e-Business 2.0: Roadmap for Success (2nd Edition)

Amazon.com

In e-Business 2.0, Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson present a survey of how the processes of business have changed as a result of computer-assisted communications, data storage, and data analysis. They explain recent technological advances--and those that may take place in the near and middle future--and explain how companies that sell products and services might put them to profitable use. With an emphasis on companies that sell things to large numbers of consumers, the authors argue convincingly that information technology isn't an end in itself, but a tool that can facilitate valuable changes in business processes.

This is a book for managers and organizational planners, but it commits none of the sins typical of such books. It neither oversimplifies technical matters nor serves as a mere platform for catchy phrases and obtuse illustrations. e-Business 2.0 is properly focused on the big technologies on which successful companies will capitalize. Kalakota and Robinson argue that it's a good idea to supplement live salespeople with self-service sales facilities, such as those on a Web site. They call this a part of selling-chain management.

The authors also explain how inefficiencies in the selling chain can make it prohibitively expensive to provide built-to-order products, which consumers increasingly want. They then present solutions: Internet and customer relationship management (IRM and CRM) software, sales automation systems, and proposal-automation tools. In each case, they cite specific examples (usually companies and products), enabling readers to dig deeper into specifics if they want. Similar attention goes to enterprise resource planning (ERP), trend-spotting tools, and half a dozen other technologies. Read this guide as you think about how to make strategic changes in your company's operating practices. --David Wall

Topics covered: Recent developments in technology that change the way companies do business, particularly in terms of determining and fulfilling customers' needs and interacting smoothly with vendors. More broadly, this book deals with sharing information efficiently among all relevant parties inside and outside an organization. Technologies covered: Internet sales infrastructures, customer relationship management (CRM) suites, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, knowledge management tools, and data warehousing and analysis products.

Book Description

Shows how e-commerce has evolved into e-business, identifying 20 key e-business trends that prevail in today's economy. Reveals how managers are changing their strategies and the structure of their organizations to take advantage of the benefits of e-commerce and e-business. Previous edition: c1999. DLC: Electronic commerce.

Customer Reviews:

A bit long winded & pretentious but still valuable.......2007-01-20

I came at this book from the point of view of a web designer. It is, unfortunately for me, written more for the business person (ie: divisional manager / executive within a mid to large sized company). It argues quite convincingly that the various applications & systems within a business need to be integrated for it have be a successful ecommerce presence. However it gives no technical insight into how this is to be achieved. The authors simply drop names of companies that provide software that can do whatever function they are talking about in that chapter. (Or at least, companies who were doing this several years ago, when the book was published. The book is really is a bit old now to be completely relevant on the topic of the present business environment).

I get the feeling that an executive or divisional manager reading this book would not understand half of what the authors are talking about. At least that has been my experience with business people at this level. They really don't have much of a grasp of the working of websites, or of software applications generally for that matter. They simply leave it all for their IT department to take care of.

From my experience, most execs reading this book would just be looking to be able to pick up enough of the jargon to be able to sound like they know what they are talking about. Customer relationshiop management, supply chain management, front office, back office, etc, etc... I think the book achieves this result. Perhaps that is why it had such hype around it. However the authors could have written a much slimmer book & achieved the same aim. They ramble on at length about the significance of each issue before actually broaching it. I don't know how many times a sentence like "the company that fails to do this will soon be left behind!" is used in each chapter. After a while, it starts to get a little ridiculous.

There is alot of rhetoric, which you eventually just start to switch off to, & look for the next actual point to arrive. (Fortunately, the points themselves are quite engaging).

There is also a section at the end of each chapter called "memo to the CEO". This revises what was dealt with in the chapter. I just found this "memo to the ceo" scenario kind of ridiculous too. It seems to suggest that only CEOs are going to be reading the book. Memo to AUTHORs, isn't that limiting your readership somewhat to assume this? Or to shape the material in this way? What about addressing us mere mortals too. We paid our money at the bookstore counter too!

Despite the heavy-handed prose (a bit of sensible editing would have done wonders for the flavour of the book) it is an interesting theoretical study of what ecommerce SHOULD be about. I would recommend it on this basis.

The book is basically about apllications integration, & how this can lead to cost savings (for the company) plus better experiences for customers. They can do more, faster, at lower cost, & with greater quality assurance.

It is interesting, reading it now, to see some things the authors mention have become the norm in ecommerce today. So they were clearly right on the general significance of this issue of integration.

You just have to switch off to the grandiose nature of their style occasionally. It really seems akin to an Anthony Robbins book at times ("You can do it! You can be the best. If you choose to succeed. But you must act. Many will fail. Will you be one of them?" etc, etc) I am exaggerating there, but if you read the book you will see what I mean.

Lots of big words and no explanation of what they mean.......2005-04-09

After seeing all the glowing reviews of this book, I'm beginning to wonder if it's just me. I've only gotten through the first 3 chapters and already I've run into a multitude of terms that are not explained at all. My class uses this book for its text and I have to answer discussion questions about brand-intensive vs. capital intensive, disaggregation and reaggregation (Dictionary.com didn't even have 'reaggregation' in its database), etc. It sure would be nice to include a glossary of terms used. I'm really dreading the rest of this book.

Very insightful.......2004-02-07

This book still holds up rather well given all the changes that took place in the e-business space in the last couple of years.

The authors really seem to understand this space. I heard Ravi Kalakota speak at a seminar in Cincinati. He was fantastic. He is very articulate about the trends that are shaping the e-business and e-commerce landscape.

Highly recommend this book to those who want to understand the basics of e-business.

Techie vs. Business point of Review.......2002-08-21

I really liked this book. I am doing an MBA at the moment in the Michael Smurfit Business School and was trying to get an example for an eBusiness Model. The choice in the end came between Weil's Book 'Place and Space' and Kalakota's, but, there was no choice. Even though I have the greatest respect for Weil. Kalakota was pragmatic. At first as I staggered through the earlier chapters I thought, 'Hello' ... have you heard of dot.con ( we are talking about techie stuff...)and then it clicked , literally , this guy , or should I say lady and gent, have it all sussed. All eBusiness models should be based on sound business principles.
'e' has changed the principles but it is still the same message. Incorporate and get on with it. That's the message and do it as soon as possible. That's the reality! Business has not changed, just the tools, and the speed ...But beware once you do it, you have to keep on doing it, to come out on tops, it'a a reiterative cycle, OK babe...

A good text, a powerful understanding........2002-07-12

I read this for as a text for a course in ECommerce and I enjoyed the candid dialogue that the author used in this book. The examples and ideas are not outdated. Not a how to book, but more of a these are the main business concepts and opportunities you can benefit from, book.

Book Description

This book explains digital branding and how to implement it in the current marketplace.

Download Description

This book explains digital branding and how to implement it in the current marketplace.

Customer Reviews:

DOUG MILLSTIEN IS OUT OF THIS WORLD .......2007-08-07

This person cant write if his life depended on it, i read it and now used it for a door stop. I wouldnt recommend this to anyone. I might use it if hes lucky for my son to sit on at the dinner table.

Setting your brand on fire........2001-06-09

There are so many books on the market that discuss the concept of 'brand' from so many different points of view, that it's difficult to sort out the good from the bad. This is one of the good ones.

Moon and Millison define the basic concepts around brand. They explain in clear buzzword-light language what influences the growth and positioning of a brand. Finally, they provide ample and well-explained pointers to further reading to help understand some of their basic ideas more clearly.

As a consultant working for a systems integrator, one of the things that impressed me the most was the focus on execution. Many books about branding seem to imply that the technical details are irrelevant to brand success, but _Firebrands_ makes the point that a relationship with a customer only has brand value when supported by appropriate policies, training, and technical infrastructure. This is a message that can't be, IMO, repeated often enough.

Well worth the time to read.

my review.......2001-03-08

I have read Firebrands and found it extremely useful. As a systems integrator in St. Louis, I have used this book to help my clients understand the importance of a technical infrastructure in building a vibrant brand.... Mind you, this is not a 60 second brand manager book.

Not Hype! A System for Reality...and innovation........2001-03-05

Firebr@nds is not a bedside book, it's a cookbook, a tool for being AT CAUSE when it comes to building successful, powerful communications for the internet.

As a Technology Interface Architect , the building of brand into the interaction of the product is vital to it's success.

My clients over the past 12 years have been besieged by what appears to them this mysterious thing out there that will grow over some process, that we will somehow invoke, and it will be successful if the powers that be are on our side.

This book makes it all very clear, while eliciting sympathy for all of us who have built brands. A genuine appreciation for its complexity is gained as you read a systemization of brandbuilding in Firebr@ands.

Moon has given us a thorough and deep taxonomy for building the brand from many different pragmatic angles. The dramatic distinctions in language make it easy to use the language as a tool in any company when it comes to educating organizations in building brand.

This is a book that I will return to over and over again as I help my clients grow their products into the future. It was a very brave, and necessary book to write. BRAVO!!!!

Beyond the Frontiers - A genetic approach to the Brand.......2001-03-01

As the Chief Technical Officer of a Texas based e-services and print communication firm, I live in this interactive brandspace on a daily basis. The problem with this brave new world of pixels is simply that much is said and much is written but little intelligent communication occurs. I find the innovative and far reaching approach taken by Michael Moon to be the de facto foundation for the next "big thing".

The approach that one must take to these new media spaces and channels is not readily discernible from the clearly defined trails blazed in the more traditional areas of branding. This new territory is as different as the Earth is from the Moon [no pun intended]. The book travels beyond the areas marked as "unknown - there be dragons here" and opens a clear and understandable path into formerly mysterious areas.

What we need out here in the field is less hype and more substance. Firebrands is a rational, ground breaking treatise on the evolution of Branding. This is a pivotal work that serves as a wonderful deskside companion, as indispensible to me as my spell checker or my browser.

Michaels' best practices mental evolution from the time of the Jeff Martin led Digital Brand Building Seminars of the mid-90's to this opus show an extraordinary depth and breadth of thought and research . The Firebrands book is the Gray's Anatomy of Brand "science".

As my company moves forward with ground breaking, market defining services in the area of brand guaranty we will continue to consult the Firebrands roadmap. We anxiously await any follow-up materials that might come from this mind trust.

Customer Reviews:

The boring book ever I read.......2004-07-10

This book was probably a very good information provider in year 1998-1999. You will not gain any knowledge if you read this book. Most of the reference web sites are not existing now and if they are, they are not in business. Most of the people I know hate this book. This book is good for power point presentation for a corporate world just for overview of the ecommerce but for text book its just doesn't worth of reading. If there is a chance to give no star rating then i will prefer to give that rating.

My Students Hate This Book.......2004-03-25

This book was probably a good first attempt at an eCommerce text book but now reads a little thin on deep explanations. My students (undergrad) universally hate this book. from what i gather, part of it is just the look and feel of the book - monochromatic and dull. it does not invite steady reading. the page of the book is slow and often cumbersome. i'm not meaning to knock the obvious hard work that has gone into this book but i just want possible instructors to be aware of its shortcomings in terms of students. Excellent as an insomnia cure.

Excellent undergraduate textbook and overview.......2003-06-07

I've used this book as a textbook in an undergraduate e-Business course intended to be taken by business students. In my opinion, it is the finest one on the market for this purpose. It covers a wide variety of topics in sufficient depth to give good foundational understanding. My only two complaints are:

The appendix material on HTML is not needed in the book. Anyone interested in that topic is probably going to buy another more complete book on the topic (perhaps even another Deitel book).

The biggest problem, though, is that this book is becoming very dated. It was made available in 2000. Much has changed since then. Most textbooks of this sort are updated every 2 years. This one needs to be updated to a second edition.

Good Roundup, Difficult Interface.......2001-02-09

This book brings together a unique set of materials about a subject that is growing rapidly. But a lot of it was very hard to find and understand because of the jumbled layout and clashing colors - red headings, pink graphics, purple sidebars! If this were a webpage I would have clicked elsewhere.

e-Business & e-Commerce management clearly explained........2001-01-09

Deitel & Deitel have explained e-Business and e-Commerce in an easy to read and understand manner. It is directed to managers who may have a less technical background than those wanting to understand the nuts and bolts of Internet programming. This book discusses the management aspect of e-business and e-commerce, focusing on e-business models, development and management of e-business sites, online financial transactions, security and legal issues, and marketing. The book includes excellent case studies of the various e-business models. It would make an excellent text for either a graduate or undergraduate course in electronic commerce from a management focus. It is also an excellent primer for non-technical managers moving to an e-business model.

Average customer rating:

Obscure and too expensive
Much more than eCommerce
The Bible of E-Commerce Strategy

E-Commerce
Jeffrey F. Rayport , Bernard J. Jaworski , and Jeffrey Rayport
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0072465212

Book Description

Once every decade a book comes along that becomes the standard in a field of study, the indispensable reference that every thoughtful practitioner must have on the shelf. Like Samuelson in Economics, Drucker in Management, and Porter in Strategy, Rayport and Jaworski have written what leaders in the New Economy are calling the standard in e-commerce strategy formulation.

e-Commerce presents managers and strategists with road-tested frameworks for competing in the New Economy. This presentation is organized to facilitate the decision-making process for formulating e-commerce enterprise strategy. The text progresses from framing market opportunities to a discussion of New Economy business models, customer interfaces, and communication and branding issues through to implementation, evaluation, and valuation of the online enterprise.

The textbook and companion casebook, E-Commerce and Cases in E-Commerce, are the first volumes produced for the McGraw-Hill/MarketspaceU learning series on e-commerce. McGraw-Hill/MarketspaceU have formed an alliance to develop and deliver exceptional higher education teaching materials on the latest business practices and theories by leading thinkers in the field of e-commerce. McGraw-Hill/MarketspaceU aim to equip present and future executives, managers, and strategists in becoming successful creators of value in the new economy. To accomplish this goal the alliance offers a multi-media suite of cutting-edge tools to help navigate the world of e-commerce. These tools include E-Commerce and Cases in E-Commerce, MarketspaceU.com, the McGraw-Hill Online Learning Center (OLC), and the McGraw-Hill E-Business Power Web.

MarketspaceU is part of Marketspace, a Monitor Group company. Monitor Group is a family of professional services firms linked by shared ownership, management philosophy and assets. Monitor’s roots can be traced back to the Harvard Business School – where a number of its founders studied and taught in the 1980s. Marketspace was founded in 1998. Jeffrey Rayport and Bernie Jaworski (two of its founders) are the principal authors of the first books produced by the McGraw-Hill/MarketspaceU alliance.

e-Commerce has already received early critical acclaim from academic and Internet business leaders:

“Rayport and Jaworski have defined the ‘space’. e-Commerce is a primary weapon in the e-business frontier. Do not let your competitors read this book--buy every copy…” Jeff Taylor, Founder and CEO, Monster.com

“Finally someone has put it all together! These leading thinkers have put in one place a brilliant and comprehensive framework for thinking through, planning, teaching and managing e-Business. And – beyond that – this book is a portal to a stream of the most complete set of online, video, and other resources for e-Business learning to date. Great insights. Powerful tools.” Ralph Oliva, Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Business Markets and Professor of Marketing, Pennsylvania State University

“e-Commerce is the first textbook to show how firms gain competitive advantage in the New Economy. The authors introduce a number of new and innovative concepts, frameworks, and tools that benefit both students and managers. This book is destined to become the standard New Economy text in leading MBA programs.” John Quelch, Dean, London Business School

“This is a wonderfully designed pedagogical device. The chapters build foundationally, so as to empower the student to deal with unique New Economy concepts, like the DCF approach to valuation etc., towards the end. The chapters are filled with case vignettes, viewpoints, and thought bytes that draws the self-selected reader in, and engages them in a sophisticated debate regarding the Internet economy. The highlight of the book, for me, was the way linkages were provided to existing management concepts. Thus the reader is not left wondering what the connection to the old paradigm is, in fact the reader gets a working dose of those ideas in the book chapters. This makes the book a stand-alone, comprehensive text with a cutting-edge tone and content.” Kastori Rangan, Eliot I. Snider and Family Professor of Business Administration Harvard Business School

Customer Reviews:

Obscure and too expensive.......2002-12-27

As a professor of ecommerce I think that the authors have unnecesarily obscured a subject that deserves a better prose and a more logical thread of reasoning.Theirs is a text written for other academicians and contributors to the HBR, not for students, unless they are candidates to a very high academic degree. ...

Much more than eCommerce.......2001-08-16

This book is about much more than eCommerce. It is the handbook for doing business in the "New Economy". I have taught ecommerce courses in several universities and am familair with most of the titles avialable on this subject: none of them even come close. Read and study this book now before the competiton does.

The Bible of E-Commerce Strategy.......2000-12-22

Comprehensive and clear. A must read for anyone serious about winning in the E-Commerce space.

Average customer rating:

Outdated
Don't bother buying this book
Very good, but dated
A second edition is urgently needed
A very practical book - I love it !

Principles of Internet Marketing
Ward Hanson
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0538875739

Book Description

This pioneering textbook lays the foundation for using the most exciting marketing medium in decades. It shows what makes the Internet new and different, what techniques work and which don?t, and how the Internet is creating value for customers and profits for companies. Most importantly, it shows how Internet Marketing fits into the rest of an organization?s marketing strategy.

Customer Reviews:

Outdated.......2007-01-26

Well intentioned, and a good overview.... for 1999. The web and the world have changed substantially since the book was published.

Don't bother buying this book.......2005-11-09

I am a high-tech marketing manager and an adjunct professor. From both the real-world business side as well as the academic side, I found this book to have little value. It spends page after page on general issues regarding Internet Marketing, and never gets to anything that could be used or implemented in the business world. Topics are explained without giving specific details as to how to implement the Internet Marketing idea. A very specific example is a description of viral marketing which the author refers to as "Creating a Wave." The short section goes on to say that free media, publicity and word of mouth are important. Of course they are. But how do you get them? I feel sorry for the students that are required to purchase this book. I guess they'll have to learn Internet Marketing on the job. I'm glad I only paid $10 for this book used instead of the $90+ list price.

Very good, but dated.......2003-10-16

This is a classic. One of the most serious earlier works on the topic. Professor Hanson brought a very solid theoretical framework to Web marketing. The book came at a time when we finally all wanted to get more rigouros with the "New Economy". I perused it again recently for a seminar I am giving, and it is still an excellent reference book. I would give four stars to an updated edition. I don't know if they are planning it.

A second edition is urgently needed.......2003-04-10

I used the first edition in one of my e-commerce courses. While the book migth still deserve 3 stars it is very much dated and my students had to do much additional research in the net to round most of the topics.

A very practical book - I love it !.......2001-05-06

This is a great book on internet marketing. Unlike many other books on similar subjects I have read , I found this book most practical - and closest to the need in the real business world ! Lots of very interesting case studies in it, and most important of all, the book contains a lot of very useful and updated researches and statistics that confirms a lot of beliefs ( and clear lots of doubts) I have had in my job. Don't be put-off by the title of the book " Principles of Internet marketing" - they are not pure academic / classroom-type "principles", they are very applicable to the real business world ! If you are working in the internet marketing area, or if you plan to enter this field, don't miss this book !!!

E-Learning: Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age

Average customer rating:

Excellent!!!
Knowledge Management = Learning Organization 2K
Packed With Knowledge!
good overview and introduction to elearning
E-Learning Review

E-Learning: Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age
Marc J. Rosenberg
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
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ASIN: 0071362681

Book Description

Internet and intranet technologies offer tremendous opportunities to bring learning into the mainstream of business. E-Learning outlines how to develop an organization-wide learning strategy based on cutting-edge technologies and explains the dramatic strategic, organizational, and technology issues involved.

Written for professionals responsible for leading the revolution in workplace learning, E-Learning takes a broad, strategic perspective on corporate learning. This wake-up call for executives everywhere discusses:
• Requirements for building a viable e-learning strategy
• How online learning will change the nature of training organizations
• Knowledge management and other new forms of e-learning

Marc J. Rosenberg, Ph.D. (Hillsborough, NJ) is an independent consultant specializing in knowledge management, e-learning strategy and the reinvention of training. Prior to this, he was a senior direction and kowledge management field leader for consulting firm DiamondCluster International.

Download Description

Learn what companies like AT&T, Cisco Systems, Dell Computer, IBM, Lucent Technologies, Merril Lynch, Prudential, and U S West and others have accomplished with e-learning.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent!!!.......2003-12-13

This book is a must!!! It is an essential approach for understanding eLearning beyond the myriad of applications and placing it as part of a wider framework.

Knowledge Management = Learning Organization 2K.......2001-11-16

Marc Rosenberg is the Peter Senge of Knowledge Management. He builds on the key aspects that Senge acknowledges as key competitive aspects of organizations that need to learn, adapt, and stay solvent. He starts from identifying the difference between instruction vs information and the fact that so many times organizations get caught up in the "who" and the "how" instead of the "what" and the "why." For any trainer this book was interesting from the standpoint of how he defines different levels of knowledge. There are some key graphics and useful charts that help one grasp the complexity of e-learning. I started reading and thought it would be more about on-line learning, but he really took it much broader quickly. On-line learning is only a drop in the bucket of uses for the intranet. As much as we have out there he points out that there is much more to be saturated. Technology is a useful modality that can complement and enhance existing training. There was no threat to the training industry in his book. Training is still essential--but it needs to accomidate the information age and be much more timely, flexible, relevant. The one criticism I have is the fact that he doesn't address the fact that some people still need to have the classroom experience. There is the framework that you can increase aquisition of information, but if some of the psychological aspects of employee needs are not met--you get a drop in productivity, employee satisfaction and employee retention. There is still a lot to debate but he makes a compeling case regarding e-learning and knowledge management.

Packed With Knowledge!.......2001-09-20

Author Marc Rosenberg provides one of the first books devoted to strategies for developing organization-wide, online learning. He goes beyond the obvious technological challenges of Web-based training to explain that technology and content are meaningless without a culture of learning. But creating this culture means confronting dramatic strategic, organizational and political issues. In this roadmap for building and sustaining a learning culture, Rosenberg offers an essential balance between the structure of e-learning (design and technology issues) and its implementation (acceptance and support issues). His book is an impassioned wake-up call to all executives who are concerned about the future of their organizations. To begin building your company’s culture of learning, ... arm yourself with this practical, yet philosophical, manual — a weapon for professionals on the front lines of the revolution in workspace learning.

good overview and introduction to elearning.......2001-06-29

The author brings a good overview and sense of sincere understanding to the elearning space. The book does any excellent job of arming the internal champion of elearning with the data required to show the executive team the importance, value and return on investment.

E-Learning Review.......2001-04-13

This book walks the reader through all aspects of elearning, from the human side of learning theory to the technical side of capability development and deployment. This was an excellent starter book that covers all the bases when it comes to the subject of elearning. The index clearly presents all of the content so the book may also be used as a quick reference guide where the reader can focus only on those areas of interest.

Virtual Teams: People Working Across Boundaries with Technology

Average customer rating:

Useful, but some fluff
Aphoristic
Highly Recommended!
"Teamwork" Re-defined for New Realities
Practical Ideas for Boundary-Crossing Teams

Virtual Teams: People Working Across Boundaries with Technology
Jessica Lipnack , and Jeffrey Stamps
Manufacturer: Wiley
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471388254

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Praise for the First Edition of Virtual Teams

"If you want to see where organizational communications are going in the future, heed what these pioneers have written today." -Howard Rheingold, author, The Virtual Community, and founder, Electric Mind

"Lipnack and Stamps have written an important book for the twenty-first-century corporation." -Regis McKenna, The McKenna Group, author, Relationship Marketing

"This book provides a long overdue perspective on how to apply the discipline of real teams in the fast-moving, increasingly dispersed information age of the future." -Jon R. Katzenbach, author, The Wisdom of Teams

"For those who want to lead the movement, catch up with it, or simply know where it is going, this book is packed with useful information and interesting stories." -Dee W. Hock, founder and chairman emeritus, VISA

"Virtual Teams provides valuable insights into global teamwork and management through network technologies now available to all companies, large or small." -Jim Lynch, director, corporate quality, Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Customer Reviews:

Useful, but some fluff.......2003-09-28

I purchased this book because I was intrigued. In much of the work I do I am a member of "virtual" teams. That is, I often am some distance apart from the people I am working with.

I found the book to be a slow read, with nuggets of information separated by deserts of fluff. The first half of the book is filled with vague ramblings about how the information age has changed the way that teams work and with case studies that illustrate how the forming of virtual teams has helped various companies solve difficult problems.

In the second half, the book begins to pick up. In a chapter entitled "Teaming with People" the authors discuss team dynamics, including essential roles with a team, how teams form and which aspects of team dynamics are especially subject to the stresses of distance communication.

The authors suggest that the beginning and closing phases of most projects are the most stressful on team members and that extra effort be exerted at the beginning phase of the project to bring the core project team members together, even if they are geographically separated. This, say the authors, will help build interpersonal relationships that can hold the team together in times of stress.

There are several optimum team sizes. 3 to 5 is the size of a core team, 5 to 25 the size of a "team family" and 25 to 200 the size of a "team camp". In the authors' opinion, any team larger than 5 people will naturally divide into sub-teams.

The authors also point out the value of rewarding teams. Making teams compete, or making them completely independent of one another has little value for the company. Cooperative goals can encourage and motivate all of the teams, while competition can demoralize them.

Finally, the authors talk about starting up teams and provide a checklist of some elements such as a customer and a management sponsor which are essential to any team's success.

Overall, I found the book to have some good information on forming and maintaining teams, and what to do when those teams are not located in the same physical location. There is some fluff, I feel, and the book could easily be half its current length without sacrificing much.

Aphoristic.......2001-10-01

I spent many hours with Lipnack & Stamps' Virtual Teams. Lipnack and Stamps are team consultants, and this book is one of their business cards. It's strong on axioms, moderate on bibliographic references, filled with trenchant observations derived from their consulting experiences, and written in a hurried style that reads like a draft or a condensed version of a larger book, despite its 300 pages. The authors provide dozens of taxonomies, some of which are useful and thought provoking, but most not deriving from research data. I obtained one item referenced in the bibliography, a middling-quality correlational study, but noticed the authors were quite creative in their interpretation of its results. Once you get past the aphoristic writing style ("Connected, linked, matrixed. We are the future now. . . Before we know it, 10-year-olds will be running the world. Perhaps they already are. . . The new virtual organizations are at once very old and very new, very small and very large . . . ") you'll find yourself reading many interesting nuggets of information combined with useful advice on how to build and manage a virtual team. I appreciated the fact that Lipnack and Stamps avoided treating the virtual team as a panacea or as a solution to team problems. Their cool approach to the formidable problems faced by distributed groups adroitly avoids the hype in which other authors engage. I also appreciated their extended discussions in the areas where virtual teams suffer the most, including trust and communication across time zones. Leadership got slight treatment, but perhaps for good reason-the DNA of effective leadership in general has yet to be cracked, and is a largely unexplored phenomenon in virtual teams.

Highly Recommended!.......2001-07-11

Globalization can create as many problems as opportunities. One big problem is figuring out how to unite people worldwide to work on projects for your company. In an age that lacked a worldwide communications net, the answer would probably be quite depressing. However, as authors Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps make clear, the modern Internet makes it quite possible for workers all over the world to collaborate. The physical location of your firm’s various experts is no longer a barrier to effective team building, be they in Dublin, Bangalore, Las Vegas or Bangkok. In fact, the authors claim that companies that fail to create effective teams across cyberspace will be left in history’s dustbin. This might be overstating the case, but we [...] recommend this book for its candor about exactly how challenging it is to create virtual teams. Still interested? If so, this book serves as an excellent primer of both theory and practice.

"Teamwork" Re-defined for New Realities.......2001-04-06

The authors are convinced that, eventually, "virtual teams will become the natural way to work, nothing special. Virtual teams and networks -- effective, value-based, swiftly reconfiguring, cost-sensitive, and decentralized -- will profoundly reshape our shared world. As members of many virtual groups, we will contribute to these ephemeral webs of relationships that together weave our future." That day is already here for many people and I agree that virtual working relationships will soon be the rule rather than the exception. The authors correctly note that technology extends capabilities "but organizing to do things together is only human. The most profound change of the new millennium is in the way we're organized." Moreover, as more people connect online, "we increase our capacity for both independence and interdependence. Competition and cooperation both thrive in our new culture." However, there are perils to avoid because whatever goes wrong with in-the-same place teams can also go wrong with virtual teams -- only worse and, worse yet, faster and at a much greater cost.

The authors organize their excellent material within 14 chapters whose individual titles indicate each chapter's perspective on virtual teams: Why, Networks, Teams, Trust, Place, Time, Purpose, people, Links, Launch, Navigate, Theory, Think, and Future. I agree that a virtual team "is a group of people who work interdependently with a shared purpose across space, time, and organization boundaries." Nonetheless, I still have some quibbles about the authors' sequence of subject matter (not with the content itself) and am still convinced that cooperation between and among members of virtual teams is even more difficult than it is between and among those within physical boundaries. Moreover, my own rather extensive experience with all manner of corporate clients suggests that the most formidable barriers are between two ears. If you have some serious human barriers in your own organization, I urge you to check out O'Dell and Grayson's immensely thoughtful and practical book, If Only We Knew What We Know.

But please keep in mind that even if O'Dell, Grayson, Lipnack, and Stamps were retained to create virtual teams for your organization, unless and until everyone else involved buys into the enterprise, the results would be abysmal. Hence the importance of several points which Lipnack and Stamps make in the final chapter, notably the absolutely essential need for trust. "A presumption of trust enables a successful strategy of collaboration [enables everyone involved] to be better innovators, competitors, and survivors....If purpose is the glue, trust is the grease." I agree.

Of course, no single volume such as this can provide all the right answers but Lipnack and Stamps raise most (if not all) of the most important questions. Their answers seem sensible and practical. Of course, decision-makers must decide what the nature, extent, and duration of a virtual relationship should be in their organization at any given time. The authors do provide an excellent source of information and insight which can help virtually (pun intended) any organization increase cooperation and collaboration across boundaries through the effective use of various technologies. Especially, in this age of accelerating globalization, most organizations need all the help they can get.

Practical Ideas for Boundary-Crossing Teams.......2000-10-15

The very nature of teams has changed in most organizations. This change is not rooted in the use of technology but rather in organizational changes that require teams that cross all kinds of boundaries: organizational, temporal, geographic, functional, cultural. Virtual Teams focuses on the fundamental issues that challenge members, leaders, and stakeholders in these boundary-crossing teams rather than simply on the technology that connects them. A major strength of the book is the wealth of stories about how key ideas have been applied in both public and private sector organizations. This book offers practical ideas you can apply to any team - whether it is co-located or spread across the world. - Lisa Kimball, Executive Producer, Group Jazz

The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business As Usual

Average customer rating:

A for ideas, D- for persuasion
A little dated now, but still right on
Markets are conversations
A manifesto for corporate communication in the Internet age
outdated

The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business As Usual
Christopher Locke
Manufacturer: PERSEUS PUBLISHING
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0738202444

Amazon.com Reviews

How would you classify a book that begins with the salutation, "People of Earth..."? While the captains of industry might dismiss it as mere science fiction, The Cluetrain Manifesto is definitely of this day and age. Aiming squarely at the solar plexus of corporate America, authors Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger show how the Internet is turning business upside down. They proclaim that, thanks to conversations taking place on Web sites and message boards, and in e-mail and chat rooms, employees and customers alike have found voices that undermine the traditional command-and-control hierarchy that organizes most corporate marketing groups. "Markets are conversations," the authors write, and those conversations are "getting smarter faster than most companies." In their view, the lowly customer service rep wields far more power and influence in today's marketplace than the well-oiled front office PR machine.

The Cluetrain Manifesto began as a Web site (www.cluetrain.com) in 1999 when the authors, who have worked variously at IBM, Sun Microsystems, the Linux Journal, and NPR, posted 95 theses that pronounced what they felt was the new reality of the networked marketplace. For example, thesis no. 2: "Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors"; thesis no. 20: "Companies need to realize their markets are often laughing. At them"; thesis no. 62: "Markets do not want to talk to flacks and hucksters. They want to participate in the conversations going on behind the corporate firewall"; thesis no. 74: "We are immune to advertising. Just forget it." The book enlarges on these themes through seven essays filled with dozens of stories and observations about how business gets done in America and how the Internet will change it all. While Cluetrain will strike many as loud and over the top, the message itself remains quite relevant and unique. This book is for anyone interested in the Internet and e-commerce, and is especially important for those businesses struggling to navigate the topography of the wired marketplace. All aboard! --Harry C. Edwards

Book Description

Written by four of the liveliest voices on the Web, this book takes you deeper into the new order of business than any this decade. The Cluetrain Manifesto presents a stunning tapestry of anecdotes, object lessons, parodies, war stories, and suggestions, all aimed at illustrating what it will take to survive and prosper in the fast-forward world on the wire.

The Cluetrain Manifesto burst onto the scene in March 1999, with ninety-five theses nailed up on the Web. Within days, the website had ignited a vibrant global conversation challenging sacred corporate assumptions about the very nature of business in a digital world. The Wall Street Journal called it "absolutely brilliant." Soon, executives from Fortune 500 companies everywhere were lining up to sign-on to the Manifesto. This is the book that delivers on the buzz.

The Cluetrain Manifesto is a wake-up call that says business as usual is gone forever. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter-and getting smarter faster than most companies. Today's markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny, and often shocking. Companies that aren't listening to these exchanges are missing a dire warning. Companies that aren't engaging in them are missing an unprecedented opportunity.

The Cluetrain Manifesto is the culmination of this very real phenomenon. It shares powerful, firsthand experiences describing how Internet business differs radically from the corporate status quo. The fact is that employees are getting hyperlinked even as markets are. Companies need to listen carefully to both.

Customer Reviews:

A for ideas, D- for persuasion.......2007-09-27

This influential book lays out the reasons why companies need to replace corporate speak and marketing puff with online conversations. The reasons are compelling, but the way the authors make their case won't win them many converts. They go on the attack with scathing gusto, dismissing "Fort Business" as a bunch of obsolete buffoons and/or swindlers. Strangely, these buffoons and swindlers are the very people Cluetrain hopes to convert to an entirely new way of thinking.

Looking past the rhetoric, Cluetrain really does make some crucial points. Here are a few that stood out to me -

1. The control mentality of management doesn't work in a wired world where people and information are easily and instantly connected.

2. Companies pay too much attention to competitors and not enough to customers.

3. If companies did pay attention to customers, they'd discover that customers want "Authenticity, honesty, and personal voice ..." (p. 51) Companies mistakenly view customers as consumers instead of people. We don't exist to consume (hopefully).

4. "Positioning should help a company become what it is, not something it's not (no matter how cool it would be)." (p. 99)

5. You can't bluff about your company or products online. People will find you out.

6. The Web challenges formal corporate organizational structures. People can connect and collaborate with whomever they need to in order to get the job done. The Web values competence over position.

Of course, all of this was just as true before the Web. However, the Web has magnified their importance. Today, the penalties for ignoring the Cluetrain principles are stiff, and the rewards are huge, and in the years ahead - even more so.

For a gentler and more balanced assessment of conversations in business and the new marketing rules, try Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers and The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly.

A little dated now, but still right on.......2007-09-07

Cluetrain is an odd and irreverent book. The tone of the time was probably a shock to most readers back when originally published in 2001, and even still it upholds some wry quirkiness the authors were going for as they wrote about the future of the Web. Much has changed in the world of Web since the manifesto was released, and I'm certain, not all of it to the authors liking. The web has become much more corporatized, ecommerce much more like traditional commerce and online marketing shows some vast similarities to off-line marketing. The current web isn't quite what the authors anticipated!

But much of what the authors preach about the web being a conversation is still so very true. And amazingly, many businesses still have not figured that out. While business on the web may bear some resemblance to the off-line world, it's still a very different place. That's what Cluetrain is all about.

Cluetrain will help you understand that the same old processes and strategies that worked off-line for some many years, need not apply here. While there are many similarities, online and offline marketing operate very differently. The book will put you in the mindset to realize that marketing on the web can be done with new ideas, fresh strategies, and most importantly, on a person-to-person level. Throw the corporate play book away. It's time to build a new playbook entirely.

Markets are conversations.......2007-04-27

Having grown up with high-speed internet as an expected must have, this book serves as an interesting reminder of the days I have missed. Multiplayer games, cross-referencing product review on web forums, asking other internet users for advice on products, all the things that seem natural today are in many ways changing the rules of the marketing game, and Cluetrain is all about this dynamic: markets are conversations. Broadcast media is once again being replaced by an older strategy of person-to-person contact, instead of a one way marketing stream.

Some of the information is slightly outdated, some of the sections are plain wacky, but it's an interesting work nonetheless, especially if you're into marketing.

A manifesto for corporate communication in the Internet age.......2007-02-25

Reading the "Cluetrain Manifesto" today is like reading an historic document. The book fuses the countercultural ethos of the 1960s with the go-go business dynamics of the 1990s. Written during the height of the Internet boom, the authors forecast the end not only of corporate marketing, but of traditional corporations altogether. They predicted a transition to an Internet-enabled marketplace of bartering and bantering individuals. The book's pages contain a wealth of overstatement, hyperbole, and provocation (as many have already noted). The flurry of lawsuits based on offhand email (`evidence mail') which emerged after the Internet crash have reemphasized the need for the caution and disclaimers to which the authors so passionately objected.

The basic message of the book remains fresh and contemporary, however. "Markets are conversations." Corporations should encourage those conversations, not inhibit them. It's clear that many corporations still haven't gotten the point. Some companies still require that customers sign pointless non-disclosure agreements to talk with their representatives and other customers about their products. Other companies treat their websites like big, glossy advertising brochures instead of centers of community. Still others issue the bland and senseless press releases derided by the Cluetrain Manifesto to their customers, leaving bloggers to read between the lines and to speculate about what's really going on inside the company.

But some of the largest corporations have clearly gotten the message--or at least a tempered form of it. The best way to cultivate loyalty and confidence among consumers is to become more transparent by allowing conversations to take place not simply between consumers and public relations representatives, but between people working with products and people designing those products. Microsoft's Channel 9 is a good example of a corporation sponsoring an online community that connects individuals to individuals. While this kind of marketing will doubtlessly always be somewhat messy and make some P.R. folk uneasy, it's far more effective than the business-as-usual approach of issuing sanitized press releases to an anonymous group of `consumers.' For the wakeup call that communications between human beings should take place in human voices we are still in these authors' debt.

outdated .......2007-01-03

Good Overview of where things are coming from and a good couple insights. Concepts are not outdated but some of the information is.

Strategies for Web Hosting and Managed Services

Average customer rating:

WOW ! Get this book!
Great overview of the Hosting Industry and sourcing process.
For Customers and Providers
Only customer-centric guide I've found
Well-written and easy to navigate

Strategies for Web Hosting and Managed Services
Doug Kaye
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0471085782

Book Description

Arms IT professionals with a complete blueprint for developing successful Web hosting strategies
Written by a consultant who helped develop the Web hosting strategies at many of today's top e-commerce vendors, this book fills in IT professionals on the full range of services available. The book provides decision-makers with criteria checklists and other useful tools they need for determining what they need, why they need it, how to find it, and how to evaluate and manage it. Doug Kaye provides a clear, complete roadmap for building an effective Web hosting strategy, and offers practical advice and answers to critical questions. The book covers important topics, including the real cost of bandwidth, domain name services, shared versus dedicated servers, backup and recovery, service-level agreements, security, negotiating with and managing vendors, and hardware maintenance and support.
Companion Web site includes links to Web hosting directories, tools for evaluating hosting services, and online articles and white papers.

Customer Reviews:

WOW ! Get this book!.......2002-07-21

Don't listen to the guy who rated this book 2 out of 5 stars. He bought the book for the wrong reasons. If you are looking to learn what it takes to get a company to host your web site(s), this is the book for you. If you don't truly understand what it takes to set up a large web site, this book is a MUST read!

Doug covers everything. The first half of the book is about the different types of web hosts (shared, dedicated, co-location), and managed service providers (the people who can help you with whatever you might need to get done.) He tells you everything about the relationships between the managed service providers and the web hosts that you would have never known otherwise. He practically holds your hand and gives advice as to how you should select your hosting solution.

The second half of the book is where I truly believe the book really shines. Doug gets into Service Level Agreements which is absolutely critical when selecting a web host. He then talks about traffic models and how you should evaluate your site based on its projected traffic, bandwidth and so on. This is critical if you are planning a site, as it gives you a true sense for what's realistic, how many visitors translates into what types of servers and so forth.

Next Doug covers Web-Site Architectures and shows you the various models you will probably want to consider when initially setting up your site. He even goes into content caching, connectivity practices, storage, Backup and Recovery, Security and so forth.

I would have been lost and made so many mistakes without having read this book front to back. It is written well and is easy to understand!

I give this book an A+ as it is one of the top two technical books I've read. And don't take technical the wrong way. It is written in layman's terms, so anyone who feels comfortable with the Internet could pick this book up and understand exactly what Doug is talking about!

Great overview of the Hosting Industry and sourcing process........2002-03-10

As someone whom is very actively involved in the Internet and hosting industry, I have experienced first hand the difficulty in the Hosting Provider selection process, either as a consultant to clients or as an observer to an organization's dilemma. This book should prove to be a valuable resource for enterprises hoping to understand and navigate this complex industry and as well as prepare them for the some of the changes it is currently undergoing.

Any IT decision-maker whom is responsible for mapping out a web-hosting strategy would be well served to spend the time to read this well written book.

Although the focus of the book seems to be from that of a prospective client of a Hosting Provider, this book should also prove to valuable to those Hosting Providers, providing an external but otherwise legitimate insight into the industry and some of the areas where service providers could improve their service offerings.

A definite read, or at least a quick perusal, for those who are sourcing a Hosting Provider or hoping to better manage a current Hosting Provider relationship.

For Customers and Providers.......2002-02-22

Although the book's description states that it is intended for web hosting customers I found it to be invaluable for both customers and providers.

The first two chapters are clearly intended for hosting and services customers. They form an executive summary of what is to follow. Chapters 3 though 6 discuss various hosting and service options, While these, too, are written for prospective services customers I hope service providers will also take the time to read Mr. Kaye's assessment of service offerings. Where customers will get an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each alternative, service providers will see themselves in a mirror. The providers that want to rise to the top will spot opportunities to differentiate their services.

In a similar manner, the chapters on outsourcing, risk management and SLAs are intended for customers. However, service providers will gain much from reading these chapters because Mr. Kaye points out the many shortcomings in ISP/MSP services and business practices. Aggressive service providers will address those issues to attain competitive advantage. Customers who read these chapters, on the other hand, will have powerful negotiating advantages.

While I am not sure that the ten chapters on technologies and tools fit within the book's theme I learned a lot from them. I'm an IT consultant, but my primary skills and knowledge are IT operations, service level management and process improvement. The information in the final ten chapters got me quickly up to speed in the web technical infrastructure and related tools, but I doubt that the business decision makers, to whom the first part of this book caters, will find them interesting.

Overall this book is a valuable resource to both customers and providers. The strongest part in my opinion addresses service level agreements and vendor management. It stands out for sorting out the complex array of outsourcing and service alternatives, thus supporting sound business decisions. The web site and discussion forum that supports this book (the URL is provided in the book) increase the value because the material will never be out of date and you can pose questions directly to the author.

Only customer-centric guide I've found.......2002-02-20

This book's stated goal is to explain how to select a web-hosting service or MSP and how to manage that relationship once your site is up and running. It meets that goal in every respect by providing the customer side of the equation with a wealth of factors to consider, and a clear explanation of the significance of those factors.

Although the book has five parts, it can be divided into two sections that will serve two different audiences. The first section, comprised of Parts I through III, is focused on vendor selection, the hosting strategy itself (shared or dedicated servers, colocation or managed service providers), contracts, risk management, service level agreements and traffic forecasting. This is the heart of the book, and the depth of Mr. Kaye's knowledge and experience is nothing short of amazing. If you pay close attention to his advice and the pitfalls he points out, particularly in The Dark Side of Outsourcing and Service Level Agreements, you will be well armed to make informed decisions that will almost certainly avert the plethora of potential disasters inherent in web hosting and managed services outsourcing.

The chapter on service level agreements is essential reading. This is one of my areas of specialty and I came away with insights I hadn't thought of. I especially liked his treatment of traffic models, which underscores why any web hosting initiative (in-house or outsourced) needs to be a joint effort by business and IT. The spreadsheets used in the case study are available for download from the author's site that supports the book.

Technical issues are covered in the second section of the book. Topics include architectures, caching and content delivery (an area in which the author is a world-class expert), and details about connectivity, storage, back-up and recovery and security. This part of the book is more slanted towards IT than the business reader. However, I recommend that the chapter on security be read by all because it touches upon issues of which both the business and technical reader needs to be aware. The last part of the book covers tools. Again, this material is for technical readers, although I thought the chapter on monitoring would also be of interest to the business members of the book's audience.

What sets this book apart is that it's the only one I've found that focuses on the topic from a customer's perspective. Moreover, there is no other book that covers the rocky landscape of outsourcing, vendor selection and management, and contract service level management. If you're considering web hosting or managed services then you need this book.

Well-written and easy to navigate.......2002-02-19

This is a well-written, no-nonsense book that gets right to the point. An excellent guidebook to building a web-hosting strategy. Lots of information with available updates. Gets to the point - ideal for executives and other IT decision-makers.

The Seven Steps to Nirvana: Strategic Insights into eBusiness Transformation

Average customer rating:

The best about e-business
The best book for e business strategies
Ditto: Hiroo Yamagata
The Seven Steps to Nirvana a must read
Excellent Book on E-strategy

The Seven Steps to Nirvana: Strategic Insights into eBusiness Transformation
Mohanbir S. Sawhney , and Jeff Zabin
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Kellogg on Technology and Innovation

ASIN: 0071375228

Amazon.com

While some might find the title's promise of transcendental beatitude a trifle overreaching, The Seven Steps to Nirvana nonetheless provides some excellent insight into the design and implementation of an e-business game plan at "low-tech, smokestack" companies that have heretofore shied away from cyber-strategies. Mohan Sawhney, the McCormick Tribune Professor of Electronic Commerce and Technology at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and Jeff Zabin, a consultant, writer, and speaker, have produced a thought-provoking yet practical entry point for senior managers and other leaders at these firms. The book progresses from creating an overarching initial vision and initiating other critical preliminary preparations to "putting your money where your mouth is, and getting people in the organization to embrace the oft-threatening new world of e-business." Particularly notable are sections on "thinking like an architect (to) open your mind to new possibilities for business innovation" and mitigating channel conflict--or "dissension among the existing institutions"--by making sure the electronic enhancements you are about to append are truly synchronized complements to what you already have. The ideas behind it all are solid and, perhaps most commendably, are anchored to the needs of a real-world customer base. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

Today¿s most successful companies never sit still. Even as they introduce their newest e-business initiatives, their next generation of improvements is already near completion. Traditional organizations¿especially larger, low-tech businesses¿must reinvent themselves if they are to hold their positions against these new business competitors.

The Seven Steps to Nirvana leads managers through the systematic stages needed to transform traditional businesses¿regardless of their industries¿into fierce competitors. Combining hard-hitting analyses with case studies of businesses that made the transition, this concrete, practical tour de force opens readers¿ minds to:

Essential differences between e-commerce and e-business
The evolutionary stages of e-business intervention
Strategies to overcome inertia and organize for speed

Written by one of BusinessWeek's 25 most influential e-business innovators, The Seven Steps to Nirvana is a trove of innovative techniques for brick-and-mortar businesses to meet--and overcome--the challenges of today's faster, nimbler e-upstarts.

Download Description

The Seven Steps to Nirvana is a compass for senior executives as they embark on the journey of e-business transformation.

Customer Reviews:

The best about e-business.......2001-12-13

After reading to many books I found this one, and I could say right now I have a better knowledge of e-business.

I consider my best book about e-business.

The best book for e business strategies.......2001-11-02

If you are looking for a book that talks about e business strategies, I advocate this should be your choice. It's not just b'cas this book is from the guy who is rated as 10 most influential people in E-business, but b'cas he know his audeince very well.

I am sure irrespective of your exposure to e-business, this would change the way you think of e-business.

Ditto: Hiroo Yamagata.......2001-08-09

I'm an American and I too confirm Mr. Yamagata's review: the "quotes from zen or Buddha, or some folk story to make themselves sound profound" is highly irritating (straight talk will do just fine)... and, "Ah,we knew that all along!" borders on arrogance. The book seems to have come from the -publish or perish- world of academe. Need solid information to do the real work ahead, don't look for Nirvana. Sorry, but I could find no new insights from this book, just a contrived rehash of information clearly written elsewhere --in business language, backed by well defended assertions ... my $2 mantra is just fine, thank you.

The Seven Steps to Nirvana a must read.......2001-07-21

As a practitioner in the field, I believe, this is one of the best books on the subject. The book is inspirational and clarifies a lot of confusion that has been created by false start of some e-business initiatives. I highly recommend it to any one interested in understanding the true meaning of e-business.

Excellent Book on E-strategy.......2001-07-05

The so-called "mysterious" world of e-business is covered very well. Categorization into seven steps and further classification of them makes this book very interesting and easy to follow. The case studies and examples are excellent, however it seems that most of them move around some 10-15 companies. Although, this book is targeted to top executives but the language is so easy that any one can comprehend and get benefited. I found the E-volution and E-strategy topics very useful. They provide very good insight on how a company should view and plan e-business initiative. Recommended to any one who is involved in any kind of e-business initiative, this book can take the efforts to much more deep and meaningful level.

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