Business Book Summaries

If you believe that business is simply about being able to deliver the goods to your customer when he or she wants it, better wise up. Business is no longer that way – if it has ever been that way at all.

What your customers really want from you is not a simple, single good or service; they want you to give them an entire solution to their needs or problems.

Think of it this way: When a customer buys a stereo system from a dealer, implicit in that purchase is a future set of purchases: maintenance, insurance, spare parts, and perhaps peripherals or related devices. It's not just the stereo they want from you – the stereo is just a solution to a need, which in this case is the desire to listen to music. So shouldn't you be looking to provide a total solution to that need, which would keep your customer coming back to you again and again?

Here are some ways to help you change your mindset and switch to the solution-provision paradigm.

•Try to change how you view your company. See yourself and your company as a solutions provider, and not just someone or a company that provides services or products. •Could there be a distinction between what you are selling and what your customer is buying from you? You need to find out. •In relation to the previous point, go one step further: if you don't already know about them, find out what your customer's most basic problems and needs are that get them to go to you in the first place. Try to find out how your customers make use of what they get from you – maybe you can help with that as well.

Focus on the value and not simply the good or the service in order to bring people in the door, make that sale, and keep on coming back for more!

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, customer service

If you have something to say and want a lot of people to pick it up, you'd do well to couch it in story form.

A story is a simple retelling of the experience/s another person or group of people underwent in the past, and which has a lesson or group of lessons that other people may find useful or instructional. Stories have an amazing dual power to simulate – people can see how it might be for them without them having to do anything in actuality – and inspire.

Many an author and business thinker swears by the power of the story as a method to get one's ideas to resonate with others. As the brothers Chip and Dan Heath say in their book "Made to Stick", the best and stickiest ideas are those that are:

Simple - the idea must be stripped down to the core – simplicity and profundity are key Unexpected - they must stand out from the crowd by being surprising Concrete - they should be explained in terms of human interactions and sensory information Credible - the idea mustn't be unbelievable Emotional - they must create empathy, they should be connected to things people already care about

Stories in and of themselves naturally adhere to most of this model – they are naturally concrete and nearly all of them are emotional and unexpected in one way or another. The idea's proponent just has to make sure that the story is simple, because it can be all too easy to come up with something that is so complex it inadvertently blunts or obscures the key or core ideas.

To differentiate yourself from your competitors, make sure you do your best to offer competitive products and excellent service and not just advertise your low, low costs.

'Tis the time to slash prices, come up with catchy come-ons and advertise that you're doing so, in order to bring people in. The economy is in the doldrums and doubtlessly will be so for some time to come, regardless of what some people may be saying. But believe us when we say that that is barely sufficient to get some people in the door these days – or to keep people with you even though you may have managed to get them to try what you're offering.

Even though people are running scared and costs become extremely significant during tough times, value can never be neglected – especially since businesses as well are running scared and just about everyone will be thinking of simply slashing prices and trimming profit margins. And if you think about it, many people will even be more focused on quality nowadays than in tougher times. They could for instance be so sensitive that they could ask for a full refund and head elsewhere upon encountering even two or three errors or even something that they dislike and which they would simply have let slide if their money wasn't such an issue. The same goes for investments in quality – it may hurt, but if you need to invest in better machinery to make sure that the shoes you sell come out better, go on and do so. (Realize that you may have to spend less than in a good year if you buy during tough times!)

So if you're thinking of scrimping on that new service or letting go of one or two of your quality assurance staff, think twice. What you're doing might just lead to your own closure if it impacts negatively on what you're offering your customers.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement

This may be a tall order for those of you whose companies are reeling and who're suffering. But the basics aside, of course – stuff like reducing spending without cutting into necessary expenditures and investments, and so on and so forth – positivism is really the only way to get by during touch-and-go times.

Many people nowadays are floundering – milling around and being all indecisive. The old systems many of them may be used to are obviously no longer working, and many of them will not know what to do or where to turn. By contrast, even if you yourself are scared or nervous, you must stand out from the crowd and project an air of optimism. This is because whatever industry you are in, many of your own competitors will also be fearful and indecisive – you can't be just like them. You have to be different in order to attract customers – take the opportunity to glow a little brighter and increase your chance of stealing customers from your less attractive competitors!

What do you do then? Call a general meeting and inform everyone that you need to start adopting a bold, optimistic tone each and every time. Whether it's the PR Manager doing a press conference on your latest product, or your webmaster tweaking the text on your homepage, it has to be all of a piece. Project a good positive image every time; show that your company is growing, doing well and is eager and ready to serve both old and new customers. Have your staff dress and look nice; have them answer the phones sounding eager to do business. Leave no room for doubt or ambivalence. Customers will not want to go with a company that's in the doldrums – or, worse, is teetering close to the brink and may be shutting down as soon as the next day.

Just avoid sounding too aggressive; you don't want to come across as cocky and brash, and you certainly don't want to rub people the wrong way. Look and sound like "business as usual" – like business and serving your customers is at the forefront of your concerns – and you will have taken a good first step towards making sure that you keep your business even in the toughest times.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, recession

When you are to embark on any kind of presentation and to any audience, there are three key elements that must be borne in mind and around which your preparation for the presentation must center. As discussed by esteemed author Khalid Aziz in his book Presenting to Win, these key elements are, firstly, the message that you want to get across; secondly, the audience to whom you are delivering your message and to whom you would want to get the message across; and finally, the medium itself.

The Audience It is important that your communication is such that you get action from the audience – you want to elicit a reaction from them in accordance with your objectives, what you want to achieve through delivering that presentation. In particular, that action must be in your favor – again, it must be in coherence with what you wish to achieve.

The Message Develop a clear idea of how you will measure the success of your communication, remembering that you are trying to get them to do something in your favor that they would not have done had you not spoken to them. Once you have done that, you will be well on the way to starting your communication.

The Medium In terms of normal presentations, when you speak of the medium, you are actually talking about the environment in which you are giving your presentation. This is dependent on the numbers of people who make up the audience. The medium is more often dictated by those who have invited you to present. If you can, inquire in advance about the layout of the room or even take time out to examine it yourself so that it does not come as a total surprise.

Key Points to Remember

Here are some things that are important to remember in support of making a good presentation.

1. There are four basic questions to ask yourself before any type of presentation:

• Who will you be speaking to?
• What do they want to hear?
• What is it you want to say?
• Where is the overlap?

1. Hold your audience's attention through interactivity.

2. Speak with impact and passion.

3. Mirror the audience, gradually tipping the agenda towards your message.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, presentations, public speaking

It's an exceedingly uncertain world today. There's so much uncertainty that even the folks in upper management don't always know where they stand. But good networkers, irrespective of where they are in a company's hierarchy, are the ones who are consistently the most successful and accomplished even during tough times.

Networking skills are fast becoming the ones that make the difference, whether people are actually employed full-time or freelancers or contract workers. Good networking skills will increase your chances of landing a contract or a job tremendously. It can help you find opportunities that are hidden and differentiate yourself immensely from other people seeking the same positions or competing for funding or contracts. It's been said, for instance, that good networking can be 12 times as effective regarding job hunts than answering advertisements, and that more than 80% of jobs are not advertised. Networking can be your ticket to success.

To grow your network, first you must put yourself out there and make yourself visible. Constantly raise your profile and make yourself known so that people will reach out to you and add you to their networks. Create your own network by reaching out to potential partners, exploiting these connections to get what you want or need, and by allowing your own contacts to get what they want or need as well (you can help them out any way you can or direct them to other people in your own network who can help them out if you can't). Constantly work to grow your network – add people constantly and help your contacts add contacts of their own – and keep it alive – don't let your connections lapse, keep everyone informed constantly about what you are up to. Social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook can greatly facilitate this.

The way to survive and prosper – in good times as well as bad – is to work smart and not hard. Networking can help you get more done than simply slaving away all by your lonesome. So put that network to work and reap the benefits!

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, networking

All money management survival guides will tell you the exact same thing. There's only one way to be profitable in business and in life: make more money than you spend.

This might sound so obvious that it's ridiculous to have to say it, but think about how many of us really don't make more than we spend. People often carry huge amounts of debt and, even if they're making the minimum monthly payments, they still owe more than they make between the principle and interest.

Pay Off Debts Quickly Deficit financing can actually be done successfully, but the idea is not to stay in debt forever. Sure, we might have to borrow at some point when we're putting together our business or just getting started on our own after we graduate, but we have to do all we can to minimize our debts and pay them off as fast as possible.

We need to maximize our income for prosperity, although this can be easier said than done for many people. But equally important, we have to minimize expenses. This is even more difficult for even more people!

Consumer Envy While consuming can make life fun, our society is caught up in the cult of consumerism. People are driven to spend every last penny they make in income, especially if they see neighbors or coworkers with the latest trendy "thing."

If they have spent their money on the things that are necessities in our society – housing, groceries, personal health, utilities, transportation, and communication tools – they are now enticed to spend even more money on discretionary goods and services like going out to eat instead of cooking, taking elaborate vacations or weekend getaways, more elaborate stereo systems, satellite televisions, giant-screen TVs, a larger house, a new car, a boat… the list is endless!

Salesmen are trained "not to leave money on the table" and marketers are trained to compete for every last dollar in the fear that, if they don't get the sale, somebody else will beat them to it.

If you want to have money for something that will really add quality to your life in a lasting way, some part of your money must be set aside either in savings or investments that are not too risky for you. This also means you have to keep your expenses to a minimum.

Here are some practical tips for minimizing your monthly expenses:

• For your business, consider a virtual office. You'll save on rent, permanent employees, and commuting. Plus, try marketing on the Internet as much as possible.

• For your personal life, cook more and eat out less (even for lunch). When you go shopping for groceries, look for sales and use coupons when possible.

• Take more recreational trips closer to home and see your hometown through the eyes of a tourist.

• If you need to finance something that's not an absolute necessity, think twice about it; take better care of what you have now so you don't need to replace things so frequently.

Smart money managers are those who take the time to understand their finances, research ways to cut expenses, and communicate with their families about why it's necessary to cut back. By exercising control over your money and determining if you really need to buy something, you will suddenly see extra money in your bank account at the end of every month.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, money management

Okay, so you're a small-company owner and you're suffering rather badly thanks to the current crisis. But you shouldn't give up hope – all's not lost. Here are some things you can do to keep yourself from going belly-up – and maybe even learn to prosper in these and future troublesome times.

1. Actively nurture your relationships with everyone – your employees, your customers, your partners. Work to make sure your customer service is, if not absolutely stellar, at least better than that of your competitors. Keep people close and give them a reason to be constantly in touch. If your system of communication's bad, work on it. You can offer everyone a personal touch that larger companies might not be able to match, so work on developing just that.

2. The one basic difference between you and far larger companies is your size. That can be a problem in some areas, but one advantage to being a small company is that you are far more flexible and can change far more rapidly and at far less cost to yourself than larger ones. Keep abreast of what's happening and change to adjust. Review your plans often and tweak them. The times may be volatile, but you can roll with the punches.

3. What's the state of your office operations? Is your office running smoothly, or are there problem or trouble spots? Endeavor to deal with them as soon as you can and as best you can. Again, you can change far rapidly than your bigger competitors can.

The bottom line is that perilous times can often be advantageous for companies that know how to take advantage of them. Small companies that can take advantage of their difference in size can most definitely stand to benefit. Learn to do what you do better and you'll soon be outstripping everyone else!

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, small companies

… And not only your success or their success, but the success and future prosperity of the entire organization!

First off, the power of teams vis-a-vis that of individuals – and their superiority – is well established in business literature. The esteemed author John Maxwell, in his book "Equipping 101", quotes fellow author Gene Wilkes, who discusses why teams trump individuals in many respects:

•Teams involve more people, thus affording more resources, ideas, and energy than would an individual. •Teams maximize a leader’s potential and minimize his or her weaknesses. Strengths and weaknesses are more exposed in individuals. •Teams provide multiple perspectives on how to meet a need or reach a goal, thus devising several alternatives for each situation. •Teams share the credit for victories and the blame for losses. This fosters genuine humility and authentic community. •Teams keep leaders accountable for the goal. •Teams can, simply put, do more than an individual.

To sum it up, as Maxwell himself says, "individuals play the game, but teams win championships." If you want to reach your potential, whether as a leader or a follower, or strive for the seemingly impossible – such as communicating your message two thousand years after you are gone – you need to become a team player! There really is no way around it if you want to achieve a level of success that you cannot by your lonesome.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, equipping others, John Maxwell

Conflict is never an easy thing to deal with, but old, deeply rooted conflicts can really affect your body, mind, spirit, and performance at work. When you allow a past conflict to stew and become a defining part of a relationship, it can be challenging to move forward. However, it's not impossible to solve, it's just a matter of taking the right conflict resolution approach.

Look at the Conflict with an Open Heart and Mind Many times a past conflict can be resolved by simply looking at it with a fresh, calm perspective.  When you learn how to look at a past conflict without raising your blood pressure or losing sleep, you'll be much more likely to find an amicable resolution.

The first thing you should do is look at the conflict objectively.  You need to raise all of the issues on your mind, but you must always be respectful. Actively listen to the other person, then ask that they do the same for you. Remember to focus on the problem, not the person because personal attacks have never solved anything! If you're having a difficult time communicating, a third party can help mediate the discussion so that all parties are equally heard.

Use your mutual interests and concerns as a starting point.  For example, if you were fighting with a sibling over a parent's estate, perhaps you were both trying to ensure that the estate was as fair and balanced as possible. Go forward from this point so that you start at a place where you both agree.

Brainstorm resolutions that everyone can agree on. Conflict usually occurs when one or both parties sense inequality, so get together and brainstorm ideas that will help you resolve the conflict.  You may find that you are actually building on one another's ideas. That's a good thing! The goal is to come to a resolution that provides mutual gain.

Create standards of how things will be going forward and create all of your agreements surrounding these standards.  This will help to ensure that you don't have the same obstacles in the future.  By setting specific standards, everyone will be able to communicate in the most respectful and effective manner moving forward.

Accept What You Cannot Change We all hear that we should accept the things that we cannot change, but this is easier said than done. When it comes to past conflicts you should always seek to resolve them first. If you cannot, it's time to accept the things that you cannot change.

Give up control.  When you give up trying to control what is uncontrollable suddenly the stress of dealing with the conflict dissolves. You will feel like a mountain has been lifted off of your shoulders and you may find that you have a whole new look on life as well as the conflict and the person or people involved with it.

Share what you feel.  When you are feeling angry, hurt or upset, try sharing your feelings with a trusted superior, friend at work or a family member.  It's easier to move past conflicts when you have sounding boards at your disposal.  You don't necessarily have to talk to someone who was involved in the conflict, just share your feelings openly and honestly. By getting it out of your mind and off your chest, you're able to find peace within your heart.

Look for the positives. There are always positive things that come from every situation, even the bitterest of all conflicts. For example, you may have realized the importance of communication, interpersonal relationships, or forgiveness. When you can find something positive about a past situation you'll find that coping with conflict is much easier.

Focus on forgiveness.  When you focus on forgiveness, the pain associated with conflict suddenly disappears. After all, we all make mistakes from time to time. When you realize that we live in an imperfect world it'll be easier to let go of the hurt feelings and anger associated with the conflict.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, conflict resolution