Strategy

Similar to Steven Covey (7 Habits of Highly Effective People, etc.) principles, but stated in a fresh way and making insightful observations about life at the turn of the 21st century - why it's so stressful, and what we can do about it. I bought this book for one friend and recommended it to several others.

Six strategies for taming the 'new world of work' address the problems inherent in the breakdown between barriers between work and home life. Readers who find themselves working not only harder but all the time will find Thriving In 24/7 a practical guide to adjusting routines and recognizing the hidden obstacles to success at home and at work.

As a systems/software analyst, I find myself tending to read only technical publications. So, I make it a habit to periodically force myself to read in an area foreign to me. Thus, I picked up "Thriving in E-Chaos" - the very first book I have ever read related to business operation.

I wish I had read it long ago! Not because I am a businessman, but because it has given me real insight as to how my company, one of the "winners" mentioned in the book, makes it happen. Understanding that has transformed the way I handle my responsibilities within the organization. And that has transformed my annual bonus handsomely.

I am an attorney who counsels companies and this book is my new e-business bible! Anyone who is in or is thinking of getting into e-commerce must read this book. It is revolutionary and insightful! I recommend it to all my clients. This is the consumate text for those who want to make it in our slowing economy. A must have book!

In my experience, music theory texts are sometimes interesting, usually boring, sometimes admirable, rarely exciting, and never inspiring. Maybe I haven't read enough theory texts. But this one is scholarship bordering on art. It expands your mind, asks you to think differently, maybe even to use a part of your brain you have never thought would apply to Western Classical music. And it's very well written, without gumming your eyes up with a lot of unnecessary theoretical jargon.

This is one of the few theory books that I can say was a pleasure to read, in fact it was a treasure to unearth it and think about it and then attempt to apply it to works that I am familiar with. It definitely changed the way that I perceive music.

...in 1988 for a book like Jonathan D. Kramer's "The Time of Music" to appear because it was with this comprehensive piece of work that music started to cease being considered, in an almost exhaustive manner, "the art of sounds", as musicians themselves were indirectly encouraged to realise that time and not sound is the only ontological dimension of music. Kramer has a peculiar gift of revealing the "beyonds" of musical time perception and in so doing he actually teaches the reader how to look after the relevant aspects of music listening: Beethoven, Scönberg and Stravinski (to whom the author dedicates three separate "analytic interludes") thus become "new" composers to whoever reads Kramer's writings. In so doing, he is not only commenting on the temporal aspects of a few compositions, as J. D. Kramer, while depicting temporality, by no means foregoes pitch. In his analysis, sound is always a bearer of temporal significance. It illuminates the qualities of musical time and offers consistency to the Kramerian "jargon" which includes terms such as "linearity" and "nonlinearity", "vertical", "moment" or "multidirectional" time etc. Perhaps the best thing about this book is the way Kramer avoids proposing a "musical language". What he actually does is to create a general, yet solid theoretic and aesthetic framework into which musicians are supposed to fell free to explore the qualities of musical time both in listening, instrumental performance and musical composition. I have come across "The Time of Music" in 1995, a year after I had published a book of my own dedicated to music temporal phenomena. I was thus amazed to see that there was no apparent clash between my discoveries and Kramer's theoretic work: he only gave me a larger perspective and a better motivation to continue the search for meaning in this elusive dimension that we call (musical) time.

I highly recommend Gary Grappo's Top Ten Career Strategies for the Year 2000 and Beyond. This book describes the importance of meeting technological change head-on, and offers helpful advice on how to accomplish this. The chapter on discovering the future growth industries was especially helpful; the glossary of future growth companies provided a concrete insight on potential cutting-edge employers for the upcoming century. Mr. Grappo's book offers fresh new insight on career networking, in ways other books on career advancement commonly ignore. These networking strategies outline a means of shaping a well-rounded professionalist, one who could perform in any arena of the job market. In addition to providing the reader with helpful suggestions on career networking, Mr. Grappo also offers his readers helpful advice on personal "selling skills." The book provides simple, easy-to-follow steps that will help to distinguish any individual from their competition, and help advance them in the career path of their choice. This book is an essential tool for the individual looking to advance and improve their career in the upcoming century.

Grappo lists the 10 Ten Career Strategies that will help all us face the changes that affect all of our careers starting now and into the next century. He does this by offering tests that will allow the reader to rate themselves as to how the reader reacts to change. Then Grappo offers solutions for the fears and frustrations all of us have toward change. These solutions are what makes this book so unique because Grappo offers the reader tools to be ahead of the game of finding the right job. Finding the right job means the opportunity to making more money, and, more importantly the chance to live a happier and more productive life.

This book makes you think on what makes you different, focusing on your one and only main Driving Force out of nine options. Long term strategy is not the same as long term planning, the first is what you want to be in the future, the second is how to get there. Being aware of your Strategy and Driving Force, allows you to focus on achiving success.

The authors bring into focus the definition of a business' "driving forces", whether "products offered", "market saturation", "technology" or others. I regret giving my copy of this book away 15 years ago - I could still refer to it today.

I have collected many useful books on classroom management and have even written one of my own. This book offers realistic insights into what motivates these challenging kids as well as a variety of excellent strategies and ideas that absolutely can be implemented by classroom teachers. In addition, it suggests a number of resources to help teachers in the area of behavior, social, and academic assessments for these students. I am a mentor teacher and have recommended this book to my colleagues as well as classroom teachers and university professors. It's just great!

This book provides useful, simple, free strategies to deal with every type of student! In addition, it allows students to take ownership of their behaviors. When this occurs, students begin to realize the inherent rewards that come with fabulous behavior!

Most companies trying to duplicate Toyota's sucsesses in producing the highest quality vehicles and at the same time achieving record sales and profits, typically try to implement JIT or TQM and miss the underlying culture which fosters the development of these manufacturing techniques. They also tend to miss out on how each of these techniques work together to form a comprehensive system which gives Toyota a sustainable competitive advantage even though its techniques and processes are widely known.

Liker outlines the fundamentals of not only Toyota's lean manufacturing, but the Toyota philosophy. In his words, "the Toyota Production System [TPS] is not the Toyota Way. TPS is the most systematic and highly developed example of what the principles of the Toyota Way can accomplish. The Toyota Way consists of the foundational principles of the Toyota culture, which allow TPS to fuction so effectively." He then goes on to explain the philosophy which he has organized around 14 principles:

1) Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy even at the expense of short-term financial goals
2) Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface
3) Use pull systems to avoid overproduction
4) Level out the workload (work like the tortoise and not the hare)
5) Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time
6) Standardized tasks are the foundation for continuous improvement
7) Use visual control so no problems are hidden
8) Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes
9) Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others
10) Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company's philosophy
11) Respect your extended network of parners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them improve
12) Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation
13) Make decisions slowly, by concensus, thoroughly considering all options [and then] implement decisions rapidly
14) Beacome a learning organization through relentless reflection and continuous improvement.

"Since Toyota's founding we have adhered to the core principle of contributing to society through the practice of manufacturing high-quality products and services. Our business practices and activities based on this core principle created values, beliefs and business methods that over the years have become a source of competitive advantage. These are managerial values and business methods that are known collectively as the Toyota Way" - Fujio Cho, President Toyota (2001)

Wonderful, wise, and thorough exploration of the Toyota Way.

Top Ten Gems of the Book, Letterman-style:

10. 13 Tips for transitioning to a lean enterprise

9. The Ford Cuautitlan plant used web-based hoshins

8. The A3 and effective meetings

7. "Independent Contract Services" cannot be charged to a TTC purchasing credit card

6. The K4

5. Mediating the water dispute

4. Ford Vision, Toyota Vision

3. Eiji's inspiring Briton

2. TSSC benchmarks the Shingo Award sensor firm

1. Hansei

Go buy it now or buy several for ad hoc distribution.

When you want to set up a spread, which options set should you use ? out of money, in the money or at the money ? When your trade is not going your way, what kind of damage control is possible ? If you want answers to such practical questions, then this book is for you. All traders in options should read this book. While the book refers to options on futures, traders in stock options should find many useful concepts - as I did.
Persons new to options will probably read this book once they have gone through some introductory text.

Johnston's book is very well done - an excellent read without the hype. It assumes the reader has some knowledge of the options markets. Beginners should start with Natenberg's book then read "Trading options to Win". It's a must read for anyone that's serious about trading options with a defined edge. The book covers several extremely practical trading methodologies, when to employ them (when the odds are very much in your favor), and how to defend when things go wrong(maybe the most important part of the book). I have read numerous books on trading options. This is far and away the most practical book I've found on the subject. It gives the reader something they can use immediately. I also enjoyed the real world trades and how they were deployed and defended. I have to give this book the highest rating.

Ever since John Sweeney declared that organizing is labor's top priority, numerous books have appeared that describe union strategies in organizing including mobilizing the rank-and-file. But the authors in this book would find that the top-down and staff directed nature of those efforts only minimally overlap with rank-and-file democracy. They feel that actual rank-and-file empowerment within union processes is the only way for the labor movement to regain its former stature. But many questions do arise. None of the authors clearly differentiate between worker democracy within local unions and democracy over workplace affairs. The NLRA restriction to bargaining over wages and conditions has proven to be disastrous to working people. But labor activists and these authors seem to accept this limited role for unions. But that is hiring-hall unionism where jobs may last only a few weeks and larger company strategies are mostly irrelevant. Most working people are firm-located and need to have input to company plans regarding investment, marketing, products, plant closings and locations, etc. If that is company unionism, so be it. Also, the authors point to a nebulous concept of social unionism as a desired path for unions. The fact of the matter is that in the past larger community support for unions was because working people at one time lived in highly localized ethnic, urban communities or small company oriented towns. Many of those communites no longer exist. The authors have confused unions with a political party that is devoted to the social interests of the entire working class. National unions in the U.S. are really very narrowly focused businesses: they collect dues, actively try to increase membership, and provide bargaining and contract administrative services. And are very concerned with survival for their own sake. Since the authors have made rank-and-file democracy their central concern, it is a shortcoming of the book that no comparative analysis of the industrial relations system of a northern European country where workers have legislated co-determination rights was included . The bottom line for this book is that it is well worth reading. It is not a rubber stamp of Sweeney policy. But this book leaves plenty of room for considering what the structure and policies of unions should be for the coming century that will enhance and protect the economic lives of working people.

It's about time a book is out that provides a view from the wokers themselves. It was refreshing to hear from the "rank-and-file" that unionism is the way American must go if there is going to be a working-class view of America. But most important was the underlying view that the American Labor Movement needs internal democracy if is going to survive in the future. I recommend this book to any union member that has felt alientated by the union leadership. It's time that the leaders think of the memberhsip and not themselves.

George Shinkle, Reb Gooding and Mike Smith have captured very practical steps to developing a lean enterprise by leading off with the importance of leadership and concluding with the same. Their very extensive "internship" at General Motors and Delphi show through in the practical process steps and helpful worksheets. A valuable resource for those of us trying to move from where we are to where we want to go.

George Shinkle, Reb Gooding and Mike Smith have captured very practical steps to developing a lean enterprise by leading off with the importance of leadership and concluding with the same. Their very extensive "internship" at General Motors and Delphi show through in the practical process steps and helpful worksheets. A valuable resource for those of us trying to move from where we are to where we want to go.