Worthy of a read if you can bear the style.

According to Edward de Bono's book-jacket biography, there are over 4,000,000 references to his work on the internet . The figure is to be found from general search results, which will throw up all references to anyone called Edward, as well as all references to Bono. Dr de Bono has clearly not thought this through, which is unfortunate for someone whose book claims to deliver a supreme method for thinking. This very fact that such a dishonest exaggeration of the author's importance is given within the first paragraph sets the tone that continues throughout this entire book (in the second paragraph, he reports that he was named one of the 250 most important people who have contributed to humanity throughout history: Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Homer, Pythagoras...Edward de Bono?!).<br /><br />That's not to say there is no merit in this book at all, even if the method is not entirely idiot [i.e. de Bono] proof. The Six Hats method enables us to evaluate any given situation by applying a series of approaches to our thinking. According to de Bono, these six approaches (objective, emotional, cautious, optimistic, creative, control) encapsulate the full spectrum of human thought, although most untrained people limit their potential for thinking in habitually applying only one or two. <br /><br />The beauty of the method is in the simplicity - it is easy to grasp and easy to apply (though the author's struggle to pad out this simple idea for 177 pages is at times nothing short of painful, and most readers will grasp the method effectively by reading only the key parts of each section). It might well change the way you think for the better; that is, if you can bear to put up with de Bono's self-aggrandising, word-filling style.

Highly recommended

This book has all the answers in a practical and easy-to-read format. I would highly recommend this book to all managers, would-be managers, students in management or any other discipline which requires management. It has helped me manage myself through a non-management degree as it has valuable information on many aspects of self-management as well as that of others.<br />

Better than the Motley Fool

As a new investor, I purchased this and the Motley Fool UK Investment Guide. <br /><br />Both recommend a Warren Buffett-esque long term investment strategy, but the FT book is clearer and more succinct.<br /><br />The information in the FT book is focused around the common sense idea that informed investment decisions can only be made through an understanding of business, economic and accounting principles. It also explains some of the technical processes behind different investment vehicles. In a nutshell it attempts to answer three questions: <br /><br />1) What should I know before making an investment decision? <br />2) How do I execute an investment decision? <br />3) How can I make better decisions in the future?<br /><br />Further reading is suggested at the end of every chapter/topic.<br /><br />This FT book is merely an introduction to the world of investing, but it will get you started in the right direction.<br /><br />You may prefer the Motley Fool book if you want a more"mind off" approach to investing. There is much less background information and the book will often tell you what to do. Avenues for further investigation are directed at its website where they will sell you a variety of articles and publications that also tell you what to do (and promise higher returns).<br /><br />Over time, I have found myself returning to the FT book again and again, whilst the Motley Fool has sat gathering dust on my bookshelf.

What bookkeeping is

The book gives an overview of bookkeeping dealing with all aspects of what is necessary to enable someone to understand how and why financial records are compiled and what those records can tell you about the finacial health of the business. The guidance offered in this book will give anyone a better understanding of how a business is performing and an idea of what to do about it. The one criticism I have would be the lack of worked examples in the book. However the book is worth the purchase price.<br />A companion book would be a work book dealing with actual examples with suggested answers to further reinforce the topics covered in the book.

A must read and look at

Followers of the presentation zen blog will know that garth has a wealth of insights to share. What he shows in this book may not be the bullet point list of 'what to do to make good slides' that some may be after but his message is much more important than that. What presentation zen does is ask you to question your story and why it must be told. Once you have an answer then presentation zen will help you tell it. If you want a step by step this is how you make presentation book this is not it but if you truly want to make an impact then this is the book for you. The before and after slides are telling and the writing is a must. Anyone who has read anything by dan pink or guy kawasaki will find much to like here and will learn how to move from concept to practical application.

Insight into the world of Change

One of the best books on strategic change resistance and gaining sponsorship you will ever read. I have used and continue to use the eight step framework for all my change programmes. <br /><br />Well written, easy to read and practical.

"To strive, to seek, to find...."

This is an especially thought-provoking book which, as have so many others, evolved from an article published in the Harvard Business Review. According to Kim and Mauborgne,"[in italics] Blue ocean strategy [end italics] challenges companies to break out of the red ocean of bloody competition by creating uncontested market space that makes the competition irrelevant...This book not only challenges companies but also shows them how to achieve this. We first introduce a set of analytical tools and frameworks that show you how to systematically act on this challenge, and, second, we elaborate the principles that define and separate blue ocean strategy from competition-based strategic thought." There are six principles which are introduced and then discussed on pages 49, 82, 102, 117, 143, and 172, respectively.

Frankly, I was somewhat skeptical that this book could deliver on the promises made in its subtitle. In fact, the material provided by Kim and Mauborgne is essentially worthless unless and until decision-makers in a given organization accept the challenge, are guided and informed by the six principles, and effectively use the tools within appropriate frameworks. The responsibility is theirs, not Kim and Mauborgne's. To assist their efforts, Kim and Mauborgne focus on several exemplary companies which have dominated (if not rendered irrelevant) their competition by penetrating previously neglected market space. They include the Body Shop, Callaway Golf, Cirque du Soleil, Dell, NetJets, the SONY Walkman, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, the Swatch watch, and Yellow Tail wine.

Of greatest interest to me is Kim and Mauborgne's assertion that the innovations which enabled these companies to succeed with a Blue Ocean strategy did NOT depend upon a new technology. Rather, each company pursued a strategy which enabled it to free itself from industry boundaries. For Dell, that meant mass production of computers sold directly to consumers per each customer's specifications. Quite literally, each sale is"customized." For Callaway, creating an enlarged sweet spot to increase the frequency of solid contact for new or infrequent golfers just as, years ago, the enlarged Head racquet did so for new or infrequent tennis players. For Starbucks, creating a congenial environment within which to socialize, go online, or read while consuming coffee. All of these Blue Ocean strategies created new or much greater value for customers. Their emphasis is on the quality of experience, not on the benefits of a new technology.

According to Kim and Mauborgne, their research indicates that"the strategic move, and not the company or the industry, is the right unit of analysis for explaining the creation of blue oceans and sustained high performance. A strategic move is the set of managerial actions and decisions involved in making a major market-creating business offering." The cornerstone of a Blue Ocean strategy is value innovation which occurs"only when companies align innovation with utility, price, and cost positions. If they fail to anchor innovation with value in this way, technology innovators and market pioneers often lay the eggs that other companies hatch." For Kim and Mauborgne, value innovation is about strategy that embraces the entire system of a company's activities. It requires companies to orient the whole system toward achieving a"leap" in value for both buyers and themselves. Kim and Mauborgne explain HOW to create uncontested market space wherein competition is essentially irrelevant.

To paraphrase Henry Ford, whether decision-makers think they can or think they can't do that, they're right.

The Bottom Billion

I find Paul Collier's book(The Bottom Billion) interesting to read. He easily highlights Many of the economic difficulties facing the poorest countries in the world. He then suggests multi-faced approach that can be applied to tackle some of the issues he highlighted, not only by the poor countries themselves but also by the so called "donor" countries. <br /><br />Much of Paul's argument is based on data collected by international organization such as IMF and The World Bank and so on. When reading through the pages you would meet some high ranking individuals in these countries, i.e. the Finance minister, but rarely the ordinary person in the street and the challenges he/she faces. In my opinion this is the main weakness of this book. It's a top down approach. He does not talk so much about some of the side effects that export driven policies had on these countries such as planting crops for export in the best available land instead of the staple food of the country which people need to survive. Overall very good book, though I encourage Paul to get out of the big hotels and ministerial headquarters and meet ordinary people next time he visits one of these countries.<br />

Essential reading for ANYONE doing presentations

This book is the best that I've come across. It's easy to take in because it's clear, makes total sense and also has some inspirational advice and tips which you can actually use and make a big difference. It covers everything you could want to know from how to over come nerves (and actually says it's ok to feel nervous) to the more practical side of putting a presentation together. I have taken loads from this book and it's definitely helped me take my presentations and my presenting skills to the next level. I've got a few of these types of books and this is one of the few I would whole heartedly recommend.

Excellent book

I bought this book on the recommendation of one of the earlier reviews, and I have to agree, it is a book I woudl recommend to any one in project management.
Its clear concise, and covers the major processes and topics in enough detail to be able to understand what project managment is, how to do it, and how not to fail

An excellent workbook - all you need to know to start-up

I’ve bought most of the top 10 business books and have found this to be the best one - partly because it is so easy to read and digest, partly because of the pearls of wisdom from well-known entrepreneurs (including the lessons learned sections about what they’d do differently with hindsight) and partly because of all the really useful exercises peppered throughout that get you to do something practical to drive the business forward. Congrats to the author on a truly inspiration read that incites action. Can’t recommend this book highly enough!

ideas for ethical marketing

Anderson first coined the term The Long Tail back in an article for Wired magazine in 2004. The essential point he was making was that in a digital world of the likes of amazon.com, netflix and youtube the collective revenue publishers and e-commerce players make from the sales of the 10,000s of back stock is actually higher than the revenue they make out of the handful of mega hits each year. Anderson's key point was the economies of scale, distribution through the net, and low cost of downloading means that in certain markets- like books, films, music the idea of the market needs to be re-defined into thousands of mini niches, with the opinion formers who set fashion and define cool no longer the broadcasters of TV and national press but individual bloggers and writers who each contribute to defining the identity of each niche. Now linking this to green or ethical may seem tangential but in fact it isn't, ethical consumerism is actually a series of niches, from the healthy shopper who buys organic because it is perceived as more nutritious, to the raw diet vegan, those who put global social justice above and support fairtrade to those who think that no organic goods, fairtade or not, should be flown. The ethical consumer market is actually a mass of niches, with each individual's ethics and lifestyle informing their choices, and information and education constantly defining and refining each individuals' habits. The key lesson I got from this book is that a new green economy could utilise the power of the net by providing united distribution networks that link the myriad of small producers, service providers and information /education sources. The cross referencing nature of databases means that the full range of ethical services and products can be defined by the individual as they choose their key motivators- giving local services to one, fairtrade to others, those products and services produced by co-ops to yet others.

Don't Just Read This Book... USE IT!

If you run a business and you either hire people to write your marketing and advertising material, or you do it yourself, this book should be at arms length whenever you roll out a promotion, advert, sales letter or anything else you write to sell your products and services.<br /><br />If you know about this book and you don't use it, you're plain raving bonkers. It IS a high priced marketing and advertising consultant for what, under 15 quid!!?<br /><br />I dare you to find a better bargain anywhere! <br /><br />Raja Hireker -

It works

By doing the exercises it really helps take out any negative moments. While on holiday on the beach running, lost my wallet and thought that's it. However did the exercise in the book along with stuff I had read in"the secret", walked back to the beach with hundred on people on it and bumped into a couple who had my wallet. Our eyes met and we knew we had a connection. This was weird but i said a big thankyou. Needs to be viewed in connection with quantum physics and frequencies. Amazing once you get your head around it.A great read just be open to it.

A brilliant beginning

A strange and memorable book by an author, who repeatedly tells his readers, not to have a theory of his subject and yet he most adroitly nudges us into a direction, where truth most probably can be found.<br /><br />Clark divides the economic history of mankind into a Malthusian stage with stagnant real income per head and a phase of modern growth since 1800 with a steady increase in real income per head unimpeded by a strong growth of population figures. <br /><br />This book excells for three reasons:<br /><br />1. he smashes many defective ideas <br /><br />No, former former hunters and gatherers were not"dumber" than modern man, they may have been more intelligent.<br />No, Karl Marx has got it ridiculously wrong, he completely missed the strong gains in real income per head disproportinately dished out to unqualified labour.<br />No, institutions have become helpful to economic change only after the event, after the industrial revolution was well on it`s way!<br />No the black death did not kill indiscriminately, the desease followed the classic Darwinian concept of killing the sick and the rehabs.<br />No the waves of plague starting out from 1347 to run through Europe were a good thing, because it raised the per capita income levels of labouring man. <br />No, slavery was not an inefficient"mode of production" (in Marx` lingo)<br />No, if underdeveloped countries cannot make productive use of modern technology, there is not"bad management" to blame, it's"bad labour"! <br />no, preindustrial economies were not stagnant, they were moving forward in subtle but measurable ways.<br /><br />2. Prof.Clark adds genetic change and natural selection as new variables to explain economic development. This was needed sorely (my opinion) to arrive at better explanations.<br /><br />3. The best thing I learned: we don`t understand the Malthusian world too well and still less do we know about the rules of the new economic order past 1800.<br /><br />This book gives a summary of what we sensibly have to know from research on economic development so far. It collects an awesome range of evidence, much of it from the author`s original research. We have Cobb-Douglas and we have the hunting exploits of the Ache in it.<br />And yet: this ist not the crowning"state" of the discipline, ist`s a brilliant beginning!<br />

Don't bother, the other reviews must be by his familly!

Just don't bother, I got this book because I was interested in dropshipping and when you search amazon for books on dropshipping this comes up as one of the first search results.<br /><br />I should have gone to a bookshop and had a look at it before I payed for it, but nonetheless, I feel had.<br /><br />Nothing, nothing AT ALL about drop shipping (how a large proportion of ebay business is conducted. <br /><br />Instead I've got some complete time waster telling me about his family, coffee breaks with the dog etc. Twit<br /><br />Don't buy this book, you'd frankly be better off sniffing glue in a darkened room than reading this twaddle.

Brilliant

I have just started my online business with this book at my side, it tells you about copyright laws, international laws and lots of other legal stuff that is required in setting up as a LTD, Partnership, Sole Trader or a LLP. <br /><br />The book tells you how to write a business plan, how to get sponsorships from the Princes Trust and banks etc, it tells you what you should do in terms of laying people off if that should ever happen, <br /><br />How to draw up terms of sale, disclaimers, how to employ staff, how to choose your products, search for competition, price your products accordingly, too high or too low is bad for your business. <br /><br />The book also tells you how to advertise, forge links and register for PayE in the UK, Make sure you get the UK version as the American one uses the US Laws which are different from UK ones!! DONT SCREW UP HERE. <br /><br />The book also tells you on how to sell your product, website? telephone directory? check the market before starting? does the product already exist? can you legally start a business? if you ran a previous business that went into debt etc. <br /><br />It tells you about Bank Loans and how they are tied to you and your business, which i found very helpful. The book has useful links to companies house and various other organisations that you need to contact in the process of starting up. <br /><br />The only bad thing is, I have lost my copy, I will have to root it out at some point...<br /><br />Hope this helps you, this book is fantastic in telling you how to start up, brilliant book, love it!<br />Dom<br />

Great breadth, good depth.

This book is a compilation of chapters by a variety of authors who are all experts in the business analysis domain. Thankfully though, the editors have a good job of keeping the structure, language and depth pretty consistent. It is consistently fairly dry but there was little that really sent me to sleep like some books in this domain that I could mention. I think it covers the breadth of skills you are likely to need as a business analysis, but keep in mind that it is published by the British Computer Society to address the ISEB Business Analsys Diploma, so it may cover more that most analysis will use in their daily jobs. In terms of depth, it gives you enough to get started and hold your own for a while, but you will probably want to invest in more detailed references on specific topics such as Soft Systems Methodology, process modelling with UML or data modelling with ERDs - depending on your previous experience and the demands of your role.<br />In summary: a highly recommended introduction to Business Analysis, useful whether you are new to the role, thinking about a change or have some experience and want to work out in what direction to expand your knowledge.