Business Book Reads and Insights

[Mikoid]

The Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy
by Christopher Meyer, Stan Davis

The Blur contends that three forces will shape the digital economy: "connectivity, speed, and the growth of intangible value". These forces will catapult business into a period of unprecedented transition not unlike evolutionary attrition. A company -- or even a career professional -- must innovate or perish.

The Blur is an excellent study of the digital economy -- one of perfect information and high levels of efficiency. Prices are dynamic and immediately responsive to shifts up the line. It's an economy where you can't distinguish between a product and a service, where everyone practices a certain level of personal entrepreneurship.

More than any other, this book stimulates your thinking. It outlines the shift of thinking needed for your company or your career to operate in the connected future.


Business @ The Speed of Thought: Using a Digital Nervous System
by Bill Gates (who???)

Chairman Bill penned a pretty good strategic management book here. He uses examples from real companies and CEOs to show how computer networks are revolutionizing information management, how Internet technologies are creating meaningful consumer experiences, and the reality of a paperless office. I found his early chapters on the digital nervous system to be the most inspiring -- how management has access to real-time, dynamic information on company performance, market trends, sales and financial data, etc.

In the process, he does the predictable. Yes, he plugs MS products. Yes, he uses his own company as "the successful case study". But if anyone's got the right to show off, it's gotta be Chairman Bill, right?

He also has nifty quotes by business leaders of major US corporations at the start of each chapter.


The Dilbert Future
by Scott Adams

Where the Blur pushes "connectivity, speed and intangible value" as its driving forces in the New Economy, Scott Adams introduces the In-duh-vidual. He says that technology pushs individuals below the "incompetence line", that the future won't be like Star Trek, and that Microsoft will emerge the victor in the IT war.

This book isn't all funny, though. He actually has a serious closing chapter which borders on the metaphysical!

Some important lessons from Scott Adams' vision of the future:

1. in the future, life definitely won't be like Star Trek (or else we'd never leave the holodeck)
2. there will be a huge market for technology products that help workers goof off and still get paid
3. Internet capacity will increase indefinitely to keep up with the egos of the people using it
4. it will be incredibly easy to find customers gullible enough to
5. buy any product, no matter how worthless and stupid it is
6. your competitors will remain just as clueless as you are

[nix]

I've been reading Blur for a while now (haven't had much time), and although I find the writers' perceptions very interesting, I agree with their overall conclusion that much of their discussion has been left unsettled.

The Blurring shifts in our economy, sweeping as they may be, appear to have many scampering forward, innovating, without really mastering what they have left behind. Perhaps, those who have vigilantly pushed for the said shifts have been too caught up in the rapid transition that they have blurred the values which their businesses have embraced in the first place.

I find that such essentials as Mission-Vision Statements, Core Competencies, Company Values and Ethics, maintain their importance, and must not in turn, be blurred, unrecognizable, in the attempt to keep ahead of the pack. From the looks of the situation now, the paradigm is shifting rather too quickly for any genuine assessment to take place.

Finally, I would like to give a little insight on the e-commerce craze. Business to Business exchanges produce ten times more revenue when compared to Business to Commercial transactions. Amazon.com, Buy.com and all these other sites, have been successful in an otherwise impersonal (when compared to their real world counterparts) avenue of merchantry. But Business to Business transactions may not translate as well on the Web. BB exchanges have been built on growing relationships, on handshakes and meals shared. And this is something that an electronic graphic on your screen can never replace.


[This message has been edited by nix (edited 10-28-1999).]

[Mikoid]

I have a reply, but my brain is about as effective as tossed salad. Maybe tomorrow morning... g'night.

[zimdude]

I just finished this one:

Secrets of a CEO Coach

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071360751/qid=971006546/sr=1-2/103-4079947-1308637

I agree with the Amazon readers, though the book is quite short and written in parts in outline form. I got this because I want to pick up CEO thinking patterns even though I'm not keen on being one. I should also look for the author's How to Think Like a CEO.

----

I just picked up these:

Funky Business

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0273645919/qid%3D971003621/103-4079947-1308637

The Mentoring Manager: Strategies for fostering talent and spreading knowledge

Couldn't find reviews for this.

I'll do my write-ups on these later, but just from the layout Funky Business is really off the wall.

[nix]

Recent reads include:

Permission Advertising by Seth Godin: Very interesting insights on the new face of marketing.

The Mckinsey Way (I forget the author's name): A little shallow, but it has some interesting pointers.

Am currently reading Eboys which is the story of Benchmark Capital, the VC who funded Webvan, Scient, and Ebay amongst others. So far so good, the book narrates the experiences of this start up fund back in 1996.

[zimdude]

Perhaps we can discuss these at the Business Club (just like its literary counterpart, Book Club)

[Irradiate]

Done reading (recommended):

"The High Tech Start-up" by John Nesheim-Book was abot Venture Capitalism, critical issues in a start-up co., Valuation, market statistics, etc.

"Rethinking Business to Business Marketing" by ?-Modern marketing strategies.

"Budgeting A La Carte" by John Tracy-Simplified budgeting and financial crash course. Highly recommended


Currently reading:

"The Productivity Game" by Craig Hickman-An Interactive business book where you learn to decide and think like a CEO. Pretty cool stuff coz you make your own choices. Kinda like 'Choose your Own Adventure' in the business setting.

Zim, I agree. Let's get together!!!:)

[zimdude]

well, Irradiate, it looks like I don't have to buy more books... let's just swap :) pero hindi puwede tayo tayo lang no... hmm that marketing book would be good, I'd like to learn something in that field. my friends in marketing have helped me in the past, and one of them is a PExer :D Thanks ha.

[Irradiate]

Why don't we have our swapping take place in the next Business Club EB?

[zimdude]

Hmm by swap we mean lend each other the books no... well I think a business library would be a good resource for people who can't afford the P1,000+ price tags... let's put one up?

As for the discussion, well I can summarize the books I just read. I really haven't started the current one, perhaps when I take my trip I can get some notes written down.

[Irradiate]

Great idea! I have a few at home which I don't read anymore. It can be useful to others who'd want to borrow it. Set it up Zim...I'm in!

[zimdude]

Sige sige, I'll try to whip up a website for hosting this thingie, so non-PExers would benefit too... :)

[zimdude]

Just picked up this one, it's great! Light reading, finished in 3 hours or so.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385493436/qid=972035169/sr=1-2/102-0867868-2107347

What does it really take to run a successful company today? Thomas Neff and James Citrin, U.S. chairman and managing director, respectively, of the Spencer Stuart executive-search firm, offer revealing answers in Lessons from the Top: The Search for America's Best Business Leaders. In 50 short but perceptive profiles, they identify and analyze the men and women who drive today's most successful corporations. As might be expected, the authors lean heavily on well-known CEOs such as Steve Case of America Online, Michael Dell of Dell Computer, and Howard Schultz of Starbucks. But they also look at a number who don't get the same publicity, including Fannie Mae's Frank Raines, the Gap's Don Fisher, and Autodesk's Carol Bartz. The result is a broad but surprisingly consistent palette of personalities and philosophies that in a concluding section Neff and Citrin highlight by synthesizing into 10 common traits (passion, intelligence, communication skill, high energy, controlled ego, inner peace, a defining background, strong family life, positive attitude, and a focus on "doing the right things right") and six core principles (live with integrity, develop a winning strategy, build a great management team, inspire employees, create a flexible organization, and implement relevant systems). This book is for managers and anyone else looking for the patterns of success, both in and out of business.

[zimdude]

Now this is an old Old Economy book but still has some value...

Iacocca : An Autobiography

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553251473/o/qid=973921095/sr=2-1/102-1088798-5137701


what can be more "old economy" than cars?

[cianoy]

Hi! I saw this thread on books and business just a while ago. I'm looking for something more particular. Does anyone know of books for the starting businessman given the Philippine setting?

Thanks!

---------
http://philippinejobs.ph

Career Assistance in your Mail
---------

[zimdude]

Admittedly I have read none... now there's this marketing book being advertised, by Josiah Go? I think he's well-published, how's he?

[ching]

Does anyone have a Jack Welch book they can lend me? I can swap an Andy Grove book ("only the paranoid will survive")...

[zimdude]

I don't have Welch, and I've stopped reading business books for now. Now reading math books ;) They have new titles over at Page One (Rockwell)

[mupheza]

Hey... post nyo naman URL nung site na you were planning to put up. I could surely use some guide regarding which titles to read for putting up & maintaining a biz :D

[mac_bolan00]

sa akin lang, i don't really like reading those "how to" and og mandingo-type books. i prefer going back to my old notes and textbooks. i also look out for new editions.

years after i finished mba, i visited my professors in diliman. i asked them what hot finance textbook was currently being circulated. they all told me to just master the one we used in finance II ("principles of financial management" by brealey and myers). they say it's still the best finance book around. they themselves continue to read it.

finance guys should check it out. it's easy reading, even witty.

[zimdude]

The HP Way by Dave Packard, co-founder of HP, is easy reading especially if you come from an engineering background. It is a storybook example on how they originated the Silicon Valley working culture and "Managing by Objecting" and by "Walking Around."

It is a very good read for technical people who want to get into management and lead companies. I think these guys did not even have MBA's.

[KuyaDanny]

zimdude, I have a copy of The Innovator's Dilemma by Christensen, which I bought and have never read. I'll lend it to you if you promise to write about it here.

Deal?

[zimdude]

Sure! I will then review it more substantively than my previous short posts. I will also dig up the books I have lying around here, which are few since I do not read book-length works very often.

[KuyaDanny]

Let me know when you want it and I'll send it over to the PEx office at iAyala (c/o CaRaMBa - she is a really nice person, is she not?)

[zimdude]

Sure, let me just finish the PEx book club reading... I should be done this week/end... hmm maybe we can have business books for the book club!! :| not! :lol:

So, what's everyone else reading?

[KuyaDanny]

Actually, that's not a bad idea, although business books are a little pricey and not generally available. Maybe we can lend books to others when we're done reading...

[zimdude]

Ergo, the Business Book Club! Who is interested?

Sige I can read The Innovator's Dilemma already as I am making progress on the (regular) Book Club reading... :)

[Art Vandelay]

Uy peram din ng mga books, who wants to swap ? BTW, this is Kamatayan, I'm using a new nick now...

Who has Direct from Dell ? And also computer industry books which are a bit on the "gossipy" side... Mala "Fire In The Valley" with intrigues... Also, anyone have Trump's "Art Of The Comeback" ?

[KuyaDanny]

Hello, Art Vandelay/Kamatayan. Of course we can arrange some book-swapping. I don't have any of the books you listed, but I'll see what I do have and can recommend.

[zimdude]

I think my coworker has Dell. Tough getting him onto PEx, though :)

KuyaDanny, could I have the copy of The Innovator's Dilemma for the write-up? I am done with the Book Club's requirement. Thanks :D

[KuyaDanny]

I am handing the book over to CaRaMBa at the iAyala office before noon tomorrow. She will give you the book after you sing a song.

Hwehwehwe. :D

[KuyaDanny]

CaRaMBa has the book now.

[Krakista]

Recent reads include:

The Brand You 50 and The Project 50 by Tom Peters

The first book basically deals with packaging ourselves as individuals, branding ourselves. It's about thinking and acting like an Independent Contractor (which I am), committing to the project life ... and to be cool! :cool: We are the product.

The second book is about the work itself, the projects. I haven't gotten far yet in applying them yet. Maybe yes, maybe not.

Btw, these are anti-angst, anti-Dilbert books.

more later ....

[zimdude]

KuyaDanny, I actually got a hold of The Innovator's Dilemma only last Wednesday at the Makati Workers Lunch. I am reading it slowly as it is a bit hard, reading like an academic paper. I will need a second reading or browsing through to be able to summarize and review.

Oh - I did not have to sing to get it! :glee:

[KuyaDanny]

Sorry about that, zimdude. I did not intend to punish you. Besides, in this interview with BusinessWeek (http://www.businessweek.com:/cgi-bin/ebiz/ebiz_frame.pl?url=/ebiz/9903/315clay.htm) he makes the book sound interesting enough. Take your time.

[BabyFATS]

Not really a business book but something that can be applied in the corporate setting is Trina Paulus' Hope for the Flowers. :flwrface:

Presents a simple glimpse of relationships in the corporate rat race. :)

[zimdude]

Yes, Hope for the Flowers is useful to :bop: me when I'm working too hard for no real reason!

For The Innovator's Dilemma, it actually predated the Internet business boom, therefore it focuses on the hardware industry - disk drives in particular - and some others. The most important lesson of the book for me is that you have to change your business model if you want to change your product, and if you disrupt your business that way, it could be better to set up a new business unit for that instead of sacrificing what you have.

More later, I'll take a peek into the book again...

[zimdude]

The Innovator's Dilemma is that the new technologies are disruptive. Even if they are an innovation, they break the business model that grows on the characteristics of the existing technology.

If there are innovators and product developers in the house, I shall summarize the closing chapter of the book which about the lessons learned.

[bUrAoT]

eCommerce: Formulation of Strategy
by Robert T. Plant

My expectations from this book were twofold: (1) gain insights into the business value of e-commerce so I could have a fuller understanding of how my role as a service delivery consultant fit into the bigger picture, and (2) see the implementation strategy from the business process owner's point of view. This book fully met my expectations and provided further insights that I did not expect.

An an IT professional my point of view is different from the intended audience of this book. First, this book provided my with an opportunity to observe the business forces that drive the systems that I support. I gained a good understanding of the business imperatives, as well as the challenges that the business face when developing an e-commerce strategy. From this I gained an appreciation of how the projects that IT initiate are first conceived and was able to see the direct link between these projects and how they ultimately relate to business objectives. These insights are valuable and inspire me to seek ways to better align my domain, service delivery, to business goals.

I also gained a much greater understanding or the many faces of e-commerce, such as the unique requirements of business-to-customer as contrasted with, for example, business to business. From my vantage point prior to reading this book it was just a collection of applications and interfaces. After reading this book I see beyond the technology itself to the real purposes and their associated goals.

This book also contains information that is directly applicable to my profession. The ownership issues and e-strategy leadership chapters gave me a clear view of who the real stakeholders are, which is of the utmost importance to service delivery. This information sparked some ideas about support strategies and other issues that I need to consider with respect to e-commerce systems from an IT perspective. Equally important is the chapters on the roll out strategy, which is a space where I have a definite role, and the scorecard approach to measuring the effectiveness of an internet strategy. The latter gave me some clear ideas about how to align IT service delivery to business stakeholders in the e-commerce domain.

In my opinion this book is as applicable to IT professionals as it is to business process owners and decision makers. It gives the business side a clear understanding of the factors and issues that go into an e-commerce strategy, and an approach to developing and implementing the strategy. It gives the IT professional some unique insights on that drives the requirement to develop and implement e-commerce systems and shows areas where we can add value to the process and help assure a successful implementation.

[Mikoid]

Robert Plant's writing New Economy books? Kewl!!! Led Zeppelin rocks!

[aticus]

Originally posted by Mikoid
Robert Plant's writing New Economy books? Kewl!!! Led Zeppelin rocks!

:lol:

Dude! It's NOT the same Robert Plant... :D This guy has a background from Oxford and is currently teaching in Florida... :lol:

But I do agree that his book is excellent. I heartily recommend it to everyone. :) Well worth the price. I'd have paid double (but don't tell Power Books that... )! :D

[nono]

i was a bit apprehensive regarding business @ the speed of thought. my first reaction was that anything written by gates isn't worth reading at all... i was wrong. :) this is something that i have been recommending to friends.

[Mikoid]

aticus: I stand corrected :D

nono: are you sure it isn't just your newfound pocketpc tendencies dragging you over to mr gates' side?

Maybe we should start a PEx Business Book club.

[bin_laden]

information rules by carl shapiro and hal varian

[zimdude]

Now reading The New New Thing, about Jim Clark (Amazon info here) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140296468/qid=996412778/sr=1-2/ref=sc_b_2/107-0991256-3770138), which I picked up at Book Sale for all of P90.

Any recommendations folks?

[ching]

zimdude -- have you read any of the Guerilla series books by Jay Conrad Levinson? they're extremely practical and easy to read. so far, i've read his books on selling, marketing, and getting financing.

[Krakista]

Software Project Management Kit for Dummies by Greg Mandanis

Software project management books are hard to come by and this one should be a great help to any software project manager. I haven't finished it yet and I don't use the waterfall model in development but the forms and templates included in the CD are well worth the price of the book.

I bought it at Goodwill Glorietta at 999.50 and I think there's still one copy left there.

Btw, I already gave away my Jay Conrad Levinson books except the one on selling, 'coz I finished reading them. :)

[JDELEON]

For anyone who is reevaluating their strategy, these are must reads:
Applied Strategic Planning by Goodstein, Nolan & Pfeiffer - This book presents a framework for the Strategic Planning Process. It also provides valuable insights into what strategy is and isn't. (It is about "Downboard Thinking" - considering your actions, the possible reactions and your subsequent reactions; strategy is not long-range planning.)

The Strategy-Focused Organization by Kaplan & Norton- This is an excellent one to read after Applied Strategic Planning (ASP). The Balanced Scorecard approach rounds out the process outlined in ASP. In summary, the Balanced Scorecard forces strategists to consider the Financial, Customer and Internal Perspective of the organization and find the appropriate drivers for each. If used properly, the mental discipline it asks you to apply helps provide a clear visual of where an organization wants to go and what drivers it will leverage to get there.

Skip: The Fifth Discipline - While probably more popular, it is less robust than either of the aforementioned books. The only key lesson from the Fifth Discipline is the practice of Systemic Thinking. That is realizing how things are tied together. However, this frame of mind will come about naturally from the application of either the ASP or of the Balanced Scorecard.

Hope this helps.

May Angels smile upon you,
Joe

[zimdude]

Originally posted by ching
zimdude -- have you read any of the Guerilla series books by Jay Conrad Levinson? they're extremely practical and easy to read. so far, i've read his books on selling, marketing, and getting financing.

Haven't had the chance. Personally, I'm not interested in selling, but marketing is neat. As for getting financing, I hope it's not a dot com thing written back in the days of the dot com boom.

As for the The New New Thing, you won't learn anything from it. It is entertaining though - read it like a biography. I'm going to be offering it for swap/sale at the upcoming Arts and Lit event.

The book buying bug hit me again today and I picked up two books. The first, The Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, is about something I strongly believe in. Let me quote from the book flap: You are what you charge for. And if you're competing solely on the basis of price, then you've been commoditized, offering little or no true differentiation. What would your customers really value? Better yet, for what would they they pay a premium? Experiences.

I'm looking to apply that idea to the products I help develop.

The second is Basic Training for Trainers (Third Edition) by Gary Kroenhert. This is a light-reading manual illustrated with cartoons, which at first glance seems useful for my inclination towards training and my career role with regards to knowledge sharing and management.

I'll follow up with in-depth insights when I'm done!

[DivineFist]

Business Related:

How to think like a CEO: The 22 Vital Traits... by DA Benton

21 Principles of Leadership by John Maxwell

What is the Color of Your Parachute

----- a job hunting book. Gives helpful insights for those confused of what to do :)

Art of War by Sun Tzu ------ I have the one by Clavell. I always get new insights even though I have read it plenty of times.

Inspirational:

Can't remember all of them na, but I have just finished Tuesdays with Morrie. Recommended read.

Also did a repeat read of Road Less Traveled by M Scott Peck for pleasure reading, unlike before when it was required by our professor ;) ;).

I also have some technical books related to my field (computers and sciences----- arrrrrrrrggggggghhhh :D ), but that's for another post hehehe.

Now let me see if I could get some of those books that you people recommended :bookworm:

[zimdude]

Oh, I have read The Art of War edited by Clavell, but I haven't gotten any business insights from it. But as you said, just read it again...

[DivineFist]

Originally posted by zimdude
Oh, I have read The Art of War edited by Clavell, but I haven't gotten any business insights from it. But as you said, just read it again...

*okay* *okay* *okay*

[Bogshot]

The Portable MBA by by Robert F. Bruner

Parang MBA in a Nutshell :p hehehe

[KuyaDanny]

Leading in Trying Times (http://www.bus.umich.edu/leading/index.html)

This is a website, not a book, containing ten essays written by University of Michigan Business School professors to aid thinking on how to formulate responses to situations arising from the recent tragedy in the US. Even if your company or business was unaffected by the incident, it probably still operates "in trying times."

[zimdude]

KuyaDanny, shall we pass on The Innovator's Dilemma to the next reader?

I highly recommend The Experience Economy!

On to the next book...

[Art Vandelay]

Zim, peram ;-)

[KuyaDanny]

Originally posted by zimdude
KuyaDanny, shall we pass on The Innovator's Dilemma to the next reader?


Go ahead.

All readers, please take care of the book so it can be read by as many people as possible. Thank you.

[zimdude]

I'm afraid, Art Vandelay, we're not meeting soon.. if you're coming to Makati I can leave it here at the office... I'll be out of the country for a couple of weeks. As for Experience Economy, office friends are reading that first! :sunnysmile:

[Art Vandelay]

Originally posted by zimdude
I'm afraid, Art Vandelay, we're not meeting soon.. if you're coming to Makati I can leave it here at the office... I'll be out of the country for a couple of weeks. As for Experience Economy, office friends are reading that first! :sunnysmile:

No hurry, I can borrow when you get back...

[zimdude]

... from a Slashdot.org review (http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/11/12/0435241&mode=thread) :

Reader Steve McLaughlin writes with this review: "'Built to Last' was one of the most significant business books of the nineties, but the book didn't leave much hope for companies that got off to a less-than-ideal start. What if your company wasn't lucky enough to be founded by the likes of David Packard, Sam Walton, or George Merck? Jim Collins throws these businesses a life raft in his new book 'Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don't'.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... And Others Don't
author: Jim Collins
pages: 320
publisher: HarperCollins
rating 8:
ISBN: 0066620996
summary: Tracking down the elusive factors that make a business do more than succeed.


Good to Great is the result of an intensive five-year project that took Collins and his team of researchers more than 15,000 hours of work to complete. The team read and coded 6,000 articles, generated more than 2,000 pages of interview transcripts, and created 384 megabytes of computer data in the process. Their findings are presented in a thought provoking book that answers the one question Built to Last never tackled: "Can a good company become a great company and, if so, how?"

From this perspective, Good to Great can really be seen as a prequel to Built to Last. It's about how good companies can become great ones whereas Built to Last is a book about how already great companies built an enduring "iconic stature." Collins and his team of researchers began their search by sorting through a list of 1,435 Fortune 500 companies and applied rigorous criteria to find businesses that made the leap from good to great.

At the core of Collins’s criteria was that a good-to-great company had to have "fifteen-year cumulative stock returns at or below the general stock market, punctuated by a transition point, then cumulative returns at least three times the market over the next fifteen years." The screening process cut the 1,435 down to 126, then 19, and finally these 11 companies: Abbott, Circuit City, Fannie Mae, Gillette, Kimberly-Clarke, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo.

What, no General Electric? Where's 3M or Hewlett Packard? These stalwarts of Built to Last didn’t even come close to making the final cut. Consider, for example, that from "December 31, 1975, to January 1, 2000, $1 invested in Walgreens beat $1 invested in technology superstar Intel by nearly two times, General Electric by nearly five times, and Coca-Cola by nearly eight times." Good to Great then goes beyond the numbers to explain why these companies were able to make the leap to greatness.

Good to Great does an excellent job of diagramming the framework of how these companies were able to make the good-to-great leap. Essentially all of these companies experienced a period of buildup followed by breakthrough, and all of this was fueled by something Collins calls "The Flywheel Effect." The Flywheel Effect reflects a "cumulative process -– step by step, action by action, decision by decision, turn by turn of the flywheel -– that add up to sustained and spectacular results." These companies got knocked around now and then, but they always got back up and opened for business the next day.

Eventually these good-to-great companies picked up enough forward momentum to make the leap. Collins and his team were able to find six disciplines that each of these companies shared that helped them make the leap. Rather than use their oftentimes buzzword-ish terms I thought I would translate them into plain English.

During the buildup phase the people that led these companies were more like Lincoln and Socrates than Patton or Caesar. Collins dismisses the notion that only companies led by dictators and hard-asses could succeed, and that to be successful leaders need to check their egos at the door. Employees, partners, shareholders, and customers prefer leaders that are "more plow horse than show horse." Is Larry Ellison listening?

Collins and his team also found that these good-to-great companies made sure they had their ducks in a row before making a move. These companies "first got the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats and then they figured out where to drive it." Again, this flies in the face of how a lot of companies behave. Many companies make the mistake of putting their master plan together, and then finding the right people to execute the plan. Hiring bright people is pointless if you've already done the thinking for them.

Good to Great also notes that during the buildup period not everything is going to go your way, but you need to keep the faith. This is probably the key discipline to keep that flywheel going, and at the same time the most nebulous. Collins explains how these companies were able to face the brutal facts of their situation and trudge on, but I'm not so sure this isn't a suicide mission for some companies.

Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet Never Lose Faith) means facing the reality of your current situation and keeping the faith at the same time. The Stockdale Paradox (named after former POW Admiral Jim Stockdale) is used to illustrate the need for companies to face the facts and simultaneously keep the faith. Good to Great stresses the importance of asking the tough questions and creating an environment where the truth can be heard.

Once the good-to-great companies made the leap, they learned some new tricks that kept them on top. One of the most important is doing what you do best, and avoiding the things you don't. This sounds obvious, but we all know companies that took their eyes off the ball and then failed. Collins makes the important point that "stop doing" lists are more important than "to do" lists. Stop paying people to do things half-assed. Stop offering services in markets you know nothing about. And stop buying into every new fad technology that hits the market.

This leads to Good to Great's take on technology. Collins and his team found that "technology by itself is never a primary root cause of either greatness or decline." Great companies avoid technology fads and only use it to increase (not create) their momentum. I found the following passage to be one of the more memorable passages from the book:


"No technology, no matter how amazing -- not computers, not telecommunications, not robotics, not the Internet -- can by itself ignite a shift from good to great. ... No technology can instill the simple inner belief that leaving unrealized potential on the table -- letting something remain good when it can become great -- is a secular sin."

Good to Great wraps up by giving readers plenty of detailed explanations, diagrams, and examples straight from the companies themselves. And if you're one of those people who like to see the data, then don’t worry about that either. Collins has included a comprehensive appendix to the book that includes answers to common questions, charts, an explanation of the selection process, and data uncovered during the research for the book.
Built to Last was an excellent book, but I think Good to Great does it one better. The question it tackles applies to a wider audience, and its findings are something every business can use. The language is clear and if you get off track or need a refresher then just flip to the chapter summaries for guidance.

[wends]

I've read the 36 Strategies of the Chinese, Applying ancient chinese wisdom to business practices..

It gives examples for each strategy. pero mostly examples are companies in HK and Singapore.

:)

Amazon.com is also a good book.. story ni jeff bezos and his vision.. kakatuwa :glee:

in marketing, there's selling the invisible.. its really a good book especially if you're selling service like web/software development.

[rains_delight]

Strategic management by Fred David

Preter Drucker books

Essentials of management by Koonz


Service Management by Christopher Lovelock



:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[wends]

Cracking the Value Code is also ok.. basically its discussing about investing on intangible assets to improve the company's value like relationship, people, system, etc. :)

[zimdude]

hmmm for those in Metro Manila, how about swapping books?
how about putting that as part of the Business Club I'm thinking about?

[wends]

zimdude: what can i learn from Experience Economy? I'm planning to buy that book or probably look for it in the library. Too bad I'm not in the Philippines and can't borrow the books from you guys..

I bought the Innovator's Dilemma from amazon and shipped it to a client as a gift :)

[Bugoy!]

I've just gone through Malcolm Gladwell's THE TIPPING POINT and Guy Kawasaki's SELLING THE DREAM. I highly recommend both.

Marketing people might pick up a few insights from Gladwell, who talks about the spread of social epidemics, and the kinds of people who influence them. Interesting case studies include the renewed interest in Hush Puppies shoes, the rise in popularity of the kiddie TV shows Sesame Street & Blue's Clues, and the arrest of criminality (what a lousy pun!) in New York's subway system.

Same thing with Kawasaki, who preaches the evangelization of causes, products and services. Plus he's got interesting points when he talks about organized religion and business - and how each should learn from the other.

Hope you find them as interesting as I did!

:cheers:

[zimdude]

wends:

Experience Economy is great for marketing and product development (me!) people. It makes you change the way you think about delivering products and services - instead of things you have and hold, events you experience.
For instance, PEx is selling products to complement the experience of being a PEx member (hope they're reading this, hehe).


Hmmm where are you ba? I bet you have an easier time buying books than we do!



Bugoy!:

I've read Kawaki's Rules for Revolutionaries. But somehow I identify him with the dot com era - is that right?

[Bugoy!]

Zimdude

You're right, I suppose. Kawasaki was on the Macintosh team of Steve Jobs, then went on to do software applications, and right now he's got a gig called Garage.com. That being said though, Selling the Dream - with all its praises for and references to the Mac - still brings forth useful insights that can be applied across industries. Working in the marcomm field, I actually found it pretty interesting.

Haven't read Rules for Revolutionaries yet, though I hope to pick up a copy soon.

:cheers:

[wends]

Originally posted by zimdude
wends:

Hmmm where are you ba? I bet you have an easier time buying books than we do!



hmm...

i'm in singapore right now.. yup it is easier to get some books here. but it is still cheaper to borrow from others :glee:

kuripot ako eh :lol:

anyways if u guys want some books, before you buy from amazon, u can try to ask me to look for it first here in singapore and then just send it over there.. of course, the shipment cost is cheaper and sometimes the book itself is cheaper if u buy them directly from the publishers/distributors :)

[zimdude]

Bugoy!:
Yup, I'm using the garage.com laptop bag now. My boss went to the "Boot Camp." Hence the association with the dot com days. Out of curiosity and took a peek and hey it's changed!

wends:
Cool! How will we pay you?
I see you're also in tech... maybe you can find some hard-to-find (in the Philippines) books from O'Reilly and Addison Wesley. The last time I was in Singapore, early 1999, I more was into entreneurship books since I thought that's where I would go. In fact I might still have them around...

[Sara_Chase]

Hi guys! I'm new here. :)

Well, is anyone a fan of Robert Kiyosaki? His books are really great! The "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" series. I got all 3 books. *okay*

[wends]

zimdude:
yup! i'm in tech.. actually, we've met na before sa linux installfest.. somewhere near UP Manila.. you know ricey? she's my friend kase.. alam ko you know each other :D

you can actually just deposit it to my phil. bank acct. my cousin is coming over here on dec. 22 so if you have a book in mind, it might be better if you could give it to me before the 24th so that i can look for it and ask my cousin to bring it back for me. mas mura.. free shipping :D then maybe you can get it from her nalang sa ofc. somewhere in makati.

actually, there are a lot of good business books here.. i stopped reading tech books already.. got tired of them.. before i was collecting all the books from Wrox :D

[wends]

Originally posted by Sara_Chase
Hi guys! I'm new here. :)

Well, is anyone a fan of Robert Kiyosaki? His books are really great! The "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" series. I got all 3 books. *okay*

I have the first book..

btw, are there orgs/companies organizing cash flow games in the Philippines? kase dito sa singapore, nagheld yung isang company ng cash flow game before.. www.focus.com.sg

sayang di ako nakaattend :(
mejo mahal din $30 which is almost P900 for a 2-hour game.. :(

[zimdude]

wends:
That is so generous of you... I have sent you a PM with the details. :sunnysmile:

Who wants to borrow my copy of The Experience Economy? I can bring it at the Business Club meeting, or maybe even earlier. It's easy to read.

[wends]

zimdude:

of course.. anything for a fellow pexer :D

[Bugoy!]

Sarah_Chase,

I caught one of Robert Kiyosaki's interviews on TV, and I was pretty intrigued with some of the things he was talking about. I saw bits of it only though, so I never got his name or the title of his book. (Didn't help that I was channel-surfing half-asleep, before landing the remote on The 700 Club - you could guess what time that was!)

A couple of weeks back, I saw Rich Dad, Poor Dad at Page One. Only then did it come back to me, that it was him that I saw on TV.

I hope to pick up a copy of that soon as well. I leafed though a few pages, and found it pretty interesting.

Lots of great books out there, certainly. Thing is, there's no Rich Bugoy! at this point. Just the Poor Bugoy! Hahaha! :toofunny:

:cheers:

[Sara_Chase]

Originally posted by Bugoy!
Sarah_Chase,

I caught one of Robert Kiyosaki's interviews on TV, and I was pretty intrigued with some of the things he was talking about. I saw bits of it only though, so I never got his name or the title of his book. (Didn't help that I was channel-surfing half-asleep, before landing the remote on The 700 Club - you could guess what time that was!)

A couple of weeks back, I saw Rich Dad, Poor Dad at Page One. Only then did it come back to me, that it was him that I saw on TV.

I hope to pick up a copy of that soon as well. I leafed though a few pages, and found it pretty interesting.

Lots of great books out there, certainly. Thing is, there's no Rich Bugoy! at this point. Just the Poor Bugoy! Hahaha! :toofunny:

:cheers:

Hi, Bugoy!

I suggest you grab yourself a copy the moment you get the opportunity. It is a great book. I even consider it as an investment. ;)

Bad thing was, I had a hard time understanding the "Accounting for Non-Accountants" training I've attended. :( Got mixed-up with a lot of the concepts because his is so different.

But nevertheless, I'll still stick to him. :cool:

[zimdude]

Kiyosaki's so influential that he's got his own thread for Rich Dad, Poor Dad (http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=10673)!

I haven't read it though, just browsed through it and figured it's not for me since my financial problems are a bit out of my control. :D

[wends]

bump

[wends]

i've finished the experience economy already.. borrowed it from the library.. it's really worth reading..

will you recommend that i read the innovator's dilemma also?

[zimdude]

I don't think it's applicable for you... and it's hard to read too... well the copy of KuyaDanny is still here with me!

[KuyaDanny]

I am putting my own copy of The Experience Economy in circulation. Decide among yourselves how you will share this book and I will make it available by the first week of 2002.

[wends]

zimdude: i sent the innovator's dilemma to one of my clients as a christmas gift.. heard of philippine vending corporation (http://www.philvending.com.ph)? i'm doing their website kasi. daming sideline eh noh! :glee:

[lupuS]

December 22, 2001
The Unforeseen Disruption of Moving Ahead
By EDWARD ROTHSTEIN, The New York Times

It is lonely at the top, but it also seems secure. The view is intoxicating. Every potential challenge is visible. The perch seems to guarantee invulnerability.

But then, from an unexpected direction, comes an almost insignificant challenge, one that at first can seem a minor annoyance, hardly worth concentrated attention. And then unexpectedly the leader is toppled.

This pattern of military confrontation is a model that has been increasingly used to describe progress in the worlds of business and technology; its emphasis on unpredictability, on the dangers of assault from below and on the possibly permanent disruption that results have undermined many preconceptions about the course of innovation and change.

The Internet-business bubble, for example, was supported by claims that smaller companies without the prospects of profits had the power to disrupt "bricks and mortar" empires. The Internet itself was also hailed by its acolytes in the early 1990's, when it still had minor cult status, as a disruptive force with revolutionary implications that had the ability not just to transform society but also to alter the nature of human consciousness.

Economists and historians, though, have been taking low-level disruption seriously for decades. The economist Joseph Schumpeter coined the term creative destruction to explain how advances in technology, often small ones, can overturn the powers of established companies. More recently, Clayton M. Christensen, a professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School, argued in his 1997 book, "The Innovator's Dilemma", that disruptive innovation is unavoidable and almost always unforeseen. He notes that such disruption becomes all the more effective when a dominant company is best managed, when it takes care of its work force, focuses clearly on the marketplace and works to produce the highest profits. That is when it is least likely to give credence to a seemingly insignificant challenge. Before long, it is too late and the old conditions may never return.

Mr. Christensen gives several detailed examples of this process, including the overturn of Sears, which pioneered chain stores and catalog marketing, by once-insignificant discount retailers. Other examples are legion. Kodak and Xerox faltered because of the unanticipated powers of digital reproduction. I.B.M. was once considered so unassailable that in the early 1980's it was the object of a two-year antitrust investigation by the Justice Department; it has since lost power and prestige to companies like Microsoft — itself a classic example of a onetime small disrupter whose dominance could not have been imagined, let alone an antitrust case challenging that dominance.

This sort of disruption from below might seem to be limited to capitalist economies, but it also seems common to many cultural transformations. Small innovations can end up having large consequences. The stirrup has been credited with transforming the nature of war. And as the historian David S. Landes pointed out in "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations," the invention of eyeglasses may have transformed the West: glasses extended the work life of artisans, scientists and inventors and allowed more attention to finely detailed machine work.

Almost by definition, the impact of disruption comes as a surprise. An innovation may have one purpose, but its ripple effects are unpredictable, which is one reason an established power can miss the implications. A few years ago the historian Edward Tenner argued in "Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences" that for every technological action, there is an equal, opposite and unpredicted reaction: technology's revenge. That revenge can show up even in paradoxical ways: the invention of a safer football helmet actually led to increased injuries because the new helmets increased the game's aggressive possibilities.

The history of technology is riddled with distorted predictions and unexpected consequences. The telegraph, it was believed, would create stronger communal bonds; instead it permitted greater dispersion. The airplane, it was guessed, would make the world smaller, leading to a new era of peace; instead it became an instrument of war. Thomas A. Edison envisioned the phonograph's being used primarily for transcribing business transactions. Many contemporary imaginings of the future seem just as unlikely. Michael Dertouzos, who directed the Laboratory for Computer Science at M.I.T., seriously suggested that later in this century people would dress themselves by asking their "bedroom monitor" to put together a suitable outfit.

Innovation and change, then, occur in a world so complex that the unexpected must always be expected.

Twenty-five years ago no one predicted the influence of the fax, the VCR and the desktop computer. Most communications and software companies recognize that eventually the telephone, television and the Internet will be closely bound; contemporary notions of the computer will seem grossly limited.

Such may be the stumbling course of all progress and accomplishment. The current recession, the plunge in venture-capital spending and the traumas facing many companies are bound to slow innovation, leading to consolidation and retrenchment. But this shift is also bound to be temporary, for innovation occurs in waves. And the pace of technological change has been particularly breathless during the last century, and even more particularly, it seems, in the United States. For technological disruption does not just affect culture but is also affected by it. It flourishes in certain environments and flounders in others.

Disruption is at least in part an intellectual phenomenon in which new ideas arise unconstrained by dominant preconceptions. It may be, for example, that the spirit of disruption, as outlined in Mr. Christensen's model, was latent in the very origins of the United States, helping to account for its persistent recurrence here.

The United States was itself an invention based on a set of disruptive ideas; its Revolution succeeded partly because of the strength of those ideas in the face of a seemingly immutable power that never expected the attack by inferior forces. Those ideas also helped create a society — as Alexis de Tocqueville recognized — that cultivated novelty; the lack of social hierarchies even allowed individuals to remake themselves as Gatsby does in Fitzgerald's novel.

In a recent book, "American Literature in a Culture of Creative Destruction" by Philip Fisher, a professor of literature at Harvard, this spirit is seen as one of the guiding themes of American literature: the "apparent completeness and perfection of the world just as it is now" is continually overturned. American culture, with its pursuit of novelty and change, provides fertile ground for technological disruption.

But these patterns of disruption are more complicated than they seem. Their consequences are often unseen by their creators as well as by those being displaced. In technology they can lead to periods of confusion in which helpful standards are dismantled. In culture, valuable knowledge may end up being discarded. Political disruption can become bloody, leading to power that ruthlessly quashes any hint of future upheaval.

There have even been serious challenges to disruption itself, seeking to eliminate it if possible. In business, this is one reason monopoly power is viewed with such suspicion; it attempts to eliminate all forms of disruption. In cultural life, in the face of the Industrial Revolution, romantics and Luddites rejected the pace of social change in favor of the "natural," treating nature as if it were free of disruption. And in the face of Western modernity, with multiplying social and cultural disruptions, full- scale attacks have unfolded.

Destructive innovation, then, is full of ambiguities, dangers and unpredictable consequences. But even during these times of economic caution, its complexity and its potency demand new strategies, Mr. Christensen shows, for disruption can never be avoided or fully eliminated.

[leelayce]

Manong Danny parang ive seen that book somewhere na ah. yung THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMY, tinitigan ko pa ata ng matagal, ano bang laman niyan?


what about THE THIRD WAVE, by Alvin Toffler?






:bubble:

[zimdude]

My copy of Experience Economy is still available for borrowing, and KuyaDanny's Innovator's Dilemma is still with me!





The Third Wave is not a business book, strictly speaking since it covers society, history and culture as well. It also reads like an academic text.

[wends]

zimdude: any other business book you can recommend for me? :D

[zimdude]

Sorry, I can't recommend as I haven't been reading business lately... just computer science texts... it's my turn to ask again!







Any recommended book on Consulting? Not a particular field, but the general practice of Consulting.







I'm now reading the interesting sample pages of Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used (Second Edition) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0787948039/qid=1010045047/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_75_1/002-1793559-2121608), and a summary of The McKinsey Way (http://growth-strategies.com/oldsite/mway.htm). Has anyone read these in full?

[Bugoy!]

Zimdude,

I've read The McKinsey Way, and picked up a few fascinating insights. And while I agree with a lot of people that it does carry on at times as shameless advertising for the firm, I really don't mind. This peek into their way of thinking is worth it. If you don;t have the time for it, just browse through a copy at Page One or National, and read the chapter that talks about McKinsey's MECE dictum. That really bore a hole through my mind, even as I now seem to have relegated the other parts of the book to the more cobweb-filled recesses of my brain.

Now, thanks to you and Sara_Chase, I'm P1,600+ poorer. I took your advice and bought Rich Dad, Poor Dad and The Experience Economy. I'm enjoying RDPD, and looking forward to starting on TEE.

I'm currently alternating RDPD with Festival and Event Management, and have lined up Power Public Relations and Branding Asia next. Lots of great stuff out there. I'm just having trouble finding time to read.

BTW, I know the thread is on biz books, but I will plug one of my all-time favorites: The Lost Horizon. It's a high school text, but I read it every few years, and it offers renewed relevance each time.

:cheers:

Bugoy!

[rosychik]

Hi. Pwede bang sumali sa PEX Business Club and Business Book Club? When do u guys meet?

I'm a full-time employee now but considering publishing my own magazine in the near future. :beam:

ZIMDUDE: For another John Maxwell book, I recommend "Failing Forward," for a new perspective at handling mistakes or failures in business.

Also, "Repositioning Asia: From Bubble to Sustainable Economy" by Philip Kotler (acclaimed as the best marketing guy today!) and Hermawan Kartajaya.

ANYONE: I'm looking for even a second-hand copy of "Launching Your Own Magazine" by Samir Husni. It's not available in the bookstores, but Amazon.com highly recommends it. Pls PM me if u happen to have a copy or know where I can find one. Thanks. :)

[zimdude]

Bugoy!:




I'll be sure to take a peek at that book next time I wander into a bookstore. So is the McKinsey book mere storytelling or can you apply it? What if you're not in a consulting firm but want to learn consulting skills, would it help? Even for one-man consultants?





I'm liking our thread more and more... it's getting to be like those online bookstore (e.g. Amazon) reviews except from the Pinoy perspective!





rosychik:



We've only had one meeting for the Business Club so far, and we're preparing for the next. So, your suggestions are appreciated! Please see the thread, starting from page 4. There's no separate "Business Book Club" yet. Now if you like books as in general literature, there's a PEx Book Club in the Arts & Lit forum which I'm also part of. Yesterday we had a meeting to discuss Lord of the Rings.



Does Failing Forward refer to recovery by the business or by the individual? For the former, I mean the company getting back on track; on the latter, I refer to someone who made mistakes in her/his career, or someone who had to leave a failed company.



I don't read much into Marketing, but I'm a bit suspicious on why Kotler is hyped a lot.



The magazine is cool! That's one of my dream ventures someday. Do share your ideas with us at the Business Club thread. Thanks!



:sunnysmile:

[wends]

i just finished reading the book this afternoon.

who do you think most resembles you in the story? sniff, scurry, hem or haw? what did you learn from the story that you can apply in your current work/situation?

i can say that i'm a combination of both sniff and scurry.. i sniff on new ideas and execute those ideas as quickly as i can..

Just want to share what Haw wrote on the wall of Cheese Station N:

Change Happens
they keep moving the cheese

Anticipate Change
get ready for the cheese to move

Monitor Change
smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old

Adapt to change quickly
the quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese

Change
move with the cheese

Enjoy Change
savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese

Be ready to change quickly and enjoy it
they keep moving the cheese

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

how do you monitor change and enjoy it?

[KuyaDanny]

May I move this cheese?

What do you think, wends? Should we merge this with the Business Books thread?

[wends]

okay KuyaDanny.. shoot! :D

[rosychik]

zimdude: Failing Forward is applicable to both corporate and individual recovery from business failure. However, it offers more insights on individual recovery than on a corporate scale. Notwithstanding, it's one John Maxwell book worth your read.

Re: PEx Business Club, I'd be glad to share my inputs as soon as I'm able to join you in a meeting. Siyempre, I need to have a feel first of what the club is all about, it's objectives, it's mission, etc.

Looking forward to that. ;)

[Bugoy!]

Originally posted by zimdude
Bugoy!:

I'll be sure to take a peek at that book next time I wander into a bookstore. So is the McKinsey book mere storytelling or can you apply it? What if you're not in a consulting firm but want to learn consulting skills, would it help? Even for one-man consultants?


Zimdude,

Yes, there certainly are things that are applicable there. It's not a how-to book, where it lays down a process from numbers 1-10. Rather, I think books such as this must be appreciated within the context that they offer perspectives and insights which are relevant to us in a number of ways, and not just those that the author perhaps intended it for.

I tend to look at it the way my old English teacher in high school taught us to read: plunk out the memorable passages and the significant human experiences contained within the text, and see how they are relevant to us, within our own contexts.

:cheers:

Bugoy!

[Krakista]

Originally posted by zimdude
Any recommended book on Consulting? Not a particular field, but the general practice of Consulting.For consulting practices, read books by Herman Holtz. Look for How to Succeed as an Independent Consultant 3rd Ed., The Business Plan Guide for Independent Consultants and The Independent Consultant's Brochure and Letter Handbook. For computer consulting there's The Computer Consultant's Guide by Janet Ruhl. I bought all these from Powerbooks years ago and I still refer to them occasionally. Janet Ruhl has a website at http://www.realrates.com. Copies of the hardbound previous edition (same as mine) of Ruhl's book was being sold at PhP 300 at BOOKSALE early this year. I guess we should also use this thread for tip-offs on what's out there.

Bugoy!: I haven't read The McKinsey Way but I do read books of that man from McKinsey, Tom Peters. I'm still into his 50 series.

[wends]

i bought this ebook from amazon.. just want to share it..

Who needs a COO?

[KuyaDanny]

"This is not a phone. It's about much more. It's an experience."

- Frank Nuovo, chief designer for Nokia, on Vertu (Nokia's new line of luxury cellphones which feature, among other things, platinum and stainless steel casings, sapphire crystal faces, ceramic backs, sides covered with leather used in Rolls Royce seats, and a 16-tone Yamaha speaker that makes your ringtone sound like an orchestra.)

[zimdude]

We'll the discussing The Art of War for the Book Club in May, and we'd like The Working Filipino regulars to join in!

:sunnysmile:

I haven't been reading business books lately... how about you guys?

[DivineFist]

Originally posted by zimdude
We'll the discussing The Art of War for the Book Club in May, and we'd like The Working Filipino regulars to join in!

:sunnysmile:

I haven't been reading business books lately... how about you guys?


Hey, cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Got to find that thread first hehehehehe.


:glee: :glee: :glee:

[zimdude]

The discussion on The Art of War is set for Saturday, May 25. The general location shall be in Ortigas Center - please suggest a venue.

Everyone is invited! We hope to have a discussion that can relate the book to actual experiences or personal strategies.

[zimdude]

The discussion will be at Figaro at The Podium, May 25, tentatively at 3PM.

Discussion thread is here. (http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=92438)

[zimdude]

Article from the author of The Innovator's Dilemma:

http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/christensen0602.asp?p=0
The Rules of Innovation
by Clayton M. Christensen

Bringing new technology to market is a crap shoot, right? Wrong, says innovation guru Christensen. Follow his four rules to a new science of success.

[zimdude]

http://books.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/05/29/1310222&mode=thread&tid=124

If there is one thing I can't stand, it's watching a bunch of rich, fat, overpaid, overhyped dot-con executives blathering on and on about some "business lessons" they supposedly learned while they were out wasting millions of dollars of venture capitalists' money. When I came across Teresa Esser's new book, "The Venture Cafe: Secrets, Strategies, and Stories from America's High-Tech Entrepreneurs," I thought it was going to be that same thing all over again."

[zimdude]

I'm now in the middle of The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization by Thomas Friedman, a Pulitzer prize winner and foreign affairs columnist. I picked it up from the PEx Book Sale last January, but only got to read it now.

This guy likes it:
http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/AD_Issues/amdipl_13/yarmolinsky.html

And these guys say he's a laptop of capitalist media:
http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/review.cfm?rtype=11


Who wants to read it next?



anyone reading this thread? paramdam naman kayo... :)

[Krakista]

I'm rereading On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis. :)

[Bugoy!]

I'm enjoying Richard Branson's autobiography LOSING MY VIRGINITY immensely. It's very inspiring in a very different way. I highly recommend it!

[Krakista]

*BUMP*

[SILENTMAX]

finished last week: how to invest in good times and bad times featuring canslim method

just finished: pour your heart into it
how starbucks was built serving 1 cup at a time by howard shultz

this is an amazing book!!! must read!!!

currently reading:
forbes greatest investing stories

still to read: back to back ben graham and warren buffet book

[ShowMeTheMoney]

Biz rin ba mga 'to? Mukha kasing medyo technical masyado yung mga libro dito eh. Mukhang hindi ko pa ma-iintindihan yung ibang books dito. I'm still an undergrad, 3rd year palang.

Just read Sun Tzu's Art of War. (The one edited by Clavell, it's a lot more interesting than the ebook version I read - the one translated by Lionel Giles.)

Also just read the 48 Laws of Power ni Robert Greene. (Yung concise version lang.)

Currently skimming through Biz Words: Power Talk for Fun and Profit by Stanley Bing (It's an old book, parang 'dictionary' style yung pagkasulat, its mostly humorous stuff but still a fun read.)

[jerrym]

Anyone has a "book for rent business"? I'm interested in business, investments, getting rich etc.

[Krakista]

Currently reading Successful Business Models (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1891984454/qid=1092893207/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-2501864-3115816?v=glance&s=books) by Don Debelak.

Makes me think about other existing successful models that are not in the book and what made them so.

jerrym, that book rental business seems to be a good idea since there are practically no public libraries in the Philippines. The big task however is educating the masses to get into reading.

[mac_bolan00]

"management" by harold geneen, said to be the greatest manager in the 20th century.

[OliverWood21]

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill...

I think it can give one that "mindset" better than Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad..

[pretty_pinay]

The Science of Shopping. :)

[zimdude]

why rent... let's meet up and swap books!

[jerrym]

Does anyone know where can i find books from/about Warren Buffet?

[ShowMeTheMoney]

Just downloaded Donald Trump's "How to Get Rich"

Browsed through it really fast. He's not really the best writer out there, hehe, but advice from a billionaire can't be all that bad.

There's even an entire chapter dedicated to The Apprentice' season 1.

[bpo_incognito]

hi everyone! i'm new here. actually i've learned of this site just today. too bad. i have tried going back to all your previous exchange (yes, it's not possible to read all of them in one or two seating) and i find them all interesting. very helpful indeed and full of insights. i am set to enroll for my mba this year and since most of the books you've reviewed here are business related (written by really credible gurus), they could perhaps help in molding my mindset as to what principles work best in any given business cases. i'm still undecided as to which school should i get my mba from, i hope those who had or are still having their mba could help easing my dilemma by giving me tips as to which school here in the country offers the best program. i thought i'd say this now, i couldn't afford to go to AIM. this thread is for book enthusiast, i know, but i couldn't find a forum which would best address my concern. besides, i find all those who are joining this forum highly intellectual and are really sensible people. i would really appreciate all your inputs folks, you can directly send your opinion to my account. thanks a lot..

[Krakista]

The entire text of The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual (http://www.cluetrain.com/book/index.html)

[tidus1203]

Try nyo SECURITY ANALYSIS by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd. This is not a fun read this is lecture at its finest. This book is highly recommended to anyone who is serious in investing in securities.

TRIVIA: Benjamin Graham is known as the father of value investing, with Warren Buffet as his student back in Columbia University, he truly deserves the title.

[ercole]

Interesting reads:
1. J.Collins' "GOOD to GREAT" and "BUILT to LAST"
2. Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy
(Old book but still very relevant, a reference in most schools).
3. Sun Tzu's Art of War

Some quotes from Good to Great:
"Good is the enemy of great...And that is the one of the key reasons why we have so little that become great."

ON LEADERSHIP

"Level 5 leaders (those who lead great companies) channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It's not that they have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious - but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves....
They are paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will. They are ambitious, to be sure, but ambitious first and foremost for the company, not themselves."

"Great leaders set up their successors for even greater success in the next generation, whereas egocentric leaders often set up their successors for failure."

"Great leaders display a compelling modesty, are self-effacing and understated. In constrast, those of the comparison companies had leaders with gargantuan personal egos that contributed to the demise or continued mediocrity of the company."

"Great leaders look out the window to attribute success to factors other than themselves. When things go poorly, however, they look in the mirror and blame themselves, taking full responsibility. The comparison CEOs often did just the opposite - they look in the mirror to take credit for success, but out the window to assign blame for disappointing results."

[ShowMeTheMoney]

Pushing the Envelope All the Way to the Top (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0449006697/qid=1122317969/sr=8-10/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i10_xgl14/102-6710683-7115369?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by Harvey Mackay.

One of the very few motivational speakers I actually like. He's one of my favorite inspirational biz writers. But so far I don't think he's been able to top his first book, Swim With The Sharks.

Use What You've Got and Other Lessons I Learned from my Mom (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1591840023/qid=1122318394/sr=8-6/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i6_xgl14/102-6710683-7115369?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by Barbara Corcoran.

I was a bit disappointed because it wasn't what I expected. I was hoping for insights and tips on real estate. This is more of a biography for Corcoran's rise. It flashes back in forth with her experiences while building her business and then she tries to tie it up with some of her experiences during childhood. Sometimes it ends up feeling a bit forced, but overall this is still a good read if you're looking for non-fiction entertainment.

Trammell Crow : Master Builder (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0471613266/qid=1122318146/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/102-6710683-7115369?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by Robert Sobel.

Just done with the first chapter so far. It's biographical, I think. I only heard about this guy very recently. There's more to big time real estate than Donald Trump or The Helmsley's afterall.

[Semperfidelis]

hi guys. i'm still studying and i'll graduate this october. what would you recommend for fresh grads like me? i'm not planning to stay in the job market for long...a max of 2 years. I'm gonna get a job for experience and more learning. We have our own business and i would handle it soon. What would you guys recommend books for people like me to read? I'm thinking about getting "winning" by jack welsch, is it a good book?

[ShowMeTheMoney]

@Semperfidelis:

Yep, just read books like those, basically biographies of business people, inspirational books and self-help books.

Then start reading management books or accounting etc.. Depends on what you want, or you can start reading technical stuff directly related to your family biz, like trade journals etc..

[Sleepy_Hollow_]

How about sharing your ideas, I've been developing interest in business books lately. My favorite so far:

The Lexus and the Olive Tree
House of Lies
Rich Dad Poor Dad
The Art of War

[beefnmushroom]

why do you like those books?

[Sleepy_Hollow_]

^ Sorry, that post was moved from the main Working Filipino forum.

Basically The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas Friedman gave me a fresh new outlook towards globalization and how to survive it. Basically, Friedman cited evidences that there is no way to escape globalization and that businesses and countries should think of ways to survive it rather than fight it. In this book I learned about the "Electronic Herd" and how the democratization of finance and technology made businesses open to cut-throat competition.

House of lies is basically Martin Khin's story as a management consultant. I've just gone half way through the book but its the first business book I've read written in an amusing and narative way.

[blue_ferrari]

Rich Dad Poor Dad

On Business
E-Myth Revisited - Michael Gerber
Built to Last - Collins & Porras

On Trading
Market Wizards - Jack Schwagner
The New Market Wizards - Jack Schwagner
Reminiscenses of A Stock Operator - Edwin Lefevre
Trend Following - Michael Covel
Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes & How to Correct Them - Belsky, et.al

On Investing
One Up on Wall Street- Peter Lynch
Common Stocks with Uncommon Profits - Phil Fisher
Money Masters - John Train
The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham

On Real Estate
Nothing Down - Robert Allen
The Art of The Deal - Donald Trump

[ShowMeTheMoney]

Currently on my bedside table:

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman - This isn't the first book written on globalization but this is one of the easiest to read and digest esp. for non-biz people. Although some of you here might want to consider "The Black Book of Outsourcing" as a companion to this one.

Jump In by Mark Burnett - Very entertaining 'auto-bio' from the creator of Survivor. Tells his story from his almost impulsive decision to make a life in the US (he was supposed to move to South America) to his days selling tshirts on Venice Beach to meeting Donald Trump for the first time at Wollman Rink.

Negotiate to Win - Jim Thomas - Slightly interesting. This is the first "How-to-negotiate" book I've read so I don't really know how it should really go.. Although admittedly I've a slight aversion to "How-to.." books.

[ShowMeTheMoney]

Anyone know if there are any biographical 'books' on the lives of guys like Henry Sy, Gokongwei, Tony Tan Caktiong etc..? Or any Pinoy entrepreneur for that matter?

Aside from the occassional recycled article appearing in the likes of Entrepreneur Mag Philippines, I mean.

I was just reading through one of Gogkongwei's speeches, how he used to sell all kinds of stuff with his trusty bicycle etc.. and I think if these guys ever wrote a biography they'd be a great inspiration indeed.