Amazon.com
From the school of unemotional investing comes the classic How to Make Money in Stocks, by Wall Street analyst and publisher William O'Neil. Readers new to securities will find it an excellent primer, one that relies on time-honored indicators such as quarterly earnings, market capitalization, and daily indexes. O'Neil's study of winning stocks stretches back to the 1960s, and he shares his insights here, describing what characterizes a growth stock, when to cut your losses (at 7 or 8 percent, no more), and how to spot a market top.
The techniques in How to Make Money in Stocks are hardly revolutionary, but therein lies their strength, as O'Neil claims his is "a winning system in good times or bad." Investors interested in Net stocks might be disappointed--the author's first rule is that a company must show a pattern of growing profits, which disqualifies many dot coms. (Try Rule Breakers, Rule Makers for a different take.) O'Neil's approach to stocks is, above all, rational, and he pays little heed to market hype.
Those new to investing would do well to read this book before embarking, and even more seasoned traders may find How to Make Money in Stocks a refreshing return to basics. Markets may swing bull and bear, but O'Neil promises to stand firm. --Demian McLean
Book Description
THE BUSINESSWEEK, USA TODAY, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BUSINESS BESTSELLER!
The bestselling guide to buying stocks, from the founder of Investor's Business Dailynow completely revised and updated
When it was first published, How to Make Money in Stocks hit the investing world like a jolt, providing readers with the first in-depth explanation of William J. O'Neil's innovative CAN SLIM investing method. Five years later, O'Neil, founder for the industry icon Investor's Business Daily, revised his classic text and provided readers with a newer glimpse on how the average investor can make money in the equities market.
This third edition of How to Make Money in Stocks has been revised and updated with new chapters designed to help investors increase their performance. New discussions include:
- Greater clarification of the key CAN SLIM investment strategy
- Expanded analysis of the general market from the top of year 2000 to the market bottom of 2001
- New models of the greatest stock market winners that provide more basis for the ongoing effectiveness and superior performance of the CAN SLIM strategy
- Fresh stock charts featured in two colors for easier analysis of trends
- And an invaluable guide on how to maximize both Investor's Business Daily and www.investors.com to find winning stocks
Like his international bestselling 24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success, which stayed on international business bestseller lists for close to 6 months in 2000, How to Make Money in Stocks is the best reference for the individual investor in how to stay afloat and ahead in the rocky and volatile equities markets of the 21st century.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting but not great.......2007-09-13
I'm new to investing but have read 7 books in the last couple of months on investing and financial statement analysis. These other books (the intelligent investor etc.) are more focused on value investing and tend to dissuade from considering stocks at all time highs. So it was interesting to read a different approach and this book would certainly make me consider looking at more growth stocks. It was also good to get some basics on chart interpretation which I think will prove useful. The downside is that the book (like all his books from looking at other reviews) focuses too much on IBD his website/newspaper, also the explanations for interpreting the charts was not really thorough enough, also a lot of the charts that he advised not to buy on did not look all that dissimilar in places to charts that he advised were good buys - its easy to go back in hindsight on the ones that didn't take off in price and pick holes into why they didn't.
Also his guide to selling at 7% to 8% below your buy price seems a bit extreme - maybe this is just for high risk growth stock buys but in general given the nature of the market most stock fluctuate far more and could be down 8% over a week to recover to the same of higher level the following week. If you sold every time as he suggests you'd constantly be selling and trying to find new stocks to buy.
He seemingly derides the value investing concept which is odd as some of the best investors of all time followed this approach - Buffett & Graham and their disciples being the obvious ones. Overall an interesting read for a different perspective and introduction to chart interpretation.
Study This Book.......2007-09-08
This book is very easy and most interesting to read. The author, Wm. O'Neil is the founder of Investor Business Daily newspaper, which I have always considered the best financial newspaper.
If you are willing to "study" and learn rather than just read this book, You will make money in stocks.
I use this book and Jim Cramer's 'Real money' and 'Mad Money' books daily (almost like text books) to study, learn and apply what I learn.
Hybrid Investing 101.......2007-07-27
An excellent book on how to use both fundamental and technical analysis together to produce big profits. William J O neal is a great author.
Wish I read this 10 years ago.......2007-06-08
Great book. Sound concepts that work. Yes, I subscribe to the paper (IBD) and use his rules. I'm up over 30% in a solid bull market over the last 4 months without being fully invested. When the market pulls back, my stocks also pull back, but when the market is up, my stocks tend to go up hard.
I find that I do better when I pyramid up after a bounce off the 50-day rather than every 2% or round number like promoted by Darvas. It's a good book worth underlining and scribbling all over the margins.
No get-rich-quick scheme - Mastering the markets requires intellect and discipline.......2007-05-23
William J. O'Neal reveals the secrets of the CANSLIM formula that has allowed the IBD 100 to outperform the S&P 500 year after year. Mr. O'Neal makes it clear - if you want to really make money in the stock market, you can - but it's going to take work. There is no get-rich-quick system: Mastering the markets requires intelligence and dedication. I fully believe in the CANSLIM principles and I am an Investor's Business Daily subscriber. IBD and this book have made me a lot of money. But on the downside (preventing a perfect 5-star rating), this book is rather dry. I had to read most sections several times to fully absorb the information, but it was worth it!
Book Description
We buy more flowers a year than we do Big Macs, spending $6.2 billion annually. We use them to mark our most important events, to express sentiments that might otherwise go unsaid. And we demand perfection. So it’s no surprise that there is a $40 billion global industry devoted to making flowers flawless.
Amy Stewart takes us inside the flower trade—from the hybridizers, who create new varieties in the laboratory, to the growers, who produce flowers by the millions (often in a factory-like setting), to the Dutch auctioneers, who set the bar (and the price), and ultimately to the neighborhood florists orchestrating the mind-boggling demands of Valentine’s and Mother’s Day. There’s the breeder intent on developing the first blue rose; an eccentric horticultural legend who created the world’s most popular lily; a grower of gerberas of every color imaginable; and the equivalent of a Tiffany diamond: the “ Forever Young” rose.
Stewart explores the relevance of flowers in our lives and in our history, and in the process she reveals all that has been gained—and lost—by tinkering with nature.
Customer Reviews:
Wierd title, great book.......2007-10-07
When I saw Amy Stewart's name on a new book I had to have it. I enjoyed her book about earthworms so much that I didn't think she could match it, but I was wrong. This is a wonderful expose of the flower trade around the world. From Holland to South America she tracked down the progress of cut flowers from their hybridizing to the final sale. It all has the ring of truth - that sense that the research was thorough, that nothing was skimped, and aspects of the flower business were presented whole cloth as well as facts being recorded and shared.
Last year I saw roses grown in Ecuador for markets continents away. I read about Dole closing down huge flower-growing greenhouses in poor towns where that was the only source of income. In our hacienda were bouquets of roses enormous beyond belief. Amy Stewart's book places this into perspective for me within the whole world of the flower industry.
In slaking her own curiosity about the natural world, this writer helps us understand our world better. This book is not just about flowers, or even the natural world - it is also about international trade, politics, business affairs and economic and social issues.
An excellent package. I can't wait for her next book.
The dirt DIVA endorses Amy Stewart's book, baby!.......2007-08-28
As an opinionated garden columnist, who preaches organic gardening to anyone who will listen . . . I was thrilled to read a book that finally tells the true story behind the floral industry. The system is ridiculous and needs drastic change. This will only happen when flower consumers are educated enough to see what their purchases are doing to the soil and to the farmers and their families, who work amongst toxic pesticides just so we can have a nice, long-lasting, unscented, superficial flower on our table.
Plus, the book is beautifully written.
AMEN AMY!
Amazing Introduction to Exciting World of Flowers.......2007-08-24
When you go to the supermarket and see groceries, most of us have at least a basic understanding of from where and how the food came to be there, such as the fields where crops grew, ranches where livestock were raised, slaughterhouses, processing facilities, etc. But how many times have most of us thought about flowers? Especially considering just how short a period of time there is between when a flower is picked, when it is displayed in our homes, and when it finally wilts, there are an amazing number of processes and work involved in flowers. Travelling around the world, from the "design" stage (yes, you'll read about how flowers are "engineered") to planting, to selling, to transportation, to marketing, all the way to the florist's shop or the supermarket, Stewart covers it all. You'll even learn a lot about some of the "allied" professions in the flower trade, like logistics, retailing, biotechnology, and more. And best of all, the book is written in a very easy to read style. If you have any interest in flowers and/or you just like learning about how things work, then I wholeheartedly recommend this book to you.
Flower-ific!.......2007-07-04
I brought this book with me on a vacation to Hawaii last week, outwardly hopeful that it would be as great as it sounded, but inwardly nervous that it was not beach-appropriate. But I am delighted (and relieved) to report that it was fantastic, and I could barely put it down. (I went for a wedding, and I would even break it out when I had a spare five minutes.)
I was really impressed with Stewart's ability to take a complicated, international industry and reduce it to enjoyable anecdotes, from a 3rd generation violet grower in California to the early morning Dutch flower auction. Even better, I feel smarter now. (If I hadn't borrowed it from the library, I probably would have broken out my highlighter.) There's just so much information packed in there -- she clearly put a tremendous amount of hours and research into this work.
Having said that, I think you have to like flowers, at least a little bit, to really enjoy Flower Confidential. If you don't, I could see how you'd want to chuck it out the window -- for me, it would be like reading a towering stack of Car & Driver with no end in sight.
[...]
the flip side of all that loveliness.......2007-06-01
As a flower junkie and floral designer, I was vaguely aware of the flower industry's workings, but this book spelled it all out pretty clearly for me. The Big Idea I have taken away from this is that we the flower-buying public need to demand quality, cleanliness and sustainability from the flower industry in the same way we are coming to demand it from those who supply our food. "Fair trade" is a phrase most Americans associate with coffee-- we should expect similar standards with respect to the flowers we purchase as well. All that loveliness should not come at the expense of the health of those producing it or of the integrity of the environment.
Customer Reviews:
Clear and Concise Information You Can Use.......2006-10-10
I took a webinar based on this book and found the information presented intriguing enough to buy the book. It's a short read but filled with good, practical information. If there are certain people in your lives who rub you the wrong way, understanding how their style differs from yours could help to improve communication and make the relationship more effective and pleasant for both. This book was definitely worth reading and I've experienced benefits from it at work in a very short time.
Must read for every one..........2005-07-09
Of the several books I have studied on similar topics, this was one of the easiest to read through and apply. Although the title says People Styles at Work, it is equally applicable in personal life as well. The focus on studying behavior and inferring "style" from the same is much easier accomplished than trying to figure out the "temprament style" based on Myers Briggs.
The two dimensions of Assertiveness and Responsiveness, and the concept of above / below the middle for each of these dimensions gives 4 quadrants; one for each of the styles. This makes it convenient to understand the 4 styles, and also the shades within the styles.
I have benefited tremendously - if you are new to this topic it will serve you well to take notes as you read; create a cheat sheet of the characteristics for each style. Then for some time carry the cheat sheet with you, and refer to it often as you observe people's behaviors. Over a period of time, you will pickup the nuances of how to recognize the styles, and succeed in your interactions with others - despite them, and despite yourself... Enjoy!
you have to read it !.......2005-04-26
the book is simple and the ideas are easy to applicate in the every day life , i've tried the method and have good results - Read it if you have problem to communicate with some of your colleagues and you need to work with them
Could save your sanity, and maybe your job!.......2003-11-13
Highly recommended. Several years ago, I had a clash of personal styles between my boss and me. I thought she talked like a kindergarten teacher, and she felt that I came on like a steamroller. She was familiar with the methods discussed in this book, although she learned them during a seminar at a former employer. This book helped turn a bad working relationship into an excellent working relationship, and may have saved my job. I learned to "flex" to my boss's style (and to her credit, she flexed somewhat to mine). I reread the book from time to time and try to practice what I've learned. I highly recommend the book to anyone who is running into "people problems" on the job or elsewhere.
A method that really makes a difference in the workplace!.......2003-01-15
One the best book and method on the subject I have read so far, and I have read quite a few. There are 4 main Communication Styles, and the best thing is that only observable behaviors are used to categorize people in one style or another. No messing around with people's phsyche, and finally a very simple method to effectively relate to other people in the workplace.
I am using Communication Styles with all my direct reports, during meetings, etc. It allows me to convey clearly my messages, and at the same time overcome communication styles differences. This simple method does makes a difference in my daily work not only as a manager but also in communicating with my peers.
This book is a must have in your management library at home.
Book Description
A six-step plan for driving a wedge between the competition and the customer
For sales people, convincing a potential customer to choose them over the competition is no easy task, and especially when the competition already has the account. Finally, How to Get Your Competition Fired shows readers a proven system for breaking the relationship between the competition and the customer. Randy Schwantz's method, The Wedge(r), includes a six-step plan that drives a "wedge" between the competition and the customer. He shows how to reveal the competition's shortcomings without seeming to, letting prospects decide independently to dump their current provider, exclude other competitors and, finally, switch to the salesperson's product or service. Offering real tactics, not just theory, this is the only sales strategy that really works to break the relationship between customers and the competition and bring in more business, faster than ever.
Randy Schwantz (Dallas, TX) is a leading authority and expert on the sales process. A highly successful sales professional, he is a nationally respected sales trainer, author, sales coach, consultant, and public speaker. Randy is President and CEO of The Wedge Group, whose clients include Fortune 500 companies as well as small businesses.
Download Description
A six-step plan for driving a wedge between the competition and the customer
For sales people, convincing a potential customer to choose them over the competition is no easy task, and especially when the competition already has the account. Finally, How to Get Your Competition Fired shows readers a proven system for breaking the relationship between the competition and the customer. Randy Schwantz's method, The Wedge(r), includes a six-step plan that drives a "wedge" between the competition and the customer. He shows how to reveal the competition's shortcomings without seeming to, letting prospects decide independently to dump their current provider, exclude other competitors and, finally, switch to the salesperson's product or service. Offering real tactics, not just theory, this is the only sales strategy that really works to break the relationship between customers and the competition and bring in more business, faster than ever.
Randy Schwantz (Dallas, TX) is a leading authority and expert on the sales process. A highly successful sales professional, he is a nationally respected sales trainer, author, sales coach, consultant, and public speaker. Randy is President and CEO of The Wedge Group, whose clients include Fortune 500 companies as well as small businesses.
Customer Reviews:
Teaches you to work smarter not harder without the cliche's.......2007-01-23
This book blew open my old beliefs on selling with it's basic premise. Simple, but powerful. You are not just selling to your customer. You are also selling against the current provider. I had never considered the incumbant provider as part of my sales process. I had always thought of them as a nuisance that I hoped would go away. Not anymore.
In my experience, sales books like this one rarely deliver much of substance to the seasoned salesperson. They usually use catchy titles and then fill the pages with a lot of re-cycled fluff and hype. This book showed me in living color that there is another way of doing things that will increase my income and quality of life...if I open up my mind to it and give it a try. (BTW I have given it a try and it works.) The method suggested is backed up with statistics, examples, a pursuasive argument for questioning the old way of doing things and a road map to follow.
Another refreshing first for me when it comes to sales books....this one did not overpromise - Made very clear that sales is still sales. There's no magic bullett or get rich quick way to do it. The Wedge is better, it's not fool's gold.
Motivated me and gave me specific actions to take. I came away from the book knowing that I could put a plan based on this book into place for the coming year. I also felt well supported, knowing that I could contact The Wedge organization if I wanted more training or clarification of the process....but I didn't feel like the point of the book was to sell me on more training.
Bottom Line: There is enough here for the do it yourselfer and ample other resources available for those who want a more comprehensive understanding of the The Wedge method or want the kind of training that will really get you or your organization moving in a new, more profitable, direction fast.
Great Ending - I loved the note to the buyer at the end. Great perspective shift. Great way of disarming the buyer as "the enemy" which is how they must feel sometimes when dealing with sellers.
This book is an easy read. It's well written, motivates you by opening up your perspectives on selling in new ways, and stays away from wild promises and Used Car Saleman hype. It re-ignited my passion for selling and gave me solid advice for getting more productive as a salesperson. A great resource that I refer back to a lot. Again, rare for a sales book in my case.
I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to get their numbers up.
Excellent Book. Randy hits it dead on!!.......2007-01-18
I thought this would be another one of those old sales techniques made to work today, but that's not what this book is. The author has it dead right and explains how to get your competition fired without saying anything bad about them (thus the tiltle) in an awesome way. If you are in sales and your prospect has a current vendor or supplier this stuff really works. Try it and your business will increase. The book is an easy read and full of examples. All I can say is you have to read this book and you won't be disappointed.
Thin on content .......2007-01-04
The content is good - what there is of it. And there isn't much! Somewhat overpriced, I think. I only bought it because someone whose opinion I respect raved about it, and how much of a different applying the technique had made to his sales closes. I agree it's a very, very good technique.
But the book's expensive for a single idea, said over & over.
Fluff overload.......2006-09-07
I confess that I made a mistake buying this book at an airport on a whim without reading any reviews online. I've read several books on selling, and this one is the worst, mostly because it's very diluted with filler material that adds no value but makes the book look sizeable.
The idea of the book is create a 'wedge' between you and your competition by having a proactive sales / support strategy. While this idea sounds nice, at the end of the day this 224 page book's only real content to "get your competition fired" is a set of six fill in the blank questions that you can, "apply to any sales opportunity"
This book is fluff, plain & simple. Don't waste your time.
Well written, must read.......2006-08-06
I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to make a living, a life and a career in the art of selling.
Book Description
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to rise effortlessly to the top, while others are stuck in the same job year after year? Have you ever felt you are falling short of your career potential? Have you wondered if some of the things you do–or don’t do–at work might be hamstringing your ambitions? In The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back, James Waldroop and Timothy Butler identify the twelve habits that–whether you are a retail clerk or a law firm partner, work in technology or in a factory–are almost guaranteed to hold you back.
The fact is, most people learn their greatest lessons not from their successes but from their mistakes. The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back offers the flip side to Stephen Covey’s approach in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, zeroing in on the most common behavior that can impede a career. Based on over twenty years of research as business psychologists, the authors claim that the reasons people fail in their jobs are the same everywhere. Only after these detrimental behaviors have been identified can the patterns that limit career advancement be broken.
Using real-life accounts of clients they have worked with at Harvard and as executive coaches at such companies as GTE, Sony, GE, and McKinsey & Co., Waldroop and Butler offer invaluable–and in some cases, job-saving–step-by-step advice on how readers can change their behavior to get back on track.
For anyone seeking to achieve his or her career ambitions, The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back is a powerful tool for unleashing true potential.
Customer Reviews:
The 12 Bad habits that hold Good People back.......2007-10-01
Excellent book. Gives good insight. I knew there were things I was doing wrong but just didn't know what they were. Now that I know what bad habits I have had, I can work on them and end the frustration. Helped me to realize that others have their problems too and instead of feeling slighted by their behaviour, I now see them as people with bad habits (just like me)!
Outstanding for Everyone.......2007-07-21
After reading several "career change"/"I Hate My Job" books, this one has been by far one of the best for anyone looking for work, working happily or working on getting somewhere else. The personality types described are a bit cookie-cutter but eerily accurate. Most readers will be able to identify "that guy" in one or more of the traits outlined. The case study examples can be a bit drawn out, but the descriptive traits and practical solutions help the reader discover the latent but very influential personality types that occur and impact offices everywhere. This book doesn't advocate radical solutions, stormy emotional confrontations or weepy introspective group hugs. Rather, as a personal tool, it should help the reader see how individuals undermine themselves and others from being truly successful.
Realistic help from a book for the first time.......2007-05-27
The book is easy to read, (though I wish it was printed in a larger font)as I feel you don't come out at the end feeling that you should be close to becoming a saint, and only then can you achieve success. And this isn't the attitude we see in people who are at the top of companies.
The real-life situations are real-life, and it reads like a story.
Somewhere or the other we are not always a single type of person as in a single habit, but each of the 12 habits influences us in our daily life in our work place.
This book has helped me a lot and I read it everyday.
Wondeful.......2007-05-20
One of the best books I have ever read in my life. The books belongs to a completely different league...It is so insightful..It has the accuracy of a science book and the flow of a poem.....I still cant beleive that this book isnt as popular as sevn habits of highly people etc....
High Class work...
It is a very good book.......2007-01-09
I read this book every day. This is INDEED very good.
Book Description
The world's leading expert on the global software industry and coauthor of the bestseller Microsoft Secrets reveals the inner workings of software giants like IBM, Microsoft, and Netscape and shows what it takes to create, develop, and manage a successful company -- in good times and bad -- in the most fiercely competitive business in the world.
In the $600 billion software industry it is the business, not the technology, that determines success or failure. This fact -- one that thousands of once glamorous start-ups have unhappily discovered for themselves -- is the well-documented conclusion of this enormously readable and revealing new book by Michael Cusumano, based on nearly twenty years of research and consulting with software producers around the world.
Cusumano builds on dozens of personal experiences and case studies to show how issues of strategy and organization are irrevocably linked with those of managing the technology and demonstrates that a thorough understanding of these issues is vital to success. At the heart of the book Cusumano poses seven questions that underpin a three-pronged management framework. He argues that companies must adopt one of three basic business models: become a products company at one end of the strategic spectrum, a services company at the other end, or a hybrid solutions company in between. The author describes the characteristics of the different models, evaluates their strengths and weaknesses, and shows how each is more or less appropriate for different stages in the evolution of a business as well as in good versus bad economic times. Readers will also find invaluable Cusumano's treatment of software development issues ranging from architecture and teams to project management and testing, as well as two chapters devoted to what it takes to create a successful software start-up. Highlights include eight fundamental guidelines for evaluating potential software winners and Cusumano's probing analysis, based on firsthand knowledge, of ten start-ups that have met with varying degrees of success.
The Business of Software is timely essential reading for managers, programmers, entrepreneurs, and others who follow the global software industry.
Download Description
"The world's leading expert on the global software industry and coauthor of the bestseller Microsoft Secrets reveals the inner workings of software giants like IBM, Microsoft, and Netscape and shows what it takes to create, develop, and manage a successful company, in good times and bad, in the most fiercely competitive business in the world. In the $600 billion software industry it is the business, not the technology, that determines success or failure. This fact, one that thousands of once glamorous start-ups have unhappily discovered for themselves, is the well-documented conclusion of this enormously readable and revealing new book by Michael Cusumano, based on nearly twenty years of research and consulting with software producers around the world. Cusumano builds on dozens of personal experiences and case studies to show how issues of strategy and organization are irrevocably linked with those of managing the technology and demonstrates that a thorough understanding of these issues is vital to success. At the heart of the book Cusumano poses seven questions that underpin a three-pronged management framework. He argues that companies must adopt one of three basic business models: become a products company at one end of the strategic spectrum, a services company at the other end, or a hybrid solutions company in between. The author describes the characteristics of the different models, evaluates their strengths and weaknesses, and shows how each is more or less appropriate for different stages in the evolution of a business as well as in good versus bad economic times. Readers will also find invaluable Cusumano's treatment of software development issues ranging from architecture and teams to project management and testing, as well as two chapters devoted to what it takes to create a successful software start-up.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome !.......2007-07-20
Cusumano shows us what we, IT professionals, should know about business of software. He also shows us, in a very simple manner, what we must really know about software and its value chain.
Excellent book.......2007-05-01
This book is like a text book. Excellent source of information. Too much emphasis on Microsoft but when this book was written, Microsoft was at the top of their field.
Great insight into the world of enterprise software business.......2007-01-08
Well written, detailed, and insightful, best describe this book. Very helpful for any ISV or software product development manager. Cusamano, having served many of the companies he chronicles in this book, provides a uniquely human "insiders look" into the heart of these monolithic software titans. His insight and clear understanding of trends and business models in the often obscured and esoteric space of enterprise software is incredibly helpful to any "little guy" eager to learn how the "big guys" do it.
Excellent Read.......2006-03-31
The Business of Software is an excellent read and growth tool for seasoned practitioners. Organized in three major sections it explores:
(1) Product vs. services vs. hybrid software organizations' strengths and weaknesses, and how they can change over time (think about your company...!).
(2) Software development strategies and outcomes. At first glance, this section seems less relevant - until you find yourself defending why your latest release is waaaaay late... There are some excellent ideas here that can apply to the creation and roll-out of "core" demos.
(3) Entrepreneurship - successes, failures, and ongoing question marks - the author explores what key factors contribute to the end result. The case studies at the end of this section can serve as virtual mirrors onto one's own organization.
This is good and useful reading, particularly for those who seek to move upwards in their organizations or are contemplating joining a new or emerging company.
Book's value is in provactive questions.......2006-03-13
The most useful sections for technology marketers are in Chapter 2 about strategy, where Cusumano asks provocative questions that will give you a new way of looking at your products, services and company direction.
Also useful is Chapter 4 on best practices, which will give you some benchmarks for comparing your operations and development activities to industry leaders.
Much of the book focuses on presenting detailed analysis of the rise and fall of companies during the technology boom and bust in recent years. The stories can be interesting, but it seems to me that information is getting dated given the challenges that face technology companies today.
Amazon.com
Suze Orman's face and name are more prominent on the cover of her new money guide than its title, The Road to Wealth. And why not? Orman has parlayed her popular renown as both a New York Times bestselling author and video-age financial guru into an undeniable position of respect and trust when it comes to matters of dollars and sense. This time she presents an encyclopedic guide to the various components of one's overall financial life--from managing debt and owning a home to making investments and preparing to pass it all along--and she does so in the clear and confident style to which her fans have become accustomed. "Here is what you need to know," she writes at the outset. "Answers to the questions you have been asking, as well as the questions you should have been asking, delivered in the most complete, straightforward way I know." While the concise text moves logically from "creating a strong financial foundation to amassing assets and protecting them from common mistakes and periods of economic downturn," this is not meant to be read from cover to cover. Rather, it is a ready bookshelf reference for planning and sorting out common finance concerns, like how to calculate the mortgage payment you can best afford, determine what Medicare will pay toward nursing care, decide between retirement plan options, and similar matters of personal importance. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
With her new book, Suze Orman delivers a message that once again is right on time. A book designed to help us take action and overcome the obstacle of confusion, The Road to Wealth provides us with the practical answers to the questions we have been asking - or should have been asking: sound, straightforward, fiercely honest, and easy-to-understand advice on the financial topics that most affect our lives. Here is information that points us in the right direction and erases the uncertainty that can often cost us precious time...and money.
From creating a strong, debt-free foundation to amassing assets and protecting them in periods of economic downturn; from buying a home to providing for loved ones; from investing with confidence and navigating the markets in good times and bad to securing reliable income for our later years, The Road to Wealth offers invaluable insight and information whenever we are in our lives, whatever our needs, whatever the economic climate.
Customer Reviews:
Road To Welth.......2007-09-14
This a book for those who have money problems as well as those in the know. Suze always has new information to offer. A most have book for those interested in money.
The Road to Wealth: A Comprehensive Guide to Your Money.......2007-08-24
What an amazing book !!!! At 40, I know nothing of financing. Religiously living paycheck to paycheck and raising young children, life gets to be overwhelming. This book has empowered me to look at my finances, my life in a whole new light. There is a way to help my children. I wish Suze Orman could be my financial planner. I have learned so much and yet I have so much more to learn thanks to her advice, insight and experience. This book is an incredible beginning for my journey. If only I had known earlier.
Not really worth what I paid for it.......2007-06-20
But it did include some information that's nice to know. My investment strategy is a bit more aggressive and this audio-book leaned conservative. Then again, I wasn't familiar with Suze Orman before purchasing this book. So all in all, I'd say it's a decent read for most people, though I would have probably benefited more from her "Young and Broke."
Good overview.......2007-05-13
Book is giving a good overview on many different options for investing money. Writing is fluent and easily to understand also for newcomers in this field. There is no difficult language. Reading this will improve any discussion you might have with a so called financial advisor.
Suze is awesome.......2007-02-24
Suze really knows how to explain finances in a easy way for anybody to understand. I liked it so much I told my boss about it who bought it and also I bought the book for my father who is close to retirement.
Thanks,
Suze
Book Description
A provocative departure from conventional thinking, Bad Leadership compels us to see leadership in its entirety
Kellerman argues that the dark side of leadership—from rigidity and callousness to corruption and cruelty—is not an aberration. Rather bad leadership is as ubiquitous as it is insidious—and so must be more carefully examined and better understood.
Drawing on high-profile contemporary examples—from Mary Meeker to David Koresh, Bill Clinton to Radovan Karadzic, Al Dunlap to Leona Helmsley—Kellerman explores seven primary types of bad leadership and dissects why and how leaders cross the line from good to bad. The book also illuminates the critical role of followers, revealing how they collaborate in, and sometimes even cause, bad leadership.
Daring and counterintuitive, Bad Leadership makes clear that we need to face the dark side in order to become better leaders and followers ourselves.
Customer Reviews:
Every Christian Should Read.......2007-06-14
This is a must for people working in Christian organizations and for laypeople in churches. There is bad leadership in the church and it often looks a lot like good leadership. Kellerman writes about the "recent revelations of wrongdoing by leaders of the Roman Catholic Church . . . that was so abhorrent it makes us all ill." She continues: "the idea that some leaders and some followers are bad, and that they might have something in common with good leaders and followers, has not fully penetrated the conversation or the curriculum" [of leadership training]. Her book is aptly titled for my situation ("My Calvin Seminary Story") where poor leadership derailed my career.
Brilliant, Bold and [Mostly] Useful.......2006-08-16
Harvard University's Kellerman presents an amazing, research-focused vivisection of the many faces and roles of bad leadership, offers reasons for their occurrence, and exerts a clarion call for identification and eradication of same.
Kellerman identifies seven specific types of poor leading:
1) Incompetent: lacks the will or skill (or both) to sustain effective action with regard to at least one important leadership challenge
2) Rigid: stiff and unyielding; unable or unwilling to adapt to new ideas, new information, or a changing of the landscape
3) Intemperate: lacks self-control
4) Callous: uncaring or unkind; ignores or disregards the needs, wants, and wishes of others, especially subordinates
5) Corrupt: lies, cheats, or steals; puts self above any other interest
6) Insular: minimizes or disregards the health and welfare of anyone outside the group or organization for which they are directly responsible
7) Evil: outright disregard for even the human worth of others; egregious inhumanity.
As is common with Harvard B-School releases, the book is brilliant, innovative and analysis heavy. Prescriptions for change are succinct-- if you find this, kill it off-- yet limited in use: once found and destroyed, what do I do next?
Innovative and unflinching, it will be nevertheless most accessible to scholars and the scholarly among business leaders: a more populist rendering of the same discoveries, and prescriptions for improvement, would lift it far above the norm.
Coke Newell, MSPR, consultant and author, "Journey to Edaphica"
The Dark Side.......2006-07-01
The book stands out because it forces you to take a look at the dark side of leadership. It is about leadership in and of itself. The book has an entirely unique perspective on leadership. She looks at all leaders and how they measure up as leaders. Even if society views them as a bad leader she takes that and builds on some of their strengths as a leader, their weaknesses and not necessarily their intent. The actual process of leading is the focus. She also looks at the followers and their role in leadership. This I think is also unique to leadership. It is important to analyze the followers and how they can affect the leader. In looking at the dark side of leadership we are able to become better leaders and/or followers.
Excellent alternative perspective.......2006-02-08
This was very interesting and a fairly easy read. Looks at leadership away from the stereotypical definition of good. Adds to a big picture I had not seen anywhere before. Should be required reading for all management to help them see the bad guys they often miss or intentionally overlook in their organizations.
Concise would be nice.......2005-09-25
The "Bad Leadership" concept pulled me in. PR summaries on this book were better written than what I have muddled through so far. This book is word heavy. Barbara could use a little help from Suzy Welch, who I suspect helped Jack Welch with "Winning" an improvement in writing style of "From the Gut". Enjoying both Welch's books the improved difference is concise focus in Winning. The first half of Bad Leadership has been labor intense, with a modest return for my reading time investment. Reading for information readily consumable, this book has good intentions but modestly delivers . I have not committed to finishing, as there are better reads that easily pulled me away.
Book Description
Exposing the most controversial, little-known practices of America’s most flawed system, Time magazine’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative team pulls back the curtain on the health care industry to explain exactly how things grew so out of control.
Dirty examination and operating rooms in doctor’s offices and hospitals . . . Health care executives pulling in millions in bonuses for denying treatment to the sick . . . More than 100 million people with inadequate or no medical coverage . . . This may sound like the predicament of a third-world nation, but this is America’s health care reality today. The U.S. spends more on health care than any other nation, yet our benefits are shrinking and life expectancy is shorter here than in countries that spend significantly less per capita. Meanwhile, HMOs, pharmaceutical companies, and hospital chains reap tremendous profits, while politicians—beholden to insurers and drug companies—enact legislation for the benefit of the few rather than the many, while the entire system is on the verge of collapse.
In Critical Condition, award-winning investigative journalists Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele expose the horror of what health care in America has become. They profile patients and doctors trapped by the system and offer startling personal stories that illuminate what’s gone wrong. Doctors tell of being second-guessed and undermined by health care insurers; nurses recount chilling tales of hospital meltdowns; patients explain how they’ve been victimized by a system that is meant to care for them. Drug companies profit by selling pills in the same manner that Madison Avenue sells soap, while Wall Street rakes in billions by building up and then tearing down health care businesses. And politicians pass legislation perpetuating the injustices and out-right fraud the system encourages.
By analyzing the industry and offering an insightful prescription for getting it back on the right track, Critical Condition is an enormously compelling investigative work that addresses the concerns of every American.
Download Description
Exposing the most controversial, little-known practices of America's most flawed system, Time magazine's Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative team pulls back the curtain on the health care industry to explain exactly how things grew so out of control.
Dirty examination and operating rooms in doctor's offices and hospitals…Health care executives pulling in millions in bonuses for denying treatment to the sick…More than 100 million people with inadequate or no medical coverage…This may sound like the predicament of a third-world nation, but this is America's health care reality today. The U.S. spends more on health care than any other nation, yet our benefits are shrinking and life expectancy is shorter here than in countries that spend significantly less per capita. Meanwhile, HMOs, pharmaceutical companies, and hospital chains reap tremendous profits, while politicians—beholden to insurers and drug companies—enact legislation for the benefit of the few rather than the many, while the entire system is on the verge of collapse.
In CRITICAL CONDITION, award-winning investigative journalists Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele expose the horror of what health care in America has become. They profile patients and doctors trapped by the system and offer startling personal stories that illuminate what's gone wrong. Doctors tell of being second-guessed and undermined by health care insurers; nurses recount chilling tales of hospital meltdowns; patients explain how they've been victimized by a system that is meant to care for them. Drug companies profit by selling pills in the same manner that Madison Avenue sells soap, while Wall Street rakes in billions by building up and then tearing down health care businesses. And politicians pass legislation perpetuating the injustices and out-right fraud the system encourages.
By analyzing the industry and offering an insightful prescription for getting it back on the right track, CRITICAL CONDITION is an enormously compelling investigative work that addresses the concerns of every American.
Customer Reviews:
Has to be the next book you read!!!!!.......2007-07-27
Everybody who is fed up with the current U.S. health care situation needs to take the time to read this book. It is written for the masses who need a general understanding of how this for-profit system is ruining the quality of life of millions of Americans. Especially with the 2008 presidential election in full gear, this book will give you enough basic information about our existing health care system to put the pressure on all of the 2008 presidential candidates to endorse a national single-payer health care system covering all Americans. Finally, putting us on par with every other "developed" and "civilized" nation on Earth. Excellent work by Barrett.
Excellent book.......2007-06-20
I watched Sicko and loved it. I hated the reality it showed. The problem is I didn't want to jump on his bandwagon until I did some more reading on my own.
On some website, someone wrote that they highly recommend this book. I borrowed it from the library.
This takes Sicko and multiplies its intensity by 10. It's too bad the authors couldn't get the power of visuals and sound that movies, like Moore's enjoys. Otherwise this book would HAMMER this country so hard, it would tremble.
If you liked Sicko, but want more, READ THIS BOOK! If you hated Sicko, READ THIS BOOK, to get a dose of reality. Anti-moore fans can't say much after reading this book because Moore has nothing to do with this.
While I would have liked some graphs/charts or some another illustrative, visual way to reinforce the facts, this book is GREAT! Please read it!
Good research, but flawed.......2007-03-22
This seems to be a well-researched book and I think they do an excellent job of exploring the problem of health care in the USA today. In my opinion, however, they don't go far enough in their exploration.
The authors talk about the high cost of medical treatment. There's no denying the expense. I'm aware of more than one time when a patient has received needed care only because family and friends raised the money to pay for it. However, the way that government interference contributes to the jacked up prices is barely mentioned. (An example from a few years ago in the news, in a western state, all insurers were required by law to cover everyone who came to them, even those dying of incurable diseases. As a direct consequence of the new law, the prices of both medical treatment and insurance rates rose dramatically.)
The authors talk about how many pills are marketed and overprescribed (and I agree with them on this), but again, they don't consider in any depth the government's contribution to the problem. The DEA is waging major war on painkillers. Physicians are intimidated into not prescribing needed painkillers. This artificial market control is raising prices, as well as lowering the quality of health care and hurting people who desperately need those drugs. The authors also ignore how very affordable drugs are kept illegal by federal regulation, despite state voters voting to make them legal.
Where they really flounder, however, is when they propose their solution. They give an unconvincing plan of getting the government involved to wisely and charitably make sure everyone gets the competent medical services they need. This seems to me to be more about what government *should* do rather than what it likely would do. The government is a major part of the problem now. How is it going to change and become the solution if it takes direct control?
It seems to me that they haven't thought through their position. For instance, they write:
"Resistance [to our suggested health care reform] would come from health care providers themselves; from insurers, some of whom would go out of business; from some in the U.S. government bureaucracy who would lose control; from the antitax community; from some physicians and individuals who are content with their personal situations, and most of all, from members of Congress who benefit so handsomely from free-market health care."
I was confused by this because of how often they said most of these people were desperate for change. For example, this statement:
"We have a system in such constant turmoil that almost everyone is unhappy--patients, doctors, nurses, aides, technicians. Almost everyone. But for a lucky few, the turmoil is worth a lot of money."
If all but a "lucky few" are unhappy, then why would they resist change? This goes against what they said repeatedly before the chapter on their propopsed remedy, including some compelling anecdotes of these people who'd resist having been disillusioned and alienated from the system as it is. And why would this government that already has control dread losing control by getting even more control? For that matter, if the government is dysfunctional now, why wouldn't it continue to be dysfunctional later? And if their remedy wouldn't add any costs to society but replace existing taxes, then why would antitax people resist it so bitterly? While the antitax folk might resist any taxes, I'm pretty sure they'd rather taxes go for health care than for the wars at home and abroad and the other things that make people ashamed or angry to be forced to pay for.
I also wish they had spent more time considering how health care works in other countries. I'm not sure that the Scandinavean model could work for the USA because of how different the two places are in population and character, but I would've liked more discussion of the possibilities. I was intrigued by what they said about the system in France, but again, they didn't go into details. I'm also interested in hearing more about Thai health care, which I understand is affordable and excellent despite no national coverage (and popular with some Americans who can afford to go there to get it).
In general, I wish that they'd have explored other, already functioning systems more, and looked at why our FDA is so inferior in ethics and practice to its counterparts in other countries, as well as considering in more depth why (or why not) another country's system could work for us.
Also, from their description, it sounds as if health care was good in the USA until Wall Street, supported by their cronies in Congress, took the medical business over. If that is true, why not focus on getting Wall Street out, instead of the government in? Especially given how badly the government has done so far?
Overall, I think this book is important in understanding the problem of health care in the USA today, though not sufficient all by itself. I'm sorry the authors didn't put more thought into proposing solutions for us to get out of this mess.
More than food for thought.......2006-01-04
The book could have been shorter, without a lot of the individual "sob stories", which I know help sensationalize a news article, but made the book drag on for me.
The authors hit the nail on the head when they bring up all the bankruptcies and foreclosures in our country due to health care costs, and also the horrible cost-shifting that gets placed onto the uninsured among us to support the deep discounts that Medicare, Medicaid and now a plethora of insurers have negotiated with providers.
I'm a dentist, and do not participate in plans which would insist on my discounting services to certain groups. If I am going to discount them (and I do) they are to those less fortunate in life financially, and are not determined by someone's age, race, or employer.
The fact that we have a bizarre system where your health care is tied to who you work for is perverse. The fact that this very system drives up costs for uninsured people, while taking more money out of direct health care and more into insurance company administration and profit is sickening.
I don't have the answers to our problem, but I think that this book is the foundation for much dialogue and debate.
The Time Is Now For Health Care Finance Reform!.......2005-08-23
I am running for Congress in Maryland's first district with health care finance reform as my number one priority. This book contained valuable data to help shore up my position. Read this book, make sure you're registered to vote, then let's elect a progressive, reform-minded Democratic majority into Congress!
Visit [...] for information on how to contribute to our campaign for health care finance reform.
Book Description
Learn how to achieve sustained business growth even in the toughest economic times. Author A.T. Kearney surveyed some 29,000 global companies over fourteen years and studied more than eighty companies in depth, in order to determine how the best companies continue to grow in good times and bad. Based on this extensive research and on the best practices of the most successful companies, Stretch! presents a practical, step-by-step plan for positive organic growth.
Download Description
The secrets of sustained business growth-from the experts at A.T. Kearney
In Stretch!, experts from consulting firm A.T. Kearney show business leaders how to grow their businesses even in tough times. CEOs worldwide confess that they achieve, on average, just fifty percent of their growth targets. It's not because they can't grow, it's because they've forgotten how. Based on in-depth case studies and analysis of some 25,000 global companies over 14 years, Stretch! combines hard data, fresh ideas, and practical guidance on achieving real growth in any economy.
Graeme K. Deans (Toronto, Canada) is a Vice President of A.T. Kearney and leads the company's Global Strategy Practice. Dr. Fritz Kroeger (Berlin, Germany) is a Vice President of A.T. Kearney and a senior strategy consultant for clients worldwide.
Customer Reviews:
One of the worst business books I have read.......2004-09-11
Don't even waste your time on this book...it's written in an oversimplistic way and offers nothing new!
Back To The Basics Of Growth.......2004-01-23
Stretch! is an excellent roadmap for business executives to return their companies to an upward growth trajectory.
Written in an engaging style, the book takes the premise
that any company, in any kind of financial or competitive situation, can achieve and sustain profitable growth.
Deans and Kroeger use insightful case studies to
illustrate their four-stage growth model, and emphasize
that strong execution, not strategy, separates the winners
from the losers. Highly recommended!
Common-sense approach, rich examples make this a great read.......2004-01-22
Forget the jargon and fad theories. This book hits straight at the heart of today's biggest barriers to growth--and offers well-reasoned, straightforward advice on how companies can get back on track. The four-step approach, which is the core of the book, pinpoints growth opportunities in every aspect of how a company functions. The best part, however, is the examples that the authors pull from all industries, around the world. They not only make it an interesting read, they hammer home just how "doable" everything is.
Books:
- I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! (Beginner Books)
- Intelligent Sensor Design Using the Microchip dsPIC (Embedded Technology)
- Into the Wilderness
- Introduction to Java Programming-Comprehensive Version (6th Edition)
- Le Morte D'Arthur: Complete, Unabridged, Illustrated Edition
- Learning Together and Alone: Cooperative, Competitive, and Individualistic Learning (5th Edition)
- Legends of the Fall
- Life & Death Planning for Retirement Benefits
- Light in August (The Corrected Text)
- Living Time: Faith and Facts to Transform Your Cancer Journey
Books Index
Books Home
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- Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers
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- The Biopsychology of Mood and Arousal
- Money Doctors: History, Theory and Policy
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General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
The Successful Investor: What 80 Million People Need to Know to Invest Profitably and Avoid Big Losses
24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success: Learn the Most Important Investment Techniques from the Founder of Investor's Business Daily
The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing (Revised Edition) (Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing)
How I Made $2,000,000 In The Stock Market
How to Make Money Selling Stocks Short (Wiley Trading)
