My Success Books

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Comment by Peter Clayton on November 28, 2008 at 6:53pm

I receive hundreds of business/career/leadership/self help books each year from publishers and PR companies wanting me to interview authors for my career advocacy podcast, Total Picture Radio. If you've read any books you've benefited from, or feel are of particular merit, I would appreciate hearing from you.

Comment by Daniel T. Bloom on August 1, 2008 at 2:40pm

Recently a couple of members suggested that this group talk about the book by Keith Ferrazzi- Never Eat Alone. It was interesting that I received this email from him this morning as part of his free email tips list I signed up for after reading the book.

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Tip 129 - Make Life Happen, Watch Life Happen, or Wonder What the Heck Happened?
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I don't think I would have ever used the word "victim" to describe myself. However, to be a victim is to feel like one has no choice, as if any situation we find ourselves in is being "done" to us and we have no recourse.

The truth is, we all have choices, always. Even if that choice is simply to refuse to feel like a victim no matter what the circumstances.

I've had an internal voice on repeat in the recent past. The voice constantly said, "I HAVE to do everything around here!" and only added to my sense of overwhelm. It stressed me and the people around me out.

Yes, I do have a lot of pressure and responsibilities. But the fact and truth is, I absolutely DO NOT have to do everything - nor do I do everything, nor have I ever done everything. The voice is just flat out wrong. With that voice, I was talking myself into being a victim. That helped nobody, least of all me!

Regardless of whether my feeling is positive or fair, it does well up inside of me. You may have similar internal monologues that you just can't shake. Getting to the bottom of why can help you kick them. Think about the underlying emotions, and ask what would happen if you did not do your personal "have to." For me, that goes something like this: If, in fact, I do not "do everything," or at least try, I feel irresponsible. If I feel irresponsible, I feel afraid. If I feel afraid, I feel resentful. If I feel resentful, I feel angry, and if I feel angry, I feel powerless, overwhelmed and depressed. Ugh. And I think many of you have felt what it's like to go there. Not good for any of us.

It kind of makes sense that I'd rather just try to "do everything" than feel powerless, overwhelmed and depressed, right? That still doesn't make it a strong course of action - try to do everything and you'll do nothing well.

When I recognized that I had a choice, I started making a new one. I started to delegate more to the amazing and talented team I've got working with me. Together, we are setting set a much clearer vision of what success looks like so that we can own it together. That way I can step back without those negative feelings of fear and irresponsibility.

So why didn't I just do this to start with, when it seems so obvious? I'd had the instinct, but for the longest time, I chose to ignore it. Do you have any such instincts inside you? Maybe it's time to act.

Remember, we can make life happen, watch life happen, or wonder what the heck happened?! Let's make life happen, together.

Warmest,
Keith

Does he have a point or are we actually "victims" of our environment?

Dan

Comment by Daniel T. Bloom on April 20, 2008 at 8:49am

New Business Book title releases for May

With the approaching first of May, we enter the summer reading season and the publishers have chosen to release 147 new business titles in the coming several weeks. Of these, the following might be of interest to the HR community. If we can be of any assistance with these titles or other business titles you are seeking feel free to contact me at either (813) 340-1126 or by email at dbloom@bordersgroupinc.com

Knowledge-Based Management for Sustainable Innovation
By Ikujiro Nonaka

This book presents an ultimate theory of knowledge-based management and organizational knowledge creation based on empirical research and an extensive literature review. It covers the six essential building blocks of this theory using in-depth case studies of companies to illustrate each block.

Recruit or Die: How Any Business Can Beat the Big Guys in the War for Young Talent
By Chris Resto

"Recruit or Die" is the first practical guide to the entry-level recruiting game--which is very different from other kinds of recruiting and vitally important to every company, large or small.

Love 'em or Lose 'em: Getting Good People to Stay
By Beverly Kaye

This bestselling guide provides 26 strategies to keep talented employees happy and productive. Citing research and experience with dozens of organizations, the authors present many examples of how today's companies have applied retention strategies and increased retention rates.

Metrics-Based Process Mapping: An Excel-Based Solution
By Karen Martin

The Metrics-Based Process Mapping (MBPM) tool on this CD combines the functional orientation of standard linear process maps with the metrics aspects of value stream mapping. While it can be used alone at any time to ferret out waste, it proves exceptionally effective when used to analyze value stream mapping at the micro level to reveal root causes of waste within or between specific value stream process blocks. The tool, which requires only basic Excel experience, comes with a thorough instructional guide that explains ways to visually represent current and improved process flows, as well as ways to auto-calculate key metrics that reflect the quantifiable benefits of the improved state.

Toxic Clean Up: How to Stop the Spread of Dysfunctional Management
By Morgan James Publishing

Do you have high employee turnover or absenteeism rates? Are your employees disengaged and unproductive? Do you dread going to work? Today's workplace environments are teeming with dysfunctional managerial practices that lead to the development of toxic workplaces. The end result is failure - failure for the business to live up to its potential, failure to keep good talent, failure to provide an environment that generates productivity and a solid bottom line. This failure is tragic and unnecessary. Read this book to find out how you can rid your workplace of the Seven Deadly Toxins and increase morale and productivity.

Knowledge Processes in Globally Distributed Contexts
By Paul Van Fenema

The challenges that firms managing global work face are many. In addition to geographical and time zone differences, global firms face cultural differences. This book highlights the importance of organizing knowledge processes to overcome challenges involved in global work. It provides frameworks and tools that enable the reader to consider how to strike a balance between these knowledge processes. The book is a must read of practitioners, academics or students concerned with managing knowledge processes in globally distributed work

Branding Your Business: Promoting Your Business, Attracting Customers and Standing Out in the Market Place
By James Hammond

A successful business must create a memorable brand and fix it in the consumer's mind. "Branding Your Business" helps entrepreneurs do this by explaining the whole branding process in easy-to-follow terms. Providing practical help instead of academic theories, it explains what a brand is and what it is not, how to conduct a "DIY" brand audit, and how to use marketing NLP and psychological principles to make an impact. Based around the theory that a brand is the total perception a customer has about a company, its products, and its services, "Branding Your Business" reveals what to do to create and manage successful brands, enabling readers to improve profits and leave the competition standing.

The Hamster Revolution: How to Manage Your Email Before It Manages You
By Mike Song

Do you spend so much time dealing with emails that you feel like you’re just going round and round and getting nowhere, like a hamster on a wheel? Meet Harold, an HR director who becomes so traumatized by info-glut that he actually turns into a hamster, though at first he’s too busy to even notice. Luckily, Harold meets an info-coach who teaches him a few powerful techniques that help him dramatically reduce email overload and improve his email writing skills. By applying the info-coach’s simple plan, Harold finally regains control of his life and rejoins the human race. This delightful and much-needed fable is based on the author’s extensive experience helping employees at companies like Clear Channel, Procter and Gamble, and Pfizer manage email more efficiently. The book includes a remarkable case study of the authors work with Capital One, where employees estimated they saved thirteen days a year by applying Hamster Revolution techniques.
Managing Executive Health: Personal and Corporate Strategies for Sustained Success

Game-Changing Strategies: How to Create New Market Space in Established Industries by Breaking the Rules
By Constantinos Markides

"Game-Changing Strategies explains the reasons behind this puzzle and presents practical ideas on how established firms could not only discover new radical business models but also grow them next to their existing business models. The challenge for established firms is not the discovery of a new business model--the real challenge is how to make two business models coexist. This book offers advice on how established firms can implement structures and processes that make the new business model less conflicting and more palatable to the existing business."

Leading Global Projects
By Robert Moran

This is a book on leadership in our increasingly global corporate world, specifically involving project management. Authors Moran and Youngdahl bring over 100 years of collective experience and learning to present a clear and straightforward treatment of the leadership skills and knowledge required to lead projects that are global in nature. Leading Global Projects builds on the foundation of project management skills and clearly connects project management to the strategic objectives and leadership needs of an organization. The book itself is global in nature since the authors draw from examples of project leadership in numerous countries and regions, as well as a variety of corporate and organizational contexts. Only book to focus on leadership and cross-cultural skills in global project management*Robert Moran is well-known author in these fields *Book is designed for easy use in executive education courses
Managing Executive Health: Personal and Corporate Strategies for Sustained Success

Little Book of Big Ideas: Business
By John Lipczynski

From pioneering merchants to the great industrialists, financial geniuses to the most persuasive entrepreneurs, this is a complete introduction to the women and men who have elevated the worlds of business and industry to the awesome levels at which they operate today. Outlining the lives and achievements of figures such as Henry Ford, Bill Gates, and John D. Rockefeller, this little book encompasses those who have captured the public's imagination--as well as those who have just captured their money. The book includes pioneers of new technologies and business models, tenacious entrepreneurs and their expansive empires, and theorists who developed the discipline of strategic business thought.

It's Our Ship: The No-Nonsense Guide to Leadership
By Michael Abrashoff

By governing his ship with his unique management techniques, Abrashoff turned the "Benfold" into a model of naval efficiency. This resource focuses on the leadership, motivational, and management insights he has learned.

Training in Interpersonal Skills
Stephen Robbins

This book takes an applied approach by having students focus on developing and practicing interpersonal skills rather than learning pure management theory. Self-awareness, self-management, verbal/non-verbal messages, motivation and goal-setting, managing change, and valuing diversity. By developing and practicing the interpersonal skills in this book, business professionals can learn how to build productive relationships with others and master skills vital to personal and organizational effectiveness.

Performance Evaluation: Proven Approaches for Improving Program and Organizational Performance
By Ingrid Guerra-Lopez

Performance Evaluation is a hands-on text for practitioners, researchers, educators, and students in how to use scientifically-based evaluations that are both rigorous and flexible. Author Ingrid Guerra-LA3pez, an internationally-known evaluation expert, introduces the foundations of evaluation and presents the most applicable models for the performance improvement field. Her book offers a wide variety of tools and techniques that have proven successful and is organized to illustrate evaluation in the context of continual performance improvement.

How to Be an Even Better Manager: A Complete A-Z of Proven Techniques and Essential Skills (Seventh Edition, 7)
By Michael Armstrong

This new edition of the bestselling How to be an Even Better Manager covers 50 topics organized into three key areas in which every manager needs to be competent: managing people, managing activities and processes, and managing and developing oneself. With new chapters on how to learn, achieve continuous improvement, foster engagement, make a business case, and prepare a business plan, this is an up-to-date handbook for existing and aspiring managers. How to be an Even Better Manager provides sound guidelines that will help you develop a broad base of managerial skills and knowledge and build on existing skills. Even the most experienced manager needs to keep abreast of new developments and brush up on essential skills. This new edition will continue to be a valuable aid.

Coaching Corporate Mvps: Challenging and Developing High-Potential Employees
By Margaret Butteriss

How to develop, challenge, and retain top performers.The key to managing and retaining the highest performers in an organization lies in challenging them to grow and develop. But it's difficult to challenge those who already perform at the top of their game. Coaching Corporate MVPs argues that coaching and mentoring is the key, showing readers how to develop personalized, individual development plans to meet the very specific needs of high-performing employees. With quotes and stories from interviews with top MVPs, as well as managers, coaches, and HR professionals, and a wealth of tools and resources, this book lets top companies keep their top performers. Margaret Butteriss (Boston, MA) is Senior Vice President of Organizational Consulting at Right Management and is the firm's Coaching Practice Leader for the Northeastern Region of the United States. She is also coauthor of Corporate MVPs (978-0-470-83353-7), from Wiley.

Managing Toward a People-Ready Business
By Jeff Raikes

Managing Toward a People-Ready Business draws from the insights of leading business strategists and examines the keys to enabling business innovation from a people perspective and identifies the actions executives must take to establish the conditions for business creativity. Jeff Raikes, President of the Microsoft Business Division, will create a context for the People-Ready Business and share his insight on how he has applied these principles to create one of the most successful software businesses in the world. Tentative contents: Foreword, Chapter 1: What is a People-Ready Business?, Chapter 2: Are You Ready for the New World of Work, Chapter 3: Driving Strong Customer Relationships, Chapter 4: Innovating, Chapter 5: Effective Operations, Chapter 6: Building Strong Partnerships, Afterword: Reflection on Building a Software Business.

The Essential Guide to Workplace Mediation and Conflict Resolution: Rebuilding Working Relationships
By Kogan Page

"The Essential Guide to Workplace Mediation and Conflict Resolution" presents a range of mediation techniques managers can use to to resolve conflict in the workplace. It begins by exploring the nature of mediation and how to use it; it reviews case studies of workplace mediation; and it finishes by considering the philosophy of conflict and mediation. Applicable not only to one-on-one conflict but also team and board room conflict, this book is written for those people who have to anticipate, preempt, or defuse conflicts in support of productive working relationships. It is also written for those who are already mediators or who are training to become mediators.

Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It: No Schedules, No Meetings, No Joke--The Simple Change That Can Make Your Job Terrific
By Judy Thompson

Social visionaries and creators of the Results-Only Work Environment, Ressler and Thompson explore why most workplaces are so dysfunctional and offer a dramatic new way to stop the toxic behaviors and beliefs that often limit workers' potential.
The Handbook of Model Job Descriptions (Revised)
Providing over 200 job descriptions, this book is a comprehensive and up-to-date resource available to create meaningful descriptions for current or prospective employees. This book offers a unique time-saving approach in the form of a "job description builder" which allows the reader to select featured job elements and build a complete and well-structured job description. Part One enables quick and easy assembly and personalization of any job description, across a wide range of sectors such as administrative and management, finance and accounting, and human resources. Part Two allows the reader to select from hundreds of job elements, such as providing health care and guidance, client relations, and project management. This edition provides online access to each job description so readers can personalize them to suit their own circumstances, saving hours of valuable time.

America at Work: Choices and Challenges
By Edward Lawler

This wide-ranging volume brings together the commissioned papers that are the basis of James O'Toole and Edward E. Lawler's "The New American Workplace," their follow-up to the groundbreaking 1973 "Work in America" report. Here leading scholars in the fields of business, management, and human resources offer new research and insightful analyses of existing studies, providing a definitive assessment of the state of the workplace today. Covering wage trends, worker health, education and the workforce, the effects of outsourcing, careers, human resources management, and a variety of other vital issues, this illuminating collection will prove indispensable for scholars, professionals, and policymakers.

The Handbook of Model Job Descriptions (Revised)
By Kogan Page

Providing over 200 job descriptions, this book is a comprehensive and up-to-date resource available to create meaningful descriptions for current or prospective employees. This book offers a unique time-saving approach in the form of a "job description builder" which allows the reader to select featured job elements and build a complete and well-structured job description. Part One enables quick and easy assembly and personalization of any job description, across a wide range of sectors such as administrative and management, finance and accounting, and human resources. Part Two allows the reader to select from hundreds of job elements, such as providing health care and guidance, client relations, and project management. This edition provides online access to each job description so readers can personalize them to suit their own circumstances, saving hours of valuable time.