Monthly Archives: December 2009

The Tipping Point

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The Tipping PointThe Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
by Malcolm Gladwell

Why did crime in New York drop so suddenly in the mid-90s? How does an unknown novelist end up a best-selling author? Why is teenage smoking out of control, when everyone knows smoking kills? What makes TV shows like Sesame Street so good at teaching kids how to read? Why did Paul Revere succeed with his famous warning?

In this brilliant and groundbreaking book, the author looks at why major changes in our society so often happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Ideas, behavior, messages, and products, he argues, often spread like outbreaks of infectious disease. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a few fare-beaters and graffiti artists fuel a subway crime wave, or a satisfied customer fill the empty tables of a new restaurant. These are social epidemics, and the moment when they take off, when they reach their critical mass, is the tipping point.

This book is written with an infectious enthusiasm for the power and joy of new ideas. Most of all, it is a road map to change, with a profoundly hopeful message—that one imaginative person applying a well-placed lever can move the world!

(This book review was originally published in 2000 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 3.)

Fish!

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Fish!Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
by Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D., Harry Paul, and John Christensen

Here’s another management parable in the spirit of Raving Fans, Gung Ho!, and Who Moved My Cheese? Fish! draws its lesson from an unlikely source—the fun-loving fishmongers at Seattle’s Pike Place Market.

The authors have done a masterful job of capturing the essence of how to infuse any workplace with high energy, positive attitudes, and a passion for performance. This book is destined to become the authority on how to change the workplace into a powerhouse of productivity, personal satisfaction, and bottom-line performance. Fish! offers wisdom that is easy to grasp, instantly applicable, and profound—the hallmarks of a true business classic!

(This book review was originally published in 2000 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 3.)

1001 Ways to Take Initiative at Work

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1001 Ways to Take Initiative at Work1001 Ways to Take Initiative at Work
by Bob Nelson

Here is the third in Nelson’s 1001 Ways Series. Whether you’re an entry-level assistant or a VP working with the CEO, there’s only one person responsible for your career—you.

This unique motivational manual will help you realize your potential for success. This book brings together hundreds of real-life examples, advice from business leaders, and the author’s own techniques and exercises to show readers how to draw on inner creativity, develop self-leadership, set goals, take risks, and sell ideas. Learn how to take action, question authority, think outside the box and trust your intuition in this practical, timely book that will make an excellent addition to any business library.

(This book review was originally published in 2000 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 3.)

The Professional Service Firm 50

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The Professional Service Firm 50The Professional Service Firm 50 (Reinventing Work): Fifty Ways to Transform Your “Department” into a Professional Service Firm Whose Trademarks are Passion and Innovation!
by Tom Peters

The White Collar Revolution is upon us, and 90% of jobs are in danger of major reconfiguration—or extinction. This ground-breaking new series, Tom Peters Trilogy: The Reinventing Work Series, aims at nothing less than a total re-invention of work (how we think about it, undertake it, bring ourselves to it). The books are in the form of “50 lists”—The Brand You 50, The Project 50, and The Professional Service Firm 50. Each contains 50 essential ideas for making this revolution an opportunity for dramatic change in our own working lives.

The Professional Service Firm 50

The economy is evolving at cyberspeed. The new game: leveraging knowledge. And the new organizational model: the Professional Service Firm!

These project-driven dynamos long ago mastered the art of doing work that matters—and they have the profits and bragging right to prove it.

Learn how to generate urgency and excitement, partner with your clients (and fire them if necessary), master information flow and timelines, and deliver WOW! results … every time. This book is a millennial must!

(This book review was originally published in 2000 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 3.)

The Project 50

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The Project 50The Project 50 (Reinventing Work): Fifty Ways to Transform Every “Task” into a Project That Matters!

by Tom Peters

The White Collar Revolution is upon us, and 90% of jobs are in danger of major reconfiguration—or extinction. This ground-breaking new series, Tom Peters Trilogy: The Reinventing Work Series, aims at nothing less than a total re-invention of work (how we think about it, undertake it, bring ourselves to it). The books are in the form of “50 lists”—The Brand You 50, The Project 50, and The Professional Service Firm 50. Each contains 50 essential ideas for making this revolution an opportunity for dramatic change in our own working lives.

The Project 50

Tasks are things of the past. To win today you must master the art of the project!

Technology has changed all the rules. Rigid hierarchies, departments, and job descriptions are history. Today companies are fluid, transformative, organized around temporary networks focused on the WOW! Project … a superbly executed, high-impact piece of work with a beginning, an end, a client and specific deliverables, and an outcome you’ll be bragging about five years from now!

(This book review was originally published in 2000 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 3.)

The Brand You 50

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The Brand You 50The Brand You 50: Or Fifty Ways to Transform Yourself from an ‘Employee’ into a Brand That Shouts Distinction, Commitment, and Passion!
by Tom Peters

The White Collar Revolution is upon us, and 90% of jobs are in danger of major reconfiguration—or extinction. This ground-breaking new series, Tom Peters Trilogy: The Reinventing Work Series, aims at nothing less than a total re-invention of work (how we think about it, undertake it, bring ourselves to it). The books are in the form of “50 lists”—The Brand You 50, The Project 50, and The Professional Service Firm 50. Each contains 50 essential ideas for making this revolution an opportunity for dramatic change in our own working lives.

The Brand You 50

The fundamental unit in today’s economy is the individual, a.k.a. YOU!

Someone who is savvy, informed, always learning and growing, who knows how to sell himself/herself, and—most important—does work that matters!

This book lays it all out: from designing your business card to landing jobs, from building your Rolodex to crafting an image, from transforming your skill portfolio to delivering WOW! Results every time.

(This book review was originally published in 2000 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 3.)

Gung Ho!

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Gung Ho!Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization
by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles

The co-authors of the business bestseller Raving Fans are back with Gung Ho! Here is an invaluable management tool that outlines foolproof ways to increase productivity by fostering excellent morale in the workplace. It’s a must-read for everyone who wants to stay on top in today’s ultra-competitive business world.

Raving Fans taught managers how to turn customers into full-fledged fans. Now, Gung Ho! brings the same magic to employees. Through the inspirational story of fictional business leaders, the authors reveal the secret of Gung Ho!—a revolutionary technique to boost enthusiasm and performance and usher in astonishing results. The three principles of Gung Ho! are:

  • The Spirit of the Squirrel
  • The Way of the Beaver
  • The Gift of the Goose

These three cornerstones are surprisingly simple and yet amazingly powerful. Whether your organization consists of one or is listed in the Fortune 500, this book ensures Gung Ho employees committed to success. It also includes a clear game plan with a step-by-step outline for instituting these groundbreaking ideas.

(This book review was originally published in 1999 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 2.)

The 3 Keys to Empowerment

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The 3 Keys to EmpowermentThe 3 Keys to Empowerment: Release the Power Within People for Astonishing Results
by Ken Blanchard, John P. Carlos, and Alan Randolph

Written in an easily accessible Q & A format, this book closely examines and expands on the three keys to empowerment originally presented in Empowerment Takes More than a Minute—sharing information with everyone, creating autonomy through boundaries, and replacing the hierarchy with teams.

It clearly outlines the promises and challenges of each stage of the journey, providing managers with thought-provoking questions, clear advice, effective activities, and action tools that will help them create a culture of empowerment. Wherever they are in the journey, managers will find a clear roadmap in this user-friendly action guide.

(This book review was originally published in 1999 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 2.)

Mission Possible

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Mission PossibleMission Possible
by Ken Blanchard and Terry Waghorn

This book was written for all living in organizations today who are dealing with the reality of having to improve their present operation and design their future at the same time.

The authors have a message for you: Your organization is dying! To stay alive in the short run, you must improve quality, profits, and customer service. Blanchard and Waghorn tell you how.

But that’s not enough. Before you know it, your organization may be obsolete, unless you start re-creating it for the future. Managing your present organization while creating a world-class future—that’s your mission—should you and your organization choose to accept it. Blanchard and Waghorn say, Mission Possible!

(This book review was originally published in 1999 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 2.)

Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers

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sacred-cows-make-the-best-burgersSacred Cows Make the Best Burgers: Developing Change-Ready People and Organizations
by Robert Kriegel and David Brandt

Tackling one of the most important business issues of today, the authors demonstrate why the latest panaceas—re-engineering, virtual teams, outsourcing, reinventing, restructuring, downsizing—almost always prove unsuccessful. They expose how these buzzword programs overlook the most fundamental element of all business: people. After all, people are the gatekeepers of change, with the power to breathe life into a new program or kill it. If they’re excited and positive, it’s open sesame; if they’re resistant, they’ll slam the door in your face.

Outmoded beliefs, practices, and processes … why do so many business people cling to their established ways as if their lives depended on them? The very things they refuse to give up, the sacred cows of the business world, are the lodestones that will kill their careers and their companies’ path to success? In this insightful and unique guide, the authors reveal why people hold on to the old and how to inspire them to bring on the new—to the point where they’re enthusiastically turning even their favorite sacred cows into burgers. This entertaining book offers concrete strategies to help you identify sacred cows, round them up, and put them out to pasture. Getting to the heart of the matter, Kriegel and Brandt show you how to coach yourself and others to create Change-Ready people.

(This book review was originally published in 1999 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 2.)