Business Book Summaries

There are plenty of ways to go about one's working life, but some of them are definitely more efficacious and effective than others. Here are a few of them:

1. Define your goals, targets and objectives, and stick to them. Rolling stones really do gather no moss. Constantly changing goals, objectives and targets is an excellent way to run your company and your staff ragged, and you'll waste quite a great deal of money doing so to boot. Don't be surprised if many of your staff pull up roots and transfer companies. Nothing ruins companies faster and more completely than internal problems of this sort.

2. Be enthusiastic about what you and your company do, and work to communicate this to your staff and all those you come in contact with. You'll find that this is far more effective at getting people to know and like what you do than a hyper-expensive marketing campaign that might not actually help you connect with key people at all.

3. Don't avoid short-term pain if it'll result in long-term gain. Similarly, avoid short-term gains if they'll only result in long-term pain. (An excellent example is the tradeoff between sales – a short-term gain – and future growth.)

4. Experience is so very important – go out of your way to gain it for yourself, work with those who possess it but who cannot or will not work for you, or hire those people who possess it and who will work for you.

5. This old chestnut really is, well, an old chestnut, but it's vital to Under-promise and over-deliver. Don't set expectations too high that you'll have trouble clearing that particular hurdle – go for the minimum that gets you somewhere – and then astound everyone by exceeding those expectations by leaps and bounds.

6. People like to see concrete results; if you are one of those people who simply talk without delivering results, you'll end up talking yourself into a corner.

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

Mark Jordan, managing principal of the middle market investment bank VERCOR, is the author of Driving Business Value in an Uncertain Economy – a book that reveals that the value of one's business is, in fact, a combination of internal and external drivers, and not entirely dependent on external drivers alone (such as economic conditions for instance).

One chief internal driver is maintaining and improving one's sales figures. Maintaining a positive sales trend may be easier than you think – or, at the very least, there is something of a formula, as established as elaborated by Mark Jordan in his book. Here is his simple approach to help you add momentum to your business's sales:

•Identify problem areas. Be extremely objective when assessing the sales problems plaguing your business.

•Compare your product offering with those of competitors. Determine the factors instrumental in making a similar product by another company better placed in the market. Work on improving your business offering. Yyour target audience might not be sufficiently addressed or your sales team might have become indifferent. Consider other changes as well, such as new product packaging, for instance.

•Since it is difficult to be completely objective when analyzing your own business, consider retaining the services of a professional to obtain a clear picture. Analysts are likely to give you more useful information about your business because they are by nature more objective than internal staff.

•Accommodate changing client behavior. Though McDonald's preferred product continues to be burgers, the company has had to accommodate customers' altered preferences. The key is to identify what pleases your customer, and to act accordingly.

•Frequently, you can gain visibility by contributing to the development of society. Consider going public with a cause your company is passionate about, and tell your customers and the public at large about it. But whatever you do, you'll need to be very serious about it.

•Get in line with industry trends. These are dynamic, evolving constantly with changes in customer preferences. Business owners do not have much control over them. Industry developments are what they are, and you should keep yourself aware of these trends and offer products matching these parameters.

•Evaluate existing sales strategies. In the wake of ever-changing client requirements, what worked a year ago may be completely ineffective today. A regular assessment of the efficacy of existing sales strategies is crucial.

•Develop a sound sales and marketing plan that clearly delineates the goals to be achieved. Make sure that the goals are quantitative and realistic. Realistic goals do not consist of easy-to-accomplish tasks.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, marketing, sales, Mark Jordan

Sure, you may have a wide network of people, whether "IRL" or "in real life" or virtual or online (in Myspace, Facebook and all the other social networking sites). But are you making good use of these networks at all?

Network of relationships increase anyone's potential leverage to get anything done. The more connections a person has, the more leverage he or she potentially possesses. If used properly, therefore, such networks can enable one person to get many more things done than he or she could even dream of achieving by his or her lonesome.

The very first principle for optimizing one's network is gaining full knowledge and understanding of the people who comprise it. In particular, you need to discover which among your contacts are "strong ties" and "weak ties". Most people automatically assume that it is closer friendships and stronger ties that are more important when it comes to network optimization. In fact, it has been determined that in most cases, weak ties are more important, because many of our professional relationships fall into the weak-tie category – which might seem very much a misnomer considering that these professional relationships can really help us get somewhere, and not all our "strong ties" (with friends and other such people) actually do help us advance our agendas.

Next, it is exceedingly important to "network your networks", as many authors have referred to it. Each of your contacts has a personal network which you yourself aren't connected to directly. Make sure you work to gain access to this network.

Thirdly, realize that in networking, the more one gives the more one receives – and work to cultivate this attitude among your contacts. The more energy you pump into activating and maintaining your network, the more it can help you realize your goals and objectives and dreams.

Lastly, once you've created a network, don't just let all your hard work go to waste. A network is an ever-evolving thing, a dynamic thing. It only works if it's kept active and alive. Make sure you do everything you can to maintain it and keep it going.

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

Many businesspeople and entrepreneurs who have managed to crack the Chinese market have realized that in their years of working in China, no serious non-Chinese competition has emerged. This is largely because people have automatically assumed that success in China is simply a matter of working remotely and only flying in for a day every six months or so. Not a lot of prospective businessmen have sent their people to come and live in China, get under the skin of the country, and get a feel for how the system works.

Made it in China, by businessmen and writers Graham Jeal and Simon Cann, shares the insights of a group of non-Chinese entrepreneurs who give their first-hand account of their experiences in the country. These are people who have gone to China, invested their own money, gotten their hands dirty, and built successful businesses, such as Grace Liu of Asianera fame, Montgomery Singman of Radiance Digital Entertainment, and Richard Robinson, CEO of Kooky Panda Ltd.

Here is an excerpt from Made it in China that talks about the experiences of Grace Liu and Henry Winter, owner of Groove Street.

Exploring the Road Less Traveled Grace Liu is an ABC: an American-born Chinese. Both her parents were born in China but immigrated to the States where Grace was born and grew up. Grace understood that she needed to set up her own factory in order to maintain quality and to give her the ability to implement her own designs. It introduced her to Jian Ping Li (JP), the person who was to become her business partner.

Since that shaky start, Grace and JP have together built Asianera into an internationally recognized brand whose unique hand-painted porcelain is now seen on fashionable dinner tables, and in high-end shops and restaurants around the world.

LESSONS LEARNED •If you’re a manufacturer, you can’t compete on price alone. Eventually there will be a lower cost manufacturer somewhere else. China will not be the lowest cost center of the world forever.

•Good, honest, hard-working, and trustworthy Chinese business partners do exist. You just need to go and find those people.

•Find and walk the road less traveled. It will help a great deal toward product and brand differentiation. And besides, it makes for a much more interesting adventure.

Resilience and Persistence Henry Winter arrived in Hong Kong looking to get into the music business but found this tough as he had no music business experience. When he found that failure as an entrepreneur wouldn’t count against him, he set up his own business looking to develop his experience.

Henry couldn’t crack the music industry through conventional means so he started his own music marketing company, Groove Street. This evolved into an interactive agency which introduced some highly innovative business ideas including being the first agency to execute a text (SMS) message marketing campaign in China.

While there have been many innovations, the business has had a bumpy ride, but few other businesses demonstrates so well, and in such practical terms, the necessity to be resilient and persistent in order to survive in China.

LESSONS LEARNED •Take the money, then renegotiate! All valuable business partnerships evolve over time, based on the changing value that the parties can bring to the table. If the other side offers to buy, and won’t budge from their price – SELL! If you really are worth more, they will realize they need additional service/help and will be willing to pay a fair price for it. This applies to getting work from big clients, and getting cash from investors. Don’t get stuck on price, get the deal done!

•To get investment, you need a bidding war, no matter how low the bidding starts. Investors need motivation to pull the trigger and wire the money NOW. No amount of spreadsheets or business plans can supply that sharp poke. Calling an investor to say “I’m just calling to say goodbye” – while you are still thinking, “we’re selling to someone else” – now THAT gets a dramatic and immediate reaction, no matter how absurdly low the price “someone else” may be offering.

•WATCH OUT!! Intelligent people naturally dislike repetitive simple things. Anyone for an all-night match of Tic Tac Toe? No – we invented chess and World of Warcraft to stimulate our minds. Intelligent people naturally seek to make things more complicated which equates to more interesting work. But companies get rich doing the same thing, over and over.

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

When times are tough and things are constantly changing, you need to be "doing your thing" differently, or you and your business or company will find yourselves down for the count before you know it.

In times of rapid change and extreme uncertainty, the old ways just won't cut it. You're going to have to learn to do things differently to be able to navigate these much rougher waters and find safe haven.

•Start with your attitude. Become more reflective – hard work without much reflection will simply be a waste of effort. Be open to the possibility that tomorrow you may have to undo all of today's plans. •Develop your emotional intelligence such that you can easily shift yourself and deal with extreme volatility. •Be scientific about things. Try to shift your thinking such that you can see the world through new eyes and know how things relate to other things. •Learn to be systematic without getting bogged down by your plans and procedures. Don't rush at things willy-nilly, you'll never get much done that way. •When brainstorming for solutions, look at all possible angles. Don't shrug off or ignore even the one that seem far out of left field, because for all you know they could be THE solutions for you. Be creative, use your imagination! •Be ready, at any point, to discard what you've come up with and think up something new. Never be attached to any idea or solution such that you'll have a hard time dropping it if need be. (Just don't junk it completely, you never know when you'll need it again.) •Realize, if you don't already know it, that no plan is perfect and thus no plan can ever be cast in stone. Learn to craft less ponderous, more versatile plans that can be modified at a moment's notice. •Learn to take calculated risks; develop a spirit of adventure. But also know when you must abandon your course of action because it is too perilous and the risks too great. •Grow and maintain a network that keeps you in contact with good people and great ideas.

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

When you want to set goals for your business life, defining clear, concise goals is very important. Without clear goals you can end up confused about what you want to achieve, and you may be putting yourself on the path to stagnation. Clear goals can give you tremendous momentum and intense purpose in your life.

Here are five important tips to help you to define clear goals in your life:

1. Understand what you want to achieve. In order to define clear goals, your first step is to determine exactly what you want to achieve. If you don't know where you're going, you can't figure out a route to get there.

Once you know where you want to be and what you want to achieve, you'll be able to come up with the goals that will help you get there. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Take the time to sit down and brainstorm your long-term dreams and desires.

1. Determine a timeline. Setting timelines will prevent procrastination and spur you on to action to meet your goals. Having a timeline for your goals also helps to clarify them because now you know what you want and when you want it! Come up with goals that you want to meet in a month, year, and even five or ten years from now. Make a plan that will keep you on track; however, don't etch your plan in stone! Allow for changes along the way, but keep your eye on the main goal.

2. Ensure your goals are realistic. With realistic goals, you can almost guarantee that you'll be able to achieve them, and you won't stress yourself out trying to accomplish something that's out of reach. A clear goal is a realistic one. Break your long-term goals into small, achievable action steps. Reaching multiple goals along your journey will give you a feeling of accomplishment and motivate you to continue.

3. Be specific. Clarify your goals with the details of exactly what you want. Avoid vague generalities. When you make a specific goal, you'll be better able to accomplish it. Specific goals allow you to form your timeline and define your action steps. There's no guesswork involved when dealing with specifics. For example, "make more money with your business" is a vague goal. Come up with a specific goal, such as, "I will make $1,000 more per month, three months from today." This goal is specific, measurable, and realistic.

4. Refine your goals. Your goals may change as your life changes. During this process, you'll be able to make them more specific, realistic, and achievable. It's okay to refine your goals several times in your life! What's important now, might not be important to you six months or six years from now. Be willing to accept change. Revisit your goals from time to time and make new plans if necessary.

Some people flounder through their work life, unsure of their purpose or what they want to achieve. Don't let this be you! Your work life will have clear meaning if you put some thought into what's important to you, what goals you want to achieve, and what actions to take to make your plans a reality.

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

Donald Trump. Louis Gerstner. Deepak Chopra. Samuel Zell. Jerry Springer. These men don't have too much in common – aside from the fact, that is, that they are celebrated achievers. They are among the top business trailblazers and innovators interviewed and featured in The Success Effect, a book by Cincinnati Enquirer business columnist John Eckberg, that details what it takes for individuals, teams and companies to lead, achieve, prosper, and grow. Eckberg presents the transcripts of his "uncommon conversations" for his readers to learn from.

Here are three excerpts from the book that showcase Eckberg's unique approach and the lessons he draws out from those he interviewed, presented in a "carryout" he offers at the end of each section, which is intended to sum up said section for its readers:

Establish Your Niche – Sam Zell, Financier Chicago financier and billionaire

Samuel Zell is a modern-day Atlas of industry with a roster of companies that reaches around the globe. Zell started out in business by buying apartment buildings upon his graduation from the University of Michigan. In recent years, his business interests have ranged from office space to fiber optics, from mattresses to household products companies, from senior citizen housing sites to radio stations. His interests ebb and flow with the twin tides of value and opportunity.

Carryout: Extract redundancies. Attract talent to your organization by offering personal, professional or organizational growth opportunities. Measure staff and compensate on merit: what they’ve done and how much they contribute, not who they are or where they are on the executive ladder. Think big – always think big.

Learn to "Steer the Ship" – Louis V. Gerstner Jr., Former IBM Chairman

Big Blue had a bad case of the blues when Louis V. Gerstner Jr., was approached to turn around this American giant. He could reinvent the high-tech titan, smash it into autonomous units, or even sell off IBM division by division. Gerstner convinced the cadre of career IBMers that the company had to shift its focus. By 2002, the reversal was complete. IBM had profits of $8 billion, and Gerstner was gone, the reins in the hands of Samuel Palmisano.

Carryout: Markets opening in China offer an unprecedented opportunity and could herald an extraordinary period of economic growth. College students should expand their abilities: learn a language, read great books. Technical degrees never go out of style. Focus on horizons.

The Brand – Donald J. Trump

For real estate mogul Donald Trump, money is just one way to keep score. One of the nation’s first real estate developers to recognize the power of brand, Trump decided early on in his career that he would turn his personality, his name and his presence into a brand. The rest would follow.

Carryout: Education can be a marker of character, but it’s not the only concern when hiring staff. Individual initiative may be more important. Teach risk-takers that sometimes caution is the best course of action.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, The Success Effect, John Eckberg

Times are tough nowadays, and everyone has to learn to roll with the punches. Leaders have to learn how to adjust their leadership styles to match the particular demands and needs of times such as these. What works for leaders in the good times might not work as well – or work at all – in troubled times. So they have to learn how to change, and quickly to boot, or risk losing their jobs – or, worse, bring their companies down with them when they do fall.

In his book "Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty: The New Rules for Getting the Right Things Done in Difficult Times", the esteemed author Ram Charan gives what he calls his six essential leadership traits for tough times. This is not of course to say that such traits are any less useful during better times, only that they are absolutely essential for leaders when times are troubled.

Here are the traits, along with the reasons why Charan adjudges them as essential:

1. Honesty and credibility. Level with people and tell them how you see the world, acknowledge the limits of your understanding, and ask them for their own views. Doing this may take courage, but together you can piece together better probabilities than any one person can.

2. The ability to inspire. Start with your own team. They are the ones who will have to inspire the rest of the organization. Inspire your team to focus on the new priorities by doing so yourself, fearlessly. Inspiration will also come from making decisions that produce incremental successes. These are considered high energizers.

3. Real-time connection with reality. In this volatile and uncertain environment, reality is a moving target. Gather it from unconventional sources. Don’t get locked into one view of things. Allow the picture to change as you gather new information.

4. Realism tempered with optimism. This is where leadership becomes a performing art, introducing that touch of optimism that taps psychological reserves to deal with bad news and transform fear into action.

5. Managing with intensity. Only through deep personal development can you acquire ground-level intelligence, share and discuss it with your team, and act with the speed that is required in a volatile environment.

6. Boldness in building for the future. It will take imagination and guts to place strategic bets with no guaranteed payoffs when there’s so little money available and so much uncertainty about the assumptions your plan is based on.

How do you make decisions? Are you the sort of person who, even in stressful situations, can make good quick decisions without agonizing over them – whether before or after the decision was made? Or are you the sort of person who does agonize over those (mostly wrong) decisions he or she makes, painfully and slowly – and continues to do so even after the decision was made and it's too late to do anything about it?

You won't always have the time and/or the information you need to make an "informed" decision. And, as a matter of fact, many people have begun to notice that actually taking a lot of time to think and rethink one's decision can be counterproductive. In many cases, people's first decisions are the right ones, the correct ones – and often, those who rethink those decisions make wrong ones due to overthinking and considering as important things which actually have little to no bearing on the situation.

You need to develop that feeling of certainty in your gut that tells you how to decide quickly, almost instantaneously. In other words, you have to learn to make snap judgments. Try to see things clearly; do this by attaining a sense of clarity (something that children are able to do, but which many adults have lost). Here are five tips:

•Learn to trust your instincts. Many times, if you feel that something is amiss, that's because there really is something that needs attention.

•Beware of projecting what you want to believe into what you are examining. If you want something to be true, you are more likely to see it as true. This has happened many times even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

•First impressions are right more times than many people would care to admit. And even if they are wrong – which they are sometimes – there's usually still something that needs looking into.

•Don’t let the fear of group rejection make your decision for you. If you know you're right, go for it even if everyone else is insisting that you're wrong.

•Break down your personal barriers to good perception and clear judgment. It is only when you can finally overcome yourself that you will be able to see things the way they really are, instead of how you think they are or should be.

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