Book Description
For the first time in our history, scientists are uncovering astounding medical evidence about dieting -- and why so many of us struggle with our weight and the size of our waists. Now researchers are unraveling biological secrets about such things as why you crave chocolate or gorge at buffets or store so much fat.
Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz, America's most trusted doctor team and authors of the bestselling YOU series, are now translating this cutting-edge information to help you shave inches off your waist. They're going to do it by giving you the best weapon against fat: knowledge. By understanding how your body's fat-storing and fat-burning systems work, you're going to learn how to crack the code on true and lifelong waist management.
Roizen and Oz will invigorate you with equal parts information, motivation, and change-your-life action to show you how your brain, stomach, hormones, muscles, heart, genetics, and stress levels all interact biologically to determine if your body is the size of a baseball bat or of a baseball stadium. In YOU: On a Diet, Roizen and Oz will redefine what a healthy figure is, then take you through an under-theskin tour of the organs that influence your body's size and its health. You'll even be convinced that the key number to fixate on is not your weight, but your waist size, which best indicates the medical risks of storing too much fat.
Because the world has almost as many diet plans as it has e-mail spammers, you'd think that just about all of us would know everything there is to know about dieting, about fat, and about the reasons why our bellies have grown so large. YOU: On a Diet is much more than a diet plan or a series of instructions and guidelines or a faddish berries-only eating plan. It's a complete manual for waist management. It will show you how to achieve and maintain an ideal and healthy body size by providing a lexicon according to which any weight-loss system can be explained. YOU: On a Diet will serve as the operating system that facilitates future evolution in our dieting software. After you learn about the biology of your body and the biology and psychology of fat, you'll be given the YOU Diet and YOU Workout. Both are easy to learn, follow, and maintain. Following a two-week rebooting program will help you lose up to two inches from your waist right from the start.
With Roizen and Oz's signature accessibility, wit, and humor, YOU: On a Diet -- The Owner's Manual for Waist Management will revolutionize the way you think about yourself and the food you consume, so that you'll diet smart, not hard. Welcome to your body on a diet.
Customer Reviews:
This is a GREAT book!.......2007-10-10
I REALLY enjoyed this book, as it is medically correct and appropriate information. It's a little overwhelming to remember everything because parts of it can get quite technical, but it is very helpful to know the "why" certain foods are detrimental to our health and our diets, and the "how" our bodies work when dieting (or not dieting). Even if you just pick up two pieces of advice from this book (I've picked up about 12 that I use every day) it will be well worth the read.
May or may not be For YOU.......2007-10-09
I have mixed feelings about this book. Even though we are all hoping to open up a weight loss book and find an effortless way to lose those unwanted pounds, we all know that the only way to lose weight is by eating less, exercising more, or both. Hence, if you strip away all the elf pictures and humor, 'You: On a Diet' really has nothing more to offer than that. So if you're looking for a new slant to things, or some cutting edge weight loss plan, you'll probably be disappointed. For example, one of the exercises the book tells you to do to lose weight is to walk. But I guess that might be good advice for readers who never thought of doing that to lose weight?
Having said that however, for what it is- a quite entertaining weight loss book that explains in plain language how your body gains/loses weight and details a sensible diet and exercise plan- it is well worth your time and money (which is why I give it 5 stars). Also recommend The Sixty-Second Motivator because dieting and exercise are useless unless you're motivated to stick with them.
BEST DECISION I EVER MADE!.......2007-10-05
More of a lifestyle reprogramming than a diet plan, this book provided me with the information and motivation to reprogram my way of eating. This "diet" really changed my life. I've lost 74 pounds in the 7 months since I followed this diet.
I started reading the book, chapter by chapter, before I began the diet. In one example, the author explained why most diets fail and how many dieters are set up to fail when they make their first mistake and "cheat" on their diets. As the author explained, everyone makes mistakes-just don't make it a habit!
In addition to the author's motivational writing, I enjoyed the cartoon drawings which helps the reader to visualize the information that the author is explaining. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about trying to lose weight, this is a really well put together book.
You on a diet.......2007-10-05
Sorry to be sarcastic but I bought this book and never read it at all. Instead, I bought myself a subscription to 24-fitness and started working out. You can change your way of eating but if you want to lose weight, you need to hit that local gym. Diets don't work! Just exercise and stop making excuses. There are gym opened 24 hours a day so you can work your lazy buttocks after 1:00 am.
my review.......2007-10-02
There are some great things in this book and you can definietly learn and grow from reading it!!
Book Description
This text remains the only text in the market that presents a balance of financial theory and applications. The authors maintain the same four goals as with the first edition: helping learners to make good financial decisions, providing a solid text for the introductory MBA course, motivating learners by demonstrating finance is relevant and interesting, and presenting the material clearly.
Customer Reviews:
First, they should learn to write sentences!.......2007-08-22
This book falls into the category of professors who know the material, but just can't communicate it. I can tell it was written on a schedule...sloppy wording, confusing definitions, and unintuitive examples and explanations. This information isn't that tough to understand...poor writing makes it so.
Here's a paragraph defining WACC, p.11.
Financial managers also must make finance decisions relating to how to finance the firm. In particular, what mix of debt and equity should be used, and what specific types of debt and equity should be issued? Also, what percentage of current earnings should be retained and reinvested rather than paid out as dividends? Along with these financing decisions, the general level of interest rates in the economy, the risk of the firm's operations, and stock market investors' overall attitude toward risk determine the rate of return that is required to satisfy a firm's investors. This is a return from investors' perspectives, but it is a cost from the company's point of view. Therefore, it is called the weighted average cost of capital (WACC).
As in the rest of the book, too many words, no directness or clarity.
Don't buy this book for self-study; you'll spend most of your time trying to decipher the obfuscating sentences.
finance student.......2007-07-09
I felt that the book was good. Some of the concepts could have been explained in better detail. I notice that on a lot of the chapters the authors repeated some of the material more than once. Some chapters need more practice problems like in chapter 5. This book explains the basic and fundamental concepts good but does not explained the difficult concepts good. Overall, this book was good.
Not a good book to learn from.......2007-06-01
This book's explanations were poor at best. It utilized undefined terms, and had a weak glossary/index.
Explanations of financial formulas were sorely lacking, and the organization of these formulas so that one could ever find them wasn't even attempted.
Not recommended.
Marcel Douven Netherlands.......2007-04-15
We used this "Brigham" for the course financial management, MBA programm.
The book gives a good overview and analysis of the main issues and is rather easy to understand and pleasant to read. You sould be aware that some issues are seen through the American glasses. Very usefull, I warmly recommend it.
Dissenting Opinion.......2007-02-27
Like many of the other reviewers, this text was required for my MBA program. As intro books go, I think that this book is much more advanced then what many reviewers have indicated.
Plus, my terms are 8 weeks long and this textbook is way, way too long for such a short time period. My school should adopt a textbook that is shorter in length. The book has over 25 long chapters. We barely studied half that before the term came to an end.
I felt that the layout of the text was not great. By this I mean, it would have been very helpful if, like other textbooks, the publishers/authors defined terms and concepts in the margins. Often times, the authors failed to provide clear definitions in the narrative forcing you to go to the glossary.
Next point, the authors present the material in long dense paragraphs which can be a challenge to get through. They need to break things up a bit more and interject more solved problems and examples.
I found this text more "academic" in nature and not something I could use as a reference on the job. I am looking for the practical and not the theory.
Bottomline, I would rather use a textbook that gets to the point faster, has more worked out problems, and is more visually inviting so to speak. For example, I have an old edition of Gitman's "Financial Management" and I like it much better then this textbook. The study guide that goes with Gitman's book is really good as well.
Meanwhile, I am debating whether to keep this text as reference or not.
Amazon.com
Other than the sobering fact that real lives are regularly at stake, running a navy ship is a lot like running a business: leaders of both must get the most out of their crews to operate at peak efficiency and complete the tasks at hand. As commander of the highly acclaimed USS Benfold, Captain D. Michael Abrashoff irrefutably demonstrated how progressive management can succeed at sea; in It's Your Ship, he translates his methods into an approach that can also be applied by land-bound captains of commerce and industry. Describing "the ideas and techniques that I used to win my sailors' trust and, eventually, their enthusiastic commitment to our joint goal of making our ship the best in the fleet," Abrashoff cites embarrassing failures along with subsequent triumphs to illuminate the keys to his accomplished 20-month tenure aboard the guided missile destroyer. His suggestions: lead by example; listen aggressively; communicate purpose and meaning; create a climate of trust; look for results, not salutes; take calculated risks; go beyond standard procedure; build up your people; generate unity; and improve your people's quality of life. While hardly original on the surface, Abrashoff's course should provide practical direction and inspiration for any leader hoping for similarly positive results in similarly rigid organizations. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
Other than the sobering fact that real lives are regularly at stake, running a navy ship is a lot like running a business: leaders of both must get the most out of their crews to operate at peak efficiency and complete the tasks at hand. As commander of the highly acclaimed USS Benfold, Captain D. Michael Abrashoff irrefutably demonstrated how progressive management can succeed at sea; in It's Your Ship, he translates his methods into an approach that can also be applied by land-bound captains of commerce and industry. Describing "the ideas and techniques that I used to win my sailors' trust and, eventually, their enthusiastic commitment to our joint goal of making our ship the best in the fleet," Abrashoff cites embarrassing failures along with subsequent triumphs to illuminate the keys to his accomplished 20-month tenure aboard the guided missile destroyer. His suggestions: lead by example; listen aggressively; communicate purpose and meaning; create a climate of trust; look for results, not salutes; take calculated risks; go beyond standard procedure; build up your people; generate unity; and improve your people's quality of life. While hardly original on the surface, Abrashoff's course should provide practical direction and inspiration for any leader hoping for similarly positive results in similarly rigid organizations. --Howard Rothman
Customer Reviews:
Yet another management book.......2007-09-14
Yet another book on management-this time a naval perspective! Despite the criticism of such books in the research article by Dr Peter Teiman,"The many varieties of management",I have to admit that this book has a lot of practical value.
Dr Peter Teiman
Switzerland
It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy.......2007-09-04
I thought this was a very well written book, considering that it was highlighting management techniques. Those types of books are ususally very boring, prop your eyelids open type of books. Michael Abrashoff explained his style of management in a manner which would make it interesting to a broad range of readers and it is told as a well written story should be.
3 words rating.......2007-08-31
" I DONT KNOW", how to rate this book because i have not received it. I was told that i would receive this product between 16 AUG and 29 AUG. it is now SEPT 1ST and still no product.
Engaging, Insightful, Inspiring.......2007-08-31
I really enjoyed this book---Abrashoff does an excellent job of weaving his Navy story with practical business insights, without going overboard on the analogies, if you'll excuse the nautical pun.
What I appreciate about the author is that he turned the Navy culture upside down by seeking input from everyone on his ship (slightly over 300), insisting on being told when people disagreed with him, and `mixing with the masses' at lunch and in other contexts.
Note: below I touch on excerpts from the book, so if you don't want a "spoiler" review, then you may wish to stop reading.
"Look For Results, Not Salutes" was the name of one of his chapters, and encapsulates much of his guiding philosophy.
Abrashoff understands the importance of getting in other people's shoes. He motivated his crew to attain cross-training expertise (which would greatly improve the ship's battle readiness and abilities) by noting that for those under 21, getting the expertise would enable them to have later curfews time to more thoroughly enjoy ports of call when they were abroad.
One of my favorite stories came when a four-star Marine General, Anthony Zinni, toured the ship and Abrashoff picked Fireman Joseph Cotton, 20, not only to receive a special pin marking his expertise, but also to give Zinni a tour of the ship.
"Zinni was stunned that I would give up my face-time and let an enlisted man escort a four-star. That this poised 20-year-old neither choked nor forgot his lines, and that his knowledge of the ship was quite sophisticated, shocked the general, but pleased him enormously. It was a grand slam."
That night, Zinni tore up his prepared speech at the Navy's birthday ball and talked about leadership on the Benfold, "specifically how we empowered our young sailors to assume major responsibilities."
Abrashoff talks about the impact of praising sailors--describing the encounters as highlights of his day that built up trust and morale--and "they didn't cost me or the navy a dime."
Abrashoff mixes good examples with bad examples, and isn't above noting where he slipped up or let his ego get in the way on his career journey.
He stresses the importance of doling out praise in person. E-mail and other forms of communication fall short of the mark. Abrashoff told the story of his sister's boss at a major bank. He sent an e-mail congratulating and thanking one of her assistants for a job well done. "That very afternoon, he rode the elevator with her and didn't even acknowledge her existence. It completely wiped out any good his e-mail could have done," Abrashoff wrote.
Another tale also spoke volumes about the importance of being authentic, and not simply going through the motions of authenticity:
Abrashoff found out the names and birthdays of sailors' spouses, and sent a card to each one. It sparked goodwill, with many sailors letting him know how much the gesture touched their families.
Another ship tried to mimic the approach but bungled it because they sent all the cards on the same day (bureaucrats who had not been empowered to think outside the confines of directives).
I zipped through this book in less than a week---it's easy reading, engaging reading, and enlightening reading.
Good lessons for government managers.......2007-08-23
Working for a government agency with many former military managers, I found Abrashoff's professional tearing down of the command and control model from within the Navy quite refreshing. Nothing is more tiresome than leadership by intimidation. The effectiveness of true inspiration and earned respect in an adapted leadership model is readily apparent from Abrashoff's experience.
Book Description
The gold standard text for the therapeutics course mandatory in pharmacy schools. Now in its sixth edition, this classic text continues its long-standing tradition of offering unparalleled guidance in the development of pharmaceutical care plans. The book provides a unique process of thinking about pharmacotherapy the process which uses evidence-based approaches to the drug treatment of diseases.
Features:
*FREE Online Resource Center for professors and students - study materials, web chapters, questions and answers, and updates
*NEW Key Concepts begin each chapter
*Excellent use of algorithms, tables, and charts – provides clear recommendations
*“Clinical Controversies” in the treatment sections of disease-oriented chapters
Customer Reviews:
Brand new book in a fast amount of time.......2007-09-12
The book was brand new and at a great price. It arrived promptly in perfect packaging.
eBook restricted use disappointing.......2007-08-28
Each copy of the book comes with a eBook download code that allows the book owner to download an electronic copy of the book. The eBook version of the book is a special pdf file that can only be viewed on the computer that downloaded the eBook. The pdf file may be copied to another computer but the file will not be viewable on the other computer due to digital rights management features built into the file. Also, there is a 10 page/day print limit on the file. So if you want to avoid carrying the 3 inch thick book around, you had better download the eBook version to a laptop.
Good read for those in therapeutics.......2007-02-26
Helps make material taught in class solid. Also has nutrtitional information, and OTC drug information in interacting diseases.
Comments.......2007-01-07
One of the most useful and logical texts on pharmacotherapy available. Explaining the disease process then introducing the drugs gives the reader a structure with which to approach the details of drug therapy and allows extension into structurally-similar drugs that may not be covered.
Handy reference.......2006-08-08
I didn't have this book during my P3 (3rd year of PharmD school) year; we used the text by Kradjan that had a patient-based format. DePiro's more traditional format makes it easier to find info quickly. The downloadable format of this text (which comes with the book) makes it even faster to find info. A downside would be books like these are out-of-date as soon as they're published, but I've been using the DePiro just fine for my P4 clerkships and plan to use Kradjan's as a doorstop. (I'm not really a kid)
Book Description
The bestselling author of The Botany of Desire explores the ecology of eating to unveil why we consume what we consume in the twenty-first century
"What should we have for dinner?" To one degree or another this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore's dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn't-which mushrooms should be avoided, for example, and which berries we can enjoy. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore's dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance. The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. At the same time we're realizing that our food choices also have profound implications for the health of our environment. The Omnivore's Dilemma is bestselling author Michael Pollan's brilliant and eye-opening exploration of these little-known but vitally important dimensions of eating in America.
Pollan has divided The Omnivore's Dilemma into three parts, one for each of the food chains that sustain us: industrialized food, alternative or "organic" food, and food people obtain by dint of their own hunting, gathering, or gardening. Pollan follows each food chain literally from the ground up to the table, emphasizing our dynamic coevolutionary relationship with the species we depend on. He concludes each section by sitting down to a meal--at McDonald's, at home with his family sharing a dinner from Whole Foods, and in a revolutionary "beyond organic" farm in Virginia. For each meal he traces the provenance of everything consumed, revealing the hidden components we unwittingly ingest and explaining how our taste for particular foods reflects our environmental and biological inheritance.
We are indeed what we eat-and what we eat remakes the world. A society of voracious and increasingly confused omnivores, we are just beginning to recognize the profound consequences of the simplest everyday food choices, both for ourselves and for the natural world. The Omnivore's Dilemma is a long-overdue book and one that will become known for bringing a completely fresh perspective to a question as ordinary and yet momentous as What shall we have for dinner?
Customer Reviews:
Rigo's review........2007-10-09
Testing the review. Looks like a good call to the conscience's health for eating habits.
Compelling reading!.......2007-10-09
Not only did I find this book incredibly informative and insightful, I found Pollan's style of writing effortless to read.
This book should be either compulsory reading in public high schools in America, or the key principles contained in it should be taught as a class. I'm sure it would go a long way to reducing American obesity and Type 2 diabetes, both of which have reached epidemic proportions and do not bode well for this country's future.
Whilst I am neither pro carnivorism, nor pro vegetarianism (I believe this is a matter of personal choice), I do believe this book presents an eye-opening account of the price paid by this blue planet in order to feed Mankind.
I have read this book more than once, and each time through, something new makes an impression on me. If you are an inhabitant of Earth, you owe it to yourself and the ground you stand on, to read this book.
Another Author Induges Himself in Unsustainable Musing.......2007-10-06
This book, which repeats so much already published, basically follows through to its initial premise: that food in america is unsustainable. Along the way, the author indulges himself in great celebrity and ego stroking wit. The segment on the boar hunting is quite hypocritical. The main thrust of the author's theory is that all systems, including alternative, are unsustainable. The conclusion he avoids, is that the failure to find a solution will result in many deaths, if not the extinction of human culture as we know it. Perhaps, all that anyone can learn here is that it is hopeless, go back home, accept your fat and your fate, and try to die quietly. So many other books are better than this one. Unless you are a total newbie to these debates, you will find little that is refreshing here. The author basically finishes where he begins, with nothing but personal insights, and no insight into a broader solution for "sustainable" food sources.
Makes Americans understand food again........2007-10-05
I'd recommend that everyone go out and read this book. It will remind you that eating is a political and ethical act. It certainly reminded me of that.
Omnivore's Dilemma can be summarized very quickly: Michael Pollan eats four meals, and tracks down where they all come from. It is a brilliantly simple conceit, and could only be pulled off well by a writer as gregarious, warmhearted, easygoing and scientifically rigorous as Pollan. He wants to know where McDonald's comes from, so he goes into a cornfield, follows the corn through cows on its way to becoming beef, and visits the "Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations" (CAFOs) in which they're slaughtered. He interviews corn farmers. He explains the perverse incentives which have motivated corn growers to produce more and more of the stuff, even when it's not needed. (The government pays them the difference between some set price and the current market price. Hence farmers have an incentive to produce as cheaply as possible.) This is one of the reasons why we as a nation are growing fatter and fatter.
Pollan takes it a step further, though, making something explicit that had never occurred to me: the fact that our country is so nutritionally faddish, leaping from fruit diets to hourly enemas to high-carb diets to high-protein diets, is a sign of something deeply dysfunctional in our relationship to food. Pollan never really figures out why we might have this relationship. The lack of a distinctive national cuisine might have something to do with it, he says, but the end effect is clear: we don't eat well, and nowadays we're as likely as not to microwave something and eat it in the car. The family meal has been destroyed, and with it the sense of community that food fosters in healthy societies. Pollan's writing is meticulous and heartfelt, and it made me desperately want to change the way I eat.
After McDonald's Pollan paints the bright side of the American meal: places like Polyface Farms that are growing more-than-organic food: food that is completely sustainable and delicious. Cows, pigs, and chickens roam widely on a carefully maintained schedule that keeps the grass growing at the optimal rate. The farm produces almost no waste: every last bit of organic matter feeds the next step in the cycle. It's something of an agrarian utopia . . . and it's probably completely unrealistic for feeding a nation of 300 million people. Indeed, says Pollan, our nation certainly would have capped out at a much smaller population had we not had industrial farming. (It's a reasonable counterfactual, but it's debatable.)
After he visits a self-sustaining farm, Pollan tramps off into the wild to hunt and forage for his own food. Also not sustainable at large scale, but that's not the point: Pollan is trying to reorient us to what meals are about, and how they're philosophically and ethically larger than just what's on the plate.
Pollan's book has made me want to try being a vegetarian again. My girlfriend used to be a vegan, but has turned around 180 degrees and eats a high-protein meat diet. (Atkins vegans are, I imagine, hard to come by.) So the vegetarian thing might have to wait a bit. Being vegetarian isn't really the sine qua non in Pollan's book, though; if anything is, it's short food chains: knowing where your food came from, using food to support your community, and reducing the amount of petroleum necessary to get it to your door. (If peak oil ever comes, bananas may be history.) Joining a CSA is well within my power, and I intend to do so soon.
If I have any gripe about Omnivore's Dilemma, it's small: Pollan is a bit too self-satisfied. At one point he eats a meal in the car with wife and child, driving at 65 miles per hour down the highway in California. I don't actually believe that he wanted to do that. I can hear him saying to himself, "This would make an excellent story for my newspaper article." Likewise when he's reading Peter Singer in a steakhouse. If more of the book seemed like Pollan being Pollan, it'd be perfect.
As it is, it is just about perfect. I intend to buy a copy just to have around to shove into people's hands. It's a life-changing sort of book.
Important facts horribly misinterpretted and spun to sell books.......2007-10-05
Pollan frequently omits, denies or downplays important facts.
1) We will never determine the optimal diet is impossible but we can gain a better idea of what the optimal diet would be through science. (Yes this is inherently reductionist.)
2) That people make bad use of research is not the fault of the research.
3) Traditional food cultures are not optimal diets.
4) While the food industry does in some sense affect the food we eat, the food they produce is determined by individuals desire for inexpensive food that never goes stale and contains lots of sugar, fat and salt.
5) There is no evidence that many artificial foods are unhealthy.
6) Most people don't want to garden and there is no reason they should.
7) Pollan doesn't mention that animals are unnecessarily tortured in the production of our food.
8) Most, if not all, people could benefit from some kind of nutritional supplements.
9) The intelligent consumer now has the opportunity to eat healthier than people have ever eaten before
10) Ok, I admit it. If you don't know anything about nutrition Pollan's basic ideas will have you eating healthier than the typical American.
Book Description
Whether challenged with taking on a startup, turning a business around, or inheriting a high-performing unit, a new leader's success or failure is determined within the first 90 days on the job.
In this hands-on guide, Michael Watkins, a noted expert on leadership transitions, offers proven strategies for moving successfully into a new role at any point in one's career. The First 90 Days provides a framework for transition acceleration that will help leaders diagnose their situations, craft winning transition strategies, and take charge quickly.
Practical examples illustrate how to learn about new organizations, build teams, create coalitions, secure early wins, and lay the foundation for longer-term success. In addition, Watkins provides strategies for avoiding the most common pitfalls new leaders encounter, and shows how individuals can protect themselves-emotionally as well as professionally-during what is often an intense and vulnerable period.
Concise and actionable, this is the survival guide no new leader should be without.
"Few companies develop a systematic 'on-boarding' process for their new leaders, even though this is a critical function with major organizational implications. Michael Watkins's The First 90 Days provides a powerful framework and strategies that will enable new leaders to take charge quickly. It is an invaluable tool for that most vulnerable time-the transition."
-Goli Darabi, Senior Vice President, Corporate Leadership & Succession Management, Fidelity Investments
"Every job-private- or public-sector, civilian or military-has its breakeven point, and everyone can accelerate their learning. Read this book at least twice: once before your next transition-before getting caught up in the whirl and blur of new faces, names, acronyms, and issues; then read it again after you've settled in, and consider how to accelerate transitions for your next new boss and for those who come to work for you."
-Colonel Eli Alford, U.S. Army
"Watkins provides an excellent road map, telling us what all new leaders need to know and do to accelerate their learning and success in a new role. The First 90 Days should be incorporated into every company's leadership development strategy, so that anyone making a transition in an organization can get up to speed quicker and smarter."
-Suzanne M. Danielle, Director of Global Leadership Development, Aventis
"Michael Watkins has nailed a huge corporate problem and provided the solution in one fell swoop. The pressure on new leaders to hit the ground running has never been greater, and the likelihood and cost of failure is escalating. Watkins's timing with The First 90 Days is impeccable."
-Gordon Curtis, Principal, Curtis Consulting
"The First 90 Days is a must-read for entrepreneurs. Anyone who's been the CEO of a start-up or early-stage company knows that you go through many 90-day leadership transitions in the course of a company's formative years. In this groundbreaking book, Michael Watkins provides crucial insights, as well as a toolkit of techniques, to enable you to accelerate through these transitions successfully."
-Mike Kinkead, President and CEO, timeBLASTER Corporation, serial entrepreneur, and Cofounder and Trustee, Massachusetts Software Council
Customer Reviews:
Good way to get prepared.......2007-07-04
It just makes sense, and is very thorough. Many things I would not have thought about, or gotten around to thinking about - we live in such a fast paced world that it would have been a challenge to do. Luckily, I had a cross country trip, so this gave me the time to read this book and compile my "list" of notes and apply them to my upcoming job change. Bottom line - many good new perspectives that I simply would not have thought of. Highly recommended.
Practical and Actionable. It is an excellent book on the subject of management transitions........2007-06-22
As a human resources professional, I have seen a great deal of management transition. Many succeed but some do not. Unfortunately for our people and our organizations those that do not leave a stream of damage in their wake.
Recently I wrote a review about Scott Eblin's, "The Next Level" and I called it a real disappointment. This book is not and it is a far more actionable and practical approach to managing transitions.
One of the reasons this book is so practical is that each section not only provides you with clear direction but each section also ends with an action checklist. This make creating a 90-day transition plan doable and improves your prospects for success.
Lastly, the steps from this book create a framework that a company can use to create a "transition strategy" for all its new and upwardly moving managers. This alone will enable a firm to increase their odds that a new hire or promotion will be in the "win" column.
*****First 90 Days.......2007-06-10
I only ordered this for a superior and he is VERY VERY happy with the book...he asked for it by name so we ordered three copies! Thank you for the great service you provide.
A Must Read.......2007-05-30
Great book for all business leaders who are advancing to a new role or coming from the outside into an organization. Simple, easy to read with pertinent lessons for a successful transition.
Some great tips, but often not well developed or organized.......2007-05-28
We bought this book along with the "New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan" and read them side by side.
Pro:
-"STaRS" concept is excellent. Start-ups, Turnarounds, Realignments and Sustaining success are all different scenarios that you might be thrown into, and the environment you join directly affects what you need to do.
-Checklists are helpful, when available, to boil thoughts down to the most essential elements
-There are many good tips interspersed throughout the book that are good reminders of the basics you need to adhere to in order to be successful
-Breaks the "sink or swim mindset" often associated with starting a new position
Con:
-Does not really address the time opportunity BEFORE you start a job and in my experience is a major lost opportunity that I've been able to surprise and delight. Set up pre-meetings, arranging for email/phone and a place to sit, etc. as a chance to listen and learn without the pressure to perform. Any items that can/should be done ahead of time appear to me as afterthoughts, underdeveloped, and often out of sequence in this text.
-Would not serve as a handy reference... better chapter summaries and a stronger introduction with time lines and meaty chapter outline would have been helpful both now and in the future
-I think that many good concepts like "STaRS" were underdeveloped or under leveraged... I sense more detail that was perhaps omitted
-To me, many of the illustrations were filler and did not offer additional information
-Sometimes poor or awkward word choice or idea sequence (e.g. rather than "Promote Yourself" why not just call it "Prepare Yourself" as this is what you are really saying, so why not just say it that way?)
-Real life examples were unnecessarily detailed, consuming time and space that I think could be better used by the author as he's clearly brilliant and has some great observations
-I think that the scope is too narrow, picks up after you've started the job (day 1) and neglects the opportunity (and chaos) beforehand of the interview, moving, doing "pre-work" to get your basics at work set-up
Bottom line: While there were some interesting moments, I was disappointed. The book does offer several cautionary tales of CEOs who crashed and burned, and if nothing else serves as both warning and motivation to be smarter about your transition.
Product Description
Updated forth edition of the 1996 title (see ISBN 0965571203 for further information)
Customer Reviews:
Excellent for Coaches and Managers.......2007-08-15
Not only a succinct guide for improvement in itself, many references to detailed research on improvement of individual traits.
My Team members each have a copy. Works well with 360 degree review approach.
Hits the mark on a lot of topics.......2007-06-14
A very good overall guide for self discovery, and a great tool for coaching and developing others - a great leadership resource. This touches at a high level a lot of behavior and development topics, but does not get into the details. If you're looking for a book that dives deep into a specific behaviorial area, this is not the book for you. But what it gives is 3-4 pages on a behavior or skill, hitting it fast and hard, with guides and advise on development (covers overuse of a skill, as well as adressing gaps in a skill). It links topics/bahaviors to each other which is very helpful, and the book even leaves space in its categorizing/numbering for future skills and behaviors that may come in future editions. I've purchased this book for all the managers on my team.
A must have for all leaders.......2005-10-06
Updated for the current workforce with new tips and strategies.
Average customer rating:
- ENTERTAINING
- Could't even finish it!
- A waste of a great talent!
- "I'm gonna let you buy your way out"
- too much AND too little
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Step on a Crack
James Patterson , and
Michael Ledwidge
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Contemporary
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Hardcover
| Patterson, James
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Similar Items:
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Cross
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The 6th Target
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The Quickie
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You've Been Warned
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Judge & Jury
ASIN: 0316013943
Release Date: 2007-02-06 |
Book Description
Detective Michael Bennett is about to take on the most sinister challenge of his career. The nation has fallen into mourning after the unexpected death of a beloved former first lady, and the most powerful people in the world gather in New York for her funeral. Then the inconceivable occurs. Billionaires, politicians, and superstars of every kind are suddenly trapped within one man's brilliant and ruthless scenario. Bennett--father of ten--is pulled into the fray. As the danger escalates, Michael is hit with devastating news. After fighting for many years, his wife has succumbed to a terrible disease. As New York descends into chaos, he has lost the great love of his life and faces raising his ten devastated children alone--and rescuing 34 hostages. Day after day, Bennett confronts the most ruthless man he has ever dealt with, a man who kills without hesitation and counters everything the NYPD and FBI throw at him with impunity. As the entire world watches and the tension boils to a searing heat, Bennett has to find a way out--or face responsibility for the greatest debacle in history.
Customer Reviews:
ENTERTAINING .......2007-10-06
I never review books online, but after reading a few reviews on this book, I had to write. Reading fiction is suppose to be entertaining. Some readers might think the author MUST stay in the tone they want him to. I liked the fact that Mr. Patterson used a father, a husband of a sick wife, and the blend of family and friends that made this man human. 10 children, yes there are people who still choose to have alot of children, get over it!
I also think with all the drama in our everyday lives of hollywood, and stardom, we know if someone held all these folks we follow on the TV, & we love, hostage, we would be tuned in daily to find out their fate. This book just takes the every day and brings us closer to a man,& what makes him human. I think it is the everyday things in his life that keeps him balanced, his family, & friends. But his job, a world that is often ugly and evil is the edge that keeps us reading. Every day the news reveal people who are evil, greedy, insane, but not the people who have to catch them. Think a little more about this book, it gives a look into what it could be like for these NYPD and/or FBI agents. I enjoyed the soft side of hero and his human side.
Good job Mr. Patterson. Let the readers who cannot move from Alex Cross, though I love him,just read Alex Cross. Please continue to create new and diverse characters in your books. You still will have me, who is on a mission to collect all your past novels in hardcover.
Could't even finish it!.......2007-09-16
I usually devour James Patterson books and I particularly like his collaborations with other authors. Tried as I might, I could not finish this book. I can usually finish his books in a day or two...I would read three pages and have to stop. I got to somewhere in the 200s and decided it's just not worth it. Huge disappointment...but I do recommend The Quickie and You've Been Warned.
A waste of a great talent!.......2007-09-14
For the first time since "Fourth of July", I have read a James Patterson book. I have tried a couple of others but did not even finish them, since I found them so bad.
"Step on a Crack" together with co-writer Michael Ledwidge is fast-paced, witty and rather entertaining. In spite of the seriousness of the content of the book, the authors manage to give readers quite a few laughs with their sarcastic revellation of celebrity vanity. (A funeral IS a sad event, but oh boy, all those cameras sure are hard to resist!)
The story in this book is not really far-fetched in this time of terrorism. But still. Isn't it all a little bit too smooth? Too racy? Too fantastic? The distance between the private life of NYPD Detective Michael Bennett and his ten children, and his job, is big. It's got to be. However, even the NYPD and the FBI are human. As are the celebrities behind their well groomed facades.
To me, the weakness of this book is the feeling it gives of being a cleverly constructed shell which lacks the depth and insight to make both the people and the story credible. All, except Detective Bennett and his brood.
Although this book was passable, to me James Patterson has turned into an author of streamlined superman/science fiction-like/plastic coated "best sellers" which do not manage to capture my full attention nor creep into my heart.
I know many disagree with me, but in his earlier authorship there was a James Patterson who managed to enthrall, make it all come alive. Made me want his books never to end. The James Patterson I loved and badly miss.
James Patterson has a rare and unique talent. It's sad that these days he seems to have chosen to manufacture books instead of writing them. What a waste of a great talent!
"I'm gonna let you buy your way out".......2007-09-08
With this book, Patterson adds another author to his list of collaborators, and the result is pretty encouraging. Ledwige's influence on the novel results in a plot that even though not overly realistic, keeps us engaged in the story until the last page. On top of this, certain elements, like the busy family life of the main characters, give the story a nice balance between the police case at hand and the everyday problems that each of us face.
Everything starts when the Neat Man participates in the murder of former first lady Catherine Hawkins. The key to this event is that everyone assumes it was an accident, since she died from an allergic reaction to peanuts. The fact that no one suspects foul play is crucial for the next step of the plan, which is so craftily and precisely laid out that the police will be constantly on their toes.
Catherine's funeral attracts a variety of wealthy an influential people to St. Patrick's. When a group of men take control of the church, and keep a select number of hostages, the police and FBI are thrown into one of the most difficult sieges in history. The fact that the ringleader of the kidnappers, the obnoxious Jack, seems to always be a step ahead, does not simplify things. Mike Bennett is an NYPD detective that works as a negotiator and is involved in the situation from the start. But this is only part of Mike's problems, since his wife has terminal cancer, and he has to take care of his ten kids. Yes, you read right, it is not a typo; ten kids. Imagine that!
Even though the plot has some portions that are unrealistic, this novel does not have the problems other Patterson's books have had in the recent past. The story is cohesive and flows well, keeping us entertained throughout its duration. I admit that the idea of the ten kids may be a little over the top, but I enjoyed how this worked together with the rest of the story. Also, in this novel I found something that I thought Patterson had lost and that I remembered from the early Alex Cross books: clever, ruthless and believable villains. Finally, the hostage situation, allowed the authors to spend some time on character development, which in my opinion has been one of the main faults in some of Patterson et al latest works, like "The 6th Target".
This is not a literary masterpiece, but if you have read Patterson before you know that this is not something the author is shooting for. What this novel delivers is a fun and enjoyable experience, and that is enough to make it worth reading.
too much AND too little.......2007-08-22
As a life-long fan of James Bond flics, I don't require perfect credibility in my light entertainment, but this is too much - or too little -- even for me.
Here's our newest Patterson super-hero, Mike and his 10 kids and his dying wife. Obviously he needs 10 kids. With the Alex Cross books, Patterson learned that you can never have too many family members around to waste in times of crisis. (And, BTW, the Bennetts would never, ever have gotten 10 infants, each with 10 fingers and 10 toes, out the NY social services system, no matter how angelic Maeve might be. Nor do they seem to have the income to purchase infants. So I guess the Adoption Stork just loves the Irish.)
Oh, speaking of the Irish, there's Mike - super-trained superhero - losing it, totally, when a priest gets shot. But no, we can't be too critical. After all, his grandfather - his Irish grandfather -- is a priest.
Of course he is. Don't you hate when that happens?
And just how super is this super-hero??? Not only is he the hostage negotiator (even with FBI pros on-site), and not only is he the only one with the balls to shoot back at crunch-time (this time with Men in Black on site -- and why doesn't the loving father of 10-children-about-to-lose-their-mother behave with a bit of caution?), BUT he's also the only one who can address the media. In all of Manhattan, all of NYC, the eastern seaboard, a post-9/11 America, there's only Mike. What a guy.
And the setting! Last year Robert Tanenbaum - the empty name on the good Karp books/the guilty name on the bad ones - gave us a hostage stand-off in St Patrick's, and in 2000, Nelson Demille did it before either of them. I know it's big and in NYC, but geez, folks, how about a little variety, if there's no veracity on offer? Clearly Patterson, et al., is way too busy cranking them out to read the competition.
But, credibility aside, it is a zippy read, yes it is.
Average customer rating:
- The overlook
- "12, not 24"
- Suspenseful
- Harry does it again
- An enjoyable diversion from the normal Bosch stories
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The Overlook (Harry Bosch)
Michael Connelly
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Contemporary
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| Connelly, Michael
| ( C )
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| ( C )
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Similar Items:
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Invisible Prey
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Bad Luck and Trouble
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Simple Genius
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Echo Park (Harry Bosch)
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The Watchman: A Joe Pike Novel (Joe Pike Novels)
ASIN: 0316018953
Release Date: 2007-05-22 |
Book Description
In his first case since he left the LAPDs Open Unsolved Unit for the prestigious Homicide Special squad, Harry Bosch is called out to investigate a murder that may have chilling consequences for national security. A doctor with access to a dangerous radioactive substance is found murdered in the trunk of his car. Retracing his steps, Harry learns that a large quantity of radioactive cesium was stolen shortly before the doctors death. With the cesium in unknown hands, Harry fears the murder could be part of a terrorist plot to poison a major American city. Soon, Bosch is in a race against time, not only against the culprits, but also against the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI (in the form of Harrys one-time lover Rachel Walling), who are convinced that this case is too important for the likes of the LAPD. It is Boschs job to prove all of them wrong.
Customer Reviews:
The overlook.......2007-10-10
I always like the way that Michael Connelly has to approach the description of crimes and love his Harry Bosch character. Unfortunately, this last book is way behind his standard.
"12, not 24".......2007-10-04
"12, not 24 "
With the same intensity of the popular TV series 24, this Harry Bosch story moves with high tension compressed into twelve hours of non-stop action. When Bosch is called to investigate a murder at 1 a.m., he is drawn into a theft of radioactive material by the victim. The FBI and Homeland Security involve themselves in the murder probe, and Bosch finds himself pitted against government agents intent on taking the case away from him. His experience and intuition lead him to see through devious misdirections by the killers, and he must use all his skills to save his job and track down the perpetrators of an ingenious crime. A thrill-ride well worth the reading.
Suspenseful.......2007-10-03
This is a short and punchy read, focusing on the execution style murder of a physicist and the theft of radio active material which had been meant for the treatment of cancer patients. The prospect of terrorists being responsible for the theft, with the horror of the material being used to create havoc, sends the police into shock so, when Harry Bosch is sent to investigate and runs into Federal Agents, headed by persons from his past, both sides try to seize control. It's very cleverly written and I must admit to being caught in total surprise at the ending. If you enjoy a suspense thriller which can be read in a night's sitting, this is just for you!
Harry does it again.......2007-10-01
Starts out a little slow, but picks up speed and excitement. An obvious read after reading Echo park. Harry Bosch is his usual self, why follow the rules?
An enjoyable diversion from the normal Bosch stories.......2007-09-30
Having read all of Connelly's work, I have to say that this story here was a welcome addition to his seminal Bosch series. 'The Overlook' does not fit the formula of the earlier Bosch stories. Instead it felt like a light version of the TV series 24. Instead of Jack Bauer we have Harry Bosch. Much of what makes 24 riveting is used here to good effect.
The story itself starts off with Bosch being called to a murder scene at on overlook along Mulholland Drive. It quickly becomes apparent that terrorists are involved and that the motives behind the murder are based on radioactive materials that could be used in the creation of a dirty bomb. The rest of this story involves Bosch battling the FBI and others for clues in order to solve the murder.
The ending of this book is unexpected and in my opinion is rather clever. I did not see it coming. I would say that Connelly does not always manage to write the perfect story, but this one comes fairly close. If you enjoy this series, you will enjoy this book.
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