General Books

The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything

Amazon Price: $11.20 List Price: $14.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Simon & Schuster Audio Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $6.74

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 69 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the riveting style of The Tipping Point, Stephen M. R. Covey uncovers the overlooked and underestimated power of trust in a gripping look into what he calls "the one thing that changes everything." Groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting, The Speed of Trust demonstrates that trust is a hard-edged, economic driver -- a learnable and measurable skill that makes organizations more profitable, people more promotable, and relationships more energizing.

The former CEO of Covey Leadership Center (founded by his father, Dr. Stephen R. Covey), Covey draws on his experience leading a $100 million enterprise to explain how trust can help you create unparalleled success and sustainable prosperity in every dimension of life. He reveals the 13 Behaviors common to high-trust leaders and persuasively demonstrates actionable insights that will enable you to increase and inspire trust in all of your important relationships. The Speed of Trust presents a road map to establish trust on every level, build character and competence, enhance credibility, and create leadership that inspires confidence.

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, Charles Burck

Amazon Price: $18.15 List Price: $27.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Crown Business Amazon Marketplace: 328 new & used starting at $2.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 233 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results . . . whether you’re running an entire company or in your first management job

Larry Bossidy is one of the world’s most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they’ve pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.

After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world’s most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn’t just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.

Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a “vision” and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.

The leader’s most important job—selecting and appraising people—is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there’s a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.

Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He’s been putting the ideas he writes about in Execution to work in real time.

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: North River Press Amazon Marketplace: 202 new & used starting at $7.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 312 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I bought a business book and a Novel broke out 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

For the person that prefers novels to business books this is probably a great resource for learning. As an avid reader of business books, it was hard for me to get through. After listening to, I couldn't read it, I went back to skim read it and try to understand the details to the Theory of Constraints. I guess that's my next read because based upon the raves, there is something I'm missing in the way the story is told.

Review for the goal 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The book is excellent and an open eye for thinking, finding, and applying methodologic solutions to the daily process activties...

What every engineer should know about manufacturing 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Doesn't matter what kind of indusstry you work. If you are an Engineer, or industrial manager, you must read this book, because it's a romance where the author describes the routine of an Industry, the day-by-day activities, pressure, problems, people vanities, etc. I strongly recommend "The Goal" to my friends engineers.

I didn't read yet, The teory of constraints neigther Crictical chain.

Editorial Review:

A fully dramatized version of the practical guide to business in fictional form offers an ensemble cast, accompanied by sound effects and music, that reveals how businesses can enhance productivity and provide personal fulfillment. Book available.

Leadership and Self Deception: Getting Out of the Box

The Arbinger Institute

Amazon Price: $10.85 List Price: $15.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 115 new & used starting at $2.49

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 206 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Read it. Then read it again. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

If you're looking for something a little different in a book on leadership, then look no further than LEADERSHIP AND SELF-DECEPTION by The Arbinger Institute. This is different from other leadership books in that it reads in the form of a story (not a parable) about a man who has just landed a job with a company he has long coveted. He is about to learn exactly why the company, Zagram, has achieved such greatness.

Follow the journey of Tom Callum as he is introduced to the principles that have set Zagrum Company apart from the competition. You'll be introduced to the principles of self-deception, self-betrayal, and being in or out of "the box". The critical point the reader will learn here is that we all spend a great deal of time in the box and when we are in the box, we are not operating anywhere near where we should. Furthermore, being in the box effects not only our work, but all inter-personal relationships and interactions in life.

Not to worry, though. The authors won't leave you hanging. Tom later learns, as his training continues, how to step out of the box. Although he also learns that what he has learned, and what this story covers, is only the first phase of a three part plan. It is a little disappointing to not be introduced to the second and third parts of the Arbinger Institutes plan, but don't let that stop you from reading this book.

In fact, you probably won't just read this book and be done with it. I plan to re-read this immediately. It is simply too much to fully comprehend in one reading, at least it was for me. The story is entertaining. The lessons are well presented and logical. What you take away will be invaluable. I see many ways of implementing what I have learned here, not just in business situations, but in marriage coaching as well. These are principles that will affect all aspects of life and business.

Editorial Review:

The "disease" of self-deception (acting in ways contrary to what one knows is right) underlies all leadership problems in today's organizations, according to the premise of this work. However well intentioned they may be, leaders who deceive themselves always end up undermining their own performance.

This straightforward book explains how leaders can discover their own self-deceptions and learn how to escape destructive patterns. The authors demonstrate that breaking out of these patterns leads to improved teamwork, commitment, trust, communication, motivation, and leadership.

Robert's Rules Of Order Newly Revised In Brief (Roberts Rules of Order (in Brief))

Henry M. III Robert, William J. Evans, Daniel H. Honemann, Thomas J. Balch

Amazon Price: $6.95 List Price: $6.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Da Capo Press Amazon Marketplace: 71 new & used starting at $2.76

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A concise and user-friendly guide to the essentials for conducting a meeting by the official Robert's Rules of Order authorship committee.

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.

The Leadership Challenge: How to Keep Getting Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations

James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner, Tom Peters

List Price: $22.00 By: Jossey-Bass Amazon Marketplace: 190 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 76 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

10 pages of information stretched to 400 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I am convinced that Jossey Bass will publish anything. I don't necessarily disagree with the material, however, it would make a better magazine article rather than a 400-page book. The authors go to an embarassing extreme in order to stretch the material out. See how I just used two sentences to make a single point? Annoying, right? This book uses pages and pages to illustrate rather pedestrian concepts. Ugggh!

Excellent Book Review Comments 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is not only a good product, it has been dleivered in a timely and beneficial manner. In fact, I have both just added a second purchase of this book for one of my military friends, and have added it to my future "Gift List" for friends and relatives.

Editorial Review:

This revised edition is designed for leaders in business, government, education, communities and all across society. It focuses on leadership as a critical aspect of human organizations and aims to demonstrate that leadership is everyone's business. This book features stories and the authors' personal insights into the fundamental aspects of leadership.

Fish: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

Stephen; Lundin, Stpehen C. Lundin

By: Hyperion Books Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $9.96

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 223 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Makes work fun 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fish! is a great book that teaches you how to have fun at work and make your job into something you enjoy coming to each day. It tells the story of a woman who goes through a transformation to learn this very thing from an unlikely source: the fish mongers at a Seattle fish market. A cute story and helpful book that has been used effectively in my company.

Another business fable I just came across that I'm really excited about is Squawk!: How to Stop Making Noise and Start Getting Results

Fish! for Teambuilding 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

We used Fish! as a team-building exercise at work. We read about 20 pages a week and then discussed. Even people who don't like to read, enjoyed it because it's such a quick, easy, story. I did get CD's for a few people. This was a group that needed to become cohesive, and after the second week, everyone was animated about Fish! People shared their own experiences as it related to the story. Very easy discussion starter. Now they want to take a field trip from Kansas City to Seattle to visit Pike Place Fish Market!

The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations

James Surowiecki

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Doubleday Amazon Marketplace: 94 new & used starting at $2.32

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 161 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

“No one in this world, so far as I know, has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.”  —H. L. Mencken
 
H. L. Mencken was wrong.

In this endlessly fascinating book, New Yorker columnist James Surowiecki explores a deceptively simple idea that has profound implications: large groups of people are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant—better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future.

This seemingly counterintuitive notion has endless and major ramifications for how businesses operate, how knowledge is advanced, how economies are (or should be) organized and how we live our daily lives. With seemingly boundless erudition and in delightfully clear prose, Surowiecki ranges across fields as diverse as popular culture, psychology, ant biology, economic behaviorism, artificial intelligence, military history and political theory to show just how this principle operates in the real world. 

Despite the sophistication of his arguments, Surowiecki presents them in a wonderfully entertaining manner. The examples he uses are all down-to-earth, surprising, and fun to ponder. Why is the line in which you’re standing always the longest? Why is it that you can buy a screw anywhere in the world and it will fit a bolt bought ten-thousand miles away? Why is network television so awful? If you had to meet someone in Paris on a specific day but had no way of contacting them, when and where would you meet? Why are there traffic jams? What’s the best way to win money on a game show? Why, when you walk into a convenience store at 2:00 A.M. to buy a quart of orange juice, is it there waiting for you? What do Hollywood mafia movies have to teach us about why corporations exist?

The Wisdom of Crowds is a brilliant but accessible biography of an idea, one with important lessons for how we live our lives, select our leaders, conduct our business, and think about our world.

Robert's Rules of Order: Newly Revised (10th Edition)

Henry M. Robert, William J. Evans, Daniel H. Honemann, Thomas J. Balch, Sarah Corbin Robert

Amazon Price: $24.75 List Price: $37.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Da Capo Press Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $20.40

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 77 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Only Authorized Guide to Parliamentary Procedure -- Now in a New Updated Edition The book on parliamentary procedure for parliamentarians and novice club presidents alike, Robert's Rules of Order is this country's recognized guide to smooth, orderly, and fairly conducted meetings. Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised is the only book to have been maintained since 1876 under the continuing program established by General Henry M. Robert himself in cooperation with the official publisher of Robert's Rules. This edition has been updated to address common inquiries, and it incorporates new rules, interpretations, and procedures made necessary by the evolution of parliamentary procedure. New features include: * Important information on the validity of meetings and votes using today's technology -- teleconferences, videoconferences, and e-mail *

New line numbering in the margins for easy and quick reference * Easy to understand clarifications of the existing parliamentary procedure * Improved cross-referencing and indexing Over 5 million copies sold

Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance

Marcus Buckingham

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Simon & Schuster Audio Amazon Marketplace: 60 new & used starting at $3.95

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Total reviews: 57 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the coauthor of the million copy bestsellers First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths

Marcus Buckingham jump-started the Strengths movement that is now sweeping the work world with his first two blockbusters. Now, he answers the ultimate question: How can you actually apply your strengths for maximum success at work? Research data show that most people do not come close to making full use of their assets at work. Go Put Your Strengths to Work will reveal the hidden dimensions of your strengths through a six-step, six-week experience that will tell you:

• Why your strengths aren't "what you are good at" and your weaknesses aren't "what you are bad at."

• How to use the four telltale signs to identify your strengths.

• The simple steps you can take each week to push your time at work toward those activities that strengthen you, and how to cut out those that don't.

• How to talk to your boss and your colleagues about your strengths without sounding like you're bragging, and your weaknesses without sounding like you're whining.

• The fifteen-minute weekly ritual that will keep you on your strengths path for your entire career.

As part of the program you'll take an online Strength Engagement Track, a powerful gauge to measure the level of engagement of your or your team's strengths. Go Put Your Strengths to Work will open up exciting uncharted territory for you and your organization. Join the strengths movement, and thrive.