Business Book Summaries

We at BusinessSummaries.com are proud to announce that we have selected Al Betz, the esteemed author of the book Outfluence, as Author of the Month for April 2009.

Al Betz is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Outfluence, LLC. He has a nationwide reputation as a realtime reporter, an author, and a leader in the court reporting world. Major legal matters he and his company participated in include the grand jury investigation of the Clinton Administration, and the recent litigation involving alleged accounting fraud of Ernst & Young, WorldCom and Enron.

As an author, Betz has interviewed and transcribed the stories of numerous subjects, including families of 9/11 victims in an effort to preserve their loved ones' life stories. He credits his outfluence approach to life and to business for enabling him to attract positive people to his life and to his business.

Outfluence is defined by Betz as a way to effect real, positive change – even if one doesn’t have all the authority, money, or clout that is usually required to effect such change. Applied consciously, outfluence creates a powerful, irresistible message that promotes growth in personal lives, relationships and businesses.

Outfluence turns conventional thinking about influence upside down – making a powerful force available to anyone who chooses to use it. Betz’s book on the topic, Outfluence, introduces the power of silent communication and teaches principles and behaviors to help people become more effective in their day-to-day interactions. It will also teach them that the effort extended to show others that we care makes an impression – whether our approach is in the form of speaking, writing, listening, or practicing patience and respect. Read more about Betz and his groundbreaking book here.

The BusinessSummaries.com editorial staff interviewed Betz about his book and the story behind it. Key excerpts from the interview are posted here. The summary of Outfluence was released to BusinessSummaries.com’s subscribers on February 9, 2009.

Every week, subscribers enjoy business book summaries of today’s business bestsellers in PDF, PDA, Powerpoint, audio, video and mindmap formats. The latest versions of the book summaries are all available online upon subscription to BusinessSummaries.com.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, outfluence, Al Betz

These are tough times for everyone, but arguably more so for those whose wealth depends heavily on the stock market. Many would say that the wise thing to do is to get out while you still can – but some people advocate the contrary. One of them, master investment strategist and stock market history expert Sam Stovall, goes so far as to state that people can still make money off the stock market, and that they shouldn't flee when times get tough and cash gets tight – they just have to change their tactics…

In his book Stovall presents seven familiar sayings (thus the title) that not only convey enduring truths but also serve as superb investment strategies even during tough times. Here are two of the sayings or rules he presents:

Rule 1 – Let Your Winners Ride, But Cut Your Losers Short Contrary to popular opinion, it’s been more rewarding to invest in those industries that recorded the best price performances over the past year, while avoiding those with the worst. In this case, “Buy Low, Sell High” doesn’t typically work in the short run!

Always remember that history is a great guide, but it is never gospel. No investment technique works all of the time. The Let Your Winners Ride, but Cut Your Losers Short rule underperformed the broader market three years in a row, from 1987 to 1989, yet it beat the market 10 years straight from 1971 to 1980, including the mega-meltdown years of 1973 and 1974.

Investors typically fail before rules do. In other words, investors tend to give up on a rule after one or two years of underperformance – just when the rule is likely to work again. And to compound matters, they switch into another rule that just has a lengthy hot streak. As luck would have it, that rule would then likely hit a cold streak. In the end, an investor who doesn’t stick with a particular discipline, and frequently changes allegiances, will likely give up on following rules altogether.

So either embrace a single rule that you favor most and stick with it, or embrace two rules, directing half of your money toward one rule and the other half toward the second rule.

Rule 2 – As Goes January, So Goes the Year The first month of the year has been very accurate in forecasting the coming year’s performance for equity markets, sectors, and industries. Find out how you can leverage this forecasting phenomenon.

Developing a January Barometer portfolio for either sectors or industries is amazingly simple – just select the three S&P 500 sectors, or 10 industries, that posted the best performances during January and hold them for a year. That’s all you have to do.

You may be surprised to discover the magnitude and frequency of rewards you could have reaped by taking a cue from a single month’s performance. You may also be surprised to find out that the January Barometer portfolios frequently beat the market whether the S&P rose or fell in January.

You even find out which sectors or industries to avoid. Just as with the Let Your Winners Ride portfolio, the performances of the industries and sectors in the January Barometer portfolio show that investors can save themselves a lot of heartache by avoiding the three sectors and 10 industries that posted the weakest performances during this opening month of the year.

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

It's pretty obvious that you have to maintain a constant flow of information with your stakeholders – with the people you work with and work for who have a personal and/or professional stake in what you do. A list of stakeholders can be exceedingly lengthy, and can include everyone from your board of directors to the media and your customers and clients – as well as everyone in between.

Communicating constantly with these stakeholders can be problematic at times, especially since different people will react differently to different data, reports, and what-have-you. So it takes not a little skill to be able to communicate what you have to say. Skill, mind you, and caution as well.

Without further ado, then, here are some tips to help you get your message across to your stakeholders

•Item zero: understand your audience before you send them anything. What is the character of their "stake"? What would they need to know, and what would they not need to know at all? What motivates them? What irritates them? What riles them up?

•Learn to control your emotions. An emotional blast will offend or irritate or stir up almost everyone. Be more measured, more thoughtful. Communicate facts more than feelings.

•Seek win/win solutions that will redound to the benefit of all concerned.

•Communicate directly where possible. (Emails and text messages, etc. can all too easily be taken out of context or misunderstood.) Try to be as personal as your schedule and circumstances permit. Be as visible as you can.

•Communicate rapidly. Don't waste time, especially in crisis situations.

•Understand the power of non-verbal communication – and its limitations as well.

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

If you're in the business of selling goods and services, you really can't afford to neglect your brand, your identity and how you present yourself to the world. You need to be clear about yourself and what you offer, and present yourself and what you offer as different – and better – than your competition. If you can't, then why would you be doing what you do in the first place? Think about it.

Here are some important points that will help you to move forward and practice the principles of good brand management, if you're not doing so already.

1. Clearly define your brand and its values. What do you aim to do? Don't just aim to sell your product or your services – have loftier aspirations than that. And to do so it's important to establish what you hold dear as well, your non-negotiables – your values aside from simply turning a profit.

2. Once you've set this, make sure you communicate this definition and description of your brand to everyone you work with – your business partners, your customers, your clients. Everyone must know who you are and what you are doing.

3. Make sure that you put quality control measures in place, and be very strict regarding their implementation. Let people associate you and your brand with high standards and excellent products and services, and you will have gone a very long way towards building a good relationship with them.

4. Imbue everything with your own personal touch. Do all that you can, go the extra mile, to establish your uniqueness!

5. Protect yourself and your brand from your competitors. There may be those who will try sneaky, underhand ways to undermine you and your brand, instead of trying to compete with you. Guard your brand equity jealously.

6. Never rest on your laurels. Always keep training to make yourself better, for better brand delivery. Keep working to acquire new skills.

7. Reputation is key. Constantly watch what people say about you, and try to nurture a good reputation. You may offer an excellent product and services, but a few key words in the right ears can sink you like a stone if you're not careful.

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

Whether you own a business or work for someone, you really do have to make sure that Item Zero on that daily to-do list of yours is: Keep Yourself Informed and Up to Date. Whether you do so by reading the papers or by checking your favorite websites, it doesn't matter. Just make sure you know what's going on – and you keep yourself as informed as humanly possible.

We all know that the world can and does change in the blink of an eye – sometimes faster. However, what some people do not realize is that now more than ever, it is possible for people to actually know what is going on almost right away – in some cases just a few seconds after it occurs. So why not make use of the immense power available nowadays to keep yourself informed and ready to take advantage of whatever opportunities might result?

Warren Buffet agrees with this point. As quoted in Jeff Matthews' book "Pilgrimage to Warren Buffet’s Omaha", Buffet was asked this most basic question at one of the eponymous Berkshire Hathaway shareholders’ meetings: “What should I do to become a great investor?”

Buffett’s emphatic answer is simple and straightforward: “Read everything you can,” he says with finality. Despite his vast wealth and success, Buffett isn't one to rest on his laurels. He still reads literally thousands of financial statements and annual reports each year – as he has done for each of the last 50 or more years that he’s been investing. Of course there's quite a bit more to what has made Buffett a great investor than this. But it all began by reading.

So why not do as Buffett does, and keep yourself in the know?

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

Maybe your office is spending too much each month. Or you may not even know where your money is going. A well-organized budget can help solve both problems.

A budget can also help you get your finances under control so you can get out of debt and find the funds to renovate, make some new capital acquisitions, or do anything else that you might need to do but don’t have the money for right this moment.

Once you've created your budget, here are some simple strategies to keep it in place:

1. Why did you create your budget? Keep in mind your reason for creating a budget in the first place. Surely your intention wasn't to create a budget so strict that there's no wiggle room for anything other than necessary! Your goal is to be wise about how you spend the money you receive each month. True, this may mean that you've had to cut back on discretionary spending, but the ultimate pay off is being able to do the things you truly need to do.

2. Make it simple. If your budget is too difficult for even a financial genius to understand, you won't stick with it. Your budget should be simple enough to understand so you'll be able to use it and adjust it when necessary. The easier it is to use and manage, the more likely you'll be to stick with it.

3. Be realistic. Is your budget realistic for you? If you're planning to cut all your expenses at once, you may be trying to do too much too soon. Start out making small changes to how you spend money, instead of broad, sweeping changes that are totally unreasonable. Small budget changes are easier to maintain than large ones. Remember, everything in moderation brings the best results.

4. Include short-term goals you can reach quickly. Short-term financial goals can make living with a budget easier. Whichever way you choose to pay off your debts, you'll need to find extra money each month by cutting down on other expenses.

5. Include long-term goals to work toward. Do you have concrete, long-term goals within your budget? Put notes to yourself or statements of your goals or where you can see them throughout the day. This will help you stick to your budget when you want to spend money you maybe shouldn't.

It's possible to stick to your budget by following these simple strategies. Remember, however, that once you get your finances under control, it's not a reason to revert back to old habits.

Following a budget won't always be easy and there may be times when you have an emergency that makes you deviate from your plan. If that happens get back on track as soon as you can.

Before you know it, all your sacrifice will have been worth it when you realize your debts are dwindling to nothing and your funds are free again for you to grow as you want to!

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

Is your company a values-centric one? Or are you and your staff only out for the money, out to make a quick buck – and does this mean that you and/or your people will abandon the company when times get tough?

Those are two extremes, and it may be too easy to believe that a "happy medium" exists between these two. But as I will argue, there is actually no such medium between these two extremes. It's either you have a clearly-defined set of company values and your working life and that of your staff is oriented according to them – or you don't work according to these values, and if you don't, you're simply out to line your pockets. Because if this is the case, you're not working because you love what you do – you're working just for the cash.

So what to do if you own a company and want to make sure that you and your staff live according to the values you've set? Well, firstly, you as company owner must set whatever values your company is to live by, and strictly implement them. Make sure to sanction or punish those who refuse to live up to those standards, even (or perhaps that should be "most especially") if you yourself are the one that commits the mistake.

Here are ten key or basic values that are applicable to every single company, without exception or fail. There are many such values out there, and these are just ten, but they certainly are ten of the most important:

•Professional and personal integrity, even at the expense of profits

•Adherence to promises and commitments, even "just verbal" commitments that are not backed up on paper

•Focus on building positive relationships that redound to the benefit of all concerned

•Focus on stimulating creativity and innovation

•Being fair and just in all dealings with everyone

•An enduring focus on high quality

•Building and establishing pride in product and service among employees and staff

•Establishment of trust and loyalty with stakeholders (staff, suppliers, partners, clients, customers, etc.)

•Constant recognition of achievement and excellence

•Excellent organization and structure

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

We all know that it is exceedingly important to develop ourselves such that we will be able not only to flourish in easy times, but also be able to get by during tougher times. But what exactly should we be aiming to acquire for ourselves?

Barry Griswell and Bob Jenkins, in their book "The Adversity Paradox: An Unconventional Guide to Achieving Uncommon Business Success", have put together what they term as a portfolio of assets in which an individual can elect to invest in order to produce positive outcomes in the future. Here are the components they have identified as key:

1. Introspection is the practice of observing one’s self, namely one’s personality, strengths, and weaknesses, overall performance, motivations, goals, ideas, and capabilities, and conducting honest self-assessments based on what one determines.

The authors ask their readers to list the number of orbiting satellites readers have who are acting as mirrors. They could include family members, friends, co-workers, supervisors, and so on. Depending on readers' aspirations and goals, there may also be many more objective mirrors, such as income level, awards, and positions changed.

2. Values Behavior. Good values, and behavior that matches those values, are exceedingly important if one wishes to maintaining a positive trajectory over long periods of time. Griswell and Jenkins warn that compromising values may get someone ahead in the short run but will always bring anyone down in the long run. Honesty and integrity are the foundation for any type of success – honesty with others and, more important, honesty with oneself.

Stated values may not mean a whole lot; it’s behavior that gives a true indication of who a person really is. In the best-case scenario, one's stated values are always in accordance with one's actual behavior. Ethical behavior is a function of adequate moral reasoning, which is indicated by how far one has been able to climb the hierarchy of moral development.

3. Work Character. If success is about reaching personal potential, about achieving stretch goals and doing it “right,” there must be hard work. Work character is a broader concept than work ethic, since work character consists of one’s physical work ethic, one’s cognitive work ethic, and one’s particular skills to lead.

The authors ask readers to make a commitment to reach their goals. Not only will one's overall work character and job performance improve, one will also find that work will quickly become more fulfilling. One's new skills and increased motivation may even lead one to the position one has always dreamed of.

4. Purpose and Passion. If hard work is critical, then we need to find a way to really enjoy our work so that it’s no longer work, but rather something we’re passionate about. The trick is to view work as a means to far greater benefits or enjoyment. Purpose comes first. Once you find your true purpose, passion will follow. Passion can be a great measure as to whether you’ve found your purpose or not: if passion never arrives, move on and try and find a different purpose.

It may take time to discover a purpose, say Griswell and Jenkins. Stick with a task until you’re sure that passion won’t develop. Purpose may change over time.

5. Thirst for Knowledge. The power of knowledge and lifetime learning is no less than transformative. It can be absolutely essential to one's success.

Success is significantly impacted by the foundation of knowledge already possessed or which will be possessed in the future. If one hasn't already found a thirst for knowledge, it’s not too late. One can never tell when something will ignite one's thirst for knowledge, but one does have to create optimal conditions for it. So, the authors urge, be a sponge! Get out of that comfort zone and try something new or more challenging. Make learning an adventure!

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

If you don't already have a good publicity scheme going, go out of your way to get one started right this moment.

Publicity can provide you with literally tons of benefits, but we've come up with four of the best reasons why you should cook up and maintain an excellent publicity scheme.

•The first is the most basic. Publicity markets your business more effectively than advertising or asking your family members to spread the word, because many times, it's the more subtle approaches that win over customers and not the more blatant ones (case in point – companies that implement in-your-face advertising techniques sometimes fall flat on their faces because many consumers tend to shun those sorts of things. You may be better served by going for the less overtly for-profit solution).

•Next, good publicity gives you and what you're offering an aura of credibility and excellence. The usual perception is that if other people have written good words about you in print or on the web, and/or have praised you on television or on radio programs, then your products or services must really be worth them plunking down their hard-earned money for (and this is considered true and valid even if people understand that said opinions may have been paid for or otherwise elicited in some way).

•Thirdly, a nicely-organized publicity campaign will not only sell your products and services for you automatically, but will also help build your own reputation immensely. It will help you yourself become known by many, and perhaps even popular if that is what you desire, but, of course, only if you take care to build up an identity and do not simply use your campaign to sell your goods and services, no more.

•Lastly, in relation to the previous point, a good publicity campaign can open up all sorts of excellent opportunities for you. So even if despite all your efforts your business goes belly-up, you yourself will easily manage to survive that and can go on to future successes. And of course you can also come up with other projects or businesses that run parallel to your main business, using the resources that you've gained access to thanks to your publicity campaign.

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

How do you see your staff? As mere cogs in your corporate machinery, or as individuals with specific needs, wants, goals, and desires?

It's all too easy for managers to fall into the trap of seeing their people as the former, especially since managerial schedules are as a rule tight and they have other, "more important" things to do. But be forewarned – if you don't treat your people like PEOPLE, they will leave you in the lurch.

You need to earn the respect of those you manage, and the only way to do that is to treat people as individuals. Here is how to do so:

•Set high standards for good performance and behavior right at the start. Make sure people are informed of what is expected of them. •Set clear standards for unacceptable performance and behavior – especially the punishments levied on people who refuse to toe the line. •Deal with poor performance and behavior immediately and "by the book". •Avoid gossip – especially if you are a supervisor or manager. •Avoid the temptation to jump to conclusions about people, and, worse, act on them. •Provide your staff with feedback regarding both exemplary and unacceptable performance and behavior. •Avoid being judgmental, and try to get everyone to avoid being judgmental. •Set a good example with your own behavior (you will not have the moral high ground needed to be able to maintain discipline if you do not do this).

Remember, you can only manage people if they respect you. You also need to be a good communicator and make the effort to talk to your staff, and more importantly, listen to your staff instead of just shooting your mouth off all the time.

Always treat people as individuals. People are different, so you have to deal with them in different ways that jive with their personalities, desires, feelings, motivations, goals, comfort zones, and so on and so forth. The key is respect, and the Golden Rule – don't treat other people the way you yourself wouldn't want to be treated.

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