Reader Views

75 Principles of Conscious Leadership: Inspired Skills for 21st Century Business

I have read a lot of books on business and leadership and found this one to be very inspiring. The author, Michael Schantz, takes leadership principles to a whole new level, as each principle is written from an enlightened perspective. If business leaders incorporate this viewpoint in their businesses, as I am sure some of the successful businesses have today, then the results should be amazing.

Not only does the book have the 75 principles for conscious leadership, but every principle begins with little gems of wisdom. Good examples of these include: principle 4 - Access and Trust Authentic Intuition, "Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it." (Anonymous), Principle 17 - Give Effective Feedback without Emotional Charge, "The challenge is to be a light, not a judge; to be a model, not a critic." (Stephen R. Covey). And another favorite of mine is Principle 27 - Lead by Doing, "In visionary companies, the drive for progress arises from a deep human urge – to explore, to create, to change, to improve. It’s a deep inner, compulsive – almost primal – drive." (James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porrus)

The principles include time-proven principles such as: embrace leadership as a learned discipline, embrace risk in decision-making, perform key objectives one by one and create an integrated vision and mission statement. Some of the newer, more spiritual principles to read about are: access and trust authentic intuition, practice empathy and compassion, balance technology with compassion, tithe and give back and integrate the feminine into leadership.

"75 Principles of Conscious Leadership: Inspired Skills for 21st Century Business" by Michael Schantz is definitely for students of new thought and for those who are not happy with the results of doing things in the same old way. I found it very gratifying to see enlightenment addressed in making businesses and executives successful. I highly recommend it to those who are interested in spirituality in all aspects of their life.

75 Principles of Conscious Leadership
Michael Schantz
Robert D. Reed Publishers (2008)
ISBN 9781934759066
Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (9/08)

Content Rich: Writing Your Way to Wealth on the Web

The sub-subtitle of this book is “The Complete SE0 Copywriting Guide for Search Engine Rankings and Sales Conversion” which caught my eye immediately. Like anyone else that has an online business, I’m always striving to keep my sites in high rankings with the search engines. With millions and millions of sites and each one of us competing for the top stops, we need to keep on top of the how-to.� Jon Wuebben’s book is the how-to from beginning to end!

It has been a slow go for me to get through this book because every page, and I mean every page, has something on it that needs to be done or checked out.� For example Wuebben says “Here is something you should do right now; jump on to Google and type in “site: www.yourdomain.com” – fill in your domain with whatever your site URL is. What pops up are all your titles and descriptions for pages indexed by Google.� Are they all the same?� That needs to change! Every page needs unique titles and descriptions.” I did this immediately and yes, we need to change.� In fact, we are in the process of doing that now.� We used a template before that entered the same thing on every page. Well, we are finding out this isn’t the right way to go and have to change near 5000 pages manually!� This is a big thanks to Jon Wuebben.

There is so much information in this book it could very be overwhelming, however, it is also information that is extremely important for anyone who has a web-based business.� Wuebben covers things like SEO website copyrighting, going viral, pay per click, and outsourcing.� He also gives case studies as well as resources.

“Content Rich” gives concise and relevant information for today’s business world. Wuebben dispels the mysteries and takes away the fears of the “not knowing” about the World Wide Web and how it functions.� Upbeat and conversational type of language is straightforward making understanding the concepts a breeze.� This is a must-have book by all the millions of website owners.

Content Rich
Jon Wuebben
Encore Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9780979762901
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (7/08)

Her Corner Office: A Guide To Help Women Find A Place And A Voice In Corporate America (Second Edition)

Corporate world is tough, but even tougher if you happen to be a woman. If you’ve ever had any doubt about that, I bet you are male. As Trudy Bourgeois illustrates very well in the Introduction, even as recently as 2007, women were earning only 76 cents for every dollar that a man earns for the same job; and although women represent fifty-percent of the total workforce, they only hold less than 15.6 percent of all corporate officer positions in corporate America. After reading those stats, women basically have two choices. One is to shrug their shoulders and be defeated, since “things have always been done this way and will never change” -- the other of course is to read Trudy Bourgeois’ book and act decisively.

The advice offered in this book is sensible, practical and well-organized. Guiding the reader through a process of self-discovery, definition and branding, the book helps any woman to be more successful in her career path, regardless of how high – or low – she is on the corporate ladder at the moment. Stressing the importance of knowing who you are, what you stand for, and what matters to you sets firm and strong foundations for personal and professional development. This process is greatly facilitated by a series of well-thought-out questions, numerous examples and handy “Points worth remembering,” found at the end of every chapter. Those points are definitely my favorite part of the book. I found them to be both concise and impactful, as it can be seen from this example, taken from Chapter #3, the one on self-confidence:

1. Knowing yourself and what you want is the cornerstone of self-confidence.
2. Recognizing that events in your past have shaped your self-esteem and self-confidence. If you are blocked by a hurtful experience, get help to get past it.
3. A lack of confidence is often tied to a lack of preparation.
4. Confidence breeds confidence as you are willing to take on bigger challenges and make a bigger impact.
5. Believe in yourself; have faith that everything will work out no matter what.
6. Build a confidence vault. Keep a file of all the great things you have achieved in your life and from time to time revisit the file.

Another very powerful part of the book is the author’s interview with her husband Mike, who spoke very candidly about his life with a successful businesswoman such as his wife; what it did to their family and his career for a while, and how they ultimately balanced and strengthened their relationship. It is actually those personal insights and first-hand stories that made this book particularly appealing to me.

While written primarily with women in mind, “Her Corner Office” by Trudy Bourgeois is a sound guide to anybody wanting to achieve success in the corporate world. I also believe that high-ranking men in the corporate world would benefit greatly from it, if they desire to help women on their career paths.

Her Corner Office
Trudy Bourgeois

Brown Books (2007)
ISBN 9781933285979
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (6/08)

The Chic Entrepreneur: Put Your Business in Higher Heels

Now more than ever, women are smashing down business barriers and taking their lives – and income levels – into their own hands.  But the growing number of entrepreneur-type businesses that pop up each year also brings an equally growing number of company failures.  In a man’s world of money and management, what’s a girl to do? 

Author and business owner Elizabeth W. Gordon hopes to help struggling women with their business ownership dreams with her new book, “The Chic Entrepreneur:  Put Your Business in Higher Heels.”  In it, she outlines her strategy for successful planning and execution in operating a thriving company in today’s market.  But it’s not just ‘success’ that she’s striving for – it’s an ‘above and beyond’ attitude to thrust your enterprise further than you ever thought possible.  I especially loved her comparison discussions - Payless or Nordstrom, Wal-mart or Whole Foods, DMV or Google, Generic or Nike, etc – that initiate those really deep, soul-searching questions you have to ask yourself when in business.  Even further, whether or not you are settling for average or pushing to make yourself the elite in your field.  Each chapter ends with issues to contemplate and even apply, if necessary to make your business more ‘chic.’ 

“The Chic Entrepreneur” is a must-read for any woman either already self-employed or planning to in the future.  Not only does the book stress the importance of ‘failing to plan is planning to fail,’ but it sparks plenty of creativity in making your business stand out above others.  Further, honesty and integrity play a key role in being a ‘chic entrepreneur’ so Gordon hopes to instill these values in her readers as they travel the road to ‘business owner.’  Brilliant, insightful, and fabulously feminine, “The Chic Entrepreneur” will motivate and raise the bar for any female professional.

Does your company need a kick start?  Or are you tripping on the path towards entrepreneurship?  Elizabeth W. Gordon’s “The Chic Entrepreneur: Put Your Business in Higher Heels” gives you a leg up on working in the self-employed business world.  Strap on your stilettos and get ready to climb!

The Chic Entrepreneur
Elizabeth W. Gordon (with Leanna Adams)
Robert D. Reed Publishers (2008)
ISBN 9781934759042
Reviewed by Vicki Landes for Reader Views (5/08)

The Connected and Committed Leader

As the author of my own leadership book, “Leading Beyond Tradition,” and a leadership instructor and coach, I read many leadership books.  With the great number of such books available, the book that proves to be successful in the market will provide a separate and distinct approach to leadership.  I looked for such an approach in “The Connected and Committed Leader,” and found it.

Laura Lopez provides her readers with a unique, yet interesting comparison between what you do at home and what you do at work.  She draws the comparisons that leadership in one positively influences leadership in the other.   She brings considerable experience and expertise from her time as VP of Coca Cola, one of the more successful companies in the world, and she should be listened to.  Her anecdotal information provides the context from which to apply the content in the book.

To get the most benefit from the book, the reader needs to ask and answer questions – honestly and thoroughly.  First, do you want to lead, and more importantly, are you ready?  Are you ready to take on the challenges leadership brings – because what you do significantly influences others around you, both at home and at work.  She also provides great content on achieving real and measurable results in the workplace.

But if the reader is to take anything from the book, it is that leadership is not a part-time commitment, either at work or at home.  Ms. Lopez gives the reader Seven Essential Leadership Insights – each in its own right works, but when the dots are connected between all seven, there is an equation equally real success.  I encourage people, executives, managers, supervisors, students, and those who aspire to leadership positions to read this book.  It is a winner, and I have added “The Connected and Committed Leader” to my extensive library of leadership and management books.  Well done Laura Lopez.

The Connected and Committed Leader
Laura Lopez
Living Leadership Press (2008)
ISBN 9780979867316
Reviewed by Bill Cooper for Reader Views (6/08)

Recipe for Negotiating Business Deals Successfully

There are many books on the market dealing with business negotiating and with basically the same information “Recipe for Negotiating Business Deals Successfully” has.  However, this book is different from any other I have read and researched.  This a thin book – less than 100 pages – but it has such a concise “recipe” it outshines other books that take hundreds of pages to explain the same thing.

First of all, Cradeur is to the point immediately.  There are no long-winded explanations but there are direct, brief, and effective statements to follow.  For example, after a short explanation Cradeur gives the following chart (as it relates to cooking chicken soup):

Chef = Negotiator
Recipe = Strategy
Pot = Culture
Ingredients = Elements of the Strategy
Cooking = Negotiating
Soup = The Deal
People Tasting the Soup = Counterparts of the Deal

For those of us that can relate to cooking, we can relate to Cradeur’s chart very easily.  As I look at the chart again, I’m thinking “how simple is this!”  Yes, of course, negotiating a deal is no different than creating a pot of soup.  Yet, as many of us know, we envision in our mind negotiating a deal is and/or will be hard.

Throughout the book Cradeur has illustrations making it even more clear to us of the simplicity.  For example, she shows spices and an onion as the “ingredients that directly influence the negotiation.”  There is a large section in the book identifying the ingredients, e.g. assumption, constraint, vendor lists, competitors, etc.  Cradeur also covers how to add an alternative plan as well as developing a strategy, looking at critical success factors, as well as finally closing the deal.  And, as a bonus she covers how to negotiate with people from different cultures. This addition is extremely important as we move our businesses globally.

Dana L. Cradeur presents readers with a concise, well-developed strategy and steps to take their business to a higher level and be in a place of negotiating with ease and confidence.  “Recipe for Negotiating Business Deals Successfully” truly is “the only book you need” on negotiating deals in your library.

Recipe for Negotiating Business Deals Successfully
Dana L. Cradeur
Dana International Consulting (2008)
ISBN 9780980127744
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (6/08)

Pandemics Paradigms & Pachyderms: Change Made Easy

What weighs nine ounces, contains brightly colored pictures of jungle animals, and discusses such complex subjects as team building, crisis management, and pandemic preparedness in simplistic terms that anyone can understand?  The answer is Denver Roopchand’s engaging and educational book, “Pandemics Paradigms & Pachyderms.”

While the title of this book is somewhat complicated, the content is definitely not.  The narrative is laid out in simple fable form based on the premise that a herd of elephants on the African plain become nervous about a mysterious illness that has killed several animals at a watering hole a few days’ journey away.  The Matriarch of the herd, Alexa, wonders if a pandemic might be in the making.  The rest of the herd is not so sure.  Alexa decides that it is better to be safe than sorry and organizes the herd into disaster preparedness teams.  As the situation worsens, a nearby pride of lions and a band of gorillas also become convinced that a pandemic is in the making and decide to join forces with the elephants to meet the threat.  Working together, they manage to avert a serious catastrophe at the last moment.

Using fables to teach is not a new concept, but this approach is particularly effective for “Pandemics Paradigms & Pachyderms.”  There are several reasons for this. For one thing, the book reduces complicated concepts into easy to grasp ideas, and that is a big plus for intellectual Luddites like me who believe that less is always more.  For another, Doctor Roopchand knows what he is talking about. A quick review of his biography on the inside back cover makes that abundantly clear.  Finally, the book is the result of a family effort that includes inputs from his wife and children.  This seems to add charm and levity to an otherwise serious subject.

It would be tempting for a serious business management student to dismiss this book as a lighthearted “Doctor Doolittle Gets an MBA” type work. That would be a mistake.  There are numerous guidelines, task lists, and pointers on team building and crisis management throughout the book.  I particularly recommend the last chapter which provides lessons learned during the pandemic crisis. It’s almost as if Doctor Roopchand wanted to provide a crib sheet for anyone that might be tested on the book later.

“Pandemics Paradigms & Pachyderms” reminds me one of those all-in-one kitchen tools that slices, dices, and chops.  It can provide a quick read for busy executives who want to get a handle on crisis management and team building; as a source for lesson plans to train middle managers tasked with effecting change through reorganization; or as a source of information for readers of all ages curious about pandemics and the threat they pose to civilization.  It’s a great book, and to Doctor Roopchand, his family, Alexa, and all the elephants, lions and gorillas who made this book possible, I say.  Well done.  Well done indeed!

Pandemics Paradigms & Pachyderms
Denver Roopchand
Privately Published (2007)
ISBN 9780979232008
Reviewed by Ron Standerfer for Reader Views (5/08)

The Minimum You Need to Know (About Service Oriented Architecture)

Roland Hughes is the president of Logikal Solutions, a business applications consulting firm specializing in VMS platforms. Hughes serves as a lead consultant with over two decades of experience using computers and operating systems originally created by Digital Equipment Corporation (now owned by Hewlett-Packard). With a degree in Computer Information Systems, the author’s experience is focused on OpenVMS systems across a variety of diverse industries including heavy equipment manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, stock exchanges, tax accounting, and hardware value-added resellers, to name a few. Working throughout these industries has strengthened the author's unique skill set and given him a broad perspective on the role and value of OpenVMS in industry.

Mr. Hughes’ technical skill sets include the following tools that enable him to master and improve OpenVMS applications: DEC/VAX C, DEC/VAX C++, DEC BASIC, DCL, ACMS, MQ Series, DEC COBOL, RDB, POWERHOUSE, SQL, CMS/MMS, Oracle 8i, FORTRAN, FMS, and Java, among others. Being fluent in so many technical languages enables Hughes to share his knowledge more easily with other programmers.  

Highly technical in nature and not for beginners, this book series is an effort to pass along some of Roland’s insights and skills to the next generation. I suggest that one read the three previous books to get a thorough knowledge of all the valuable information that Mr. Hughes has to offer. Having said that -- I don’t mean to cut this volume short as it is loaded with equally informative material. Each book in the series covered specific topics and this volume is the fourth of that series. This volume, “The Minimum You Need to Know (About Service Oriented Architecture),” covers various topics and techniques for implementing a Service Oriented Architecture on the OpenVMS platform using ACMS, (the languages covered in a previous volume), “The Minimum You Need to Know to Be an OpenVMS Application Developer” and Java.  The primary focus of the book is porting FMS based business applications to Intranet and Internet applications using ACMS.

With clearly defined examples and many diagrams and flow charts, this 370-page volume even has a source code CD. From a technical aspect, I could not have found a more detailed explanation of ACMS and the innovative methods explained by Mr. Hughes. I gave “The Minimum You Need to Know (About Service Oriented Architecture)” my highest rating of A+ and recommend it to all the software geeks that could use more information on this subject.

The Minimum You Need to Know About Service Oriented Architecture
Roland Hughes
Logikal Solutions (2008)
ISBN 9780977086665
Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (5/08)

The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing

Calvani and Edwards certainly produced a much-needed reference book that covers all aspects of becoming a book reviewer. Their concise narrative covers areas such as defining a book review and explaining the difference between it and a book report and press release; the don’ts; tips; ownership; as well as many other pertinent concerns.  They also include resources and how libraries, book clubs, booksellers, etc. are influenced by reviewers.

As an owner of a book review service I was very interested what other reviewers had to say about the industry and what advice they give potential reviewers.  Calvani is an author as well as a freelance reviewer and I’m sure much of the information came from her own experience although throughout the book there are excerpts of advice from other known online reviewers.  The authors of “The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing” are very much to the point and it doesn’t look like they missed anything.

Although this book is targeting potential reviewers, I encourage authors looking for reviews to peruse the book. The information about reviews, specifically if it’s a negative review is enlightening.  As well, there is an appendix with a list of online reviewers.  Although the list is somewhat dated, it is a very thorough list.  And, I don’t mean dated in a negative way but I encourage the authors to also research the net for new services that recently emerged or reviewers that didn’t make the list.

I do recommend “The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing” as a must-have resource guide.  Calvani and Edwards present a well-written gold-mine to potential reviewers as well as a source of information for experienced reviewers and authors.

The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing
Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards
Twilight Times Books (2008)
ISBN 9781933353227
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (5/08)

Business Defined

The author’s approach in “Business Defined” was interesting and thought-provoking. This book could easily be used as a textbook in a Business Class, read by a person currently in business or by someone who is thinking about going into business. I have been in business for close to twenty years, and after reading this, I realized that I have several areas that I need to revisit in my approach to business.

The author, James Lemoine, realized several years ago when he was teaching a seminar to leaders that they all had different interpretations of what leadership was, many of them conflicting with each other. Over the following years, he also noticed that leadership was not the only definition that was not understood, but many others. Through this book, he defines business terms and practices in easily applicable ways. He best describes the book’s content as -- “’Business Defined’ is a study of the very core of the business world, the Philosophy of Business. In the traditional sense, this is not a business book. This is not necessarily a tome that explains how to make a fortune in investing, or how to design an advertising campaign that drives sales, or even how to close big deals and earn rapid promotions. The point of this book is not to teach the reader how to succeed in the business world. This book’s goal is to illustrate what these everyday concepts really mean, how they’re misunderstood, and how they can be applied in the most intelligent and profit-generating manner.”

Each chapter in the book begins and ends with a definition of a concept that is thoroughly examined in the chapter. These concepts include: business, communication, compensation, ethics, forecasting and quality of life to name just a few. The author not only breaks down each concept but also looks at it from different perspectives. In the chapter on human resources he not only looks at the human resource manager’s position but also at what the interviewee should be presenting in the interview. He clearly understands what it takes to run a company at an optimal level. The human factor is a huge part of this as he explains in his definition of “qual·i·ty of life [kwŏl’ĭ-tē əv līf] –noun. From a business standpoint, the personal factors important to employees, especially those regarding availability of time away from work, all of which should be managed by employers to maximize both employee productivity and time away from work.”

I also found several great concepts throughout the book that I highlighted to refer back to. I have listed a few of my favorites here: “Managers love to lead the creation of plans, but only leaders love to manage plans.” “Customers aren’t only the people who buy products from you. They’re the people who could buy anything from you, even if you just want them to buy an idea or a belief.” “However, any level of service less than ‘fantastic’ and better than ‘bad’ has absolutely no impact on customer retention.”

Overall, I found “Business Defined” to be very well-written, informative and easy-to-read. I highly recommend this book to anyone in the business community, students, or people who are thinking about going into business. Lemoine presents a concise look at important terms, yet gives detailed information about how an actual business works and how a successful business can be accomplished.

Business Defined
James Lemoine
Harbinger Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9780615198897
Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (4/08)