Best Knowledge Capital

1 Value Stream Mapping: How to Visualize Work and Align Leadership for Organizational Transformation
Karen Martin is principal consultant for Karen Martin & Associates, LLC, instructor for the University of California, San Diego's Lean Enterprise program, and industry advisor to the University of San Diego's Industrial and Systems Engineering program. She's also the author of the Shingo Research Award–winning The Outstanding Organization , an instructor in the University of California, San Diego's Lean Enterprise program, and an industry advisor to the University of San Diego's Industrial and Systems Engineering program.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Clearly defines where and how value stream mapping should be used; step by step guidance on how to do it; and the potential organizational organizational challenges you may run into (and how to proactively manage them)."
"Even on your website you share your knowledge via downloadable files, free webinars, ..."
"Best book I have found describing the process of value stream mapping for business processes."
"I look forward to implementing VSM as described in this book."
"Clear, complete, great diagrams and facilitation tips."
"This book for the most part cuts to the chase, in very pragmatic terms, telling how to best start aligning people for improving their value streams."
"This is a really well thought out book that gives clear direction for how and why to conduct value stream mapping sessions."

A #1 bestseller in Happiness. A #1 bestseller in Personal Success. A #1 Bestseller in Knowledge Capital. ------. Jesse's first book was a #1 bestseller. The ridiculously short production schedule was meant to prove a point: focus + momentum = mindbending productivity. -- Aspiring writers who are interested in learning how to produce a professional, high-quality book in seven days, and launch it in less than a month. ― Know how to optimize your working space for ultimate productivity. Just click where it says: "Read on any device" (just beneath the book image), and you'll have access to Hustle from any tablet, smartphone, or computer. -- Amazon Reviewer The goal of this book is to engage with every hustler--all the people fighting for a purposeful life, and motivate them to keep going.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"After having my oldest son, I wanted to stay home with him because I didn't trust daycares so I set up a table at a barbershop and sold hard to find books, incense, body oils. So I built a clientele from Myspace and have been doing hair from home ever since. The hair business is real up and down and when my money runs low and I start to panic I figure out something else to do that can generate money. Your book hustle told me that I am normal, it gave me more to work with and on top of all that it was easy to read, oh and it was short."
"And those where the driving (motivational) parts for me; Jesse gave great sources to utilize for writing and almost any other entrepreneurial path you'd like to dab into."
"Pumped and primed to finally "pen" my story...But saddened that the one I was reading was ending. The encouragement and insights are "hands-on" and highly relevant to this "wild west" season we find ourselves in!"
"Short and to the point, the author offers insight on how to do what you've been told since you were a kid, "get it done"."
"What i liked most about the book is it helped me confront the issue of me believing I was allowing my self to be side tracked on my entrepreneur journey with picking up side contracts for money instead of constantly working on my projects."
"Excellent book - I mostly use the audible book for "on the go" and have the kindle book to read when that's the best option."
"Came across this book randomly and ordered it instinctively."
"I really enjoyed this book."

-Learn about 3 types of stress and how can you turn stress into your greatest ally. - Learn how to be patient and self-disciplined -The method for focused action and maximum productivity. - How to dump the fear of failure -Get the results you want and reach your goals -How to develop higher self-respect. - How to let go and let live -How to be brave in reclaiming your life. - An 8-step method to identify and handle challenges easily -You will be able to live a more stress-free, well-balanced life. - Attract inspiring people and avoid those who hinder you from your goals -Learn to prioritize to get the most productive results. - Know how to stay productive on those days when you are not in a good mood.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Overall, a great read."
"Okay read with an occasion bolt of brilliance."
"I have stumbled upon this book while adding books to my store."
"If you apply this book to your life, you will get more of what you want out of life."
"Each chapter of this book introduces me new things and also helped me to develop mental toughness, release stress and increases or boost your willpower to face difficulties."
"The basic concept is that we can't control the emotions that invade our brain but in a very short time we can control our thoughts and how we allow our brain to respond to the feeling. The emotion in its raw nature lasts for only a few seconds, but we keep the good or bad mood for a long term up with the help of our rational brain, aka our thoughts. Nature didn’t design us to be angry or fearful for more than a few seconds otherwise the next lion would have eaten us if the first didn’t."
"Taking control of our own thinking or mind-set is really necessary and an important factor in our life."
"Being positive after these kind of events can't be that easy."
Best Total Quality Management

Eliminating wasted time and resources Building quality into workplace systems Finding low-cost but reliable alternatives to expensive new technology Producing in small quantities Turning every employee into a qualitycontrol inspector. Dr. Jeffrey Liker, a renowned authority on Toyota's Lean methods, explains how you can adopt these principles--known as the "Toyota Production System" or "Lean Production"--to improve the speed of your business processes, improve product and service quality, and cut costs, no matter what your industry. You'll learn how Toyota fosters employee involvement at all levels, discover the difference between traditional process improvement and Toyota's Lean improvement, and learn why companies often think they are Lean--but aren't. Dr. Liker explains each key principle with detailed, examples from Toyota and other Lean companies on how to: Foster an atmosphere of continuous improvement and learning Create continuous process "flow" to unearth problems Satisfy customers (and eliminate waste at the same time) Grow your leaders rather than purchase them Get quality right the first time Grow together with your suppliers and partners for mutual benefit. Dr. Liker shows the Toyota Way in action, then outlines how to apply the Toyota Way in your organization, with examples of how other companies have rebuilt their culture to create a Lean, learning enterprise. The Toyota Way, explain's Toyota's unique approach to Lean--the 14 management principles and philosophy that drive Toyota's quality and efficiency-obsessed culture.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Treat people right, teach people to think, teach people to care, teach people to be passionate about what they believe in -- do all these things and you can build a great company."
"I feel like it has more content about efficient manufacturing."
"Great book to either get you started on Lean methodologies or dive deep in to how Toyota uses Lean/Just-in-Time techniques that can apply to any industry (manufacturing, software, design...any industry that delivers a product can benefit from the concepts in this book)."
"There is a good mix of examples of how the Toyota way is followed and how to implement."
"The management principles apply to any business and in any industry including Financial Services, distribution, software development, manufacturing, hospitals and healthcare, government, education, retail, anything and everything that involves processes will benefit from the principles and practices of Lean."
"It's mostly a history book but it's a really neat one all the same."
"The original story by the original people - buy this for the "lean production" method."
Best Project Management

For those who believe that there must be a more agile and efficient way for people to get things done, here is a brilliantly discursive, thought-provoking book about the leadership and management process that is changing the way we live. In the future, historians may look back on human progress and draw a sharp line designating “ before Scrum ” and “ after Scrum .” Scrum is that ground-breaking. It already drives most of the world’s top technology companies. On a mission to put this tool into the hands of the broader business world for the first time, Jeff Sutherland succeeds brilliantly.” --Eric Ries, New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup "Engaging, persuasive and extremely practical... Scrum provides a simple framework for solving what seem like intractable and complicated work problems. In other words success requires Scrum.” --General Barry McCaffrey “Jeff Sutherland has written the essence of Scrum for the masses. This book elevates Scrum from a fix-it tool to a way of life.” --Hirotaka Takeuchi, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School “Jeff Sutherland's book masterfully speaks truth to the political complexities that easily stand in the way of getting a lot of work done in the least amount of time. The busy professionals who’ll likely be drawn to this book will find not only an effective manual for getting things done but, also, a how-to guide for living a meaningful life.” --John Maeda, Design Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers “This extraordinary book shows a new way to simplify your life and work, increase your focus, and get more done in less time than you ever thought possible.” --Brian Tracy, bestselling author of Eat that Frog and Time Power. If you don’t get three times the results in one-third the time, you aren’t doing it right!” --Scott Maxwell, Founder & Senior Managing Director, OpenView Venture Partners “Jeff Sutherland used the common-sense but seldom-applied principles of the quality movement, user-centered design, and lean development to come up with a process that dramatically increases productivity while reducing employees’ frustrations with the typical corporate nonsense. Senior leaders should not just read the book—they should do what Sutherland recommends.” --Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor, Stanford Business School and c-author of The Knowing-Doing Gap “Groundbreaking…Will upend people’s assumptions about how productive they can actually be…Here Jeff Sutherland discloses to the non-tech world the elegantly simple process that programmers and Web developers have been using since he invented Scrum, showing how a small, empowered, and dedicated team can deliver significantly higher quality work at a faster pace through introspection, iteration, and adaptation.” --Michael Mangi, Senior V.P. Jeff Sutherland is currently the CEO of Scrum, Inc. and Senior Adviser to OpenView Venture Partners where he coaches venture-funded companies.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I would recommend to read it every once in a while, add you gather more experience on Scrum."
"A great refresher / reference point for a long time Lean Agile / Kanban practitioner."
"There are so many old beliefs that are questioned and shuttered in this book that it's a must read for anyone who is part of a team doing anything."
"I love this process and this book is an outstanding way to get introduced to it."
"Jeff Sutherland tells so many interesting stories from his experiences that you'll buy his book just for those stories!"
"Though the book was written decades ago it really has been completely updated."
"This book just goes on and on and on and on and on... as if the author didn’t employ Agile Methodology, himself."
"The author uses productivity as the hook to garner interest, and he does equate many concepts with productivity impact. For some reason, the author tries hard to avoid using software projects as examples. Maybe for good reason, since Scrum is type cast as a software process."
Best Business Negotiating

A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new, field-tested approach to high-stakes negotiations—whether in the boardroom or at home. Whether for your business or your personal life, his techniques work.” (Joe Navarro, FBI Special Agent (Ret.). Those who have benefited from these techniques include business clients generating millions in additional profits, MBA students getting better jobs, and even parents dealing with their kids. Never Split the Difference provides a gripping, behind-the-scenes recounting of dramatic scenarios from the gang-infested streets of Haiti to a Brooklyn bank robbery gone horribly wrong, revealing the negotiation strategies that helped Voss and his colleagues succeed where it mattered most: saving lives. It’s a riveting read, full of instantly actionable advice—not just for high-stakes negotiations, but also for handling everyday conflicts at work and at home.”—Adam Grant, Wharton Professor and New York Times bestselling author of originals and give and take. .It’s required reading for my employees because I use the lessons in this book every single day, and I want them to, too.”—Jason McCarthy, CEO of GORUCK.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The author begins the book by relating his experience at a prestigious seminar at Harvard University. The author discovered that the same techniques used in life and death situations could be generalized--they "made great sense intellectually, and they worked everywhere...In the twenty years I spent at the Bureau we’d designed a system that had successfully resolved almost every kidnapping we applied it to." NEVER SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE is not just about tricky negotiation tactics, or ways to "outwit" your adversary in battle. This also means careful listening, or what the author calls, the martial art of "Tactical Empathy." Each chapter in NEVER SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE begins with a real-life example from the author's involvement with hostage negotiations. The book's title reflects the author's position that compromise, or "Splitting the Difference" is actually a lazy way to conclude a negotiation. Instead of taking the easy way, Chris recommends working relentlessly to see "what is really motivating the other side." All in all, I found NEVER SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE to be an impressive book, filled with practical knowledge, tips, and just plain WISDOM about how to deal with people."
"I've taken approximately 20 hours of graduate study in negotiation and conflict resolution. You will be best aided by these books by taking a chapter at a time and practice the ideas and techniques."
"MAIN CONCEPT: Tactical empathy: “This is listening as a martial art, balancing the subtle behaviors of emotional intelligence and the assertive skills of influence, to gain access to the mind of another person.”. IS IT FUN TO READ: Finished it in a day. The book’s full of riveting life-and-death hostage negotiations, and Voss spins a damn good yarn. But it makes all kinds of sense: letting your adversary say a solid “no” gives them a feeling of safety, security and control -- a great starting point to a negotiation. -- Ali Binazir, M.D., M.Phil., Happiness Engineer; Speaking Coach, KNP Communications; author, The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible."
Best Business Quality Control

Eliminating wasted time and resources Building quality into workplace systems Finding low-cost but reliable alternatives to expensive new technology Producing in small quantities Turning every employee into a qualitycontrol inspector. Dr. Jeffrey Liker, a renowned authority on Toyota's Lean methods, explains how you can adopt these principles--known as the "Toyota Production System" or "Lean Production"--to improve the speed of your business processes, improve product and service quality, and cut costs, no matter what your industry. You'll learn how Toyota fosters employee involvement at all levels, discover the difference between traditional process improvement and Toyota's Lean improvement, and learn why companies often think they are Lean--but aren't. Dr. Liker explains each key principle with detailed, examples from Toyota and other Lean companies on how to: Foster an atmosphere of continuous improvement and learning Create continuous process "flow" to unearth problems Satisfy customers (and eliminate waste at the same time) Grow your leaders rather than purchase them Get quality right the first time Grow together with your suppliers and partners for mutual benefit. Dr. Liker shows the Toyota Way in action, then outlines how to apply the Toyota Way in your organization, with examples of how other companies have rebuilt their culture to create a Lean, learning enterprise. The Toyota Way, explain's Toyota's unique approach to Lean--the 14 management principles and philosophy that drive Toyota's quality and efficiency-obsessed culture.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"There is a good mix of examples of how the Toyota way is followed and how to implement."
"The original story by the original people - buy this for the "lean production" method."
"Being from a mechanical and industrial engineering, this book brought out many changes in my work life and personal life."
"Toyota not only lead the way for manufacturing but for building a company and culture of continuous self improvement for all aspects of the company."
"It's mostly a history book but it's a really neat one all the same."
"I listened to the audiobook while driving along with reading the book whenever I was stationary such as home and work."
"A treasure chest, chuck full of powerful concepts, explained simply, clearly, and concisely: sums it up for me!"
Best Business Management

Voted one of Top 100 Business Books of All Time on Goodreads. People are using this simple, powerful concept to focus on what matters most in their personal and work lives. By focusing their energy on one thing at a time people are living more rewarding lives by building their careers, strengthening their finances, losing weight and getting in shape, deepening their faith, and nurturing stronger marriages and personal relationships. In. The ONE Thing. , you. '. ll learn to. *. cut through the clutter. *. achieve better results in less time. *. build momentum toward your goal. *. dial down the stress. *. overcome that overwhelmed feeling. *. revive your energy. *. stay on track. *. master what matters to you. The ONE Thing. delivers extraordinary results in every area of your life. --. work, personal, family, and spiritual. Gary Keller is chairman of the board and cofounder of Keller Williams Realty, Inc., which holds the #1 position as the largest real estate company in the world.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Have you ever felt the Universe arranged everything for you to be at the right time on your computer, reading the right article that mentioned the perfect book you were meant to read at that specific point in your life? Not because it wasn't understood the first time around, but because I simply want to inundate myself with all its the ideas. Below are some of the highlights that profoundly resonated with me but I invite you to grab a copy and read the whole book. Extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus. Success is actually a short race -- a sprint fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and take over. How we phrase the questions we ask ourselves determines the answers that eventually become our lives."
"Or do they pull off something worthwhile and can they really aid someone find the business success they are seeking? Are they preaching to an already converted choir to confirm their preconceived notions or are they offering fresh insights and trying to broaden the horizons of readers? This book is authored by the very successful founder of one of the nation's great realtors, Keller-Williams. Gary Keller is targeting those business folks who want to find single minded success - the kinds of self-sacrificing, dedicated, and single-minded people he wants to hire and who will make themselves (and him) a great deal of money. Keller believes in focus, utter dedication to your one thing, and driving to breakthrough barriers to get to your one big purpose. He is not a big believer work life balance - he actually rejects it and calls it a lie. In other words, the key ideas are underlined in what looks like pencil - as if a previous reader had done it for you. I hear any number of executives talk about this as they are on their third marriage and fathering their own grandkids. There is a lot of benefit that comes from having succeeded and getting the space and time that comes from financial success."
"It's realizing that extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus. well written, incredibly simple, concise, practical analysis of the whys and hows of discovering and executing our ONE Thing. The Focusing Question - Helps us arrive at The ONE Thing. "When everything feels urgent and important, everything seems equal. We become active and busy, but this doesn't actually move us any closer to success. Activity is often unrelated to productivity, and busyness rarely takes care of business.""
Best Business Leadership

-Six ways to make people like you. -Twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking. -Nine ways to change people without arousing resentment. Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to "the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people." You learn how to make people like you, win people over to your way of thinking, and change people without causing offense or arousing resentment.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The realization that my marriage was being effected by my nearly empty toolbox of social skills promoted me to take personal responsibility and shoulder the blame myself for once instead of blaming everyone around me for everything. I grew up with a hypercritical Mother so I think I had promised myself that I would never be criticized again, even if that meant writing people off the instant I felt like I had made myself vulnerable enough to be hurt by them. The strategies are applicable to and helpful in all aspects of my life so far, from my marriage to my job, and even to the way I interact with clerks in gas stations."
"I did think several of the principles explained in the book are common sense, but I found that it could be easy for a person to react quickly to conflicts. The first principle emphasizes the importance of avoiding criticism and he describes working with people as: working with people of logic. With this principle, he describes the importance of self-expression and connects it to the importance of thinking in terms of the other person, so that they come up with your ideas on their own, which they will like more. Dale then describes the importance to recall a person's name in the third principle. He further explains this point in principle five: Talk in terms of the other person's interests. Dale describes in the third part of the book the steps to have a person think in terms of your own thoughts. He then explains the importance of agreement and having the person say "yes," at least twice. If all else fails, he explains the importance of competition and how it drives people to feel important and empowered to work efficiently and effectively. He then explains the importance of asking questions that direct the person you’re speaking to, to obtain your idea on their own. He emphasizes the importance of having the person be saved from embarrassment, and then explains the importance of praise again, even if it is small."
"This book is a MUST read for anyone, but particularly if you are in management or sales."
"If anything it is even more applicable today as society becomes more technology focused and less human interaction focused."
"Such a great book that everyone should read!!"
"By reading this book, you will learn to 'handle" people."
Best Outsourcing

Virtual Freedom: How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive, and Build Your Dream Business is the step-by-step guide every entrepreneur needs to build his or her business with the asset of working with virtual employees. This is the field guide for building a team, outsourcing, and taking back control of your life.” Jay Baer, New York Times bestselling author of Youtility Chris Ducker explains exactly how to get more done in less timeand, as a bonus, get back the life you gave up when you decided to go into business for yourself. Virtual assistants are the key, and Virtual Freedom gives you everything you need to know.” Michael Hyatt, New York Times bestselling author of Platform. He takes the fear out of virtualizing your business and shows you how to live your life, while your business works for YOU!” Peter Shankman, bestselling author of Nice Companies Finish First. In Virtual Freedom , Ducker gives incredibly practical, proven advice for getting our time back so we can live a life of true freedom with the most luxurious of luxuries: choice over what we do with our time. Virtual Freedom did that for me because what Chris has produced in this book will literally change your business, and your life!” Pat Flynn, bestselling author of Let Go. Chris C. Ducker has helped thousands of entrepreneurs around the world implement successful virtual staffing strategies into their businesses, releasing them from the shackles of the over-worked, over-stressed lifestyle that most business owners endure on a daily basis.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This book is THE authoritative guide to finding and managing a virtual staff. What makes this book extra special is not only is it a good guide for someone starting out, but even for those who have been managing some or all of their team online Virtual Freedom will show you how to take that to the next level. Even without a virtual team on a full time or regular basis this book will help you hire and manage for one off projects, and even improve your own productivity."
"I've found the book very useful, both in the practical component of what a VA can do (and considerations of getting a VA per project vs full time team member), and also with the thinking component, to design your business (or life) how you want it to be run."
"Right from the start, the book quickly grabbed my attention and I was impressed with the very usable information right out of the blocks. Chris's book provides all the information anyone needs to take the leap into the world of hiring a virtual assistant."
"When Chris speaks about Superhero Syndrome in the book, trying to do everything ourselves because we think no one can do it better, or we've done it ourselves out of necessity in the beginning stages of starting a business, I could really relate. Chris shares everything from how to properly hire and train virtual assistants, to project work vs full time when looking to get tasks off your plate. Chris explained how working with a virtual assistant can make a daunting task easy when utilizing your time and theirs efficiently."
"Since first reading your book in March (2016) I have hired a full-time General Virtual Assistant (who is AWESOME... not to mention the hiring process was painless thanks to all of your guides and advice)!"
Best Business Leadership Training

Prepare for high-stakes situations Transform anger and hurt feelings into powerful dialogue Make it safe to talk about almost anything Be persuasive, not abrasive. KERRY PATTERSON, JOSEPH GRENNY, DAVID MAXFIELD, RON MCMILLAN, and AL SWITZLER are the cofounders and leaders of VitalSmarts, an innovator in corporate training and organizational performance that has taught more than two million people worldwide and worked with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Enter the book Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High. I heard Joseph Grenny, one of the authors speak on this topic recently at the leadership summit and got a lot out of his session. Christians and church staffs are notorious for avoiding crucial conversations. This is why churches often split, people leave hurt and visions never move forward. When in reality, because of what is at stake (salvation) and because of the calling of Jesus, we should do a better job of having crucial conversations. Individuals who are the most influential—who can get things done and at the same time build on relationships—are those who master their crucial conversations. The mistake most of us make in our crucial conversations is we believe that we have to choose between telling the truth and keeping a friend. This is one of, if not the main reason, most conversations stop and things do not move forward. If you are a boss and want honest feedback and conversation, people can't fear for their jobs or that you will yell at them. Recently, there has been a lot of writing online about pastors abusing people, creating a culture of fear, yelling at staff members, elders and volunteers and it blows my mind. One of the ironies of dialogue is that, when talking with those holding opposing opinions, the more convinced and forceful you act, the more resistant others become. But, in conversations, if we give the impression that something has been decided or that we aren't open to suggestions, we will kill discussion. If you find yourself pushing your ideas, you aren't having a good dialogue and instead are simply giving out orders. That may be your leadership style, but it won't accomplish a healthy team environment and in the end, your church or business will never reach its full potential. When a crucial conversation ends, there must be clear expectations and guidance moving forward."
"I would recommend this book to anyone in a high stress job who needs to confront people about high stakes issues."
"I’m sure this book could be useful in personal situations, too, but it’s really great for business, which is the perspective in which I read this."
"Wonderful book to use in both business relationships and personal ones."
"This is an excellent read."
"Excellent book, with great practical tips and very useful advice for daily conversations."
"Great tools for applying."
"This book will change the way you think about difficult conversations."
Best Business Operations Research

Written in a fast-paced thriller style, The Goal, a gripping novel, is transforming management thinking throughout the world. Alex Rogo is a harried plant manager working ever more desperately to try improve performance. He has ninety days to save his plant - or it will be closed by corporate HQ, with hundreds of job losses. It takes a chance meeting with a professor from student days - Jonah - to help him break out of conventional ways of thinking to see what needs to be done. It contains a serious message for all managers in industry and explains the ideas, which underline the Theory of Constraints (TOC), developed by Eli Goldratt. The Economist 'Goldratt's system, in essence, forces production managers and workers alike to coordinate their work-with an underlying principle in mind: that 'bottlenecks'...are what ultimately constrain the manufacturing environment.'. Definitely a book to read...' The Hairdresser Eliyahu M. Goldratt was an internationally recognized leader in the development of new business management concepts and systems, and acted as an educator to many of the world's corporations.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In short, I think the novel does a fantastic job of introducing the down-sides of "Taylorist" management approaches, even in manufacturing, which is what Taylorism was developed for in the first place. You will not get that empathetic viewpoint from the nonfiction literature on the subject, so the inclusion is still a strength - it is just that the content has not aged all that well. The discussion of how traditional accounting rules and consequential financial controls can create a set of counterproductive incentives is telling, and presages by a couple of decades the work being done now in the Beyond Budgeting movement."
"If you are employed in a business area, or interested in learning more about how to streamline company processes, this book is a great read."
"I have worked in oil and gas and manufacturing as an engineer and now manager for 20 years and I am finding this book is providing me insights on problems I am facing today."
"Between the fall of 2005 and the summer of 2011, I pursued a Master of Business Administration and Master of Systems Engineering back to back while working during the day."
"I had a really hard time finishing 11 CDs, I can not imagine what the book is like. From there, its hard to say which Chapters are the most valuable because he (Alex) does go back and forth about "The Goal" and the story of the book."
"TOC is a very beneficial way of finding constraints in your organization and work on a path of constant improvement .After listening to the successful implementation of TOC''s implementations in verious fields like hospitals , Automobiles etc I am convinced it can be the best tool for a manager and will be happy to be a part of its implementation or be the implamenter one day."
Best Business Management Science

The 10th-anniversary edition of the New York Times business bestseller-now updated with "Answers to Ten Questions People Ask" We attempt or avoid difficult conversations every day-whether dealing with an underperforming employee, disagreeing with a spouse, or negotiating with a client. It does.” —The New York Times “These talented communicators blend a daunting array of disciplines into highly readable and practical advice.” —Booklist. “ Difficult Conversations will be appreciated by readers who wish to improve oral communication in all aspects of their daily lives.” —Library Journal. “Stone, Patton, and Heen illustrate their points with anecdotes, scripted conversations and familiar examples in a clear, easy-to-browse format.” —Publishers Weekly. “The central insights of Difficult Conversations so resonate with common sense that it is easy to overlook just how remarkable of a book it is . “Stone, Patton, and Heen have written an extremely clear and unpretentious exposition of how to develop effective communication skills and a guide to achieving openness and constructive outcomes in dialogue . They have been consultants to businesspeople, governments, organizations, communities, and individuals around the world, and have written on negotiation and communication in publications ranging from the New York Times to Parents magazine.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I used to be such a people-pleaser, i didn't even know when I was angry... and then I would unknowingly turn all my anger on myself - in the form of depression and self-criticism. Now I'm committed to becoming aware when I don't like something - sooner and sooner - and setting boundary or at least expressing what I don't like. Enter this book."
"This is a book that everyone should read."
"A seminal book on reframing."
"Enjoyed the book and shed a number different perspectives that I was totally unaware of when working with anyone."
"Excellent insights with concrete examples and tools for implementation."
"Have only finished about 25% of the book so far, but I've already used some of the ways to perceive things differently during difficult conversations."
"Every person on the planet could benefit from this book."
"I purchased this book as part of a recommended reading list."
Best Business Systems & Planning

To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced the first version of its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in the 2001 management book Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book spent more than five years on the bestseller lists and ignited a global conversation, while StrengthsFinder helped millions to discover their top five talents. * The more user-friendly StrengthsFinder 2.0 companion website, with a strengths community area, library of downloadable discussion guides and activities, a strengths screensaver, and a program for creating display cards of your top five themes. In the six years since the release of Now, Discover Your Strengths, more than 2 million people have taken the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment, which means billions of people have not yet had the opportunity. Those who are familiar with the StrengthsFinder assessment know that it is designed to uncover certain key talents -- patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior that can be productively applied. In this interview, Tom Rath, author of StrengthsFinder 2.0, discusses what Gallup scientists have learned since the publication of the first book, what more there is to discover about your talents, and why it's bad to focus on your employees' weaknesses, but simply cruel to ignore them completely. More than two million people have taken the StrengthsFinder assessment, and each month, the number of people learning about their talents goes up. This book helps readers apply strengths theory to any type of role and gives them ideas to help them apply their talents in their daily life. Have you discovered anything new about talents and strengths? We found that if your manager focuses on your strengths, your chances of being actively disengaged go down to one in one hundred. I always thought there were some people who were just destined to be disengaged in their jobs because that was their personality, and no matter how hard managers tried, there wasn't much they could do with some of those people. GMJ: So is that the business case to be made for putting people in roles that play to their strengths? The main business case is that people have a lot more fun and get a lot more done if they're able to spend time in areas where they have some natural talent. Rath: While hundreds of people in our organization continue to research this topic each year, our greatest challenge might be incorporating the new research while making the message even more succinct and applicable to a wider audience. GMJ: The Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment has always categorized talents into thirty-four themes. ABOUT STRENGTHSFINDER. In 1998, the Father of Strengths Psychology, Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. (1924-2003), along with Tom Rath and a team of scientists at The Gallup Organization, created the online StrengthsFinder assessment. In 2007, building on the initial assessment and language from StrengthsFinder 1.0, Rath and Gallup scientists released a new edition of the assessment, program, and website, dubbed "StrengthsFinder 2.0." Rooted in more than 40 years of research, this assessment has helped millions discover and develop their natural talents.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Each copy includes a scratch off passcode that gives you access to the StrengthsFinder 2.0 test. Knowing these strengths is critical, because they are unchangeable traits that will enable you to succeed to your fullest potential."
"This book definitely lives up to it's hype!"
"This book helped me understand myself and others better."
"A great way to figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are."
"A great book and a terrific way to understand how to build better and more engaged teams!"
Best Business Planning & Forecasting

One of Wall Street Journal 's. Best Ten Works of Nonfiction in 2012 New York Times Bestseller “Not so different in spirit from the way public intellectuals like John Kenneth Galbraith once shaped discussions of economic policy and public figures like Walter Cronkite helped sway opinion on the Vietnam War…could turn out to be one of the more momentous books of the decade .”. — New York Times Book Review "Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise is The Soul of a New Machine for the 21st century ." Drawing on his own groundbreaking work, Silver examines the world of prediction, investigating how we can distinguish a true signal from a universe of noisy data. Most predictions fail, often at great cost to society, because most of us have a poor understanding of probability and uncertainty. In keeping with his own aim to seek truth from data, Silver visits the most successful forecasters in a range of areas, from hurricanes to baseball, from the poker table to the stock market, from Capitol Hill to the NBA. With everything from the health of the global economy to our ability to fight terrorism dependent on the quality of our predictions, Nate Silver’s insights are an essential read. Baseball, weather forecasting, earthquake prediction, economics, and polling: In all of these areas, Silver finds predictions gone bad thanks to biases, vested interests, and overconfidence.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Longer review: I'm an applied business researcher and that means my job is to deliver quality forecasts: to make them, persuade people of them, and live by the results they bring. But we're not very good at it, and fall prey to cognitive biases and other systemic problems such as information overload that make things worse. However, we are simultaneously learning more about how such things occur and that knowledge can be used to make predictions better -- and to improve our models in science, politics, business, medicine, and so many other areas. For example, on p. 162: "What happens in systems with noisy data and underdeveloped theory - like earthquake prediction and parts of economic and political science - is a two-step process. Second, this noise pollutes journals, blogs, and news accounts with false alarms, undermining good science and setting back our ability to understand how the system really works." Of course this makes the book fascinating to generalists, geeks, and breadth thinkers, but perhaps more importantly, I think it serves well to develop reusable intuition across domains. The third non-fitting audience will be experts who desire depth in one of the book's many topic areas; it's not a technical treatise for them and I can confidently predict grumbling in some quarters."
"In the years that followed publication of the first edition, as Nate Silver notes in the new Preface, the perception that statisticians are soothsayers was proven to be an exaggeration, at best, and a dangerous assumption, at worst. Once we're getting the big stuff right -- coming to a better [i.e. more accurate and more reliable] understanding of probability and uncertainty; learning to recognize our biases; appreciating the value of diversity, incentives, and experimentation -- we'll have the luxury of worrying about the finer points of technique." In t his instance, Silver refers to a passage in Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, when Cassius observes: "Men at some time are masters of their fates. It is directly relevant to a theory named after Reverend Thomas Bayes (1701–1761), who first provided an equation that allows new evidence to update beliefs in his An Essay towards solving a Problem in the Doctrine of Chances (1763). Or we may simply focus on the ones that fit with bureaucratic protocol, like the doctrine that sabotage rather than an air attack was the more likely threat to Pearl Harbor." In their review of the book for The New Yorker (January 25, 2013), Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis observe: "Switching to a Bayesian method of evaluating statistics will not fix the underlying problems; cleaning up science requires changes to the way in which scientific research is done and evaluated, not just a new formula." In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman explains how an easy question ("How coherent is the narrative of a given situation?")."
Best Business Production & Operations

With the clock ticking, Bill must organize work flow streamline interdepartmental communications, and effectively serve the other business functions at Parts Unlimited. Today, our constraints aren't robots inside our factories, but it's how we manage technologies like Tomcat and Java that power our most critical projects and applications. This book continues the journey that began with Shewhart, Deming, Ohno and Dr. Goldratt, and shows us how to diminish our modern constraints to help the business win." "This insightful walk through the pain and success of business will trigger deja vu for anyone who has ever run afoul of their complete reliance in their IT organization. Kevin Behr is the founder of the Information Technology Process Institute (ITPI) and the general manager and chief science officer of Praxis Flow LLC. George Spafford i s a research director for Gartner, covering DevOps, technical change, and release management, in addition to the use of bimodal IT and the pace-layered application strategy.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My company promotes this book as an introduction to DevOps. Thus, this book and DevOps are for everyone."
"They gradually start adopting more devops related practices and in the end it'll save the company (sorry to give away the ending :P). Bill is a manager in the IT department who suddenly gets promoted to the VP because his boss and his bosses boss get fired. It does follow the stereotypical business novel patterns where someone needs to save the business and finds a teacher who gradually helps him step by step."
"So I was reading this book to see if I could recommend it to other dev/admin types, and I come away with a strong "yes." Kim has captured the attitudes and situations of real-world companies quite well - as I read through, I was reminded of folks I know (past and present) and generally agreed with the concepts laid out to get folks out of the proverbial creeks they found themselves in."
"Those who don't have direct experience with IT operations could learn a lot about the complexity of the problems organizations can have with managing IT effectively, along with some fairly basic remedies. Could be good for team-building in an IT organization, both to frame up how to analyze problems and their causes and how one might to about resolving them."
"This book is a story told in a similar fashion to Lencioni's, "Five Disfunctions," or Eli Goldratt's, "The Goal"."
"This is essentially reading if you're in development, operations, working on moving to a dev ops model."
Best Motivational Business Management

From the author: “For the last two years, I’ve interviewed more than 200 world-class performers for my podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show. This unusual depth has helped make The Tim Ferriss Show the first business/interview podcast to pass 100 million downloads. I’ve used dozens of the tactics and philosophies in high-stakes negotiations, high-risk environments, or large business dealings. The lessons have made me millions of dollars and saved me years of wasted effort and frustration. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show , which has exceeded 200 million downloads and been selected for “Best of iTunes” three years running.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I have hereditary cholesterol problems and my forays into a ketogenic lifestyle dropped my particle count from ~1950 to ~1225. There are many other great things that have come as a result of my exposure to Tim's podcast, too many to list here. This is supposedly a "recipe book" (according to page xvi in the Foreword). A few guests on his podcast have amazing things to say about meditation (Sam Harris, Naval Ravikant, Kevin Rose, etc.). But there is no central place to which you can turn to find out the collected wisdom of the many guests who have delved into this topic. In fact, there's not even one central place in the book that gives a list of the commonalities between the guests. They have the discipline to turn down the good, so that they can pursue (and achieve) the great. It might teach the tactics and routines and habits of world-class performers, but there's FAR TOO MUCH here to make it valuable in showing YOU how to achieve those heights."
"This book suffers from the expectations of his previous work--Tim is honest about presenting "Tools of Titans" as sort of a glimpse of his journals/notes from his life's work, but this book loses nearly everything we've come to expect. It's WebMD with a clouded personality...it's a bit like a bound website without the hyperlinking. He's shown he's capable of completely rethinking a problem or a lifestyle or a way of doing things, and this book isn't like that at all."
"It was worth the price especially after 200+free episodes of the podcast which I enjoy every week."
"I ordered this book yesterday, and it showed up on my door step today. The book is laid out in a format that is easy to navigate should you want to go back to reference again."
"The four-hour work week was a mindset changer, the 4-hour body gave me a playbook for anything I want to do physically and the 4-hour chef showed me how to have fun learning. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. The 4 Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat Loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman. The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life."
Best Distribution & Warehouse Management

This book de-mystifies the COO role and breaks it into 16 core elements; the three fundamental pillars of Culture, Strategy and Change, plus 13 technical areas. Drawing on industry standards and enriched with expert insight and real-life current examples, it condenses a vast range of knowledge and experience into one accessible read. Packed with practical insights and based on real life experiences, it gives a clear and powerful road map for this transformational organizational role.’. Justin Forsyth, Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF. This is a consequence of the superb clarity of Jennifer’s writing, and the fact that she has earned her expertise – and the scars that come with it – from working on the business end of the stick for over twenty years.’. Mark Waddington, CEO, Hope and Homes for Children. This nifty handbook provides a shortcut to understand the critical skills required, and is filled with nuggets of practical and accessible advice.’. Sinead Mahon, Banking COO. Packed with practical insights and based on real life experiences, it gives a clear and powerful roadmap for this transformational organizational role' Justin Forsyth, Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF 'It is rare for a single book to command such breadth of expertise, practical insight and advice that is so easy to put into action.This is a consequence of the superb clarity of Jennifer's writing, and the fact that she has earned her expertise - and the scars that come with it - from working on the business end of the stick for over twenty years.'. De-codes the very tricky role of COO and inspires you on how to be a great one' Niamh O'Keeffe, Author of "Your First 100 days" and founder of CEOAssist 'The defining text on the role of the COO and its component parts. This is what prompted me to write this book - it is the book I wish I had had at the outset.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In the cutthroat corporate world the job of a COO has neve been so sought after … or so tenuous…. Jennifer Geary is doing what is so rare in the corporate world - giving us a 'behind the scenes' look at the journey to success."
"Lots of good stuff here on building a roadmap to help people in the organization as well as understanding and managing the company culture."
"A book I can highly recommend for COO's, COO's and any entrepreneur looking to upscale."
"This book is what every COO needs to read especially for new COOs so that they will have a grasp on what this position entails."
"I came across this book via a recommendation from my husband and I am so glad I read it."
"This book covers the core disciplines an executives has to aware of when moving to a chief operating officer role, CEO or managing Director position."
"It's great for me today, and I'm glad I found it, but I so wish it had been available years ago. Read, or at least skim, the whole thing, and then use it as a reference each time you face a particular problem in a particular area of your business."
"The author brings in alot of insight in the book from managing a company's work culture to building strategic relationship within the different departments."
