Popular Business Books the Seven

¶ … Popular Business Books

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

The book "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" was originally published in 1990. It was a groundbreaking book at the time and it is still a bestseller. Over 10 million copies of the book have been sold and this would indicate that it is still a very important book when dealing with business life. Stephen Covey, the author of the book, is respected as a leader all around the world and puts into his book the concepts of both professional and personal effectiveness. He believes that true success can only be found by balancing these two issues and the seven habits of highly effective people indicates how individuals can do better not just in their professional life but in their personal life as well.

One of the best things about the book is the way that the author includes family situations and personal issues as well as business challenges that he has faced. There are several points that the book makes that indicate they would be very viable in business life. The first of these is a paradigm shift. This involves changing the way someone feels about how the world works and the position they have in it, as well as the perceptions of what the world contains. By taking readers through the way that this change occurs, the author helps individuals to learn better ways to look at several areas of business. These include positive thinking, management of time, and ways to act that deal with productivity. The author teaches people how to act and take the initiative as opposed to only reacting to something that happened.

By doing this, he indicates how business life could be changed by proactive individuals and this concept would be extremely helpful in business life. People that are proactive realize what is going to happen in their specific area of skill and they look at these areas and attempt to make changes that will coincide with the up and coming trends rather than wait for the trends to get started and then follow up on them at a later date.

Another important concept that comes from the book is that the ideas that are presented here are not something that can be just learned in a night and started the next day. Many of the concepts that the author provides are very involved and skimming this book would not be helpful. The book needs to be studied well and notes need to be taken throughout each chapter in order to fully comprehend what the author is trying to teach the reader and to learn how to utilize the many ideas that the author provides. By living the concepts in the book, however, individuals who are dealing with business or personal difficulties would likely be able to turn many of these around and correct them to the point that they would learn how to handle future issues proactively instead of reactively.

This is one of the key points that the author makes and it is of vital importance that anyone who reads the book understands that reacting to things does not make good business sense. There are times when this cannot be avoided because of something sudden, but in general it is much easier to discover future trends and deal with them before they actually get started whether than attempt to react to them in the future.

Generally, there are some parts of books that are completely a waste of time. However, with this book that does not appear to be the case. From the first chapter about being proactive to the very last chapter called 'sharpen the saw,' the author provides a wealth of information that is vitally important for business individuals today and also can help a great deal in personal lives. If anything could be considered a waste of time it could be the fact that the author sometimes spends a great deal of time going into detail about many concepts. It is possible that these concepts could be explained in a way that was less complex, but even if this were the case, it still appears that the information that the author provides is not actually wasting anyone's time due to the fact that there is so much that can be learned from what the author has to say.

By reading the entire book very thoroughly and not skimming it individuals can learn how to do better in both their professional and their personal lives which is something that most individuals strive to do even if they do not actually realize that this is what they are working toward. Most of the anecdotes that the author provides are also very valuable because they have a lot of insight into many issues that individuals face today and sometimes do not know how to deal with. When someone reads the book and basically takes the seven habits that the author talks about to heart they are taught how to utilize success strategies that have turned otherwise floundering individuals into very successful businessmen.

The habits are not suggestions and should not be treated as such. They are specific habits that need to be employed if one wishes to succeed in the way that the author discusses. There are likely some individuals who will not enjoy the book because they do not want to do the work that is required. This does not mean that reading the book is an excessive amount of work, although it does need to be studied thoroughly to actually understand many of the concepts that the author puts across.

However, anyone who actually wants to practice what the author teaches in the book will need to work very hard at this and there are undoubtedly some who will not wish to do this. Those individuals may likely feel that this book is a waste of time, but for anyone truly wanting to change their lives and become the highly effective people that the author talks about this is undoubtedly the one and only book to read. It is full of insight, and provides the reader with concrete and solid ideas that will actually achieve the results discussed, which is more than can be said for many books today. It is truly fascinating and contains a wealth of information.

First Break All The Rules - Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

Anyone who is a manager or works in human resources, as well as anyone who works for a company and needs to hire a manager would want to read "First, Break All The Rules." It is clear that Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman have done a great deal of research when it comes to this topic. Based on the work that they have done, they determined that there were 12 'key factors' that were needed when designating and retaining a 'star employee.' The workplace is assumed to be productive and strong if the employees can answer 'yes' to the following questions:

1) Do I know what is expected of me at work?

2) Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?

3) At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?

4) In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work?

5) Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

6) Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

7) At work, do my opinions seem to count?

8) Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important?

9) Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?

10) Do I have a best friend at work?

11) In the last six months, have I talked with someone about my progress?

12) At work, have I had the opportunities to learn and grow?"

Naturally, most employees also want to have higher pay, stock options, health insurance, vacation days, and other benefits that they often deem important. However, those types of benefits attract all kinds of employees, including those that are very unproductive and do not really do an honest day's work. The twelve factors that were mentioned above, in addition to the other benefits, work very well to both attract and keep employees that are productive, and that will stay productive. The authors also believe that not just anyone can be good or even great at management. The great managers have qualities that are deeply ingrained, and are not qualities that can be taught to those that do not already have them. The best of the managers also make a strong distinction between the talent, skills, and knowledge that they have. The skills and the knowledge are areas that can be taught to others, but talent is something that people are either born with or not born with, and it cannot be taught to those that do not have it.

Who Moved My Cheese - Spencer Johnson

This particular book is designed as an analogy within a maze, and looks at how various issues such as stubbornness, over-analyzing, and fear can over-complicate many things that are generally and usually very simple. This over-complication can make anything, even life itself, extremely unbearable. The book is basically designed as a way to help all of the readers to get the most that they can out of any situation while increasing their levels of confidence and remaining content with what is going on in their lives. Even though the title to the book is somewhat strange, the book is important reading and is not full of cliches and other concerns that would be expected based on the title. Very few things in life remain the same for very long, and the book covers and emphasizes how one should not only be willing to accept change, but actually be willing to capitalize on that change as much as possible.

The book wants people to ask themselves questions such as what they would do if they were not afraid to do it. The story that is contained in the book is rather short, but it is very much to the point of the issue, and then the book reflects on how the story can be applied to the lives of others. There are many examples, therefore, of how overall wisdom can be taken and applied to whatever is taking place in life, regardless of the specific situation. The situation can be anything from running a business to personal relationships, but there are ways to handle issues that come up, and the overall understanding of change is at the heart of the book and what the author is trying to get across.

The One Minute Manager - Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

Generally, first-time managers are very nervous and unsure of themselves. Being a manager is often difficult, but when one has never done it before, it can be particularly difficult until that person adjusts to what he or she should actually be doing in the job that he or she has been given. Generally, managers that are just starting out try to model what they do and the way that they speak after others that they have seen in the same type of job. If the role model that the new manager has is good, this is perfectly acceptable, and may work out well. However, if the role model is bad (and the new manager often will not realize this because he or she is inexperienced) the problems that this can cause can be extensive, especially if there is no one else that can help direct the new manager to keep him or her from making large and costly mistakes.

This book, "The One Minute Manager," provides a strong and very positive role model for managers that have not yet seen a good manager at work. For those that have seen a good manager at work in the past, the book helps to provide a strong sense of reinforcement. However, the manager is not the only person in the organization that has good ideas that are worth discussing. If only the manager's ideas are used, there will not be much that will get accomplished. This book addresses how to open up and stimulate the thoughts and minds of everyone that is in the organization so that more can be accomplished where change and growth are concerned. The advice in the book is definitely worth following from the point-of-view that it is effective, but it does more than that. The book makes managers feel better about themselves, both professionally and personally, as well as making the employees that report to the manager feel better about what they are doing and where the organization is heading in the future.

Parables are used in the book to help all that read it reexamine who they are and how they are doing, while making sure that the reader does not feel the need for defensiveness. It is important, when reading the situations in the book, to be aware of what one's personal gut instincts would have been in those situations so that the point can be taken as to how much one's behavior must change to be truly effective. There are many books available on the issue of management, but this particular book is one that is worth reading much more than once. Part of its appeal is that it is rather short and very easy to read - the stilted and academic language of many business books is nonexistent here and the book overall is very well-written and easy to understand.

Raving Fans - Kenneth Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles

Like many other business books, including the one just discussed, this one is also written in the story-telling or parable style. This seems to be a very popular way to create business books, and it seems as though they are easier to read and more likeable when they are written as stories as opposed to when they are written as dry and academic texts. Generally, this book is about customer service, as businesses are beginning to realize just how important this is. It used to be very important, but then the interest in it seemed to wane for some time, before coming back when companies realized just how dissatisfied many customers really were with many issues regarding business.

There are both good and bad issues regarding the book, depending on what the reader was hoping to get from it. The book is good in several ways, including the fact that it is so easy to read and understand that literally almost anyone could read it; the point that the authors are trying to make is clearly stated and comes across quite well; there are wonderful illustrations throughout the book; and customer service has been so problematic in the past that the book is extremely timely in what it has to offer. There are some problems with the book too, however, in that the authors never really discuss what business implications might be seen from what the characters in the story actually do. They talk about the love that the customers have for the product or the service, but they neglect to talk about any of the problems or implications that might be seen from what the characters have done.

This is important due to the fact that business is, ultimately, about making a profit. It is important that customers are happy so that they keep returning, but companies are not able to please all of the customers all of the time, and they must not try to please every customer at the expense of making any profit at all. The investment in customer service, in other words, must be 'worth it' to the owner of the business, or there is no actual point in making the attempt.

Fish! - Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen

Fish! Is also written in the parable style. The goal of this particular book is to be able to improve the operational results and boost the morale within a business organization. There are four key points that the authors address in their philosophy, which are:

Play - have fun and create energy at home or at the office.

* Make their day - how can you engage fellow employees, customers and make each other's day?

* Be Present - How can you make sure you are fully available and aware during conversations with people? It is about create a greater sense of intimacy between individuals.

* Choose Your Attitude - Each day you choose how you are going to act or which "side of the bed" you wake up on. The choice is yours and the way you act affects others.

There are many books that use parables in the field of business, and they are all both good and bad. This book is a very quick read for most people, even if they generally do not read that fast, and it is extremely good at illustrating just one specific point. Workers attitudes are showcased in this book, and these attitudes can impact the work setting very easily. Also pointed out by the authors is that many people do not really understand just how much of an impact their attitude really has on the work setting, the home setting, or the quality of life that they have at either one of these places. Since this book is relatively short, many people will be willing to read it, and therefore it will have a chance to help a lot of people.

There are, however, some problems with the book as well. It seems great, but many individuals will not know how to implement what they read. The authors also do not mention that, in order for the ideas in the book to work well, employees must be able to trust the managers, and the top managers must be completely committed to what they are doing. If these two issues are not addressed, much of what was explained in the book cannot really be implemented properly.

Good to Great - Jim Collins

It is important to take some time to address this book, because there is a large amount of information in it that should be discussed. This book came about because of the idea that past books and studies had not been that helpful to companies overall. Generally, the firms that were studied in the past had always been highly competent and considered to be 'great.' Most companies, however, have been good but not great for some time. What these firms do not understand is what they should do to move forward into greatness. The author and his team conducted an extensive amount of research for this book in an effort to determine whether a company that is merely good can become great and, if they can, how they need to accomplish this.

Collins believes that companies that are merely good can become great, but it is not easy, and there are no specific ways that each and every company can follow in order to accomplish this. There are specific characteristics that the top companies do have, but there is no conclusive proof that this is what caused these companies to become this successful. In other words, if these characteristics only work 5 or 10% of the time they may not be that important. If, however, they work 100% of the time, then the information is truly valuable and will teach companies what they can do to move from good to great. There were several key points and conclusions that the author came to when discussing how companies became great. These include: