The Game of Work Charles A. Coonradt In the Game of Work, Charles Coonradt shows us the parallels between business and sport. Scorekeeping and defining the field of play in business are some of the principles explained by the author through the use of instructions, worksheets and real life examples. The author shows how the manager as coach can be more than just a metaphor. The author states that there are three ways to manage; by observation, by judgment or by measurement. This book is about managing...

I've been reading The Daily Drucker, a book of insights from management guru Peter Drucker. Yesterday's insight is titled “Understanding What the Customer Buys”. Managers often make the mistake of thinking that what they think of as quality is the value that customers buy. Drucker tells us that a customer never buys a product but rather the satisfaction of a want. Different customers (or groups of customers) will have different wants; figuring out the wants is so complicated it can only...

Accidental Genius: Revolutionize Your Thinking Through Private Writing by Mark Levy This is a great little book (142 pages including the index) that teaches us how to use writing to improve our thinking. The author teaches us how to use "private writing" to be able to produce the moments of genius that we are all capable of on a more consistent basis. Wonderful examples are disbursed throughout the book and each chapter ends with "Point to Remember" and "Try this" sections that help you apply what...

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell Blink is a book about rapid cognition; what it is, how it works, how we can use and control to our advantage and the perils of relying on it improperly. The book is written in an easy to read style. It is written as a series of stories about people that used or were affected by the use (or misuse) of rapid cognition. Gladwell shows how decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately....

Malcolm Gladwell was in Kansas City this evening to discuss his new book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. This event was sponsored by Rainy Day Books. This was my first time attending one of these events and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Rainy Day Books brings in quite a few authors over the course of the year. I highly recommend visiting their web site and signing up for their newsletter. Malcolm spoke and answered questions for approximately 1.5 hours. With a relaxed and entertaining style,...

Networking Magic authors Rick Frishman & Jill Lublin & Mark Steisel Copyright 2004 Paperback 252 pages ISBN 1593370202 Summary The authors' stated purpose for the book is "to teach you how to build and maintain networks that will help you get the BEST, where the best is the best doctor, auto mechanic, partner, client, opportunities, solutions, etc. The beginning of the book starts out with your basic, common sense advice about networking. At first, I was afraid that this book was going to...