BizBook Nuggets

Six Disciplines for Excellence

I liked this book for it's clarity. Also, as the subtitle says, it applies to 'building small businesses that learn, lead and last.' And let's face it, we are all small businesses, even when working solo.

Gary Harpst wrote this book. Bud Bilanich does an excellent review over on his blog, The Common Sense Guy. Read Bud's blog to get an idea of what's in this book. But you should really buy it to fully digest these concepts.

Here are some major points about this book:

It describes six fundamental disciplines that help peole learn how to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of every growing business.

This book is different from other business books that focus 80% on theory, and 20% on implementation. The content is 80% focused on implementation.

It is designed specifically for small businesses. Examples are plentiful from businesses and entrepreneurs.

Also, it is designed with the Internet in mind.

"Figuring out the right things to do isn't nearly as difficult as continuing to do them over the long term."

Information Overload and Your Brain

Did you know? department...

Did you know that one daily edition of the New York Times has more information that a person living 100 years ago was exposed to in their lifetime?

Did you know that the average U.S. office worker handles 200 communications a day?

Did you know that 70% of American workers say their main job is finding more information?

If you suffer from Information Overload, then this book is for you:

How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain, by Eve Abbott.

This book makes sense, in more ways than one. Eve has a lot to say about keeping information managed so that you can be more productive and focused.

The explanations of how the brain works and how it is not that much different from our stone age cousins are easy to understand. Here's what an Amazon review has to say:

Americans have less than half the leisure time they enjoyed 20 years ago. What happened to the 40-hour week? Whether you work inside or outside your home, Eve Abbott brings you the keys to escape from information overload, paper piles and mind-numbing multi-tasks. Let Eve show you How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain™. In this book, you’ll find new ways to look at your toughest challenges in the fast-paced, overloaded workplace of today. This entertaining, highly interactive guide offers easy online assessments to help you design your own personal organizing solutions to match your individual work style.

The Case for Clarity...

According to Marcus Buckingham, the one thing great leaders have, above all else, is clarity. Leadership integrity, passion, vision, and optimism may be important, but above all else, the leader must be clear about four elements for the future:

1. Who do you serve?
2. What are your core strengths?
3. What is the core score to be measured?
4. What actions, both symbolic and systematic, will create the future?

This is the topic for July newsletters over at www.customizednewsletters.
If you aren't familiar with newsletter services, they can provide both article content, PDF formatting, and HTML files customized with your business name and logo.

To read a synopsis of this particular newsletter article, please visit
www.customizednewsletters.com/featured/index.html.

These ideas and concepts are attributed to Marcus Buckingham, author of The One Thing You Need to Know:…About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success (Free Press, 2005). Buckingham is co-author of two best-selling books: First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently (coauthored with Curt Coffman) and Now, Discover Your Strengths (coauthored with Donald O. Clifton). He is a leading authority on employee productivity and the practices of leading and managing.

From Blog to Book in 90 Days?

From Blog to Book in 90 days? Do you think it's possible? I do... here's why:

10 Things that Keep You From Writing Your Book…
and What You Can do About It

9 out of 10 professionals and small business owners have at least one book or information product inside their head, but lack the time and organizational skills to get it out into digital or print form.

You may cringe when you read this list of ten things that are keeping you from writing your book, because it rings too close to home for you. You may have already written a book or an e-book, or have come close to starting it. It’s hard, we know it, and we’ve been there too. But go ahead and read this list, see if you can identify, and let’s discuss a possible solution to the book writing problem.

To read the full article, go here (www.blogtobook.com) and request it in the sign up box...

The One Book You Need To Read!

I can't say it enough: you need to read this book! In fact, it is The One Book You Need to Read if you are a coach or a consultant and work in organizations with leaders and managers.

I'm talking about The One Thing You Need to Know...about Great Managing, Great Leading and Sustained Individual Success, by Marcus Buckingham (Free Press, 2005).

You'll remember Buckingham from the two other books he co-authored, First Break All the Rules, and Now, Discover Your Strengths. He lead research over a 17 year career with the Gallup Organization on employee productivity and best practices of leading and managing.

His new book is a showcase of his fine writing talents, full of stories that make his premises come to life, stemming from his extensive interviews and studies of leaders who have been successful in creating clarity out of complexity.

Although Buckingham has a solid background in analysing data and statistics, his true writing strengths show where he brings theory to life through real experiences of individuals and organizations.

So, I could tell you what The One Thing You Need to Know actually is, but I won't. Go buy the book and read it. It is such an interesting read, it is up there in the category of best business book of 2005, in my humble opinion.

Do you agree, disagree, have another nomination?

Patsi, your biz book worm