Manager

Having once been in the circus, I love watching writers take daring risks. "The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud" is a high-wire act of the most exciting kind: bold, mesmerizing, lump-in-the-throat exciting, a tad scary, and ultimately very American. Ben Sherwood sucks you in immediately with a charming tale where nothing is quite what it seems, tragedy is waiting just around the corner, and love triumphs when you least expect it. Who would begin a book with pain? Well, lots of people! Like "Lovely Bones" and "Five People You Meet In Heaven," great writers seem to have the ability to make us go through an unspeakable calamity in order to find a transcendent path to hope. There are lots of surprises here: baseball games you can't quite believe; sailing races that hold your breath, lots of quirky details about cemeteries (Edgar Allan Poe!), and great food. My wife fell in love with Charlie; I liked Tess. It only took each of us a day to read it; we haven't stopped talking about it since.

The opening pages of The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud brought tears to my eyes. From that point on, I had difficulty putting the book down. I went from an ache in my heart for Charlie and Sam one moment, to laughing at Sam's spiritual hi-jinks the next, to a crescendo of welling hope for the storm ravaged love of Charlie and Tess. There is truly something for everyone in this book.
Ben Sherwood gives us a glimpse into the afterlife that seems both plausible and wonderous. A'la Crossing Over with John Edward, Ben reminds us to appreciate the gift of love and how those bonds never cease to be. Love does in fact, shine on.......in the moon and the stars and the sun, and certainly within the pages of The Life and Death of Charlie St. Cloud !
I too, can't wait for the next tale Ben Sherwood chooses to weave.

I was given this book to read by the Chaplain in our Hospice organization. Since I lead a bereavement group, I found this book to be very helpful to me especially for the living, but also to help grieving survivors. In such a beautiful way the story helps survivors experience death from both sides. And it is an easy read...in fact, it is a book that can't be put down. I will add this to our recommended booklist.

The day this book arrived I read 6 chapters in 3 hours! This is a very inspirational book about leadership and success and is not just about your children. It would apply to anyone, any age, stay-at-home mom to CEO. I especially liked her personal stories, I felt like she was writing about me. I am living my dream and have never lost sight of my goals. After reading her book I feel like I have been more of a success than I had thought previously. This is a must read book for anyone. M. Craig - Successfull Internet Entrepreneur

I am a Preschool Director and I wish all of our parents would read Susan Collins' book. It's in sync with what we are trying to do in the classroom, letting children be creative thinkers and explorers.

Susan Collins has become a bedtime friend. This doesn't just feel like I'm reading a book, it feels like I know her. I look forward to spending time with her each night. She makes me feel her successes can also be mine.

This book opens the questions that all managers need to address during a time of crisis. This format can now assist managers before the crisis happens. It provides some effective hands on steps to follow which makes management much easier in a time of chaos. The encouragement of simulations and practice for perfection is vital. Examining the potential for problems and vulnerabilities is often overlooked in management. This book provides some good suggestions for identifying and correcting likely problems.

Mr. Blythe has taken a complex subject and provided managers with a practical, cutting edge guide for the management of a crisis. He takes the reader through a process that addresses crisis management from a planning & preparedness stage through the use of response services. This book is a "must read" for all managers - new or experienced with the topic.

This is a very unique and practical book with a singular purpose - to help you answer the question from a workplace preparedness perspective: 'What should your company do when something highly unexpected happens - like the September 11 attacks or a Hurricane?'

This book is full of practical advice that is split into two parts. The first part deals with Response and the second part deals with Preparedness. None of us imagines that something bad could happen at our workplace but everyday it happens in somebody's workplace. So why can't it happen in yours? And the answer is that it can happen anywhere so it really helps to be prepared.

As you read the book, you will encounter lists after lists of a step by step approach to a particular issue associated with disasters at your workplace. For example - pages 30 to 33 address how to immediately respond to such a disastrous event with a checklist of descriptions followed by a giant checklist of all the actions you need to take.

I was at first hesitant to read this book as I didn't really see it as something requiring my immediate attention but if I waited till I needed this book, it would be too late. So I decided to finally pick up this book and started skimming it. That's when I realized that one can't afford to wait to read a book of this nature. You are better off reading it right away so you don't have to scramble to find it when you really need it!

This book is about being prepared so if you own a business or manage a workplace this book is necessary reading. The author is an experienced Crisis Management professional that has helped businesses handle many high profile disasters like the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and Hurricane Andrew. So the information is coming from a highly credible source who now has over a 1,000 clients that utilize his services.

During the spring semester 2004, I am teaching a course in software engineering. As a major class project, we are developing an application that will scan C/C++ code looking for potential security problems. In my opinion, there is only one way that a class of this type can develop a project of any significance. That is using an agile/iterative development model, where there is a little design, a little coding, a little testing and then go back to design. When I taught software engineering last spring, we used the same model, but were not as agile. Our iterations were longer and we pushed some of the more difficult tasks to the end. As the students noted, "we coded carefully at the start, but then just wanted to get it done at the end."
While this scenario might seem to be a problem, I found it gratifying, because it is just like the real world. The authors of this book are also firmly set in the world of software development. While reading it, I was constantly saying to myself, "It is about time." The reason for this singular conversation was that they completely disrespect the waterfall model of software development. In retrospect the use of the waterfall model is similar to the strict use of the word engineering in software development. Namely, the beliefs that the practice of building software development is just like building a bridge or a building. By thinking that all of the parameters can first be determined and then you build the software, an enormous amount of time, effort and expense had been wasted. Software development is a very dynamic process, one where circumstances are in a constant state of oscillation that gets damped down to a limit point as the project nears completion.
The waterfall model is one that is implicitly taught in school as well, but the only way we get away with it is because most of the programs that students write are small, well within the bounds of having hard parameters. Therefore, it is possible to completely design the program before coding it. In my experience with students fresh out of college, the two concepts they have the most difficulty with in their first job is the constantly changing requirements and the fact that they will know only a small part of the complete application they are building. And so, all educators must place more emphasis on dealing with changing requirements, and this book is an excellent place to start.
Fortunately, the movement towards object-oriented programming and encapsulation has made the change to iterative development easier. A programmer no longer has to be as concerned about possible data and method interactions/conflicts as they had to be when everything was visible to all.
I was sold on the iterative method of software development over a decade ago, when I started a job as a software developer. We were building a new product and received changing requirements on a weekly and sometimes almost daily basis. Quite frankly, we had no choice but to adopt an agile development style. I wish I had had this book with me at that time, it would have saved us a lot of stumbling around as we tried to deal with everything.

"Agile and Iterative Development" is a 'must read' for anyone involved in leading, managing, or doing software development. I have been using iterative methodologies for many years. Despite this, not only did I learn many things I did not know about the process, but it also gave me very useful information and statistics on the benefits of using it that I found useful when defending the approach against more traditional waterfall methodologies. Most interesting is discussions on practical applications when dealing with customers/clients that expect waterfall - a problem I have been dealing with for a long time. I bought several copies to distribute to my staff and I even refer to it in my resume where I discuss my ideal development approach.
This book was read and re-read with enthusiasm - it sits deservedly on my classics shelf next to Brook's Mythical Man Month. Get it!

Craig Larman has covered the breadth and depth of agile methods. The hint's and tips are invaluable. A Great book.

As a MicroStation user whos has seen the expansion of our Design and Engineering Department from one user on one workstation to seven users on a network in less than two years, I have found this book to be a great reference.
Covering everything from loading and licensing MircoStation to creating standards and repairing/editing files with EdG, this resource will enable advanced users to customize thier product to suit company standards or customer requirements.
MicroStation CAD Manager is presented in a logical manner with plenty of graphics as well as exercises to familiarize the CAD Manager with the methods needed for customizing their configuations.

I have taken this course at their site and have recieved the book, which is an astounding composite of insite and skill in regards to management of Microstation (A CAD Software program)
the company "Rowse Company" is bar none being the most company/family oreinted company that, continues to drive towards the future of design and production, I continue to deal with the software/reference material and they are the "Most professional people" I have ever met............ the bottom line is they are there for
the professional to design and empletment their product or expertise ... morning, noon, and night ... and actually care
my hats off to them..............
GODSPEED

The MicroStation CAD Manager book is loaded with practical examples and exercises that really allow you learn by doing. This book is an excellent by for anyone who is trying to navigate their way through MicroStation's workspace!

At IBM, I was for many years, a key member of the OS/390 project office, working directly with development managers to assure their deliverables met lifecycle development standards of all kinds. Since leaving IBM, I have worked as a consultant in similar roles. Guidance and tips in this book have helped me land a very good assignment as a software process improvement mentor in a large insurance company. The book is unique; much of what is written can be found in a variety of sources but not in one book.

Wayne Yaddow, Consultant

The numerous examples, cases, graphs, and templates give the reader the tools to start the improvements in his or her own organization. Furthermore, the book is fun and easy to read. To me and my colleagues, it'll be very useful!

This book is simply fantastic. Neil Potter and Mary Sakry show you, simply and clearly, how to tie your process improvement activities to the things that matter in your business. Rather than an onerous "why are we improving for improvement sake", this book shows how to find what hurts, make it better and raise maturity regardless of what improvement model you may use. The book can be read in about an hour, and there are many appendicies that provide practical and easy to understand examples. Reading the book doesn't make process improvement easy (change is never easy), but it puts you down the right path. The best chance of institutionalizing real process improvement is through solving the real problems of the company and its employees and customers.

I especially recommend that company executives read this book, since they often set the tone for a process improvement effort.

This book is a must read for anyone heading up a process improvement practice.

If you can only purchase one book about rental properties, get this one! It is well-written, well-organized, and worth the price. I purchased this book at a point of peak frustration after making some costly and discouraging rental mistakes. This book has been immensely helpful in turning things around for me; it has saved me time, money, and headaches.

As a beginning landlord, I cannot recommend this book highly enough!!

This book has helped through every step of buying my first investment property. It's like having your own professional standing over your shoulder, reminding you about every detail of every step. The section on insurance alone is completely priceless, pointing out that a landlord needs not just property loss coverage but also personal liability. And not just physical liability, but coverage of potential slander, libel, discrimination, unlawful eviction, invasion of privacy suits... And don't forget loss of rents! It's that kind of detail that maybe someone who's done this before would call 'basic.' But I admit: I am no pro, yet when I called an insurance agent and explained what I wanted coverage for, he said to me, "Um, you've done this before, haven't you?" Thank you, nolo!

This is the best landlord book! You have to get it. The CD ROM contains everything I use to manage my properties and be a good landlord. It makes property management and landlording so rewarding and easy than any person could succeed at it if they follow this book's guidelines.

I own 3 properties so far and this book has made my success possible!

This book is an elementary guide, definitely not one I would reccommend fo an upscale restaurant owner. Plenty of outdated material that has no relevence for todays operator.

The books nineteen chapters cover the entire process of a restaurant start-up and ongoing management.The companion CD rom which contains all the forms is worth the modest price of the book alone. I would highly recomend this book to anyone in the industry now or who wants to get started with sound financial planning. Also the extensive resource guide in the back of the book is superb - we will use this book often.

This comprehensive and massive 600 page new book will show you step-by-step how to set up, operate, and manage a financially successful foodservice operation. The author has left no stone unturned in explaining the risky business of running a restaurant. Operators in the non-commercial segment as well as caterers, and really anyone in the food service industry will find this book very useful.The books nineteen chapters cover the entire process of a restaurant start-up and ongoing management in an easy to understand way, pointing out methods to increase your chances of success, and showing how to avoid the many common mistakes that can doom a start-up. The new companion CD rom contains all the forms demonstrated in the book for easy use in a PDF format.There are literally hundreds of innovative ways demonstrated to streamline your restaurant business. Learn new ways to make the kitchen, bars, dining room, and front office run smoother and increase performance. Shut down waste, reduce costs, and increase profits.

The One Minute Manager's symbol- a one-minute readout from the face of a modern digital watch- is intended to remind each of us to take a minute out of our day to look into the faces of the people we manage. And to realize that they are our most important resources. The Monkey Manager's symbol- a harried manager overwhelmed by a deskful of problems- is intended to remind us to constantly discipline ourselves to invest our time on the most vital aspects of management rather than dilute our effectiveness by "doing more efficiently those things that shouldn't be done in the first place." What follows is a story about a harried manager who worked long, hard hours, yet never quite seemed to get caught up with all the work he had to do. He learned about monkey management and how not to take initiative away from his people so they can care for and feed their own "monkeys." In the process, he learned to be more effective in dealing with his own manager and the demands of his organization. The performance of his department drastically improved as did the prospects for his career. The authors hope is that you will use what you learn in this book to make a difference in your life and the lives of the people you interact with at work, and at home.

This book does a great job of helping people focus on their own work.

Many people in an organization focus on managing the boss rather than doing their own job. What better way to manage the boss than to constantly seek her/his guidance on everything? Then, the boss can be flattered that you want his/her help, and will also take the blame if anything goes wrong. Insecure bosses like to be involved, so that fewer "errors" occur.

This wonderful book points out that no one can learn without making errors. Also, if you and your subordinate are doing the same job, one of you is superfluous. A common source of stalled thinking in this area is focusing on the fact that you, as manager, can do the job better and faster than you can teach the task or job to someone. What managers fail to realize is that someone closer to the source of the problem should be able to come up with a better solution. Also, the time taken to teach someone else to do the task is usually much less over a year or two than the time taken to help someone learn the task.

The key problem is that we all like to fall back on doing what we are comfortable with and are good at rather than new challenges where we are not so competent. Banish that feeling!

This book gives you lots of practical ideas for how to respond to efforts by your subordinates and colleagues to delegate their work and responsibility to you. You will learn how to see them coming and to keep the monkey where it belongs: with them.

If you find that you are pressed for time, this book is an important source of ideas to free up your life to have less stress while you and your organization both accomplish more.

Good luck with taking care of your monkey business! It's an important step toward developing an irresistible growth enterprise.

Buy the book or better yet listen to the tape then watch the change in your attitude Monday morning.

A good meter for a manager to know if he has too many monkeys is by comparing e-mail inbaskets, since that is where so many of us spend much of our time nowadays. My own is usually over 300 items while my staff's is usually under 20. I thought about each of these as a monkey and then also thought back over all the one-on-one conversations I had had with each of them (7 people). In most cases, it was usually left that I would do something next, and that fits in perfectly with this book. True to the book and the tape, I spend countless hours to catch up, only to fall further behind.

The book is pretty good, but the tape is far superior. There are two tapes; the first one is a speech by Bill Oncken Jr, and he is just a fantastic story-teller. He really brings to life the story of the manager whose staff is all waiting on him, the stress he feels, and the revelation that hits him when he sees them golfing when he goes in on the weekend. Of course this is all written before the days of e-mail, but it still works. You can feel the energy in his voice rising as he turns his life around and puts all the monkeys back where they belong, and the final line where he gets the whole audience to shout "HOW'S IT GOING?!" to the new monkey-owner is a great ending.

The second tape is Ken Blanchard delivering the rest of the material, and while he's entertaining, it's not nearly as good as Oncken's "day-in-the-life" tale. He ties the material back to the One-Minute Manager, and touches on some psychological issues.

They also stress that this isn't just an exercise in delegating and taking work off the manager's hand, it is just as important as a developmental process for the subordinate.

As a side-note, it's interesting that there is no mention anywhere in the book of Spencer Johnson, the co-author of the original book The One Minute Manager, who invented the system. In all the author biographies and Thank-You's, he is never mentioned, I wonder if he and Blanchard had a parting of company. And the book itself makes almost no mention at all about what One-Minute Manager is all about, it seems just a way to put a popular title to a book about monkey management,
although I think this monkey manual is the better book.

I am already a manager, and alot of the advice in this book I completely agree with. I also enjoyed Oz's casual style, and Palvia's witty cartoons.

Great book. This book has been reviewed by the following publications:
1) Business Library Review International, founded The Wall Street Review of Books before becoming BLRI.
....Effy Oz's cartoon supported guide to business-a perfect high school graduation present. Nuggets of wisdom includes his observation that "Objectively, your performance may be excellent, and yet, people may not like you"(p.49); "Organizations are systems made up of people"(p31); "Be PC (politically correct)" (p119)

2) Dennis McCafferty, writer for USA Weekend
.....Oz's observation that it is a mistake to avoid office politics is worth noting....

3) Business Journal, Allentown, PA
....Oz offers many good tips, eg, One good word about you from an insider is worth more than a thousand recommendations from former professors...you should not let anyone leave a meeting without summarizing theree things: what is to be done, who will do it and when is the deadline... .

3) Journal of Information Technology - Cases and Applications
....something you will not learn in Harvard Business School...meets a largely unmet need... .

This small and entertaining book is a must for any beginning manager. Easy to read and highly informative. It helped me a lot.