economics-times

I purchased this book over three months ago, which of course, I just got to read on a Saturday afternoon (procrastination?). I was looking for a fast, light read as well as a book that would help me improve my time management skills.

I found that this book was excellent in providing multiple solutions and methods for addressing, improving and mitigating various situations dealing with time-sinks. There were multiple sections that I "dog-eared" to go back to dealing with to-do lists, characterizing activities, speed writing, controlling paper flow, optimizing waiting time and also solutions dealing with procrastination and "worrying". I have found the methods provided have very been effective.

If your looking for a book that will be a fast read with tangible guidance dealing with time management, this is an excellent choice (and cheap too!).

Though somewhat militant in its teachings the book is extraordinary in its approach to time management. The systems explained by Peter Turla are truly inspiring!

A reader may be a bit disconcerted on first reading this book. There is much talk about "discourses" and "symbolism" and "ideology" and one might conclude that we are about to read a book of cultural studies on Francoist Spain. It is not so much that cultural studies are bad as that before we talk about perceptions of an event it might be a better idea to have a clear idea of what actually happened. As it happens such fears are groundless. What we have here is a brilliant portrait of the cruelty of Franco's regime. It is amazingly well documnted, with 95 pages of notes to 174 of text.

Richards argues that the ideology of the New State had two basic components. On the one hand the state had to purge Spain of the half of it who were secular, liberal, socialist, or regionalist. In a sense Franco's Spain would have to wage a permanent civil war against half of its own population. The other prong of the ideology was that Spain would follow a firm and ruthless policy of self-sufficiency. It has long been a cliche of much conservative and centrist discourse that notwithstanding the aid Franco got from the Axis, he should not be viewed as a fascist, but more as a classically "authoritarian" ruler, and therefore setting the stage for the properly pro-Western democracy that was to follow. Franco's goal were fundamentally traditional, as opposed to the radical ideology of the world's totalitarian regimes. Indeed, one could say the Nationalists were preferable to the Loyalists, who were now little more than Communist puppets. Such a thesis will soon appear next year when a book on that subject will be published by professional anti-communist Ronald Radosh. After reading this book, such complacent views will be placed firmly on the defensive.

For Richards starts with a chapter on the Francoist eliminiation of dissent. On the Loyalist side much of the violence was spontaneous in the aftermath of the breakdown of establish order in the wake of the coup. Juan Negrin, so often and so falsely dismissed as a Communist puppet, actually went of his way to patrol with militias in order to prevent political assasinations. On the nationalist side, by contrast, there was constant talk of extermination, liquidation, of an utterly uncompromising crusade from politicians who were proud of and not ashamed of the Spanish Inquisition. The Nazi press praised the Nationalists for their vigor: "The Marxist parties are being destroyed and exterminated down the very last cell far more dramatically even than here in Germany." Perhaps 6,000 were summarily executed in Seville alone before February 1937. (Richards adds "This was not violence which was `necessary' in any military sense: there was no organized armed resistance to speak of." ) In Granada perhaps 8,000 were killed, and perhaps 4,000 were killed in the first week at Malaga. A thousand were killed in the conquest of San Sebastian in the Basque Country, and another thousand at Bilbao. There were fourteen concentration camps in the area of Valencia alone, while Mussolini's son in law, Count Ciano, believed that there were 200 executions daily in conquered Madrid in the summer of 1939.

This cruelty was encouraged by an ideology that had a misogynist contempt for independent woman, and had a morbid support for "chastity" and "purity." But should also read Richard's chapters on autarky. Much of Franco's support came from smallholders, and Franco spoke of freeing Spain from the noxious influence of the cities. But in fact the peasants would be rendered powerless by Franco. Wheat production was lower in 1949 than at the end of the war, and what wheat did exist was guaranteed at high prices for rich producers, and subjected to speculation and the Black Market. Consumption of wheat fell by more than a quarter in the first decade of Falangist rule, as officials refused to upset their autarkic dreams by importing wheat to a country that could not feed itself. Indeed scarce food was shipped to Germany and Italy. While overcrowding and poverty increased, profits boomed and industrialists strengthened their privileges. All in all the first two decades to the New State were a total loss. A 1991 article by Giovanni Arrighi in the New Left Review demonstrates this. In the thirties Spain per capita wealth was about 40% of the European core. By 1959, Spain's wealth was less than 20%. Only after the economic boom did it rise again to pre civil war levels. In other words, a total waste.

The Wall Street Journal recommended this book in the late 1980's. I was an economist and bought the book and was extremely happy with Hunts easy to follow guide in tracking economic cycles and which types of investments to use in each portion of the cycle. He relates which economic indicators to use and where to find them, althought they can now be found on web. Great book.

This white paper by Mr. Browning and Mr. Kumar is excellent. They have really captured the essence of doing revenue assurance right in a telecommunications company. Their experience shines through and it has really helped me jump start our efforts at our company.

Thousands of organizations worldwide now use the techniques and systems developed by James Noon, who has been recognized as an international business authority in self and time management.

The 'A' time concept helped me tremendously on a real measurable level in my management performance at a mid-size U.S. company. While the personal goal intended by this book is a work performance improvement by at least 10%, my section's production went up by 17% when I tested the 'A' time techniques in the real world (for which I am very thankful to Mr. Noon for bonus earned)!

The "Summary of Key Points, Action Points and Disciplines," which can be quickly read, is worth its weight in gold for a manager at any level. A "must have" for top-of-the-line business readers.

The entire message of the book is summarized on page 8, where he writes "...there is a sequence of success for each project and for each area of your life. These sequences frequently overlap from one area to the next." Timing is seen as something over which the individual has a degree of control. Success if viewed as a process rather than a product. He notes "...success is a way of traveling, not a destination" (p. 9).
The four seasons; winter, spring, summer, and autumn serve as the demarcation points in this book.
I love his description of dreams. He tells us "Dreams and goals are previews of coming attractions in your life" (p. 12).
Dreams of young children are not to be taken lightly. He observes "In many cases, childhood dreams hold the key the a person's true cache of talents, abilities, and motivation" (p. 36).
His discussion of goal-setting and attainment is worth special consideration. He advises, "From this point forward, choose to do only the things that bring you closer to your goals" (p. 59).
As part of enjoying the process toward achieving significant goals, he says reward yourself along the way for intermediate goals as they're accomplished. That's solid reasoning that helps one maintain morale as the pursuit continues.
He quotes Bob Smullin as saying he never met a man or woman with a clear focus who ever had a time management problem. Consequently, a person who doesn't know how to prioritize is one who lacks focus.
Dr. Waitley says annual goals should be broken down into quarterly goals, then further broken down into smaller units.
He makes an observation that I've seen in students as I've observed some with productive habits and others who seemed to live by default, being victims of circumstance. He writes "It takes just as much effort to lead a bad life as it does to lead a good one" (p. 119).
Consider this powerful quote from him on living well daily, "Thus also, day by day, we write our own destiny inexorably like the rings on a tree, we become what we do" (p. 148).
Maintaining relationships with the right kind of people is part of the success process.
Near the book's conclusion he points out that our success benefits other people. He describes life as a responsibility in that it helps other people.
I recommend this book as highly as I can. It is full of sound advice.

I bought this book on the recommendation of a very senior trader and I am glad I read it. There are many books on Fibonacci, Elliott Wave and Gann techniques. To read and understand them is simple, but to use them in harmony is difficult. This book is very good at simplifying the techniques and making them very readable and user friendly. Though this is not the be all and end all for technical analysis. You must understand other techniques independently. This book is full of examples on using different techniques as well as using them together to generate more reliable buy and sell signals. The book is short on theory but full of good real chart patterns, which are missing in most books

This book is an excellent resource for those who would like a brief summary perspective on just in time production processes (where components arrive for use in production just prior to the time they are needed, rather than being held in inventory, and finished goods are immediately shipped to customers rather than being held for finished goods inventory). The book nicely explains the advantages of just in time, why it works, how it relates to quality improvement processes, the effect on purchasing, how to link various cells using just in time, and how to put the concept into effective implementation.

The book begins with a brief history of how just in time came into being, and how it became so popular. I found it interesting to see that lack of space in Japan played a role in the development. That factor would not have been enough without the effects of the quality movement based on Deming's principles there (defect-free goods are the way to create quality, good quality is more profitable than poor quality, buying from suppliers who are committed to quality, working with suppliers to improve quality, and quality requires top management commitment). The seminal experiences at Toyota in Japan are also related.

Although it is a summary of the field, the level of detail is good. I particularly liked the section that compared just-in-time to other popularly-employed manufacturing processes. That made the differences and advantages clearer. I also enjoyed reading about the kanbans (ways of ordering production) that Toyota developed to create effective production flow without putting a lot of computer systems in place.

Whether you are looking for personal curiosity, to begin an evaluation of whether or not you should use just in time, or want to teach the subject to someone, this is a good book for you.

I also suggest that you visit plants that have just in time, in order to see how this is implemented. A good overview of the strategic advantages of just in time can be found in Michael Dell's book, Direct from Dell.

While American bookshelves are burdened with time-management books that few feel they have the time to read, Swedish physicist Bodil Jonsson has written about a totally different subject: new ways to think about, appreciate, and use time. In this European bestseller (newly translated into English), she points out that "time is not something you can resolve once and for all." The book contains the benefits of her twenty years of thinking on the subject, and will give you greater awareness of and ability to make good use of your own time. The book is done in a recursive style to help you see the same issues from many perspectives. Her main point is that you need to carve out time to be a thinking, innovative, caring person from the frantic pursuit of "doing" daily tasks.

The introduction to the ten essays in the book points out that she began by moving beyond just narrowing time down (which is what time management encourages). At this point, she felt just as frantic as the rest of us -- never having enough time to do what she wanted. Next, she "found some more methodological ways of thinking about . . . time and its usage." As the third step, she learned to "describe . . . thoughts about time and . . . living to the fullest in the midst of ongoing time." Finally, she came to "imagine that [she understood] . . . everthing that's important for [one's] . . . relationship to time." Interestingly, she then reports that some unexpected event would occur to make her realize that she needed to go back and think the whole thing through again.

Time Is the Only Thing You Have -- In this essay, she points out the constrast between her grandmother who always had enough time to do what she wanted to do, and the stressed-out modern person who feels she or he does not have enough time. Her point is that "time is the true capital." It can be reallocated for different uses. For important things, "I have plenty of time." Most people will live for 30,000 days. How would you like to spend them? She suggests experiencing "rootlessness in time" so that time becomes "a joy, an eye-opener, an exhortation or a challenge, all depending on your mood." The key is to break your link to measured time, and to focus on time as it is experienced.

Clock Time and Experience Time -- This essay points out that we can "stretch out time" by the way we choose our mood. "How do I gain more experienced time?"

Setup Time -- This essay points out that the time to prepare has a large effect on how a task goes. By compressing preparation time too much, many people experience "set-up time anxiety." She suggests getting off by yourself to think. This may mean taking a train rather than an airplane for a short trip, because the uninterrupted thinking time is longer on the train.

Divided and Undivided Time -- This essay points out that tiny chunks of time cannot be used for many purposes. So restructure your time to have the right amount for what you want to do. For thinking, you need larger blocks than for much individual doing.

Thoughts Take Time -- Using the metaphor of "fast food" versus "slow food" and the qualitative differences, she encourages you to take the linear time needed to explore and develop your thoughts. How much can you think in the time it takes to eat french fries? Perhaps not very much.

Being in the Here and Now -- This essay points out the evils of the interrupting telephone (now carried as a cellular device) to distract you, and the benefits of e-mail and snail mail for giving you control over the moment and your use of time. She suggests that you follow Bertrand Russell's advice and focus on (a) search for knowledge, (b) longing for love, and (c) empathy for those who are suffering. Focus on establishing a "creative environment."

The Pace of Change and the Perception of Time -- She sees the exponential rate of growth in technology as squeezing our ability to relate well to time. It makes time seem to speed up. If we do not become better at taking control of our experience of time, we may be overwhelmed like a lake filled with lily pads or algae.

One of the best essays is Rhythm and Nonrhythm, which points out how activities differ in the ideal time, frequency, and duration for their experience. She also emphasizes the need to be in sync with those you are experiencing the activity with.

Forward and Backward Thoughts explores how to start with the end in mind, to create a path back to the present. This will help you create the future you desire.

Why Are There So Few Poodles? addresses how to expand innovation, and emphasizes the importance of banishing pessimism.

After you finish this thoughtful book, I suggest that you review how you spent the last week. What would you have liked to have spent less time on, and what more of? What can you do differently this week to redress that balance? How can you create more space in your life, and a greater sense of time?

Many people report that it helps to "schedule" unscheduled time. Give it a try!