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The 33 best books for business owners
by Casey Woods, Executive Director | February 21, 2012
| Resource Library
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| TITLE | AUTHOR | SYNOPSIS |
| Taking Care of Business: One Hundred & One Ways to Keep Your Customers Coming Back (Without Whining, Groveling Or Giving Away the Store) |
Zemke, Ron | “What they have to say, and the stimulating way they say it, makes this guidebook to customer retention easy and fun to read–every page drives home an important, useful truth.” — James B. Miller Chairman, Miller Business Systems. |
| The One Minute Manager | Blanchard, Kenneth Ph.D. | This is the book that has taught millions the easy-to-use secrets that simplify your life, get more done in less time, reduce stress, and help you find peace of mind. |
| Who Moved My Cheese? | Johnson, Spencer M.D. | “I’m giving this book to colleagues and friends because Spencer Johnson’s storytelling abilities and unique insights make this a rare book that can be read and understood quickly by everyone who wants to succeed in these changing times.” — Randy Harris, Former Vice-Chairman, Merrill Lynch International |
| Polarity Management — Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems | Johnson, Barry Ph.D | “As each of us struggles to cope with the forces of change, Barry Johnson reminds us to take a balanced perspective. Polarity Management should be on every manager’s bookshelf.” — Don DeGuerre, Manager of Organizational Effectiveness, Syncrude of Canada |
| Systematic Problem-Solving and Decision Making | Pokras, Sandy | Have you ever heard the old cliché, “There are no problems, only opportunities?” This practical, logical book shows you how to rationally confront problems and develop clear solutions. Based on a six-step methodology, systematic problem solving and decision making teaches readers to recognize problems, define them, determine their root causes, explore options and alternative strategies, develop realistic solutions, and implement them intelligently. |
| The Employee Handbook of New Work Habits For a Radically Changing World | Pritchett, Price | Now, in his 16th book, Price Pritchett gives a new set of guidelines that will be crucial to your job success in the years to come. Using hard facts and powerful logic, he shows why you need to change your work habits,-immediately-in order to protect your future. |
| Making Humor Work Take Your Job Seriously and Yourself Lightly | Paulson, Terry L Ph.D | Making Humor Work is not another book to make you laugh. You will laugh, but that’s not it’s purpose. It introduces you to the value of humor on the job. The appropriate use of humor will not only increase your personal and professional effectiveness, but also the productivity of others. This friendly, practical book will show you how to use humor to disarm anger, unlock the receptivity of others, and enhance communication. Learn for yourself why it is never a crime to have fun on the job. |
| Given The Opportunity: A guide to interaction in the workplace | Mitchell, Paula | How to help those with disabilities to better interact with others in and around the office. |
| An Honest Day’s Work: Motivating Employees to Give Their Best | Dell, Twyla | “There is an enormous need for a book of this type. An Honest Day’s Work provides a most thought provoking motivational tool for both managers and employees.” — Linda L. Miles, C.S.P. — President, Linda L. Miles & Associates |
| Delegating For Results: An Action Plan for Success | Maddux, Robert B. | Delegating For Results is a practical, realistic, motivating book designed to help supervisors and managers recognize and apply basic delegation skills. Delegation is not a mysterious art form available to a chosen few. It is a basic management process that can be learned and honed to a fine edge by anyone willing to invest some effort and practice proven techniques. |
| The Manager as Coach: A New Management Training | Howell, Marion | A workbook for what is and isn’t a successful coach. |
| Developing Positive Assertiveness: Practical Techniques for Personal Success |
Lloyd, Sam R. | “Most people confuse assertiveness with being aggressive. This book clearly spells out the difference between these two behaviors and provides a step-by-step program that teaches a reader how to stand up for what he or she believes in, while respecting the rights of others to do the same.” — Dianne Johnson — Account Manager APT, Inc. |
| Quality Interviewing | Maddux, Robert B. | “Quality Interviewing is great! The exercises and examples are practical and extremely valuable. It has become part of our ongoing supervisory training.” — Rick Hall–Human Resources Manager Deseret Corporation |
| Managing Stress For Mental Fitness | Raber, Merrill F., MSW, Ph.D. | “Physical fitness has become a national goal. This creative, imaginative book can help readers become mentally fit by providing information, provoking reflections, and inspiring action.” — Vernon H. Kratz– Medical Director Penn Foundation, Seilersville, PA |
| Team Building: An Exercise in Leadership | Maddux, Robert B. | “Team Building provides the principles and methods needed to develop successful problem-solving teams. Learning to convert groups into teams is essential in today’s competitive business environment. This book can help you achieve positive results.” — Dallas Wade — Plant Manager Basin Electric Power Cooperative |
| Creativity in Business: A Practical Guide for Creative Thinking | Goman, Carol Kinsey Ph.D. | “Creativity In Business is a remarkable, stimulating guide for creative development that is valuable at all levels of business. The ‘get it started’ exercises are particularly effective. This book is definitely the right tool for those who want a competitive edge in jobs where creativity and innovation make a difference.” — R.E. Rhody — Senior Vice President and Director of Corporate Communications Bank of America |
| How To Run Seminars and Workshops | Jolles, Robert L. | Covers all the bases, including research and preparation, questioning techniques, pacing, visual aids, interest holding, evaluation and support, feedback, provides self-monitoring techniques that help you to gauge your level of effectiveness and to increase it many times over, peppered with eye-opening real-life stories, humorous anecdotes, and “tricks of the trade”. |
| Boom Town: Use The 7 1/2 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns | Schultz, Jack | “Reads like a novel. An inspirational and practical guide for small communities competing for jobs. A must book for the leadership of communities facing plant downsizings and closings.” — Ed Gilliland, vice president, sr. director, Advisory Services, International Economic Development Council. |
| Perfect PR | Maitland, Iain | All publicity is good publicity – or is it? Perfect PR explodes this popular myth and guides you through the minefield that is publicity. It shows you how to organize perfect PR activities and promote the right message about your company. Covering all practical aspects of PR, including planning and scheduling activities, writing and issuing press releases, managing press, radio, and television interviews, organizing press conferences and handling tricky situations, Perfect PR explains how to get the right publicity without spending a fortune. |
| Good To Great | Collins, Jim | “This carefully researched and well written book disproves most of the current management hype–from the cult of the superhuman CEO to the cult of IT to the acquisitions and merger mania. It will not enable mediocrity to become competence. But it should enable competence to become excellence.” — Peter F. Drucker |
| Customer Service . . . Who Needs It??? | Segel, Rick & Associates, LLC |
How to provide good customer relations and why. |
| The Home Town Advantage | Mitchell, Stacy | “Anyone concerned about the preservation of locally owned small businesses in America should read The Home Town Advantage. So should those who lament the conversion of the American landscape into blobs of sprawl. This concise, readable report is a real eye-opener in explaining how public policies often favor absentee-owned businesses over the local businesses that contribute so significantly to a community’s civic life and distinctive character. Most important, the report describes planning, zoning, and other strategies that Main Street preservationists can use to enhance the quality of their towns.” — Constance E. Beaumont |
| 1,001 Ideas To Create Retail Excitement | Falk, Edgar A. | Here is a storehouse of practical suggestions that show small- to medium- sized retailers how to attract hew customers . . . And keep them coming back. |
| Build A Better Board In 30 Days: A Practical Guide for Busy Trustees Vol. 1 |
Weisman, Carol | “This is a wonderful collection of useful, doable, effective strategies for improving the effectiveness of a board. Any organization which takes this prescription will improve.” — Charlie Brown, Director of External Affairs, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum |
| Laugh & Get Rich: How to Profit from Humor in Any Business |
Segel, Rick & LaCroix, Darren |
This collection of tools and stories will serve as a blueprint for business success while you enjoy the process. Improve your organization by understanding inclusionary humor and other principles that will become part of your life. Humor, it’s not just for advertising anymore! |
| Looking Forward To Monday Morning | Hodges, Diane Ph.D. | Dr. Diane Hodges, a former human resources director and school administrator, shares numerous staff appreciation and recognition activities that can be implemented to promote a positive work environment. She also presents low-cost, fun ideas that staff members can do at work during meetings, holidays, lunch time, ect. that help them look forward to coming to work. |
| Chase’s Calendar of Events | Packed with more than 12,000 entries, Chase’s delivers its wonderful mixture of special celebrations and observances for every day of the year. |
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| Retail Business Kit for Dummies | Segel, Rick | Dying to open up a retail business but scared to even start? Relax! Let retail marketing guru Rick Segel show you the way. From expert advice on branding, marketing, and merchandising your goods and services to savvy strategies for creating eye-catching displays, this essential guide will put you in business in no time at all! |
| ClipWords Promotion | Gorski, Robert E. | It’s a definite cure for writer’s block, an excellent way to find the right words to get your project on paper quickly and easily! It’s about sparking your creativity! |
| How to Run A Sale | Segel, Rick | How to Run A Sale is the definitive, one-stop resource for retailers looking to increase the power of their sale events, written by one of the world’s most recognized retail experts, Rick Segel. This book takes you step-by-step through the planning, promotion, and implementation of your sale event and teaches you how to: create fun , exciting, and wholly unique themes for your sales; find the wow promotable items customers will kill for; maximize your bottom dollar through effective sale advertising; and profit from the psychology of bargain hunting discount shoppers. |
| Keep The Money Coming | Graham, Christine | This book offers nonprofit organizations the basic skills for annual fundraising, but with an underlying emphasis on strategy and capacity-building — the keys to long-term financial security. You will find charts, checklists and guidelines to simplify the process and lead you to success. You will find powerful tools, sage advice, and proven methods to help you raise the money your organization needs every year. |
| Secrets of Successful Fundraising | Weisman, Carol | 19 nonprofit gurus share their fundraising secrets. Chapters include: board involvement, feasibility studies, generating multiple revenue streams, hiring consultants, special events, direct mail, planned giving, grants, major gifts, cause related marketing, corporate giving, internet fundraising, social entrepreneurism, newsletters, accounting 101, strategic alliances, and donor recognition. |
| Creative Event Development | Wiersma, Elizabeth | This manual is a guide to proven techniques that work to create, organize and manage successful events. It outlines important questions to ask and issues to consider as you work toward managing your own event challenges. The ideas are shared by project managers in the field, striving to improve the documentation of knowledge in our industry. These helpful hints have been developed through years of experience in corporate, private and not-not-profit sectors. |