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Microtrends

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 66 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Excellent analysis of contemporary society 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This is a really fun and fascinating book. Penn's theory is "the Devil is in the details." Don't look for overarching trends that end up being vapid and inaccurate. Look instead for the hundreds of small trends under the radar screen that in combination radically changes society.

To enjoy this book read the introduction and the conclusion first. Then, cherry pick the trends you are most interested in. In the introduction, Penn outline his theory of the 1% threshold. By the time 1% of Americans do something this represents a huge cluster of 3 million people that is worth paying attention to. Within the conclusion, Penn makes sense of all those disparate trends. That's where he explains how our society is becoming increasingly fragmented because of the growth of choice in lifestyle, values, and religions. Thus, many trends are contradictory. We live in an increasingly secular world with a rise in religions. Both trends (secularism and religion) thrive simultaneously. Each trend he analyses is a stand alone short paper on a specific subject. At some point, you may run out of trends you are interested in. You don't have to read all 73 trends to enjoy the book.

Within each trend analysis, Penn first observes the data and how that trend emerged and came to be. Next he outlines what are the trend's implications. The people representing that trend often make up a niche associated with the creation of new markets, voting block or cultural influence.

Sometimes, you may think several trends converge. In other words, the emergence of single women must correlate to the surge in Cougars (women with younger boyfriends) and Wordy Women (successful career women in law, journalism, PR, and advertising). These women may be all the same ones: single-successful-liberated. Another potential convergence is the Long Attention Spanners, DIY Doctors, Swing Voter, and Sun Haters. Here you have a mature educated crowd that likes to think for themselves especially when pertaining to their health and politics.

Many of his trends refer to entire books. His `Educated Terrorists' trend relies on Alan Krueger's What Makes a Terrorist: Economics and the Roots of Terrorism (Lionel Robbins Lectures). Similarly, his `Shy Millionaire' liens on The Millionaire Next Door.

On the other hand, other trends are truly original. I had never heard of the Do-It-Yourself Doctors. These people research their symptoms, render their own diagnostics and administer their own cure. They have changed the patient-doctor relationship to one of retailer-customer. The doctor is just there to facilitate procurement of prescription drugs, tests, and surgical intervention when necessary. Just as the overall population, they distrust the medical establishment. Trust in the latter has decreased from 77% in 1966 to only 33% currently.

His depiction of the `Impressionable Elites' is also counterintuitive. It is the higher income and better educated that care more about personality and less about issues in Presidential Elections. This is just the reverse of what we believe. The archetype is star journalists and newscasters who are certainly wealthy and educated. But, they focus on sound bites, looks, hair cuts, and other trivia. Apparently, the rest of us are more concerned about substantive issues such as foreign policy, health care, education, and economic competitiveness. Penn deplores the advent of the 527 advocacy organizations and Elite Donors who give readily $10,000 a pop to affiliated political groups. Given these are funded by the Impressionable Elites; they foster more trivia than substance on our political debates.

His chapter on the power of the swing voter is excellent. Independents have increased from 25% to 33% of the voters over the past 50 years. He indicated how Karl Rove strategy of rallying the conservative base failed in the 2006 mid-term election. However, Karl Rove did not have much of a role in this election. But, he sure did in both 2000 and 2004. Penn makes the argument that one independent voter amounts to two polarized voters because they represent a swing in the numbers. He is right. But, the counter argument is that it is a lot more difficult to convince an independent voter to change his mind than to tell your base to just show up and vote. Nevertheless, this is an excellent section that parallels very much the equally fascinating work in Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America (Great Questions in Politics Series) (2nd Edition) (Great Questions in Politics)

His chapter on active, employed elders suggests the fiscal stress on Social Security will be less than conveyed by the pundits. His chapter on the aging of Europe is also interesting. The median age of Europeans is expected to increase from 37.7 years to 52.7 years by 2050. While for Americans it will remain stable around 36 years. This has obviously dire fiscal implication for Europe. But, he thinks the next generation of Europeans will solve the related problems as they will be a generation of confident, problem-solving, achieving only children. This sounds a bit facile, but interesting nonetheless.

As he mentions in his conclusion, trends often have counter trends. There are more Muslim terrorists. But, there are also more Moderate Muslims in America. That's a fascinating trend he uncovers. He also outlines the drastic difference between the American vs European Muslims. The American ones are moderate, well-integrated, educated, successful, and prosperous. The European ones are disenfranchised, radicalized, and unemployed. This is a fascinating subject that has been covered by many equally interesting books including: While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within and American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion.

Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround

Louis V. Gerstner Jr.

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 121 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In 1990, IBM had its most profitable year ever. By 1993, the company was on a watch list for extinction -- victimized by its own lumbering size, an insular corporate culture, and the PC era IBM had itself helped invent.

Enter Lou Gerstner. The presumption was that Gerstner had joined IBM to preside over its continued dissolution into a confederation of autonomous business units -- effectively eliminating the corporation that had invented many of the industry's most important technologies. Instead, Gerstner took hold of the company, making the bold decision to keep it together, defiantly announcing, "The last thing IBM needs right now is a vision."

Told in Lou Gerstner's own words, this is a story of an extraordinary turn-around, a case study in managing a crisis, and a thoughtful reflection on the computer industry and the principles of leadership. Summing up his historic business achievement, Gerstner recounts high-level meetings, explains the no-turning-back decisions that had to be made, and offers his hard-won conclusions about the essence of what makes a great company run.

Read by Edward Herrman
With an introduction Read by the Author

Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results

Michael E. Porter, Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The U.S. health care system is in crisis. At stake are the quality of care for millions of Americans and the financial well-being of individuals and employers squeezed by skyrocketing premiums-not to mention the stability of state and federal government budgets.

In Redefining Health Care, internationally renowned strategy expert Michael Porter and innovation expert Elizabeth Teisberg reveal the underlying-and largely overlooked-causes of the problem, and provide a powerful prescription for change.

The authors argue that participants in the health care system have competed to shift costs, accumulate bargaining power, and restrict services, rather than create value for patients. This zero-sum competition takes place at the wrong level-among health plans, networks, and hospitals-rather than where it matters most, in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of specific health conditions. Redefining Health Care lays out a breakthrough framework for redefining health care competition based on patient value. With specific recommendations for hospitals, doctors, health plans, employers, and policy makers, this book shows how to move to a positive-sum competition that will unleash stunning improvements in quality and efficiency.

The McKinsey Mind: Understanding and Implementing the Problem-Solving Tools and Management Techniques of the World's Top Strategic Consulting Firm

Ethan M. Rasiel, Ph.D., Paul N. Friga

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Total reviews: 48 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The groundbreaking follow-up to the international bestseller­­a hands-on guide to putting McKinsey techniques to work in your organization

McKinsey & Company is the most respected and most secretive consulting firm in the world, and business readers just can't seem to get enough of all things McKinsey. Now, hot on the heels of his acclaimed international bestseller The McKinsey Way, Ethan Rasiel brings readers a powerful new guide to putting McKinsey concepts and skills into action­­The McKinsey Mind. While the first book used case studies and anecdotes from former and current McKinseyites to describe how "the firm" solves the thorniest business problems of their A-list clients, The McKinsey Mind goes a giant step further. It explains, step-by-step, how to use McKinsey tools, techniques and strategies to solve an array of core business problems and to make any business venture more successful.

Designed to work as a stand-alone guide or together with The McKinsey Way, The McKinsey Mind follows the same critically acclaimed style and format as its predecessor. In this book authors Rasiel and Friga expand upon the lessons found in The McKinsey Way with real-world examples, parables, and easy-to-do exercises designed to get readers up and running.

Executing Your Strategy: How to Break It Down and Get It Done

William A. Malek, Mark Morgan, Raymond Elliot Levitt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Why do businesses consistently fail to execute their competitive strategies? Because leaders don't identify and invest in the full range of projects and programs required to align the organization with its strategy. Moreover, even when strategy makers do break their plans down into doable chunks, they seldom work with project leaders to prioritize strategic investments and assure that needed resources are applied in priority order. And they often neglect to revise the strategic portfolio to fit the demands of a dynamic environment, or to stay connected to strategic projects through completion, as new products, services, skills and capabilities are transferred into operations.

In Executing Your Strategy, Mark Morgan, Raymond Levitt, and William Malek present six imperatives that enable you to do the right strategic projects--and do those projects right. And it is no accident that the six imperatives combine to create the acronym INVEST:

Ideation: Clarify and communicate Purpose, Identity and Long Range Intention

Nature: Develop alignment between Strategy, Structure and Culture based on Ideation

Vision: Create clear Goals and Metrics aligned to Strategy and guided by Ideation

Engagement: Do the right projects based on the Strategy through Portfolio management

Synthesis: Do Projects and Programs right, in alignment with Portfolio

Transition: Move the Project and Program outputs into Operations where benefit is realized

Full of intriguing company examples and practical advice, this crucial new resource shows you how to make strategy happen in your organization

The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers, Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market

Michael Treacy, Fred Wiersema

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This should be a text book 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best Marketing book I have ever read, I will keep this book forever. This is a must read for anyone in the marketing field. This book provides great examples along with real life examples.

Editorial Review:

Why is it that Casio can sell a calculator more cheaply than Kellogg’s can sell a box of corn flakes? Why can FedEx “absolutely, positively” deliver your package overnight but airlines have trouble keeping track of your bags? What does your company do better than anyone else? What unique value do you provide to your customers? How will you increase that value next year? As customers’ demands for the highest quality products, best services, and lowest prices increase daily, the rules for market leadership are changing. Once powerful companies that haven’t gotten the message are faltering, while others, new and old, are thriving. In disarmingly simple and provocative terms, Treacy and Wiersema show what it takes to become a leader in your market, and stay there, in an ever more sophisticated and demanding world.

Harvard Business Review on Green Business Strategy (Harv Business Review Paperback Series) (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series)

Hbsp

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Editorial Review:

Just a decade ago, the term "green building strategy" evoked visions of fringe environmentalism and a high cost for minimal good. More recently, there's been a large shift in perception, an awakening of social consciousness, and a realization that a strategy good for the world can also be good for your bottom line. Green Business Strategy is no longer an option; the future depends on it. This collection of HBR articles gets to the heart of why you should and must put a socially-responsible strategy at the top of your CEO's agenda.

Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations: A Practical Guide and Workbook

Michael Allison, Jude Kaye

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Strategic leaders at NPOs should read this book 4 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

The authors of this book do a nice job of condensing the content of their book into a diagram at page 15 that they entitle: "The Strategic Planning Process." Then they explain the diagram chapter by chapter. The chapters are full of good information and lots of exhibits, worksheets, and real-life examples. Job well done! I recommend to anybody interested in preparing a business plan for a for-profit or a nonprofit to read this book. And I also recommend all strategic leaders (i.e. executive directors, board chairs, and CEOs) read this book. It should be helpful to them in performing their job duties.

The book basically points out the following series of questions and/or tasks a strategic leader much consider when doing his or her job:

1. What is the organization doing now?
2. What are its strengths?
3. What are its weaknesses?
4. Are we heading in the direction we want?
5. What must we change to get back on track?
6. Prepare a written plan for change.
7. Implement the plan for change.
8. Monitor the implementation.
9. Reevaluate the plan for change.

I would have liked the book better if the authors had more accurately described what a business plan is, and what it is used for. The authors seem to think that a business plan is something that a for-profit entity creates in order to get loans from lenders or capital from investors. While it is true this is one of the reasons for writing a business plan, the more important reason a plan is written is that it acts as a roadmap for the leader and management of the business to follow towards success. Most businesses that do not have a written business plan are doomed for failure. NPOs without a business plan will probably not be successful either.

Another shortcoming I found in the book was that the authors do not point out that NPOs need a "business plan" just as much as does a for-profit. NPOs also need a roadmap to follow. Whether the authors want to admit it or not, a business plan for an NPO is pretty much the same document as a business plan for an organization seeking profits. The difference between the two plans exists in the marketing section - and that is the only difference. NPOs need to market to their customers/clients and to philanthropists that have a connection and commitment to their cause, whereas for-profit businesses need only market to their customers/clients.

Any NPO should have a business plan starting on the day it comes into existence. The strategic planning process described in this book can be used to create that written business plan. Therefore, this book is for NPO founders. After the business plan exists and it is being used as a roadmap to success, then the effectiveness of the plan must be monitored regularly. When it appears the plan is not proving effective, then the strategic planning process described in this book should be used again to implement change to get the NPO back on track to success.

Strategic leadership is a critical role that any leader must play, and if he or she can't, then she has no business assuming a leadership role. A "leader" who does not know how to perform strategic leadership is merely a manager, not a leader. I think it is a sad state of affaires that so many executive directors and board chairs are clueless when it comes to strategic planning - thus they are just managers. The authors, by writing this book, have created a resource for wanta-be leaders to use to learn how to do an important and critical part of their job - lead strategically.

Editorial Review:

Practical, easy-to-follow planning strategies geared to the special requirements of the nonprofit

This very accessible resource from a team of experts in the nonprofit sector adapts basic business concepts to the unique structure and goals of nonprofit organizations. Breaking the planning process into six steps, the book covers it all--from getting ready and articulating the mission to monitoring and adjusting the finished plan.

* Sample worksheets, checklists, and tables are included in the book--and on a 3-1/2" IBM-compatible disk

JUDE KAYE and MIKE ALLISON (both of San Francisco, California) are executives with The Support Centers for Nonprofit Management.

Pour Your Heart into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time

Howard Schultz, Dori Jones Yang

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 133 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Starbucks' Success Story 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

"If you pour your heart into your work, or into any worthy enterprise, you can achieve dreams others may think impossible." ~ Howard Schultz

When Howard Schultz found Starbucks he had a dream of all Starbucks could be. After bringing back ideas from Milan he planned to infuse the company with a new energy. Instead of only selling coffee beans he wanted to open stores that sold espresso. When the owners of Starbucks didn't have the same vision, he opened up his own stores and then purchased Starbucks. The story is compelling and this book is one of the most exciting books on business I've ever read.

"Without the romance of Italian espresso, Starbucks would still be what it was, a beloved local coffee bean store in Seattle." ~ pg. 53

This book explains why franchising is a forbidden word at Starbucks. It also explains how special packaging had to be made to keep the coffee fresh. Stock options and an impressive health-care package also make working for Starbucks a positive experience.

While Howard Schultz's own story is woven into the pages, this book is mostly about the positive steps that were taken to make Starbucks a success. This book will appeal to anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit.

My own experience with Starbucks has been very positive. Once a reporter talked to me on the phone while he was at a Starbucks. My family loves buying Starbucks gift cards and we always make time to go to a Starbucks whenever we get together. It is like a family tradition. Yesterday I was at my local Starbucks drinking a tall chai tea and discovered they had the most delicious vanilla scones with icing. The girl at the counter told me she thought they tasted like sugar cookies and I must agree.

If you are looking for another book about Starbucks, I can
recommend: Starbucks Passion for Coffee

~The Rebecca Review

P.S. The proceeds from this book go to the Starbucks Foundation to support literacy programs.

Editorial Review:

The chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Starbucks tells how he and his team built a small Seattle company into a nationwide business phenomenon through such anti-corporate principles as community-mindedness and employee-ownership. $300,000 ad/promo. Tour."

Study Guide

John D. Daniels

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Best International Business Textbook 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I use this textbook and its previous edition to teach International Business to senior level students in cyberspace. I consider this the most readable text on the subject. This edition has been slimmed down from the previous edition, and it is an improvement to an excellent text. My students agree that this text is great.

Anyone who needs a comprehensive book on this field should purchase this text, it is worth every penny!

Order of the supplementary publications 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 30 people found this review helpful.

I am at present using textbook "International Business", by John D. Daniels, Lee H. Radebaugh. Eighth Edition. I would be very grateful if you could Fax me as soon as possible the necessary forms to order one copy each of the supplementary publications: -Instructor's Resource Manual. -Study Guide. -Test Bank

Your sincerely,

Saeed A Al Musbeh ( Personal Manager )