by Paul Simister
on May 9, 2018
The full title of this book by Howard Mann is
Your Business Brickyard: Getting back to the basics to make your business more fun to run
In my review on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Five Stars. This means it is Excellent and is Very Highly Recommended.
Here is my book review.
Put the fancy stuff to one side and get back to basics
I read a lot of business books but rarely do I find one that connects so strongly with the frustrated, stressed-out business owners from the very start.
It’s not the best of book titles but it’s a metaphor that refers to a catching exercise for wide receivers in American football. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on April 26, 2018
The full title of this book by Tom Shapiro is
“Rethink Your Marketing: 7 Strategies to Unleash Revenue Growth”.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave it a FIVE star rating, meaning that I rate it as excellent.
Here is what I posted.
An excellent and thoughtful book to get your business back on track
The book encourages you to rethink seven different areas:
1-your audience
2-how they think
3-your goals
4-your marketing mix
5-your metrics
6-your revenue model
7-your future
The aim is to get your business growing again. Too often, companies get stuck and the owner-managers don’t know what to do other than more of the same, copying competitors or jumping on the latest fad. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on March 2, 2018
The full title of this book by Richard Dotts is
“What To Do When You Are Stuck And Nothing Seems To Work“
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated it as a FOUR Stars book, this means I think it is good to very good.
Here is what I posted.
Focuses on your inner game
This book focuses on what I call your inner game, how your thoughts, beliefs and emotions control your actions or inactions. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on October 2, 2017
The full title of the book written by Eliyahu Goldratt and with Ilan Eshkoli and Joe Brownleer is
“Isn’t It Obvious?: A Business Novel on Retailing Using the Theory of Constraints“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I rated the book at the FOUR Stars level which means I think it is good to very good.
Here is what I wrote.
TOC in a retail setting with wider lessons
This is another business novel explaining the ideas behind the Theory Of Constraints. To make it a snappier read, Eli Goldratt worked with screenwriters who were well used to regularly revising their work.
It is based on a retail business in home textiles in the US. I can’t remember the exact numbers but there are about 100 stores organised into about 10 regions. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on February 23, 2017
The full title of this book by Gabor Holch is
“Breaking the Circle: Vicious circles in business“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave it a FOUR Stars rating, which means I consider it as good to very good.
Here it is.
An interesting book to help you get unstuck
I’m surprised that there aren’t more books about vicious circles to help to break the destructive forces that get people trapped.
I first became interested in understanding vicious circles when I was introduced to systems thinking by a book called The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge.
In technical terms, vicious circles and their opposites, virtuous circles are caused by positive (or reinforcing) feedback loops. They are positive because they build momentum, either up or down and contrast with compensating feedback loops that work like the central heating thermostat and work towards reaching a target. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on February 12, 2017
The full title of this book my Paul Avins is
“Business SOS: 173 Proven, Fast-Acting Strategies to take Your Business from Surviving to Thriving“.
It won’t be a surprise for you to know that I couldn’t resist reading this since I abbreviate my free Business Second Opinion Sessions to Business SOS.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a Four stars rating. This means that I feel it is in the good to very good category.
Here is my review.
Plenty of ideas to increase sales and profit
This is a good summary of how to improve the results of a business that draws on the ideas of many well known “gurus”.
If you’ve read many small business success books, I don’t think it will include much that’s new to you but, even so, it is a good reminder of what you should be doing.
[continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on January 30, 2017
The full title of this book by Andrew Miller is
“Hope Won’t Pay the Wages: How to deal with the personal impact of a struggling business“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave it the full FIVE Stars, meaning I consider the book to be excellent.
Here it is.
A great help for struggling business owners
There are plenty of books about how a business in trouble can be turned around but this is the first book I’ve seen that focuses on the business owner. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on January 18, 2017
The full title of this book by Cara Stein is
“Getting Unstuck: How to transform your life one step at a time“.
In my review on Amazon.co.uk, I rated this book at the Four Stars level. This means I consider to be in the good to very good range.
Here is my review.
A very helpful book to get your life unstuck
I’ve been reading and reviewing books about how to get a business unstuck but this time I have stepped into looking at how someone gets their life unstuck. There is some crossover as a stuck business owner will cause the business to be stuck and vice versa, business problems spill into personal lives. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on January 15, 2017
The full title of this book by Keith Yamashita is
“Unstuck: A Tool for Yourself, Your Team and Your World“.
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a Four Stars rating which means I consider it to be in the good to very good category.
Here is what I wrote.
A systems approach to why businesses get stuck and how to get them unstuck
This is a book of three sections. At one stage, I thought it was going to be the clear leader in books about how businesses get stuck and how you can get them unstuck. Sadly it tailed off in the main tactics section so we’re left with a 5 star start and a 3 star finish.
I’ll cover the looks of the book to start. It is one of those “designed” books that look stylish. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on January 14, 2017
When I reviewed the book
“Turn Around Your Business by 5 PM“
by Maurice Stein, I gave it a four stars rating. This means I consider it to be in the range of good to very good.
Here is a copy of my review on Amazon.co.uk.
The title of this book gives the wrong impression but it is good for business owners who feel stuck
I’m reading and reviewing quite a few turnaround management books at the moment which describe how to rescue a business at risk of failure.
Before starting to read this one, I thought I was going to criticise the 5 pm part of the title. Turnarounds are tough, and while they need urgent action, you can’t do everything in a day, or as many business owners will think, three quarters of a day. [continue reading…]