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Reviews of The Business Turnaround Books

Streetwise Small Business Turnaround by Marc Kramer

The full title of this book by Marc Kramer is

Streetwise Small Business Turnaround: Revitalise Your Struggling or Stagnant Enterprise

In my review of the book posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Two Stars, which means Disappointing.

Here is my book review.

Not nearly as helpful as I’d hoped

I had high hopes for this book but it turned out to be a major disappointment.

Let’s put to one side the fact that it’s written for the American market so some of the contents is wrong as far as UK businesses are concerned and that it is old. Much of what’s involved with turning around a business hasn’t changed over the years. [continue reading…]

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Hope Won’t Pay the Wages by Andrew R Miller – 5 Stars

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…]

in Best Business Books, Business Problems And Mistakes

How to Save a Small Business by Ian Turner

The full title of the book by Ian Turner is

How to Save a Small Business: When you can’t afford to lose it

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

Here is my review.

Helps you to face up to the issues

Insolvency is a legal issue and this book talks about various legal issues but it’s written based on the USA. It’s essential you find out about your own country’s requirements. [continue reading…]

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Turn Around Your Business by 5 PM by Maurice Stein

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…]

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The full title of this book by Jack Skinner is

Turnaround Strategies for Customer Centric Operations: Turn-by-Turn Directions on the Path to Recovery

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

Here is my review.

Propaganda for turnaround managers

This is a strange book for the turnaround manager cast as the hero in a propaganda broadcast.

I’ve read a lot of business books but I’ve never experienced this before. Yes some books are obviously designed to sell but not like this although the propaganda is toned down later in the book. [continue reading…]

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11 Keys To Successful Business Turnarounds by Trevi Lim

In my review of

11 Keys To Successful Business Turnarounds

by Trevi Lim posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it Two Stars.

Here is my review.

Confusing and poorly structured

The book makes a huge claim for itself. It claims to be “the most powerful e-book on the net for rescuing your business from financial disaster. ”

Nonsense. [continue reading…]

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Business Turnaround in 7 Easy Steps by John Quinn

In my review of the book

Business Turnaround in 7 Easy Steps by John Quinn

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

Here is my review.

A short guide to help you improve your business

I’m not keen on the title of this book. Turning around a business is rarely easy and, perhaps the most difficult step (not in the book) is accepting that you need to take urgent actions to save your business. Too often business owners leave it too late which is why failure rates are so bad. [continue reading…]

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Business Turnaround by Harry Moore

The full title of this book by Henry Moore is

Business Turnaround: How to do it: A guide for advisers and managers“.

When I reviewed it on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it a Four Stars rating, which means I consider it to be in the good to very good range.

Here is my review.

A good summary of how to professionally manage a business turnaround

The author originally wrote this book as a training resource for new employees in his turnaround management business. The guide was then used for other professional turnaround projects and finally, was published more widely. [continue reading…]

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The full title of this book by David Borgenicht & Mark Joyner is

The Worst-case Scenario Business Survival Guide: How To Survive The Recession, Handle Layoffs, Raise Emergency Cash, Thwart An Employee Coup and Avoid Other Potential Disasters!

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book Three Stars. This means Worthwhile.

Here is my review.

A helpful guide for any business owner with a business in trouble

David Borgenicht has written a series of Worst Case books and, in the introduction to this one, admits that the others are written more for entertainment than practice. This book is different and is intended as a serious guide for a business owner with a business in trouble.

It is split into five main sections:
Financial emergencies
HR emergencies
Productivity emergencies
Sales and marketing emergencies
Executive emergencies

In each section, the two author have asked various business experts on their tips before writing what they call Basic Training. These are practical but sometimes easier to say than do. At the back of the book are suggested”what to say guides” for various situations.

I have a few concerns.

First, a company in trouble needs to be aware of its legal obligations. There are different levels of trouble but, if insolvency is threatened, you must know where you are. There are serious penalties for trading beyond the point of no return. If you need to reduce your employees, it must be done in the right way.

What you do to get out of trouble depends on what caused the problems. The book is tactical, looking at how to reduce the impact of the symptoms rather than strategic, which involves looking at and fixing the underlying problems.

The book also ignores financial control. You need to understand what it will take to get you back above the break even level and you need to be forecasting your cash flow, probably for at least 3 months to make sure you’re not digging a deeper hole in a few weeks time.

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Face It & Fix It by Mac Attram

The full title of this book by Mac Attram is

Face It & Fix It: How to Avoid Disaster and Turn Around Your Small Business“.

In my review at Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of Four Stars. This means that I consider it to be good.

Here is my book review.

A practical book that looks at the causes of business failure

This is a good, practical, wide – ranging book that looks at 43 different causes of business failure.

It then tells a few stories where businesses found themselves in trouble and through effective action, turned themselves around. [continue reading…]

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