Profits Aren't Everything...

I was browsing my library's "New Book" shelves, looking for an interesting business book to read, when I came across Profits Aren't Everything, They're the Only Thing by George Cloutier with Samantha Marshall.

What a provocative title, right?

The subtitle is even more intriguing: No-Nonsense Rules from the Ultimate Contrarian and Small Business Guru.

I wondered exactly how contrarian George Cloutier really is - so I picked up the book.

I almost put it down again when I glanced at the fly-leaf. It gives some of his rules:

The best family business has one member.
Weekends are for working, not playing golf or coaching.
Never pay your vendors on time.
Wear your control freak badge with pride.
Quit denial: if your business is failing during a recession, it's your fault.

Which of these rules rubs you the wrong way? None of them? Well, there are fifteen rules in this short book, so I'm sure one of them will make you mad.

Even so, I would encourage you to read this book - especially if you are a business owner. You will not agree with everything Cloutier says, but you may end up agreeing with more of his rules than you anticipate after you reading through his reasoning.

And even if you don't, he might make you mad enough to prove him wrong - which would only help your business. That would be worth the read.

Death by Meeting

Patrick Lencioni writes for business owners, and he's a good writer. I read his book The 3 Big Questions for the Frantic Family and wrote about it here. So when I came across his book Death by Meeting at the library recently, I knew that even if I couldn't use the ideas in his book, it would still be a good read.

And it is. Like Five Questions, Lencioni wrote it in story form, following a successful business owner who isn't quite as successful as he could be. The catalyst for change is a temporary employee, a friend of the family with an interesting education background. He uses his background to help the business rethink their meetings, meeting structure and meeting purpose, using film and television analogies.

Lencioni also includes an Executive Summary in the back of the book for those who want to skip the story and get down to the nitty-gritty.

If you are in a medium- to large-sized business, I would recommend reading this book. You might just avoid an early death brought on by too many meetings... or non-functioning meetings.

Loops

I picked up Loops: The Seven Keys to Small Business Success because I noticed it was co-written by Stephen Lundin, who also co-authored Fish! I absolutely loved Fish! It's a great business book that every small, medium or large business owner or manager should read.

Loops is a small book, and I knew it wouldn't take long to read. I suspected it would be written in the form of a parable, and I was right.

The story centers around a young man who's finishing his junior year in business school. He is given a summer assignment to study a successful businessman, and he decides to study his late father.

The story is a hook, a way to easily get the author's points across in a way that readers will enjoy. So don't expect great character development here, and parts of the story sound quite hokey. But don't let that stop you from reading this book.

In fact, if you're a small business owner, I'd encourage you to read this book with a group of like-minded people. It's a great book for discussion, with application points at the end of each chapter to help you make your business strong and successful. Plan to meet once a week or once a month, and plan on about ten meetings - one for Part One, one for each of the seven loops, and one for the conclusion.

Reading the chapters won't take much time, even if you're a slow reader, but what will make this book powerful is following up and applying the principles to your business.

Get Motivated

I have to admit, I'm a skeptic when it comes to motivational books. I've read quite a few, and it seems like they all say the same thing, just in a different way. Plus, most of the techniques feel very 'new-age' to me, and in reality some are.

Last month, my friend went to a motivational seminar produced by Tamara Lowe, the author of Get Motivated. I think she knew I am skeptical of those types of events, because we didn't talk about it much. However, our mutual friend filled me in when we were talking about my experience at the Shaklee national convention.

She told me about Lowe's book, Get Motivated, and the motivational DNA test you could take on her website. I was intrigued - mainly because I thought something must be wrong with me.

Why would I think that? Because the most valuable part of the national convention for me was reconnecting with people with whom I mostly interact on the phone. Otherwise, the focus on making the 'big money' in Shaklee during the convention meetings made me uneasy and uncomfortable. I was left wondering why I had taken the time, and money, to attend. (After sitting back and thinking objectively about what I had heard at convention, I realized that if someone is motivated by money and performance, that person could make a lot of money with Shaklee. It's amazing, really, but not motivating to me.)

During our discussion, she mentioned it sounded like I am motivated by relationships, and said a few words about what she had learned from reading Lowe's book. I immediately got online and requested it through inter-library loan.

Lowe's personal story is quite amazing, and her drive is impressive. I almost hate admitting that I enjoyed reading this book. Her idea of Motivational DNA is a new one to me, and it makes sense. I discovered my Motivational DNA is CSI (not like the TV show, but Connection, Stability and Internal). DNA, by the way, stands for Drives, Needs and Awards. Yes, a bit cutesy, but it is memorable.

I was looking forward to reading the section about motivating children, but after I read it I felt a little let-down. It was a very, very quick overview - mostly anecdotal of her relationship with her oldest son - of childhood stages. She mostly recommended reading certain authors for a better understanding of parenting techniques. They are authors I enjoy reading, for the most part, but I was hoping for a little more direction from Lowe about applying her theories.

Overall, if you're wondering why you're having problems getting motivated, or trying to figure out how to motivate employees or children, I'd suggest reading this book. It might even be worth purchasing, so you can have her run-downs of each motivational type.

48 Days to the Work You Love

I heard a very short snippet of an interview with Dan Miller on the radio last month, and it was enough for me to search out his book 48 Days to the Work You Love. I felt I needed a new perspective on work, and some guiding questions to help me evaluate my professional life.

In 48 Days to the Work You Love, Miller provides just that. He discusses the definition of work - and our culture's perspective of work. I especially enjoyed his discussion of the differences between vocation, career, and job.

After the more philosophical, yet very readable, discussions of work, Miller moves into very practical applications of finding work. He gives tips and samples of resumes, introduction letters, follow up letters. He talks about the interview and what an applicant can and should do to prepare for it. He takes us through a step-by-step job search process not focused on the classifieds (in print or online) and destroys myths we believe about the job search process.

He also has a couple of chapters on starting your own business - what to think about, answering common questions, and giving words of warning about scams. He encourages us to stretch our thinking - and to do something with our ideas.

"Most great business ideas are not new and revolutionary. They are simple but done by someone who just did something! A good idea will not put money in anybody's pocket, but combined with a plan of action that good idea can give you time control and unlimited income."

Dave Ramsey (of Total Money Makeover fame) sets the tone for Miller's book in his forward. He says, "The difference between successful and the troubled is not error-free living; it is that by discovering and implementing a life calling, the successful stand on their pile of trash while the troubled sit under theirs. ... This is a book about implementation, so do it!"

I would recommend this book to anyone feeling discouraged, disappointed, or is searching for a job. Putting into practice a few of the things in this book will help you climb to the top of your trash pile, instead of sitting under it.

What Would Google Do?

I picked up What Would Google Do? on the recommendation of the author of a couple of other books I've read and enjoyed. I thought the title was hokey (playing off the What Would Jesus Do? phenomena from several years ago), yet somewhat intriguing. What would Google do? And where exactly would they do it?

Jeff Jarvis, the author, walks the reader through how Google has not just changed the internet, but how people think and their expectations. He forces his readers to consider how this affects them, and especially their businesses. It's such a complete paradigm shift (over-used phrase, but oh-so-appropriate here), I'm still trying to digest it.

Some of Jarvis' challenges to the readers:

"What business are you really in?" (pg 80-81)

"I do believe that if companies were to ask themselves - and employees were empowered to ask - whether they were being good or evil to their customers and communities, they would often make different decisions." (pg 101)

"Google is seeing problems, solving them, and finding opportunities in them by thinking in new ways. This is all about finding your own new worldview." (pg 122)

Fortunately for us, Jarvis takes the second half of his book to apply the principles from the first half to business as we know it. He tackles media, advertising, utilities, manufacturing - a whole host of traditional industries which seem un-Google-able, if that is a word, and Googlifies them. It really is fascinating reading - probably made all the more fascinating if you were involved in such an industry.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the chapter titled "Google Power & Light: What Google Would Do." Google.org (the philanthropic arm) is actually involved in trying to reinvent our energy economy. It makes sense really. "If Google can help create cleaner, cheaper electricity anywhere it operates, it will improve its own bottom line." (pg 162)

Jarvis tells about his experience attending the World Economic Forum in 2008 and listening to Bono and Al Gore passionately plead for their core causes. Then he went to hear the Google.org forum.

"The contrast was stark. To summarize if not oversimplify their vantage points: Where Gore demands taxes and regulation, the Google team proposes invention and investment. Gore and company want to raise the cost of carbon - the cost of polluting - whereas the Google team wants to lower the cost of energy. ...

[W]e see different worldviews at work. "You can't succeed just out of conservation because then you won't have economic development," [Google.org executive director Larry] Brilliant said. "Find a way to make electricity - not to cut back on it but to have more of it than you ever dreamed of." ... Create and manage abundance rather than control scarcity - as ever, that is the Google worldview." (pg 163)

Jarvis goes on to contrast those two worldviews - create abundance vs. control scarcity. It reminds me of Paul Zane Pilzer's books - he writes based upon the same idea of creating abundance, though it's been so long since I've read his books I can't pinpoint exact quotes. Honestly, it brings to mind John 10:10 where Jesus says, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." That brings in a whole different discussion that I won't touch right now.

After I was finished with this book, my husband spotted it and asked me about it. I told him I'm still thinking about it, trying to digest it. He said, "Should we own this book? Should I read it?"

"Absolutely," I said.

I can't wait to get my own copy and start marking it up.

Made to Stick

Last year I read an article in US News and World Report about Chip and Dan Heath, brothers who wrote a book together called Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. I enjoyed the article so much, I tore it out of the magazine to remind myself to read the book.

Of course, I didn't remember it until I spotted the book on the shelf behind the registers at the bookstore mentioned in the previous post. I was thrilled to find it available at my local library.

Now that I've finished it, I wished I had bought a copy at the bookstore so I could highlight it. Actually, I think it will go on my 'books-to-own' list because they have a really cool 'cheat sheet' (or Clif Notes) at the end of the book.

So what is this book about, and why is it so interesting to me? Well, it's a book about communicating ideas. Some might think that it's a book for marketers, which it kind of is, but it's more than that. It's really for anyone who wants to communicate ideas - from teachers to preachers, from parents to marketers, and anyone in between.

I think I knew quite a few of the principles the Heath brothers share in this book. However, the book gives me a big picture and a great outline for making ideas stick and communicating effectively. And, as an added bonus, this book is easy to read - even though Chip Heath is a professor at Stanford University. They've done a good job of creating a book that 'sticks.'

So, what exactly makes ideas stick?
Ideas must be simple
Ideas must be unexpected
Ideas must be concrete
Ideas must be credible
Ideas must be emotional
Ideas must be communicated in stories

Actually, ideas don't NEED to be all of the above, but the more categories checked off, the better chance of people remembering it. And, what's the point of communicating ideas if people don't remember them?

Sprinkled throughout the book are "Clinics," where the Heaths share real-life circumstances and how the principles they discuss makes a difference.

For example, did you know that the slogan "Don't Mess with Texas" started as an anti-littering campaign? That's one sticky idea that grew to have a life of its own.

Of course, you can't have a book about sticky ideas without plenty of stories of Nordstrom's customer service (like the ones from my sister's blog), which this one does. But the Heaths include plenty of other stories, including ones from a high school journalism class, from the World Bank, from a non-profit seminar in Florida (among plenty of others).

One of the most important ideas the authors discuss in the book is the "Curse of Knowledge." It's hard for us to imagine not knowing what it is we know, so it's hard for us to communicate in ways that people without our knowledge base can understand. "You know things that others don't know, and you can't remember what it was like not to know those things. So when you get around to sharing the Answer, you'll tend to communicate as if your audience were you." (pg 245)

"This book is filled with normal people facing normal problems who did amazing things simply by applying these principles (even if they weren't aware that they were doing it). ... Their names aren't sticky, but their stories are." (pg 251)

Made to Stick is a practical tool for normal people who need to communicate ideas and want people to remember those ideas. Put it on your list!

Tribes

I thoroughly enjoyed this little book from Seth Godin. It's more of a theoretical book about how and why tribes are formed rather than a 'how-to' guide to building your own tribe.

You may be wondering, "What exactly IS a tribe?"

Good question. According to the book flap, a tribe "is any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea."

Tribes are nothing new, but using technology to create tribes is a rather new concept, and one that Godin explores in this book.

There are no chapters in this book, which I found a little frustrating because I wanted to go back and review and think over some things more. However, it's so small, that re-reading the entire book is not overwhelming.

In fact, I want to do just that.

The interesting thing for me was recognizing examples of tribes in my own life.

The Myth of Multi-Tasking

I read this book in about an hour in the van on the way home from a family trip. It's a very easy read, told in story form, but with helpful forms in the back that you can copy and use.

In it, a consultant works with a CEO on becoming more effective in her job and in her life. The author explores topics that I've been thinking about recently - how I'm working on three things at once and it's taking me three times longer to get them all done, plus then I'm ignoring my children or having to ask them to repeat a question three times because I switch my focus in the middle of their question.

Before I even read this book, I was trying to focus on one thing at a time, keep lists for things I need to do later and divide my days into segments in which I can focus my attention on one person or project. Obviously, a difficult thing when I'm teaching four children at home. However, reading this book enforced what I am trying to do, and gave me hope that I am on the right track.

If you're a strong believer in multi-tasking, this book is a definite must-read. It might even change your thinking!

Word-of-Mouth Advertising

I found many useful tips for creating buzz for my own business in Lynn Thorne's book with the really, really long title: Word-of-Mouth Advertising, Online & Off, How to Spark Buzz, Excitment, & Free Publicity For Your Business or Organization, With Little or No Money. Honestly, it almost seems like the title was search-engine optimized (read the book if you're not sure what that is).

I particularly enjoyed Thorne's sense of humor. A couple of times I laughed out loud. It made the book an easy read, and got her point across.

I would not say Thorne has introduced any new ideas as much as consolidated current thought into an easy-to-read how-to guide for word-of-mouth marketing.

She even includes a chapter for non-profits in particular, which I found interesting.

Another thing I appreciated about Thorne's book is that she includes a discussion of ethics in marketing - really common sense things for anyone with common sense. But since so many of us don't exhibit signs of common sense, she covers them in Chapter 10 just to make sure.

The Table of Contents is very detailed so you can find the topic you want to read about very quickly. Plus, each chapter includes an "Afterwords" - a summery of the main points covered in that chapter - great for skimming.

I picked up the copy I read at the library, but I think this would be an excellent reference book for my personal library.