Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion

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Built from Scratch is about two businessmen who achieve the American Dream by fundamentally changing the realm of home-improvement retailing. Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank, cofounders of the Home Depot, explain how they established the first national chain in the industry by concentrating on low prices, customer service, and strong leadership values.

Ultimately, this is a book about grit and determination. "Building the Home Depot was a tough, uphill battle from the day we started," they write. "No one believed we could do it and very few people trusted our judgment." The two cofounders launched the company only after they were fired by a California hardware retailer because of politics. The Home Depot lost $1 million in its first year of operation in Atlanta. Today it's one of the great successes on Wall Street, with more than 700 stores across the country and 160,000 employees.

One reason the book is so engaging is that it includes corporate anecdotes. A favorite: the company banned wild parties after several employees were demoted and a couple were fired in the wake of a drunken annual managers' meeting. Another yarn involves Sears, which made one of the worst financial mistakes in retailing history when it passed on a deal to purchase Home Depot in the early 1980s. The authors are self-serving at times; for example, they whine too much about paying $104.5 million to dispose of a sex-discrimination lawsuit. But there's no denying the smashing performance of Big Orange. Marcus and Blank paint a story with some sparkling advice for practically anyone in business. --Dan Ring

Book Description

One of the greatest entrepreneurial success stories of the past twenty years

When a friend told Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank that "you've just been hit in the ass by a golden horseshoe," they thought he was crazy. After all, both had just been fired. What the friend, Ken Langone, meant was that they now had the opportunity to create the kind of wide-open warehouse store that would help spark a consumer revolution through low prices, excellent customer service, and wide availability of products.

Built from Scratch is the story of how two incredibly determined and creative people--and their associates--built a business from nothing to 761 stores and $30 billion in sales in a mere twenty years.

Built from Scratch tells many colorful stories associated with The Home Depot's founding and meteoric rise; shows that a company can be a tough, growth-oriented competitor and still maintain a high sense of responsibility to the community; and provides great lessons useful to people in any business, from start-ups to the Fortune 500.

Great Stories

  "Ming the Merciless": The inside account of the man who fired Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus
  "My people don't drive Cadillacs!" How Ross Perot almost got involved with The Home Depot
  "Take this job and shove it!" The banker who put his career on the line to get The Home Depot the loan that enabled it to survive
  "Folks, I tell ya, if these Atlanta stores were any bigger, we'd be paying Alabama sales tax." Home Depot's first good ol' southern advertising campaign

A Company with a Conscience

  When disasters like the Oklahoma City bombing or Hurricane Andrew happen, Home Depot associates don't ask for permission to respond. They react from their hearts--whether that means keeping their store open all night or being on the scene with volunteers and relief supplies.
  The Home Depot doesn't just contribute money to organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Christmas in April, but also provides its people to help lead and grow these community efforts.

Great Lessons

  Know your customer: In The Home Depot's case, customers don't pay for wider aisles and a pretty store, but for a wide assortment and low prices
  Why everyday low prices mean more sales overall: The marketing philosophy The Home Depot learned from talking with Sam Walton
  Market leadership: Why The Home Depot never goes to a major new market with plans to open just a few stores
  The strategy for profitable growth: How The Home Depot redefined its U.S. market from its $135  billion traditional "do-it-yourself" base to a much larger pond of $365 billion
  How to change the rules of the game: How The Home Depot bypassed almost all middlemen, allowing it to pass on huge savings to customers

Built from Scratch is the firsthand account of how two regular guys created one of the greatest entrepreneurial successes of the last twenty years.

Opening the First Store

"What the hell happened? Who screwed up the store? . . . Whatever time remained before the doors were scheduled to open for the first time, we sped around in forklifts, stomping on the brakes, scuffing up the flooring so it would once more look like a warehouse."

Customer Service

"If ever I saw an associate point a customer toward what they needed three aisles over, I would threaten to bite their finger. I would say, 'Don't ever let me see you point. You take the customer by the hand, and you bring them right where they need to be and you help them.'"

Giving Back

"When The Home Depot went public we realized that we had the financial capacity and wherewithal to give back to the communities where we did business. There is a concept in Judaism called tzedaka, which means 'to give back.' It is considered a mitzvah, a good deed, to give to someone who doesn't have, and we believe strongly in giving back to the community."

Selling the Vision

"We had to be psychologists, lovers, romancers, and con artists to get vendors aboard. Our ability to paint a picture of how that would take place--lowest prices, widest selection, and great customer service--was what convinced skeptical manufacturers to sell merchandise to us during the early years."

The Importance of Values

"I have never had anybody work for me in retailing who didn't work for me out of love, as opposed to fear. We carried this approach into building The Home Depot. We care about each other and we care about the customer. The things that we do for customers inside and outside the stores demonstrate our commitment to them. And then when something happens within the company, we circle the wagons. We help each other."

Customer Reviews:

The INDISPENSIBLE history of building a business from one store with zero sales to a $100 BILLION company. .......2007-01-18

It never ceases to amaze me in what it takes to satisfy a reader. When I read a book like this, I am basically asking myself several questions. How on earth did these guys do it? How did they come through the funnel and get it done. What was at stake? What were the major premises of the concept? Could it have failed, if so how? How close did it come to failing? Could some one else have done this, or replicated it, or perhaps have done it better.

A lot of life is pure fantasy. You have your own template of how things works, and you look at the world and you see that template everywhere. If you go out and try to apply this system and superimpose it onto the real world, it either fails or it succeeds. Sometimes the template is a good one, but the execution gets screwed up.

When I look at Home Depot, a story that I have an intimacy with, I found this particular book to be fabulous. There is nothing boring about it; in fact I found every page worthwhile. Having spent 35 years in Wall Street running money, and figuring out how does a company make a buck, I found this book even more worthwhile. If you are involved in the investment business, this becomes a particularly worthwhile read.

If you run a company or have aspirations towards a career in management, you better read this book, because there is something in it for everyone. For most of us, there is more than one thing in it. Peter Drucker the ultimate management mind of the 20th century probably said it best when he talked about the corporation as a living, breathing organism that required nourishment on a daily basis. You just can't assume that corporations will continue to exist simply because they exist now.

Every day a company fights for its corporate life, for its right to continue to exist. Those corporate entities that assume that they will always be around - NEVER LAST. Other entities out there either eat them up, or they suffer the slow final death of arrogance, and go out of business without even knowing why they went out.

Home Depot is the story of two guys that got up in the morning every morning, fighting for the right to keep doing it a better way. They lived by the credo that you have to keep moving or they will throw dirt on you. Some of the lessons and ideas you will learn from this book include the following:

· CUSTOMER SERVICE - You have to take care of good people, and constantly be on the lookout for them. If necessary hire them, even when you don't have the jobs for them because you may not get a second shot at them.

· DOING THE RIGHT THING ALL THE TIME - It can cost you money doing the right thing, but it comes back in spades. Something else happens when you do the right thing. People realize your efforts, and some will take advantage of you, but that will be more than offset by the multitude of others who will become loyal customers for life.

· NOBODY LOVES A COMPANY- They may love what you do, and what you do for them as customers, but there is no real loyalty to companies, at least in this generation. Home Depot always tried to make as many of their employees stockholders as possible, so that they could align the employee (associates at HD) goals with the corporate goals.

· THIS IS A TOUGH PLACE TO WORK IF YOU ARE INFLEXIBLE - This lesson was lost on the current Chairman, CEO Nardelli who was fired by the Board for his IMPERIAL management style. He also possessed no understanding of the Home Depot culture as he tried to superimpose his General Electric template on the company. He failed miserably but that's another book.

· IF YOU CAN SAVE THE CUSTOMER MONEY, DO IT - Always do the right thing by the customer, and you will have a customer for life. Go the extra mile for the customer. CULTIVATE the customer.

· THE FOUNDERS WERE LIVING ON THE FUMES OF DREAMS - I loved these stories. These guys Marcus and Blank were honest about what they faced, and several times this company was touching or facing bankruptcy. This is an important lesson. The way around it is to have twice as much capital as you think you need. This by itself was worth reading the entire book. This is priceless knowledge.

· IT'S ABOUT PRICE, SELECTION, AND CUSTOMER SERVICE - Never lose sight of this statement and act on it in your own business goals. Give people the best price you can, and the finest selection of merchandise. If you back it up with the industry's best customer service you have found for yourself a business model for success. It may sound simple, but try executing on it.

So let me let you in on a secret. I spent years with Bear Stearns well over 20 years ago as a limited partner. When I read the early financial stories of Home Depot on Wall Street, I knew that what the founders in this book were saying was the complete unvarnished truth.

The story of how Ross Perot, one of America's wealthiest men in the early 1980's blew having dominant control of this company is now the stuff of myths. Nevertheless it's a true story. The founders ultimately turned down Ross Perot as a shareholder. They believe Perot to be a control freak. Yes, Perot didn't want the founders driving around in a Cadillac. Perot was a Chevy man. Well, the Chevy man blew a $60 billion dollar fortune by not investing a couple of million in Home Depot.

Then there's Ken Langone, the financial guy behind this phenomenal story. Langone may be the only guy in America to be the IPO maven behind two all time American success stories. He successfully brought public both Ross Perot's EDS, and the Home Depot. Who else can say that? He also made a billion dollars in the process. Langone is a unique, fabulous, walk to the well with you kind of guy. Among Wall Street types, he is unique, and the Street needs many more like him.

There is a story in the book where Langone is involved in a stock sale to a very nasty executive who is very prominent in his own right. Every time the executive refuses to give in to Langone's price, Langone just keeps upping the ante on him. This goes on for pages. It is uproariously funny, and is deserving of retelling over and over again. You will love this book, and learn an enormous amount about business in the process. It should probably be required reading for all MBA programs in management.

If you have any desire to understand what it takes to dedicate your entire life to building something, especially in the business world than this book is a read for you. There's one more thing that I must get across that is compelling. Having spent my life involved with companies like Home Depot, and high-powered successful people, I have come to the conclusion that it does not have to work out successfully.

There is no such thing as one must succeed, or it was ordained that this must happen. As an example Home Depot could have gone out of business a half dozen times before becoming so financially solvent that the business model had to work.

Steve Jobs at Apple could have decided 20 years ago, to license that Apple operating system to the PC industry, and Gates and Microsoft would never have happened. GM could have decided to build quality cars 25 years ago, instead of building [...]for decades while the Japanese took the market away.

Al Gore could have concentrated just a little bit more on Florida in 2000, and George W. Bush would have never been. John Kerry could have fought off the challenge of the Swift Boat accusations, and Ohio would have gone his way, and with it the election.

In the end, it's really a question of who comes through the funnel, and that is not always predictable. As I read this wonderful book, I came to the conclusion once again, that yes, you have to go for it, and dedicate all to getting there, but there is no certitude that you are going to make it. Just make sure you follow YOUR PASSION, because no matter where you wind up, a PASSION FILLED LIFE is a life WORTH LIVING. Good luck.

Richard Stoyeck

Home Depot provides a horrible experience.......2006-12-29

If you like wandering around with no service, ringing yourself out at the register, and watching a bunch of orange outfits ignore you, try Home Depot. The bigger the company gets, the more horrible the experience. Try True Hardware.

I'm rich. I started a company. I wrote a book........2004-08-24

What a laugh. Yes you!!! The average American with your wealthy silent investor in your pocket. You too can open a store.

Home Depot has spent a good deal of money trying to improve its image; including writing these books. HD has serious problems with women suing them.If you tell the customer that you are serving them well, and beat them over the head that they are receiving top notch lip service, then eventually some will believe it.

HD has spent millions improving their stores by widening ailses and better lighting. They claim to be industry leaders yet can't seem to shake Lowes from opening stores all around HD stores and even in HD's home Atlanta market.

They are very aggressive and drive their employees to bring shareholder value. They do offer products for less and have had great financial backing.

They also control costs by "Rifting" which means they fire people that start earning enough money that it becomes cheaper to train someone else.

Its one thing to write a book to laud yourself. Why not write about all the dirty tricks you pulled to get there.

Full of Lies.......2003-10-03

Let's face facts: home depot is known for abysmal service and really, really shoddy haphazard installations. They probably spend more on defending lawsuits than on store development. This book makes them look like such wizards, such brilliant and benevelont businessmen, when in fact they have done studies to see what the minimum level of customer service they can get away with is - and then tried to stretch that envelope.

I am sure Ken Lay could write books full of accolades to Enron. It would be just as true, and just as much a waste of time and money to read.

A great story..........2003-09-07

and very well told, which really makes this book a fast read (I had a hard time putting it down).

Provides, IMO, valuable information that will be useful for any business owner. I am glad these guys took the time to share their story, and I hope I get to meet them one day.

Book Description

Here is the tool you need to clearly understand and successfully carry out concrete repair and maintenance projects -- with confidence! In this book you will find a detailed, yet concise presentation of over 220 concrete repair and maintenance topics. Issues are examined within the framework of analysis, strategy development, and repair techniques, with extensive and superbly detailed illustrations to guide you in the proper planning and execution of repairs.

Written by Peter H. Emmons, President of Structural Preservation Systems, Inc., and a national authority on concrete repair, Concrete Repair and Maintenance, Illustrated was technically reviewed and edited by James Warner, world-renowned concrete repair consultant and educator, and Alexander M. Vaysburd, Ph.D., an expert in concrete technology with more than 30 years experience in the industry.

This indispensable book provides extensive information about problem analysis, strategy development, engineering aspects, material criteria, and repair and maintenance methods. Designed for ease of use by all participants in the repair and maintenance process -- owners and facilities managers, engineers, architects, material suppliers and contractors -- the book's unique format provides a highly structured, fully illustrated examination of each topic.

This comprehensive instructional reference includes detailed information on:

* Concrete Behavior
* Evaluating Concrete Problems
* Surface Repair
* Stabilization and Strengthening
* Protection

Dedicated to quality assurance and technical excellence, the author provides the concrete repair industry with a much needed reference guide designed to facilitate adherence to the highest standards in the design and execution of concrete repair and maintenance projects.

Customer Reviews:

A fantastic book for Concrete repair.......2002-11-01

This is the best book out there on this subject. The author has done an excellent job explaining and illustrating the proper process of repairing concrete: Diagnose, repair and protect. I have made this a must read for all of my sales reps.

Brock Osborn
S.E. Area manager
Sto Corp.

Good book for civil engineering students.......2000-06-30

This book is very useful for every students who take civil engineering as their major. It give you all the explanation about concrete destruction because of nature and human error. And tells you how to repair it and to maintain it so it won't damaged more that it used to be. I find this book very helpful for my thesis. Every civil engineering students and other major that related to it has to own this book.

Relapse Prevention, Second Edition: Maintenance Strategies in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors

Average customer rating:

Gobbledy-Gouke at its best

Relapse Prevention, Second Edition: Maintenance Strategies in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors

Manufacturer: The Guilford Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1593851766

Book Description

Thoroughly revised and updated, the second edition of this important clinical resource and text reflects two decades' worth of advances in research and practice. Provided is an empirically supported framework for helping people with addictive behavior problems develop the skills to maintain their treatment goals--even in high-risk situations--and deal effectively with setbacks that occur. Refining and elaborating the editors' original model, the expert contributors draw on the latest knowledge about specific addictive disorders and the process of change. Extensively rewritten chapters on alcohol, tobacco, and eating disorders have been augmented with new coverage of stimulants, opiates, cannabis, "club drugs," gambling problems, risky sexual practices, and sexual offending. Another important new chapter addresses cultural issues in relapse prevention with diverse clients.

Customer Reviews:

Gobbledy-Gouke at its best.......2006-03-20

While it does cover a range of addictions it is VERY techical and almost impossible for a layman to read. But, it does cover a lot and asses almost all addictions as well as eating disorders gambling and sexual crimes both seriously criminal and mildly criminal.

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Guide to Motorcycling Excellence: Skills, Knowledge, and Strategies for Riding Right (2nd Edition)

Average customer rating:

not for learners
Good basic coverage
Book on riding motorcycle
Excellent Primer on Riding
Great for first time motorcyclists!

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Guide to Motorcycling Excellence: Skills, Knowledge, and Strategies for Riding Right (2nd Edition)
Motorcycle Safety Foundation
Manufacturer: Whitehorse Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Automotive | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1884313477

Book Description

Here is a book for the motorcyclist who wants to do it right! The most complete, authoritative book ever published on safe riding techniques and strategies. More than one million students have completed courses developed by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, and this book is the culmination of what that leading rider training organization has learned about teaching students of all ages and experience. It is the perfect refresher for anyone who has taken an MSF course and will be an eye-opener for those who have not yet discovered them. In a clear, engaging style with detailed diagrams and extensive full-color photographs and illustrations, the book covers rider attitude, proper dress, performance, maintenance and troubleshooting, as well as basic and advanced street skills. Included are tips on how to stop quickly when necessary; avoid traffic hazards; apply evasive maneuvers; countersteer for better control; travel skillfully in a group; identify and fix mechanical problems; ride more smoothly at high and low speeds; maintain momentum in off-highway riding; and much more. A remarkable source of riding wisdom, the first edition has been a best-seller and the definitive reference for the sport. This new second edition features the latest insights from the new, updated MSF curriculum, plus all new photos and graphics that make its valuable lessons easy to follow.

Customer Reviews:

not for learners.......2007-09-21

The book overall is good there are areas on braking and road position that should be questioned by all level of rider who ride on the road and not a race track

Good basic coverage.......2007-09-01

This is a good beginning book for someone starting out motorcycling. Not the best, but a good book and from a good organization.

Book on riding motorcycle.......2007-08-23

I was pleased with the book and thought it had a lot of information that I needed.

Excellent Primer on Riding.......2007-07-03

A casual remark about motorcycles from my wife sparked an ember of interest in both of us. Soon I was looking for more information on the Internet. Many website kept referring newbie riders to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. I figured that their motorcycle primer would be a good place to start.
The book thoroughly covers the basics - parts of a motorcycle, controls, how to ride, and how to stay safe. Lots of illustrations and photographs make visualization easy and the text is written expressly for those of us with absolutely no experience on a bike.
Further chapters try to explain traction dynamics, countersteering, cornering, and street smarts. None of these chapters became too bogged down by the abstract concepts. Again, some nice illustrations did wonders toward explaining traction and center of gravity.
Excellent book! I have my bike permit and can't wait to attend an MSF Safety Class and get my license!

Great for first time motorcyclists!.......2007-06-27

I've debating buying a motorcycle for several years, and now with gas prices so high I finally took the plunge. I bought a used Suzuki GS500F, which I really do enjoy! I've been commuting to work most sunny days, and the gas savings is amazing. Okay, now to this reference book: First, I took my motorcycle license exam and aced it! This books is an amazing primer for anyone who would like to ride a motorcycle. It covers just about everything you could think of for a new owner, and it's the resource that allowed me to pass my motorcycle exam with a perfect score. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's thinking about or has newly purchased their first motorcycle.

Average customer rating:

Superseded by: "Selling is Dead"
Spin Selling is his best; this is very good
SPIN Theory gets you on the table, this book tells you how to get the final business
Excellent
Top 5 all time best sales books

Major Account Sales Strategy
Neil Rackham
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0070511144

Book Description

no description

Customer Reviews:

Superseded by: "Selling is Dead".......2007-07-07

In it's day this would rate six stars out of five, but it's been superseded by "Selling is Dead" authored by Marc Miller and Jason Sinkovitz. In fact, the authors are students of Mr. Rackham and give him ample credit for the ground breaking work of "Major Account Sales Strategy."

Spin Selling is his best; this is very good.......2007-02-04

A good effort. Major accounts are the key to all solid selling; Rackman is always good to read. What company wouldn't want their people to read a selling book? See also Strategic Selling by Miller and Sales Skills by Simply Media. Amazon has both.

SPIN Theory gets you on the table, this book tells you how to get the final business.......2007-01-21

I thought SPIN theory is what you need first, but after reading this book, based on my personal experience, use of SPIN theory earns the opportunity for one to get on the table, but doesn't mean the business is in your hand. There are few more phases that you have to go through and this book talks through that. Just because the customer has realized a need for something, does not make them write the check -- lot of other things come into play such as do I need this now, am I making the correct decision in going with the choice etc. Must read for some one who is trying to do sales.

Forget business sales, my bar for testing any of these theories is not at work, but at home -- I always try and test these theories at home (with my family) and if it works at home, then IT obviously works outside.

Great book to read.

Excellent .......2006-07-19

If the title of the book suggests you something you are looking for, don't hesitate and buy it. It is excellent. It displays a completely actionable model of the selling -or buying- cycle. It describes the phases of the cycle and it gives the strategic principles to follow in each one of them. Mr. Rackham is a true expert in this field.

Top 5 all time best sales books.......2005-10-26

This book is in my top 5 all time best written sales books ever. Neils approach is unique, it stands the test of time. He talks about the buyers cycle as it relates to the sellers process. They need to be in alignment...if not, you will not get the sale. This book is a must read for anyone selling. A good compliment to SPIN and really any value based selling methodology including ROI Selling.

Improve the Value of Your Home up to $100,000: 50 Sure-Fire Techniques and Strategies

Average customer rating:

Improve the Value of Your Home up to $100,000
Common sense building of a home's equity
It might be right for you?

Improve the Value of Your Home up to $100,000: 50 Sure-Fire Techniques and Strategies
Robert Irwin
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0471226696

Book Description

Earn large profits on small investments in your home!

You can profit up to $500,000 tax-free when you sell your home! And some of the most effective ways to raise the value of your home are also the least expensive! Did you know that you can increase your property value simply by parking your car in the garage? It's true! And that's just one of the many proven value-building secrets you'll find in this indispensable homeowner's handbook.

Improve the Value of Your Home Up to $100,000 is packed with money-making ideas that make your home more elegant and pleasant to live in now, and far more valuable whenever you decide to sell-tomorrow or ten years from now. You'll find plenty of tips on how to save money on major improvements, learn which improvements are most likely to add the greatest value, and even discover value-boosters that you can take with you after the sale to add value to your next home! Find out how to increase the value of your home by:

Making buyers fall in love with your home
Adding just the right touches to kitchens, bathrooms, and entryways
Improving your entire neighborhood
Finding simple, inexpensive ways to modernize
Making your backyard "the place to be"

Your home is the biggest, most important investment you will ever make. Now you can make it your most profitable investment with simple techniques that bring higher prices and quicker sales. Find out how in Improve the Value of Your Home Up to $100,000.

Customer Reviews:

Improve the Value of Your Home up to $100,000.......2007-01-19

Bob Irwin is an excellent resource for information on buying, selling or maintaining a home.
His ideas are well tested. His experience shows.
I would recommend any of his books.

Common sense building of a home's equity.......2003-03-21

Offering "50 surefire techniques and strategies" to help improve the value of one's home, Irwin utilizes common sense to help owners decide where it is best to spend their money on their homes. With the recent real estate run-up (especially where I live in Southern California), the best investment we can make is in the very place we live. While I don't plan to sell in the near future, I always want to be sure my home could be ready for a sale at any time, just in case. Irwin gives dollar-sign guides as to how much value an improvement could help increase the price you could eventually ask for your property. Although very little in this book was new to me, I highly recommend it for folks who are not very sure about how to increase the value of their homes. Although there were several suggestions I questioned (especially the value he gave to some improvements and how little he valued other improvements), I believe that he used sound judgment to guide the reader. I plan on utlizing several of the improvement ideas in my own home!

It might be right for you?.......2003-02-20

The idea for such a book IS a good one. The ideas are certainly sound..... I live in a newish(6yrs) 6000+ sq ft house,with a neighborhood association,good school district(etc) and felt that this book would NOT apply to my market.... however it could be useful for someone that lives in an urban or older neighborhood.... where a house might need curb appeal or sprucing up.... the thought of adding value to a sale is always appealing no matter what the size of your 'estate' ... no matter how deep or thin your pockets are! It is always a challenge to make the most of what you have.

Uptime: Strategies for Excellence in Maintenance Management (Step-By-Step Approach to TPM Implementation)

Average customer rating:

Review Uptime: Strategies for Excellence in Maintenance Management
Disappointing read
Tough read for this novice
Uptime is tops for understanding Maintenance Management.
If you need a maintenance big picture, it is the book

Uptime: Strategies for Excellence in Maintenance Management (Step-By-Step Approach to TPM Implementation)
John Dixon Campbell
Manufacturer: Productivity Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1563270536

Book Description

In order to facilitate true change in an organization, its thinking patterns need to be the first thing to change. Your employees need more than empowerment. They need to move from doing their jobs to doing whatever is needed for the good of the entire organization.

Thoughtware is the underlying platform on which every organization operates, the set of assumptions upon which the organization is structured. When you understand and change thoughtware, the tools and techniques of continuous improvement become incredibly powerful.

Sustainable change only happens when both philosophy and techniques are combined in a well-grounded methodology. The new thoughtware introduced here describes how to shift your organization's understanding from the old paradigm based on division of labor, departmentalization, span of control, and point of authority to the powerful new context of knowledge, measurement, time to action and allowment.

New thoughtware will allow knowledge workers to emerge, grow, and truly impact yourorganization. For senior executives, middle managers and frontline workers, this book provides new thought patterns for the knowledge era.

Change:
It is difficult. It can create tension. It is certain.

Thought:
It is powerful. It is free. It can transform your organization.

How-to:

Use this book to improve communication between all players in your organization
Use it before developing your company's vision, so that the strength of the new thoughtware can help you reach your goals.

Use it in conjunction with Building a Shared Vision, before developing your organization's Lean Management System.

Customer Reviews:

Review Uptime: Strategies for Excellence in Maintenance Management.......2006-08-04

Concise and well guided book.
I would recommend to include a CD along with it to help readers and users to built some useful forms and matrix mentioned in this book

Disappointing read.......2005-08-23

The book does not live up to its title - most of its information is theoretical and uses examples not relative to the person who would read this book - i.e. smaller business owners. It is a scholarly overview of the process but for a do-able, step by step approach, I found it highly inferior to John Gross's "Fundamentals of Maintenance" - just because it is written in more difficult language does not make it a better book. Gross pointed out, and I agree, that people talk ABOUT preventative maintenance and the benefits for your company, but no one tells you how to actually set up a department or actual procedures. This is that type of a book - all research and very little actual, personal experience. Bypass this one.

Tough read for this novice.......2005-07-13

This book was chock full of details, but a tough read for me(novice). I probably need to re-skim after I have digested the info. It is probably more suited for more experienced individuals.

Ed S.
[...]

Uptime is tops for understanding Maintenance Management........2000-06-09

A must read for anyone in or about to enter the vast realm of Maintenance Management. John Campbell takes you through the strategies with easy to understand terms and concepts. All the buzz words are there TPM, RCM, CMMS, .. etc.

If you need a maintenance big picture, it is the book.......2000-04-28

This book is a very good introduction in order to know what the maintenance meaning

Maintenance Planning, Scheduling and Coordination

Average customer rating:

Mixed Feelings
Learn How to Manage Maintenance from a Real Pro

Maintenance Planning, Scheduling and Coordination
Don Nyman , and Joel Levitt
Manufacturer: Industrial Press, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0831131438

Book Description

Addresses maintenance management, performance, and control.
Clarifies the scope, responsibilities and contributions of the Planner/Scheduler function and the support of other functions to Job Preparation, Execution, and Completion.
Covers the basics commonly contained within world-class programs for effective execution of maintenance work: planning, parts acquisition, work measurement, coordination and scheduling.
Aids organizations that pursue “Maintenance Excellence”— that state of maintenance management and performance that effectively applies the leading edge policies, procedures, systems, structures, methods, and technologies to maintenance.

Customer Reviews:

Mixed Feelings.......2006-03-22

This book contains many interesting information, guides and principles, but also has too many general talk.

Many concepts and thoughts presented refer to real-life situations and show that authors have comprehensive experience, but at the same time are not developed enough - they very easily end in good-sounding general talk.

Ideas and concepts in this book can trigger some iniciatives in practicioner's office, but everything must be re-worked to have any usefulness in real life.

Learn How to Manage Maintenance from a Real Pro.......2001-12-18

Maintenance is one of the, if not the, most difficult functions to manage and control in industry. Left alone, maintenance tends toward chaos: fighting fires, too busy for PM, repeat failures, with senior management often unappreciative and non-supportive. Nevertheless, without good maintenance, industry can't run. How does one move from chaos to Control?

Mr. Nyman has written the definitive how-to on this subject, and no Plant Engineer or Maintenance Manager should be without this book in his library. If you will not just read, but absorb, the contents of this book for Mr. Nyman's insights, and follow his prescription for planning and scheduling, you will make the move to Control, and make your life, and your job, much easier.

This book gives detailed explanations of the Maintenance Planning function, including both Planner and Supervisor roles, with specifics on the process of how to scope out a job, determine material requirements, coordinate multiple craft groups, estimate time requirements, and then to effectively schedule planned jobs.

The book also includes appropriate metrics for measuring maintenance performance, Planner as well as Supervisor - a topic that is especially important since maintenance is mostly about cost avoidance, which itself is almost impossible to measure.

Customer Reviews:

perfect.......2007-08-11

This is THE BOOK to deploy the correct mentality on maintenance in a production organisation. Having an important library on production management techniques I really wondered how I missed that book till now.
Murat Zahal
Pepsi-Cola Plant Manager,Turkey

Useful book for plant technicians and millwrights.......2007-06-09

Mr. Wireman has been important authority in maintenance field in the world for a long time. This book contains his practical experiences particularly in mechanical aspect. His explanations are clear and understandable. Technicians and millwrights should have this book to learn handy tips for their trade.

Everyday Cheapskate's Greatest Tips: 500 Simple Strategies For Smart Living (Debt-Proof Living)

Average customer rating:

Disappointed
great book!
doesn't live up to the hype
Nothing new
Everyday Cheapskate's Greatest Tips

Everyday Cheapskate's Greatest Tips: 500 Simple Strategies For Smart Living (Debt-Proof Living)
Mary Hunt
Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Accessories:

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0762423358
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Book Description

Mary Hunt is the founder, editor, and publisher of the popular national subscription newsletter "Cheapskate Monthly," which premiered in 1992, author of 13 books, and an expert on "Debt-Proof Living." Here is a collection of tips on saving money and time in the areas of home, auto, travel, clothing, cooking, shopping, finance, kitchen, gifts, special occasions, kids, yard and garden, laundry, health, organizing and more. It contains sound advice for getting out of debt, managing money, curbing spending, finding creative solutions, and "bringing dignity to the art of living below your means."

Customer Reviews:

Disappointed.......2007-01-04

This book has lots of tips, however, it is a disappointment. I have been practicing many of these tips for a long time, so there's not much that is new. Some tips are repeated, some are common sense and others are not practical. I bought this book used and feel I still spent too much, definitely not worth $12.95.

great book!.......2006-12-17

I love all of Mary Hunt's stuff. This book is nice to have as a reference around the house for a bunch of things you have to deal with on an everday basis. Get it, you'll like it. I also recommend any of her other books. I'm glad she brings God into her everyday life and her financial advice, also.

doesn't live up to the hype.......2006-11-13

I was hoping for so much more. There are a few good tips in here, but not enough. I was disappointed.

Nothing new.......2005-10-16

There really aren't any earth shattering ideas. Most are common sense or you can find them elsewhere. Also, tips seem to be repeated and right next to each other. There will be two ways to clean glass and they're only slightly different. It'd be nice to have it consolidated and an index

Everyday Cheapskate's Greatest Tips.......2005-08-24

I love how pratical this book is. It's a fast read with a lot of useful tips that I can use right now. (Lord knows I need help).

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