The Gatekeeper: 60 Years of Economics According to The New York Times Review

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(More customer reviews)"Robert Chernomas and Ian Hudson had written one of the most sophisticated and original works of journalism criticism in years in The Gatekeeper. No one will ever view the New York Times or American journalism the same after reading this book. In view of the deep problems facing the U.S. and global economy our need for first-rate journalism has never been greater. Thanks to Chernomas and Hudson, we now know what to expect -- and not to expect-- from the New York Times, and why. This is going to be required reading for media critics, students, scholars and concerned citizens."
-Robert W. McChesney
co-author, The Death and Life of American Journalism


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Speed to Market: How to Cut Lead Time & Increase Profits in Job Shops & Custom Manufacturing Environments Review

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(More customer reviews)It's a pleasure reading a book that uses everyday language and minimizes the use of trendy buzz-words. The seven chapters are divided logically and go from the general to the specific. This allows the reader to capture the essence of the message without reading long passages before getting to a point. The reader can visualize his own job shop and pick and choose which solutions are pertinent.
Mr. Bozzone's experience and knowledge are evident throughout the book. His viewpoint brings a dimension and a dynamic quality which allows the reader to benefit from the many "real-life" examples peppered throughout the pages. The many models and illustrations help the reader understand the concepts and operational strategies that improve job shop performance.
From a training perspective, Speed to Market provides a sound basis for developing programs that would help people at all levels to understand the intricacies of managing a job shop. The book is an excellent tool for constructing a curriculum that would benefit experienced managers who need to re-think their current situation, as well as people who are new to the job shop environment.
It is clear that owner-operators and managers of job shops would be well served by having their people understand and use the concepts and information presented in this book.
Speed to Market is a "must-read". Speed to Market is an "easy read". Speed to Market should be on your bookshelf! Speed to Market should be on your bookshelf!
Review by Richard B. Mroczek Infoactive Training Group, Montreal, Canada

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Put Time Management to Work: Get Organized, Streamline Processes, Use the Right Technology Review

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(More customer reviews)I was particularly looking forward to the chapter on email, since my INBOX is perpetually swamped. However, this book spends too much time describing, step-by-step, how to use microsoft outlook. I already know the mechanics of how to use the program, and no real insight was provided.
Other chapters had similar problems - her suggested solutions are too rigid, don't address fundamental problems.
Here are her tips for organizing computer files:
1. Right click the start button, click Explore, then find My Documents folder , and double click to open.
2. Click File, point to New: then click Folder.
and on and on...
So, if your computer files are disorganzied because you don't know the basics of how to use a computer, you might benefit from this book. But if you'd like tips on how to deal with files that could go logically go in more than one place, ways to keep track of different versions of the same file, or anything more complex, forget it.
The topics on organizing your house & workspace are much better covered in Morgenstern's "Organizing From the Inside Out".

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In Put Time Management to Work: Get Organized, StreamlineProcesses, Use the Right Technology, Peggy Duncan helps busyprofessionals and small business owners examine every aspect of howthey spend their time, and offers many practical solutions formanaging it.Duncan offers time management tips that go beyond setting goals andknowing how to juggle priorities. The book begins with ways toeliminate clutter—whether it's on your desk or in your mind—andexplains how to create a system so that it doesn't come back. Afteryou get organized, you'll be able to think more clearly, so you'llthen set goals to help you focus on the right things.After that, you'll learn other timesaving techniques such as how todelegate, handle interruptions, say no, overcome procrastination,reduce time spent in meetings, and more. The book moves on from thereand explains how to eliminate useless work by streamlining processesand creating procedures that are easy to follow.To top everything off, the author explores timesaving technologies andcomputer tips that will help you finish work quicker. To help bringeverything together, Duncan outlines two case studies that includepractical tips and techniques you can use at home and at work to helpyou get back in control.

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Big League, Big Time: The Birth Of The Arizona Diamonback, The Billion Daollar Business Of Sports Review

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(More customer reviews)The subject is indeed fascinating, but the book is sloppily put together. Spelling errors run throughout the text, and a key player in the Phoenix sports scene is misidentified at one point. Those editing mistakes are really inexcusable, and the occasionally holier-than-thou tone of the narrative turned me off at times. If you insist on buying it, wait until it comes out in paperback...it'll be cheaper, and hopefully someone will proofread it in the meantime.

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On March 31, 1998, more than 48,500 fans cheered the arrival of Major League Baseball's newest expansion team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the first book ever to chronicle the birth of a major-league baseball franchise from conception to Opening Day, Big League, Big Time takes you inside the Diamondbacks dugout -- and their corporate suite -- to examine the billion-dollar business of baseball and its enormous impact on our culture. While many prominent people went to bat for baseball in Phoenix, sports entrepreneur Jerry Colangelo, the Diamondbacks' managing general partner, swung for the fences and scored a league-envious, $355 million state-of-the-art baseball facility. Big League, Big Time discloses how Colangelo's revolutionary vision for the Diamondbacks affected all aspects of the club -- especially his choice of personnel, from Jay Bell and Andy Benes to former Yankees manager Buck Showalter, "a young man with old-fashioned ideas." But even before they had drafted a player, the Diamondbacks front office was well aware that marketing "The Show" was the off-the-field game they couldn't afford to lose. Read the inside story of how they chose the team's name and colors, successfully maneuvered multimillion-dollar deals with a host of major sponsors, determinedly wooed the vast Mexican market, attracted such celebrity coinvestors as Billy Crystal and Lou Gosset, Jr., and became one of the five highest revenue-producing franchises before a single game was played. Complete with player profiles, an exclusive inside-the-war-room took at the expansion draft, and a dissection of the media's role in the global growth of the sports industry, Big League, Big Time is a rare glimpse into the politics, business, and promise of baseball -- a fascinating analysis of how one city cultivated a very special field of dreams.

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Stop Wasting Valuable Time (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)Michael C. Mankins is a Managing Partner in the San Francisco office of Marakon Associates, an international consulting firm. He is a co-author of `The Value Imperative: Managing for Superior Shareholder Returns' (1994). This article was published in the September 2004-issue of Harvard Business Review.
Based on the author's experiences with clients, he concludes that the price of misused executive time is high. It leads to frustration, delayed or distorted strategic decisions, missed opportunities and poor investments. In this article seven techniques are introduced which should help management teams make better and faster decisions. The author first discusses where and how valuable time is squandered. This part is supported by a useful graph, which really shows the author's point. But Mankins believes that these problems can be fixed. In order to make the most of the limited time that top management spends together, they should: (1) deal with operations separately from strategy (these "are distinct activities, requiring different modes of discussion and different mindsets"); (2) focus on decisions, not on discussions; (3) measure the real value of every item on the agenda ("successful companies prioritize ... top management's agenda to the value at stake"); (4) get issues off the agenda as quickly as possible ("This practice facilitates rapid decision making and prevents overanalysis."); (5) put real choices on the table ("... management should have at least three alternatives before any strategy should be discussed or approved."); (6) adapt common decision-making processes and standards ("... companies with superior decision-making capabilities use a common language, methodology, and set of standards for making decisions."); (7) make decisions stick ("... successful companies we studied make the strategic decision-making process consequential by tying resource allocation to strategy approval.") It is important to recognize that top management's time is the most precious resource and therefore companies should take steps to ensure that it is used effectively. "It would be a matter of ensuring that the top management focuses on the most important issues, considers all viable alternatives, and makes the best possible choice in the shortest period of time."
Yes, I do like this article. The article is not really about time management, but discusses practices and techniques to stop top management squandering their time. It provides some practical techniques that should be simple for people to implement in their organizations, in particular, within meetings, planning, decision-making, and execution. One criticism, the focus is mainly on top management although most techniques also count for lower management.

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Companies routinely squander their most precious resource--the time of their top executives. In the typical company, senior executives meet to discuss strategy for only three hours a month. And that time is poorly spent in diffuse discussions never even meant to result in any decision. The price of misused executive time is high. Delayed strategic decisions lead to overlooked waste and high costs, harmful cost reductions, missed new product and business development opportunities, and poor long-term investments. But a few deceptively simple changes in the way top management teams set agendas and structure team meetings can make an enormous difference in their effectiveness. Efficient companies use seven techniques to make the most of the time their top executives spend together. They keep strategy meetings separate from meetings focused on operations. They explore issues through written communications before they meet, so that meeting time is used solely for reaching decisions. In setting agendas, they rank the importance of each item according to its potential to create value for the company. They seek to get issues not only on, but also off, the agenda quickly, keeping to a clear implementation timetable. They make sure they have considered all viable alternatives before deciding a course of action. They use a common language and methodology for reaching decisions. And they insist that once a decision is made, they stick to it.

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Wild About Harry : TIME Magazine Cover Story Review

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(More customer reviews)Beautifully created fantastic characters! Harry certainly is human except for magical powers, which he has yet to refine.
Written by a wonderful author living simply, who allowed "Harry" to speak to her over time until it became her heart's impulse to put it down on paper again and again. A well written and informative article about that creative process. There's no longer a question in my mind as to whether children should read it or not. By all means-read it, discuss it, enjoy it. The books were written for this adult too.

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The exploits of a young wizard have enchanted kids and adults alike and brought a new kind of magic to children's literature

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Practical Time Management: How to Get More Things Done in Less Time (Self-Counsel Business Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)I really enjoyed this book. I am amazed at how quickly the author gets to the heart of time management. Moreover, it isn't just about time management at work ... it's time management for life ... be it leisure, procrastination, health. And there are maitenance tools to keep on track. As well, the book is a fun and enlightening read. I highly recommend it.

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Time--The Next Source of Competitive Advantage Review

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(More customer reviews)George Stalk Jr. is Vice President of The Boston Consulting Group, the famous management consultancy. This article was published in the July-August 1988 issue of the Harvard Business Review and won the McKinsey Award for best article that year.
By building on MIT's Jay Forrester research into the planning, the author shows how companies can create competitive advantages through managing time effectively. The author discusses in detail time-based manufacturing, time-based sales and distribution, and time-based innovation. For instance, in time-based manufacturing the key components are the length of production runs, organization of process components, and complexity of scheduling procedures. The speed of the flow of information has important impact on sales and distribution, while the speed of innovations can result in a reduction of delivery time and manufacturing costs. The author concludes that time advantage offers a powerful new approach for successful indirect attacks against larger, established competitors. The author uses Japanese companies such as Honda and Toyota as main examples.
I do like this article and agree with the author's opinion that time/speed can be a source of competitive advantage. The way the author tries to get his point across is sometimes disappointing, the author's obsession with Japan companies vs. US/Western companies is too one-sided. This obsession is probably a sign of the time since the article was published in 1988. Modern-day examples of successful time-based competitors are Amazon.com (read Robert Spector (2000), 'Amazon.com: Get Big Fast') and Dell Computer (read Joan Magretta's interview with Michael Dell (1998), 'The Power of Virtual Integration'). The author uses simple US-English.

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I Don't Have Time To Write - Time Taming Tips for Writers, Bloggers & Infopreneurs Review

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(More customer reviews)As a mum and blogger who also has a full time job I found this book immensely useful. Many of the tips and techniques Nadine advocates are quick, simple and immediately effective. Within days I had identifed dead time that I have now been able to use productively. I didn't realise how much of a problem procrastination was but now I have I can resolve it and move forward.
I feel much more organised, in control and productive compared with 2 weeks ago when I was tired, stressed and ever so slightly falling apart. I have been able to identify my goals and set action plans in place to help me achieve those. I am far more relaxed and happier. I am able to spend time with my family without feeling guilty that I should be doing other things because I know exactly what I've done, when I'm doing it next and when it should be completed by.
Nadine's more informal and encouraging tone really helps to propel you forward and makes you think that actually, you can do it.
Recommended to anyone who is trying to create more time to do things they want, I think this book would help anyone, not just writers.

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Buying to Rent (Financial Times Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)Nick provides you with the fruit of his research in a very candid and easy to understand way. Nick takes you step by step down all the roads enabling you to consider avenues of experience without the pain. You will be well prepared if you take time to read this, cover to cover it is brilliant, comprehensive, simple and understandable. It should be compulsory reading for those wishing to build a portfolio of properties.

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Investment is not only for experts. Every adult at some point has talked to their friends about owning a second property, but most people never get round to buying any other house than the one they live in for lack of time, deposit and knowledge. But a second income from renting a property can have many advantages:No matter how much or how little you earn, you will always find it hard to keep up with everyday bills, expenses and debts. Wealth generates wealth and you need to make your savings count. Investing in a property to rent can be a solution to your financial problems, enabling you to feel financially secure and free. This book shows you how to generate cashflow with your investment.

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The New York Times Guide to Economics Review

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(More customer reviews)This book, while very short serves as an ideal medium to learn about economics via examples. This small text can in fact act as a source for case studies for college students or anyone witha passing or even serious interest in the science.

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Deadline: How Premier Organizations Win the Race Against Time Review

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(More customer reviews)Deadline is a very interesting read especially to those of you that work in the Construction and Commerical/ Manufacturing Industries. The author gives us (6) stories, several of which give the reader an excellant overview of what it takes to get a project finished within a time frame (in those respective industries). They are suspenseful stories. I would say that I wish there were more story lines in this regard on how the individuals involved solved the problems and got their projects completed within the deadlines imposed.

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The Life and Times of Raul Prebisch, 1901-1986 Review

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(More customer reviews)The book is a tome of about 500 pages (and the author might have been able to cut it down to 400), but overall it provides a really interesting look at a number of things I'm interested in such as:
1) the evolution of development economics, with the Argentine economist Prebisch being considered by many to be the "godfather" of development economics
2) intra-Latin America relations, Latin America-worldwide relations, and Latin America-US relations throughout the 1900s (the years that Prebisch lived)
3) the inter-workings of international policy bodies such as the United Nations and Organization of American States
4) lessons gained from a guy who lost about 9 policy battles for every 1 that he won
The Canadian biographer I thought did a tremendous job of just showing what happened instead of trying to make the biography about him in any way. If you think any of these numbers above could fit holes in your intellectual development, then I would recommend getting around to reading this book sometime.

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Raul Prebisch was a leader in economic development theory and international economic policy, an institution builder, and an international diplomat. The Life and Times of Raul Prebisch provides the first book-length account of his life and work, a story cast against the backdrop of Latin America, the Cold War, the rise of the United Nations, and the struggle for equity between first and third worlds. A wunderkind, Prebisch occupied key positions at the Argentine ministry of finance in his twenties and was the general manager of the Argentine Central Bank before forty.Exiled by Juan Peron after World War II, he became arguably the most influential Latin American official at the UN, heading such international organizations as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

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We, Me, Them & It: How to Write Powerfully for Business Review

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(More customer reviews)The magic of serendipity in a London airport bookstore brought this little jewel into my life. I read it twice on my flight, then bought several copies for friends at work.
It's intended for a British audience. Even though I'm American I understood the language and examples and felt they applied to our company.
The main point is that all writing, from the help desk to marketing materials, work to form the brand. Customers love the tone of informal letters -- filled with emotion and individuality, free of the language of bureaucracy. So many people like me get drawn into sterile corporate writing because it sounds professional as we write, but to the customer it ends up sounding haughty and boring.
There are lots of compelling case studies of British companies, some funny stuff, and even great poetry.
One funny:
"The problem with words is you never know whose mouth they've been in."

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This stimulating reference demonstrates how anyone can learn to use words more effectively and persuasively in today's business environment. The basic framework promotes creative thinking and encourages writers to inject their personalities into communiqués, instead of relying on stale templates and forms. Examples of ways to introduce creative—and valuable—business writing techniques to office communications include differentiating a company during a sales pitch, infusing vibrancy into product and service descriptions, and even clarifying daily e-mails. This latest edition of the business-world classic includes a new introduction and updated materials throughout.

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Corporate Wrongdoing and the Art of the Accusation (Tracts for Our Times) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you are interested in the moral ethics of wall street (extremely pertinent right now for all of those who lost money, homes, or pension plans over the last few years) and how accusations of corporations or financial firms can alter market confidence. Really interesting book, highly recommended for anyone who enjoys reading about corporate crime or wall street in general.

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The Red Zone: Cars, Cows and Coaches : The Life and Good Times of a Texas Dealmaker Review

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(More customer reviews)Great, quick reading book( 3 hours) but lacks the details us young bucks are dying for. Red has had a very interesting life but the book would have been even better if he would have told us more details and stories(good and bad)to his deals and issues. Red is forever a car salesman who lives for the adrealine rush of a deal and bores very quickly with the small details(don't we all?), just as he has done in this book. He should have let Gary Woods help him by filling in some of the intricies and details just as he does in his deals. Red seems to love to deal and buy companies, then turn them over to a manager(coach) to either ride the company to success or hang himself with the rope Red gave him. He makes sure to give you enough rope to hang yourself when your success doesn't come quick enough for him. I would love to meet the man! My hat(Stetson) is off to him!

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Big man, big voice, big boots, and big deals. Meet Red McCombs, who hasn't heard his given name, Billy Joe, since his mother called him that years ago. His is a story of "only in America," but with a Texas twist. Even down to the name he never uses, Red is a living logo for the Lone Star State—a strapping man with a booming bass voice, a wheeler-dealer who shoots from the hip and asks questions later.In the circles he travels, people know him only as Red. They also know him as cattle and oil baron, empire builder in cars and sports, investor in more than 200 companies.In the area of sports, Red offers a revealing glimpse that few if any owners have ever shared. He tells how trades are made and how coaches are hired and fired.Few self-made billionaires ever had a more rollicking ride for their money. McCombs has power and knows how to use it. He's made a fortune and knows how to share it.This is an autobiography unlike any written by a corporate giant.

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Manager Mechanics: Tips and Advice for First-Time Managers Review

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(More customer reviews)It can be quite overwhelming at first. "Manager Mechanics: Tips and Advice for First-Time Managers" is a guide to the wonderful world of management where one is first tossed into the pool without much experience or advice given to them. Written in a light hearted manner, Eric P. Bloom hopes to equip business leaders with the advice they need to keep their head above the water and deal with everything from employees who act like children and how to take charge. "Manager Mechanics" is a top pick for anyone just starting out in the world of leadership.

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An entertaining, fast-paced, and enjoyable read, Manager Mechanics serves as both mentor and guide for newly minted managers. Blooms uses his more than twenty-five years experience to give first-timers the practical knowledge and political insights needed to perform successfully in their new management role.
Just been made a manager? Great! Now what?
Have kids? If so, you have all the management experience you need.
Congratulations, now you get to manage your friends.
Now that I'm a manager, what's my next step?
Discover how work is not a democracy; it's a dictatorship!
Learn about the 7 kinds of troubled employees; Sleazy, Grumpy, Lazy, Brainy, Tardy, Dummy and Troubled.
How does the hiring process really work?
Uncover the truth about the Good, the Bad and the Other.
Bloom explains how new and seasoned managers alike will gain techniques and proven approaches for leading their teams, hiring top talent, navigating company politics, avoiding career-limiting mistakes and producing high-quality, well-planned results.
Manager Mechanics is your first step toward cultivating a strong career in management. Improve your communication skills, employee morale, and work environment with this indispensable guide!
"I'm always on the lookout for great new training materials, and this book is right on target. It gives great advice, is well-written and has just enough humor in it to make it fun. Eric Bloom really understands new manager needs."
-Susan J. Goldberg President and CEO of Northeast Training Group, Inc.
"This book is a must read for anyone in a managerial role. It's easy to read, contains practical examples, and as a result, is easy to remember."
-Jeffrey Burd, Esq. Director of Placement, Kelly Law Registry
"Street-wise advice on handling the important everyday issues nobody tells you about."
-Frank Capecci Executive Leadership Consultant

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