by Paul Simister
on June 4, 2018
In my review of
A Simple Guide to Planning Your Business by Danielle Grant
posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Two Stars. This means it is Disappointing.
Here is my book review.
There’s a decent book hiding in here
This is very short and the language is quite flowery.
Strangely the author doesn’t use paragraphs, a significant mistake in readability. The author seems confused because the book starts repeating itself.
I’m a believer in planning by answering the who, what, where, when, why questions like the author.
The book needs knocking into shape before I can give it even a mild recommendation. This is a shame but is getting too common with these self published Kindle books.
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by Paul Simister
on June 4, 2018
The full title of this book by Gary Keller is
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Three Stars. This means it is Worthwhile.
Ask yourself why The One Thing is a long book.
This book caused me to have mixed feelings.
The idea that you should focus on the area where you can have the biggest impact on performance makes a great deal of sense. It’s the logic for the weakest link of the chain and the main idea behind the Theory of Constraints. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on June 2, 2018
What is A Living Business Plan And How Does It Work?
The big problem with a traditional business plan is that it takes a lot of effort to prepare, and then, when it’s done, it’s forgotten and ignored.
What a crazy waste of time, unless you must do it to get money from a bank or key support from someone else.
Plans Must Change
It was Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in World War 2 and 34th President of the United States of America who said
“In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable.”
World heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson said
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Prussian (German) field marshall Helmuth von Moltke the Elder said
“No plan survives first contact with the enemy.”
Business is also a contact situation, even if you’re not killing or punching other people.
What customers say and do, should change your mind and how competitors react will also mean you need to adjust.
Eisenhower accepted that plans change but said “planning is essential“. You must think about what you’re going to do in a structured way. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on May 30, 2018
The full title of this book by W Adam Mandelbaum is
The Power Of Negative Planning: How To Succeed By Beating Murphy’s Law
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Three Stars. This means it is Worthwhile.
Here is my book review.
Aggressively sarcastic but it makes some important points about protecting yourself and loved ones
I’m surprised there aren’t more books about negative planning, that is, thinking about what can go wrong and doing something about the risk. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on May 29, 2018
The full title of this book by Ruth Tembe Epie is
Purpose First Then Profit: Discover The Purpose Of Your Life Then Make Millions Out Of It
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Two Stars if you buy it and Three Stars if you read it through your Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Here is my book review.
Disappointing for the money it costs to buy, 3 Stars if you read it through your Kindle Unlimited subscription
You know how sometimes an author’s style gels with you and you enjoy reading the book, even if you didn’t get much out of it?
Well I had the opposite problem. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on May 22, 2018
The full title of this book by Kat Loterzo is
Stop Fu*king Around, And Figure Out What You Want From Life!: The No BS Guide to Finding Your Purpose and Living with Passion and Flow!
In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Two Stars. This means it is Disappointing.
Here is my book review.
Hard hitting self help for women misses the mark
The title tells you this isn’t for the faint-hearted so, if you object to bad language, find another book.
You get the author’s story first, the ups and downs, the crisis and the recovery. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on May 20, 2018
The full title of this book by Yolanda A Facio is
Purpose: Build a Business You Love
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Three Stars. This means it is Worthwhile.
Here is my book review.
Has some interesting ideas but not sure it adds up
The book tries to cover two situations:
1 – someone thinking about starting a business
2 – someone already with a business
This is ambitious and a stretch too far. It is much better at helping people in the first category as the title suggests. If the author had wanted to cover both, I think it’s better to write the book on two parts. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 27, 2016
The full title of this book by Marc Van Eck and Ellen Leenhouts is
“The One Page Business Strategy: Streamline Your Business Plan in Four Simple Steps“.
In my review on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means I consider it to be in the good to very good category.
Here is my review.
A nice summary planning process
This book explains a useful planning process which helps to provide focus and coordination. The format summarises the plan nicely although I think the one page is a gimmick as it specifies a minimum font size of 6ppt. Personally I’d rather have two pages I can read without squinting.
It involves working through the main Objective, Goals, Strategies & both meanings of Measures – a KPI Dashboard and Actions. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on October 27, 2016
The full title of the book by Elliot Wagonheim is
Fire, Aim…Ready: Management: The Start at the End Approach to Crushing Competition, Crafting Culture, and Cementing Relationships
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it 3 Stars.
Here is my review.
What stories do you want your customers and employees to tell about your business?
I’m been aware of the old planning adage that “you should start with the end in mind and work backwards” for many years. It’s a very useful way to look at things and sometimes I work both ways. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 4, 2015
The full title of this book by Jane Horan is
“The One Page Business Plan: The Fastest, Easiest Way to Write a Business Plan“.
In my review posted to Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a Four Stars rating. This means I think it is Good and Well Worth Reading.
Here is my book review.
A very interesting way to develop or summarise your plans for a business
This is very different from other business planning books I’ve read. It solves a problem which puts many small business owners off the idea of business planning because of the time required.
The typical business plan is long on words and numbers but this does what it says on the tin. While it’s short on words, it is deep in the most important thing – the quality of thinking which goes into creating a successful business. [continue reading…]
