What I was looking for

Having being a great believer in coaching techniques and NLP, I was delighted to find a book that encompasses these with a focus on writing, along with many many practical hints and tips to get this flowing and focused.<br /><br />I've attended two of Jurgen's workshops and this book is a great summary of his techniques and style.<br /><br />Highly recommended, particularly for those just starting out like me!

How groundswell thinking can help to achieve success in a"flat world"

<br />What Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff characterize as"the groundswell" is"a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other instead of from companies. If you're in a company, this is a challenge...[This trend] has created s permanent, long-lasting shift in the way the world works. This book exists to help companies deal with the trend, [begin italics] regardless of how the individual technology pieces change [end italics]."More specifically, Li and Bernoff respond to questions such as these:<br /><br />What unique threats does the groundswell pose?<br />How to turn it to competitive advantage,"like a jujitsu master"?<br />What are its component technologies?<br />What is The Social Technologies Profile and what does it offer?<br />What is the four-step POST process for creating strategies?<br />What are the five primary objectives for a groundswell strategy?<br />How to create customers who are evangelists for you?<br />How to establish and support relationships between and among your customers?<br />How can the same trends that empower customers also empower employees?<br /><br />Throughout their narrative, drawing upon a wealth of data accumulated by Forrester Research as well as by their own studies, Li and Bernoff include a number of real-world examples - in the form of mini-case studies -- that demonstrate key points. They offer lessons to be learned from Mini USA, the American arm of BMW's Mini Cooper brand (how to listen through brand monitoring, Pages 89-93), Ernst & Young (how to communicate in social networks, Pages 104-106), Hewlett-Packard (how to communicate with customers through blogging, Pages 108-112), eBags (how to energize with customer ratings and reviews, Pages134-140), Constant Contact (how to energize by creating a community, Pages 140-145), the Lego Group (how to energize an existing community, Pages 145-147), and BearingPoint (how to use a wiki to reassure clients, Pages 165-168). Granted, not all of these lessons are directly relevant to a reader's own organization. However, they help to create a context for each key point as well as a frame of reference for what Li and Bernoff describe as a"permanent, long-lasting shift in the way the world works."<br /><br />They conclude this brilliant book by offering some advice, not on what to do but on how to be: ever-mindful that the groundswell is about person-to-person activity, a good listener, patient, opportunistic, flexible, collaborative, and humble. Guided and informed by the information and counsel provided by Li and Bernoff, readers will be able to formulate and then execute strategies to achieve a competitive advantage."You'll be able to build on your successes, both with customers and within your own company. And then, as the groundswell rises and becomes ubiquitous, you will be ready." <br /><br />Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out Rob Cross and Andrew Parker's The Hidden Power of Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations. Also Gary Hamel's The Future of Management (with Bill Breen) and Ram Charan's Leaders At All Levels as well as Enterprise Architecture as Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution co-authored by Jeanne Ross, Peter Weill, and David Robertson, Richard Ogle's Smart World: Breakthrough Creativity and the New Science of Ideas, and Global Brain co-authored by Satish Nambisan and Mohanbir Sawhney.

Great book!!!

I must say this is a very useful and interesting book. It covers all you need to know about customer service in a very interesting way. Learn how to be a good employer, employee, seller, customer....it even gives examples on how to write good complaint letters! After you finish this book you will have a new point of view of what good customer service is. Written in a way that makes it very easy to understand and with examples based on experiences. I enjoyed reading this book and I can say that anyone who decides to give it a go will too. I hate books that try to find the most difficult ways to explain the simple ones! I might be a dummy....but a dummy that understands better and learns faster.

Brilliant Book! A book you will keep going back to again and again. Worth more than 5 Stars.

I've just finished this book. Wow it was mind blowing!<br /><br />I'm not going to reiterate all the brilliant reviews made about this book, suffice to say it is a useful guide for going into negotiations and other situations were undue and unfair influence might occur. For example, how to deal with dirty influence tricks or even just pushy salesmen, estate agents or recruitment consultants - you can see the tatics that are being used and side step them or use their tricks against them for your own advantage. <br /><br />An amazing book. Read it for your own sake.

Excellent. A classic relevant today.

It is surprising how relevant this book is to the present state of affairs having been written originally in the 60s.

Friedman goes through the issues of capitalism, freedom and related issues on an easy to understand manner; with a few exceptions where he gets a bit too technical for the general public (e.g. monetary policies). Nevertheless a very enlightening text by the Noble price.

A must read for anyone interested in liberalism, economy and politics.

"Death by Powerpoint" ?..... No more

I am (was) terrible at Public Speaking especially at work. But it has all changed now since actually applying PSFQW. One thing Bob says in the book changed my colleague's reaction so much that I have decided to adapt all my future presentations to his advice. He says 'STOP using your slides as your notes'. So I did. I wrote note cards (like he advises) and stopped looking back at my slides. GREAT!!! couldn't be better. I will let you know if the rest of the content is as effective. I also got some applause like the last bloke!!

The Best

Having not read a sales book before I was unaware as to what to expect.<br /><br />The first point I would stress is dont feel this book is for people failing at sales, before purchasing this book my sales record was very strong but with this book it has helped me go from strength to strentgh.<br /><br />I had never been able to pin point my success however this book allowed me to do so and improve further.<br /><br />I take this book with me everyday to work and have recommend it to many others.<br /><br />I have never wrote a review for any book before but felt it only fair for others to benefit as i have.<br /><br />Reading this book will not make you a better sales person, reading it and actioning what is written definitely will!

Out of Date

Whilst the content of this book relating to the title is still valid the areas of the book which are probably of most interest readers - internet based stock image libraries - is horribly out of date in this book; in fact they barely get a mention. The same problem applies to the coverage of digital photography in general. This book is in dire need of an update!<br /><br />There are many more up to date books on Amazon covering this subject in fresher, applicable detail. Some are even released on an annual basis. Until this book is updated, you'll see a much better return on your money from looking elsewhere.

Presenting to win

Jon Steel's book is a breath of fresh air. His key message, that getting the content of the presentation right rather than launching into yet another ill-advised powerpoint, is timely. Too often I have sat through (and given) turgid powerpoint presentations when actually a bit of thought and some emotion would have gone far further.<br />As with many good presentations, its the recalling of the problems and mistakes (and how they were overcome) that proves the point.<br />The book has helped me re-focus on getting the analysis right rather than bashing away on the laptop at the last minute! And yes, I have now re-written this weeks major presentation!

unmissable

This is certainly one of the most insightful business books i have ever read. It is of biblical importance to anyone in the technology business, especially operating in a B2B scenario. <br /><br />Apart from a cogent theoretical framework, it provides high practical, and actionable advice on how to move from one segment to the next in a technology adoption life cycle. It has certainly shown me the wrong assumptions we have made in our own business, and why.<br /><br />The book helps consultants create a concrete service offering to start-up clients who need advice on their go-to-market and organizational strategy.<br /><br />Full five stars on this book. I look forward to meeting Geoffrey Moore sometime to pay him my compliments for this great piece of work

Another classic in the making

Another easly to read volume by Micheal.<br /><br />This shows you how to have the edge in all areas and gives plenty of practical ideas to try.<br /><br />I love Micheals humour in this and would recomend to anyone.

Valuable Tips and Insights

The key theme for the book, the Trust Equation is actually in the middle of the book. The first part of the book leads up to it by framing the issue of trust and what a trusted adviser is. The second part, starting with the Trust Equation gives some structure to the challenge of building trust whilst the third part is all about putting trust to work.<br /><br />It contain loads of tips and ideas to help anyone who needs or wants to become a"trusted adviser" and it will be of particular interest to lawyers, accountants, account managers, consultants, tax advisers, business coaches etc. -- anyone in a long term relationship with a client.<br /><br />A really good book -- but I didn't actually finish it, partly because I had got enough out of it, and also partly because the format seemed a bit repetetive. Well worth the money spent though!

Fascinating insight into the development of the top brands!

As a professional working in this field, I found it fascinating to gain an insight into how top branding consultants approached their projects, and a 'look-behind the scenes' of how top brands have come into existence. The book really works because we get to see how the brands developed through the design process and how the brand designers approached the various briefs and tasks. 'Branding' is a piece of design in its own right, and packed full of gorgeous graphics, typography and logos. A must for everyone involved in this industry, and offering a lot more than your typical art & design 'coffee-table book'!

Guerrilla Marketing

A truely excellent book. As a SME owner myself, Jay provides lots of ideas about how to effectuively market your business. We are now implementing many of these ideas...even considering radio advertising because we thought it too expensive. Jay makes you think again! Clearly written with simple lists of things to go and make your marketing happen. The BIBLE!

The Best Book I've Read About Writing Persuasively

This book is the best book I've ever read about how to write persuasively, to sell, to convince other people about your point of view.

A book providing instant ROI

It only took me three evenings to read this book. This book is catchy, it has coherency and is very well written. It contains numerous tips and has a lot of clarifying images.<br /><br />Don't expect the full story about web analytics and how to interpret figures and metrics provided by Google Analytics. And I guess this wasn't the true purpose of the book. Web Analytics is quite difficult. It can't be explained on paper.<br /><br />But you can surely expect an excellent in-depth overview of Google Analytics and how to properly collect and find actionable data in the generated reports. <br /><br />After a first reading, this book remains highly valuable. I'm sure I will use it a lot as a reference book (with a handy index). Therefore, I suggest a hard cover for the next issue. A special edition for the fans? <br /><br />If you're interested in the measurement side of online marketing, this book is highly advised. I've you like to learn more, if not everything about the Web Analytics power tool of Google, this book is a must read. You will not regret it. <br /><br />It is a recipe for a growing enthusiasm for Google Analytics and Web Analytics. Brian Clifton gives you a long enduring ROI with his book. Five thumbs up for that!<br />

Best Value

This has to be one of the best value, to the point and helpful web copy books around. As I run Internet Marketing Masterclasses, I see a lot of books and programmes on this subject but Ms Veloso stands out as someone who is focused on providing great learning. She uses good and real examples to illustrate her points and very clearly shows you why web copy is MUCH different than other media. You'll likely read this book 3 or 4 times and learn more each time - which just goes to show it's great value! It's also not too American and so globally helpful. I'm recommending all my workshop delegates to buy it!<br />