make them fun, exciting, and full of meaning. Leave your audiences energized and ready to take action with Resonate. Create a S.T.A.R. Moment Create a moment where you dramatically drive the big idea home by intentionally placing Something They’ll Always Remember—a S.T.A.R. moment—in each presentation. This moment should be so profound or so dramatic that it becomes what the audience chats about at the water cooler or appears as the headline of a news article. Planting a S.T.A.R. moment in a presentation keeps the conversation going even after it’s over and helps the message go viral. Since you might be presenting to an audience that sees lots of presentations—like a venture capitalist or a customer who is reviewing several vendors—you want to stand out two weeks after you presented, when they’re making their final decision. You want them to remember YOU instead of all the other presenters they encountered. The S.T.A.R. moment should be a significant, sincere, and enlightening moment during the presentation that helps magnify your big idea—not distract from it. There are five types of S.T.A.R. moments: • Memorable Dramatization: Small dramatizations convey insights. They can be as simple as a prop or demo, or something more dramatic, like a reenactment or skit. • Repeatable Sound Bites: Small, repeatable sound bites help feed the press with headlines, populate and energize social media channels with insights, and give employees a rally cry. • Evocative Visuals: A picture really is worth a thousand words—and a thousand emotions. A compelling image can become an unforgettable emotional link to your information. • Emotive Storytelling: Stories package information in a way that people remember. Attaching a great story to the big idea makes it easily repeatable beyond the presentation. • Shocking Statistics: If statistics are shocking, don’t gloss over them; draw attention to them. The S.T.A.R. moment shouldn’t be kitschy or cliché. Make sure it’s worthwhile and appropriate, or it could end up coming off like a really bad summer camp skit. Know your audience and determine what will resonate best with them. Don’t create something that’s overly emotionally charged for an audience of biochemists. S.T.A.R. moments create a hook in the audience’s minds and hearts. They tend to be visual in nature and give the audience insights that supplement solely auditory information. Famous S.T.A.R. Moments Case Study: Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan is a natural storyteller who teaches people where food comes from. His books, The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, have reshaped how Americans think about the current food system. When Pollan spoke at Pop!Tech in the fall of 2009, there was one point in particular where he wanted to leave a deep impression on the audience. He and his team had calculated how much crude oil it takes to create a fast food double cheeseburger. It was a staggering amount, and he wanted that message to stick. When he was introduced at the beginning of his presentation, Pollan walked on stage carrying a paper bag from a fast food chain. “A little something for later,” he said. He placed it on a table in the middle of the stage and started his presentation—thereby leaving the audience in suspense about the prop on the table. Later, when Pollan was drawing connections between oil and the food supply, he said, “I want to show you how much oil goes into producing this [cheeseburger].” He pulled out the burger from the paper bag. Then he pulled out an empty eight-ounce glass and a container full of oil. He filled the glass with oil. “But that’s not all. You need another eight ounces.” He reached under the table and pulled out a second glass. Then he did it again. And again. In all, it took twenty-six ounces of oil to produce one double cheeseburger. Showing the audience the burger next to the crude oil used to produce it was a disturbing visual—one that the audience would almost certainly remember the next time they made food choices. ... Read moreReviews
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| 11. The Art of Asking: Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers by Terry J. Fadem | |
 | Kindle Edition
(2008-12-01)
list price: $17.99 Asin: B001MSMUD4 Publisher: FT Press Sales Rank: 16368 Average Customer Review: 
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Editorial Review This is the eBook version of the printed book. Ask the Right Questions in the Right Ways...And Get the Answers You Need to Succeed! Discover the core questions that every manager needs to master...how to avoid the mistakes business questioners make most often...ten simple rules for asking every question more effectively. Learn how to ask tough questions and take control of tough situations...use questions to promote innovation, drive change, identify hidden problems, and get failing projects back on track. Ask better questions, get better answers, achieve better results! “Required reading for every leader who wishes to see his or herorganization flourish and career progress.” Garry A. Neil, MD, Corporate Vice President, Johnson & Johnson “Asking, listening, understanding the real meaning of the answers, and taking actions based on facts are really the essence of managing. This book has helped me in connecting the dots in my understanding (and lack thereof) of why things really did not work the way I expected them to.” Pradip Banerjee, PhD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Xybion; retired partner, Accenture “The framework and techniques provide outstanding ideas for executives to both gain better information and develop the analytical skills of their teams.” Terry Hisey, Vice Chairman and US Life Sciences Leader, Deloitte We’ve all met the corporate inquisitor: the individual whose questions seem primarily intended to terrify the victim. The right goal is to solve the problem--and to build a more effective, collaborative organization where everyone learns from experience, and nobody’s too intimidated to tell the truth. That means asking the right questions in the right ways. This book will teach you how to do precisely that. Terry J. Fadem shows how to choose the right questions and avoid questions that guarantee obvious, useless answers...how to help people give you the information you need...how to use body language to ask questions more effectively...how to ask the innovative or neglected questions that uncover real issues and solutions. You’ll learn how to adopt the attributes of a good questioner...set a goal for every question...use your personal style more effectively...ask tough questions, elicit dissent, react to surprises, overcome evasions, and more. Becoming a better questioner may be the most powerful thing you can do right now to improve your managerial effectiveness--and this book gives you all the insights, tools, and techniques you’ll need to get there. Reviews
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| 12. The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley | |
 | Hardcover
(2010-06-01)
list price: $26.99 -- our price: $16.19 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 006145205X Publisher: Harper Sales Rank: 1478 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Life is getting better—and at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down — all across the globe. Though the world is far from perfect, necessities and luxuries alike are getting cheaper; population growth is slowing; Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and container shipping are enriching people’s lives as never before. The pessimists who dominate public discourse insist that we will soon reach a turning point and things will start to get worse. But they have been saying this for two hundred years. Yet Matt Ridley does more than describe how things are getting better. He explains why. Prosperity comes from everybody working for everybody else. The habit of exchange and specialization—which started more than 100,000 years ago—has created a collective brain that sets human living standards on a rising trend. The mutual dependence, trust, and sharing that result are causes for hope, not despair. This bold book covers the entire sweep of human history, from the Stone Age to the Internet, from the stagnation of the Ming empire to the invention of the steam engine, from the population explosion to the likely consequences of climate change. It ends with a confident assertion that thanks to the ceaseless capacity of the human race for innovative change, and despite inevitable disasters along the way, the twenty-first century will see both human prosperity and natural biodiversity enhanced. Acute, refreshing, and revelatory, The Rational Optimist will change your way of thinking about the world for the better. Reviews
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Matt Ridley's The Rational Optimist is a history of progress based on a simple but unpopular idea: that specialization and markets are the prime movers of progress. In fact, Ridley suggests in his introduction that the answer to the perennial "What makes humans unique?" question is our unique ability to specialize and trade. Instead of catching our own food, making our own shelter, etc (as other animals do), we humans have created a system where everyone can specialize and trade with others who specialize in other things. This means that those best at making houses make houses, those best at making food make food, and by trading, we can each benefit from that which others do and vice versa. Self-reliance equals subsistence: interdependence through trade equals ingenuity and a boom in living standards.
"What?!" you say. What about Rousseau, Marx, Ehrlich, Marcuse, and all of those other critics of society! What about all the stuff we hear about how capitalism exploits the poor, reduces living standards, rapes the environment, etc, etc. The first few chapters of Ridley's book are devoted to showing that, on all fronts, markets have actually produced higher living standards FOR ALL (and especially the poor, as also shown in Sowell's Economic Facts and Fallacies), MORE leisure time for all, and - here's the most surprising - better environmental conditions. The next several chapters are a history of how this progress happened. To be honest, these chapters may be the most dry as they are very detail-laden and repetitive in that they stress the same theme across time - that specialization leads to ingenuity and progress. In the vein of Robert Wright's Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, Ridley demonstrates - and explains the principle behind - this equation. In brief, when humans invented the idea of specialization and trade, I could make x and you could make y, things we each excel at. Each of us, then, can trade what we excel at for what others excel at rather than having to do all of it ourselves. Finally, when I realize that I can trade my x's for your y's and her z's, it pushes me to be as productive at making my x's as possible (and innovating new ways to make better and faster x's) so that I can make the most of my time. Thus, we stumble upon a brilliant non-zero sum way to ensure that we all benefit from each other's ingenuity, creativity, and labor. Most of these chapters (starting in the stone-age and ending in the present) stress the idea that as transportation allowed us to trade with increasingly larger groups, and as technology allowed us to create more efficiently, the "collective brain" became bigger and everyone could benefit from everyone else's progress. The last three chapters may be the most controversial as they deal with current naysayers - particularly environmentalists. To be clear, RIDLEY IS NOT ADVOCATING THAT WE CONTINUE CURRENT ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES (I bold that because inevitably, some folks will accuse him of an environmental Pollyanna-ism.) Yes, depending on non-renewable fuel, by definition, means that at some point, the fuel will run out. Ridley only points out that naysayers rely on a hidden but faulty premise: that the future will resemble the past. Yes, we will run out of fossil fuels if we keep using it, but whose to say that we will keep using them? Just like Ehrlich's remarkably failed prediction that over-population will lead to food shortages, these folks' error lies in assuming that future ways of production will resemble past ways, and time and time and time again, this assumption has proved erroneous! Ridley's point is that while we can NEVER say that the future WILL solve all pressing problems, so far we have. And we can assume we will in the future because our method of exchange has globalized the "collective brain," assuring that innovation will keep occurring and the best minds will all be working on the pressing problems of the day. (Again, Ridley is not attempting Pollyanna-ism here, but only suggesting that the burden of proof should now lie on the naysayers because the past gives us every reason to think that we will, rather than will not, solve the problems that confront us.) Now, for two minor criticisms of the book. First, I do question whether Ridley has the knowledge base to go into as much history as he does. When looking through the large endnote section, many of his citations are from non-peer-reviewed trade books, magazines, etc. I simply have a feeling that Ridley's book may not be as academically rigorous as some might want. I also question Ridley's omission of the crucial function language plays in his theory, for he doesn't spend much time on it. When he asks, as he does repeatedly, what it is about humans over other animals that have been able to create trade networks and specialization, it seems that ONE of the obvious answers is "language." We have the ability to create language that is not only self-expressive but also can be used to inform others of our intent, etc. It seems difficult to create a trade network without the kind of language that can let others know your intent, establish trust, etc. If this is correct, Ridley's shouldn't omit the topic. If it is wrong, he might have explained why. Be that as it may, this is still a great read. In a world where pessimism simply sells (and makes one sound intellectual) more than optimism, books like these need to be written... and read.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) First, the GOOD NEWS: the sky isn't falling! The world is actually improving dramatically and the pace is quickening. Tthere are abundant facts to prove it. The BAD NEWS predicted isn't true after all. The not-so-good news is that good news doesn't sell newspapers or prime-time ads. So we'll keep on hearing that doomsday drumbeat of horrific predictions from the media, all of it certified by officials of academia and government with an obvious agenda in the vision of impending environmental collapse which can only be averted by comparably drastic intervention. We have a glut of popular books and articles feeding these fears with plausible evidence for the demise of civilization or the planet, but a critical shortage of books like "The Rational Optimist" which challenge that evidence, describe its pathologies, and show where those disastrously coercive interventions will lead, and what they'll cost in human terms. So why risk ostracism in cocktail-party conversation by reading a persuasive contrarian essay which proclaims a heretical optimism in its title?
Well, one reason might be the pleasures of an utterly readable book. Unlike talk-show polemicists, Matt Ridley uses good-natured eloquence, serious erudition and incisive wit to deflate the immanent-disaster scenarios which dominate our evening news, academic and political discourse. Despite its length, the book is remarkable for its brevity and the sheer quotability of its prose. (A reader cribbing zinger quotes will soon have writer's cramp.) Another reason might be the challenge of unfamiliar ideas, of cleaning the mental attic of the baggage left by cultural osmosis. No book can guarantee final truth, but a fresh perspective can provide plenty of creative stimulation for a skeptical mind. Ridley's long view of human history, his perspective on the unrequited human penchant for seeing immanent catastrophe informs both his skepticism and his optimism, and it makes great straight-to-the point reading. No obfuscatory jargon, no shrill hype or invective. Two of his unfashionable heresies are A) that prosperity is a hugely positive benefit to humanity--not a planet-killing consumerist fetish, and that B) individual freedom--not government planning or humanitarian intent--is the primary engine of that prosperity. His earlier book, "The Red Queen" described sex as the primary engine of evolution. The sexual metaphor gets new life in this one. The explosive growth of human knowledge and wealth in recent centuries is described as the result of "ideas having sex"--something that rarely occurred in prior millennia. It's not a coincidence that science, individual liberty, and the industrial revolution experienced a virtually simultaneous birth. This "sex" between ideas has been increasing in both quality and frequency with cumulative results of stunning usefulness. Think of what's happened in your own lifetime. He's also compiled a list of dire prophecies which never happened, some of which are perennially predicted anew with updated "tipping point" projections: worldwide starvation, hydrocarbon exhaustion, mass extinctions, nuclear extermination, mineral resource depletion, genetic decay (eugenics was invented to prevent that) global cooling (global warming could be next if the last decade's weather stasis continues). Environmental problems which were once big news (acid rain, industrial hormone mimicry, lung-rotting smog, skyrocketing cancer proliferation, holocaust viral epidemics, etc.) quietly vanished from the news when the threat receded or failed to produce significant harm, much less bio-Armageddon. A historical batting average of .000 has done little to discourage fresh predictions of the apocalypse. A minor focus is the relatively harmless rash of costly and often foolish environmental fads. He writes penetrating analyses the value and costs of organic farming, local food, and the obsessive horror of modern chemistry, fertilizers, pesticides, and genetically modified crops. His more deserving targets (I think) are the dubious "green" technologies with high--often disastrous--environmental costs: ethanol in particular, but also solar, wave & wind power. He's not opposed to the latter energy options in principal, but shows they're unlikely to replace hydrocarbons anytime soon. Most of these alternative energy "cures" are not only environmentally worse than the "disease" (fossil fuel), but their their high costs will be borne in heavy disproportion by the world's poor. But for dogmatic insensitivity, few examples can match the righteous zeal of some activists for preventing America's poor from shopping at WalMart, for shutting the developing nations out of the global economy, or keeping genetically modified food out of the hands of literally starving Africans. A corollary widespread belief (Ridley quotes some prominent advocates) is that prosperity itself is the enemy of the planet and global salvation must necessarily entail global impoverishment--in effect, a lethal Malthusian population limit waiting to be imposed by environmental decree. Ridley avoids a pro or con position on global warming, but he's rightly wary of reacting in panic: the cost of overestimating GW could be much higher than underestimating: in his words, it's like stopping a nosebleed by putting a tourniquet around your neck. (It would be even more foolish in response to a predicted nosebleed.) But he didn't write this book to heap ridicule on doomsellers. He shows why they're always wrong: linear extrapolation from the present inevitably predicts a disastrous future--which is invariably wrong because it ignores the equally inevitable (but unpredictable) free market actions which future investors, entrepreneurs and inventors will take to sidestep the icebergs in the shipping lanes. Ideas "having sex" are far more nimble and productive than governments issuing prohibitions or doomsday prophets clamoring for an emergency reversal of course. (My note: only in inflexible dictatorships does mass civilian disaster arrive inexorably, as in Ukraine in the 1930s, China in the 1960s, North Korea today. In none of these regimes were (any) ideas allowed to "have sex". Unfortunately, just such a dictatorship will probably be necessary if the world decides to implement the Environmental Taliban's agenda to save us from planetary sacrilege.) "The Rational Optimist" is a wonderfully well-written counterpoint to the alarmist feel-bad prophecies (which will probably continue to outsell it) but it is not overtly political nor brimming with righteous denunciations. It is at least as rewarding as an insightful tract on human nature (and folly) and as much a call to reason as survey of contemporary intellectual hysteria and prejudice. I enjoyed reading it immensely, and unless you are allergic to bad news about the BAD NEWS, I think you will, too.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) As the author states, this book is a fusion of the ideas of Adam Smith and Charles Darwin. Mankind is the only species that is able to build on the knowledge gained by our ancestors. This unending and logarithmic accumulation of knowledge has allowed us to specialize economically and our ideas and discoveries have 'mated' in an unending (albeit bumpy) stream of economic progress.
Where Ray Kurzweil emphasizes technological progress in The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, Ridley's approach is similar but stresses the economic and social progress enabled by the march of technology. Having witnessed decades of doomsayers myself, from Paul Ehrlich's in retrospect laughable Population Bomb, global cooling in the 70s, no-nukes hysteria, AIDs (which would supposedly kill millions in the U.S. alone), Y2K, 40 years of peak oil is imminent warnings, SARS etc and seen that these concerns bordering on hysteria were either outright misplaced or highly exaggerated, I appreciate the fact that Matt Ridley is able to put all this in perspective. In this regard, I think it especially important for younger people who have not yet lived through decades of pessimism and anti-development featuring one hysterical over-reaction after another that have ultimately proven inconsequential, to read this book.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Matt Ridley has written a very compelling theory about why we should be optimistic about our global economy, taking into account humans ability to learn and adapt from adversity. However, he does indicate that the adversity IS coming (global climate change, faltering markets, the end of the American Empire, etc.). He indicates that through knowledge and perseverance, we will get through it and potentially prosper from it through Green technologies, global economic investments, etc. So, while this book does not paint an optimistic future for humankind, it does make a good argument for the ways we can "take lemons and make lemonade" from the upcoming challenges we will face in this world. Ridley has done some interesting and insightful research into our history as a race, and how we have continually overcome the challenges we have faced...and how it's very likely that we can do it again. Given all of the books about the upcoming "doom and gloom" on Earth, this was a refreshing change of pace to read.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) The basic premises:
(1) In the course of human history, people have lived increasingly prosperous, comfortable lives. This statement might seem surprising at first, but only because of the common tendency to paint the (unexperienced) past in rosy hues. On closer examination, the average inhabitant of a modern country lives a life kings of the past would envy. (2) The drive behind this ongoing improvement is trade, both of goods and ideas. Not charitable works or government regulation, necessary though those might both be in certain circumstances. No, people left to their own devices will find clever ways to solve pressing problems, bettering themselves, their customers, and often the world, in the process. (3) Given (1) and (2), the current climate of DOOM is not well-founded. Yes, we *might* be doomed, but there's no particular reason to assume that mankind can't handle whatever challenges lie ahead, using our rapidly-increasing capacity for idea exchange. However convincing current predictions of DOOM may be, there were equally convincing predictions in the past, and they all turned out to be wrong. Sure, there were occasional setbacks and issues, but overwhelmingly, life in the modern era has continued to rapidly improve, despite predictions of famine, plagues, ice ages, over-population, killer air pollution, acid rain, and much more. For me, the most fascinating parts of the book were about ancient prehistory of trade, and various historical trends and developments. Less interesting, though more controversial, are the later chapters about modern issues like global warming and poverty in Africa. Though they're important topics, they're still largely theoretical on all sides. No one knows how bad climate change will be, or what we will wind up doing about it. No one knows yet if/when/how Africa will attain prosperity. I'm more interested in facts than debate, though I realize the current-event chapters will get all the talk at cocktail parties. The only real weakness I perceived were the vague, unnecessarily inflammatory potshots taken at archetypes Ridley sees as enemies of trade: kings, priests, financiers, taxmen, monopolies, bureaucrats. Whenever historical economic progress foundered, these generic targets get the blame, without much real explanation. I've heard criticism that Ridley is unreservedly opposed to governments and regulation, but that was not my impression. I came away with the feeling that the right kind of government was absolutely necessary to prosperity, not no government at all. He criticizes places like the USSR, modern-day North Korea, and 1800s Japan, while pointing out Botswana and Silicon Valley as places doing it right. Overall, this is a fun, fascinating book to read. Essential, IMO, for anyone who wants to discuss current events in a balanced way. Whatever your stance, be prepared to have your own nose tweaked a bit, as Ridley is generous with his snark. Highly recommended.
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| 13. The Elements of Style: 50th Anniversary Edition by William Strunk, E. B. White | |
 | Hardcover
(2008-10-25)
list price: $19.95 -- our price: $12.05 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0205632645 Publisher: Longman Sales Rank: 1777 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review You know the authors’ names. You recognize the title. You've probably used this book yourself. And now The Elements of Style–the most widely read and employed English style manual–is available in a specially bound 50th Anniversary Edition that offers the title's vast audience an opportunity to own a more durable and elegantly bound edition of this time-tested classic. Fifty Years of Acclaim for The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White “I first read Elements of Style during the summer before I went off to Exeter, and I still direct my students at Harvard to their definition about the difference between 'that' and 'which.' It is the Bible for good, clear writing.” -- Henry Louis Gates Jr. “For writers of all kinds and sizes the world begins and ends with Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. Only something to actually write about trumps the list of what is required to put words together in some kind of coherent way. I treasure its presence in my life and salute its fifty years of glory and accomplishment.” -- Jim Lehrer “The Elements of Style remains an unwavering beacon of light in these grammatically troubled times. I would be lost without it.” -- Ann Patchett "To the extent I know how to write clearly at all, I probably taught myself while I was teaching others -- seventh graders, in Flint, Michigan, in 1967. I taught them with a copy of Strunk & White lying in full view on my desk, sort of in the way the Gideons leave Bibles in cheap hotel rooms, as a way of saying to the hapless inhabitant: ‘In case your reckless ways should strand you here, there's help.’ S&W doesn't really teach you how to write, it just tantalizingly reminds you that there's an orderly way to go about it, that clarity's ever your ideal, but -- really -- it's all going to be up to you." -- Richard Ford “The Elements of Style never seems to go out of date. Its counsel is sound and funny, wise and unpretentious. And while its precepts are a foundation of direct communication, Strunk and White do not insist on a way of writing beyond clear expression. The rest is up to the imagination, the intelligence within.” -- David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker “It’s the toughness–the irreverence and implicit laughter–that attracted me to the little book when I was seventeen. I fell in love with Strunk & White’s loathing for cant and bloviation, the ruthless cutting of crap, jargon, and extra words. For me, that skeptical directness included a tacit permission by The Elements of Style to break its rules on occasion: an alloy of generosity in the blade, a grace I still admire and still learn from.” -- Robert Pinsky “In the quest for clarity, one can have no better guides than Strunk and White. For me, their book has been invaluable and remains essential.” -- Dan Rather "Eschew surplusage! A perfect book." --Jonathan Lethem "Not until I started teaching writing and I reread The Elements of Style did I realize that most everything I would be teaching young writers, and everything I would be learning myself as a writer, was contained between the covers of this slim, elegant, wise little book." -- Julia Alvarez “Strunk and White seared their way into my brain long ago, and I benefit from them daily.” -- Steven J. Dubner, co-author of Freakonomics “Since high school, I have kept a copy of this book handy. That should be unnecessary. I should, by now, have fully internalized The Elements of Style. But sometimes I get entangled in a paragraph that refuses to be ‘clear, brief, bold.’ I dip back into The Elements of Style and am refreshed. After Scott Simon interviewed me on NPR about whether the word ‘e-mail’ needs a hyphen (yes, it does), some listeners, including friends of mine, wondered why I had answered in the affirmative when asked, in passing, ‘Are you a drunken white man?’ Those listeners misheard. ‘Strunk and White man’ was what Scott said.” -- Roy Blount Jr. “Strunk & White--writing's good-natured law firm--still contains enough sparkling good sense to clean up the whole bloviating blogosphere." -- Thomas Mallon “I used Strunk -- that’s what we called it, Strunk -- as a student at Berkeley fifty years ago. I didn't know that it was new, and that we were the first generation to be educated in The Elements of Style. I got a firm foundation in the English language, learned to write basically, and could depict the realistic world. Then I was able to become an impressionist and expressionist.” -- Maxine Hong Kingston “Strunk and White's gigantic little book must be the most readable advice on writing ever written. Side by side with Roget, Shakespeare, the Bible, and a dictionary, it's an essential for every writer's shelf.” -- X.J. Kennedy... Reviews
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| 14. PMP Exam Prep, Sixth Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam by Rita Mulcahy, PMP | |
 | Perfect Paperback
(2009-04-10)
list price: $99.00 -- our price: $62.37 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 1932735186 Publisher: RMC Publications, Inc. Sales Rank: 2040 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review
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| 15. The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't by Robert I. Sutton | |
 | Paperback
(2010-09-01)
list price: $14.99 -- our price: $8.99 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0446698202 Publisher: Business Plus Sales Rank: 2052 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review
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| 16. How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes | |
 | Paperback
(2003-09-19)
list price: $16.95 -- our price: $11.53 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 007141858X Publisher: McGraw-Hill Sales Rank: 2375 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review "The lost art of verbal communication may be revitalized by Leil Lowndes."--Harvey McKay, author of Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Leil Lowndes' How to Talk to Anyone offers101 time-tested hints, tips, and techniques for confidently communicating with others. A bestselling author and renowned communications consultant, Lowndes focuses on ice-breaking skills and communication techniques that are proven successful when making a positive first impression, establishing instant rapport and credibility, and more. Packed with basic, no-nonsense advice and solid research evidence about which techniques work best in which areas, How to Talk to Anyone show readers how to: Reviews
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| 17. 2011 Amy Knapp's Big Grid Family Organizer wall calendar: The essential organization and communication tool for the entire family by Amy Knapp | |
 | Calendar
(2010-06-01)
list price: $14.99 -- our price: $13.49 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 1402242549 Publisher: Sourcebooks Sales Rank: 3072 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Amy Knapp's Big Grid Family Organizer The essential organization and communication tool for the whole family Get the whole family on the same page! Find important phone and emergency numbers quickly What people are saying: Reviews
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| 18. Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler | |
 | Hardcover
(2007-09-13)
list price: $26.95 -- our price: $17.79 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 007148499X Publisher: McGraw-Hill Sales Rank: 3656 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review An INFLUENCER motivates others to change. An INFLUENCER replaces bad behaviors with powerful new skills. An INFLUENCER makes things happen. This is what it takes to be an INFLUENCER. Whether you're a CEO, a parent, or merely a person who wants to make a difference, you probably wish you had more influence with the people in your life. But most of us stop trying to make change happen because we believe it is too difficult, if not impossible. We develop complicated coping strategies when we should be learning the tools and techniques of the world's most influential people. But this is about to change. From the bestselling authors who taught the world how to have Crucial Conversations comes Influencer, a thought-provoking book that combines the remarkable insights of behavioral scientists and business leaders with the astonishing stories of high-powered influencers from all walks of life. You'll be taught each and every step of the influence process-including robust strategies for making change inevitable in your personal life, your business, and your world. You'll learn how to: Influencer takes you on a fascinating journey from San Francisco to Thailand where you'll see how seemingly “insignificant” people are making incredibly significant improvements in solving problems others would think impossible. You'll learn how savvy folks make change not only achievable and sustainable, but inevitable. You'll discover why some managers have increased productivity repeatedly and significantly-while others have failed miserably. No matter who you are, or what you do, you'll never learn a more valuable or important set of principles and skills. Once you tap into the power of influence, you can reach out and help others work smarter, grow faster, live, look, and feel better, even save lives. The sky is the limit…for an Influencer. Are you an Influencer ? Find out at www.influencerbook.com ”You don't have to be a manager to realize that no one likes being told what to do. Yet lectures are still the main way we try to get people to change their behavior. Fortunately, social learning academics have been studying alternatives for decades. Patterson and his fellow consultants have now collected their findings in this engaging, example-rich book. The key message is hardly new, but it has gotten more sophisticated: Managers need to get out of the way and facilitate, not manage, the process of change for employees. They can do this by offering vicarious experiences, restructured environments, peer pressure, and frequent tests-all geared so that people embrace the change as authentic to them, not imposed by an outsider. Missing are only success stories of organizations that persuaded managers to drop their controlling habits and choose to be mere facilitators.”-John T. Landry, Harvard Business Review Reviews
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) The main thesis of this book is fascinating to contemplate. In essence, it is that nearly all ways used to try to get people to change serious and deeply ingrained behavior such as overeating, drug use, smoking and repeated criminal acts are at best pointless and in many cases counterproductive. You learn of examples of organizations that have found ways to cure people of these behaviors where the methods are really not that complicated. No massive amounts of money are expended, no high political rhetoric and no great national political mission is cited as a motive.
The examples are interesting and include: *) The international effort to eliminate the guinea worm parasite, a terrible disease where people ingest the larva of the worm. Once the worm reaches adulthood, it literally bores its way out of the body and deposits its eggs. *) The effort to get sex workers in Thailand to insist that their clients wear condoms during sex, thereby preventing millions of new cases of HIV infection. *) The effort to get hospitals to recognize that approximately 100,000 people die in the United States each year in diseases caused in part by their hospital stay. Once the problem was recognized, take realistic and effective steps to prevent them. *) An organization in San Francisco with an amazing record of turning people with extensive criminal records and a history of drug use into productive and valuable citizens. In reading this book, you are struck with how simple these solutions are. It is also clear why so many government programs such as "the war on drugs" are so ineffective. They are efforts based on the political flavor of the moment and few in power seem willing to consider counterintuitive solutions that involve political risk. This is a book that contains a great deal of material that would be valuable to counselors, community agencies, dieters and people in human resources. Anyone who deals with behaviors that can damage the individual and society should read it.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) When Stephen Covey labeled this new book "an instant classic," I knew it was a must-read for me.
But I was floored at how brilliant this book really is. Many books deal with some aspect or particular technique of change in people. Influencer is radically different: it presents a complete structural blueprint of the science of change, and takes you step by step through the critical factors behind change and how to apply them to any problem. Instead of endless dry facts or empty clich�s, Influencer breaks down its major points chapter by chapter, illustrating them with a detailed analysis of several real-world case studies of seemingly insurmountable change problems, including Delancy, a rehab center for hard-core criminal drug addicts which has an astonishing success rate of over 90%. Interspersed are personal and family case studies, research, and history all engagingly written in a well-organized, coherent style. At the end of each chapter is a summary of key concepts covered. Influencer immediately helped me understand both my own thinking processes toward change and those of others, and jump-started good ideas for both my personal growth and solving several business issues. Influencer is by far the most original and useful book I have read this year. Highly recommended.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Influencing people isn't easy. This book looks at several influence success stories, including an Indian bank specializing in micro loans, reducing AIDS in Thailand, eradicating the guinea worm, and an environment that changes criminal behavior, and analyzes why they were successful.
It's a compelling study of human nature and why people do the things they do. I learned a lot, and will be able to apply some of it to my everyday life. But if you're in management, politics, or any sort of position where you need to deal with people, this is a must-read. Do these techniques work? Look how many folks have reviewed this book prior to publication. Read Chapter 8 to find out why they have.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I found that "Influencer" was one of the best books that I've read in the last couple of years. I agree with other reviewers in that it is far from the typical self-help book. It is much, much more. It has analyzed lots of information, synthesized it into a series of packets of information. Sure, it discusses some of the theory, history, or background of each morsel. It justifies its use. The recommendations, a bit short, are practical and inspiring. I found the example stories to provide practical illustrations of the concepts that the authors hoped to communicate. Neither one of my brain cells found the disorganization to be easily worked through. While I found the information worth 8 stars, I found the disorganization worthy of only 3 stars. Averaged out, I think that it is a superb book. I would not recommend it for the average person seeking a self-help book. I would recommend it for individuals hoping to introduce change in their organization or community. I think that this book is worth the price, new, so long as the prospective reader can follow a little theoretical background along with the gems of change.
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| 19. Robert's Rules of Order in Brief: The Simple Outline of the Rules Most Often Needed at a Meeting, According to the Standard Authoritative Parliamentary Manual, Revised Edition by Henry M. Robert III, William J. Evans, Daniel H. Honemann, Thomas J. Balch | |
 | Paperback
(2004-04-14)
list price: $6.95 -- our price: $5.86 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0306813548 Publisher: Da Capo Press Sales Rank: 2512 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review In a club, a condo association, or a board of overseers, how is business carried over from one meeting to the next? How is a meeting best kept on track? Who keeps the order and who decides what the agenda will be in the first place? The answers to these concerns of assembly can be found in the rulebook of orderly meetings: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised 10th Edition. But weighing in at over 700 pages, at least 80 percent of its content will be needed less than 20 percent of the time. Those not well versed in parliamentary procedure can find themselves lost while trying to get guidance on the everyday basics. The solution? Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised Concise. Written by the officially sanctioned Robert's Rules of Order authorship team, this short and user-friendly "cheat-sheet" of a guide briefs readers on the rules most often needed at meetings--from debates and amendments to votes and nominations. With sample dialogues, helpful references to the "big" book throughout, and handy tips for elected or appointed officials, Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised in Brief is the essential abbreviated meeting rulebook. Reviews
Somehow these experts figured out what the rest of us would need to know and how we would be looking for it. Maybe they had a panel of non-experts to critique. There are chapters detailing what the words are that you use to make something happen and how to use those words. Best of all, everywhere you look there are copious examples. In the back are succinct tables of those same words and there is also a chapter on how to find the completely complete information on the topic in the big "Robert's" book Most of the book is concerned with what you need to know as a member of the group. There are separate chapters for an officer of the group, which contain the things that most of us don't need to know. This is not a book you'd save for a winter evening curled up in front of the fireplace. It's to tell you all sorts of things you'd really rather not have to know, but that you really need to know. I've already decided that mine is mine alone. Nobody is going to borrow it because it would never come back to me.
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| 20. Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, James Macanufo | |||
 | Paperback
(2010-07-19)
list price: $29.99 -- our price: $19.79 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0596804172 Publisher: O'Reilly Media Sales Rank: 2948 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Great things don’t happen in a vacuum. But creating an environment for creative thinking and innovation can be a daunting challenge. How can you make it happen at your company? The answer may surprise you: gamestorming. This book includes more than 80 games to help you break down barriers, communicate better, and generate new ideas, insights, and strategies. The authors have identified tools and techniques from some of the world’s most innovative professionals, whose teams collaborate and make great things happen. This book is the result: a unique collection of games that encourage engagement and creativity while bringing more structure and clarity to the workplace. Find out why -- and how -- with Gamestorming. We're hardwired to play games. We play them for fun. We play them in our social interactions. We play them at work. That last one is tricky. "Games" and "work" don't seem like a natural pairing. Their coupling in the workplace either implies goofing off (the fun variant) or office politics (the not-so-fun type). The authors of Gamestorming, have a different perspective. They contend that an embrace and understanding of game mechanics can yield benefits in many work environments, particularly those where old hierarchical models are no longer applicable, like the creatively driven knowledge work of today’s cutting edge industries. Here is one of the 83 games featured in Gamestorming: The ELEVATOR PITCH Game Often this is the hardest thing to do in developing a new idea. An elevator pitch must be short enough to deliver in a fictional elevator ride but also contain a compelling description of the problem you’re solving, who you’ll solve it for, and one key benefit that distinguishes it from other ideas. NUMBER OF PLAYERS: Can be done individually, or with a small working group DURATION OF PLAY: Save at least 90 minutes for the entire exercise, and consider a short break after the initial idea generation is complete before prioritizing and shaping the pitch itself. Small working groups will have an easier time coming to a final pitch; in some cases it may be necessary to assign one person with follow-up accountability for the final wording after the large decisions have been made in the exercise. HOW TO PLAY: Going through the exercise involves both a generating and a formative phase. To set up the generating phase, write these headers in sequence on flip charts: To finish the setup, explain the elements and their connection to each other: The Generating Phase Next, the group may discuss areas where they have the most trouble on their current pitch. Do we know enough about the competition to claim a unique differentiator? Do we agree on a target customer? Is our market category defined, or are we trying to define something new? Where do we need to focus? Before stepping into the formative phase, the group may use dot voting, affinity mapping, or another method to prioritize and cull their ideas in each category. The Formative Phase After a set amount of time (15 minutes may be sufficient), the groups reconvene and present their draft versions of the pitch. The group may choose to role-play as a target customer while listening to the pitch, and comment or ask questions of the presenters. The exercise is complete when there is a strong direction among the group on what the pitch should and should not contain. One potential outcome is the crafting of distinct pitches for different target customers; you may direct the group to focus on this during the formative stage. STRATEGY Role play is the fastest way to test a pitch. Assuming the role of a customer (or getting some real customers to participate in the exercise) will help filter out the jargon and empty terms that may interfere with a clear pitch. If the pitch is truly believable and compelling, participants should have no problem making it real with customers. The elevator pitch, or elevator speech, is a traditional staple of the venture capital community, based on the idea that if you are pitching a business idea it should be simple enough to convey on a short elevator ride. Reviews
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NOT the book Dale Carnegie wrote, July 8, 2003
