Book Description
Beginning with the million-copy bestsellers First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham jump-started the strengths movement that is now sweeping the work world, from business to government to education. Now that the movement is in full swing, Buckingham's new book answers the ultimate question: How can you actually apply your strengths for maximum success at work?
Research data show that most people do not come close to making full use of their assets at work -- in fact, only 17 percent of the workforce believe they use all of their strengths on the job. Go Put Your Strengths to Work aims to change that through a six-step, six-week experience that will reveal the hidden dimensions of your strengths. Buckingham shows you how to seize control of your assets and rewrite your job description under the nose of your boss. You will learn:
• Why your strengths aren't "what you are good at" and your weaknesses aren't "what you are bad at."
• How to use the four telltale signs to identify your strengths.
• The simple steps you can take each week to push your time at work toward those activities that strengthen you and away from those that don't.
• How to talk to your boss and your colleagues about your strengths without sounding like you're bragging and about your weaknesses without sounding like you're whining.
• The fifteen-minute weekly ritual that will keep you on your strengths path your entire career.
With structured exercises that will become part of your regular workweek and proven tactics from people who have successfully applied the book's lessons, Go Put Your Strengths to Work will arm you with a radically different approach to your work life. As part of the book's program you'll take an online Strengths Engagement Track, a focused and powerful gauge that has proven to be the best way to measure the level of engagement of your strengths or your team's strengths. You can also download the first two segments of the renowned companion film series Trombone Player Wanted.
Go Put Your Strengths to Work will open up exciting uncharted territory for you and your organization. Join the strengths movement and thrive.
Customer Reviews:
Worth the read.......2007-10-10
I read this over a brief vacation during the summer. Ive found it has enhanced my abilities dealing with people both at work and my personal life. I plan on reading it again when my busy work schedule permits it.
How to take charge of your work.......2007-10-03
Marcus Buckingham is passionate about helping you identify your unique strengths and unleash their power. As you read and work your way through the program in this book, you will become convinced that growing through your strengths is the ticket to your future happiness, effectiveness and success. He refutes the approach of improvement by fixing mistakes as a dead end that cannot help you discover how you can be exceptional. The book constantly refers you to its associated Web site for materials that will help you work through the exercises. Buckingham wants you to act rather than just read a theoretical tract. Nothing presented in this book will help you without action and implementation. However, if you take up the challenge, you will become empowered as you take charge of your work through your strengths. We recommend this book because it contains just a few simple ideas that could change your life.
Follow-up book, much overlap with earlier books.......2007-09-30
Marcus Buckingham discusses six steps to identifying and putting your strengths to work:
1. Convince yourself that exercising your strengths is more fun and productive that spending your time shoring up your weaknesses.
2. Identify specific activities that exercise your strengths. For example, mine include
a. Determine true value
b. Learn and apply new and useful skills, knowledge
c. Creative problem solving
3. Build your job towards your strengths.
4. Stop / reduce time spent shoring up your weaknesses
5. Build a strong team by enabling each member to exercise their strengths towards delivering business value
6. Make a habit of ensuring that each person's activities around you are aligned with their strengths (including yourself :-)
The book could have been much shorter - the concept was repeated multiple times. More specifics on step 3 would also have been more useful.
Excellent book and great team activity!.......2007-09-13
I manage a team of Sales Professionals and found this book to be a great tool to help them stay focused on the positive aspects of their job. I really like the message and appreciate the fact that it does not immediately say that if you are not happy right now, you need a new job. It points them back to their current position and helps them be more productive and utilize their strengths where they are at.
While he also wants to sell you other stuff, the book is a good way to build your own positive deviance.......2007-09-13
If you really look at what is holding you back, from really using your best qualities and talents, you will almost surely find that most of it are the images and thoughts you hold between your ears. You are so sure about what could go wrong, or about what you HAVE to do, or about what is just not possible, that you just don't even try to step out.
Well, to say it simply, stop it! This book provides you with a six step process to help you build on your strengths rather than chasing and fixing mistakes. It is based on the ideas you will find in the business philosophies of Appreciative Inquiry and Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS). The core idea in these movements is that you can't build on your strengths if all you see are your weaknesses. If you want to be a master of something, you have to study those who do it well, not focus on the mistakes of those who aren't very skilled. The term they often use is "positive deviance". That is, that area of performance that deviates ABOVE the norm. The goal is to learn how to create more positive deviance.
In the first step, Buckingham focuses you on giving up belief in three myths: 1) As you grow your personality changes. 2) You will grow in your areas of greatest weakness. 3) A good team member does whatever it takes to help the team. He says that the truths are: 1) As you grow you become more of who you already are. 2) You will grow in your areas of greatest strength. 3) A good team member deliberately volunteers his strengths to the team most of the time.
As he discusses each of these he asks you to examine what you are getting out of believing in these myths. What would it cost you to stop believing in it? Then think carefully about the benefits you would gain by believing the truth. If you sincerely do this, you will likely be shocked and then energized.
The purpose of this book is to help you take charge of your life and especially your work life. You will make it more rewarding, says the author, by centering your work on your strengths rather than just doing whatever comes to you as an assignment. It is a six step process. The first, as I noted above, is to bust the myths. Step 2 is to get clear about your strengths. Three is to free your strengths. Four helps you see and stop your weaknesses (not focus on fixing them). Five coaches you on how to speak up and get your boss supporting your strengths. Six is about keeping the process alive by building strong habits.
Now, Marcus Buckingham is a big-time, high-priced consultant. The book sends you to his website to use some free materials there (but also offers you others to purchase). Underneath this is the desire to sell your company consulting and seminar services with associated materials. It is interesting stuff, but the sheer "salesiness" of it detracts from it a bit for me.
Reviewed by Craig Matteson
Book Description
A "textbook with passion", Hardwiring Excellence offers a road map and practical how-to guide for creating and sustaining a culture of service and operational excellence. In this book, author Quint Studer, CEO of Studer Group, draws on his personal experience as a former hospital executive who led two organizations to the top 1% in patient satisfaction and his experience coaching hundreds of healthcare organizations since.
Studer, a nationally acclaimed educator, coach, and thought leader in healthcare today, is a master storyteller, mixing "chicken soup style" stories with personal insight, simple tools, and in-depth recommendations on how good organizations can become great ones.
Based on Studer Group's Nine Principles SM, Quint Studer shows how to retain more employees; ensure better customer service; build strong leadership, align organizational values, goals, and results; increase communication; reward and recognize individual success while also requiring accountability; and move operational performance for better financials, market share, and growth.
At the core of the journey, he says, is a sense of purpose, worthwhile work and making a difference. When organizations learn how to harness this passion in their employees, they create a success spiral with ever increasing momentum.
In fact, Richard L. Clarke, FHFMA, President and CEO of Healthcare Financial Management Association says, "Quint Studer's Nine Principles of service and operational excellence provide the missing link between people power and strong financials. It's about courageous leadership."
Customer Reviews:
A Do-It-Yourself Manual to Leadership.......2007-09-19
Leadership and managment roled into one do-it-yourself manual. There are many books out there about management and leadership theory. Theory is important because creates the mindset that is the foundation for success. We are often then put to task creating our own application. Or we could read and implement the systems laid out in Hardwiring Excellence, the singule best book on HOW TO manage and lead to greatness. Could I be any more clear?
While Quint Studer focuses on what he know best, big healthcare, this book can and is being applied to every industry. (I have applied its systems to hospitality, customer service, and production.) The fact that Quint focused on what he does best is a great example of leadership, and an example of how Quint practices what he preaches.
I have the priviliege of living the same city as Quint Studer and interacting with his organization on a regular basis. I can attest that they practice everything they preach and have excelled wilding while doing it.
in anticipation.......2007-09-13
I just re-read this book in anticipation of Quint's new book, Results that Last (I think it's due out in October). The practical recommendations for healthcare leaders found in this book just make sense for leaders in any industry. I am really looking forward to seeing how he builds on these ideas in a book that is aimed at business in general.
Hardwiring Excellence.......2006-11-10
For health care executives who want to see positive, lasting changes in their organizations, a must read. This is a very thorough yet simple guide with explicit instructions and tools for how to get the right people in the right seat and continually doing the right thing for the right reasons. I was pleasantly surprised that the author was able to take such a complex organizational structure and develop simple procedures for achieving excellence. Want safety and quality in healthcare, adopt the principles of this book and you can achieve success. Reads like a novel, well worth the investment in money and time. Our entire management team has read this book and is adopting the principles to ensure all are doing worthwhile work and making a difference each day in someone's life.
Hardwiring Excellence: Purpose, Worthwhile Work, Making a Difference.......2006-11-10
Easy to read and very helpful information for those in the professional realm.
Realistic and Practical.......2006-08-13
This is one of the best "how to" books on management I have read in years. It captures the culture of hospitals (and health care facilities in general) very accurately and the realism lends credibility to the book. He gives authentic scenarios and tells how he and his managers dealt with them. Also, he is realistic in that he includes some tough remedies such as helping someone find opportunities outside the organization when she absolutely poisoned her departmental relationships and refused to change. If you are wanting to change the culture in your organization this book will certainly help you and give you a different perspective. And, although it will be most helpful to health care managers, it will also be applicable to managers in any setting that want to change their culture and become a better, more productive, and more satisfying place to work.
Book Description
Meet Fred.
In his powerful new book THE FRED FACTOR, motivational speaker Mark Sanborn recounts the true story of Fred, the mail carrier who passionately loves his job and who genuinely cares about the people he serves. Because of that, he is constantly going the extra mile handling the mail – and sometimes watching over the houses – of the people on his route, treating everyone he meets as a friend. Where others might see delivering mail as monotonous drudgery, Fred sees an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those he serves.
We’ve all encountered people like Fred in our lives. In THE FRED FACTOR, Mark Sanborn illuminates the simple steps each of us can take to transform our own lives from the ordinary – into the extraordinary. Sanborn, through stories about Fred and others like him, reveals the four basic principles that will help us bring fresh energy and creativity to our life and work: how to make a real difference everyday, how to become more successful by building strong relationships, how to create real value for others without spending a penny, and how to constantly reinvent yourself.
By following these principles, and by learning from and teaching other “Freds,” you, too, can excel in your career and make your life extraodinary. As Mark Sanborn makes clear, each of us has the potential be a Fred.THE FRED FACTOR shows you how.
Customer Reviews:
The short and sweet of customer service.......2007-10-19
This is a quick read and it hits right at the key elements of providing exceptional customer service. Grab a copy and read it on your next plane ride. You'll hit the ground running with a few simple changes in your perspective that will help you to have move 'Fred-like' moments. As a training support tool, you'll find additional resources to use at www.fredfactor.com.
Let's be more like Fred.......2007-09-14
The Fred Factor
The Fred Factor is a rather small book that gives the details on how someone can, by its own motivation, get the extraordinary out of something rather common. The book gives an explanation of how the behaviour of someone can change when and if they commit to it. Some of the topics in the book are rather obious, but re-reading them every once and a while makes one reflect again on how we sometimes can go the extra mile and make a huge different.
We all have values. This book is about making sure that we don't forget about these values when we are doing our job. Let's all care and have a little Fred in us..
This book is worth the reading.
Koen
(review first posted on my blog on http://koen.blanquart.be/blog/item/99/ )
Fred Factor.......2007-09-10
Buying new from Amazon is almost always the best way to go. As a school secretary having them delivered to our door is always a plus. You are quick and accurate. As a college student I like to buy used and you take your chances doing this. BUT if you review who you are buying from FIRST you should have no problems. I have greatly appreciated the deals that I have gotten thru Amazon.
Choosing to Make a Difference is Leadership.......2007-08-28
Every day, in every individual interaction, we have a choice; a choice to make the interaction transactional or relational. That choice will make all the difference in the world to the quality of our lives.
In "The Fred Factor", motivational speaker Mark Sanborn tells the very real story of his postal delivery person, Fred - and how he gave definition to his job as a `service provider' by making mail delivery a relational interaction. Sanborn says that Fred exemplified 4 principles: Everyone Makes a Difference; Success is Built on Relationships; You Must Continually Create Value for Others and It Doesn't Have to Cost a Penny; You Can Reinvent Yourself Regularly. All very real and very useful principles, but perhaps the most valuable principle in this story and the other examples in the book is the principle of choice: Everyone has the choice to be a Leader, by making a difference in the lives of others. This book is highly recommended as a gift for those who say, "Why bother?"
Learn to be a Fred.......2007-08-23
This is a pass it forward book. I am a Fred and I have helped others find the Fred in them. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it for everyone who is tired of seeing grumps in the office or in their home and wants to make a change. One person can make a difference if that peoson is a Fred.
Book Description
The nation's premier communications expert shares his wisdom on how the words we choose can change the course of business, of politics, and of life in this countryIn Words That Work, Luntz offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the tactical use of words and phrases affects what we buy, who we vote for, and even what we believe in. With chapters like "The Ten Rules of Successful Communication" and "The 21 Words and Phrases for the 21st Century," he examines how choosing the right words is essential.Nobody is in a better position to explain than Frank Luntz: He has used his knowledge of words to help more than two dozen Fortune 500 companies grow. He'll tell us why Rupert Murdoch's six-billion-dollar decision to buy DirectTV was smart because satellite was more cutting edge than "digital cable," and why pharmaceutical companies transitioned their message from "treatment" to "prevention" and "wellness."If you ever wanted to learn how to talk your way out of a traffic ticket or talk your way into a raise, this book's for you.
Customer Reviews:
Books That Waste Time.......2007-10-23
Having heard Luntz interviewed on Talk Radio several times, I thought this might be just the book to give me insight into the word smithing that goes on behind the scenes in politics.
Unfortunately, Luntz' writing style is bland, droll, and boring. So much so, that the reader's mind wanders almost immediately.
Perhaps there was an unimaginable recovery after the first forty or so pages, but I find it highly unlikely.
In summation, when I finish a book I deliberately leave it where someone else can find and hopefully enjoy it. With Luntz' book, I threw it in the garbage.
Great Book.......2007-10-07
Frank Luntz does a great job of driving across that it's not what you say, it's what people hear. Although the book had a lot of political references, the lessons to effective language can be applied to any walk of life.
Luntz's "1984".......2007-09-30
If you want to know how you are being manipulated, Frank Luntz will tell you how he does it in his candid book.
Clear. Concise. Comprehensive........2007-09-28
Dr. Luntz illustrates his 10 Rules of Effective Language in the subtitle of his book Words that Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear. His 10-rule, 10-word system proves the power of language.
Disturbingly accurate examples show the impact and importance of language. What gets wired in us and why? What moves us emotionally? What makes us spend? What connects us? Words are ripples.
Lutz reveals how we get so caught up in words that we fail to communicate. Consider leaders who speak in alphabet soup and spoil our language and understanding.
Like fine embroidery, words follow design; and design is seen differently by everyone with eyes.
Using case studies as examples, Luntz makes points about how passage of time affects words, how disordered words can cause dissension and how new words shade new meanings.
Most of all, he states, what we say is who we are. He's right. Think about it.
Rebecca Jacoby, copywriter
www.afewchosenwords.com
www.beckyjacoby.com
Brevity as an Effective Communication Skill (would that it were!).......2007-09-10
Mr. Luntz sites brevity as an effective communication skill, yet he goes on and on and on with his examples and repeats himself throughout the book.
He uses the book as a vehicle to promote his Republican platforms, which is boring and annoying.
He is a little impressed with himself and is not afraid to share that with the reader. An especially distasteful example of this is his self-serving introduction about performing for Democrats and celebrities at Ariana Huffington's home.
He tries to imitate Steven Levitt's style of writing but he's just not that interesting or cool.
Amazon.com
Change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. The message of Who Moved My Cheese? is that all can come to see it as a blessing, if they understand the nature of cheese and the role it plays in their lives. Who Moved My Cheese? is a parable that takes place in a maze. Four beings live in that maze: Sniff and Scurry are mice--nonanalytical and nonjudgmental, they just want cheese and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Hem and Haw are "littlepeople," mouse-size humans who have an entirely different relationship with cheese. It's not just sustenance to them; it's their self-image. Their lives and belief systems are built around the cheese they've found. Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods--our jobs, our career paths, the industries we work in--although it can stand for anything, from health to relationships. The point of the story is that we have to be alert to changes in the cheese, and be prepared to go running off in search of new sources of cheese when the cheese we have runs out.
Dr. Johnson, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and many other books, presents this parable to business, church groups, schools, military organizations--anyplace where you find people who may fear or resist change. And although more analytical and skeptical readers may find the tale a little too simplistic, its beauty is that it sums up all natural history in just 94 pages: Things change. They always have changed and always will change. And while there's no single way to deal with change, the consequence of pretending change won't happen is always the same: The cheese runs out. --Lou Schuler
Book Description
The Change Survival Kit is an A-Mazing Way to Deal with Changes in Your Work and in Your Life. It reminds you to use what you discovered in the "Cheese" story - and enjoy it!
The kit contains:
A copy of the #1 Hardcover Book
12 Animated Reminders
24 Screen Saver Prompts
12 Desktop Wallpapers
Photo-Top Mouse pad
FREE! Multi-Level Maze Game
Customer Reviews:
Simplified change.......2007-10-15
Got an hour to fill? That's how long it'll take to read. As many have stated, company heads and consultant groups hand this book out to employees when there are about to be changes in the company. Basically, this is a very simplified parable on four different takes on how to deal with change. Of course at the end you are supposed to decide which of the characters you currently are. Sniff - you actively move about seeking change. Scurry - you move about and quickly adapt to the change to make things happen. And then there's Hem and Haw. Both resist change and stick to the old expecting it to return to the promised treasures. Eventually Haw decides that staying in one place with no rewards is not progressing so opts to go seek change on his struggling legs. The Hem remains obstinant and refuses to change and his fate fades away. Of course no one wants to claim they are Hem but most people are. One of my favorite bits in the book is the statement along the lines of "If you can't change, you may become extinct."
Overall this is a very simple take on how people can adapt to change in their personal and professional lives. Seems quite similar on how to change your personal attitude and outlook that is presented in Benjamin Hoff's "Tao of Pooh". If you're in a company that is about to use outside consulting, expect to get 'homework' to read this book.
Great book.......2007-10-15
This is a fantastic book about reassessing your life and career. I've given it to friends after reading it myself.
It's an OK book.......2007-10-04
Just like most of the people, I got this book from my employer (I hope it's not a sign of restructuring :)).
I'm afraid that I do a too good job of reviewing the book one would no longer need to buy it anymore. In essence, the whole book can be summarized in about 10 statements. In all fairness though, these are insightful and worth meditating on statements.
So, like I said... An OK book.
Thought Provoking.......2007-10-03
The book is an easy and quick read but the story will put thoughts in your head that you will think about for years if not a lifetime. Life brings us all challenges so this book is for all of us... That is, unless your life is perfect.
Genuinely Insulting..........2007-09-29
Genuinely insulting to the independent thinker. Yeah I know, it's been said countless times but I felt the need to reinforce that notion. If you're someone that's more comfortable being a follower and having your life and work environment structured for you then you're more likely to enjoy this book and find something meaningful in it. If you're someone that uses logic and reason to guide your decisions then don't waste your time or money on this rehashed brainwashing manual. This is a book written for unquestioning, mindless followers, not a book for leaders. But a tool that leaders would use to try and control their subordinates.
Amazon.com
Susan Scott believes that interpersonal difficulties--at work and at home--are a direct result of our inability to communicate well. Fierce Conversations is based on principles from her international consulting practice, in which she teaches executives how to conduct such exchanges more dynamically and ultimately more effectively, thereby improving the relationships they enjoy with their various dialogue partners "one conversation at a time." Using identifiable anecdotes from her experience to inspire and inform, along with a series of practical exercises designed to impart the requisite skills, Scott walks readers through the individual steps she's developed to build better associations through more robust and honest discourses. Addressing all aspects of the process, from several methods for listening more attentively to specific ways she's fashioned to confront and resolve issues "that stand between you and success," Scott offers the type of concrete advice and confidence-building counsel that should help even the most reticent improve their communication skills dramatically. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
The Wall Street Journal bestseller, now with new material.
The master teacher of positive change through powerful communication, Susan Scott wants her readers to succeed. To do that, she explains, one must transform everyday conversations employing effective ways to get the message across. In this guide, which includes exercises and tools to take you step by step through the Seven Principles of Fierce Conversations, Scott teaches readers how to:
€ Overcome barriers to meaningful communication
€ Expand and enrich conversations with colleagues, friends, and family
€ Increase clarity and improve understanding
€ Handle strong emotions-on both sides of the table
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding.......2007-08-24
Extremely useful in both personal and professional life. I've attended many classes & seminars in the last 30 years but still learned a host of valuable info. Highly recommended.
Very Engaging .......2007-08-14
I settled in for an average book with and interesting title about communication. What I recieved was an invitation to look in my life and my business for fierce conversations. As a trainer and a business coach communication is my my tool.Fierce Conversations gave me tools that work,ways to assess my progress and stories that assist me in seeing what would be possible in my business and in my life if I had authentic, direct conversations with people.If you have to pick one communication book this year, it's this one!
An Insightful and Very Informative Approach to Communicating.......2007-08-08
Fierce Conversations provides an opportunity for the reader to gain information while participating in a self-discovery process. It takes the idea of communicating thoughts and ideas to a new level and challenges us to think before speaking by considering the ramifications of what others will hear. We are reminded that any "single conversation can change the trajectory of a business, a career, a marriage or a life." This is an awesome statement and the author proved her point repeatedly through examples.
I am determined to address my most challenging "Mineral Rights conversation (you'll have to read the book to know what I mean) in the very near future. I will also recommend my writers' group members review this book as an example of quality writing that captures the audience, propels them to action, and encourages completion of task.
Transformational .......2007-05-19
Susan Scott has a way of getting to the heart of the communciations problem. People say what they think you want to hear, and they are rarely authentic because they are afraid to be. They are even afraid to be honest with themselves. An excellent read.
Connect Better.......2007-05-12
It is rare that I read a book cover to cover. I read lots of books; however, I find most books contain little or nothing new. Susan's book is different.
In my line of work, I am only as successful as my ability to connect with others. Having an arsenal of powerful questions and a strong framework for presenting are key to my success. Susan's book contains the best tools I have found to connect deeply with others.
Amazon.com
Sometime during the last 30 years, the service economy emerged as the dominant engine of economic activity. At first, critics who were uncomfortable with the intangible nature of services bemoaned the decline of the goods-based economy, which, thanks to many factors, had increasingly become commoditized. Successful companies, such as Nordstrom, Starbucks, Saturn, and IBM, discovered that the best way to differentiate one product from another--clothes, food, cars, computers--was to add service.
But, according to Joseph Pine and James Gilmore, the bar of economic offerings is being raised again. In The Experience Economy, the authors argue that the service economy is about to be superseded with something that critics will find even more ephemeral (and controversial) than services ever were: experiences. In part because of technology and the increasing expectations of consumers, services today are starting to look like commodities. The authors write that "Those businesses that relegate themselves to the diminishing world of goods and services will be rendered irrelevant. To avoid this fate, you must learn to stage a rich, compelling experience."
Many will find the idea of staging experiences as a requirement for business survival far-fetched. However, the authors make a compelling case, and consider successful companies that are already packaging their offerings as experiences, from Disney to AOL. Far-reaching and thought-provoking, The Experience Economy is for marketing professionals and anyone looking to gain a fresh perspective on what business landscape might look like in the years to come. Recommended. --Harry C. Edwards
Book Description
You are what you charge for. And if you're competing solely on the basis of price, then you've been commoditized, offering little or no true differentiation. What would your customers really value? Better yet, for what would they pay a premium? Experiences. The curtain is about to rise, say Pine & Gilmore, on the Experience Economy, a new economic era in which every business is a stage, and companies must design memorable events for which they charge admission. With
The Experience Economy, Pine & Gilmore explore how successful companies-using goods as props and services as the stage-create experiences that engage customers in an inherently personal way. Why does a cup of coffee cost more at a trendy cafe than it does at the corner diner or when brewed at home? It's the value that the experience holds for the individual that determines the worth of the offering and the work of the business. From online communities to airport parking, the authors draw from a rich and varied mix of examples that showcase businesses in the midst of creating engaging experiences for both consumers and corporate customers.
The Experience Economy marks the debut of an insightful, highly original, and yet eminently practical approach for companies to script and stage compelling experiences. In doing so, all workers become actors, intentionally creating specific effects for their customers. And it's the experiences they stage that create memorable-and lasting-impressions that ultimately create transformations within individuals. Make no mistake, say Pine & Gilmore: goods and services are no longer enough. Experiences are the foundation for future economic growth, and
The Experience Economy is the playbook from which managers can begin to direct new performances.
Download Description
Future economic growth lies in the value of experiences and transformations--good and services are no longer enough. We are on the threshold, say authors Pine and Gilmore, of the Experience Economy, a new economic era in which all businesses must orchestrate memorable events for their customers. The Experience Economy offers a creative, highly original, and yet eminently practical strategy for companies to script and stage the experiences that will transform the value of what they produce. From America Online to Walt Disney, the authors draw from a rich and varied mix of examples that showcase businesses in the midst of creating personal experiences for both consumers and businesses. The authors urge managers to look beyond traditional pricing factors like time and cost, and consider charging for the value of the transformation that an experience offers. Goods and services, say Pine and Gilmore, are no longer enough. Experiences and transformations are the basis for future economic growth, and The Experience Economy is the script from which managers can begin to direct their own transformations.
Customer Reviews:
Secret behind business success.......2007-10-24
A Harvard educated friend of mine told me about this book which created some interest, until I found out the most successful companies in the country were using this technique to rapidly expand their profitability. Then I couldn't wait to order it and find out for myself how these concepts applied to small business.
I wasn't disappointed and have recommended the book for years because even though it's a radical concept, it works. If you have ever wondered if price is the most important element in finding business success, this book will convince you otherwise. It's not about money- it's about the customers experience and when you know how to master this technique you will win customers for life along with word of mouth marketing that will be invaluable for your long term business success.
excellent service.......2007-09-09
This was fast and accurate, and the quality was just what was advertised. Thank you!
too much 'flowers' in conveying the message.......2007-06-20
When I bought this book, I hoped Mr Pine will more describe about the ultimate power of new era, the experience economy, and how that change should be adapted quickly for many variety industries settings to get survive. Meaning, I expect to find a practical guidance to overcome the battle.
I found many ideas poured into this book mostly already existed in some other books (not written by Joseph Pine, for sure), for instance putting the experience as value added in consumer goods to increase consumers' emotional benefits. In doing so, the manufacturer can have premium price to outdo the competition. I've heard of it as many as the idea of how to serve consumers in a new different way by using internet as interactive tool to preserve their satisfactions and to use it as new channel of distribution. I really hope he came up with new striking and distinctive ideas, not those hackneyed ones.
I somewhat think this book a little bit hard to understand. Mr Pine used and picked up some unusual vocabularies to convey his message. I always fall asleep everytime reading it. Surprising that it takes me a week to consume 2-3 pages whilst I spend a week to finish Harry Potter - Goblet of Fire in English version.
However, I thank to Joseph for inspiring me some new vocabs.
Top Notch.......2007-06-01
Rarely do we get a truly new model to work with. This book provides a genuine breakthrough in how our life experience can be designed.
Used for Designers.......2007-03-30
I am a college instructor in Web and Interactive design and development. I have used this book and the audio version as the cornerstone of my opening lectures each semester. All the concepts and tenents put forward apply to user Interface design that I use this book as part of my UX-User Experience driven courses. Understanding how we got here and having an idea of where we are going allows tommorrow's designers to create "experiences" today.
This should be on every design students required reading list....
Average customer rating:
- perfectly organized for bedtime
- Great content, awful format
- Interesting Read
- As Good as Everyone is Saying...Just Buy It!
- Better than the 7 Harry Potter books together
|
Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days
Jessica Livingston
Manufacturer: Apress
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Book Description
For would-be entrepreneurs, innovation managers or just anyone fascinated by the special chemistry and drive that created some of the best technology companies in the world, this book offers both wisdom and engaging insights—straight from the source.
— Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine, and author of The Long Tail
"All the best things that I did at Apple came from (a) not having money and (b) not having done it before, ever." —Steve Wozniak, Apple
Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days is a collection of interviews with founders of famous technology companies about what happened in the very earliest days. These people are celebrities now. What was it like when they were just a couple friends with an idea? Founders like Steve Wozniak (Apple), Caterina Fake (Flickr), Mitch Kapor (Lotus), Max Levchin (PayPal), and Sabeer Bhatia (Hotmail) tell you in their own words about their surprising and often very funny discoveries as they learned how to build a company.
Where did they get the ideas that made them rich? How did they convince investors to back them? What went wrong, and how did they recover?
Nearly all technical people have thought of one day starting or working for a startup. For them, this book is the closest you can come to being a fly on the wall at a successful startup, to learn how it's done.
But ultimately these interviews are required reading for anyone who wants to understand business, because startups are business reduced to its essence. The reason their founders become rich is that startups do what businessesdo—create value—more intensively than almost any other part of the economy. How? What are the secrets that make successful startups so insanely productive? Read this book, and let the founders themselves tell you.
Customer Reviews:
perfectly organized for bedtime.......2007-10-20
i open it up before bed, and one section is just enough to read by the time I am tired enough to sleep. I am not saying this book puts me to sleep - it's really good, but I like that you can read it in little chunks.
Great content, awful format.......2007-09-20
There's plenty of great information here, as all the other reviews said. But this interview format is really excruciating to read. Casual speech is very hard to transcribe in such a way that it becomes readable. This is why journalists and other writers are trained in how to reduce a long, tangential speech into something meaningful and clear. These interviews tend to run on and on and on, with the subjects jumping around, sometimes contradicting themselves, or misspeaking; all the stuff we do when talking, but which doesn't really matter in conversation, where other cues like body language make up for it. It really takes a lot of work to read this stuff, you're constantly having to hear the subject "out loud" in your head for it to make sense.
This book's easily twice as long as it could be if these interviews were edited down to a few really useful pages each. Or better: rewritten as short essays.
Interesting Read.......2007-09-19
Founders at Work is a fairly interesting read but lacks some depth. I'm the founder of a startup at the moment and am always keen to learn more about other founder's stories. The structure of this book is more like an interview with the interviewer rarely delving into the deeper human emotions, problems, issues, feelings etc of the founders. This really gives a basic "guided story" approach about each of the founders without any "pearls of wisdom" or "lessons learned".
Good for a single read or the average person who has an interest in technology startups from a founder's perspective, not worth being made into a hardcover.
As Good as Everyone is Saying...Just Buy It!.......2007-09-16
Loved this book. The interviewer asked a similar set of questions for all participants yet improvised when needed to follow an interesting train of thought to it's natural conclusion. All of the participants were refreshingly candid. Almost as if they were unloading on a therapist. Each interview is just long enough to feel complete but not so long as to feel redundant. On another note, I'm pretty anal when it comes to the physical presentation of a book and this one passes all my criteria: Decent margins, pleasant type face, good line space and font sizes, flexible spine stays open easily without trying to close itself, and easy to browse logical organization. If you're an entrepreneur working on tech start up this is one of the few "must read" books.
Better than the 7 Harry Potter books together.......2007-08-12
Better than the 7 Harry Potter books together (wich is a bad comparison as I didn't like them that much). The book is a collection of interviews with founders of famous technology companies about what happened in the very earliest days and later. Within each interviews, you'll catch dozen of interesting infos. Believe me , when you start it, you'll finish it within the week.
Average customer rating:
- Great Book
- A go-to book on coaching.
- What everyone needs to know
- the best coaching book
- Your Gate way to Coaching profession
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Co-Active Coaching, 2nd Edition: New Skills for Coaching People Toward Success in Work and, Life
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Binding: Paperback
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Book Description
A newly revised edition of the book that helped define the coaching profession, Co-Active Coaching captures the essence of what it takes to design and maintain successful, collaborative, and empowering coaching relationships. The authors describe in detail their flexible and adaptive model-placing the client's agenda at the heart of the coaching partnership, define the skills required for success, provide dozens of sample coaching conversations, and a power-packed Coach's Toolkit of over 35 exercises, questionnaires, checklists, and forms to make these proven principles and techniques eminently practical and immediately actionable.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-09-16
This was a gift for my boss and he LOVED it! It arrived very soon after ordering. Thanks for everything.
A go-to book on coaching........2007-08-28
This is one of the few go-to books for coaches, or those who want to become coaches. Very, very helpful. Lots of ideas, tips, etc. The CD that comes with the book is worth the price alone!
Buy this book and read it! One of my favs on the topic of coaching!
What everyone needs to know.......2007-08-05
This book opened great ways to honor myself and others. It is well written and expanded my idea about coaching.
the best coaching book.......2007-06-29
This book is the best and most comprehensive coaching book I have on my shelfs.
Co-active coaching is what my profession is about and I've found so many answers to my questions about how-to and what-is-next .
Captures the wisdom of co-active coaching and it's a must read if you want to tap into the real power of coaching.
Your Gate way to Coaching profession.......2007-05-28
It's an amazing book that groups theories and practice for a profession that needs alot of practice. It's a necessity for all new professionals in the field.
Book Description
Another Spencer Johnson #1 Bestseller
#1 New York Times Business
#1 Wall Street Journal
#1 BusinessWeek
From the Author of Who Moved My Cheese?
Dr. Spencer Johnson’s stories of timeless, simple truths have changed the work and lives of millions of readers around the world. Now comes an insightful new tale of inspiration and practical guidance for these turbulent times.
Good Things Happen To Those Who Open The Present
The Gift That Makes Your Work And Life Better Each Day!
For over two decades, Spencer Johnson has been inspiring and entertaining millions with his simple yet insightful stories of work and life that speak directly to the heart and soul. The Present is an engaging story of a young man’s journey to adulthood, and his search for The Present, a mysterious and elusive gift he first hears about from a great old man. This Present, according to the old man, is “the best present a person can receive.”
Later, when the young boy becomes a young man, disillusioned with his work and his life, he returns to ask the old man, once again, to help him find The Present. The old man responds, “Only you have the power to find The Present for yourself.” So the young man embarks on a tireless search for this magical gift that holds the secret to his personal happiness and business success.It is only after the young man has searched high and low and given up his relentless pursuit that he relaxes and discovers The Present—and all of the promises it offers.
The Present will help you focus on what will make you happier and more successful in your work and in your personal life, today! Like the young man, you may find that it is the best gift you can give yourself.
www.ThePresent.com
Customer Reviews:
Christians Beware of Hollow Philosophy.......2007-05-18
The Present by Spencer Johnson is a self-proclaimed life changing book for those who would incorporate its principles. For those who have not read it, the book is all about living in the present, and focusing on the positive aspects of every moment, never focusing on the negative. It presents these teachings by telling a story (typical of existential philosophy). The story is about an old man (read: guru) who shares the secret of meaningful living throughout the life of a man seeking answers. The old man never seems worried; he is always relaxed and appears to be at peace with life and the world. Through a series of cryptic messages, the old man teaches the other man that he can find meaning in the "present," which essentially consists of an existential experience that each person defines for themselves. By focusing on the good in the moment, we can find peace, meaning, and success.
This book ascribes to a combination of existential philosophy and Zen Budhism, blurring the line of truth. Truth is not seen as an objective thing, but an existential experience. Experience, not propositional truth, is the key to unlocking the meaning of life. Salvation comes through the teachings of a human guru leading to spiritual enlightenment, which man can achieve on his own. By definition, this is a godless philosophy.
The Present ignores the real problem of man: his depravity. I can be "in the moment," or practicing carpe diem while engaging in ungodly behavior. Of course, this is all up for interpretation. The existentialist is not interested in my definition of right and wrong, but only in his subjective experience. There is no authority to which one can appeal. So what if my carpe diem approach hurts others? It is up to the practicioner to decide if that is against his value system, which is determined by a kierkegaardian leap of faith, rather than any transcendent moral standard.
There is truth in most errors, though. That is were the deception lies. The message of focusing on the positive can be helpful, but only in the biblical sense of giving thanks to God in all circumstances (1 Thes 5:18), not in avoiding pain. What is right is more important than what makes me feel good. Jesus told his followers they would (and should) suffer, and exemplified it through the cross. While suffering, he cried out "My God, why have you foraken me" (Mark 15:34). This is the most poinent of the examples of partial truths, though there are others.
Much more could be said. The point is this: "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." (Col. 2:8) In the end, what the author tries to do will not work: his program cannot offer real hope to mankind, for it does not deal with human depravity. Rather than seeking to find meaning by focusing on my present, we truly find it in God's presence. The quest for ultimate meaning is found in a relationship with the God of infinity, and through developing intimacy with Him. For a much better alternative to The Present, read Practicing His Presence by Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach.
Energize the team and prioritize.......2007-02-19
I purchased this book for my department at work. The team was under a lot of pressure to perform and as is often the case in adverse conditions, some were beginning to blame others and lose focus on the tasks at hand given the large amount of work yet to be done.
The response I recieved from the workforce was varied but all positive. Living in the present, learning from our past, preparing for the future, and living with purpose has become a sound bite in our department. The book is a quick read (less than 90 minutes), is entertaining, comes on CD if you want a book on tape rather than paper, and has been talked about far more than the time it took my team to read it.
If you have customers or coworkers that do important work and you have lost touch with what needs to be done, this book will help you step back from your task saturation and reflect on where you are at, where you need to go and why it is important for you to do so.
This is a book I will share for many years to come.
The Present Is A Gift.......2007-01-20
A lot of wisdom and common sense wrapped up in a small package! Easy and fun to read yet, as deep and profound as you want to go.
The Present Will Change Your Life.......2006-12-07
Often when I host a Leadersway training session I ask which of the many books we have read the group found most valuable. The answer I receive most often is, "The one about The Present".
"The Present", by Spencer Johnson is a great little book of only 104 pages that is packed full of more good advice than most books twice its size. The concept is simple, yet complex; the ideas are easy, yet difficult; the message is clear, yet indistinct. You must think, focus, and seek to understand "The Present".
For those of you who have not read this great book, or need a refresher, here is a condensed version of the concepts that you need to remember.
Always remember that you live neither in the past nor the future. You only live in the present. Therefore, you will be happiest and at your most productive when you focus on what is happening at the current moment in time. That is the essence of it.
Always focus on what is "right" in the present moment. Never focus on the negative in any situation. Focus on the positive and you will make good things happen. You will never make a positive choice or create a positive result in the present if you focus on the negative.
Speaking of focus: Always focus, focus, focus. When you are speaking with someone focus on them and what they are saying. Eliminate extraneous thoughts of other things, turn away from your computer, turn off your phone, and pay attention. That's it! Your life will be much better by simply applying that one simple rule to your dealings with others. You will learn more about them and they will appreciate you much more. Apply this to all elements of your job and your life. You will be much more successful and the fruits of your labor will be that much sweeter.
You need not eliminate the past or the future from your life completely. You should learn from the past. Remember your mistakes and take steps not to make the same ones over and over again. Also, remember to recall the good things of the past and attempt to recreate them. In times of trouble, always buoy yourself up with good memories and positive thoughts.
Do not make the mistake of wasting your present by dreaming of an imaginary or unrealistic future. You must always plan for the future and do positive things in the present in order to attain your goals. "Plan your work and work your plan." Do not wish your life away by making unfounded assumptions that the future will be better than the present unless you have done the work and laid the plans to make your dreams come true.
The Present is all you have right now. Enjoy it and live it to the fullest!
A logical companion book to "The Present" is "Always Remember: If it ain't fun it ain't Worth Doing!" This one will show you how to use the "Present" in real workplace situations... Wayne Kehl
A Take-Away Told in a Clever Story.......2006-10-17
I picked up this book at the recommendation that the moral of this book would do me some good -- and it did. The key take-away is woven through a clever story of this short book. I picked it up at the bookstore and read through it in a few hours. It is recommended for those looking for a reminder to see what's in front of them now (i.e. Don't forget to smell the flowers). However, it is NOT recommended for those looking for an eye-opening revelation.
Caveat/Note: I have not read any of Johnson's other books but I would consider taking a look at it based on my review of this book.
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