Marketing Management (12th Edition) (Marketing Management)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Good, but needs better editing
  • Outstanding Course Material
  • Marketing Management - NO CD
  • Good Book to Learn Fundamentals on Marketing
  • The Marketing Bible, But Ethically Challenged
Marketing Management (12th Edition) (Marketing Management)
Philip Kotler , and Kevin Lane Keller
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0131457578

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Good, but needs better editing.......2007-09-12

A good guide for the major marketing practices. However, the book still mentions Zaire as a country (instead of the Democratic Republic of Congo), as well as several other errors. Even though they are relatively minor errors, it makes the book lose credibility.

5 out of 5 stars Outstanding Course Material.......2007-08-10

Marketing Management 12e is an excellent tool for the MBA student. It is concise and very informative, one I will keep in my library as a reference item from now on.

1 out of 5 stars Marketing Management - NO CD.......2007-07-09

I gave this product a one-star rating because it did not include the necessary softward CD, and there was no indication of this fact. I returned the product without an issue, but it would have been nice for the description to indicate that the Marketing Pro 6.0 software was not included, as it would have saved me a lot of trouble.

4 out of 5 stars Good Book to Learn Fundamentals on Marketing.......2007-06-12

Softcover book has cheaper pages which make the print sometimes harder to read. Otherwise book is good and it covers a good amount on Basic Marketing Concepts.

4 out of 5 stars The Marketing Bible, But Ethically Challenged.......2007-06-08

When I did my undergraduate studies in the 1980's I remember my professor explaining that Kotler had been, at that point, "the" marketing text book for 20 years. I'm not sure, but Kotler may have invented the word "marketing." Decades later it remains the definitive book on marketing studies.

This version of the book is comprehensive, densely written while still being easy to read, logically structured, up to date with regard to case studies and technology, etc. I highly recommend this book as a marketing text and have tried, unsuccessfully so far, to get a few of my marketing friends who have not had the pleasure of reading this book, to put it in their bathroom or something and read a section here and a section there.

I have two knocks against this book. First, I find it to be a little lacking on the ethics side. There are many valid marketing techniques described which can be used, but which can also be abused. While the book does not ignore ethics altogether, I would have been more comfortable if along the way it highlighted that some of the practices described are not only "good ways to increase profit margins" but "are morally bankrupt" as well.

The second knock is that the authors have seemingly gone crazy and included dozens upon dozens of cutesy words various academicians, desperate for a lasting claim to fame, have invented out of whole cloth to describe things that didn't really need their own unique words. Some of my favorites:

Insourcing
Reintermediation
Unfocus Groups
Glocalization
Co-optation

Neither of these complains should detract anyone from buying this book because it is, in the end, the great marketing text of our era.
Cost Accounting (12th Edition) (Charles T Horngren Series in Accounting)
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Not impressed
  • Good starting book for Managerial Accounting
  • It is really useful in real business world!!
  • Excellent book
  • Poorly written
Cost Accounting (12th Edition) (Charles T Horngren Series in Accounting)
Charles T. Horngren , Srikant M. Datar , and George M. Foster
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  4. Student Solutions Manual to accompany Cost Accounting, 12th Edition Student Solutions Manual to accompany Cost Accounting, 12th Edition
  5. Auditing and Assurance Services (12th Edition) Auditing and Assurance Services (12th Edition)

Accessories:
  1. Cost Accounting Student Guide, 12th Edition Cost Accounting Student Guide, 12th Edition
  2. Student Solutions Manual to accompany Cost Accounting, 12th Edition Student Solutions Manual to accompany Cost Accounting, 12th Edition

ASIN: 0131495380

Book Description

Horngren’s Cost Accounting defined the cost accounting market and continues to innovate today by consistently integrating the most current practice and theory. This acclaimed, number one market-leading book embraces the basic theme of “different costs for different purposes.” It reaches beyond cost accounting procedures to consider concepts, analyses, and management. This latest edition of Cost Accounting incorporates the latest research and most up-to-date thinking into all relevant chapters. Professional issues related to Management Accounting and Management Accountants are emphasized. Chapter topics cover the accountant's role in the organization to performance measurement, compensation, and multinational considerations. For future accountants who want to enhance their understanding of–and ability to–solve cost accounting problems.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Not impressed.......2007-10-03

I am not sure whether my negative perception of this book arises more from my disliking the book or the subject matter, but I felt like I had trouble learning from it as well as I have from other textbooks. I generally rely on the text to clarify anything I missed from a professor's lecture, but this one was not that helpful for me. I'm sure this is related to the fact that I am absolutely horrible at accounting, but I was hoping that the textbook could save me and teach me whatever I was missing in class... no such luck!

4 out of 5 stars Good starting book for Managerial Accounting.......2007-02-26

Clearly written. Although it assumes some basic knowledge about accounting, the writing technique is such that there is very little background knowledge that you have to go refresh yourself with in order to make sense of the new information. For a novice at accounting like me, this was easy to understand, with good examples and illustrations.

5 out of 5 stars It is really useful in real business world!!.......2006-11-16

I am a MBA candidate in US and will return to Japan next year.
My background is engineer in Japanese manufacturing company.
Even now, this textbook teaches us powerful tools and especially in factory accounting. The knowledge for budgeting and how to evaluate it will help me in the future.
I will bring this book back to Japan and try to use it in the real world!!

4 out of 5 stars Excellent book.......2006-10-11

The writing may not be perfect, but it's still a great textbook, probably the best you can find.

After all, there is a reason that so many colleges use this book. You will learn a great deal whether you use this book for a class or for your own study.

1 out of 5 stars Poorly written.......2006-02-15

This is a poorly written textbook; rambling and fragmented information is presented on a piecemeal basis rather than in a clear, concise and well-organized manner. Important information belonging to one subject-matter chapter, is often presented as "aside" information in other chapters on wholly different subjects. This textbook appears to have been written by an author who forgot to take his ADHD medication. This "substandard" quality has become common place with this particular publishing company, Prentice Hall, to include its many subsidiaries (Pearson, Thompson, Southwestern, etc.), to the detriment of the education system.
Options, Futures and Other Derivatives (6th Edition)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Good
  • The greatest concise reference for the fundamentals of financial engineering
  • Solid textbook
  • Good Book Humayun R Ali
  • A PhD student's review
Options, Futures and Other Derivatives (6th Edition)
John C. Hull
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0131499084

Book Description

Designed to bridge the gap between theory and practice, this successful book is regarded as "the bible" in trading rooms throughout the world. The books covers both derivatives markets and risk management, including credit risk and credit derivatives; forward, futures, and swaps; insurance, weather, and energy derivatives; and more. For options traders, options analysts, risk managers, swaps traders, financial engineers, and corporate treasurers.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Good.......2007-09-14

The book was in great condition. It took only five days to get the book.

5 out of 5 stars The greatest concise reference for the fundamentals of financial engineering.......2007-05-30

Whilst this text was not a recommended text for my Australian investments course, it was more useful than any other reference material prescribed by my professional body and proved more than its value over the space of just a few weeks. I encourage especially those that may be sitting on the fence, thinking it is a lot of money (because it is), that this text is worth every cent if you are in need of the best derivatives pricing book that exists today - this is it.

4 out of 5 stars Solid textbook.......2007-05-08

This textbook has been very helpful for my financial instruments class (MBA level). Good examples and explanation of formulas.

5 out of 5 stars Good Book Humayun R Ali.......2007-03-01

I am in the first few chapters and finding the book easier to read than other financial books. I like the examples to explain the purpose of futures and options. The first few chapters introduce you to futures and options then gets into more advanced topics. I also got the student study guide. There are certain books that are well worth the price, this is one of them. It is not a "get rich quick" guide, but rather a book designed to give the reader an in depth understanding.

2 out of 5 stars A PhD student's review.......2007-02-07

Like all too many PhD students trying to push their way into the already overcrowded quant. finance job-space, I too had heard that Hull is the "bible" of quant. finance, and it should be the first book you should read.

WRONG. Dead wrong. Hull should be the LAST book you should read, and I mean it literally. That is, you definitely SHOULD read Hull, but after reading some good quant. finance books and getting some intuition behind what is going on.

The good parts of Hull are:

1) breadth of topics covered - there is no other single book that covers the range of topics that Hull does.
2) some amount of feel of real markets that it gives (all this means is that it describes the mechanics of markets).

For someone just starting out learning quant. finance, however, the above two become big stumbling blocks. The breadth of topics means that several topics are covered in a, and I am being kind, patchy manner. In fact, you can go through quite a lot of Mr. Hull's babble about "worlds" (something he uses interchangeably for "measure") without understanding whatever the heck a risk-neutral measure is. There are risk-neutral worlds, forward-neutral worlds, stock-worlds...and you don't know the underlying simple, simple principle, so you just keep following him, and he goes on and on...

Another example - Black's formula in fixed income products - he just goes on and on about its applications to this that and the other (bond options, swaptions...), discusses the "validity of Black's formula" (which supposedly tells you that it is more general that it is usually believed to be, but tells you neither how general it is, nor how general it is believed to be)...All this without giving you the simple, one sentence reasoning behind the Black formula.

Time and again in the book there are formulae that seem to be just pulled out of thin air. There are better compilations of formulae (Haug, for example), so I don't quite understand what the idea is. You keep wondering HOW a valuation formula came about, because you want to know what assumptions lie behind that valuation, and how to change it if some of those assumptions change...But as frequently as not, you will be left turning pages in the vain hope of trying to find out.

Add to that a poorly composed index, ill defined terms sprinkled all over the book, hand-waving galore, and it equates to hours of frustration. Just understanding clearly what is being talked about takes a lot of page turning, searching for definitions and so on.

And don't go by people who look down folks wanting to be precise. I am not talking about any ivory tower precision - I am talking about real, practical precision. The precision you need in a book to be able to answer a non-rote question properly. That precision is not there in most of Hull.
Managerial Accounting
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Well Written
  • Everything as expected!
  • Fair
  • Not worth the money
  • Good book
Managerial Accounting
Ray H Garrison , Eric Noreen , and Peter C. Brewer
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0072834943

Book Description

As the long-time best-seller, Garrison has helped guide close to 2 million students through the challenging waters of managerial accounting since it was first published. It identifies the three functions managers must perform within their organizations-plan operations, control activities, and make decisions-and explains what accounting information is necessary for these functions, how to collect it, and how to interpret it. To achieve this, Managerial Accounting, 11/E, focuses, now as in the past, on three qualities: Relevance: Every effort is made to help students relate the concepts in this book to the decisions made by working managers. With insightful chapter openers, the popular Managerial Accounting in Action segments within the chapters, and stimulating end-of-chapter exercises, a student reading Garrison should never have to ask "Why am I learning this?" Balance: There’s more than one type of business, and so Garrison covers a variety of business models, including not-for-profit, retail, service, and wholesale organizations as well as manufacturing. In the eleventh edition, service company examples are highlighted with icons in the margins of the text. Clarity: Generations of students have praised Garrison for the friendliness and readability of its writing, but that’s just the beginning. Technical discussions have been simplified, material has been reordered, and the entire book carefully retuned to make teaching-and learning-from Garrison as easy as it can be. In addition, the supplements package is written by Garrison, Noreen, and Brewer, ensuring that students and professors will work with clear, well-written supplements that employ consistent terminology.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Well Written.......2007-09-24

The book is very concise & well written. It has helped me tremeendously in my Managerial Accounting class, and is very easy to understand.

5 out of 5 stars Everything as expected!.......2007-02-16

The items arrived as expected; the price of the book was below the university bookstore.

3 out of 5 stars Fair.......2007-01-10

The condition of the book when I received was not as good as stated. I did expedited shipping but it was just as slow as the regular shipping rate.

1 out of 5 stars Not worth the money.......2007-01-03

This book was required for the class I took. The Ready Notes is a bound set of Powerpoint slides (3 per page). The instructor did not use the entire set of slides. I could have taken notes during the lecture and saved the money.

4 out of 5 stars Good book .......2006-11-14

It is good book to learn managerial accounting and it also good to keep it as a reference.
Simpleology: The Simple Science of Getting What You Want
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • A Different Way to Look at Things
  • Excellent information & well written
  • How To Achieve Success
  • way to simple
  • Don't Let Your Past Control Your Future
Simpleology: The Simple Science of Getting What You Want
Mark Joyner
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0470095229

Book Description

Success is simple, and scientifically reproducible, if you know the 5 Laws

Simpleology proves that success and happiness are easier to achieve than most people think they are. In fact, people can almost guarantee their own success simply by following a few simple rules. These "5 Laws of Simpleology" aren't new; they've been around forever. Throughout history, these 5 laws have helped the world's greatest minds amass fortunes and forge new paths. But until now, no one has committed them to paper in so simple and straightforward a style as Mark Joyner has here. Applicable to any challenge or goal and irrefutably commonsense, these 5 laws form the basis for almost any successful person or endeavor. Simpleology explains the 5 laws in detail and shows readers how to apply them to every aspect of their lives.

Mark Joyner (Auckland, New Zealand) is a leading authority on Internet marketing. The former CEO of Aesop Marketing Corp., he is the author of four previous books, including The Irresistible Offer (0-471-73894-8) and The Great Formula (0-471-77823-0), both from Wiley.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A Different Way to Look at Things.......2007-10-05

I "read" Simnpleology in my car by listening to the CD version. I found it motivating and thought it provided a different way of looking at most things in life. It is accompanied by a free web site and several free tools. There is also a companion course (also free) that helps you put what you have heard into practice.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent information & well written.......2007-10-02

Overall an enjoyable read. Delivers what is promised. Geeks will probably enjoy it the most.

1 out of 5 stars How To Achieve Success.......2007-09-29

What do you do if you have a few sensible but very commonplace platitudes on setting and

achieving goals and you're writing a book? Worse what do you do if your "five laws", the

very heart of your "simple science for getting what you want" could easily fit on one or

two pages? Say you've already tried short one-sentence paragraphs that you double or triple

space, added some cartoons, and you've still only filled about a dozen pages?

First Law: You don't take the shortest or straightest path. Put your laws at the back of the book. Make 'em wait for the closing so you don't have to include any detailed real world examples of how to attain that "dream home" or "superhot lover."

Second Law: Write chapters that could be related to the topic. Google "A List of Fallacious Arguments" or dig up your old Philosophy 101 textbook out of the garage. Tell your readers you're "going to throw them a lifeline."

Third Law: Focus your attention on something "real world." Create a strawman who disagrees with your politics. He's a victim of "groupthink" and a user of "ad hominem attacks". And because everyone reading your book wants your political opinions, keep giving them these examples. If anyone wonders why your examples are virtually always negative examples, you can "appeal to authority". Accuse them of labeling you.

Fourth Law: Focus your energy. Although this law could easily have been included into the Third Law, it would deprive you of a law. Basically repeat some more slightly relevant ideas. Repeat them.

Fifth Law: Big Finish. Tell them stuff that - unless they're 13-years-old - they already know about straight lines, clear goals, focused attention and energy. And end with something like "if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." That could be a pillar of your science alone!

Done.

Almost.

Advise them to spam email their friends and coworkers to buy the book, and then to tell

their friends to buy and...

That should be the Sixth Law!

1 out of 5 stars way to simple.......2007-09-27

Simpleology is the truth. Written by a simple mind. Keep it simple and just don't bother reading.

4 out of 5 stars Don't Let Your Past Control Your Future.......2007-09-17

When all your present decisions are based upon your past experiences, your future has already occurred - is one context for the lessons presented in this easy-to-read, self-help book by Mark Joyner. Before exposing the reader to the laws of Simpleology - straight lines, clear vision, focused attention, focused energy, and the inescapability of action/reaction - that are advertised to `get you what you want', Joyner discusses how the invisible walls created by our defective hardware and other programming anomalies contain us within our past.

Covering everything from beliefs to brainware and language to logic, we are shown how our historically based, propaganda influenced, and language controlled model of the world limits the possibilities we see in situations and in other people. The solution is a "disposable reality" that fits our purpose (what we want) in any given moment. Simple to say, but not easy to do, the author admits, hence the importance of the five laws of Simpleology to help us stay the course. This book is recommended for readers looking for simple solutions in a complex world. Dennis DeWilde, Author of "The Performance Connection"
StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Dinamic Strengths
  • Find and Maximize your strengths...fast
  • StrengthsFinder Opinion
  • Optimal Solution for Understanding Yourself
  • Fascinating but Now What?
StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths
Tom Rath
Manufacturer: Gallup Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 159562015X

Book Description

DO YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO WHAT YOU DO BEST EVERY DAY?

Chances are, you don't. All too often, our natural talents go untapped. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths.

To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced the first version of its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in the 2001 management book Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book spent more than five years on the bestseller lists and ignited a global conversation, while StrengthsFinder helped millions to discover their top five talents.

In its latest national bestseller, StrengthsFinder 2.0, Gallup unveils the new and improved version of its popular assessment, language of 34 themes, and much more (see below for details). While you can read this book in one sitting, you'll use it as a reference for decades.

Loaded with hundreds of strategies for applying your strengths, this new book and accompanying website will change the way you look at yourself -- and the world around you -- forever.

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY IN THE NEW & UPGRADED EDITION OF STRENGTHSFINDER 2.0
(using the unique access code included with each book)

* A new and upgraded edition of the StrengthsFinder assessment

* A personalized Strengths Discovery and Action-Planning Guide for applying your strengths in the next week, month, and year

* A more customized version of your top five theme report

* 50 Ideas for Action (10 strategies for building on each of your top five themes)

* The more user-friendly StrengthsFinder 2.0 companion website, with a strengths community area, library of downloadable discussion guides and activities, a strengths screensaver, and a program for creating display cards of your top five themes

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Dinamic Strengths.......2007-10-01

I found the Strengths Finder 2 to be a great, dinamic tool to helping my team find their talents. The good thing about this version, compared to Now Discover your Strengths is that it has guidelines and activities you can do to change the talents into strengths.

4 out of 5 stars Find and Maximize your strengths...fast.......2007-09-24

Great product for anyone wanting to know themselves better. Especially helpful for job seekers or people in transition.

5 out of 5 stars StrengthsFinder Opinion.......2007-09-23

This is great investment! The price is very low and value of the information provided is very high. The best $15 I ever spent.

5 out of 5 stars Optimal Solution for Understanding Yourself.......2007-09-23

I've been a senior leader of several organizations, and consequently have been exposed to a gauntlet of industrial psychologists, personality tests, intelligence tests, leadership training, cultural orientations, yada yada.

This book/body of knowledge/tool does 2 things extremely well. By well, I mean in an optimal way measured by the degree of understanding relative to the time investment. First, for an investment of maybe an hour at minimum, and an additional few hours to explore the guidance and begin to consider the implications and choose new behaviors, etc. you get, in my opinion, the best single, and correct perspective about yourself than any combination of the other methods mentioned above, period. It is not just directionally correct, like a horoscope type paragraph that would be true for anyone who read it, but rather a set of desciptions of your strengths that just "nail it" and descibe you as you know yourself. It tells you about yourself in a way that you can understand, regardless of whether you or anyone who is around you has ever articulated it.

The second thing it does well is offer a rational and empirically validated framework that is just long overdue. It is a simple truth that has been so elusive. It addresses a major reason why leadership is so rare in business - the modern organization strangles out your ability to contribute by trying to fix what you will likely never be much good at, or hate doing even if you end up with some level of proficiency at it.

Get it, read it (25 minutes) and take the online test (35 minutes). If you are like me and the 50 people around me who've infectiosuly taken and immediately recommended this thing to their inner circle of friends and family, you will absolutley find value in it. But like anything, an idea or a tool is only as good as it is put to use. A master craftsman never blames his tools. Remember to act on it and that is something for which only you can be responsible.

3 out of 5 stars Fascinating but Now What?.......2007-09-19

This was an in depth test that I think actually produced accurate results. It was interesting to see where I fell and to read the descriptions of the categories. I think the test was most likely right. So, it was fun and it was somewhat informative...now what? Overall the book didn't give me that much insight on the different categories and the suggestions in some cases contradicted each other. I think it is useful to use in conjunction with additional career books or counselors. It is important to understand your strengths and this may or may not help. Alone, however, I do not think it is enough to give much to the reader.
The Only Three Questions That Count: Investing by Knowing What Others Don't
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Great book, one of the best I've read in a while
  • No real help here!
  • very informative
  • Needed an editor
  • Think before you act
The Only Three Questions That Count: Investing by Knowing What Others Don't
Kenneth L. Fisher , Jennifer Chou , and Lara Hoffmans
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 047007499X

Book Description

The Only Three Questions That Count is the first book to show you how to think about investing for yourself and develop innovative ways to understand and profit from the markets. The only way to consistently beat the markets is by knowing something others don’t know. This book will show you how to do just that by using three simple questions. You’ll see why CNBC’s Mad Money host and money manager James J. Cramer says, "I believe that reading his book may be the single best thing you could do this year to make yourself a better investor.

In The Only Three Questions That Count, Ken Fisher challenges the conventional wisdoms of investing, overturns glib theories with hard facts, and blows up complacent beliefs about money and the markets. Ultimately, he says, the key to successful investing is daring to challenge yourself and whatever you believe to be true. Packed with more than 100 visuals, usable tools, and a glossary, The Only Three Questions That Count is an entertaining and educational experience in the markets unlike any other, giving you an opportunity to reap the huge rewards that only the markets can offer.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Great book, one of the best I've read in a while .......2007-09-03

I consider myself fairly well read when it comes to investing, but I was really suprised by this book.

I've poured through books by and about Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Jim Rogers, some of the new classics (Market Wizards by Schwager) and some of the old classics that never go out of style (Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, Money Game). I was actually just browsing through my local bookstore when I saw this.

Fisher's well known for his advertising. His ads though, and his style turned me off (somewhat analogous to a doctor that advertises on a bus stop or a lawyer advertising in the back of a phone book, you just don't quit trust it).

He's got some real gems in here though. The book could have been about 150 pages shorter, but the essence of it, that the only way to beat the market is to know something that others don't, is spot on.

If you answer his 3 questions before investing (especially #3, what is your brain doing to mess you up), you'll be well ahead of the game.

It's amazing that people will invest huge sums of money in the market, and not even know what the biases are that cause misjudgement. Fisher does a beautiful job of reducing things down to "primitive man", and what was great for hunter gatherers 50,000 years ago hunting lions is terrible for your portfolio.

Still, I think the book falls into some traps that most other investment books fall into:

-Some of it is too neat, too ivory tower, too clean and mathematical. There's no people in the book, there are no memories.

For example, he thinks stocks have no correlation to past results. The odds of a stock moving tomorrow up or down are 50-50.

But investors have memories. Investors got scarred for life after the '29 crash, they never felt the same way about stocks again. I don't think stocks have a 50-50 chance of moving up or down after that. It also doesn't take into account where companies are in their life cycle. It doesn't take into account competitive advantage (or lack thereof).

-A direct quote from the book..."Since 1926, there have been 66 15 year rolling time periods. In 61 of them (92%), stocks beat bonds, returning an average of 481% while bonds returned 150%"

He then adds to the arguement, and basically says stocks always outperform bonds, buy stocks. But most people get into stocks at the wrong time! There's no mention of valuation, there's no mention that people buy stocks when everyone else is buying them.

People can and do lose money...if you bought stocks in the mid 20's or later, you didn't break even for 20 years. If you bought stocks during the raging bull market of the 60's and held, you got killed. The DOW was at 700 in the early 60's and 800 in the early 80's, after some grueling declines. Business Week ran their famous (infamous) cover in 1979, "The Death of Equities". People were putting their retirement money into gold and diamonds back then.

People do not buy stocks equally during all time periods. There's some other arguements made that can be a little dangerous. Some of the arguement made about the deficit, the declining dollar, I don't know.

Fisher is obviously brilliant, he's on the Forbes 400, but no one should be above questioning or critical thinking. Absolutely come to your own conclusions. I don't think some of the arguements will hold up in 15-20 years.

But still, it's well worth adding to your library. Some of the key chapters should be re-read many times to get all the nuances.

3 out of 5 stars No real help here!.......2007-09-03

Fisher describes a number of interesting stock market fallacies and why they should be ignored in any serious investing plan, and also illustrates some common emotional problems that plague a large percentage of investors. He describes several admittedly outdated fundamental indicators which, although possibly of some academic interest, are no longer useful, as they now have been discounted by the market.

He suggests that the individual investor select an index and track his or her performance with respect to this index, presumably taking advantage of knowing what most other investors do not. Most unfortunately, the methodology of attaining this precious knowledge is not made clear, at least to me. If an investor knows important details about equity issues that are not generally known, then he or she has no need of this book!

The writing style of Fisher, while occasionally entertaining, contains a good deal of self-serving statements, and, as commented by others, the basic information could be provided by perhaps one quarter the number of pages.

5 out of 5 stars very informative.......2007-08-28

I've read a lot of finance books in my day but this one takes a whole other approach. Instead of the same old conventional methods of analyzing the stock market through ratios and fundamentals, this book takes you through how to look at the market differently. The Only Three Questions shows you the power of sentiment on the market and specifically how to gauge investor sentiment and use it to your advantage. While the book is full of data and graphs, it also is a surprisingly humorous and enjoyable read. If you're looking for a completely different investment strategy, this book is for you.

2 out of 5 stars Needed an editor.......2007-08-26

A well constructed book cries out for discipline, particularly one dealing with investment. There is little discipline here, and this may stem from the way it was written. It reads in a disjointed, jaunty, disconnected way, very much as if dictated while working out on treadmill. Also hard to say what role the other two writers had in the making of the book.Aside from being far too long for the wisdom the book imparts, and it does provide some interesting insights, there are some rather questionable conclusions that other reviewers have pointed out, such as the irrelevance, presumably, of US debt, of debt in general. He makes light of other methods of selecting stocks, such as (his own) discovery of the importance of the price to sales ratio. His advice is, on the whole, fairly vague. One gets out of the market when one knows more than others.... Right. But the tables and graphs are well worth perusing, more than once. On that basis I reconsider and would recommend the book to those who have a fair amount of investing experience. Not for beginners!

4 out of 5 stars Think before you act.......2007-08-23

Managing money is not my strong suit. Because I don't have any in the first place. This may explain why I am right now so "house-rich and cash-poor". I therefore bought this book out of sheer curiosity. How do "big predators" behave? How do they reach their ultimate goal: BEATING THE MARKET ?
M. Ken Fisher gives us a clear, perfectly documented answer ( think before you act), thereby debunking some hard-dying myths like the "gold haven". M. Fisher's book is crystal clear, strongly worded, often very funny and on the whole totally convincing. I simply love the visuals. I recommend without reservation this book to any investor trying like me to avoid a further decline of his (hardly worth mentioning) savings.
Even with Mr. Fisher's invaluable assistance, I will probably never beat the market. But I might want to take advantage of his most interesting tips: watch for prospective buy-outs !
Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Great gift!
  • Suze is Five Stars......
  • Suze Orman Shares Investing Common Sense with Her Book Women & Money
  • Very Informative, every woman should read this.
  • Women & Money
Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny
Suze Orman
Manufacturer: Spiegel & Grau
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0385519311
Release Date: 2007-02-27

Amazon.com

Money maven Suze Orman's latest book, Women & Money addresses the complicated (and often dysfunctional) relationship women have with personal finance. Orman's direct, non-condescending style is perfect for this subject matter--she begins with the premise that "Women can invest, save, and handle debt as well and skillfully as any man" and then tackles the important question--"So why don't they?" Designed to educate and inspire, Women & Money also offers a "Save Yourself Plan," a five-month program that "delivers genuine long-term financial security." Want to know more? Watch a video message from Suze below, and take a gander at the first chapter of Women & Money--you'll be "controlling your destiny" in no time. --Daphne Durham
An Exclusive Video Message from Suze Orman


Watch the video


Read the First Chapter of Women & Money

For Women Only

I never thought I'd write a book about money just for women. I never thought it was necessary. So then why am I doing just that in my eighth book? And why now? Let me explain. All my previous books were written with the belief that gender is not a factor on any level in mastering the nuts and bolts of smart financial management. Women can invest, save, and handle debt just as well and skillfully as any man. I still believe that--why would anyone think differently? So imagine my surprise when I learned that some of the people closest to me in my life were in the dark about their own finances. Clueless. Or, in some cases, willfully resisting doing what they knew needed to be done. I'm talking about smart, competent, accomplished women who present a face to the world that is pure confidence and capability. Do you mean to tell me that I, Suze Orman, who make my living solving the financial problems of total strangers, couldn't spot the trouble brewing so close to home? I don't think I'm blind; I just think that these women became very, very good at hiding their troubles from me.Why not? They had years of practice hiding them from themselves.

Read more from Chapter 1...


Book Description

Why is it that women, who are so competent in all other areas of their lives, cannot find the same competence when it comes to matters of money?

Suze Orman investigates the complicated, dysfunctional relationship women have with money in this groundbreaking new book. With her signature mix of insight, compassion, and soul-deep recognition, she equips women with the financial knowledge and emotional awareness to overcome the blocks that have kept them from making more out of the money they make. At the center of the book is The Save Yourself Plan—a streamlined, five-month program that delivers genuine long-term financial security. But what’s at stake is far bigger than money itself: It’s about every woman’s sense of who she is and what she deserves, and why it all begins with the decision to save yourself.


Join the Movement to Save Yourself with this Unprecedented Offer to Readers of Women & Money:

Suze Orman believes that having an account of your own is the cornerstone of long-term financial security, and so she has begun a national movement called Save Yourself to turn this wish—that every woman have an account in her own name—into a reality. She is joined in this crusade by the financial brokerage firm TD Ameritrade, which has come up with an extraordinary offer for readers of WOMEN & MONEY. Follow Suze’s Save Yourself Plan and open an account in your name with TD Ameritrade. Commit to an automatic deposit of at least $50 per month for twelve consecutive months, and TD Ameritrade will provide the incentive in the form of a $100 deposit into your account in the thirteenth month. In other words, you save $600 or more over the course of a year, and TD Ameritrade will reward that effort with a $100 bonus. Learn more inside the book or at www.saveyourself.com.


Offer valid for one new TD AMERITRADE account (non-retirement) opened between 2/27/07 and 3/31/08, and funded by 12 monthly consecutive automatic electronic deposits of $50 or more. First $50 must be deposited within 30 days of opening account. To be eligible, you must be a U.S. resident aged 18 or older. See www.saveyourself.com for obligations and limitations and to accept this offer. This is not an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction where TD AMERITRADE is not authorized to do business. Random House, Inc., does not endorse, is not associated with, and has no responsibility for the TD AMERITRADE offer. TD AMERITRADE, Random House, Inc., and Suze Orman are separate and not affiliated, and each of them is not responsible for the services and information provided by the other(s). TD AMERITRADE, Inc., member NASD/SIPC.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Great gift!.......2007-10-01

Bought this for a good friend who was widowed a year ago and had not been involved in finances during the marriage. She is digging herself out of some financial challenges and she said the book made her feel really good about her progress. Highly recommend!!

5 out of 5 stars Suze is Five Stars.............2007-09-21

I've listened to Suze Orman on TV and I bought this book for my wife who doesn't want to manage her portfolio. She still won't manage her portfolio, but she's getting smarter about investments.

5 out of 5 stars Suze Orman Shares Investing Common Sense with Her Book Women & Money.......2007-09-20

Suze Orman Shares Investing Common Sense with Her Book Women & Money ~ Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny

By Lisa Manyon [...]

Money is a topic you either embrace or avoid. Orman's book delivers straight talk on investing for women and building individual wealth.

Personally I've always know just enough about investing to put some money away each month and I rely on financial advisors to steer me in the right direction.

Suze shares a candid look at her life and how she got to where she is now. Plus she offers a no nonsense approach to making sure women begin to really think about taking care of their own business.

With an uplifting vein of optimism about what is possible throughout the book, Orman successfully illustrates traits and tactics to help women thoughtfully approach investing.

Orman's 8 qualities of wealthy women have been shared on national talk shows and cannot be stressed enough.

Qualities 1 and 2 are harmony and balance. These are said to be the most important qualities because they are the foundation for all other qualities.

Quality 3 is courage. Orman writes that "Courage gives harmony expression. When your thoughts and feelings are one, courage helps you manifest them in the form of words and actions."

Quality 4 is generosity. Orman points out that woman tap into this almost too quickly. We tend to be overly generous with our time, support, love and money. The true measure of generosity, according to Orman, is being able to allow money to come into your hands and out through your heart.

This was a concept I can relate to. Orman challenges women to look at why and what they give and how it makes them feel. She also offers six rules for giving (but, you'll have to grab a copy of the book to find out what these are).

Quality number 5 is happiness. According to Orman when you find the courage to live your life in harmony and balance, you understand and practice generosity, happiness will spontaneously appear.

And perhaps the most important point she shares about happiness is this; "Happiness is not a luxury. It is a necessity for true wealth."

Quality number 6 comes in the form of wisdom. Who doesn't want to be wiser?

According to Orman, wisdom is more than intellectual and not directly related to education. Wisdom is an express result of tapping into your core beliefs to make the right decisions for yourself.

The 7th quality is cleanliness and is all about the importance of order and organization. A laundry list of situations that subtract from your wealth status include;

- Not knowing where your money is
- Not having a systematized filing system for important documents
- Pulling crumpled bills and receipts out of your purse
- Maintaining a vehicle that looks like a garbage can
- Having closets that are filled with junk and clutter.

I am sure most of us can relate to at least one area we need to work on. I have to admit, as organized as I am, I could relate to a couple of those scenarios. Orman's philosophy really makes sense and I've corrected my personal problem areas. My first order of business was donating clothing I had not used or worn in the past year to charity.

The final quality is beauty. Orman ties all the qualities together by noting beauty is what you achieve when all the qualities are combined.

To some it may seem strange that the qualities of wealthy women are included in a book on investing. However, if you personally don't possess the qualities it will not be as easy for you to achieve your wealth potential.

In addition to the foundational building blocks Orman shares solid advice on choosing the right investor, the importance of having one personal savings account in your name only and discusses investment options in layman's terms so anyone can get started right way.

5 out of 5 stars Very Informative, every woman should read this........2007-09-10

I learned a lot from this book, this book has been very inspirational for me, I feel more in control of my financial future.

5 out of 5 stars Women & Money.......2007-09-08

Suze is an easy read. She doesn't talk down, but she doesn't overwhelm. She offers sound, practical advice that only requires an attitude of resolve. Ladies, you can do it with this advice. It's helping me get better focused, and teaching me practical tips that I wouldn't have known, otherwise. Very, very easy read. Entertaining as well as educational.
The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • My opinion is flat
  • Great book to introduce an inside to the 90's and now
  • Friedman's writing and subjects are captivating
  • Globalization 3.0
  • Great Read
The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
Thomas L. Friedman
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374292795
Release Date: 2006-04-18

Amazon.com

Updated Edition: Thomas L. Friedman is not so much a futurist, which he is sometimes called, as a presentist. His aim in The World Is Flat, as in his earlier, influential Lexus and the Olive Tree, is not to give you a speculative preview of the wonders that are sure to come in your lifetime, but rather to get you caught up on the wonders that are already here. The world isn't going to be flat, it is flat, which gives Friedman's breathless narrative much of its urgency, and which also saves it from the Epcot-style polyester sheen that futurists--the optimistic ones at least--are inevitably prey to.

What Friedman means by "flat" is "connected": the lowering of trade and political barriers and the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution that have made it possible to do business, or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. This in itself should not be news to anyone. But the news that Friedman has to deliver is that just when we stopped paying attention to these developments--when the dot-com bust turned interest away from the business and technology pages and when 9/11 and the Iraq War turned all eyes toward the Middle East--is when they actually began to accelerate. Globalization 3.0, as he calls it, is driven not by major corporations or giant trade organizations like the World Bank, but by individuals: desktop freelancers and innovative startups all over the world (but especially in India and China) who can compete--and win--not just for low-wage manufacturing and information labor but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design work as well. (He doesn't forget the "mutant supply chains" like Al-Qaeda that let the small act big in more destructive ways.)

Friedman has embraced this flat world in his own work, continuing to report on his story after his book's release and releasing an unprecedented hardcover update of the book a year later with 100 pages of revised and expanded material. What's changed in a year? Some of the sections that opened eyes in the first edition--on China and India, for example, and the global supply chain--are largely unaltered. Instead, Friedman has more to say about what he now calls "uploading," the direct-from-the-bottom creation of culture, knowledge, and innovation through blogging, podcasts, and open-source software. And in response to the pleas of many of his readers about how to survive the new flat world, he makes specific recommendations about the technical and creative training he thinks will be required to compete in the "New Middle" class. As before, Friedman tells his story with the catchy slogans and globe-hopping anecdotes that readers of his earlier books and his New York Times columns know well, and he holds to a stern sort of optimism. He wants to tell you how exciting this new world is, but he also wants you to know you're going to be trampled if you don't keep up with it. A year later, one can sense his rising impatience that our popular culture, and our political leaders, are not helping us keep pace. --Tom Nissley

Where Were You When the World Went Flat?

Thomas L. Friedman's reporter's curiosity and his ability to recognize the patterns behind the most complex global developments have made him one of the most entertaining and authoritative sources for information about the wider world we live in, both as the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times and as the author of landmark books like From Beirut to Jerusalem and The Lexus and the Olive Tree. They also make him an endlessly fascinating conversation partner, and we've now had the chance to talk to him about The World Is Flat twice. Read our original interview with him following the publication of the first edition of The World Is Flat to learn why there's almost no one from Washington, D.C., listed in the index of a book about the global economy, and what his one-plank platform for president would be. (Hint: his bumper stickers would say, "Can You Hear Me Now?")

And now you can listen to our second interview, in which he talks about the updates he's made in "The World Is Flat 2.0," including his response to parents who said to him, "Great, Mr. Friedman, I'm glad you told us the world is flat. Now what do I tell my kids?"

The Essential Tom Friedman

From Beirut to Jerusalem

The Lexus and the Olive Tree

Longitudes and Attitudes
More on Globalization and Development


China, Inc. by Ted Fishman

Three Billion New Capitalists by Clyde Prestowitz

The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs

Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli

The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto

Book Description

The World Is Flat is Thomas L. Friedman’s account of the great changes taking place in our time, as lightning-swift advances in technology and communications put people all over the globe in touch as never before—creating an explosion of wealth in India and China, and challenging the rest of us to run even faster just to stay in place. This updated and expanded edition features more than a hundred pages of fresh reporting and commentary, drawn from Friedman’s travels around the world and across the American heartland—from anyplace where the flattening of the world is being felt.
In The World Is Flat, Friedman at once shows “how and why globalization has now shifted into warp drive” (Robert Wright, Slate) and brilliantly demystifies the new flat world for readers, allowing them to make sense of the often bewildering scene unfolding before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues, he explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; how governments and societies can, and must, adapt; and why terrorists want to stand in the way. More than ever, The World Is Flat is an essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.

Download Description

The Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist gives a bold, timely, and surprising picture of the state of globalization in the twenty-first century

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars My opinion is flat.......2007-10-03

When a book has had over a thousand reviews, what can I possibly say that hasn't already been said? So I will keep it short and not so sweet.

No one will read this book, or any of the updates, for "fun." Do you NEED to read it? Yes, it contains some important economic concepts and realities, but it's a bit overlong. I'd say it could be cut in half, so skim through some of the numerous "interviews," repetition of central points, and endless advice and encouragement. The global pie is getting bigger and better, but the competition for piecies of that pie is heating up. Smart, ambitious, creative people will thrive; slow, lazy, dull people will languish, and everything inbetween. For too long many Americans have been sitting on their laurels and the day of reckoning is near. Heed this warning: Put down your TV remotes, game controllers, and iPods, and start working like your life (or lifestyle) depended on it. Get your rear into some serious gear, and don't balk at the notion that you should be an "expert" in at least three different, unrelated fields. Does this scare or excite you?

In so many interviews with foreign entrepreneurs, we are told (or reassured) that no matter how much of the "mundane" work is performed by countries other than the U.S., America's creative and innovative spark is still unsurpassed: All the world looks to America to lead the way into the future. I'm not sure. A lot of that "mundane" work was high level and highly paid, and why should we expect that America will continue to dominate in creativity and innovation? The truth is, we're in for a flattening of living standards, and from the perspective of the relatively high American standard of living, it will seem like a drop in standards until we reach another equilibrium (who knows how long that will take?). In any case, the reassurances about the talents and abilities of Americans seem at odds with other parts of the book, such as Bill Gates feeling "terrified at the American work force of tomorrow."

If you're already working hard at becoming an expert in three fields, then you probably don't need to read this book. Indeed, you probably don't have time to read it, or to read and write Amazon reviews, for that matter.

5 out of 5 stars Great book to introduce an inside to the 90's and now.......2007-10-03

This was an excellent book for someone who is ever curious about the expanding global ecomomy as a whole. As a sailor in the U.S. Navy I found the book fasinating because I not only grew up during which most of the book was talking about but I am witnessing the predictions of the book first hand. Great book all around!!

5 out of 5 stars Friedman's writing and subjects are captivating.......2007-09-27

Are you still a little confused about why American corporations are outsourcing to India and manufacturing in China, or why Al Qaeda has suddenly become so powerful? If so, this is the book for you.

Friedman's made 'Globalization' simple enough for a high school student to understand. That being said, this is NOT a high school textbook. It is NOT dry. Friedman is a great journalist and an author who will hold your attention chapter after chapter.

Friedman has a knack for taking complex and often emotionally charged issues and breaking them down into easy to understand concepts. You don't have to be a graduate student to enjoy this book. It's great!

5 out of 5 stars Globalization 3.0.......2007-09-24

I wish I had read this book during a Globalization class I took a year ago.

Friedman is an exceptional writer, very engaging. He really lays out the information well and then brings in together in the latter part of the book.

I thought the middle part of the book could of been edited a bit.

Overall, an excellent introduction to globalization and the affect this will have on the US and industries in general.

5 out of 5 stars Great Read.......2007-09-23

I actually listened to the audio version of this book for an information technology class I teach and found his discussion of the flatteners of the world very interesting and well explained.

The writing style, although technical at times, has a narrative style to it.

One critique I have of the book is that the author may be a little over optimistic about how new technologies and global connections will benefit everyone in the world.

Certainly worth a read (or listen).
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Universal truths presented but people views flawed
  • execution 101
  • Beyond Talk
  • Prime Example of Mediocraty
  • Practical business
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Larry Bossidy , Ram Charan , and Charles Burck
Manufacturer: Crown Business
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

GeneralGeneral | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0609610570

Amazon.com

Disciplines like strategy, leadership development, and innovation are the sexier aspects of being at the helm of a successful business; actually getting things done never seems quite as glamorous. But as Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan demonstrate in Execution, the ultimate difference between a company and its competitor is, in fact, the ability to execute.

Execution is "the missing link between aspirations and results," and as such, making it happen is the business leader's most important job. While failure in today's business environment is often attributed to other causes, Bossidy and Charan argue that the biggest obstacle to success is the absence of execution. They point out that without execution, breakthrough thinking on managing change breaks down, and they emphasize the fact that execution is a discipline to learn, not merely the tactical side of business. Supporting this with stories of the "execution difference" being won (EDS) and lost (Xerox and Lucent), the authors describe the building blocks--leaders with the right behaviors, a culture that rewards execution, and a reliable system for having the right people in the right jobs--that need to be in place to manage the three core business processes of people, strategy, and operations. Both Bossidy, CEO of Honeywell International, Inc., and Charan, advisor to corporate executives and author of such books as What the CEO Wants You to Know and Boards That Work, present experience-tested insight into how the smooth linking of these three processes can differentiate one company from the rest. Developing the discipline of execution isn't made out to be simple, nor is this book a quick, easy read. Bossidy and Charan do, however, offer good advice on a neglected topic, making Execution a smart business leader's guide to enacting success rather than permitting demise. --S. Ketchum

Book Description

The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results . . . whether you’re running an entire company or in your first management job

Larry Bossidy is one of the world’s most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they’ve pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.

After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world’s most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn’t just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.

Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a “vision” and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.

The leader’s most important job—selecting and appraising people—is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there’s a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.

Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He’s been putting the ideas he writes about in Execution to work in real time.

Download Description

The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results... whether you're running an entire company or in your first management job

Larry Bossidy is one of the world's most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they've pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.

After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world's most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn't just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.

Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a "vision" and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.

The leader's most important job -- selecting and appraising people -- is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there's a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.

Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He's been putting the ideas he writes about in Execution to work in real time.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Universal truths presented but people views flawed.......2007-10-05

I thought there were many good take-aways in this book. Was it all original? Of course not. Most management books are saying the same things with a slightly different twist. I've got a bookshelf full of them. However, it seems that humans are so often incapable of remembering the fundamentals and have a tendency to overcomplicate things thus history repeats itself over and over.

The tone of the book regarding people gave me a little pause. Although I do think they were spot on in their assessment of how many companies do succession planning (not at all or incorrectly), it does seem to advocate that everyone needs to be a mini-Jack Welch type persona. I've worked in a company managed by ex-GE guys and believe me, they don't have it all figured out. I think organizations will benefit by having a mix of skills. Some people are better doers and others are better thinkers. Some superstars are good at both. It takes all types.

5 out of 5 stars execution 101.......2007-08-22

I did receive this book in an executive seminar; read it over couples of nights, a simple book with day to day tips to make things happen.

A must read for any one how dreams to become a successful executive and a reality check for those already there.

4 out of 5 stars Beyond Talk.......2007-08-20

So many times in this marketing-focused world, we do very well at the talking but not very good at the walking. Many of us have seen amazing sales presentations . . . only to realize that the promises would never be met.

This book engages us in the discussion about how to do what we promise. It helps us to go beyond the sales presentation and really design a process by which we can follow through, build relationships and live a life that is full of integrity and trustworthiness.

3 out of 5 stars Prime Example of Mediocraty .......2007-08-11

This book did very little for me. Largely, the book is unoriginal and simply restates ideas already presented in tons of business leadership books. This book might as well have been written for the sole purpose of patting prominent CEOs, namely Jack Welch, on the back. You would be better served to bypass this one and just go read something by Welch on leadership.

5 out of 5 stars Practical business.......2007-07-27

I teach MBAs. Its well known in the field that MBAs are very competent in analysis but not so good in implementation. The reason for this is that most professors who teach business have never actually worked in business and are research analysts. They teach analysis because they are excellent in that area. I worked in business 10 years before becoming a professor. I teach my students about implementation and they are interested. This is a book about implementation at the CEO level. I'm thinking of using it as a supplementary executive MBA text.

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