Editorial Review

Read more

Reviews (137)

Power-packed toilet reading
QBQ is a quick read but is loaded with powerful thoughts to challenge you to grow in your work, home and social life.Essentially QBQ is about personal accountability.The author, John Miller, has built an entire personal development system around the idea that we should focus on what we can do to improve performance at work or relationships with our kids, not on what others should be doing to improve or accomplish any given objective.The concept is incredibly simple and is presented that way in QBQ.Nevertheless, it is very foreign to many of us in post-modern America.
Simple, practical - and deep. This is Miller's QBQ!
Each employee at our manufacturing consulting firm receives a copy of QBQ! to read.We have a short dialogue and its contents are referenced daily. Every time I listen to Miller's "book on tape" CD or re-read QBQ!, something new hits home.I have shared these books as gifts with employees and friends and with my family as well. From my wife to each of the four children ages 22 to 14. It makes a difference at all levels and now Flipping the Switch, Miller's new book, is also wonderful and being read by all!
QBQ! works
I love this book and have read it many times.I keep it on my desk for reference and take it with me on my train commute every month or so to refresh my memory.I'm looking forward to having our managers and supervisors read it and see if it will impact them like it did me.I work in government and all our agencies throughout the State are in the process of a slow and painful transition through major change.Low morale, confusion, complaining, poor communication and fingerpointing run rampant. I know that QBQ! will help our office deal with the transition and our challenges in a more positive way. As author John Miller says, "It's all about personal accountability, it's as simple as that!" ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Life - General    4. Business/Economics    5. Choice (Psychology)    6. Decision making    7. General    8. Personal Growth - Success    9. Problem solving    10. Responsibility    11. Business & Economics / Development & Growth   

Reviews (119)

This Works!
This book should be read by everyone on the planet - it is the tool to assist in bringing about the "mind-shift" for our next leap in evolution.
Routine
This book really doesn't add a lot to the literature available regarding success and creative thought, etc.It's not a bad read, just nothing really new.The author seems to be a good guy though, and is enthusiastic about his subject.

Worth reading
Joe got it across to me in one sentence: "I believe our planet is what was described in an original Star Trek episode called "Shore Leave."..."they [Kirk, Spock et al] are on a planet that reads their thoughts and creates what they think about." Now, if you're not familiar with the concept that your internal world creates your external world, that's an 'out there' idea... Yes, parts of the book are redundant... and I'm not into all the spiritual stuff... but that's okay, because the concepts are simple and simply explained. Not to mention uplifting and inspiring. I love it. I've read it twice in a year now, and enjoyed it both times. Thanks Joe! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Applied Psychology    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Life - Inspirational    4. Personal Growth - Success    5. Psychology    6. Spiritual    7. Success    8. Advice on careers & achieving success    9. Business & Economics / General   

Reviews (9)

Very good coverage on cross-sectional, but not enough of panel data
This book does an excellent job in covering cross-sectional and microeconometric models (Stata codes for all examples in the book are available from UCLA's webside). However, the exposure to panel data is limited. For a theoretical overview of panel data econometrics, I'd recommend Hsiao and Baltagi. For applied work, Edward Frees wrote a good book, although his book is more from the social science perspective (SAS and Stata codes are provided).

The best? Not for me (and everyone I know).
Clearly this product is overrated. In my opinion the book is a complete mess, with definitions, propositions and theorems mixed with the main text and not clearly evidenced from it.
A Gem
Wooldridge's "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data" is a gem.As a student of applied microeconomics, I found reading his undergraduate book "Introductory Econometrics" is a great complement of reading this graduate text -- especially part I of the UG book (especially the parts of interaction terms, dummy variables); part III (panel data) might be too chatty.I think both of his books worth every penny that I paid.Although, I think Hayashi text is great, maybe it is geared toward time series econometricians.For example, Wooldridge's example of omitted variable bias is clearer to me (using wage-education regression from labor economics and compute the asymptotic inconsistency of OLS estimator with omitted variable bias), compared to Hayashi's simultaneity bias.Both are nice illustration of endogenity, but I prefer Woolridge's text. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Asymptotic theory    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Econometrics    7. Economics - General    8. Economics - Microeconomics    9. Microeconomics    10. Business & Economics / Economics / General   

Reviews (1)

A clear, concise, and well written text on the economic choices and behaviors of nations
If you are familiar with Mankiw's introductory text "Principles of Economics", you know that he writes in a clear, concise, and as lively a manner as you are likely to find in a text on economics.Since I find economics quite interesting, I wanted more when I read through that textbook.For those of us who felt that desire, Mankiw has updated his intermediate text on macroeconomics for this sixth edition.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economics - Macroeconomics    5. Business & Economics / Economics / General    6. Macroeconomics   

Reviews (1)

Oblivious to the reader
I am currently using this book for my Multinational Finance class.This book is not written with the student in mind.There are very few complete examples to learn from, and most of those are poorly worded.There is a lack of simplicity and elegance to all of the materials presented in this book.I think the writers forgot that students need to learn from this book.There are no study aids in this book, and the website for the book is sparse.You will not gain knowledge from this book, only confusion. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Finance    5. Foreign exchange    6. International - General    7. International business enterpr    8. International business enterprises    9. International finance    10. Business & Economics / Economics / International   

Reviews (2)

Another Winner by Brian Tracy!
Brian Tracy continues to amaze me! In this new book, Brian Tracy encompasses 2000 years of wisdom and makes it available in only 110 pages! Simple, brief and to the point. Power packed.
Commonsense advice. Mighty thin volume.
Brian Tracy has produced another great headline (Eat that Frog!) on which to hang 21 simple, straightforward pieces of advice, but as with his other books this motivational speaker has produced a very thin volume - just 117 pages. Brevity can be a good thing, sure, but at some point you wonder: "where's the beef?" I found myself nodding in agreement at the advice - there's nothing wrong with any of it - but next day I found it hard to remember much of what it said: a case of easy in/easy out. Tracy may be an excellent speaker, but as a writer he doesn't engage the brain sufficiently. There was nothing really new, provocative or profound here. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Life - Inspirational    4. Business/Economics    5. Entrepreneurship    6. Success in business    7. Secretarial & office skills   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economics - General    5. Macroeconomics    6. Business & Economics / Economics / General   

Editorial Review

On September 23, 1998, the boardroom of the New York Fed was a tense place. Around the table sat the heads of every major Wall Street bank, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, and representatives from numerous European banks, each of whom had been summoned to discuss a highly unusual prospect: rescuing what had, until then, been the envy of them all, the extraordinarily successful bond-trading firm of Long-Term Capital Management. Roger Lowenstein's Read more

Reviews (160)

Is Hollywood sleeping?
Disclaimer: this was the first-ever, and so far the only, "business novel" (as I call them), I have read. Hence my benchmark is not other books of the same genre, but literature in its broadest sense.
Very Good Book and a look at "the Experts"
As an academic & a "Wall-Streeter" & a professional trader (of my own money) I must surely qualify as an "expert."
This book is suspect.
I am by no means an economist, and much less an expert on finance, but this book strikes me as a thinly veiled, unsubtle hatchet job on the efficient markets hypothesis.I've seen much subtler discussions of the Efficient Market Hypothesis written for general audiences, enough of them so I can recognize that Lowenstein doesn't get it; he equates efficient markets with "the price that the market offers is always the intrinsic value," and not with "you can't reliably predict intrinsic value any better than market prices themselves do."This is a crucial difference, because it is only by assuming that market efficiency is the first that his attack holds water.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economics - General    5. Economics - Theory    6. Finance    7. Free Enterprise    8. Investments & Securities - General    9. Business & Economics / General   

Editorial Review

Read more

Reviews (25)

Keep the Spirit Fishy!
Keep your experience of the Fish Philosophy fresh! This is a great companion to the original book. When you talk to folks about Playing and some of the other important parts of bringing a workplace alive, they often counter with, "What about the kind of job where you can't play. Like a hospital?" This little volume recounts tales of just such venues. Some stories are bite sized morsels, some are more substantial. They all provide nourishment!

Review of CD
The CD set is 3 hour
Insightful!
Things are going swimmingly in Fish! land. In the latest volume, Fish! Tales, authors Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen, Harry Paul and Philip Strand build on the successful training program that evolved from their first Fish book. Tales shows how four companies - a long-distance call center; a hospital neural-renal unit, a car dealership and a roofing company - have applied Fish! theories effectively. They also provide short examples from other companies to show how well the Fish! function. The four main principles are familiar by now - keep the work fun, seek to serve others, stay focused on your customers and have an enthusiastic attitude - but the examples in the book bring them alive. Along the way, the authors heavily sell their Fish! courses and merchandise - that's just good salesmanship - but the real catch of the day is the final how-to section, showing ways to apply these principles in any organization. The lively writing style helps keep you hooked. We suggest that if you haven't yet caught any Fish!, start with this one. Its cheery, accessible methods should lure you in, hook, line and sinker. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Careers - General    5. Customer Service    6. Customer services    7. Employee motivation    8. Human Resources & Personnel Management    9. Leadership    10. Motivation (Psychology)    11. Motivational    12. Motivational & Inspirational    13. Business & Economics / Motivational   

Reviews (39)

Excellent introductory text
Mankiw's textbook provided me with a solid introduction to Economics. I read the book in high school and passed both AP Micro- and Macroeconomics because of it. Mankiw's description of basic concepts is more clear than any other I have subsequently encountered (for example, economic profits), and his demonstration of practical applications should excite any student (for example, OPEC as an oligopoly). This book should be worthwhile for anyone interested in learning the basics of Economics.

This is the Study Guide
The presentation of this book is confusing. The book presented is the study guide to Mankiw's "Priciple of Economics" prepared by David Hakes, not a paperback Edition of the Hardcover Testbook. Caveat Emptor!

An excellent introduction to Economics
Principles of Economics is an excellent book to introduce you in the world of Economics. In one text book you have the basic intuitive and analytical tools to understand the economic rationality and the way it analyzes human behavior (supply-demand model, consumers, firms and markets, perfect competence, monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition, intro to games theory, externalities). You also have the analysis of the Macroeconomic issues (GDP, inflation, growth, money, international trade, economic policies). In my opinion the Macroeconomics part (2nd part of the book) is not as good as the Micro one, but it is still a good approach for beginners. It explains the basic concepts and the way economic policies affect macroeconomic variables. But, I live in a developing country, so although it contains the basics ideas there are some important issues for developing countries which are not considered. However, considering that this book is just an introduction to the field of Economics, I think this does not seriously affect the quality of the book and the effort made to make Economics easy to understand.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economics - General    5. Business & Economics / Economics / General    6. Economics   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economics - General    5. Managerial economics    6. Business & Economics / Economics / General    7. Management decision making   

Reviews (17)

Tools for creating a Learning Culture
Peter M Serge, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook
enlightening concepts about leadership
It seems to me that The Fifth Discipline (the previous publication of the series) is more attacting to me. The second book can be more precise and concise in content. Generally speaking I still like these two books as a foreign reader.

The Fifth Discipline
This book is a collection of theoretical summaries, reports, analyses, and strategies all quite useful to anyone interested in generating some thinking and action around change. The team of five writers (Peter Senge, Richard Ross, Bryan Smith, Charlotte Roberts, and Art Kleiner) provide some original work, but also serve as editors to a vast quantity of material drawn from practitioners, theorists, and writers in the field of organizational improvement. According to Senge, "great teams are learning organizations - groups of people who, over time, enhance their capacity to create what they truly desire to create." (p.18) This book is really about creating and building great teams. The learning organization develops its ability to reflect on, discuss, question, and change its current and past practices. To do this, people and groups in the organization need to meaningfully pursue the study and practice of the five disciplines - personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking. Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Fifth discipline    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Human Resources & Personnel Management    7. Leadership    8. Management    9. Organization Development    10. Organizational Behavior    11. Organizational effectiveness    12. Senge, Peter M    13. Teams in the workplace    14. Training    15. Business & Economics / Leadership    16. Organizational theory & behaviour   

Reviews (20)

THE book for those who need to guide others in decision-making
How many people do you know who make rational decisions? After reading this book, you may learn that the answer is a lot closer to zero than to one...Kevin Hogan and James Speakman have asserted in this work that people make their decisions based on subconcious feelings about similar situations; they back it up with results from many counterintuitive psychological studies throughout. And it even includes a section on ethics.
Couldn't stop reading it
Cram every great persuasion book over the last 50 years--How to Win Friends And Influence People, How to Get Anyone to Do Anything, Influence, Sales Bible, The Secrets of Power Persuasion, and other--into a box, add a few new insights, and shake the box until the books become one resource and you have Covert Persuasion. I couldn't stop reading it. From the very beginning, the authors (I'd heard of Hogan before from other books on the same topic)toss out solid advice. Sure, you've heard some of it before, and some of it is reworded and served up new, but the collection of strategies is still worth the money. Almost every page is highlighted somewhere, and often in several places. To me, it's a must have book if you are interested in any way in persuasion.

A "Must-Have" for the Serious Persuader
"Covert Persuasion" is crammed full of the latest research on persuasion.While you might scan the contents in an afternoon, you'll need time and attention to make these persuasive techniques a part of your automatic arsenal.Careful, thoughtful reading will reveal a treasure of information that is available nowhere else.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Interpersonal communication    5. Motivational & Inspirational    6. Negotiating    7. Persuasion (Psychology)    8. Psychological aspects    9. Sales & Selling - Techniques    10. Selling    11. Business & Economics / Negotiating    12. Popular psychology   

Editorial Review

The world you live in is all in your mind, according to Wharton Business School Professors Yoram Wind and Colin Crook. Read more

Reviews (61)

A toolkit for shifting your paradigm
This book is a great combination of theoritical thinking as well as practical business problems.It examines the discussion on paradigms - which the authors prefer to call 'mental models' and how they constrain your perception of reality.So far, so good.Then they start outlining a practical methodology for changing your mental model, which should enable you to 'think impossible thoughts' meaning in this context, thinking thoughts that were impossible in your previous paradigm.I like the depth of research behind the concept and the academic structure given to the book on a subject that has been much discussed, but manages to give it a new perspective and some practical tools to take away with you.
The power of viewing and molding your reality...
It's often the case that our vision of reality is a product of our own mental biases.If you can change the way you look at something, the reality of it can undergo a dramatic shift.This whole subject is explored very well in the book The Power of Impossible Thinking: Transform the Business of Your Life and the Life of Your Business by Jerry Wind, Colin Crook, and Robert Gunther.Very powerful stuff...
We Should Invest In Our Mind's R & D
"The Power of Impossible Thinking" is labelled as a "business book" and it's very hopeful for those in business, both big and small.But it has tremendous value to everyone, in every aspect of our lives.Our "mental models" determine where we'll go and what we'll do and accomplish, throughout our lives.And, our mental models can limit us in our lives as well.One of the focuses is on the thought process, as it should be.Our thought process is often what hinders us.This book reminded me many times of the perils of stagnation.Mental and attitudinal stagnation.This leads to the oft-times subtle downward spiral of complacency, and just plain getting too comfortable.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Life - General    4. Business/Economics    5. Leadership    6. Leadership In Business    7. Management - General    8. Motivational    9. Organizational change    10. Personal Growth - Success    11. Psychology, Industrial    12. Success    13. Business & Economics / Management    14. Business & Management   

Editorial Review

Since 1987, Starbucks's star has been on the rise, growing from 11 Seattle, WA-based stores to more than 1,000 worldwide. Its goals grew, too, from the more modest, albeit fundamental one of offering high-quality coffee beans roasted to perfection to, more recently, opening a new store Read more

Reviews (105)

Marketing Master, yes. Quality Coffee roaster.....Now he's full of ____!
Being a specialty roaster since 1975 and being part of a local specialty roaster group. I can tell you that starbuck's main accomplishment is their marketing ability. The coffee they distribute is garbage, and this doesn't have to come from my mouth, it comes from people who come to me after tasting their supposed "specialty coffee."Starbucks lost their specialty status the moment you could find them on every street corner and/or supermarket. Where they beat most is their non stop advertising and brainwashing of people. The reason starbucks got big was because there was noone around to fill that demand, or more importantly, due to the nature of the specialty market, noone who wanted to fill that position.The amount of coffee they are forced to produce lead to only one scenario, inferior quality.Concepts of mass production. Economics 101. The higher the demand, the less likely quality is to have influence.

How Starbucks changed the World
What a great read! This is a story of how Starbucks changed the world. Howard Schultz, the CEO, tells the history of Starbucks starting with its founding in 1971 up until 1999. Schultz tells how he came on board,later bought the company and its sky-roacketing growth.
One of the Greatest Models of Superior Business that Cares About People
This is a FANTASTIC book about passion behind business, dealing with major growth, serving the customer, helping people from the heart, actually caring about the consumer, and caring about humanity at the same time.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Business    3. Business & Economics    4. Business/Economics    5. Corporate & Business History - General    6. Corporate & Business History - Strategies    7. History    8. Industries - Hospitality, Travel & Tourism    9. Restaurants    10. Restaurateurs    11. Schultz, Howard    12. Starbucks Coffee Company    13. United States    14. Business & Economics / Corporate History    15. Business & Management    16. Food manufacturing & related industries   

Reviews (7)

Deconstructing neoliberalism's peculiar definition of 'freedom'
"A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey is a concise and razor-sharp deconstruction of the neoliberal movement. Mr. Harvey convincingly demonstrates that neoliberalism is an ideology that has been wielded to enshrine elite privilege at the expense of people and the environment. Assiduously researched and cogently argued, Mr. Harvey offers a jargon-free and readable text that helps readers gain a greater understanding about the political economy of our neoliberal world and what this might hold for us in the future.
Masterful??? Yes, indeed...!!!
Some other reviews described this book as Masterful.., Outstanding!!...and I am just taking a minute to agree with them.This is a solid book. Full of facts and of a profound knowledge of recent history. It simply goes to the core. The neoliberal theory is nothing more than a disguise or a distractionfor taking control and relocate class domination. Why?? Not only for political, racial or financial reasons, but mainlybecause the availability of natural resources ( mainly oil) is going to reach sometime soon a critical point, and then we, the rest of the people, are going to be redundant by the billions...and if this is so, we can forget about financial or institutional solutions to the contradictions that exist within the system or about popular movements, NGOs or whatever other alternatives you could think of...the solutions or better still, the reactions of the dominant elites are going to be hard and applied by military means.... and I think that they are exploring this option in practical ways as you are reading this humble opinion...just follow the news..

A Critical Look at the Post-Keynesian Era
The term neoliberalism is usually heard in the pejorative sense, often coming from Latin American leaders such as Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales.The term refers to an international economic policy that has been predominant in policy-making circles and university economics departments since the 1970's.The four faces on the cover of this book (Reagan, Deng, Pinochet, and Thatcher) are considered by David Harvey the primemovers of this economic philosophy.Reagnomics, Thatcherism, Deng's capitalism with Chinese characteristics, and Pinochet's free market policies marked the beginning of new era of global capitalism.