Business and Personal Development

How to be a Successful Bastard, Adrian Maile

2009-10-26T16:13:00.001Z

ISBN 978-0-9557716-1-3

Published by SB Publishing

How to be nasty and win

Mr Maile’s book seems to be an early entry in the stocking filler stakes. It should sell well as Christmas draws close; pocket-sized (or should that be stocking-sized?) it is easy to read, provides a few laughs and is instantly forgettable.

Buy it for a friend or relative and read it first to discover the four secret habits of successful bastards (I’m sure with minimal effort the author could have come up with seven like everyone else) and learn how to develop these habits. Then you could go to the official website and play bastard’s bingo. But I wouldn’t bother; it isn’t as exciting as the book.

But maybe I’m just jaded and being unfair – it is fitfully amusing and may well stave off boredom for a time, so not a total waste of £5.99. Especially if you do pass it on as a stocking filler.

Creating Magic, Lee Cockerell

2009-10-08T16:12:00.001+01:00

ISBN 978-0-09-192912-1

Published by Vermillion

10 common sense leadership strategies

Lee Cockerell dropped out of college and joined the army where he learned to cook. After military service he went to work at the Washington DC Hilton where he entered the management training programme. Later he went to work for Marriott before being headhunted by Disney for its new Paris resort. He eventually spent over a decade running Walt Disney World Resort operations before becoming an independent consultant. So he should know what he is talking about – and he does!

First a word of congratulation for avoiding the dreaded ‘seven’ syndrome. Mr Cockerell offers us no less than ten strategies, from remembering that everyone is important through advice on training, staying ahead and more to developing character.

By all accounts the author was an outstanding and inspirational leader and he shares his insights and stories in a straightforward and immensely readable manner.

Is there anything world-shakingly new or revolutionary in these pages? Probably not but Lee manages to avoid management-speak and brings a sense of reality to the proceedings. Well worth a couple of hours – and you will certainly find at least some of his advice worth following.

Two clunkers from Vermillion:

2009-09-14T09:39:00.002+01:00

How to be Rich, edited by Patricia G Horan

The 7 Secrets of Leadership Success,
Deborah Tom & General Richard Barrons

9780091924041
9780091906931

Where to begin? With the first book, I guess. Subtitled ‘Collected wisdom from the world’s greatest thinkers’ this is not a distillation of Einstein, Newton, Darwin and Hawkins. No, between these covers we hear from the likes of Wallace Wattles, Theron Q Dumont, Orion S Marden and Ralph Waldo Trine. And frankly I doubt that we even get the best work of these obscure ‘thinkers’.

‘How to be Rich’ smacks of the worst sort of opportunism. I’m sure Ms Horan did not deliberately seek out a bunch of out of copyright works to compile her book from, but it is difficult to come up with a more convincing theory.

And so to ‘The 7 Secrets of Leadership Success’. Why is it always 7? We know authors make up these lists so why not be a bit original and have 5; or 9; or (bit radical this) an even number of secrets!?

But 7 it is and despite using up almost four hundred pages I can find nothing new here. The same old ideas rejigged and retitled with a few militaristic words and analogies thrown in. Sadly even these latter are pretty boring.

So, as I said at the start, a couple of real clunkers – don’t waste your money.

The Meeting Magic Method, Katherine Woods & Kevin Holligan

2009-05-14T14:54:00.001+01:00

Available at www.meetingmagic.co.uk

Seven steps to successful meeting design

Now here is something completely different. An A3 workbook (plus a pocket version for on the hoof meeting planning) designed to lead you along the path to the perfect meeting.

I say ‘path’ advisedly since the authors use the visual metaphor of a journey throughout the workbook. It is designed to help business managers realise more effective results from any meeting.

Based on seven steps (there’s that figure 7 again! What is it with authors?) each A3 page (template) provides the opportunity to advance the development of your meeting;

1. Clarify why (the fundamental reason(s) for having a meeting at all)
2. Understand expectations (yours and others’)
3. Define the targets (what you and ‘they’ expect)
4. Outline the flow (how the targets are to be achieved)
5. Design the agenda (what most of us thought came first!)
6. Prepare resources (complete with checklist to avoid embarrassing gaps!)
7. Document and review (we’ve all wondered after a meeting what actually happened!)

The worksheets are very practical and beautifully designed and could make a real difference to anyone who struggles with the preparation of meetings (so that’s everyone who ever prepared a meeting, right?). The kit represents a serious investment at £97.00 though that does include a facility to download and print more templates and a half-hour coaching session from one of Meeting Magic’s facilitators.

Come to think of it, your first session could potentially save more than the cost simply in time saved. Assuming you are as disorganised as me when it comes to planning!

Answering the Ultimate Question

2009-04-28T14:38:00.005+01:00

Richard Owen & Laura L. Brooks

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Applying ‘Net Promoter’

Not ’what is the meaning of life?’ but, according to Owen & Brooks, ‘how likely is it that you would recommend this business to a friend or colleague?’

Developed from a 2006 best-seller, Net Promotion begins with a simple premise; ask people to rate the chances of their recommending you on a scale of 1 to 10. Based on answers given it is claimed to be possible to predict future success or failure. A whole methodology has grown around this basic idea and many are the adherents to Net Promoter and its tenets.

What we are talking about here is customer loyalty and, let’s face it, the majority of CRM efforts fall down at the implementation stage (the minority fall down elsewhere; successful CRM is an elusive target). This book provides a plan for implementing Net Promoter successfully and running what Troy Stevenson of Charles Schwab refers to as a ‘customer-centric’ organisation.

The authors have drawn on their own clients to provide case studies and those clients’ enthusiasm shines through in every case.

Net Promoter is not for the faint-hearted though and, unless your business is already a convert, you would be advised to read Fred Reichheld’s ‘The Ultimate Question’ before venturing into this volume.

Sticky Wisdom

2009-01-22T20:53:00.007Z

Published by Capstone

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

The revolution starts here

How would you like to switch on your ‘creativity’ any time you wanted? Or help everyone in your organisation (your life!) be more creative? According to the unnamed authors (all staff members of the organisation ?What If!) there is a step-by-step how-to-do-it guide – and Sticky Wisdom the book is it!

There are, the book tells us, six behaviours that can be seen in all creative people and teams;

Freshness
Greenhousing
Realness
Momentum
Signalling
Courage

Unsurprisingly, Sticky Wisdom is divided into six chapters (plus an introduction, a ‘call to arms’ and an index) that explore the behaviours and guide the reader towards their implementation.

Is this just another book of to do lists? Not entirely; though it contains lists a plenty. Let’s face it, we would all like a simple template that could be applied and provide instant positive results. Not only for creativity but for all the other challenges that face us in life and business. So the authors have tapped into a universal desire for quick fixes. However they are codifying what their organisation does, very successfully, for a number of impressive clients; Microsoft and ICI for example. While I don’t imagine either of these organisations is completely immune from snake-oil salesman their presence on the client list does make the arguments put forth at least worth spending a little time on.

Like the company the authors work for, Sticky Wisdom is a bit off-the-wall but a good read and with some interesting ideas that could make a big difference if you are prepared to put in the not inconsiderable effort that will be needed. Proving yet again that there is not really any short cut to success beyond winning a lottery, Sticky Wisdom has found a space on my bookshelf.

Beat the Recession: proven marketing tactics, Carol A E Bentley

2009-01-03T11:42:00.004Z

Published by Sarceaux Publications, Dorset, England.

139 Proven Sales Letter Writing, Direct Marketing & Business Development Tactics Make Short Work of Recession Fears

So says the jacket blurb for Carol Bentley’s second book – and she backs it up with a money back guarantee if you buy direct.

Carol is a well-known copywriter who also writes a blog all about marketing (and sales and other stuff) for small businesses. This volume is a distillation of that blog plus comments she has received on various postings and a whole section of ‘guest blogs’ from other (mainly Internet-based) marketing experts.

Apart from the advice in the ‘guest blogs’ the book contains 139 business tips aimed at improving profits. And it has something that raises its potential value to any small business exponentially – links. The book is heavy with them; links to all kinds of clever material from all kinds of sources; I’d be willing to pay the cover price just to get the links!

It is not possible, in a short review, to cover everything that Carol talks about in over 400 pages but here is a taster:

· Marketing
· Web marketing
· Selling techniques
· Networking
· Time management
· Writing sales letters
· Cold calling
· Joint venturing
· Referrals
· Prospecting

You can get Carol’s book in all the usual outlets – but if you follow this link http://www.bentleybtr.com/ you will be able to get the ebook version as well as the printed book. This means you can use the many links direct from the ebook instead of having to key them laboriously in to your web browser. And if that is not enough, Carol gives you a whole year to evaluate the material and take a refund if you are dissatisfied!

No matter what you got for Christmas, give yourself a New Year’s gift that should pay for itself over and over again.

The Secrets of CEOs, Steve Tappin & Andrew Cave

2008-11-28T17:12:00.002Z

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Published by Nicholas Brealey

Wise words from the top

How would you like the opportunity to quiz 150 leaders of major organisations about how they run their businesses? That’s exactly what Tappin and Cave do in this 300-page encyclopaedia of expertise.

For the first time, claim the authors, 150 top chief executives reveal what it is really like to be a CEO; what it has taken them to succeed; what motivates them.

Published just before the world economy imploded, the book examines the trends shaping the world, the early stages of the ‘credit crunch’ and the resulting fundamental change; change that most agreed was inevitable – and now have been proved right.

Later in the book, the different types of leader and their unique approaches are put under the spotlight. There is some inevitable simplification – for instance reducing leadership behaviour to five ‘types’ – but the conclusions have the air of authenticity and will be most useful in helping the reader understand his/her own ‘type’ and consequent potential shortcomings.

There is sound advice for up and coming leaders,` together with a dire health/happiness/relationships warning – just in case anyone believes the world of the CEO is one of endless milk and honey.

Not an ‘easy’ read but one well worth the effort.

Bare Knuckle Customer Service, Simon Hazeldine & Chris Norton

2008-10-16T17:27:00.005+01:00

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Published by Lean Marketing Press

If your customers are so important to you, why is your customer service so bad?

That is the question posed by the authors right at the start. And it’s true, isn’t it? Who is not daily driven to despair by the antics of organisations claiming that the customer is king – and then treating that same customer like dirt?

Now don’t judge this book by its (horrendous) cover – there are lashings of good advice packed into these 150 or so pages.

Beginning with the above question, the authors go on to pose several more, such as ‘why bother?’ and ‘can customer service influence profits?’ and to answer them with common sense arguments and numerous examples from their and others’ business lives.

From building a customer service strategy to recruiting the right people; from empowerment to service targets to complaints, performance improvement and, call centres they cover pretty well everything and anything that could conceivably come under the remit of customer service. And best of all is my favourite section; just two pages of ‘the 5 most stupid things to say to a customer’ all of which have been said to me and, I’m willing to bet, to you.

My only reservations – the aforementioned cover and a somewhat too liberal use of exclamation marks. Otherwise well worth reading.

You Can Do It Too, Rachel Bridge

2008-10-01T13:42:00.003+01:00

Published by Kogan Page

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Success tips

Rachel Bridge is the Enterprise Editor for The Sunday Times and she has already written two best sellers on the topic of entrepreneurial success – How I Made It and My Big Idea.

In her previous books she documented 70 successful entrepreneurs and their ideas. Here she looks at ‘20 essential things every budding entrepreneur should know’.

Chapter by chapter she explores these essentials, illustrating them with examples from successful business peoples’ experiences. Each chapter culminates in a more detailed success story in which a self-made millionaire emphasises the ‘lesson’.

Many of the fabulously successful featured will be familiar names, for instance James Murray Wells of Glasses Direct and Hilary Devey of Pall-Ex who featured recently in The Secret Millionaire on Channel 4.

Sometimes of course she states the blindingly obvious - for example, you need to know what you are trying to achieve or you should be careful who you take on as partners – but other chapters reveal things that may not instantly come to mind in the flush of entrepreneurial enthusiasm.

There is also a heartening tailpiece that completely goes against much of the advice given. Edward Perry persevered with his ready-meals company Cook against all the signs that it was a loser – his family didn’t want to invest, the banks turned him down and his first attempts were, by his own admission, ‘terrible’. But he believed in his idea and soldiered on. He now has 21 shops and a projected £18 million turnover for 2008.

Once again Ms Bridge has written a highly interesting and, for the budding entrepreneur, valuable book.

Future Files, Richard Watson

2008-09-23T19:50:00.001+01:00

Published by Nicholas Brealey

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Predicting the next 50 years

Will machines ever achieve true intelligence and overthrow humans? Will your house protect you from intruders, keep your fridge stocked and suggest ideas for dinner tonight? And will you soon be able to control your computer by thinking at it?

Richard Watson, advisor on the future to many companies, explores these and other exciting topics in his new book.

Of course no one can accurately predict the future and the farther ahead one looks, the less accurate become the forecasts. Undoubtedly things we have not yet dreamt of will shape the actual future. Nonetheless, Mr Watson paints some provocative pictures and certainly makes one think. Some of his pictures are dark and frightening, others bright and cheerful.

For example, he predicts ‘a plethora of micromedia’ that will appeal to every interest – you will choose what, when and where to be entertained. We are seeing the start of this, of course with stop and play live TV, MP3 downloads and the like. The ability to produce our own videos etc cheaply and to distribute the results via the Internet also makes it ever more likely that Andy Warhol’s ’15 minutes of fame’ prediction will soon come to pass.

Mr Watson discusses culture, science, politics, money, transport - and more. He provides an extinction timeline so you can find out when (according to Watson) coins will cease to be used, glaciers will finally disappear (both between 2030 and 2040) or spelling will finally succumb, presumably thnks to txtg.

As for innovations: child-care robots anyone? And don’t forget invisibility, landing a man on Mars and virtual holidays (I think I already take those).

Fun, fascinating and thought provoking. Enjoy but don’t have nightmares.

Success. The best of Napoleon Hill, Patricia G Horan

2008-08-28T15:46:00.002+01:00

Published by Vermillion

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Updated guide from the master

Napoleon Hill was the granddaddy of the personal success movement. An international best-selling author, his books have never been out of print and many, if not most, of today’s personal development gurus owe their incomes to his ideas.

Patricia Horan has combined several of Napoleon’s winning formulae to produce seventeen ‘key laws of success’. Oh well, it makes a change from the more usual seven laws/habits/strategies of this and that.

There is nothing new in this book, but the old ideas are somewhat refreshed by the attentions of a 21st century eye. A useful addition for a collector of such ‘wisdom’ and a very good introduction for someone new to the field, it contains such hardy perennials as
• The Master Mind – group effort outpulls solo slogging
• Having a goal – if you don’t know where you are going …
• Imagination – the starting point for everything
• Overdelivering – surprise and delight your customers
• Learning from your mistakes – failure is the best teacher
• And a lot more.

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I think it makes a worthy companion to the Master’s ‘Think and Grow Rich’.

Cold Calling for Chickens. Bob Etherington

2008-08-03T12:30:00.006+01:00

Published by Cyan Books (Marshall Cavendish)

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Something for the coward in all of us!

Have you ever had to make a business call absolutely cold? It sends shivers down the spines of otherwise fearless salespeople and causes fainting fits among sales trainees.

Well, Bob Etherington has been doing it for years and he knows all about the fear and how to handle it. Notice ‘handle’ not ‘eliminate’. The great strength of this book is that it allows you to remain a chicken and still succeed.

According to Bob, 85% of business goes to the 5% of people who know the secret of successful cold calling. Which makes this a very important book indeed.

Having established that we are to remain ‘chicken’ the author begins the process of showing us how to use our fears to make us ‘one of the best’ in the cold calling field. He does this by first ‘marking out the chicken run’; showing how to figure out what works best for your product or service and how to be convincing on the telephone.

The next section of the book is called ‘The big secret of successful chickens’ and here he reveals how we can get everything we desire in life. Mr E is deadly serious about the ‘everything’ bit and I have to say he makes a very convincing argument for his system.

The final two sections are concerned with persuasion and how to hang on to your customers – and keep them buying.

Part sales training, part personal development, all fascinating and could change your life (in a positive way!). I think you should probably buy it – especially if you are in sales or run your own business.

Drop Dead Brilliant, Lesley Everett

2008-07-14T13:15:00.003+01:00

Published by McGraw-Hill

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

So, how’s your brand looking?

“I never really found what I truly wanted to do and what I’m good at until I was 30!” Well, thank goodness that Ms Everett did not stick with the law or software development, two of her earlier careers, because then we would have been deprived of her significant input into the topic of personal branding.

Keynote speaker, media personality and branding coach, Lesley is an international businesswoman who distils the essence of her considerable knowledge into her latest book.

As Lesley says, “You have a brand whether you are aware of it or not.” The job of this book is to help you make the most of that brand.

Nothing is overlooked; from style tips to nasal hair to casual ‘power’ by way of body talk, real talk and self-selling, Lesley leaves no pin ungilded, no shirt unpressed, no shoe unpolished, no stone unturned.

With plenty to think about for both sexes (despite the cover picture this book is for women too), you will learn what to wear and how to wear it for every occasion and how to create, or recreate, your personal ‘package’. You’ll learn about interviews and presentations, including those dreaded TV and videoconference sessions and you’ll pick up some tips on vocal quality as well. There is even advice for dealing with other cultures.

By the end of these 200 pages you will be ready to create a new image, perhaps a new you – you will certainly have all the tools necessary. (Me, forget the business world - I’m really looking forward to not hearing my wife say, “You’re not thinking of going out looking like that, are you?” ever again!)

The Times of London

2008-07-08T14:56:00.006+01:00

Tuesday, July 8 2008, page 11.

"The 2:1 degree is losing its shine as the gold standard for getting a job as employers increasingly value leadership and COMMUNICATION SKILLS over academic achievement" (my capitals)

If you doubt your abilities in the communication arena - or if you would 'sooner die than make a presentation' - you should click on the title of this piece.

How to manage People. Michael Armstrong

2008-07-07T09:13:00.003+01:00

Published by Kogan Page

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Latest from the Sunday Times ‘Creating Success’ series

Michael Armstrong, management consultant and author of a number of management books, here offers practical advice for managers, supervisors and team leaders on how to get the best results from their teams.

Acknowledging that managers rely on their teams as much as teams rely on their managers, he covers all the main aspects of leadership, motivation, delegation and organisation succinctly and clearly.

This book will be especially valuable for those in managerial positions who do not have the luxury of formal HR support thanks to sections on selection, performance management and rewards.

Though concise (just 150 or so pages) it is comprehensive and the author manages to include ideas on helping individuals develop as well as providing useful advice on dealing with problem behaviour, absenteeism and underperformance.

A useful book for the manager pressed for time – so that would be pretty well all of them.

How Full is your Bucket? Tom Rath & Donald O Clifton PhD

2008-06-30T22:29:00.004+01:00

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Published by Gallup Press

Positive reinforcement for a better life

Although this book is over four years old, I’ve only just come across it. And it is such an important work I simply had to publicise it.

This book shows just how the briefest of interactions can affect your work, relationships, health and even how long you will live.

Basing their arguments on solid research and using real-life examples, the authors set out to show how negativity can actually kill and how positive interaction can benefit everyone.

They use the metaphor of a bucket and ‘dipper’ (in the UK, read ‘ladle’) where everyone has an invisible bucket that others can fill by ladling in positivity – or empty by ladling out (being negative). We, of course, do the same to other people.

In a business context, filling someone’s bucket equates to recognising them for their achievements, their efforts or sometimes just for being around. The research has shown that those who receive regular recognition or praise demonstrate increased productivity, score higher with customers, stay with the firm longer – and more.

When it comes to personal relationships, focusing on the positive perhaps unsurprisingly leads to better relationships and, in the case of children, better school records. I said ‘unsurprisingly’ because you no doubt were thinking I was stating the obvious. Yet, sadly, the research shows we all tend to focus on negatives!

There is much more that is worthwhile in this book – including the ‘Five Strategies for Increasing Positive Emotions’ and even templates for your own ‘bucket-filling’ notes.

This is a truly life-enhancing book and I urge you to buy it, read it and put its ideas into practice.

Never Hit a Jellyfish with a Spade, Guy Browning

2008-06-18T15:56:00.004+01:00

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

I laughed 'til I wet myself

Not a business book maybe, but I had to put this in - it's hilarious! First published in the UK in 2004, I picked up a US version earlier this year and could not put it down. Luckily for us all it is still in print.

Guy Browning writes a column called 'How to ...' in the weekend Guardian magazine; this book contains 278 pages of his stuff beginning with how to exercise and ending with how to control the duvet dispensing a thousand belly laughs in between.

It is a difficult book to describe and quotes out of context are never really funny, but ...

"There is a phrase which says that when you're tired of London you're tired of life. This explains why people on the Underground generally look suicidal. ... They also say 'early to bed, early to rise, makes you healthy, wealthy and wise' - hence the national glut of rich philosopher-milkmen."

and ... (the italicised bit is my interjection)

"Very occasionally, the great British public get (surely, 'gets', or am I being pedantic?) so annoyed about something they decide to demonstrate. This generally involves descending on London en masse, discovering how few public toilets there are, and then returning home with lots of shopping."

If those extracts do not intrigue, let me just say I seldom laugh out loud and this book had me doing so pretty regularly. I urge you to buy it and if it doesn't reduce you to tears of laughter, send it to me and I'll give you your money back. Can't say fairer than that, can I?

Branding Your Business, James Hammond

2008-06-17T10:58:00.002+01:00

Published by Kogan Page

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Better brand building

Effective branding is critical; you do have a brand, whether you are aware of it or not – the question is, does your brand enhance your business?

James Hammond is a practical man who has produced a practical book on branding that will actually help the smaller business with little or no budget for something as esoteric as ‘brand building’.

How does he do it? He begins by examining in some depth what a brand really is. This is the beginning of a step-by-step process in which the reader gets to examine his/her current brand and (re)create it to better effect.

Mr Hammond applies his quarter century plus of brand management experience to the task of educating us in the concepts, the language and the practicalities of building a successful brand and communicating it to the client. Frequent references to human psychology and numerous real-world examples make this an interesting as well as informative volume.

Probably the most important idea in the book is the ‘Brand Halo’ – in itself a superb example of branding. Adopting the premise that you don’t have to get everything right all of the time, the author leads us through the creation of the ‘Brand Storybook’, ‘Brand Reflections’, ‘BrandEmotions’ and a few other trademarked expressions culminating in the ‘BrandBite’, a kind of sophisticated elevator pitch.

Persuasively written, well argued and very readable, this is probably the most useful book on the topic I have come across.

The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace D Wattles

2008-06-05T08:19:00.020+01:00

Buy it now for $1!

Long before Rhonda Byrne (The Secret) was even a twinkle in anyone's eye, Wallace Wattles (you couldn't make up a name like that, could you?) was busy scribbling away at what would become his most popular work.

Born in Illinois shortly before the outbreak of the American Civil War, Wattles lived much of his life in poverty, yet mysteriously he died a wealthy man. He attributed his riches to his discovery of the principles outlined in this book.

So is this simply another self-delusional piece of new age fluff aimed at the lazy and the greedy? Maybe not! Certainly, when you boil down Wattles' recipe it seems to be simple enough; decide exactly what you want, keep it in the forefront of your mind at all times, believe you will achieve it. Plus one other vital ingredient - do something about it! The twist from Wattles is that he claims his methods guarantee success, and he himself is the proof.

Published a year before his death in 1911, Wattles' book long predates other self-help gurus such as Napoleon Hill, W Clement Stone, Norman Vincent Peale and, of course, Rhonda Byrne.

The outstanding merit of Wattles' work is its brevity. He says much that the other say (have copied from him?) but has his own endearing style.

Worth a look - even if only from curiosity to see what an original has to say.

Discover the Simple way to Success in business, Richard Walters

2008-05-27T11:15:00.001+01:00

Published by Harris Walters

Great tips for business owners

The eagle-eyed will have spotted the absence of an ISBN number above. I have a rule only to review books that have some kind of distribution, however feeble, and that generally rules out anything without an ISBN. However I am making an exception in this case because I believe this to be a very useful piece of work.

Harris Walters is a firm of accountants and, according to his biographical notes, partner Richard Walters has written a number of books for the business market.

Why do I like this book so much? Because it keeps the promise of the title – it is SIMPLE. Simple to understand, simple to read and simply covers the basics.

Mr Walters begins by getting the reader to consider what he or she really wants by asking “what is the most important thing to you about being in business?” Being different, asking the right questions, taking one step at a time and13 other vital steps are covered in the first few pages. I fact, in a total of less than 110 pages we cover sales and marketing, business management, people skills and vision and innovation. And it is done succinctly and SIMPLY.

Small enough to slip in your pocket, this book will repay its reading many times over. Not available on Amazon or even, so far as I can find out, from good booksellers, you will have to contact Harris Walters direct and part with about a tenner ($20) for your copy.

Well worth the trouble – http://www.harriswalters.co.uk/

Persuasion, James Borg

2008-05-16T13:22:00.002+01:00

Published by Pearson

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

The world’s best-selling book on persuasion

That’s what it says on the cover of the second edition – and I’m baffled. Okay, it’s not a bad book, but it’s not a great book.

For a start, there are some really irritating bits. He quotes the tired old Albert Mehrabian stuff about the relative importance of visual, vocal and verbal information. But he has clearly not read the research, or has not understood it. This then brings into question his interpretations of other research and indeed his assertions throughout the book.

He also attempts to cover body language and memory, but does so superficially. To be fair, each requires a book of its own so I felt he would have been better giving less information and recommending further research; there is no bibliography which would have been a great help.

So, having dealt with my reservations, what is there to recommend?

I found the discussions of empathy, sincerity and listening/attention interesting and useful.

Psycholinguistics (saying the right thing at the right time is Borg’s simplification of this daunting word), difficult people and the personality spectrum are also sections that reward the reader.

On balance, probably a long-haul read that may repay you with a couple of useful ideas, if the airport bookstall has nothing more stimulating to offer.

Simply Success, Jack Miller

2008-05-09T16:31:00.004+01:00

Published by Wiley

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Sound advice for entrepreneurs

Jack Miller founded Quill Corporation in 1956 with the help of a $2,000 loan from his father-in-law and a phone line in his father’s poultry store. In 1998 he sold out to Staples for a little under $700,000,000.

Not bad for a man who rates himself as only averagely intelligent!

Mr Miller is an old-fashioned businessman who believes in hard work and putting the customer first. Not in the glib “our customers are paramount” lip service that is almost universal today, but simply by treating customers as he would family, neighbours and friends (my interpretation, not his).

In this delightful to read book he expounds his philosophy and tells the story of Quill. He talks about the importance of having a vision, of strategic planning, of budgeting and all the other things you would expect. But he talks with his own voice, not the platitudes of the business school and is twice as readable as a result.

He talks about what it takes to be an entrepreneur, to build a healthy corporate culture and to grow into leadership. Above all he is passionate about what made his business different – its unfailing concern to provide a better customer experience than any of its rivals.

He is frank about the mistakes he has made and about the things he wishes he had done differently; but this is at heart a success story; success founded on old-fashioned values that are as relevant this century as they were when Jack and his brothers were building what became the Quill Corporation.

Keep up to date!

2008-05-02T11:16:00.002+01:00

Are you just too busy to keep up with all the news that floods your life?

Or are you like me and can't be bothered to read interminable newspaper stories or listen to the endless loop that is 24-hour news?

Then here's an idea - subscribe to a magazine called 'The Week'

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A new book review next week, I promise

YES! Noah J Goldstein PhD, Steve J Martin, Robert B Cialdini PhD

2008-04-20T15:12:00.003+01:00

Published by Profile Books

Buy it now from Blackwell Books

Getting your own way – but with subtlety!

I have long been a fan of Cialdini’s theories ( he is the academic who found a great way to jump the queue at the photocopier; see ‘Influence’ and its sequels) so I was delighted to come across this gem of a book though I have not previously heard of his co-authors.

Subtitled ’50 secrets from the science of persuasion’ it is exactly that – a bunch of tips for getting your own way. Each short chapter outlines an actual event involving (sometimes accidental) persuasion techniques; it goes on to look at relevant research and propose practical applications.

Persuasion, the authors claim, is a science and not an art. Fair enough, even though the theories have been developed by psychologists and psychology is widely regarded as a non-science. The important thing is that all the techniques discussed in this book have been shown to work more effectively than begging, threats or chance. So, if you are in the persuasion business (and who isn’t?) this will prove a useful handbook for you.

From persuading hotel guests to re-use their towels more often (and then more often still!) to showing which common office item can make your influence stick (clue!) the authors provide fascinating tales and practical ideas. They rely not on anecdote but on solid research to illuminate the influence strategies that will ease your passage through your business, consumer and home lives.

There is no room here to discuss all of the tips, but among my favourites are the three-word change that shattered a twenty-year-old sales record, the aforementioned sticky influencer and how similarities can make a big difference.

Buy this book for fun, out of curiosity or as a business investment – but buy it!