On-the-money

It's not just that Ben and Jerry's ideas are stupid; it's that these guys don't practice what they preach. There is an article that some naïve reviewers on this board should read. It's called "The Evil Empire" in the New Republic (hardly the voice of capitalism or the political right). Amazingly the New Republic finds Ben and Jerry's arrogance just too hard to swallow.

What does the article have to say?

On Ben and Jerry's success:

"With the publicity came the inevitable backlash: that Ben and Jerry are nothing more than New Age scam artists, feeding social consciousness to gullible yuppies and pocketing the cash. The scarier truth may be that they've scammed themselves. Like their fortysomething followers, they believe the most flattering image of themselves: that, despite their millions, they haven't sold out."

How Ben and Jerry discovered why CEOs get paid big salaries:

This doesn't mean the company is built on scandalous lies--just little white lies, mutual delusions that keep everyone happy. For example, one tenet of caring capitalism is to be "real," to "connect with the customer." This spirit is what drove the company's offbeat search for a new CEO. Early last summer, Ben and Jerry held a press conference to announce that Ben would step down as CEO. Profits had plummeted, the superpremium ice cream market was shrinking; in short, the company had grown too complicated for a "multi-college dropout and failed pottery teacher to run," Ben announced. What pained him most was the company's decision to give up the salary cap that had limited the top executive's salary to seven times that of the lowest-paid employee, the $8 an hour scooper (a sacrifice that had always obscured Ben's millions in stock shares).

And my favorite section of the Article when Ben and Jerry show their hypocracy for all the world to see:

"Then there are the inner-city initiatives that fail. If there are any doubts about B&J's bloodless business instincts, they can be dispelled by another holy man, the Reverend James Carter, who crossed the company's path in 1992. Back then, Carter ran a modest New Jersey bakery called LaSoul, where recovering addicts churned out pumpkin pies for the local groceries. A week after he saw Ben on ABC's "20/20," Carter packed up a trunk full of pies and drove to the company headquarters. Ben loved both the pies and "Reverend Carter's vision of building a sound business." In three weeks, Carter had a letter of intent to do business with the company, which he showed to the bank to borrow money for equipment. Ben flew down to New Jersey to tape a TV show of himself helping ex-addicts mix batches of the new Apple Pie frozen yogurt.

After two years, however, sales of the flavor were flagging. In May 1994, Ben and Jerry's drastically decreased its orders, leaving Carter with freezers full of pies. Frantic, Carter laid off all but two employees and called Ben. The next day, Ben flew to New Jersey, "sat down, looked them straight in the eye," and, recalls Carter, said, "Don't worry, we'll stick with you." But orders never picked up, and, this June, Carter received a letter from the company, by fax, that congratulated him on his "good works" and canceled all remaining orders. He was left half a million dollars in debt. "It's pretty cute, this social mission," Carter says bitterly. "But the bottom line is, Ben and Jerry's buried my company."

Ask Ben about the incident, and he sounds more like Gordon Gecko than Robin Hood: "We told Jim to find more customers. We gave him six months' notice." When the normally upbeat Alan Parker is reminded of a spreadsheet dated November 11, 1994, that projected $500,000 worth of orders from LaSoul in 1995, he replies: "That spreadsheet was given to him as a best-case scenario for volume expectations. Nothing about that memo could be construed as a firm commitment, and it's really disingenuous for him to cite it." Do they feel at all responsible? "Sure, we feel sad," says Parker. "But our sadness is tempered with `why are we being blamed?' We worked closely with him to make our demands on him easier, and that's not something many customers would do for their suppliers. In the end, LaSoul was just not a viable business enterprise."

Anyway for those who would rather read a true story than this useless book I suggest getting a hold of the whole article:

Source: New Republic, 9/11/95, Vol. 213 Issue 11, p22, 4p, 1 cartoon Author(s): Rosin, Hanna

These two idealistic lefty entrepreneurs think that there should be a 100% tax on all income over $250,000... This offers a real incentive to work and build a business when the government takes away all the profit. This book should really be called "How to Run a Business While Supporting Anti-Business, Politically-Correct, Leftist Do-Gooder Causes." However, if your IQ is the same temperature as Ben-and-Jerry's ice cream, this will certainly satisfy your appetite for mouth-watering politically correct jibberish.

great book for those who HATE big business and its "selfishness". Although the book, I think, is poorly written at times, it is always very interesting as it offers a perspective one NEVER hears about in the business section of the newspaper or in business/management books. More execs should read this and thing long and hard about their "social mission", as well as their strategies. The social effort seems to have worked well for B&J.

Oh my gosh.... I couldn't go any further than chapter 3 on this one! This book could have been cut down to one chapter-but is 231 page's of b***hin'. I'd think that tese guy's had there nagging wive's write it for them! I'm glad it was only a $1.

The concept for this book was a good one, and there are certainly things which need to fixed with the game of hockey, but this book comes across as nothing more than a rant which has no basis in reality or common sense. Sure some of the new uniforms are ugly...is that really one of the biggest problems of the game? Organized protests by the fans at NHL games? Riiiight.

This book does make some good points, but too bad they are lost under the complaining tone of the book.

Bought this book when it originally first came out in 1998, and I reread it again at the start of each NHL season. Nothing's changed. Klein and Reif were right on the money with every item five years ago, and the miserable state of NHL hockey today is testimony to the stupidity of the powers that be who run the game (and run the game into the ground). In spite of it, the writing is stylish, highly intelligent, entertaining and often hilarious. Still the best state-of-the-game book out there. A must for every hockey book shelf.

Reading this book is like following a car with a bent frame. The car seems to be going in a slightly direction than the wheels are carrying it. So much for following the money. The whole book is slightly off kilter.

The reader is confused because in the beginning because Brinbaum says the days of flagrant corruption are long gone, but then tells story after story of flagrant corruption. He says it is not what we think it is then cites numerous examples of corruption that are exactly what I think it is. Most to the tales told are from previously published stories the rest have the flavor of cocktail party chatter, or should I say fun raiser chatter. He names plenty of names, but is short on facts. The problem with the facts are that some of them are wrong. I will let the readers pick their own favorite error mine was him saying that Koch Industries was in the book wholesaling business. Koch is in lots of businesses, but none of them is the book business. The nearest connection was a jointly owned a refinery with Hank Ingram, whose family owned the Ingram books, but the Koch - Ingram business relationship ended in 1950. As an error, this is not a big one, but it makes you wonder about what else is in error. He refers to some studies, but falls to provide source information, so you can't check to see if he got it right or wrong.

The book is a quick and easy read and if you are looking for the names of some of Washington money guys then give it a try. But mostly this seems like a book that was published to cash in on the hot topic of money and politics. He does make some interesting suggestions for reforming the current system. I liked limiting the length of campaigns, but I don't think that would do much about issue ads. I think we would have months of ads ending with, "call George W. Bush and tell him his eyes are to close together," or "call Al Gore and tell him, he wasn't the first man on the moon".

Reading this book is like following a car with a bent frame. The car seems to be going in a slightly direction than the wheels are carrying it. So much for following the money. The whole book is slightly off kilter.

The reader is confused because in the beginning because Brinbaum says the days of flagrant corruption are long gone, but then tells story after story of flagrant corruption. He says it is not what we think it is then cites numerous examples of corruption that are exactly what I think it is. Most to the tales told are from previously published stories the rest have the flavor of cocktail party chatter, or should I say fun raiser chatter. He names plenty of names, but is short on facts. The problem with the facts are that some of them are wrong. I will let the readers pick their own favorite error mine was him saying that Koch Industries was in the book wholesaling business. Koch is in lots of businesses, but none of them is the book business. The nearest connection was when Koch jointly owned a refinery with Hank Ingram, whose family owned Ingram books, but the Koch - Ingram business relationship ended in 1950. As an error, this is not a big one, but it makes you wonder about what else is in error. He refers to some studies, but falls to provide source information, so you can't check to see if he got it right or wrong.

The book is a quick and easy read and if you are looking for the names of some of Washington money guys then give it a try. But mostly this seems like a book that was published to cash in on the hot topic of money and politics. He does make some interesting suggestions for reforming the current system. I liked limiting the length of campaigns, but I don't think that would do much about issue ads. I think we would have months of ads ending with, "call George W. Bush and tell him his eyes are to close together," or "call Al Gore and tell him, he wasn't the first man on the moon".

Having been active in politics and political campaigns for 10+ years now, and staying current with the news of the day, I thought I had a pretty good working knowledge of the campaign finance issue. That is, until I read Mr. Birnbaum's excellent book, "The Money Men". I found out just how lacking in knowledge I was on this issue.

I was drawn to this book because of my interest in politics, and also because I have enjoyed Mr. Birnbaum's work with Fortune magazine and the Fox News Channel. The book he has crafted is not a disappointment; rather, it exceeded all my expectations.

The draw to this book from political pro to political novice is that is is thoroughly readable. A lot of people tend to get turned off by issues such as campaign finance because it is presented to us in that "policy wonk" or "green lampshade" form that is hard to digest. Mr. Birnbaum presents the ins and outs of the money game and its players in layman's terms that shed things in a whole new light. The length of the book also makes it appealing, because it doesn't give one the feeling of reading an academic textbook.

Another strongpoint of this book is that Mr. Birnbaum is wholly impartial and objective in his writing. He doesn't focus on one side/party or the other; he gives Republicans and Democrats equal time - and criticism. He also does it without being sanctimonious or elitist, and I daresay there aren't too many others inside the Beltway who could present it any better than in this form.

Of course, there are a series of proposed solutions to reform the campaign finance system, as should be expected from any book on the subject. But unlike the politicians, Mr. Birnbaum presents proposals that would reform the system while also being eminently digestable to the public-at-large and - provided they had common sense - the politicians.

Quite simply, this book is a must-read for those both in and out of politics. For those in the game, it will likely do to you what it did to me: teach just how little I knew while explaining how it works and how to fix it. For those apathetic or thinking politics doesn't matter, this is worthwhile if only to make one understand the issue and begin to find ways to fix the system so as to be palatable. Most of these people think the government doesn't represent them; this is a book that shows one way to show how they can get that lack of representation back. But most of all, for anyone who falls into either category, it is worthwhile to read so one can stay properly informed when the issue rears its ugly head in the media.

I read the review by the person before me but unfortunately did not heed the warning. The tape series includes two of Napoleon Hill's works in an abridged form but the narration does not project the vitality of the man's words very well. The narrator has a clear and pleasant voice but isn't able to convey the spirit and energy of Napoleon Hill. The second of the two books on this tape series, "The key to master riches", was the better of the two but do try to find tapes that have Napoleon Hill's actual voice.
One that I like is "Napoleon Hill's Grow Rich Now!" It will give you a better idea of the power of his ideas and his tremendous gift to mankind. The titles of all his books have to do with riches but as you read or listen to any of his work you'll see that he's really sharing ideas on how to attract abundance into your life how ever you may define that.

I woke with a start when Napoleon Hill's voice came on in this tape. Hill was a dynamic, exciting motivational speaker. After listening to Hill you believe you can achieve anything. Unfortunately, he speaks for only a few brief moments. The rest of the tape set is read by Rob Actis, who will gently and soothingly put you to sleep. Spend the extra money and get genuine Napoleon Hill tapes or else buy the book. This tape set is unconvincing.

I really liked these tapes. I usually find it hard to listen to motivational speakers for very long, but this particular combination worked well for me.

I listened to the cassettes in the car on a long-distance drive and I found the narrator's tone very conversational. The impression I had was as if I were watching a documentary with a narrator introducing difficult concepts and then presenting clips from a film reel of a powerful and persuasive, wise speaker to explain them.

Even without an actual screen, I was left with a distinct visual impression and a sense of almost having been there. That's what I look for in audio books.

from experience i am familiar with the subject of the book well, and it seems to me that the author attempts to overthrow logic in this work. A waste of money and time...

Hi Readers,

I have enjoyed myself tremendously, reading 'Armchair Tycoon' and 'Poolside Tycoon', by Malcolm Stacey. As a successful and active investor for over ten years, and had read many investment books before, I have finally found two books, which are confidence boosting, truthful, informative, easy and fun to read - ones that I could not put down.

They now sit on my desk as reference books. They would make perfect Christmas presents too, for people I care about, and would like them to invest wisely for a better future. All the tools one needs are in these books.

Now, may I thank you all, for letting me have my say!

Best regards, Readers and Amazon.com.

Jo.Bradley.

This is a poorly thought out and designed guide. It is not in paperback and is held together by binding combs. The information presented is common knowledge and it does not offer any information that is not freely available from talking with other store owners or searching the internet.
There are no trade secrets presented and definitly not written for an educated business owner.

The Consignment Workbook offers great material to entrepreneurs who seek to start up a consignment business. This is a fantastic resource!! It lays a solid foundation for new businesses, or can even give a jump start to established shops. Information is based on the experiences and lessons learned by the author and her partner who have owned three different consignment shops in Vermont. All aspects of this retail business are covered including how to begin and set up your business, sources for supplies, networking, advertising, what to expect, dealing with customers, banks, insurance agents, etc., tips on increasing income, and more. After reading this book, I felt I had a very honest and realistic view of the consignment business. The appeal of this book is in it's integrity, simplicity, and the author's love of the consignment business which shine through page after page!! I used this book as my main guide for starting up my sucessful consignment business and continue to use it as a valued reference! I cannot praise it enough!

I bought this book for my kids and it was a complete and total waste of time and money. The advice is as shallow as it is boring.

My wife hated it. My kids couldn't relate to a single tip the 'author' offered.

Save your money and look to better authors than Searls.

This book has everything about teaching kids about money, banking, chores, savings and investments. It's easy to read and apply. It's gotta be in the hands of every family in America.

I hate this book (but I hate budgeting even more) and this book is full of the "b" word. Yes, that's right the word b-u-d-g-e-t is evil. Basically theses guys want you to keep track of every single purchase you make over these 25 broad categories and then adjust your spending to live under your means.

The categories are:

Allowances
Automobiles
Cleaning and laundry
Cothing
Contributions
Debt payments
Family Advancements (what the heck is that suppoused to be?)
Gifts
Groceries (shouldn't food be near the top?)
Housing (see above)
Insurance (just buy term - whole life is a rip off)
Investments
Maintanece & improvements
Medical, dental, drugs (no, not the illegal ones)
Miscellaneous, petty cash (why not just send it to me ?)
Recreation & entertainment
Savings
Subscriptions
Utilities
Vacations, trips

Now you tell me, who in the world would really do that every time they purchased something, also why couldn't someone just estimate?

Another thing that I don't like about this book is it is basically a selling tool for their proprietary budget keeping kits that they make it sound like you have to have or you won't be able to budget anything. Come on I'm sure if someone really was interested in budgeting they could use something like Excel.

One more thing, if you just would live within your means (not spend more than you earn - a good way to do this is to just use cash and not use credit cards) and you wouldn't have to budget anything.

Reed Floren

Obviously the previous review was biased against budgeting in general. Budgeting is hard, it requires discipline... especially for those of us who struggle to make ends meet. Its not as easy as the previous reviewer seems to think... sound principles and good tools are required to get your financial life in order.

I really liked this book. It teaches sound principles and is a very easy read. The methods taught are manual and require discipline to implement, but if you stick to the program it will get you on top of your finances. You dont need to buy his tools to implement the principles, but for the non-computer savvy folks, this is a very good method of tracking your categories.

This story has it all. The good guys all wear white and the bad guys are smeared in black. The reader is taken on a cleverly woven journey through the global financial system and the U.S. political system. Unfortunately, the financial plot becomes the story, and the characters all take a back seat to its development. As with so many other stories all of the drama unfolds in the final chapter alone. We never get to really identify with any of the main characters

The information presented in this book help anyone to understand the needs of the various communities of people who are blind and those with low vision. This is a well done survey research to choose features that could be used by people who are visually disabled to recognize, denominate, and authenticate banknotes.