The Wild Idea Club: A Collaborative System to Solve Workplace Problems, Improve Efficiency, and Boost Your Bottom Line Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Marilyn, former school counselor
"The Wild Idea Club" presents an excellent format for brainstorming. While the book aimed at solving problems in the workplace the ideas would be equally valuable in an educational setting. Brainstorming is an effective way to discuss what to do about bullying, having more time for recess or lunch or getting along with teachers etc. Wish the book had been available when I was moderating group sessions with students.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Wild Idea Club: A Collaborative System to Solve Workplace Problems, Improve Efficiency, and Boost Your Bottom Line

Imagine a workplace where employees don't complain about problems but instead work together in idea-generating clubs to present positive solutions.The Wild Idea Club will help you get there there, by providing managers with an easy, step-by-step approach that harnesses the collective genius of their people to drive innovation, improve efficiency, and increase morale.In tough times like these--with managers facing increasing pressure to get more done with fewer people and less money--encouraging employees to work together to tackle tough issues on their own is not a luxury, but a survival tool.When people start seeing possibilities instead of problems--and can present their solutions to decision-makers who care--something amazing happens: They find themselves actually working together toward a common goal that benefits everyone and their organization.The Wild Idea Club is a guide, a method, and a tool that provides:* Everything a manager needs to get a Wild Idea Club (or three) up and running in his or her organization--and keep it going.* Tips and techniques to help your people generate ideas and select the best ones.* The best ways to capture, record, research, and follow through on the solutions generated by a Wild Idea Club.* Strategies to help your people pitch their ideas.* And much more.Written in a loose and light style, each chapter presents one facet of the concept, illustrated through a story based on real-life examples of Wild Idea Clubs in action. This book will help anyone learn exactly what's needed to create a club in his or her company, no matter its industry, size, or history.

Click here for more information about The Wild Idea Club: A Collaborative System to Solve Workplace Problems, Improve Efficiency, and Boost Your Bottom Line

Read More...

The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today's Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)If you have not had any (or very little) exposure to digital marketing, by all means buy the book and read it. However, for anyone who has had some experience with digital marketing the last 5 years, this book offers very little new thinking (unless you are really bad at your job).
While the book is full of examples, if flows poorly. The author's points seem to get lost in a somewhat poor structure, and too many points thrown at the user without a proper flow to it. The author should definitely look into pyramid consulting techniques in order to present better. And given the author's savvy in online marketing, it does make me wonder whether the other reviews are legitimate.
But again, if you are a CEO, or non-marketing exec, or an "old school" marketer, this books seems like a useful intro to you. But you should be out reading Techcrunch, Marketing 2.0, Mobilemarketer, Mashable etc etc on a daily basis, and you would not only learn just as quick, you'd stay more current.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today's Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture

Marketing has undergone a cataclysmic shift. Blogs, comment sites, and social networks have given your audience unprecedented power in their relationship with you and your products. How can you deploy today's new marketing tools to break through, build momentum, and gain recognition? Contrary to popular belief, adding a blog, podcast, wiki, or widget to your Web site won't automatically draw crowds. Fundamental change is required. Real-world examples from companies such as Volcom, Ryanair, IBM, Viking, Adidas, Proctor & Gamble, and many others show you how to open meaningful interactions with your customers, develop authenticity, share recognition, and engage. Whether you're a marketer, communications expert, CEO, or business owner, you face the daunting challenge of marketing with your customers, not to them. In The Age of Engage, widely respected marketing strategist Denise Shiffman lays out a provocative blueprint for how you can
Create persuasive value so that your products stand out in this new era
Build trust by reshaping audience interactions
Expand social currency and extend your sphere of influence
Deploy new marketing vehicles to capture the hearts, minds, and wallets of your customers
The Age of Engage will transform the way you think about marketing. It will inspire you to engage audiences by interacting with them in new and inventive ways. And, it will help you reshape or reinvent your company culture, products, and marketing to entice audiences and catalyze markets. Praise for The Age of Engage: 'The Age of Engage is an amazing and essential guide for business, defining the strategic path companies must take for product success. To master the profound changes in marketing forged by the evolution of the Web, every marketer must read this book!' --Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google 'The Age of Engage is revealing and straightforward and envisions a way for all of us to move easily into the open, interactive business and marketing practices Web 3.0 and beyond will require.' --Pat Sueltz, CEO, SurfControl PLC 'An illuminating text that assembles in one place the vast changes the Web is driving across marketing and explains today's requisite paradigm for reinventing your brand. It's Google Maps for marketers in this era.' --Tracey Stout, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Fair Isaac Corporation 'The Age of Engage is astute and inspiring. It has given me a host of creative approaches for marshalling the Live Web as a fundamental part of my brick and mortar business.' --Amanda West, CEO, Amanda's Restaurants 'The Age of Engage offers a blueprint for infiltrating the ongoing conversations of the Live Web that move a product from a mere commodity to a powerful brand.' --Ben Elowitz, CEO, Wetpaint 'Shiffman's conversational style embodies the authentic dialogue she believes companies must have in order to engage their audiences and succeed in the interactive age.' --Sam Yagan, CEO, OkCupid.com

Click here for more information about The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today's Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture

Read More...

Hardcore Inventing: Invent, Protect, Promote, and Profit From Your Inventions Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
When I cruise through B&N and spot a book that might be helpful to my SCORE-dot-org clients I usually take the necessary steps to write a book review for it. These days I am being a little more particular as to what I will review since I am tiring of the activity. But I could not let this book slide by. In my humbe opinion it is a great companion book to Invent Yourself Rich: 16 Secrets for Creating Million-Dollar Inventions which I read and wrote a review for a few years back.
The instant book has five parts broken into twenty chapters and three appendices as follows:
I. Invent (1-8)
II. Protect (9-11)
III. Promote (12-14)
IV. Profit (15-20)
V. Appendices (A-C)
0. Introduction
1. Success story - The Rescue Streamer Technology
2. Identifying & solving the problem
3. How nature inspired my inventions
4. Scour your brain
5. Making your idea a reality: Inventor's logs, prototypes, & marketing evaluations
6. Build a show prototype
7. Name your invention
8. Checklist - Is your idea feasible, marketable & financially viable?
9. Safeguard your intellectual property - Paranoia can be good
10. Step-by-step guide from disclosure to patent - Etch it in stone
11. Alernatives to utility patents
12. Get your invention out there
13. Find investors: Targeted strikes & mobilizing the troops
14. Protect yourself from fraudulent promotion companies
15. Licening
16. Manufacturing
17. Marketing
18. The home entrepreneur - Bottom-feeding
19. Venture Capitalists & angel investors
20. Critical crossroads
A. Useful Web sites
B. Suggested reading
C. Sample agreements & letters
The book is not written by an attorney nor a business consultant. It's written by an inventor who wants to share his experiences in getting his invention (Rescue Streamer Technology) patented and profitable. He's also probably written it as a marketing tool for his invention. If I had not read the book, then I would never have heard of his invention.
This book is probably more detailed and a little bit more informative than the book I read a few years back. It gives another perspective - so I highly recommend anyone interested in the subject get both books and become very informed on the topic. 5 stars!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Hardcore Inventing: Invent, Protect, Promote, and Profit From Your Inventions

Based on the author's experience in the world of inventing and promotion, HardcoreInventing offers the kind of advice you can only learn from experience: how to develop an idea into an invention, how to build a prototype for show, how to safeguard intellectual property, how to market both strategically and in "guerilla" mode, how to find investors, and much more. And all of that is based on his IP 3"Tactical Method" which breaks everything down to Invent, Protect, Promote, and Profit.

Click here for more information about Hardcore Inventing: Invent, Protect, Promote, and Profit From Your Inventions

Read More...

The New Polymath: Profiles in Compound-Technology Innovations (Wiley Professional Advisory Services) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Having read an advance copy of Vinnie Mirchandani's The New Polymath, I have to say that it is a riveting read. It's SuperFreakonomics for us technophiles. Because, for better or worse, The New Polymath (who can be thought of as a modern Leonardo da Vinci) must also be an IT guru ... as it is information technology that is paving the way for a new generation of polymaths that have access to unprecedented levels of information across disciplines.
Rather than tell you that this fresh and inviting (Benjamin Fried, CIO Google) book is filled with incredible examples of passionate entrepreneurs (Marc Benioff, CEO [...]), that I am inspired by this book (Maynard Webb, CEO LiveOps), or that Mirchandani is one of the few technology analysts to realize that technology doesn't come in neat bundles anymore (Thomas H. Davenport, President's Chair Babson College), I'm going to talk about The New Polymath's ten rules for success which pop out at you if you read between the lines.
Why? One of the Polymath's chronicled in Vinnie's masterful manuscript is Brian Sommer, technology consultant extraordinaire of TechVentive and renowned ZDNet blogger, who asks "where are the 10 commandments for technology" as he struggles with the challenges of cyberethics that few dare to address. It's a good question, and one that I believe we are not yet ready to answer. Which leads me to ask, "how do we get there"? Well, the first step is to obviously become learned, and successful, polymaths well equipped to ask, and debate, the question. To this end, we need a guide ... a guide that, if you dig deep, is found within Vinnie's terrific tome. To get you on your way, and to inspire you to (pre) order your own copy of The New Polymath, I give you:
The New Polymath's Ten Starting Rules for Success
(because, in reality, there are more than ten ... but these are the biggies).
(01) 1-1-1
Adopt [...] 1-1-1 model: 1 percent employee's time; 1 percent equity; 1 percent product donation. A true Polymath operates in his community, not out of it, and makes a difference.
(02) 80 for 20
Aim for solutions that deliver 80% of the value of previous solutions for only 20% of the price. A new Polymath is about true innovation, not overstated renovation.
(03) Invisible UI
If your product requires a manual, it's not a product at all. A true Polymath produces solutions with UIs so seamless and so obvious that no manual is needed.
(04) Traceability
Every component can be traced back to the source ... even if it's software. (And if it is software, every data element can be traced back to the source.)
(05) Keep Score
Polymaths are responsible and drive for sustainability ... to the point where they keep track of how well they are doing and how much better their inventions are compared with predecessor technology. If it's not more environmentally friendly (and more cost effective, because true green keeps more green in your wallet), it's not revolutionary.
(06) Semantics
It's the age of "big data", and to make sense of it all, we need to find the data that is relevant to us.
(07) Decisions, Not Data
Because, in the end, the entire point of finding the semantically relevant data is to enable us to make better decisions than we could before.
(08) Adopt the "Shamrock" It's Lucky for a Reason
A "shamrock" organization, as envisioned by Charles Handy, is one that encompasses "core management, a long-term but contractual talent pool, and a transient, flexible workforce". We are in the age of networked person, who is used to working on the move, and tomorrow's polymath's will be flexible at the core.
(09) TiaS
Technology-is-a-Service. A Polymath moves beyond SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) and TaaS (Technology-as-a-Service) and embraces the concept that, like power and water, information technology must be delivered only as a service in the world of tomorrow. Just like the utilities deliver our power and water, tomorrow's technology enterprises will deliver our apps, data, and information on-demand as that is what is needed for businesses to truly reach the next level of operations, as technology is not the core competency of most businesses that make use of it today.
(10) The Turing Oath
Brian Sommer notes that we need a Hippocratic Oath for technology, and I agree. We all need to agree to respect and uphold the privacy of our users and their data to the utmost above all else. And I'm calling that the Turing Oath, after Alan Turing who gave us the first test to determine whether a machine had reached intelligence (and, would thus, need to be instilled with ethics from the get go ... and, hopefully, the the three laws of robotics.)
I strongly encourage you to read Vinnie's groundbreaking debut into the world of publishing (other than his prolific blogging over the years over on Deal Architect and New Florence. New Renaissance.) and do what it takes to become The New Polymath. The world of tomorrow needs you, and in fact, so does the world of today. If, like the polymaths chronicled in this book and Nathan Myhrvold (who was the cloth the new polymaths chronicled in the book were cut from), I encourage you to join the Humanitarian Technology Challenge. The world needs you!
This review was originally published on Sourcing innovation at:
[...]

Click Here to see more reviews about: The New Polymath: Profiles in Compound-Technology Innovations (Wiley Professional Advisory Services)

Praise for The New Polymath"Bravo! In a work that's fresh and inviting, Mirchandani shares withus his case studies in innovation and creativity. It's no small ironythat the 'IT revolution' has created a technology industry that all tooeasily falls back on bromides and received wisdom. Mirchandani inspiresus to return to IT's roots, with the transformative power that comesfrom putting technology innovation in service to business and society."--Benjamin Fried, CIO, Google, Inc. "At DeVry Education, we are focused on the next-generationworkforce that will build the Polymath enterprises of tomorrow. So,it's good to see the book touch on such a wide range oftechnologies--from cloud computing to emerging medicine--that are shapingour curriculum. We are always looking for innovation, including onlineclasses and instructional labs, and this book has got us thinking innew directions."--Daniel Hamburger, President and CEO, DeVry Inc. "In this fascinating book, Mirchandani, himself an example ofthe new breed of Polymaths that he defines, brings into a sharp focusexactly what has been achieved by those who have the remarkable abilityto combine and mix technology elements. An excellent read on multiplelevels: to learn from; to be entertained by; and most of all, to leaveyou wondering what you could personally achieve."--Andy Mulholland, Global Chief Technology Officer, Capgemini "A brilliant read. In order for individuals and companies tofully maximize new century opportunities--and stay abreast of aconstantly morphing technological frontier--Mirchandani not only givesexamples of the Polymath framework, but concrete evidence forsuccessful leveraging. Thanks to technology, we can all be Polymaths ifwe open our minds to the possibilities. Consider this book your guide--Ithink da Vinci would be proud."--Linda Avey, cofounder, 23andMe

Click here for more information about The New Polymath: Profiles in Compound-Technology Innovations (Wiley Professional Advisory Services)

Read More...

The Management of Technology and Innovation: A Strategic Approach Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The book was received very quickly after order was placed. It was in pretty good shape with no writing or highlighting inside. I was very pleased with this transaction.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Management of Technology and Innovation: A Strategic Approach

THE MANAGEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION: A STRATEGIC APPROACH explores the fundamental connections linking core business strategy, technology, and innovation. The book illustrates how these functions intertwine to play a central role in process layout, systems, structural design, and product development, as well as supporting an organization's overall success. An integrated approach and reader-friendly style make the material accessible for readers of all backgrounds, and the book strikes an ideal balance between essential business theory and extensive practical insights and real-world applications. In addition, the Second Edition has been thoroughly updated to incorporate the latest trends and research, abundant current examples and cases, and a useful set of new tools you can use to support effective strategic decision-making.

Click here for more information about The Management of Technology and Innovation: A Strategic Approach

Read More...

Effective UI: The Art of Building Great User Experience in Software Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This invaluable review of the Processes & Business Benefits of User Interface/User Experience Design, provides so much unique and hard won insight into the process of developing superior user interfaces, the goals of users and the business, and in quantifying the benefits of UX design that I can only award it an outstanding Five Star review. One observation, that full engagement with the true goals of users is the end purpose of UI Design, is in itself worth the cost of this excellent book. But in spite of my viewing this book as revolutionary and offering outstanding and unique insights into what User Experience is, how to achieve it and what its benefits are, I do have one major criticism of this otherwise excellent book, its narrative approach and careful explication of its arguments on what the team at "Effective UI" lead to step by step discovery of these insights; there doesn't appear to be a top-down structure allowing for easy browsing of the book; it must be studied at length. Also, an experienced student of Interaction Design and User Experience cannot easily find what the new insights of this book are at a single glance, or find its prescription for a particular step of the design process.
This is an excellent and insightful book on UI Design and User Experience based on the consulting experience of a leading firm in this industry. But the book narrating their experience must be studied, it is difficult to browse.
--Ira Laefsky
MSE, MBA IT & HCI Researcher

Click Here to see more reviews about: Effective UI: The Art of Building Great User Experience in Software


People expect effortless, engaging interaction with desktop and web applications, but producing software that generates enjoyable user experiences is much harder than many companies anticipate. With Effective UI, you'll learn proven user-experience strategies that will satisfy your clients and customers, drive business value, and increase brand strength.

This book shows you how to capture the collaborative and cooperative spirit among designers, engineers, and management required for building engaging software. You'll also learn valuable methods for maintaining focus throughout the process -- whether you're a product manager who needs a clear roadmap, a developer or designer looking for guidance and advocacy, or a businessperson who wants to understand and manage user-experience software initiatives.

Learn how to build software that will:

Generate engaging and interactive experiences between consumers and businesses, or between businesspeople and their information systems
Account for how people work with, think about, and consume information
Establish a richer means of collaboration and communication
Reduce frustration by streamlining complex tasks and creating processes that are more intuitive
Distinguish products, services, and brands to create a competitive advantage
Create scalable systems that adapt to changing user needs and behaviors

Click here for more information about Effective UI: The Art of Building Great User Experience in Software

Read More...

The Innovator's Way: Essential Practices for Successful Innovation Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)There are many books out there that have the word "innovation" in the title. THIS one was satisfyingly different in that it actually took me through the process of innovation. Other books talked ABOUT it, and this one was prescriptive and applicable with every chapter. The authors are incredibly well versed on the topic, and bring a rigor that I was not expecting to find with the recent trend of "light business books." This book is certainly not light, it was informative and entertaining while giving practical step-by-step suggestions.
This was time well spent...I'm curious where the authors will go from here.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Innovator's Way: Essential Practices for Successful Innovation

Innovation is the ruling buzzword in business today. Technology companiesinvest billions in developing new gadgets; business leaders see innovation as thekey to a competitive edge; policymakers craft regulations to foster a climate ofinnovation. And yet businesses report a success rate of only four percent forinnovation initiatives. Can we significantly increase our odds of succeeding atinnovation? In The Innovator's Way, innovation experts Peter Denning and RobertDunham reply with an emphatic yes. Innovation, they write, is not simply aninvention, a policy, or a process to be managed. Innovation is a personal skill thatcan be learned, developed through practice, and extended into organizations. Denningand Dunham define innovation as the art of getting people to adopt change. They drawa distinction between invention and innovation: many inventions never becomeinnovations, and many innovations do not involve an invention. They identify anddescribe eight personal practices that all successful innovators perform: sensing,envisioning, offering, adopting, sustaining, executing, leading, and embodying.Together, these practices can boost a fledgling innovator to success. Weakness inany of these practices, they show, blocks innovation. Denning and Dunham describeinnovation at scales ranging from the private (a family organization of chores andallowances) to the planetary (the invention and adoption of the World Wide Web).They provide a detailed account of the eight practices and how to accomplish them;and they chart the path to innovation mastery, from individual practices to teamsand social networks.

Click here for more information about The Innovator's Way: Essential Practices for Successful Innovation

Read More...

The Future of Management Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)When you write a book about the future of management, there are bound to be high expectations. When that book is written by one of the more celebrated management thinkers, those expectations go even higher. With that said and recognizing that it is hard to argue with success and stature. I have to say that this book left me flat. Hammel's Future of Management is a continuation on his 2000 work Leading the Revolution (LTR) which combined high impact statements with high design that reflected the height of the internet era. In many ways, the Future of Management is a more somber continuation of the ideas in LTR.
The first section of the book poses a powerful question in terms of what comes next for management innovation. That is followed by an explanation of the importance of management innovation over operational, product and strategic innovation.The section challenges the reader to first imagine, and then invent the future of management. A noble task and one that the author tries to address but unfortunately does not deliver on to the degree that you would expect.
The second section of the book highlights a few case studies such as Whole Foods, WL Gore, and Google. The cases are well written and unabashedly positive highlighting few of the challenges and setbacks people might face in this journey. A few, even anonomyous failures would have been much more illustrative of the concepts Hamel is advocating.
The third and final section is perhaps the best part of the book as it starts to set up some ideas on what future managers and management might look like. Here the results unfortunately are what you might expect, to paraphrase - the future of management will look much like the internet. OK, but I have heard that before from others. Some of the most insightful parts of this section include: the notion of separating what from how, the idea of management DNA and motivation, and the key challenges he poses in terms of the challenges for the future of management. These challenges hearken back to Leading the Revolution and include:
Challenge 1 - Creating a democracy of ideas
Challenge 2 - Amplifying human imagination
Challenge 3 - Dynamically reallocating resources
Challenge 4 - Aggregating collective wisdom
Challenge 5 - Minimizing the drag of old mental models
Challenge 6 - Giving everyone a chance to opt in
The fourth section concentrates on IBM's Emerging Business Opportunities or EBO process and how the company was able to reignite its growth engine by managing new growth initiatives and taking R&D to the market. It's an interesting case study and a good way to wrap up the book.
The future of management is an ok book, more like a toned down east coast consumable version of leading the revolution. This is a book for thinkers rather than practioners. This is one of the reasons why it is not a 5 star rating from me. Hamel attempts to be somewhat Druckeresque, if that is a word, but does not pull off the deep systematic thinking that Peter Drucker did so well. Pushing this analogy, the style of The Future of Management is 80% Drucker and 20% Tom Peters. For me, Hamel's groundbreaking work is still Competing for the Future. If you are a fan of Leading the Revolution or a fan of Hamel you will buy this book and like it. If you are a reader studying the issues and challenges of management you will find that Hamel raises more questions than he answers and that many of the answers are ones that are already out there in the marketplace.


Click Here to see more reviews about: The Future of Management

Click here for more information about The Future of Management

Read More...

Innovation, Market Archetypes and Outcome: An Integrated Framework Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Soumodip Sarkar (Indian economist, former consultant and university professor in Management), one of Europe's leading researchers in entrepreneurship and innovation, has managed to produce an intuitive yet rigorous account of basically all the concepts and relationships that matter for the study and practice of innovation. Newcomers to the field will greatly appreciate the first third of the book, where much of the jargon surrounding the study, practice and politics of innovation is decodified and explained, and all important definitions and their implications are presented to the reader. But for researchers and those initiating the complex analysis of innovation phenomena, it is the second third of the book that delivers. Drawing upon such different schools of thought as Strategic Management, Industrial Economics and Technology Management, Sarkar proposes a a new, unified theoretical framework within
which to examine the dynamic relationships between competitive pressure, market archetypes, product differentiation and innovation outcomes. In the last third of the book, the author ilustrates the soundness and usefulness of his integrated framework by employing it in the analysis of selected corporate developments (Lego, Barbie, Apple's I-Pod, Netscape, Ikea, to mention but a few) and widely recognisable phenomena like customisation, product life-cycle, disruptive technologies and technology adoption. Much to the practitioners' appreciation, he also discusses in detail what for and how the framework's insights can be employed (including diagnostic tools, metrics and so on) in the Strategic Management of everyday corporate life. Finally, he highlights other areas in which the framework could be applied and which are worthy of further investigation - open innovation and organizational management, for instance.
This book is informative, accurate, up-to-date, easy to read and often downright witty and fun. It provides a significant contribution to the progress of our understanding and practice of innvation, and blessfully bridges the gap between the different disciplines that have tried, in their separate ways, to explain the connection between the determinants, practices and outcomes of innovation.
It is a pitty that figures are, at times not as clear and self-explanatory as they could be, and that the supporting text often does not contribute to clarify matters as it should. I also noticed the existence of many typos and other editorial mistakes. However, none of this is enough to really obscure the rigour, quality, pertinence and straightfowardness of the matters here presented. I hope that these drawbacks can be corrected in upcoming editions of this book and look foward to further theoretical and empirical expansions of the integrated innovation framework proposed. I am quite sure I won't be alone in this!


Click Here to see more reviews about: Innovation, Market Archetypes and Outcome: An Integrated Framework

This book examines an integrated innovation environment. Coverage describes four market archetypes as well as the market outcome for each archetype. The book analyzes innovation dynamics, including commoditization, the constant innovation challenge and the sustainability of innovation along with cases including the iPod, Lego, Barbie, the browser wars and Google.

Click here for more information about Innovation, Market Archetypes and Outcome: An Integrated Framework

Read More...

The House Advantage: Playing the Odds to Win Big In Business Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)We're not designed to think unemotionally nor about abstract statistics. But Ma's book shows us that if we do learn to do so, we can achieve something we are designed to pursue--success. This book outlines and explores just how to do that. It's a great read for various demographics: the not-so-business savvy who wants to become so; the "layperson" looking to find ways for making better life-decisions; or the expert businessperson looking to uncover an edge in bringing down their own sort of house.
Ma describes things for the reader that will get you up to speed on both your gambling--i.e. the nuances of 21--and your business-speak--i.e. I finally learned what an option is and then how it relates to volatility and the Mexican economic crisis' affect on the U.S. dollar--without turning the expert off in either arena. Not an easy task as a writer and is done exceptionally well here.
The book is of the same genre as Lewis' Moneyball (a book Ma cites as life-changing in the Acknowledgments). Ideal for the neophyte interested in economics, finance, etc., combining the highfalutin world of casino gambling with modern day finance. In a sense, Ma urges us to put our faith in something that we believe in--which is rooted in clear thinking and statistics--and forge ahead, regardless of the valleys that may occur in the arena of "ups and downs."
Ma uses well-told personal anecdotes to explain cognitive errors common in academic psychology such as the gambler's fallacy and confirmation bias. Clearly not a man of superstition, frowning up on the "same-roller" phenomenon in craps and the concept of `statistical atheist', making sure the reader knows he's not involved in magic or some form of voodoo. Instead, he employs a more stoic approach that follows the logic--follows the math--and never gives up.
This book isn't just fun, it isn't just interesting (though it is both of those) but it's also something that will help the reader make better decisions both inside the business world and out.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The House Advantage: Playing the Odds to Win Big In Business

Click here for more information about The House Advantage: Playing the Odds to Win Big In Business

Read More...

Marketing Without Advertising: Inspire Customers to Rave about Your Business & Create Lasting Success Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Having been involved with many small businesses for many years I picked up this book with some skepticism. Then I turned to the first chapter. It's called Advertising: The Last Choice in Marketing. And it was dead on right -- To be sure there is a place for advertising, Pepsi up against Coke has no choice (which isn't to say that they do it well). They have no choice because they can't do the kinds of things this book talks about. They can't produce a new product -- Remember New Coke?
In any case, this book isn't about Coke, it's about marketing a small business or service. That means you need to market locally. Effectively you can't advertise. I was recently involved in promoting a play for a local community theater. We had posters all over town, both supermarkets, half the business windows on main street, three articles in our local paper plus announcements every issue in their Community Calendar, there was a twenty minute interview program on the local radio station -- all the kinds of things this book talks about. The play was a great success, both performances sold out, standing ovations for the performers. Afterwards a great number of people came up and said, "I heard you put on a play, I didn't know anything about it, tell me about it when you do another." What possible good would advertising do?
If I had run a few thousand dollars of advertising do you think any of these people would have noticed? If they didn't read the articles, see the calendar or tune in the radio. What else could I have done?
Marketing now is a different matter. We marketed, it worked. We paid very little money out. Did we do everything the book said? No. We didn't do internet for instance. This was a local play to a local audience in the back room of a local restaurant. The book talks about the internet. And yes, I have to agree the internet is excellent for some kinds of marketing, not for every situation. A small business with a specialty product for which you couldn't possibly find enough customers in a local community couldn't do better than the net. Example -- crystal radio kit. You might could sell one in our little town. You could make a business of selling them world wide.
Great book. If you're just starting out or need to improve marketing the ideas expressed here can be agreat help.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Marketing Without Advertising: Inspire Customers to Rave about Your Business & Create Lasting Success

Make your business stand out without the cost of advertising!The best marketing you can do for your business is to concentrate on creating a high-quality operation that customers, employees and other businesspeople will trust, respect and recommend.Marketing Without Advertising teaches small business owners practical strategies to:# encourage customers to spread the good word about your business# attract new customers and gain their trust# turn dissatisfied customers into loyal supporters# list your products or services widely and inexpensively# plan marketing events that will keep customers involved# encourage the media to comment positively on your businessThe 6th edition is completely rewritten with and updated with real world examples and resources. It also discusses the latest marketing trends, such as international Internet marketing and blogs. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Click here for more information about Marketing Without Advertising: Inspire Customers to Rave about Your Business & Create Lasting Success

Read More...

Minitrends: How Innovators & Entrepreneurs Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book serves as a great guide to identifying and even handicapping new technologies and technology trends within larger social and economic contexts. I apply these principles to competitive assessment, but they would apply equally well for entrepreneurs or venture capitalists. This book works well because these days discerning new trends, especially small ones, is not as straightforward as it might seem. In fact, the sheer number of emerging technologies has made discerning smaller but nevertheless significant technology trends something of a lost art. I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to learn the principles that futurists apply to assess emerging technologies. The payoff will be the competitive advantage that will result from understanding how specific technologies and trends are likely to play out.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Minitrends: How Innovators & Entrepreneurs Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends

Find, Evaluate, Profit! MINITRENDS provides a practical formula for extracting business opportunities from major trends that have a realistic chance of becoming profitable in the next 2-5 years. Minitrends are of a scope and importance to offer attractive business opportunities to individuals and organizations that are alert enough to recognize them, perceptive enough to appreciate them, and clever enough to take advantage of them.Readers learn:
How and where to search for Minitrends
How to evaluate the business attractiveness of a Minitrend
How to develop an effective Minitrend Explotation Scheme
How to turn the scheme into a profitable business opportunity
Based on author Dr. John H. Vanston's more than 30 years of experience in identifying and applying technical, social, and business trends, the book shows:
Individual entrepreneurs how to identify, assess, and exploit new business opportunities
Decision makers in small and mid-size businesses how to gain advantage by recognizing and utilizing emerging trends
Innovative thinkers in large businesses how to distinguish themselves by their special perceptiveness
Investors how to uncover attractive new investment opportunities
In addition to how-to advice, MINITRENDS provides background, current trends, and business opportunities for several attractive Minitrends.Combining advice, instructions, and examples, MINITRENDS assists the reader in launching their own exciting, profitable "Minitrend Adventure" using their imagination, logic, innovative nature, and basic good sense. This book is an amazing resource for ambitious individuals who seek to start new ventures or keep existing businesses innovative and competitive."MINITRENDS presents a set of practical-but-powerful tools and mindsets...HEROIC!"--David Pearce Snyder, Strategic Forecaster, Contributing Editor, The Futurist

Click here for more information about Minitrends: How Innovators & Entrepreneurs Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends

Read More...

Strategies for E-Business: concepts and cases (2nd Edition) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This text is extactly what any manager needs to understand and apply current supply-chain, virtual supply-chain and strategic postioning of any company large and/or small.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Strategies for E-Business: concepts and cases (2nd Edition)

Jelassi/Enders 'Strategies for E-Business: concepts and cases' 2e expertly uses strategic frameworks and real world cases to link e-business to overall corporate strategy.

Click here for more information about Strategies for E-Business: concepts and cases (2nd Edition)

Read More...

From Patent To Profit: Secrets & Strategies For The Successful Inventor, Third Edition Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have found this book to be an invaluble asset as I have brought my idea through the patent process, and especially now as I am beginning to market it.From patent searching to explaining the nuts and bolts of the entire patent process I cannot say enough about how well it is written. As well, I have come to the conclusion that without reading this book I certainly would not have known how to REALLY go about getting my product to market! It is written in easy to understand language explaining the do's and don'ts of the entire process. I found the information given about how to detect and avoid the scam artist involved in the invention industry especially interesting. The companion "frompatenttoprofit.com" website was very useful in this regard. What I found most valuable about this read was how well the author details how to bring a product to market with a minimum of resources being spent. An acquaintence of mine so far has poured over $200,000 into his invention with no results. If he only would have read this book first, he would have known how to avoid such risk!

Click Here to see more reviews about: From Patent To Profit: Secrets & Strategies For The Successful Inventor, Third Edition

Having a novel idea and turning that idea into cash is not as simple as it sounds. To help innovative individuals learn to navigate around the many pitfalls of inventing, Bob
DeMatteis has written From Patent to Profit, an up-to-date guide to all of the important steps involved in taking a product from the drawing board to market. Whether you are a professional inventor, a part-time dabbler, or just a clever daydreamer, From Patent to Profit can help make your dreams a reality.

Click here for more information about From Patent To Profit: Secrets & Strategies For The Successful Inventor, Third Edition

Read More...

Staying Power: Six Enduring Principles for Managing Strategy and Innovation in an Uncertain World (Clarendon Lectures in Management Studies) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Professor Cusumano's "Staying Power" is a major contribution in the field of business strategy.
I am in the business of technology and management strategy consulting and think his ideas have enormous value to any executive grappling with the implications and opportunities of cloud-computing enabled business. His six principles are easy to grasp. They are deceptively simple and are particularly powerful in a commercial and public sector business climate of austerity where new business models are emerging that will fuel our next growth cycle, but are disrupting incumbents. The introduction of cloud computing is beginning to have a disruptive effect on a wide range of business. Living through that disruption in day-to-day business can make it hard to see the bigger patterns at play and think through what the future state will look like. Professor Cusumano's elaboration of the platform/complementer services model with his excellent historical context and current market analysis makes it much clearer where we are headed in my industry and to seize emerging opportunities.
I purchased the book based on an Amazon recommendation and I am very grateful I did. The book is written in a more academic style than is typical of the more popular style business and management books. In fact, I picked it up and sat it down several times before committing to the book. It is not a book designed to skim. It requires concentration and focus to understand how Professor Cusumano has reached the conclusions he has. His ability to characterize the current disruptive innovation cycle in the information technology business using his analysis of the history of both the information technology and automotive industry is excellent. It is a fascinating story leading up to today's new business models.
Once I started really focusing on the book, I could not put it down. My copy is full of highlighter pen marks and 3M stickers. Kudos to Professor Cusumano for a valuable tool for business executives trying to figure out how to proactively take advantage of the cloud-enabled business models that are emerging. I hope that he extends this work with additional video and supplementary blog or presentation materials to continue to expand on his ideas and share more examples of the ideas in action. I have already begun converting his ideas into execution in my business.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Staying Power: Six Enduring Principles for Managing Strategy and Innovation in an Uncertain World (Clarendon Lectures in Management Studies)

Business news tends to focus on the travails of a handful of giants: Apple's iPad, the Toyota recall, the controversy over Google's book-digitization program. Whatever the day's headlines, though, most of these firms have been there before--up and down, written off and overpraised--yet they endured and triumphed. What is their secret? What is it that has lifted them to preeminence and allowed them to come out of each crisis stronger than before?In Staying Power, Michael A. Cusumano provides the answers. A bestselling business author and leading scholar, Cusumano has spent a quarter of a century studying the world's most successful companies--many of them from the inside, by serving as an advisor to more than one hundred firms. He identifies six critical principles that have driven the success of today's foremost companies, including Google, Intel, Apple, JVC, Toyota, and Microsoft. He argues that companies today must develop distinctive organizational capabilities, not just business strategies; focus on platforms and services, not just products; pull information from the market, responding to real-time changes in demand and competitive conditions, and not just push products out; achieve economies of scope, not just scale, by creating efficiencies across all a firm's activities; and acquire flexibility, in addition to efficiency, to quickly adapt to a volatile marketplace. Drawing on real-life examples, he illustrates how the best companies put these principles into practice, identifying precisely how these ideas have lead to concrete success time after time.Business books, the author notes, often promote short-lived fads in management thinking. But Staying Power is different. Written by a bestselling international expert, this book focuses on lasting success, analyzing the fundamental elements common to the leading competitors in the world today.

Click here for more information about Staying Power: Six Enduring Principles for Managing Strategy and Innovation in an Uncertain World (Clarendon Lectures in Management Studies)

Read More...

Cases to Accompany Contemporary Strategy Analysis Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I use Cases in Contemporary Strategy Analysis in my Capstone course (final course) for my MBA graduate students. It provides them with excellent insight into corporate decision making and strategic planning processes. The case studies are interesting and rich for discussion. My only criticism is the world of business is so fast paced. I would have like to see an internet site or CD ROM with more current information on the companies. Many of the organizational case studies were dated 1998. A myriad of financial, economic, marketing, and strategic changes occurred since the printing of the text. Overall, I recommend the book for textbook use.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Cases to Accompany Contemporary Strategy Analysis

This popular casebook is now available in a more compact and updated edition. In response to requests from instructors and students for cases that require less reading time, all the cases are shorter than those in previous editions. Written by Rob Grant to accompany his text, Contemporary Strategy Analysis 7th edition, each case is designed to enable students to apply particular concepts and techniques of strategy analysis.
New cases include:
Manchester United: Preparing for Life without Ferguson
Starbucks
Easyjet vs. Ryanair
DVD Wars
Google

Further cases, including the US Airline Industry, Ford and the World Automobile Industry, Richard Branson and the Virgin group of Companies, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Harley-Davidson and General Electric & Jeff Immelt have been updated to 2009.
These contemporary cases allow students unparalleled insight into determinants of competition; the basis of competitive advantage; the challenges of developing new organizational capabilities; the design of strategies for exploiting innovation; and the opportunities and pitfalls of internationalization.
Used alongside the Contemporary Strategy Analysis text, or as a standalone resource, the cases allow today's students and executives to apply key strategy concepts and frameworks to top-level decision making at companies that face critical strategic challenges.
Full teachings notes to the cases will be available upon publication at the companion website www.contemporarystrategyanalysis.com

Click here for more information about Cases to Accompany Contemporary Strategy Analysis

Read More...

AN Optimist's Tour of the Future: One Curious Man Sets Out to Answer "What's Next?" Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I really enjoyed this book! It is very readable and offers a very informative look at some of the most important future technologies. It's based on the author's travels and interviews with the top people in the various fields. I find it interesting and surprising that a professional comedian would write such an insightful book on these subjects.
The book looks at genetics/biotech engineering, robotics and artificial intelligence, transhumanism (merging people and machines), nanotechnology, the commercial space program and technology to battle climate change. The last part of the book focuses on how all this might affect people, society and culture. As the title suggests the book has a generally optimistic take on these technologies, but it does offer some balance, and the author keeps up his sense of humor (British humor) even when writing about existential treats from things like engineered viruses or nanotechnology grey goo.
Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get an idea of what might be coming in the next few decades. The book didn't talk alot about the economics of all this, and one thing I wonder about is unemployment from advanced robots and artificial intelligence. For more on that also check out The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future, which is also an easy and informative read and talks about many of the same technologies more from an economic point of view.
If you really want to delve into the technology and especially transhumanism there is also Ray Kurzweil's (who was interviewed in this book) classic, The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (but that is a much more challenging and technical read that this book).

Click Here to see more reviews about: AN Optimist's Tour of the Future: One Curious Man Sets Out to Answer "What's Next"

In the tradition of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, a smart and entertaining guide to the future of civilization When unexpectedly confronted with his own mortality, Mark Stevenson-a writer, deep-thinker, and stand-up comedian-began to ponder what the future holds for our species. "The past is a foreign country," writes Stevenson. "By my analysis it's a bit like France-in that I've been to parts of it and eaten some nice food there. But the future? The future is an unknown territory-and there isn't a guidebook." Thus, his ambition was born. Stevenson set out simply, asking, "What's next?" and then traveled the globe in pursuit of the answers. Along the way, he visited the Australian outback to visit the farmers who can save us from climate change, met a robot with mood swings, and talked to the Spaniard who's putting a hotel in space. While some might be overwhelmed, or even dismayed by the looming realities of genome sequencing, synthetic biology, a nuclear renaissance, and carbon scrubbing, Stevenson remains, well, optimistic. Drawing on his singular humor and storytelling to break down these sometimes complicated discoveries, An Optimist's Tour of the Future paints a wonderfully readable, and completely enthralling portrait of where we'll be when we grow up- and why it's not so scary.

Click here for more information about AN Optimist's Tour of the Future: One Curious Man Sets Out to Answer "What's Next"

Read More...