Cy Wakeman: Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

Keynote speaker, executive coach, entrepreneur, leadership thought leader, and author of the empowering and career transformational book The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace: Know What Boosts Your Value, Kills Your Chances, and Will Make You Happier, Cy Wakeman describes how you have the power to be happy and a top performer in the workplace. Cy Wakeman provides the five reality-based rules as an alternative approach to success and happiness in any work environment. Cy Wakeman offers an accountability based road map to taking control of your own career and life. Cy Wakeman offers her formula for demonstrating your value to the organization. Cy shares her research and interview based concepts of why people are disengaged in today's workplace, and empowers them to make real changes in their mindset. With this mindset change, peak performance is the result. Learn how to be both happy and a top performer in your job, and valued by the entire organization.

Cy Wakeman is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, October 1, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Keynote speaker, executive coach, entrepreneur, leadership thought leader, and author of the empowering and career transformational book The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace: Know What Boosts Your Value, Kills Your Chances, and Will Make You Happier, Cy Wakeman describes how you have the power to be happy and a top performer in the workplace.You will learn:

* Why so many employees feel unappreciated and disengaged at work

* How to evaluate your value to the organization

* What are the five reality-based rules of the workplace

* How to empower yourself with the five rules to achieve success

Cy Wakeman (photo left) s a dynamic national keynote speaker, business consultant, New York Times bestselling author, and trainer who has spent over 20 years cultivating a revolutionary approach to leadership. Grounded in reality, Cy Wakeman’s philosophy teaches people how to turn excuses into results and transform unhappy employees into accountable, successful members of the workforce. Through her prolific work with companies such as Bayer, New York Presbyterian, National Institutes of Health, Hallmark, Verizon Wireless, TD Ameritrade, and Wells Fargo, Cy Wakeman has helped eliminate tired, impersonal management techniques in favor of a reality-based revolution.

Cy Wakeman’s professional journey began when she was promoted to her first management position in the late 1980’s. Rather than forcing ineffective, traditional management practices into her workplace, Cy Wakeman began developing and teaching her employees a reality-based mindset. What she found was inspiring – her employees were not only motivated to succeed, but they were also driven to deliver results, adapt to change, and emanate happiness on the job. Inspired to help others transform their company and their work, Cy Wakeman began consulting and training. Today, she visits more than 200 companies each year, empowering employees and executives alike to take control of and invest in their work.

Cy Wakeman’s acclaimed new book, The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace: Know What Boosts Your Value, Kills Your Chances, and Will Make You Happier, shows employees how to calculate their true value to their organization. With an original formula for measuring current performance, future potential, and “emotional expensiveness” – the toll an individual’s actions and attitudes take on the people around them, Cy Wakeman shows employees how to become invaluable team members and learn to love their jobs again.

Named one of the “Top 100 Leadership Experts to Follow” on twitter, Cy Wakeman’s influence continues to build. Her programs are consistently ranked by participants as the single most impactful training they have ever received.

An expert blogger on FastCompany.com and Forbes.com, Cy Wakeman’s ideas have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New York Post, and on SHRM.com. She has written two books, Reality-Based Leadership: Ditch the Drama, Restore Sanity to the Workplace, & Turn Excuses into Results (Jossey-Bass; 2010) and The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace: Know What Boosts Your Value, Kills Your Chances, and Will Make You Happier (Jossey-Bass; 2013).

Cy Wakeman is a highly sought-after conference headliner and holds a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation from the National Speaker’s Association, placing her within the top 3%of speakers worldwide. In 2012, she received the “Outstanding Leadership Award” from the World HRD Congress in Mumbai.

My book review of The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace: Know What Boosts Your Value, Kills Your Chances, and Will Make You Happier by Cy Wakeman.

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 keynote speaker, executive coach, entrepreneur, leadership thought leader, and author of the empowering and career transformational book The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace: Know What Boosts Your Value, Kills Your Chances, and Will Make You Happier, Cy Wakeman, as she describes how you have the power to be happy and a top performer in the workplace. Cy Wakeman provides the five reality-based rules as an alternative approach to success and happiness in any work environment. Cy Wakeman offers an accountability based road map to taking control of your own career and life. Cy Wakeman offers her formula for demonstrating your value to the organization. Cy shares her research and interview based concepts of why people are disengaged in today's workplace, and empowers them to make real changes in their mindset. With this mindset change, peak performance is the result. Learn how to be both happy and a top performer in your job, and valued by the entire organization on Blog Business Success Radio.

The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace by Cy Wakeman - Book review

The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace

Know What Boosts Your Value, Kills Your Chances, and Will Make You Happier

By: Cy Wakeman

Published: April 30, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 208 pages
ISBN-10: 1118413687
ISBN-13: 978-1118413685
Publisher: Jossey-Bass










"Happiness is at your fingertips, yours for the taking. All jobs can be great jobs. All bosses can be exactly what you need. You can have success any time, anywhere", writes keynote speaker, executive coach, entrepreneur and leadership thought leader, Cy Wakeman, in her empowering and career transformational book The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace: Know What Boosts Your Value, Kills Your Chances, and Will Make You Happier. The author describes how employees hold the key to their workplace engagement and happiness in their own hands, and provides the rules for making the work environment a great experience.

Cy Wakeman recognizes that more workers than ever are feeling unappreciated and disengaged at work. The author presents a compelling case that work doesn't have to be an unpleasant place by offering an empowering alternative mindset for employees. Cy Wakeman points out that internally generated fears and disenchantment create a more adverse workplace that doesn't really exist. Instead of helping the employee achieve peak performance and a successful career, the false fears and disengagement hold them back. Cy Wakeman shares the good news that top performance and career advancement are possible through an understanding of the true workplace reality.

Cy Wakeman (photo left) understands that employees want to be happy and successful at work. Faced with challenging bosses, difficult coworkers, and a shortage of resources to complete their projects, many employees face frustration at work. Cy Wakeman provides real help for these employees through a revealing formula that evaluates the worker's value to the organization. With the resulting score in hand, the individual has a baseline from which to improve the overall score, becoming a more valued member of the team. With stronger performance, an employee finds work more enjoyable and a truly positive experience.

Cy Wakeman offers an alternative worldview in the form of her reality-based rules of the workplace. The key is that the rules consider the reality of the workplace insred of its imagined problems, impossible to work for and unappreciative bosses, and difficult coworkers. Cy Wakeman replaces imagined challenges with real world based solutions. The five reality-based rules are as follows:

* Your level of accountability determines your level of happiness
* Suffering is optional
* Buy-in is not optional
* Say yes to what's next
* You will always have extenuating circumstances

For me, the power of the book is how Cy Wakeman combines an overall framework for improving your career prospects, your engagement level, and your personal happiness with the practical rules for making them a reality. The author bolsters her premise with extensive research interviews that illustrate the concepts as they happen in the real world. Cy Wakeman takes an empowering and personal responsibility based approach to career success. By taking the position that the individual is accountable and able to create their own happiness, the author demonstrates that a person's career rests in their own hands.

Cy Wakeman doesn't gloss over the fact that today's workplace and economy present real and very tangible challenges. She takes the bold step that this upheaval and change also presents real opportunity for employee initiative and advancement. The author offers the personal choice to take ownership of your own career, and your personal success and happiness.In a time of constant change, both within and outside the workplace, and with so many coworkers disengaged from their employment, opportunity for providing peak performance, innovation, and leadership has never been greater than at present.

I highly recommend the career building and personal accountability based book The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace: Know What Boosts Your Value, Kills Your Chances, and Will Make You Happier by Cy Wakeman, to any employees, executives, new graduates, and potential leaders who are seeking an alternative approach to success based on personal empowerment. This book offers a road map to finding opportunity and achieving top performance in any work environment.

The Necessity of Strangers by Alan Gregerman - Book review

The Necessity of Strangers

The Intriguing Truth About Insight, Innovation, and Success

By: Alan Gregerman

Published: September 10, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 240 pages
ISBN-10: 1118461304
ISBN-13: 978-1118461303
Publisher: Jossey-Bass










"In an important way,practically all of my best ideas are built on the ideas and insights of others who were at one time strangers", writes consultant, keynote speaker, and President and Chief Innovation Officer of VENTURE WORKS Inc., Alan Gregerman in his refreshing and insightful book The Necessity of Strangers: The Intriguing Truth About Insight, Innovation, and Success. The author describes how the impact of strangers on people's life is essential for success, are even more important than friends, and how to find and engage those necessary strangers.

Alan Gregerman recognizes that concept of strangers being necessary for creative thinking, innovation, and new perspectives is counter to the conventional wisdom of companies. Considering strangers as essential also goes against what people are taught and to think for their entire lives. In organizations strangers are people who bring different ideas, and what is considered possibly dangerous change to the culture.

As a result, strangers are thought to be a problem to be avoided or prevented from entry to the company. Instead of thinking in this standard mode, Alan Gregerman demonstrates that rather than being a problem, strangers are in fact a powerful solution.

Alan Gregerman (photo left) recognizes the fears and anxiety that surrounds the concept of seeking out and engaging strangers. The author presents a compelling case that strangers are in fact more crucial to success than friends. Alan Gregerman recommends taking the bold step of reexamining one's preconceived ideas about strangers, and embracing them for the objectivity and honesty. To underline the importance of strangers, the author offers the following shorthand as explore, connect, innovate, grow.

Alan Gregerman provides a complete reconsideration of the entire concepts of strangers in our personal and working lives. The author points out how people are passing up a tremendous and transformational opportunity by not seeking out, engaging, and embracing the potential of strangers. Indeed, Alan Gregerman considers strangers are so important to success that we can't achieve our fullest potential without them. The author examines the following aspects f strangers and their necessity:

* Necessity
* Aversion
* Mindset
* Innovation
* People
* Collaboration
* Customers
* Leadership
* Taking the first step

For me, the power of the book is how Alan Gregerman combines a comprehensive framework for understanding the importance of strangers, with the practical steps to meeting, engaging, and embracing the necessity of strangers. The author goes beyond the usual discussion about strangers beyond friends, widening the conversation to include people of other cultures, backgrounds, and worldviews. At a time when company leaders are searching desperately for creativity and innovation, to solve their most confounding problems, the concept of seeking out and engaging strangers is a powerful solution.

Along with the importance of strangers for innovation, Alan Gregerman makes a strong case for adding diversity to the workplace. The value of different perspectives, provided by diverse strangers, brings creativity and innovation to the organization. At the same time, strangers can transform a moribund company culture into one of engaged employees. Seeking out the right strangers, and developing a connection with them, leads to success for all.

I highly recommend the transformational and success building book The Necessity of Strangers: The Intriguing Truth About Insight, Innovation, and Success by Alan Gregerman, to any business leaders at any level, nonprofit executives, community leaders, and anyone seeking fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to their personal and workplace challenges and obstacles. This book will change the way you think about strangers, and consider them truly necessary for your success,

The Office Politics Handbook by Jack Godwin - Book review

The Office Politics Handbook

Winning the Game of Power and Politics at Work

By: Jack Godwin, Ph.D.

Published: September 23, 2013
Format: Paperback, 256 pages
ISBN-10: 1601632797
ISBN-13: 978-1601632791
Publisher: Career Press









"This book is for people who dislike power games, but who also recognize that politics takes place wherever there are people: between supervisors and employees,teachers and students, parent and children, and among friends, partners, and spouses", writes political scientist Jack Goodwin, Ph.D., in his insightful and very practical book The Office Politics Handbook: Winning the Game of Power and Politics at Work. The author describes the nature of politics and their ubiquitous nature in all human activities, and provides his political insider experience for understanding power and politics as essential tools of leadership.

Jack Goodwin recognizes that many people dislike the very idea that office politics exists in organizations. Instead of utilizing the concept of politics, power and influence in terms of manipulation and force, the author presents political as necessary for authentic leadership. This approach to the principles and concepts of politics and influencing decisions and actions goes beyond the narrow seeking of power.

The skills are also critical for achieving the goals of departments and their staff, including ensuring that scarce resources are allocated appropriately for project completion. The author shares strategies for repelling attacks by other less ethical people, and understanding how to approach those challenges effectively as an authentic leader.

Jack Godwin, Ph.D. (photo left) understands that leaders must develop their political skills to lead effectively. Disregarding politics and seekers of power will not make them go away, and may even provide the less scrupulous with the opportunity to do harm to the organization for their personal gain. Through an inward journey of self awareness, to understand the individual's own personal nature through a series of archetypes, the road to authentic leadership can be developed effectively.

The political archetypes, shared by Jack Godwin, are as follows:

* The servant leader
* The rebel
* The mentor
* The recluse
* The judo master
* The resistor
* The opportunist
* The survivor

For me, the power of the book is how Jack Godwin combines a comprehensive frameword of the nature of the art of politics with the archetype concepts that provide practical insights into authentic leadership. The author presents politics as part of the overall human experience, and with the potential for influencing both good or bad decisions and actions. Jack Godwin prefers to take the positive approach of political savvy as a crucial and authentic leadership skill.

Jack Godwin encourages leaders to look within themselves, and to take a personal inner journey of self discovery and self awareness. The author provides an archetype based analysis of the political nature of the individual leader. The author also examines the role of the followers and their behavior and actions.

Leadership is based on the principle of consent. Instead of force, the author demonstrates how authentic leader achieves consent, even from those officially higher than the leader on the organizational chart. Indeed, the author considers force to be a vastly inferior method than influence, strategy, and shared consent.

I highly recommend the must read and success building book The Office Politics Handbook: Winning the Game of Power and Politics at Work by Jack Godwin, Ph.D., to any current and future leaders who are seeking a clear, concise and skills based approach to developing authentic leadership. This book offers an alternative to the less effective and often counterproductive force based models of leadership.

Modelling and Managing Airport Performance edited by Konstaninos Zografos, Giovanni Andreatta & Amedeo Odoni - Book review

Modelling and Managing Airport Performance

Edited by: Konstantinos G. Zografos, Ph.D., Giovanni Andreatta, Ph.D., Amedeo R. Odoni, Ph.D.

Published: August 26, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 314 pages
ISBN-10: 0470974184
ISBN-13: 978-0470974186
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.








"The objective of this book is to provide an integrated view of state-of-the-art research on the performance of airport systems", write Chair Professor at the Department of Management Science, The Management School, Lancaster University, UK, Konstantinos G. Zografos, Ph.D.; Professor of Operations Research in the Department of Pure and Applied Mathematics, University of Padova, Italy, Giovanni Andreatta, Ph.D.; and Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, Amedeo R. Odoni, Ph.D., editors of the multi-faceted and state-of-the-art modelling oriented book Modelling and Managing Airport Performance. The editors provide contributions from globally recognized experts in improving airport systems, including performance, measurement, operations, and management.

Konstantinos G. Zografos (photo left), Giovanni Andreatta, and Amadeo R. Odoni present a collection of essays that offer insights into the latest research on airport systems improvement and measurement. The editors include a wide range of contributions that cover every aspect of airport performance ranging from capacity and delays, to economic costs, safety, and environmental issues.

The editors provide articles that exhibit a world wide perspective, as the contributors include authors from Europe, North America, and South America. Their expertise and background are gleaned from academic and research institutions, government, and the private sector.

Giovanni Andreatta (photo left), Amadeo R. Ordoni, and Konstantinos G. Zografos recognize the complexity of airport performance. While considering the many themes surrounding airport operations, the essays focus on the modelling, quantification, and overall management and efficiency of an airport. Within that framework, the various contributors offer their perspective on different aspects of that modelling process. The guest authors provide strategies and concepts for overcoming the challenges posed in the managing of airport performance.

The editors divide the book and its contributed essays into three overarching sections. These sections consider the various aspects of the main themes and principles of modelling and managing airports. The three parts are as follows:

* Modelling and assessment of airport performance
* Quantification, measurement, and forecast of operational performance
* Management of airport congestion and efficiency of scheduling and allocation

Amadeo R. Odoni (photo left), Konstantinos G. Zografos, and Giovanni Andreatta offer what for me is the power of the book, in the form of the wide range of perspectives on the topics of modelling and management for both the present and the future. The contributors consider problems related to both the landside and airside of airport management, and offer strategies for both aspects of performance. The book offers a strong series of articles that use well researched quantification, and are well illustrated with graphics.

Each contributing author provides a large series of references for their essay as well to facilitate further in depth research on each of the topics. The articles provide a multidimensional approach to the challenges faced by airport managers, and present valid and proven solutions and strategies. Especially valuable is the global perspective provided by contributors from three continents and several countries. This world wide experience offers strategies that have been tested and proven in a wide range of airport environments.

I highly recommend the comprehensive and holistic approach book
Modelling and Managing Airport Performance edited by Konstantinos G. Zografos, Ph.D., Giovanni Andreatta, Ph.D., Amedeo R. Odoni, Ph.D., to any airport managers and executives, industry leaders, practicing engineers, academics, public policy makers, and elected officials at all levels, who are seeking a practical and strategy filled guide to modelling and managing performance at airports. This book offers a wide range of viewpoints, concepts, and strategies that provide guidance to overcoming difficult airport management challenges.

German Convention Bureau (GCB): Laura d’Elsa Regional Director USA & Canada, German Convention Bureau - Interview

Laura d’Elsa, Regional Director USA and Canada, at the German Convention Bureau (GCB), was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions about the GCB, its activities, and about the meetings industry.

Thanks to Laura d’Elsa for her time, and for her very informative responses. They are greatly appreciated.

Please tell us about the German Convention Bureau (GCB) and some of the activities you direct out of the New York office.

Laura d’Elsa: I represent the GCB in the North American markets and promote Germany as a leading meetings destination. The New York office is the main point of contact for U.S. and Canadian companies, associations and organizations interested in hosting events, meetings, and incentive programs in Germany.

At the GCB, we educate clients and prospects on the benefits of hosting meetings in Germany, which include excellent value for money, brilliant centers of expertise, a world class transportation system, exciting and historic cities, and many green venues and convention centers.

We understand there is an important trade show coming up for meetings and conventions planners – IMEX America. What will the German Convention Center do at the show?

Laura d’Elsa: Yes, the third annual IMEX America will be held October 15 – 17 in Las Vegas, and the GCB has a very large presence at the show. We will be in booth #2220 with 35 of our German business partners, so show attendees can meet with/experience all the country has to offer across its world class cities, services and venues. It is very important for us to be at the show because it gives North American meeting planners the chance to meet and establish relationships with German suppliers who they might work with in the future.

Laura d’Elsa (photo left)

The meetings industry is undergoing some changes. What do you think are some of the hot issues that planners will be addressing in the coming year?

Laura d’Elsa: The most pressing issue meeting planners face is creating better events. Increasingly the bar is being raised for high value in a business event, as companies prioritize those activities that generate an important return on investment.

A key benefit of locating a business meeting or conference in Germany is the opportunity to leverage the local industry expertise and resources in key sectors such as automotive, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, finance and economics, logistics management, technology and more. In using this expertise, meeting planners can add value to their meetings and events through local expert speakers and site visits in their fields of interest.

What’s next for the German Convention Bureau?

Laura d’Elsa: Our focus is the client. We are committed to meeting the needs of meeting planners today as well as anticipating their needs tomorrow. We do this by keeping an ear to the ground and delivering the best possible service and meetings experience. We also do formal and informal research on a regular basis to ensure that the programs and assets we develop map to the business needs of our planners and in turn their organizations and their membership.

We are proud of what we have accomplished in Germany, particularly for business travelers who could essentially have their destination pick of the world yet continue to return to Germany for world-class conferences, meetings and events. After all, Germany is the #1 association meetings destination in Europe and #2 in the world.

What’s next for Laura d’Elsa?

Laura d’Elsa: It is a very exciting time to be in the meetings business, and the GCB has been breaking new ground with its “key industry strategy”, as mentioned above. Additionally, just this spring we went to an important trade show in Brazil, where I was able to meet with planners from all over Latin America and South America. There is a lot to do and we have a lot to offer. That’s what keeps me coming into work every day.

***************

About the German Convention Bureau

The German Convention Bureau (GCB) represents and markets Germany as a destination for conventions, meetings, events and incentives both on a national and international scale. It is the first point of contact for companies, associations and organizations around the world planning events in Germany.

Acting as a connector to the wide range of German event service providers, venues and host cities, the German Convention Bureau (GCB) provides hands-on advice and support to planners and executives in all industries and organizations. To bring maximum value, quality and customization to each meeting and event hosted in Germany, the GCB also helps hosts and attendees leverage the country’s deep expertise in green meetings and key industries such as pharmaceuticals, financials, automotive, logistics & transportation, and technology.

The GCB’s more than 200 members include leading hotels, convention centers, destinations, event agencies and service providers of the German meetings and conventions industry. Accor Hotels, DuesseldorfCongress, and Stuttgart Convention Bureau are Preferred Partners of the GCB. As Strategic Partners, Lufthansa German Airlines, Deutsche Bahn AG (German Railways), and the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) support the work of the GCB.

The German Convention Bureau (GCB) (www.germany-meetings.com) serves as a useful online tool to find detailed information on Germany, search venues and vendors, get tips for green meetings, catch up on the latest news, access travel guides, and much more. Follow the German Convention Bureau in the U.S. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/GermanyMeetings.

Jim Muehlhausen: Business Models For Dummies - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

Accountant, entrepreneur, business coach, founder of The Business Model Institute, and author of the idea packed and very hands on book Business Models For Dummies, Jim Muehlhausen, describes the importance and value of the business model concept. Jim Muehlhausen provides an in depth description of the business model principle and why it is so important for business people to understand. Jim also points to the differences between a business model and the better known business plan. Jim demonstrates how to start the process of creating and implementing a business. He shows how to use the business model to establish revenue and cash. He also points out how see warning signs that the business model may be losing its power. Jim also provides ideas for utilizing the business model for innovation and being a leader in your industry. Learn how to put a business model to work for your company.

Jim Muehlhhausen is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, September 26, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Accountant, entrepreneur, business coach, founder of The Business Model Institute, and author of the idea packed and very hands on book Business Models For Dummies, Jim Muehlhausen, describes the importance and value of the business model concept. You will learn:

* What makes up the business model concept

* Why understanding the principle of the business model is important

* How to create, implement, and update a business model

* How a business model boosts innovation for a business

Jim Muehlhausen (photo left) CPA, JD has had articles feature in numerous publications including Businessweek.com, Entrepreneur, Inc., Indianapolis Business Journal, The Small Business Report, Undercar Digest, Washingtonpost.com, Digitrends and NAICC Legal Journal. His recent book has already sold over 10,000 copies. (The 51 Fatal Business Errors and How to Avoid Them, ISBN: 978-0981608204)

Jim graduated from Valparaiso University with a B.S. in Accounting, passing the CPA exam while still in college. While subsequently attending the Indiana University School of Law, he became the youngest franchisee in Meineke Discount Muffler history (1987-1991). After successfully selling that business, Jim founded an automotive aftermarket manufacturing concern. During his 9-year tenure, the company achieved recognition from Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School and Inc. Magazine in the IC 100 Fastest Growing Businesses.

Jim went on to enter the CEO coaching business. He says, "This is the work I was born to do." Over the past eight years, Jim has personally coached hundreds of business owners in over 3500 face-to-face coaching sessions and has clients in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He has condensed the most valuable business lessons into his book The 51 Fatal Business Errors and How to Avoid Them.

Jim serves on several non-profit and company boards of directors as well as serving as an adjunct professor of business at the University of Indianapolis.

Jim's speaking topics include: "The 51 Fatal Business Errors," Stop Hiring Your Competitor's Rejects,"The Perfect Business Model and How to Get It," and "The Pareto Trap: How Most Business Owners Spend 80% of Their Time on the Wrong Stuff."

My book review of Business Models For Dummies by Jim Muehlhausen.

My book review of The 51 Fatal Business Errors and How to Avoid Them by Jim Muehlhausen.

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 accountant, entrepreneur, business coach, founder of The Business Model Institute, and author of the idea packed and very hands on book Business Models For Dummies, Jim Muehlhausen, as he describes the importance and value of the business model concept. Jim Muehlhausen provides an in depth description of the business model principle and why it is so important for business people to understand. Jim also points to the differences between a business model and the better known business plan. Jim demonstrates how to start the process of creating and implementing a business. He shows how to use the business model to establish revenue and cash. He also points out how see warning signs that the business model may be losing its power. Jim also provides ideas for utilizing the business model for innovation and being a leader in your industry. Learn how to put a business model to work for your company on Blog Business Success Radio.

Business Models For Dummies by Jim Muehlhausen - Book review

Business Models For Dummies

By: Jim Muehlhausen

Published: June 10, 2013
Format: Paperback, 384 pages
ISBN-10: 1118547616
ISBN-13: 978-1118547618
Publisher: For Dummies











"Simply put, a business model is your profit formula. It's the method you use to acquire customers, service them, and make money doing so", writes entrepreneur, business coach, and founder of The Business Model Institute, Jim Muehlhausen, CPA, JD, in his idea packed and very hands on book Business Models For Dummies. The author describes the importance of a business model, how to design an effective structured business model, and how to know hen the model needs updating, and provides the practices for that change.

Jim Muehlhausen understands that a great business model is essential for company success. The author places the business model at the very heart of the business, and as a result, the business model must be a strong and viable one. Jim Muehlhausen demonstrates the value of the business model, and points out that no amount of intelligence, skill or resources is sufficient to overcome a weak and flawed business model.

The author presents a complete examination of the concept of the business model, dispelling the misconceptions, and providing the strategies and techniques for designing, upgrading, and even rebuilding a strong business model.

Jim Muehlhausen (photo left) recognizes that the concept of the business model is not well known among entrepreneurs and business leaders. The author points out this lack of understanding is due to a low level of discussion of the principles and practices of the business model. With the premise that a great business model is critical for success, Jim Muehlhausen offers a comprehensive analysis of the principles and practices surrounding this key business success ingredient.

Jim Muehlhausen shares the idea of a business model as comprised of mission, objectives, strategy, and tactics. This all encompassing set of principles forms both a firm direction for the business, as well as establishing the rules and methodology by which the company operates on both a short and long term basis. A strong business model defines the business and establishes the foundation from which to establish and build a top performing company.

Jim Muehlhausen divides the book into five overarching sections that describe the various aspects of the business model as follows:

* Getting started with business models
* Creating a winning business model
* Dealing with change
* Business model innovation
* The part of tens

For me, the power of the book is how Jim Muehlhausen combines a comprehensive overview of the concept of the business model, with the practical strategies and techniques for putting the business model into action. The author moves far beyond the standard discussion of business plans, explains the differences between a business model and a business plan, and brings the powerful concept of the business model into the conversation.

Jim Muehlhausen presents the business model as a proactive and holistic approach to operating a business, that not only provides strategies and tactic, but encompasses the business mission, moral compass, and overall direction. Jim Muehlhausen guides the entrepreneur through all of the important steps to both understanding the concept of the business model, to its creation, and its eventual changes and revisions. One of the powers of the business model, as outlined by the author, is its strength and adaptability for innovation within the business.

Unlike the business plan, and its more static and reactive nature, the business model sets the framework that not only enables innovation but has all types of innovation as an integral part of the model. Jim Muehlhausen also includes numerous case studies and examples to further illustrate the principles in action in the real world.

I highly recommend the transformational and competitive advantage building book Business Models For Dummies by Jim Muehlhausen, to any entrepreneurs, start up venture leaders,and innovators seeking a clear and concise guide to the purpose, principles, and practices of the business model. This book will change forever your perception of the limited business plan; and help you make the transition to thinking and operating your business based on the more robust business model foundation.

Advertising and Society: An Introduction, 2nd Edition Edited by Carol J. Pardun - Book review

Advertising and Society

An Introduction, 2nd Edition

Edited by: Carol J. Pardun, Ph.D.

Published: September 23, 2013
Format: Paperback, 312 pages
ISBN-10: 0470673095
ISBN-13: 978-0470673096
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell













"The pros and cons of advertising have been debated ever since advertising emerged as the means to support our growing mass media consumption habits", writes Director and Professor of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of South Carolina, Carol J. Pardun, Ph.D., editor of the revised and updated edition of her idea filled and very balanced viewpoint based book Advertising and Society: An Introduction, 2nd Edition. The editor offers a series of essays, written by internationally recognized experts in the fields of advertising and marketing, communications, and media, that discuss the leading controversies about the role of advertising in society.

Carol Pardun recognizes that advertising has existed for centuries, and also paralleled the rise of business and industry in the United States. The editor points out that at its most basic level, advertising provides product information. The contributors ask the questions as to what takes place when the advertising moves past the information stage.

As Carol Pardun suggests, it is the advertiser's viewpoint being expressed, and that is where the controversy begins about the role and power of advertising. Advertising, writes the editor, is both a mirror of society and an agent of change, and all that implies for society as a whole. The editor challenges the student to take one of those sides.

Carol J. Pardun, Ph.D. (photo left) understands that students must examine the controversies surrounding the role of advertising, and then consider the consequences and impact of those perspectives. The editor invites students to take a stance on one side of the controversy or the other. The essays presented in the book provide the arguments for both sides of the discussion, and for getting fully acquainted with the complexities of the arguments.

Carol J. Pardun presents a group of essays that challenge the student to think critically about their own perspective about advertising in society. That critical thinking process is stimulated by the fascinating articles, regardless of the student's personal worldview regarding advertising. The book is divided into seventeen chapters that offer both an argument and a counterargument on the issue under debate. The essays are found under the two main groupings of enduring issues in advertising and emerging issues in advertising.

For me, the power of the book is how Carol J. Pardun presents the major issues surrounding the role of advertising in a clear and balanced format. The technique of matching a pro and con essay together, with each taking an opposite side of the question, is an excellent teaching tool. For students developing critical thinking about the role and power of advertising, regardless of their personal viewpoint, this format challenges those perspectives.

These provocative and well written essays, presented by recognized experts, offer the insights and concepts that demonstrate how complex the ideas and scope of advertising are in modern society. As expected, the contributions all contain extensive notes and references for students to further examine each of the issues, whether based on the argument or the counterargument on the topic. The paired pro and con essays can be read in any order depending on the emphasis of the class and the students.

I highly recommend the excellent and engaging book Advertising and Society: An Introduction, 2nd Edition edited by Carol J. Pardun, Ph.D., to any academics and undergraduate students in business, advertising, marketing, media, communications, journalism, the social sciences or any other related field where the impact of advertising is felt in society. This book is a challenging guide for reconsidering the student's own viewpoints about advertising, and enhancing their ability to think critically about the issues surrounding this controversial topic.

Dani Monroe: Untapped Talent: Hidden Workforce - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

Leadership, diversity, and performance guide, founder and president of Center Focus International, Inc., and author of the transformational and positive results oriented book Untapped Talent: Unleashing the Power of the Hidden Workforce, Dani Monroe describes how companies have an abundance of undiscovered talent already as part of the organization. Dani Monroe provides insights into why this untapped talent pool exists and why it is not leveraged to its fullest potential. Dani Monroe offers ideas as to the tremendous benefits that this talent, once unleashed, can provide for the company. Dani also offers ideas for leaders and managers to find these talented people, and transform them into top performers. Dani shares the skills essential for leaders in the form of resourcefulness, resilience, and resolve. Learn how to find and transform the untapped talent in your organization into a powerful culture of excellence.

Dani Monroe is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, September 24, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Leadership, diversity, and performance guide, founder and president of Center Focus International, Inc., and author of the transformational and positive results oriented book Untapped Talent: Unleashing the Power of the Hidden Workforce, Dani Monroe describes how companies have an abundance of undiscovered talent already as part of the organization. You will learn:

* Who are the untapped talent within an organization

* Why this hidden workforce exists within a company

* How to discover these talented people and develop their skills

* How finding untapped talent transforms a company culture

Dani Monroe (photo left) is founder and president of Center Focus International, Inc.. She is one of the world's most valued corporate resources for organizational management, change and inclusion strategies, leadership training, succession planning, and recruitment.

She is the author of Untapped Talent: Unleashing the Power of the Hidden Workforce (Palgrave MacMillan, April 2013).

Ms. Monroe has led the “C” suites of Fortune 100 companies to success in global diversity, inclusion and organization effectiveness—favorably impacting their bottom line, reputation and business potential. Over a 25-year career, she has brought definition and depth to the dialogue about diversity and set the pace for change and precedence in strategies of global diversity and inclusion.

Ms. Monroe's valued expertise in strategy and international practice defined her success as Senior Director of Global Diversity and Inclusion at the Pfizer Corporation, the world's largest research-based biomedical and pharmaceutical company with revenues of $48.4 billion. Her work impacted the company's 85,000 employees and thousands of people globally. In this highly visible global role, Ms. Monroe designed and facilitated organization change strategies that integrated all components for the diversity and inclusion—from metrics and accountability for senior leaders to leadership curriculum and inclusive work processes.

Working collaboratively with "C" suite leaders or their direct reports from Europe, Asia, Canada, Latin America and the United States, Ms. Monroe developed and executed a global strategy on diversity education for senior leaders worldwide as well as developed a global women's strategy—including advancing the international strategy for the development and promotion of women in emerging market areas. In addition, she established the Global Women's Network of women's leader communities around the world, the Global Diversity Committee composed of five Executive Leaders and the African American Leaders Network.

She benefited from her early professional training with ground-breaker and internationally-recognized Dr. Price Cobbs, one of the most celebrated authorities and legends shaping the field of diversity, corporate management and executive leadership.

Ms. Monroe received her master's degree in organizational development from Pepperdine University's Graduate School of Business and her bachelor's degree from California State University in Dominguez Hills. She has received many awards such as the prestigious YWCA Academy of Women Achievers Award and served on the boards of: Project Bread, The Boston Club, the Simmons School of Health's Advisory Board and the Children's Museum.

Ms. Monroe's articles on diversity have appeared in many publications, from Banker & Tradesman, Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, as well as used in Columbia University's Executive Management Program. As a national contributor to the book Transforming Work by John Adams, she co-authored the chapter focusing on Managing the Complexity of Organizational Transformation.

My book review of Untapped Talent: Unleashing the Power of the Hidden Workforce by Dani Monroe.

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 leadership, diversity, and performance guide, founder and president of Center Focus International, Inc., and author of the transformational and positive results oriented book Untapped Talent: Unleashing the Power of the Hidden Workforce, Dani Monroe, as she describes how companies have an abundance of undiscovered talent already as part of the organization. Dani Monroe provides insights into why this untapped talent pool exists and why it is not leveraged to its fullest potential. Dani Monroe offers ideas as to the tremendous benefits that this talent, once unleashed, can provide for the company. Dani also offers ideas for leaders and managers to find these talented people, and transform them into top performers. Dani shares the skills essential for leaders in the form of resourcefulness, resilience, and resolve. Learn how to find and transform the untapped talent in your organization into a powerful culture of excellence on Blog Business Success Radio.

Untapped Talent by Dani Monroe - Book review

Untapped Talent

Unleashing the Power of the Hidden Workforce

By: Dani Monroe

Published: April 30, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 192 pages
ISBN-10: 1137282223
ISBN-13: 978-1137282224
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan












"I believe this book will help you find and grow the talent throughout your organization that's been undervalued and underdeveloped - the talent that's been untapped. Tapping into it will change you, your organization, and the world', writes leadership, diversity, and performance optimization guide, and President and Fonder of Center Focus International, Inc., Dani Monroe in her transformational and positive results oriented book Untapped Talent: Unleashing the Power of the Hidden Workforce. The author describes how people with talent that can benefit the entire organization, are often undiscovered and not able to develop their fullest potential; and offers practices and exercises to uncover and utilize that hidden talent to create a positive impact.

Dani Monroe understands that every organization contains within it a hidden and overlooked pool of talent. The author provides an overview of this untapped talent base and why it exists in so many otherwise astute companies. Dani Monroe demonstrates how the potential of this hidden workforce can be identified, brought to the forefront, and transformed into a high performance force that will boost overall company productivity. Dani Monroe provides the strategies and tools for leaders within the organization to take the initiative and utilize this already existing talent pool.

Dani Monroe (photo left) recognizes that that leaders and managers don't always possess the skills to identify the hidden talent within overlooked employees. As a result, these untapped individuals are never trained, developed or refined ino the powerful force that is needed by the organization. For various reasons, people are neglected and their latent abilities are not utilized to their fullest potential. Dani Monroe presents the methodology for transforming these hidden employees into top performing individuals.

Dani Monroe points out that the identification of untapped talent within the organization benefits the careers of its workforce. The cultural change resulting from more engaged employees, who are being deployed to their fullest potential improves people's lives, for the organization and and the employees' personal career satisfaction. Dani Monroe shares three overarching steps to finding and tapping the hidden workforce:

* Defining the hidden workforce
* Mining and refining the untapped workforce
* Exemplifying and the role of leadership

For me, the power of the book is how Dani Monroe combines a comprehensive description of the nature of the hidden workforce, with the strategies and tactics for identifying, developing, and utilizing these employees in their new roles. The author offers the wisdom of developing people, who are already part of the organization, to their fullest potential. Dani Monroe illustrates the principles of tapping underutilized talent through the inclusion of research studies, case studies, and anecdotal evidence.

With the high cost to every company of recruiting, training, and retaining top performing personnel, the concept of discovering and refining overlooked talent is cost effective, profitable, and the right thing to do for people. The author shows how tapping underused employees creates a more engaged workforce, as people discover they are valued for their contribution, building a stronger company culture. That revamped culture forms a powerful competitive advantage through higher overall engagement and performance levels.

I highly recommend the insightful and refreshing book Untapped Talent: Unleashing the Power of the Hidden Workforce by Dani Monroe, to any business leaders and managers who are seeking a clear and concise blueprint for finding underused talent within their own organizations. This book provides the practices for transforming that hidden workforce into a dynamic force for competitive advantage.

Relationship ROI–Nikki Pett

I have read almost 150 books on networking, passed 10,000 of public speaking time, volunteered for thousands of hours for charities washing floors, cooking food and being on boards, I’ve raised millions of dollars to help, change and save the world and I’ve coached a few hundred people to personal success.

I’m often asked why I don’t write a book.

This book is the answer why I don’t need to.

When I first read this book, it was so in tune to my beliefs on networking, business, fundraising, community development that I got through it in less than a couple hours and scared a couple people in a coffee shop shouting “that’s it!!” a few times. I’ve been waiting for a book like this for years.

ROI – Wow I hate this tiny little sharp, overused, passive-aggressive phrase.

But it’s what everyone knows is behind our goals and ideas. Nikki has put together a book that addresses the networking and business solution for my personal trifecta of social good:

1. Associations: Boards of Trade, professional associations, community based member groups. They are the backbone of our for-profit and social-profit world but in 2013, honestly, most of them are struggling to get members and stay relevant. Nikki has dedicated one third of the book to them, and her solutions are practical but current. I gave copies of this book to my favourite associations with the note “this will save you”.

2. Charities: Nikki is a proud member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and is an exhibitor/sponsor of several chapters. She has worked with them through her business sigma promotions and I must say has a keen understanding of the philanthropic ecosystem. I’m asked so often about how charities can leverage networks, personal and institutional for revenue – one third of this book is for you.

3. Entrepreneurs: I personally feel that business and charities are a bad match. Corporations have influenced good grassroots organizations to become as sluggish, ineffective, bureaucratic and meeting-over-moving-focused. Charities and entrepreneurs were made for each other!! This third of the book, about the pure steps to making profit using today’s social-media technology and networking techniques is a powerful read for all three readers.

This book is not going to be a New York Times best seller. Nikki’s business is not publically traded, she doesn’t have a limo or private jet. But y’know, so many of those authors are more focused on selling the book then on your success, so many of those big businesses are dead weight in our economy and Nikki is a successful business owner who has thrived while giving back. She and my network agree on the definition of success, that triple bottom line between profit, community and the earth.

I couldn’t recommend reading a book, or meeting a person more.

As the end of 2013 approaches, will you hit your goals?

Nikki can help.

Thanks for spending your time with me today!

             Paul Nazareth

Travels in Elysium by William Azuski - Fiction book review

Travels in Elysium

By: William Azuski

Published: May 1, 2013
Format: Paperback, 540 pages
ISBN-10: 3952401528
ISBN-13: 978-3952401521
Publisher: Iridescent Publishing











When recent university graduate Nicholas Pedrosa is offered his dream job working under the famous archeologist Marcus Huxley, he jumps at the once in a lifetime opportunity. The chance to dig for the golden civilization of the Minoans, on the volcanic island of Santorini, leads to much more than the study of a lost world. Nicholas lands squarely in an ancient mystery as old as time, and a fresh murder mystery that places his life and sense of reality in danger, in the fascinating and metaphysical novel Travels in Elysium by William Azuski.

William Azuski combines a sense of the remote past with the events of the present day as the ancient world seems to encroach on the characters and landscape. This seamless shifting of time and space forms a crucial background landscape for the novel. In a story that is as much about the events of over three thousand years ago, as of the twenty-first century, this bending of time drives the characters forward.

Larger than life archeologist Marcus Huxley represents that timeless longing for a golden age, and his mind is as much in ancient pre-eruption Thera, as in modern Santorini. With that time blending perception, Huxley challenges the very existence of reality with those under his charismatic spell as well. That driven personality may even have caused the unsolved murder that hangs like the constant haze of volcanic dust in the air.

William Azuski (photo left) creates a novel that is as much of ideas as it is of the actions of the characters. The narration by Nicholas Pedrosa offers the reader the story through his eyes. That perspective is both innocent and worldly, as the events unfold and the hidden motives of the other characters become more clear. The island itself becomes a living breathing character in its own right. Having the internal power to destroy a brilliant civilization, the island is both a giver and a taker of life, in the distant past and in the present.

William Azuski addresses the deeper metaphysical questions of life as well. Whether the conversations in the novel consider science or religion, and art or history, the various worldviews become entwined into an overarching mystery beyond simple explanation. For the characters in the novel, their own ideas, values, and sense of what is real are put to the test. This internal struggle, shared by all of the island residents, is reflected in the larger conflicts taking place between the characters, and in the wider world.

For both Nicholas Pedrosa and Marcus Huxley, the story is as much a search for themselves as for the secrets of a long lost civilization. Marcus Huxley challenges the people on his team to look past the current perception of reality and envision possibilities. The very idea that what may be under the centuries of volcanic ash, might be the fabled lost world of Atlantis, creates the sense that legend and history may share some truth. In this case, the truth, the legend, or both may be the cause of a former team member's death.

The author creates a world, partly myth and also as much calculating searches for power and wealth. With the possible discovery of Atlantis would come fame, money, and a complete revision of history as we know it. The stakes of such a monumental discovery are high, but the methods of its unearthing are mundane. Marcus Huxley seeks both the human values of wealth and fame, but also seeks a communion with a world long since vanished. The concepts of time and space, and past and present, as intersecting forces is a major theme of the novel.

I highly recommend the engaging and spellbinding novel Travels in Elysium by William Azuski, to anyone seeking a story that moves beyond the realm of action and adventure, and considers the deeper philosophical questions of time, space, and how they interact with one another across the millennia. This literay novel will keep you turning the pages, and pondering the metaphysics along with the memorable characters in its pages.

*********

Literary fiction blends with Plato’s tale of Atlantis is this metaphysical mystery that takes place on an archaeological dig on the island of Santorini. Travels in Elysium is written in an allegory style. If you would like to read an an online excerpt - we have one posted here http://www.iridescent-publishing.com/tie/tie_prev.htm.

For more information or to get your own copy, visit Amazon.com: Travels in Elysium

The Collaboration Economy by Eric Lowitt - Book review

The Collaboration Economy

How to Meet Business, Social, and Environmental Needs and Gain Competitive Advantage

By: Eric Lowitt

Published: April 22, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
ISBN-10: 111853834X
ISBN-13: 978-1118538340
Publisher: Jossey-Bass










"So the purpose of The Collaboration Economy is to both entice and equip entities throughout the private, public, and civil sectors to work collaboratively in order to heal our systems to day for an ensured future for generations in perpetuity", writes globally recognized expert in the fields of competitive strategy, growth, and sustainability, Eric Lowitt, in his visionary and alternative idea packed book The Collaboration Economy: How to Meet Business, Social, and Environmental Needs and Gain Competitive Advantage. The author describes how the current economic model, based on competition and unsustainable environmental practices and exploitation of people, is broken and must be replaced by a more collaborative economic and humane worldview.

Eric Lowitt recognizes that the profit motive and the capitalist system will continue to exist and operate. What the author proposes are improvements and fresh approaches to making profit within a capitalist framework. Faced with governments both unwilling and unable to spend more money, the onus is on both the private and social sectors to work together with the public sector to ensure environmental sustainability, social justice, and economic prosperity that benefits everyone. Eric Lowitt presents a viable, alternative solution to meet the challenges of the present and the future, in the form of the collaborative economy.

Eric Lowitt (photo left) understands that there are critical changes on the immediate horizon for the private sector. These changes will come from pressures from stakeholders and the community at large. Companies will no longer be able to externalize costs, and force them onto the environment and the people and communities they affect. Instead, those costs will be internalized and to reduce those new costs, the author points to collaboration with other members of the public, private, and social sectors as the solution.

Eric Lowitt points out that not only are the changes taking place in society and in business practice, leading to a more collaborative economy, but that any business that fails to embrace this new paradigm will be left behind. The author presents the principles and practices of the collaboration economy on three overarching sections as follows:

* Welcome to the collaboration economy
* Bringing the collaboration economy to life and scale
* Putting it all together to move forward

For me, the power of the book is how Eric Lowitt presents the principles and dynamics that are leading to the development of the collaborative economy, with the practical steps the private, public and social sectors must take to make the transition a smooth and effective one for all stakeholders. The author, and the guest contributors, share the stories of leading companies who have embraced the concept of collaboration, and the necessity of sustainability and societal well being and have incorporated these principles into their overall business strategy.

Eric Lowitt provides important insights into how companies, regardless of their size or market strength, are subject to forces outside of their control. In the modern economy, the old rules no longer apply, and companies that fail to understand these new and emerging realities will face irrelevance. Not only will these companies lose market share, but risk losing shareholders and shareholder value. As the author makes clear, doing the right thing, and forming collaborative relationships, is also good business.

I highly recommend the empowering and fresh paradigm based book The Collaboration Economy: How to Meet Business, Social, and Environmental Needs and Gain Competitive Advantage by Eric Lowitt, to any business leaders, nonprofit executives, environmental and social activists, government policy makers, elected officials, and anyone who seeks a clear and concise vision for the future of a more collaborative and cooperative economy. The future and is one of collaboration, and this book offers a strong call to action for everyone to embrace this important new reality.

Game Theory: An Introduction, 2nd Edition by E.N. Barron - Book review

Game Theory

An Introduction, Second Edition

By: E.N. Barron, Ph.D.

Published: April 23, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 574 pages
ISBN-10: 1118216938
ISBN-13: 978-1118216934
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.












"The topics I have chosen I consider to be foundational to all of game theory and within the constraints of the prerequisites of an undergraduate course", writes Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, Loyola University, Chicago, E.N. Barron, Ph.D. in the completely revised and updated edition of his very hands on and real world problem solving focused textbook Game Theory: An Introduction, Second Edition. The author describes the core game theory topics of zero sum games, nonzero sum games, and cooperative games, along with games that utilize the open source software GAMBIT.

E.N. Barron recognizes that not all subject matter related to game theory can be included in an undergraduate textbook designed for completion in a one semester term class. To facilitate that time based necessity, the author skips the proofs of the theorems included in the book. The author includes a section on mixed strategies for continuous games, but due to their need for an understanding of measure theory, they are not given the prime focus of the book. The games that require software for solutions use readily downloadable Maple and Mathematica programs, and do not necessitate the writing of any software programs.

As an adjunct to the textbook, E.N. Barron also makes available the valuable study guide Solutions Manual to Accompany Game Theory: An Introduction, Second Edition (cover shown in photo left) to provide solutions to the odd numbered problems presented in the textbook.

The target students for the book is primarily those undergraduates specializing in mathematics, but the material is equally valuable for students of economics, business operations and management, political sciences, social sciences, and the natural sciences. The wider applications of game theory beyond pure mathematics add to the importance and value of the book.

E.N. Perron presents the two main classifications of game theory in the form of non-cooperative and cooperative games. The subject matter is covered in the following overarching sections:

* Matrix two person games
* Solution methods for matrix games
* Two person nonzero sum games
* Games in extensive form: Sequential decision making
* N-Person nonzero sum games and games with a continuum of strategies
* Cooperative games
* Evolutionary stable strategies and population games

For me, the power of the book is how E.N. Barron combines a comprehensive overview of non-cooperative and cooperative games, with the practical exercises and problems to ensure their understanding. Recognizing the importance of software programs for finding solutions to complex game theory problems, the author places an emphasis on this critical element of modern mathematics. E.N. Barron focuses on the core principles of game theory due to the time limitations of teaching a complete course in game theory in a single semester.

E.N. Barron acknowledges and incorporates the time factor with the inclusion of recommended course syllabus in the opening chapter. An added feature of the course, from both a teaching and a student learning standpoint is the addition of the study guide and solutions manual Solutions Manual to Accompany Game Theory: An Introduction, Second Edition. The author knows that game theory has numerous real world applications outside the field of mathematics. With the wide diversity of students, in areas of specialization outside of mathematics, the book requires only basic prerequisites for complete understanding, with no need to write software programs for solving problems.

I highly recommend the superb and very practical textbook Game Theory: An Introduction, Second Edition by E.N. Barron, Ph.D., along with its very useful learning companion book Solutions Manual to Accompany Game Theory: An Introduction, Second Edition also by E.N. Barron, Ph.D., to any academic instructors of game theory, especially those who teach a wide range of students from many different disciplines. This textbook provides the foundational aspects of game theory in an approachable and hands on format that will appeal to both professors and students alike.