November 2016

The full title of this book by Dr Andy Williams is

“SEO 2017 & Beyond: A Complete SEO Strategy – Dominate the Search Engines!“.

In my review on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a Four Star rating. This means I think it is good.

Here is my book review.

Packed with sensible advice on how to improve your SEO in a Google friendly way.

This is a very good book about search engine optimisation and the importance of following Google’s guidelines both to the letter and to their spirit.

The author tells how SEO used to be easy in the good old days before the Panda and Penguin crackdowns because someone in the know could take the steps needed to get onto the first page of Google with relative ease and with effort get into the top spots for all but the most popular phrases. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Bard Williams

The Justification Point: What Stops Your Customers From Buying Online and How to Change It – NOW!

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it 3 Stars.

Here is my review.

A summary of the things that matter when selling online but not the interesting concept I’d expected

I like the idea of a “justification point” which the author describes as the “exact moment when the scale is tipped and your customer actually makes the purchase.”

Sadly the book wasn’t as good or as focused as I wanted. The subtitle of the book is “What Stops Your Customers From Buying Online and How to Change It” and therefore I was expecting a list of reasons why customers look at a webpage and decide to click away rather than move forward. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Richard Klapholz is

“The Cash Machine: Using the Theory of Constraints for Sales Management“.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a Four Stars rating. This means I think it’s good.

Here is my book review.

Explains the idea of using constraints to improve the sales process and increase sales revenue.

This is a business novel which explains how the Theory of Constraints (TOC) can be used to find ways to increase sales revenue.

It is set in a large ($700 million turnover) digital imaging company which has a seen sales revenues reverse, from growing progressively they have dropped for the last three quarters. The hero has a job swap, from vice president of marketing to the hot seat, VP for sales. Fortunately he had agreed to be open-minded and consider TOC after it had been used effectively elsewhere in the business. [continue reading…]

I rated this book,

Designing KPIs to Drive Process Improvement by Giles Johnston

at the Four Stars level in my review on Amazon.co.uk.

Here is my book review.

A short, easy to read guide about measuring process improvement

As the book title suggests, this is a guide to help you design key performance indicators and measures for process improvement and is therefore suitable for any process owners, team leaders and managers who are involved with studying work processes.

It is not suitable as a guide to KPI for business owners and senior managers who have responsibility for an entire organisation because in this situation, the overall business strategy should be the driver of what’s important and where improvement efforts need to be focused. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Jose Palomino is

Value Prop: Create Powerful I3 Value Propositions To Enter And Win New Markets

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it 3 Stars.

Here is my review.

This is an important topic but I thought it would be a better book

This book argues that your value proposition should meet the I3 criteria being innovative, indispensable and inspirational. In words that are easier to understand, it needs some that is new, useful and exciting. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Cynthia Kocialski is

“Perfect Pricing in One Simple Lesson: Find Your Pricing Edge, Attract More Customers, and Earn More Profit“.

In my review ,on Amazon.co.uk, I gave this book a rating of Four Stars. This means I think it is good.

Here is my book review.

A nice guide to the important issue of pricing

The key importance of pricing is often overlooked by business owners who find themselves guessing a suitable price and hoping for the best.

A change on prices up or down is often the main cause of changes in profits. Perhaps counter intuitively an increase in prices offset by a small reduction in volume is often more profitable than slashing prices to sell more. [continue reading…]

The full title of this book by Dennis Lewis is

Combat Zone: The Value Based Proposition

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it Three Stars.

Here is my review.

Interesting For Sales People In B2B Markets

This wasn’t the book I was expecting to read as I thought it was about strategic marketing style value propositions.

Instead this is a book about selling in B2B markets where products can be sold on the basis of financial justification e.g. a chemical company might sell a new type of fertiliser that increases wheat yields per acre by 25% over the next best alternative. Depending on what you’re selling, you can therefore explain your advantage based on costs savings, extra revenue generated, faster payback for a machine or a combination of all three. [continue reading…]

In my review of the book

Accounting For Throughput

by David Dugdale and T Jones posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it Three Stars. This means Worthwhile.

Here is my review.

An early look at Accounting for Throughput consistent with the Theory of Constraints

This book is now 20 years old.

It was written at a time when there was plenty of criticism of traditional absorption based costing from

• Theory Of Constraints (TOC) advocates,
• from those who believed in Activity Based Costing and
• those who believed that there was too much focus on financial performance when non-financial performance indicators would chart progress better.

This presents the TOC side of the argument where it is believed that the main purpose is to support actions that will increase throughput (at that time sales revenue minus direct material costs) rather than the old “cost world” which aimed to reduce costs and improve (false) efficiencies.

The fact that fixed and variable cost production overheads need to be included in stock and work in progress valuations for statutory accounts for Companies House and HMRC because that’s what the accounting standards say means that Throughput Accounts and Absorption Cost Accounts need to be reconciled. The first is used to guide internal decision making whilst the second is used to report progress to the outside world.

It does a good job of summarising the situation at that time including a detailed look at one company in the UK that had implemented Eli Goldratt’s product planning software, taken up his ToC ideas and found their traditional costing system a barrier to progress.

It presents a balanced case highlighting the void around department measures when the old costing reports were removed and works supervisors were no longer judged on efficiencies compared to standard costs.

Back when it first came out, I would have probably rated this as at least a 4 star book. However 20 years have past and ToC has developed as it has been implemented in more businesses. Accounting for ToC will have also moved forward so this book only tells the first half of the story, even if it has the main plot lines. That’s cost it a star when I rate it in but I still think it’s worth reading if you’re interested in introducing a style of Throughput Accounting.

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The full title of this book by Matías Birrell and Javier Arévalo is

“Forget the Urgent!: Rather focus on the important: A business dialogue based on the best seller ‘The Goal’ by Eliyahu M Goldratt“.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of FIVE Stars. That means I think it is excellent.

Who Should Read This Book?

• Anyone interested in the Theory of Constraints.
• Small business owners who want to improve.

The Big Idea

Every business faces constraints unless it is able to generate an infinite amount of money. [continue reading…]