Book Review - Burnout to Breakthrough

About the Book
It's official. For the first time, the World Health Organization has classified burnout as a health problem. Renowned motivational speaker Eileen McDargh proposes that to tackle it, we must learn to break out of energy-draining thoughts and behaviors.

Resilience, she argues, is strictly a matter of energy management--by better managing your energy, you can both build resiliency and overcome burnout. Breakthrough happens when our energy is consciously distributed to what matters most in our lives. So after a short survey that will tell you where you fit in a burnout and resiliency profile, McDargh helps pinpoint the causes of your burnout and examine the energy demands that keep you from refueling and recharging. She provides an in-depth energy analysis and gives you the keys to master the four dimensions that can give you a resilience breakthrough: head, heart, hands, and humor.

McDargh guides the reader through the process of identifying energy drains and implementing strategies for handling them, whatever phase of life you are in. Her intention is to help you not only to successfully manage work and life demands but also make even larger strides in understanding how to put together a life by design and not by default.


My Take on the Book
This author does an amazing job to bring out a completely new perspective on looking at burnout. The book is practical and you can definitely get through the book in only a few sittings, at least I did!  As I read this I found that I definitely was learning things that was making me look at the world around me in a new way.

The author brings out interesting work from psychologist Herbert Freudenberger, who first introduced burnout.

Through her research she created a book that is full of self-assessments and exercises that help you identify instances of burnout.

By the end of the book you have a better understanding of burnout and what you can do to make changes in your own life to make big rewards for the future.

----------------------------------------
New to the Divadom or to Dad of Divas Reviews?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions? Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

Book Review - Strategy First: How Businesses Win Big

About the Book
In Strategy First, Brad Chase, the mind behind some of Microsoft’s largest and most successful initiatives, explains why building robust strategies is the imperative to business success. Chase leads readers through his easy-to-use strategy model, Strategy = E x mc2, which teaches readers the art of strategy—how to build and execute winning strategies relative to the competition. To supplement the model, Chase provides 5 key tips to strategy prosperity and over 50 examples from a broad range of businesses that help the reader think about how they can use his Strategy First toolkit. The author will inspire readers to examine the effectiveness of their current strategies, using the model that has served him in his distinguished career.

 

My Take on the Book
This is an amazing book that really allows you to look at success strategies for your own business that will help you to take your business to a whole new level.

I loved the whole strategy that the author shares in his formula, Strategy = E x MC squared. 
--E stands for “Execution.” It’s always more difficult than it looks.
--M stands for “Market Potential.”
--C stands for “Customer Value.”

The concept is laid out in a way that all can understand and is definitely something that made a ton of sense for me. The book walks you through how move from planning your strategy to putting your strategy into action.

This book was such a great perspective that makes you think about things in a whole new way. Get ready to go on a journey of discovery that will really help your own business to thrive and succees into the future!


----------------------------------------
New to the Divadom or to Dad of Divas Reviews?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions? Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

Book Review - Doing Virtous Business

About the Book
Critics of Capitalism view big businesses as insatiable masters of the universe with little regard for the public, and label those who create wealth as greedy, malicious, and unscrupulous. In this insightful and original book, Theodore Roosevelt Malloch answers these charges head-on with the bold idea that the creation of wealth by virtuous means is the most important thing we can do for ourselves and for others.

Doing Virtuous Business explains the true purpose of business and illuminates the connection between a free economy and religious liberty. Drawing from the notion of "social capital" that has been developed by generations of scholars, Malloch adds the concept of "spiritual capital" as a foundation for social progress and also a necessity for responsible and successful enterprise. He details the virtues that sustain a business and a free market -- virtues that are critical to the emerging global economy.

Malloch reveals that a company's soul determines its "spiritual capital," an equally imperative foundation to success. From Wal-Mart to IBM, Malloch demonstrates how companies that operate on ethical models informed by spiritual traditions have outperformed their competitors. This book is a welcome moral defense of free enterprise and a sensible guide for achieving the ideal of virtuous business.

My Take on the Book
It was seem to be against the capitalist approach to use virtue in business affairs, but the author in this book shows the reader many great examples of companies that are doing just that. While the author does mention that being virtuous is not easy, it does lead to many amazing results and provides the businesses with new was to be successful in an ever-changing world.

What I liked about this book was that the author has done a great job at sharing virtue through stories and down-to-earth examples so that anyone can follow along. He also uses a wide array of people and professions to pull his information. This both strengthens and solidifies the importance of using this information in your own professional capacity.

This is the type of book that I would like to share with many of the students that I work with so that can see (in practical terms) the importance of holding true to a high ethical code and having strong virtues and morals. One of the lines that will definitely stick with me is when the author mentions that doing good is just good business, boy is he right!

The book is definitely applicable to so many people in pretty much any professional capacity. I would highly recommend all people, whether currently working or not to read this and share it wit others, you will not be disappointed.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New to the Divadom or to Dad of Divas Reviews?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

Book Review - Coach Yourself to Win

About the BookCoach Yourself to Win: 7 Steps to Breakthrough Performance on the Job and in Your Life, examines the key question: How can you achieve permanent behavior change both in the workplace and in your private life?

Bringing over 20 years of executive coaching experience to the subject, author Howard M. Guttman advances a unique, rigorous approach to the professional and personal development categories, long dominated by pop psychologists and new-age thinkers.

Observes Guttman, "The gap in most professional and personal development books is that they offer a program for improvement without providing the core skills needed to help people achieve permanent behavior change. Those skills relate to people's ability to coach themselves through the highs and lows that inevitably occur along the pathway to change."

Coach Yourself to Win takes the trade secrets of executive coaching-ones that Guttman has applied to help hundreds of senior executives in major corporations improve their performance-and reinvents  them so they can successfully be put to use for personal and professional growth in the life space and workplace arenas.

Guttman's book is refreshingly honest. He notes in Chapter One that self-coaching isn't for everyone.  He provides readers with self-test and evaluation criteria to determine whether or not the approach he recommends is the right one for them.

One of the biggest self-coaching challenges that the book addresses is a person's willingness to accept feedback, a key part of Guttman's self-coaching process.  As Guttman explains, "Self-coachees must be willing to be vulnerable and allow others to provide them with feedback. When you treat feedback as a gift rather than a threat, you open up the possibility of achieving personal breakthroughs."

To help achieve breakthrough performance on the job and in life, readers learn to master a practical 7-step process that enables them to:

• Clarify, set, and stay committed to realistic Intentions
• Zero in on what had been holding them back
• Find the support they've been lacking
• Develop a path for change
• Evaluate themselves along the way-and make necessary corrections
• Realize their Intention to achieve a "new you"

To help readers implement their plan, Coach Yourself to Win provides a dedicated Web site-www.coachyourselftowin.com-where they will find supporting insights and materials for going through the process.

About the Author
Howard M. Guttman is principal of Guttman Development Strategies, Inc. (GDS), a Mount Arlington, NJ-based management consulting firm specializing in executive coaching; building horizontal, high-performance teams; strategic and organizational alignment; and management development training (www.guttmandev.com).

GDS's clients include Bloomberg LP; Colgate-Palmolive; John Hancock; Johnson & Johnson; L'Oréal USA; Mars, Inc.; Novartis; Pfizer; and Walmart.

Mr. Guttman is also the author of Great Business Teams: Cracking the Code for Standout Performance and When Goliaths Clash: Managing Executive Conflict to Build a More Dynamic Organization.

My Take on the BookThis book was great! I have my own small business and have been working as a
professional for some time and this book encapsulates some wonderful advice and resources that will help anyone! In reading this book it reads like a manual, one that you can follow along with and practice along the way.If you are looking to grow as a leader and as a professional, this book will definitely move you in the right direction!

One of the things that I liked about the book was the positive and change-oriented nature that the author takes. It's tone was refreshing and motivating and after reading it myself, I was motivated to set some new goals and move forward toward achieving them!

I truly believe that if you put the time into this book you will take so much out, you will not be disappointed!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New to the Divadom or to Dad of Divas Reviews?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

Book Review - Business Reports for Busy People

About the BookBusiness reports are vital to any organization, no matter its size.  However, business reports don’t write themselves.  The ability to organize and present information in an easy-to-read format allows decision-makers to generate the best possible results, no matter what type of report is required.

Business Reports for Busy People has nearly 30 chapters, each one packed with concrete information, useful techniques, and practical tips, ensuring that no matter what kind of report is needed, there will be information to help. Report types include business plans, budget reports, white papers, feasibility studies, and annual reports, among others.

For each kind of report, Business Reports for Busy People, includes:

• Essential “must-have” contents.
• Suggested formats.
• Requirements, criteria, or background information to include.
• Necessary comparisons or options to discuss.
• How to frame conclusions or recommendations. 
• A complete revision checklist.

Also included: easily customizable Microsoft Word templates and boilerplate text on an interactive CD-ROM.  

A practical resource, Business Reports for Busy People features chapters that can stand alone, and is tabbed on the outside margin for quick reference. 

Business Reports for Busy People will teach readers how to work better and more efficiently, by learning to write effective business reports of all kinds.  Business reports that present well-focused and comprehensive content, in a manner that is easy for the audience to comprehend, are an invaluable tool for any business.

Business Reports for Busy People: Timesaving, Ready-to-Use Reports for Any Occasion (EAN 978-1-60163-042-1, pages: 288, price: $19.99) was published by Career Press. The book is available at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon.com, and many other booksellers.

Career Press was founded in 1985 as a niche publisher of career directories that since has grown into one of the best-known independent publishers of its kind.  Career Press, which now boasts an active, strong-selling backlist of nearly 300 titles spanning careers, personal finance, business management, and study skills, celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010.

For more information about Business Reports for Busy People and other new releases, visit the Website of the publisher, Career Press, at www.CareerPress.com.

About the Author:

Helping online and brick-and-mortar entrepreneurs communicate effectively has been a focus for Greg Holden since he founded his own business in 1993. His diverse list of clients includes both corporations and not-for-profits, and he has worked for universities for more than 20 years. His 45+ books on such topics as marketing, creative services, and security have sold 300,000+ copies, and his book Starting an Online Business for Dummies is in its sixth edition. His expertise, especially in the area of report writing, has helped companies and other organizations continue to operate successfully long after their start-up. Holden lives in Chicago, IL.

My Take on the Book
This book was an amazing guide for any person in business. The book itself provides a step-by-step guide for people to completely understand how to produce the best business reports that they can. What was nice was that the book also came with a CD full of great templates and information that complimented the text perfectly.

I tried out the forms and explored the CD and found the included information invaluable. I actually brought the book to work and shared it with some colleagues as well and all were in agreement about the overall value of the book!

If you work in the business world and are required to write forms from budgets to evaluations to almost any other forms you can think of, this book is for you. It is an invaluable resource that you will come back to again and again!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New to the Divadom or to Dad of Divas Reviews?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

Book Review - How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime

About the Book 

Why do so many small business owners seem so tired?  One reason is because they spend their nights tossing and turning trying to figure out how to attract more customers.  They need to know how to sell, both individually and through their organizations.

How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime is the book to end those sleepless nights.  It will teach small business owners, and anyone else looking to learn, that if there is something to sell, no matter what the market, what the product, what the price, or what the situation is, this book will show you how.      

From selling yourself to a potential employer to increasing sales in an existing position, there is a fundamental sales process that applies to any sales situation.  How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime distills this sales process into simple, easy-to-understand, and easy-to-implement principles, processes, and practices, and applies them to a wide variety of sales situations. 

How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime is packed with real-world examples and applications to a wide variety of situations—from the owner of the corner coffee shop to the freelance professional to the sophisticated B2B seller.

How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime features:

• Easy-to-understand practices and processes that can be applied to every business      and professional practice.
• Guidelines and step-by-step how-to’s to turn ideas into practice.
• Powerful insights on selling that will enable everyone, from the aspiring entrepreneur to the experienced sales pro, to be more successful.
• Power nuggets—ways to add even more power to the practice and become even better. 

How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime gives hope to the masses of people who are faced with the urgent prospect of having to be able to sell something in order to survive the economic downturn. 

“Dave Kahle provides practical and real world sales strategies that get results...just make sure you read this before your competition does.”
    —Barry Farber, best-selling author of Barry Farber’s Guide to Handling Sales Objections

How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime (EAN 978-1-60163-131-2, pages: 240, price: $14.99) was published by Career Press. The book is available at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon.com, and many other booksellers.

Career Press was founded in 1985 as a niche publisher of career directories that since has grown into one of the best-known independent publishers of its kind.  Career Press, which now boasts an active, strong-selling backlist of nearly 300 titles spanning careers, personal finance, business management, and study skills, will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2010.

About the Author:

Dave Kahle was the number-one salesperson in the country for two different companies in two totally distinct industries, and is now one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s authored nine books, more than 100 multimedia training products, writes a weekly E-zine for salespeople, and has presented in 47 states and seven countries. For more than 20 years, he’s served as the president of The DaCo Corporation, a sales training/consulting company. In that capacity, he’s trained tens of thousands of people. He splits his time between Sarasota, Florida, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

My Take on the Book 

This book is a book that tells it like it is. The book itself is full of great insights into sales and what someone must do to make a sale. The book though is more than just a sell, sell, sell mantra, it actually goes step-by-step on the things that are important if you are to build a thriving practice / business / career. I liked the fact that the book does go into things like: Finding the Right People, and Finding out What Customers Want, as I truly believe that these points are very valid in almost any field that you work within.

All-in-all, this was a great book and one that I would recommend!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New to the Divadom?

Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader

Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

Book Review - Fast Track Networking

National networking expert Lucy Rosen has spent more than twenty five years networking – both as the founder and president of a bi-coastal marketing/public relations agency and as the founder and president of the national networking organization Women on the Fast Track.  Now she’s sharing her networking expertise with readers across the country with the publication of her latest book – revealing the networking secrets, and successes, of some of the best networkers in the country and offering a unique step-by-step approach to networking proven to put people on the fast track.

 

 This book offers an insider’s look from the woman dubbed the “Queen of Networking” into what works – and what doesn’t – when it comes to networking.  In addition, the book is filled with real-life “networking success stories” of leading business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the country – highlighting how networking helped them in their careers … and offering valuable real-life-lessons that every networker needs to know -- now -- to take their career to the next level. 

“Networking isn’t giving your business card to everyone you meet, or collecting as many business cards as you can and then calling all the people the next morning and trying to sell them your widget.  Yet unfortunately, that’s still how far too many people approach the concept of networking,” says Rosen, who has been featured in hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Entrepreneur, PINK magazine and Working Mother and interviewed on numerous national and local broadcast outlets.  “When done right, networking can often be the differentiating factor that helps you land the deal, or in today’s times land the job, so it’s critical that people know how to approach networking in a way that not only builds relationships, but builds business.  There’s an art to turning a run-of-the-mill conversation into a life-long contact, and the building of these valuable contacts is what this book is all about.” 

Fast Track Networking offers seasoned advice not only from Rosen – the founder/president of the national marketing firm SmartMarketing Solutions Group (www.smartmarketingsolutionsgroup.com), but from a number of other successful executives who share their networking strategies in this informative, and insightful, book.  Peppered with anecdotes and networking tips from business leaders  throughout all industries, including Build-A-Bear founder and CEO Maxine Clark and Alison Berke Morano, Chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party Chairs Association, the book is designed to turn today’s fledgling networkers into fast-track networkers …providing an easy-to-follow plan guaranteed to get results.

A fresh approach to networking written in Rosen’s unique down-to-earth style, the book covers today’s most important concepts when it comes to this area of growing interest to professionals, with chapters including:

• Networking is Like Dating.  Only Better.
• Facebook and LinkedIn and Twitter, Oh My: How Smart Networkers are Using Social Media to Make -- and Keep -- Great Contacts
• Position is Everything:  Where to Stand, How to Navigate the Crowd ... and Other Advice on What "Works" in Working Every Room you Enter.
•  Strategic Alliances: How the Right Partnership Can Boost Your Business ... and Beyond   

In addition, each chapter ends with a summary of tips/tools learned in each section -- clearly pinpointing what the reader now knows as a “fast track networker” – providing a concise guide as to what the reader can do to put themselves on the fast track to networking success.

For more information about Lucy Rosen and/or to order Fast Track Networking: Turning Conversations into Contacts or view a complete list of booksellers where the book is available, visit http://www.lucyrosen.com/. 

My take on the book
As a person who networks daily, I was quite excited to read this book. With all of the experience that the author brings to the table, I found this book to be complete with great, practical information that is lively and energetic. The book also does a great job at engaging the reader in experiences so the information jumps off the page and draws the reader into the book itself.

If you work in business or are just trying to increase your networking savvy this book is a great addition to your professional collection!

If this book sounds like one you would like in your own library, you can find it on Amazon!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.