Smart Leaders Smarter Teams by Roger Schwarz - Book review

Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams

How You and Your Team Get Unstuck to Get Results

By: Roger Schwarz

Published: March 18, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
ISBN-10: 0787988731
ISBN-13: 978-0787988739
Publisher: Jossey-Bass











"This book starts with the assumption that you're probably making some contribution to your team's ineffectiveness in ways you don't see", writes team leadership strategist, organizational psychologist, and president and CEO of Roger Schwarz Associates, Roger Schwarz, in his engaging and practical advice filled book Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams: How You and Your Team Get Unstuck to Get Results. The author describes the unexpected reason that teams become stuck and fail to reach their fullest potential, and shares proven hands on strategies and techniques for teams to achieve top performance.

Roger Schwarz understands that leaders often face frustration when their teams fail to achieve their desired results. The author provides evidence that the leader is usually causing the team to become stuck and ineffective. Roger Schwarz makes the startling assertion, that the cause of this problem, is leaders hold the mistaken belief that there is one leader in the room. The author even delves more deeply into this obstacle to team effectiveness by offering the answer as one of the leader's mindset. Roger Schwarz calls this roadblock one where leaders have a unilateral control mindset. In this mode of thinking, a leader mistakenly attributes the entire responsibility for guiding all dimensions of the team to a single individual. Roger Schwarz challenges leaders to overcome this mindset and offers the skills and exercises to develop a truly productive mindset.



Roger Schwarz (photo left) recognizes that leaders often lack awareness of their own mindset that is holding back their team. The author also presents the point that in challenging moments, leaders use a different mindset from the one they believe they are using at that time. The leader may uses the unilateral mindset to ensure their own solution is applied to a problem, or that they can't imagine a viable alternative to the unilateral leader concept.Even if a leader is aware that they are utilizing the unilateral leader mindset, they are convinced that it is the proper approach to leading a team effectively to achieve its goals.

Roger Schwarz proposes that leaders change their mindset by discarding the unilateral leader paradigm and adopting some fresh assumptions. Leaders will also have to align systems, policies, and processes in support of these new assumptions. Leaders must openly share and spread to others on the team. At the same time, leaders must build trust across all relationships within the team. To cover all aspects of the change in leadership and strengthening of teams, Roger Schwarz utilized the following overarching structure in the book:

* How well does your team really work?
* How you and your team got stuck: The unilateral control approach
* Getting unstuck to get results: The mutual learning approach
* Getting the puzzle pieces on the table: Mutual learning behaviors 1-4
* Putting the puzzle together: Mutual learning behaviors 5-8
* Designing for mutual learning
* Dealing with common team challenges
* becoming a smarter leader
* Becoming a smarter team

For me, the power of the book is how Roger Schwarz combines a comprehensive overview of why teams fail to achieve their full potential, with a complete strategic and tactical approach to transforming the leader and the team into an effective group. The author demonstrates why standard leadership thinking, in the form of the unilateral leader mindset, is the cause of the group getting stuck and being unable to move forward.

Roger Schwarz not only presents the alternative perspective of mutual learning behaviors and how to incorporate them into the leader's viewpoint, but how to build teams that work together effectively. The author stresses that leadership resides in the entire team, and with every member of the team. This change in thinking liberates the leader and the team to implement the five core values of transparency, curiosity, accountability, informed choice, and compassion. The result is a more effective team that achieves outstanding performance and reaches and even exceeds the loftiest goals.

I highly recommend the team building and leadership transforming book Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams: How You and Your Team Get Unstuck to Get Results by Roger Schwarz, to any leaders who find themselves and their teams stuck and unable to move forward to achieve their goals. This book guides leaders toward instilling leadership into the entire team and all of its members, and establishing outstanding performance.

Brilliant Blunders From Darwin to Einstein by Mario Livio - Book review

Brilliant Blunders

From Darwin to Einstein - Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe

By: Mario Livio

Published: May 14, 2013
Format: Hardcover: 352 pages
ISBN-10: 1439192367
ISBN-13: 978-1439192368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster












"The purpose of this book is to present in detail some of the surprising blunders of a few genuinely towering scientists, and to follow the unexpected consequences of those blunders, Writes internationally known astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, Mario Livio, in his fascinating and insightful book Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein - Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe. The author describes some of the most famous missteps of some of history's most influential scientists, examines the possible causes of those blunders, and considers the relationships between those intriguing mistakes and the workings of the human mind.

Mario Livio understands that the blunders, on the part of the world's most famous scientists, were part of the process of discovery and innovation despite the unlikely process. The author presents examples of blunders made by Charles Darwin, Lord Kelvin, Linus Pauling, Fred Hoyle, and Albert Einstein. Mario Livio examines the theories proposed by these monumental thinkers, and considers the weaknesses and even failures of their theories. To further evaluate these blunders, the author looks at the psychological and even neuroscience based causes for these colossal mistakes. Mario Livio points out that each of the blunders is different from the others, and resulted from each of the scientists blind spots, personal weaknesses, or personality characteristics.



Mario Livio (photo left) reminds us that the blunders were both inevitable, and formed a critical part of the advancement of science and understanding of the world and the universe. The author recognizes that science is not a linear progression, but is more of a labyrinth with twists, turns, dead ends, and unexpected breakthroughs. Some of those monumental breakthrouhs were the result of blunders made by even the greatest of scientists.

Mario Livio provides the theories and discoveries, for which the renowned scientists are best known, and then adds an analysis of one blunder for each individual. Through this approach, the author is able to provide context for the mistake, as well as demonstrate why the actions taken by the scientist was in keeping with their character and worldview. The author considers the following questions and ideas:

* Mistakes and blunders
* Yea, all which I inherit, shall dissolve
* How old is the Earth?
* Certainty generally is an illusion
* Interpreter of life
* Whose DNA is it anyway?
* B for Big Bang
* The same throughout eternity
* The "biggest blunder"
* Out of empty space

For me, the power of the book is how Mario Livio combines a very accessible and entertaining history of science, with in depth analysis of how and why the world famous scientists made their major blunders. The author not only shares details of the blunders themselves, but places them in their historical context. He also examines the psychological, and even neuroscience related causes that predisposed these larger than life personalities to make the blunders in the first place.

Mario Livio presents the important insight that stupendous blunders are a crucial part of the overall scientific discovery process. The road to new scientific knowledge is not a straight line and a neat and tidy pathway. Instead, the events leading to historic breakthroughs are often accidental, unintentional, and even the result of a major misstep on the part of the scientist. In the book, Mario Livio makes clear that without an acceptance of blunders and serendipity, and an understanding of the very human tendencies and biases of the scientists in question, advancement may not be as likely to take place.

I highly recommend the informative and thought provoking book Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein - Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe by Mario Livio, to any historians of science, active scientists, students and faculty at universities, and to anyone interested in how even the greatest of scientific minds can make huge blunders. This book will open your eyes and your mind to the importance of the process in both the scientific method, and to the furthering of human knowledge of life, the world, and the universe.

Dennis N.T. Perkins & Jillian B. Murphy: Into The Storm: Lessons In Teamwork - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Leadership strategist and CEO of The Syncretics Group, Dennis N.T. Perkins, Ph.D.; and Director of Client Services at The Syncretics Group, Jillian B. Murphy, co-authors of the fascinating and teamwork lesson filled book Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race, describe how the skipper and crew of the 1998 race winning AFR Midnight Rambler provide a powerful case study in leadership in times of crisis. Dennis Perkins and Jillian Murphy present the circumstances of the tragic race and why the winning crew was able to succeed where others either failed or met with tragedy. The authors share the leadership and team building principles that worked so well for the skipper and his crew. They also show how those same concepts can be applied readily to any business and teamwork setting, and provide guidance even in the most daunting of crisis situations. Learn how to build and maintain strong and cohesive teams, able to face any odds, and succeed even beyond expectations.

Dennis N.T. Perkins and Jillian B. Murphy are my internet radio show guests on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, May 30, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Leadership strategist and CEO of The Syncretics Group, Dennis N.T. Perkins, Ph.D.; and Director of Client Services at The Syncretics Group, Jillian B. Murphy, co-authors of the fascinating and teamwork lesson filled book Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race, describe how the skipper and crew of the 1998 race winning AFR Midnight Rambler provide a powerful case study in leadership in times of crisis. You will learn:

* Why the skipper and crew of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race offer teamwork lessons

* How those lessons apply to business leaders facing a crisis

* How to build effective and cohesive teams that succeed in all situations

* How leaders can build teams that achieve greatness



Dennis N.T. Perkins (photo left) is Leadership strategist and CEO of The Syncretics Group.

He has advised senior leaders in organizations ranging from Fortune 50 corporations to nonprofit associations for over two decades.

His current focus is on developing leadership in organizations, especially under conditions of rapid change, economic adversity, sudden growth, and other demanding environments.

He has written extensively on leadership and organizational effectiveness and is a featured keynote speaker to groups and organizations throughout the year.



Jillian B. Murphy (photo left) is Director of Client Services at The Syncretics Group.

She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and completed her Masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at the University of New Haven. Jillian has studied, worked and volunteered extensively in Cape Town, South Africa and coordinated the Honors Study Abroad Program for the University of Connecticut.

She also has significant research experience and has worked with the Networking AIDS Community of South Africa, the African National Congress Women's League and the Department of Epidemiology and Health at Yale University.

My book review of Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race by Dennis N.T. Perkins and Jillian B. Murphy.

My book review of Leading at The Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition, Second Edition by Dennis N.T. Perkins, Ph.D.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with leadership strategist and CEO of The Syncretics Group, Dennis N.T. Perkins, Ph.D.; and Director of Client Services at The Syncretics Group, Jillian B. Murphy, co-authors of the fascinating and teamwork lesson filled book Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race, as they describe how the skipper and crew of the 1998 race winning AFR Midnight Rambler provide a powerful case study in leadership in times of crisis. Dennis Perkins and Jillian Murphy present the circumstances of the tragic race and why the winning crew was able to succeed where others either failed or met with tragedy. The authors share the leadership and team building principles that worked so well for the skipper and his crew. They also show how those same concepts can be applied readily to any business and teamwork setting, and provide guidance even in the most daunting of crisis situations. Learn how to build and maintain strong and cohesive teams, able to face any odds, and succeed even beyond expectations on Blog Business Success Radio.

Resisting Corporate Corruption by Stephen V. Arbogast - Book review

Resisting Corporate Corruption

Cases in Practical Ethics From Enron Through The Financial Crisis

By: Stephen V. Arbogast

Published: March 4, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 552 pages
ISBN-10: 1118208552
ISBN-13: 978-1118208557
Publisher: Wiley-Scrivener











"Stunned and outraged at the scandalous behavior visible during the financial crisis, I wondered how this could have happened a scant six years after Enron's collapse. Nothing seemed to have changed. Was this in fact true? If so, was this because the important Enronlesson lessons had gone unheeded? The 2nd edition attempts to find this out", writes Executive Professor of Finance at the C.T. Bauer College of Business, Stephen V. Arbogast in the revised and expanded second edition of his outstanding case study based book Resisting Corporate Corruption: Cases in Practical Ethics From Enron Through The Financial Crisis. The author utilizes twenty-seven business case studies and eleven essays to provide a comprehensive range of study in business practices, controls and oversight, and ethics issues.

Stephen V. Arbogast recognizes that the events of the 2007-08 financial crisis were caused by the same ethical failures that plagued Enron. The author points out that upper management was not preventing or stopping unethical practices within their organizations. Laws and regulations were not deterring the unethical behavior in any way either, writes the author.

The question of whether the lessons from the failure of Enron were being ignored, or if the fundamental nature of the financial industry led to these ethical failures is what Stephen V. Arbogast seeks to address and answer. The author provides a methodology and toolkit for students, heads or corporations, business leaders, and members of the legal community to incorporate ethics training into their courses and organizations.



Stephen V. Arbogast (photo left) understands the critical importance of ethical behavior to organizations and to the leaders and employees within that company as well. For the lessons of Enron, and of the financial meltdown to not be repeated, the author presents the cases in the book as an instructional toolkit to resist the temptation to act in an unethical manner. He also examines the course of action taken by both those who acted without ethics, and of those who sought to bring the issues to light through acting as a whistleblower.

Stephen Arbogast offers the cases in two overarching sections with the goal of considering the actions and behaviors of top corporate leaders, managers, and employees. The first section looks closely at the failure of Enron, and its ethics based causes. The second major section examines cases involving the financial crisis of 2007-08 and the companies involved in that series of events. The two major sections are as follows:

Section I: The Enron Cases

* Demolishing financial control, neutering the gatekeepers
* Business model failures, accounting manipulations
* Resisting corruption at Enron

Section II: The Financial Crisis Cases

* New business models undermine standards and controls
* Consequences for gatekeepers and firms
* Financial firms and resisters

For me, the power of the book is how Stephen V. Arbogast a complete framework for the study of ethical behavior in organizations, with case studies of events surrounding the collapse of Enron and the actions of leaders and staff members during the financial crisis. The author creates and builds upon a methodology for researching the critical elements of each ethical breakdown, and establishing a solution that would lead the organization on a more ethical road. With the methodology in place, the next step is the application of the toolkit to real world cases involving ethics based decisions.

Stephen V. Arbogast demonstrates how to incorporate ht methodology into their own and the company's actual decision making and behavior. The addition of the financial sector cases in this second edition enable students and business leaders to examine choices, actions, and events earlier in the process, and later when the outcomes of those behaviors made their impact. In each case, students can decide whether viable solutions and alternatives were available. At the same time, the author makes clear that ethics are still, if not more than ever, relevant in corporate management and governance. The author also asks and considers the question of whether the financial industry model establishes the conditions that lead to unethical behavior.

I highly recommend the essential and landmark book Resisting Corporate Corruption: Cases in Practical Ethics From Enron Through The Financial Crisis by Stephen V. Arbogast, to any students and faculty in graduate or undergraduate business course, law schools, top corporate executives, business leaders at all levels and sizes of companies, public sector decision makers, and students and faculty at any other organizations or schools offering business ethics instruction seeking a comprehensive and decision making based book through the medium of case studies. This book provides the background and the skill set to guide students and business leaders toward more ethical decision making in any industry.

Jeremy Kingsley: Inspired People Produce Results - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Renowned speaker, founder and President of OneLife Leadership and author of the perceptive and engaging book Inspired People Produce Results: How Great Leaders Use Passion, Purpose and Principles to Unlock Incredible Growth, Jeremy Kingsley, describes how the critical element for outstanding leadership is the ability to inspire others to greatness. Jeremy Kingsley presents the concept that leaders are much more than managers, and that any manager can become an inspirational leader whose followers achieve superior results. Despite managers believing that training, technology, processes, and financial statements are critical, Jeremy Kingsley demonstrates that inspiration of people is real missing ingredient to success. Jeremy shares the essential skills that leaders must develop within themselves, and the techniques to utilize those skills to inspire members of the team or organization. Jeremy Kingsley shows what people really want and expect from the leaders they follow, and offers the skills necessary to add them to the leader's toolbox. Learn why it's crucial to become a leader who inspires, and how to become a leading inspirational leader yourself.

Jeremy Kingsley is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, May 28, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Renowned speaker, founder and President of OneLife Leadership and author of the perceptive and engaging book Inspired People Produce Results: How Great Leaders Use Passion, Purpose and Principles to Unlock Incredible Growth, Jeremy Kingsley, describes how the critical element for outstanding leadership is the ability to inspire others to greatness. You will learn:

* Why inspiration is the critical element missing from many leadership skillsets

* Why leaders who inspire their teams and organizations achieve superior performance

* How to add the essential skills that inspire others to your own leadership toolbox

* How to transform ordinary performance to the extraordinary through inspiration



Jeremy Kingsley (photo left) is one of the most sought after speakers in the country. Since 1995 he has spoken to over 500,000 people at live events around the world. He has given over 2000 keynote speeches and his messages have reached millions through radio, television, and the internet. He is a master storyteller and connects with audiences through the perfect blend of humor, inspiration, and relevant principles to help each individual. He believes that inspired people produce results and that people can change, grow, and fulfill their personal and professional dreams.

Jeremy is the author of four books, Inspired People Produce Results: How Great Leaders Use Passion, Purpose and Principles to Unlock Incredible Growth (2013), Getting Back Up When Life Knocks You Down (2011), Be Last – Descending to Greatness (2008), One Step Closer – to a life worth living (2004).

World-renowned leadership expert Ken Blanchard said, "Jeremy drives home one of my deepest principles of life and leadership: It's not about you. His message speaks directly to the reader as if it were a personal conversation. Read this book.”

His early years were spent in the frigid winters of Wisconsin and his teen years in the politically charged environment of Washington, DC. In both places Jeremy learned a lot about character, integrity, and passion. After playing three years on the varsity basketball team in high school, he scored over 1000 points and was named Conference Most Valuable Player his senior year.

Jeremy has the heart of an athlete and understands the importance of commitment, determination, and purpose. He then went on to college and graduate-school, Jeremy holds bachelors and masters degrees from Columbia International University.

Jeremy and his wife Dawn, live in Columbia, South Carolina with their sons, Jaden and Dylan.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with renowned speaker, founder and President of OneLife Leadership and author of the perceptive and engaging book Inspired People Produce Results: How Great Leaders Use Passion, Purpose and Principles to Unlock Incredible Growth, Jeremy Kingsley, describes how the critical element for outstanding leadership is the ability to inspire others to greatness. Jeremy Kingsley presents the concept that leaders are much more than managers, and that any manager can become an inspirational leader whose followers achieve superior results. Despite managers believing that training, technology, processes, and financial statements are critical, Jeremy Kingsley demonstrates that inspiration of people is real missing ingredient to success. Jeremy shares the essential skills that leaders must develop within themselves, and the techniques to utilize those skills to inspire members of the team or organization. Jeremy Kingsley shows what people really want and expect from the leaders they follow, and offers the skills necessary to add them to the leader's toolbox. Learn why it's crucial to become a leader who inspires, and how to become a leading inspirational leader yourself on Blog Business Success Radio.

Simple Sexy Food by Linda De Villers - Book review

Simple Sexy Food

101 Tasty Aphrodisiac Recipes and Sensual Tips to Stir Your Libido and Feed Your Love

By: Linda De Villers, Ph.D.

Published: July 9, 2012
Format: Perfect Paperback, 248 pages
ISBN-10: 097095655X
ISBN-13: 978-0970956552
Publisher: Aphrodite Media







"If food and sex are valued parts of your life, or if you’d like to make them more so, what you might need is a bit of inspiration, along with good information. This cookbook is designed to help stimulate and satisfy your creative appetites and get your home fires burning", writes Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Diplomate and Clinical Supervisor in Sex Therapy with the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists, Linda De Villers, Ph.D., in her delightful and engaging book Simple Sexy Food: 101 Tasty Aphrodisiac Recipes and Sensual Tips to Stir Your Libido and Feed Your Love. The author shares equal helpings of romantic advice and the delectable dishes to set the mood, and offers the easy and enjoyable recipes for sexy meals and love charmed evenings.

Linda De Villers understands the intimate relationship between food and love, and provides the background to this wonderful pairing. The author demonstrates how love making goes beyond the boudoir and extends to all aspects of the couple's lives together. In this case, sharing the joys of cooking and enjoying the tasty appetizers, entrees and desserts, leads naturally to further explorations of love in the bedroom. Linda De Villers presents recipes that are almost effortless to prepare, but which pamper the lovers as they savor the creations. The author reveals how the simplest of ingredients and effortless preparation work together to allow even the busiest of couples time to revel in both the culinary and the intimate arts.



Linda De Villers, Ph.D. (photo left) recognizes that different times of day require different attention to the menu and the needs of the couple. The author shares recipes that work for breakfast, for a pleasurable lunch, and an intimate dinner. Linda De Villers presents reasons and solutions for the different moods and necessities of each dining experience. For the author, the experience includes not only the food and its preparation, but also the setting the environment and election of attire for the occasion.

Linda De Villers provides a multi-faceted approach to the deep and personal relationship between food and love, and shares tips and advice for every aspect of the occasion. The author presents the idea of expressing love and personal attachment through food selection, shared preparation, the enjoyment of dining together, and for establishing a mood that leads to enriching the relationship. The author touches the following areas of food and shared intimacy:

* Introduction to simple and sexy food
* Aphrodisiac food history lore and facts
* Tease me anytime: Appetizers, soups, salads, quickies
* Daytime is the right time: Breakfast, lunch, brunch, afternoon delight
* Love feasts, or dine-in, or dine-on: sit down dinners, pampering your lover, complete meals
* Late night rendezvous: Desserts, drinks, and more
* Accoutrements: Kitchen, boudoir
* Resources: Kitchen, boudoir

For me, the power of the book is how Linda De Villers skillfully intertwines the joys of sharing the preparation and eating of an romantic meal, with the enhancement of an intimate relationship between lovers. The author creates a complete guide to sharing all things romantic, and offers the additional insight that all things couples share together are part of making love together. As a recipe book, Linda De Villers presents the complete guide to easy and fun to prepare dishes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every meal for in between. Love can be expressed and shared in the arrangement and preparation of a breakfast in bed, a quick and snappy lunch, or a long, slow and smouldering dinner.

The author offers the additional dimension of fun and laughter, both of which are all too often forgotten, by today's time challenged couples. By slowing down, and sharing an appetizer and a glass of wine, as the ingredients are transformed into tasty and love building meals, the couple creates even more intimacy through the additional connection. The kitchen can heat up a meal, and build a roaring fire from a romantic flame. This book puts the elements of food and love together in a sure fire recipe for cooking in the boudoir as well as the kitchen.

I highly recommend the enjoyable and intimate relationship enhancing book Simple Sexy Food: 101 Tasty Aphrodisiac Recipes and Sensual Tips to Stir Your Libido and Feed Your Love by Linda De Villers, Ph.D., to any couples seeking a playful and idea filled guide to stirring up some enjoyable recipes together, enjoying the delights of a shared dining experience, and for adding more spice to their love life. This book will have couples cooking together in mre ways than one.

Inspired People Produce Results by Jeremy Kingsley - Book review

Inspired People Produce Results

How Great Leaders Use Passion, Purpose and Principles to Unlock Incredible Growth

By: Jeremy Kingsley

Published: February 12, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 192 pages
ISBN-10: 0071809112
ISBN-13: 978-0071809115
Publisher: McGraw-Hill








'To be an effective leader, however, I noticed that there is one step that stands out from the rest. If you don't get this one down, my guess is you'll see only limited results from the others. I think it's the key that unlocks everything. It's called inspiration", writes keynote speaker and President and founder of OneLife Leadership, Jeremy Kingsley, in his perceptive and engaging book Inspired People Produce Results: How Great Leaders Use Passion, Purpose and Principles to Unlock Incredible Growth. The author describes how leaders must inspire their teams and followers to achieve the highest levels of performance, and shares the practical skills and techniques to become a leader who inspires others to greatness.

Jeremy Kingsley understands that people who lack meaning or engagement with their work are less likely to be achieving superior results than those who are inspired and are passionate about reaching the highest goals and great achievements. As a result, the author focuses on how leaders can be that inspirational force that engages and propels their people to achieve excellence and high performance.

Jeremy Kingsley shares the concepts of passion, purpose, and principles as the three keys to unlocking the door that opens up the inspiration within every leader. The author points out that a leader must transcend simply being a manager. The insight that makes that leap from manager to leader is the understanding of inspiration, how to put it into practice, and instill into others to create and reach high levels of greatness.



Jeremy Kingsley (photo left) recognizes that in today's challenging and rapidly changing business and economic climate, inspirational leadership is even more critical to the success of an organization. The leader who inspires people, whether individually, as teams, or across the entire organization, will unleash the latent potential within those people. To inspire others to achieve extraordinary results is the crucial difference between being a manager and practicing true leadership.

Jeremy Kingsley presents a comprehensive series of insights and practices for becoming a true inspirational leader. The foundation blocks that build an inspirational leader are outlined by the author as follows:

* What do leaders do: Inspire
* What inspires people: Passion
* What inspires people: Purpose
* What inspires people: Loyalty
* What inspires people: Caring in the physical environment \
* What inspires people: Caring in the social environment
* What inspires people: Understanding
* What inspires people: Patience
* What inspires people: Communication
* What inspires people: Integrity

For me, the power of the book is how Jeremy Kingsley underlines the critical importance of leadership to inspire people to achieve extraordinary results, with the hands on skills and practices to become a leader who inspires others. The author blends the concepts about what inspires people with self improvement exercises that develop leadership potential. Jeremy Kingsley emphasizes that while training for staff, concern about financial statements, establishing effective organizational processes, and incorporating technology into the compay are important, they are ineffective if the employees are not inspired or engaged in work they find meaningful.

The author creates an overarching idea of inspiration, and then shares the importance of each of its fundamental building blocks. Jeremy Kingsley further illustrates the concept of inspirational leadership through real world examples of the ideas in action in various settings. The author also adds end notes for each chapter to help leaders pursue additional study of the principles of inspiration as the core element of successful leadership.

I highly recommend the transformational and leadership building book Inspired People Produce Results: How Great Leaders Use Passion, Purpose and Principles to Unlock Incredible Growth by Jeremy Kingsley, to any leaders, managers, executives, and entrepreneurs seeking a clear and concise guide to achieving superior results through the power of inspirational leadership. This book will change your thinking from that of a manager, to that of a leader who inspires others to greatness.

Tipping Sacred Cows by Jake Breeden

Tipping Sacred Cows

Kick the Bad Work Habits that Masquerade as Virtues

By: Jake Breeden

Published: March 4, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
ISBN-10: 1118345916
ISBN-13: 978-1118345917
Publisher: Jossey-Bass










"When leaders embrace beliefs without understanding and managing the potential side effects, the beliefs become sacred cows and get in the way. When leaders shut off their brains and blindly follow the bromides of conventional wisdom they set off a string of unintended consequences", writes educator, coach, and member of the Global Faculty for Duke Corporate Education, Jake Breeden in his iconoclastic and thought provoking book Tipping Sacred Cows: Kick the Bad Work Habits that Masquerade as Virtues. The author describes how leaders with the best of intentions, and with the conviction of their most cherished beliefs, take what they believe is the best course of action, and have things go terribly wrong.

Jake Breeden recognizes that business virtues are not always a bad thing, but when they are used out of habit or by default, that is when the problems arise for leaders. The author considers the bad decisions that result from a leader's good intentions to be both insidious and frustrating for everyone. Often, the virtues are part of the leader's development plan and expectations from the organization itself.

While the virtues may be good things in and of themselves, they may fail tragically if used by rote. The author points out that the reverence given to the sacred cows in organizations is both widespread and never examined for validity. The author provides evidence that what he calls the seven business virtues demand reconsideration as to their applications in the workplace.



Jake Breeden (photo left) understands that that business virtues have a place within the organiztion and its culture. He presents evidence that the virtues are often misunderstood as to what they really mean in practice. The outcome of the standard implementation of these sacred virtues, in an inappropriate manner can be some very damaging repercussions. To counter the almost robotic use of the seven virtues by leaders, the author exposes their hidden pitfalls, and plots a course that successfully traverses the distance between good intentions and superior results.

Jake Breeden presents the seven business virtues as having both a good side, and a dark side as their mirror image that unleashed unintended consequences. As a result, the author ensures that leaders know what the potential traps of the seven business virtues entail, and how to recognize when their automatic use can have serious unintended consequences. The seven business virtues are as follows:

* Balance: Avoiding weak compromises and bad tradeoffs
* Collaboration: Knowing when working together creates effectiveness
* Creativity: Avoiding having the leader's idea take precedence over others
* Excellence: Not letting perfection be the enemy of good enough
* Fairness: Knowing the difference between a fair chance and a fair result
: Passion: Seeking harmony not obsessive behavior
* Preparation: Knowing when preparation should end and when action should begin

For me, the power of the book is how Jake Breeden combines a comprehensive overview of real problems that can result from automatic application of the seven business virtues, with strategies to ensure that the virtues are implemented properly at the right time. The author offers compelling insights into why the seven virtues become default actions for leaders, and how to avoid the dark side hidden within each one. Jake Breeden guides leaders toward self awareness as to when and why they fall back on the sacred cows rather than examining their other available options more carefully.

With the virtues recognized as having both value and risk, leaders can decide whether their use is appropriate for the circumstances, or whether some other decision should be taken instead. Jake Breeden demonstrates how the automatic use of the virtues by leaders can be examined, challenged, and understood more accurately as to their role within the organization. The author offers practical advice and techniques for transforming the virtues into workable concepts that avoid their becoming vices that cause additional and unexpected consequences.

I highly recommend the research based and real world tested book Tipping Sacred Cows: Kick the Bad Work Habits that Masquerade as Virtues by Jake Breeden, to any leaders, executives, managers, and entrepreneurs seeking a clear and concise guide to effective leadership decision making, through avoiding the traps posed by falling into the well meaning habi,t of applying the seven business virtues to every situation. This book offers the alternative of examining, questioning, and transforming the virtues into real and workable forms that benefit leaders, employees, and their organizations.

Debra Kaye: Red Thread Thinking - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Global innovation and brand strategist, partner in Lucule Consulting, and author of the revolutionary and breakthrough oriented book Red Thread Thinking: Weaving Together Connections for Brilliant Ideas and Profitable Innovation, Debra Kaye describes how to utilize connections between ideas to stimulate individual innovation. Debra Kaye presents the five part principles of Red Thread Thinking to transform any innovation process into an effective one. Moving beyond traditional concepts of creativity, innovation and company culture change, Debra Kaye offers an individual approach that transcends the usual techniques. Debra Kaye emphasizes a market based mode of thinking in the innovation process to ensure profitability. Debra also points out that anyone can learn and develop their own innovation skills, and that the Red Thread Thinking skills can be applied by anyone to any innovation process.

Debra Kaye is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, May 23, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Global innovation and brand strategist, partner in Lucule Consulting, and author of the revolutionary and breakthrough oriented book Red Thread Thinking: Weaving Together Connections for Brilliant Ideas and Profitable Innovation, Debra Kaye describes how to utilize connections between ideas to stimulate individual innovation. You will learn:

* Why so many corporate innovation efforts fail to achieve results

* Why effective innovation begins with an individual approach

* How to use the five Red Thread Thinking principles in innovation

* Why innovations must be seen as valuable by others in the marketplace



Debra Kaye (photo left) is an international innovation expert specializing in culture and brand strategy for consumer businesses. She encourages her clients to become change-makers, and has helped set agendas for companies such as L’Oreal, Mars Petcare, Colgate, McDonald’s, American Express, Dove Chocolate, Kimberly-Clark, Johnson & Johnson, Reckitt Benckiser, Sony, and many more.

BDDP/Mancebo•Kaye, the marketing company she founded in Spain, became #1 in the country for strategic thinking and #3 for creativity in under three years, according to Ballester research. It’s the kind of success that comes from inspiring people to be great thinkers and creating a culture of solving critical business issues. Debra was also a frequently featured marketing and communications writer for top Spanish business publications, appeared prominently in five books about marketing, and named Female Entrepreneur of the Year by Spain’s Tribuna Económica.

As CEO of TBWA\Italy, she was named the country’s top marketer, and oversaw the business for clients such as Wind (mobile phones), Apple, Group Pernod Ricard, Bieirsdorf, and Nissan. In the U.S., she introduced her own skin care line, which was distributed nationwide in Nordstrom, Sephora, and in Saks Fifth Avenue New York. Three-months into distribution, Iconoculture named it the best-positioned cosmeceutical on the market.

Today, Debra is partner at innovation consultancy Lucule Consulting. A frequent commentator on American Public Radio’s “Marketplace” and contributor to Fast Company, she is a sought-after speaker and has been featured at such venues as South by Southwest, among other engagements. She is a board member of Count Me In, an organization dedicated to helping women-owned businesses grow and prosper.

My book review of Red Thread Thinking: Weaving Together Connections for Brilliant Ideas and Profitable Innovation by Debra Kaye.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with global innovation and brand strategist, partner in Lucule Consulting, and author of the revolutionary and breakthrough oriented book Red Thread Thinking: Weaving Together Connections for Brilliant Ideas and Profitable Innovation, Debra Kaye, as she describes how to utilize connections between ideas to stimulate individual innovation. Debra Kaye presents the five part principles of Red Thread Thinking to transform any innovation process into an effective one. Moving beyond traditional concepts of creativity, innovation and company culture change, Debra Kaye offers an individual approach that transcends the usual techniques. Debra Kaye emphasizes a market based mode of thinking in the innovation process to ensure profitability. Debra also points out that anyone can learn and develop their own innovation skills, and that the Red Thread Thinking skills can be applied by anyone to any innovation process on Blog Business Success Radio.

Red Thread Thinking by Debra Kaye - Book review

Red Thread Thinking

Weaving Together Connections for Brilliant Ideas and Profitable Innovation

By: Debra Kaye

Published: February 5, 2013
Forat: Hardcover, 288 pages
ISBN-10: 0071808213
ISBN-13: 978-0071808217
Publisher: McGraw-Hill










"Being innovative is not reserved for a few special people. Red Thread Thinking proves that we all have the power to design and develop thoughts into things", writes global innovation and brands strategist, and partner at Lucule Consulting, Debra Kaye in her revolutionary and breakthrough oriented book Red Thread Thinking: Weaving Together Connections for Brilliant Ideas and Profitable Innovation. The author describes how innovation is an individual event and must be addressed on personal scale, and shares the practical skills and techniques to guide the innovator to success.

Debra Kaye understands that creativity and imagination are essential components of the innovative process. The author cautions that people must make a clear distinction between the ideas of creativity and of innovation. To be considered an innovation, someone else must see the value in it for the market, and to have staying power the innovation must have attractive charisma. While individuals may be innovators within organizations, Debra Kaye points out that the very nature of corporate behavior works against innovation. The good news, according to the author, is that anyone can learn the techniques and skills that spur creativity resulting in breakthrough innovations that are sought after in the marketplace.



Debra Kaye (photo left) recognizes the critical importance of innovation to an health and future of a company. In today's rapidly changing economy and marketplace, innovation is more crucial than ever for the very survival of the business. As a result, Debra Kaye offers the insight that not only must individuals become more innovative, but they must make innovation an integral part of their lives and thought process.

Debra Kaye provides the five principles of what she calls Red Thread thinking, based on the interconnectedness of ideas. The five ways are as follows:

* Innovation: It's all in your head
* Everything old is new
* People: The strangest animals in the zoo
* What you see is what you get
* The force of passion

For me, the power of the book is how Debra Kay combines the connective power of the Red Thred Thinking process, with the techniques and tactics to use those threads to innovate effectively. The author takes and individual approach to innovation, while carefully pointing out that any individual can be an innovator, to avoid that old rare genius innovator trap. The author demonstrates how and why an individual is the starting point for innovation, and why organizational culture change methods so often fail to materialize.

Debra Kaye goes beyond the standard approaches to creative thinking and innovation, and presents evidence that while the two concepts are related, they are not the same thing. The author also shares the important lesson that an innovation must be seen as having value in the marketplace, and have some outstanding quality to give it staying power within that market. Debra Kaye also augments the ideas of interconnected ideas with case studies of the principles of Red Thread Thinking in action in the real world.

I highly recommend the results oriented and insightful book Red Thread Thinking: Weaving Together Connections for Brilliant Ideas and Profitable Innovation by Debra Kaye, to any business leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, and would be innovators seeking an effective, individual based approach to innovation. This book will transform anyone who learns the insights and practices of Red Thread Thinking into powerful and profitable innovators.

Blog Bloke: Google Plus Changes And What They Mean - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Long time online privacy advocate, search engine analyst, and blogger Blog Bloke describes the recent changes made to the Google Plus social media platform and what they mean. Blog Bloke provides analysis of the changes, how they relate to other social media platforms, and the reasons for the changes. Blog Bloke offers advice for returning the better features of the previous Google Plus layout and how to utilize the better aspects of the new format. Blog Bloke also discusses the effect of Google Plus on search engine rankings, and also the impact of the changes for mobile users. Blog Bloke also offers his thoughts on the recent updated statements from Google about how they are addressing the constant challenge of spam.

BlogBloke is my internet radio show guests on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, May 21, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Long tome online privacy advocate, search engine analyst, and blogger Blog Bloke describes the recent changes made to the Google Plus social media platform and what they mean. You will learn:

* What changes have been made to the Google+ social media platform

* * What these changes mean to users of Google+ and other social media sites

* Why Google made the changes in the first place

* How Google continues to work on the constant challenge posed by spammers




Blog Bloke (avatar left) has worked in journalism and as a programmer in the computer industry before most had heard of Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. A crusader at heart, he switched to law and soon made a name for himself as a successful litigation expert and mediator, helping folks who under normal circumstances can't afford justice.

A geek in every sense of the term, he carried his passion for helping others and computers into blogging that he helped pioneer. In those days there was no such thing as Wordpress or RSS newsfeeds for blogs. Having created the "Blog Tips" niche, his blog is an outstanding resource for helpful blogging tips and how-to tutorials. He has a reputation for being a straight shooter, his sharp wit and an outspoken champion for online ethics. He is bullishly pro blogging, social media, an outspoken advocate for online rights, security and technology issues.

Tech Editor and Author, BLOGBloke has been quoted in the Washington Post, New York Times and CBS News. Here are just a few of the comments that his readers have made:

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.





To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with long tome online privacy advocate, search engine analyst, and blogger Blog Bloke describes the recent changes made to the Google Plus social media platform and what they mean. Blog Bloke provides analysis of the changes, how they relate to other social media platforms, and the reasons for the changes. Blog Bloke offers advice for returning the better features of the previous Google Plus layout and how to utilize the better aspects of the new format. Blog Bloke also discusses the effect of Google Plus on search engine rankings, and also the impact of the changes for mobile users. Blog Bloke also offers his thoughts on the recent updated statements from Google about how they are addressing the constant challenge of spam on Blog Business Success Radio.

Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Business by Karen Leland - Book review

Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Business

By: Karen Leland

Published: May 1, 2013
Format: Paperback, 300 pages
ISBN-10: 1599185083
ISBN-13: 978-1599185088
Publisher: Entrepreneur Press











"Pinterest has tapped into this visceral love of visuals, and no small business, entrepreneur, or corporation can afford to miss the boat on bringing what they do beyond words and into images", writes branding and marketing strategist, and President of Sterling Marketing Group, Karen Leland in her comprehensive and very hands on book Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Business. The author describes how how businesses can utilize the engagement power of Pinterest to build their marketing results to their fullest potential.

Karen Leland recognizes that women comprise the vast majority of active Pinterest users, and that fully 20 percent of all women online are users of the Pinterest social media platform. Given the tremendous buying power and purchasing influence exercised by women, the author presents a clear case for companies of all sizes to be active participants in the Pinterest community. Karen Leland guides business people through the entire process of using Pinterest effectively. The author starts at the very beginning with advice for starting off on the right foot, creating boards that are appropriate for the business, getting more visitors to the page, building community, and for engaging those visitors and community members in their transformation to customers.



Karen Leland (photo left) understands the importance of establishing a marketing strategy prior to beginning a Pinterest campaign. With firm goals in mind, the business person is able to attract the ideal customer to their community, and developing a high level of sharing and engagement with the visitors. Karen Leland provides a guide to creating a fully integrated social media strategy through the addition of a Pinterest element to the other platforms. The author also offers concrete suggestions for enhancing the visual effects of the page, and also for planning on the best metrics for quantifying success.

Karen Leland presents a complete guide to building a strong Pinterest page that is inviting and effective in building relationships and converting visitor traffic to customers. The book includes the following topics:

* On your mark, get set,, join
* Create a Pinterest profile that rocks
* Strategize first, pin second
* Build boards that are on brand
* Become a content creator and curator: Pinning and Repinning
* Pin etiquette and optimization
* Beyond photos to video, podcasts, and screencasting
* Make your website Pinterest friendly
* Follow and be followed
* Engage with the Pinterest community: Liking, hashtags, commenting and tagging
* Me, you, and we: Collaborative pinning and your Pinterest strategy
* Pinterest on the go: Mobile
* Build your blog with Pinterest
* Your profession on Pinterest: An A-Z guide
* Pin your way to new work: Job hunting and client acquisition
* Track your Pinterest performance
* Your parting party gifts, and what's next

For me, the power of the book is how Karen Leland combines an overall Pinterest strategy focus with the practical techniques and practices to make those strategic goals a reality. The author takes a holistic approach to Pinterest that includes the complete integration with other social media platforms, and with the business blog and website as well. This overall approach ensures that the brand has full visibility across all of the company's community. Karen Leland goes beyond other books on Pinterest by including key sections on blogs, advice for job seekers, assistance for profession in the use of the platform, and for developing the right metrics to ensure that success is measured correctly.

The book is designed in a large format to double as a workbook to serve as a resource and reference through the entire Pinterest brand marketing strategy. The author also enhances the concepts presented in the book with photos, screen captures and graphics that demonstrate the ideas in action. Karen Leland further augments the material with case studies of the concepts at work in real world situations.

I highly recommend the indispensable and results oriented book Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Business by Karen Leland, to any entrepreneurs, marketing and brand executives, and other business leaders who are serious about utilizing the proven effectiveness of Pinterest as a vital component of an overall social media strategy. This book will transform any current or potential Pinterest page from the ordinary to the source of relationships and an engaged community; and convert them to valued and enthusiastic customers.

Focus by Heidi Grant Halvorson & E. Tory Higgins - Book review

Focus

Use Different Ways of Seeing the World for Success and Influence

By: Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D., E. Tory Higgins, Ph.D.

Published: April 18, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
ISBN-10: 1594631026
ISBN-13: 978-1594631023
Publisher: Hudson Street Press













"This book is a practical guide to understanding and working with your promotion or prevention focus", write social psychologist, speaker, and associate director for the Motivation Science Center at the Columbia University Business School, Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D.; and Stanley Schachter Professor of Psychology at Columbia University and professor of management at the Columbia Business School, E. Tory Higgins, Ph.D., in their fascinating and perceptive book Focus: Use Different Ways of Seeing the World for Success and Influence. The authors describe how there are two basic groups of people, namely those who see the world in terms of promotion and those who see the world in terms of prevention, and how to work with and influence those with either type of behavior.



Heidi Grant Halvorson (photo left) and E. Tory Higgins recognize that there are two types of pain and of pleasure that motivate the actions of different people. The authors provide insights into who they consider two very different people with entirely different motivations. One group is what the authors call promotion focused and motivated by rewards. The other group is what the authors name prevention focused and motivated by minimizing losses.

The authors demonstrate how managers and marketers can identify the appropriate focus, change focus, and utilize focus in the correct manner to achieve successful results. The authors offer strategies and techniques for uncovering the two types of focus, and for applying this knowledge appropriately in any marketing campaign.



E. Tory Higgins (photo left) and Heidi Grant Halvorson understand that failure to realize that people may have a different focus can result in communication problems. Those who are promotion focused will have to adjust their management or marketing style to accommodate those whose focus is on prevention. The same challenge must be met and overcome by prevention conscious managers and marketers when they communicate with people who have a promotion orientation.

The authors examine the nature of promotion and prevention focus in both the workplace, and in an individual's personal life. The way the two types of people approach problems and decision making are covered in the following areas:

* Focused on the win, or avoiding the loss
* Why optimism doesn't work for defensive pessimists
* Focus on work
* Focus on kids
* Focus in love
* Focus on making decisions
* Focus on our world
* Identifying and changing focus
* It's the fit that counts
* The triumph of the fittest
* Under the influence
* To market
* A guide to creating motivational fit

For me, the power of the book is how Heidi Grant Halvorson and E. Tory Higgins combine a comprehensive analysis and overview of the two types of focus, with practical techniques for identifying and communicating with people of both focus styles. The authors present a very convincing case for their thesis of the two focus type personalities. They back their statements with solid research, and each chapter contains extensive endnotes for further study. While the main purpose of the book is on examination of the workplace, management and motivation of people, and the marketing process, the authors go beyond the world of work to include focus in one's personal life.

Through the addition of focus on children, romance, and the wider world, the authors show how a person can be promotion focused at work, while being very prevention focused at home. This change of focus is important to understand, and offers the important lesson that the same approach to an individual may fail to take this switch of focus into account. The book offers an excellent guide for improving communication with others, as the listener may not share the same focus. The authors demonstrate how to avoid messages from becoming misunderstood, ineffective, or even counterproductive.

I highly recommend the important and communication improving book Focus: Use Different Ways of Seeing the World for Success and Influence by Heidi Grant Halvorson and E. Tory Higgins, to any business leaders, executives, managers, marketers, entrepreneurs, or anyone wanting to better understand how to communicate more effectively with others. This book will transform your ability to be better understood by people of either type of focus, enhancing your ability to influence outcomes more effectively.

Business Techniques In Troubled Times by Thomas H. Gray - Book review

Business Techniques in Troubled Times

A Toolbox for Small Business Success

By: Thomas H. Gray

Published: April 12, 2013
Format: Paperback, 344 pages
ISBN-10: 0988675803
ISBN-13: 978-0988675803
Publisher: Thomas H. Gray Incorporated











"Small business owners are 'doers'. They are pragmatic decision makers who deal with risk and 'figure things out' on their own every day. With the right tools, they will continue to build successful enterprises that make America a better place to live. This book provides some of those tools", writes entrepreneur and management consultant, Thomas H. Gray, in his comprehensive and very hands on book Business Techniques in Troubled Times: A Toolbox for Small Business Success. The author describes the effective and proven tools and techniques for achieving success in every aspect of a business life cycle.

Thomas H. Gray understands that entrepreneurs face challenges to their business at different points and times.As a result, the author provides module based format where the problem being faced by the business person can be solved in a readily applicable manner. The book as presented by the author, is designed to be a toolbox, where the appropriate tools can be selected and put into action to achieve a solution.

For many entrepreneurs, the main hurdle to overcome is to understand that a problem may actually exist, and that there is trustworthy and real world tested advice available. Thomas H. Gray provides the tools for identifying and diagnosing the problem, and offers the suitable solution to resolve it successfully.



Thonas H. Gray (photo left) recognizes that entrepreneurs and other samll business leaders are often short of time to find solutions to critical problems. As a result, the author arranges the book in a clear and concise format, with an emphasis on simple methods that can be implemented with ease to get the desired results.

The author places the various sections of the book in a logical order that follows the natural sequence of events in the establishment and operation of a small business. With this ordered system in place, a small business person can find the answers they seek with a minimum of searching. The book is divided into six overarching sections, each with its own detailed sub-chapters offering more detailed and specialized advice. The six basic parts of the book are as follows:

* Strategy and vision
* Financing your business
* Effective marketing
* Day-to-day management and operations
* Growing and exiting your business
* Distressed businesses

For me, the power of the book is how Thomas H. Gray combines a complete guide to starting, managing, and exiting a business, with practical and specialized advice for each aspect of the business. The material is organized in samll and easily applied pieces to assist in getting to the problem and reaching a solution quickly. As a handy reference book, this is a superb guide to resolving both short and long term obstacles in a minimum amount of time.

The author augments the text with numerous visual aids and charts to assist in understanding the principled shared in each chapter. A unique feature of the book is the inclusion of two tables of contents to help narrow down the issues and provide ease of locating the best resolution to those issues. Thomas H. Gray also provides the expertise of a number of guest authors who present their specialized knowledge in several of the more technical chapters.

I highly recommend the results oriented and indispensable book Business Techniques in Troubled Times: A Toolbox for Small Business Success by Thomas H. Gray to any current or wouldbe entrepreneurs and small business managers who are seeking a clear and concise road map to overcoming the many obstacles and challenges that confront any business. This book is one that anyone will return to again and again for its straight forward and useful advice.

Pilgrims' Steps by Robert Hodum - Book review

Pilgrims' Steps

A Search for Spain's Santiago and an Examination of his Way

By: Robert Hodum

Published: September 13, 2012
Format: Paperback, 206 pages
ISBN-10: 1475940122
ISBN-13: 978-1475940121
Publisher: iUniverse











"The search for the mythic and historical Santiago de Compostela requires a sounding of the legendary depths of his ritual pathway that spans dozens of centuries, numerous cultures, and their various faiths. Countless pilgrims have shared the sacred venue and its parallel star field over the course of millennia", writes specialist in Latin American history and Ibero-American culture and civilization, and walker of the St. James’ pilgrimage route in 2007, Robert Hodum in his engaging and deeply personal book Pilgrims' Steps: A Search for Spain's Santiago and an Examination of his Way. The author provides an examination of both the legendary and the historical circumstances of the complex life and times of the saint known as Santiago of Compostela, the biblical St. James the Greater.

Robert Hodum recognizes that the life of St. James is a blend of the historical with the legendary. While the facts of the historical record may not always be readily available, the mythic aspects of his life add depth and a portal to a rich and diverse cultural history. The author combines the known history of Santiago of Compostela with the countless millennia long reverence for the land and sky of the Galician region of northwestern Spain.

Robert Hodum traces the waves of people who traveled to this fascinating place for thousands of years. For the author, the pilgrimage is so much a part of the human journey and experience that it not only includes St. James and his legend, but transcends him as well, to include all of those whose lives were touched and inspired by the Way,



Robert Hodum (photo left) understands that the pilgrimage to Compostela creates a powerful cultural and sacred mosaic that binds the distant past to the present. The towering figure of St. James the Greater offers a unifying force that ties the uncountable steps of pilgrims beyond count, together in a voyage of the soul.

Robert Hodum pieces together the story of St. James and of Compostela itself from historical and legendary accounts. The result is brilliant portrait of the larger than life character, a Way sacred for all of human history, and a part of ourselves that journeys toward the sacred.

Robert Hodum considers the following aspects of the legendary history of St. James, the human significance of Compostele, and the journey of pilgrims across time and space:

* Jacob Bar Zebedee: The Santiago of Spain
* St. James in the written record
* St. James returns to Hispania
* Stars reveal the tomb and pilgrimage begins
* The Ways through the ages
* His challenge to Rome
* Interpretations of the Santiago cult
* Early man and sacred pathways
* Ancient people in the land of Santiago
* The Way in 21st century Spain

For me, the power of the book is how Robert Hodum combines the various threads of legend and recorded history to provide a complete portrait of St. James the Greater. At the same time, the author places the living man and the entombed saint into the context of their times, as well as the pilgrimage to Compestela from its roots in prehistoric times to its importance in our oown time. Robert Hodum expands the legendary history of St. James beyond the man and the myth, and creates an overarching history that encompasses many thousands of years.

The author explores the significance of a sacred place to humanity of all times, and how place and people are both essential elements in a timeless journey to transcend their own humanity. The author accompanies each of his investigations, whether into the historical or legendary, with his personal reflections on the ideas and discoveries he unearths in his research. The result is a book that offers both insights into St. James, but also into the author himself as he completes his own pilgrimage to Compestela, in search of both universal truths and of himself.

I highly recommend the research based and personally accessible book Pilgrims' Steps: A Search for Spain's Santiago and an Examination of his Way by Robert Hodum, to anyone seeking a thoughtful and human spirit affirming book that transforms the story of Santiago of Compostela into a symbol of humanity's relationship between the earth and sky. This book is a testament to the importance of place and spirituality to people of all times and faiths.