Book Review: Guts: 8 Laws of Business from One of the Most Innovative Business Leaders LUTZ

GUTS

Book Review:  GUTS
Author:            Robert A. Lutz
Language:        English
Format:            Hard Cover
ISBN-10:        0471463221
Topic:              Leadership


SPONSOR:  Shirley Temple Dolls


Publisher's Note
"Read it for no other reason than to learn Bob's Seven Immutable Laws of Business. . . . This is vintage Bob-contrarian, thoughtful, and he's really fun to read."-Forbes

In this edition of Bob Lutz's bestselling account of the business philosophy with which he revolutionized Chrysler and much of the automotive industry, Lutz reveals his unique brand of creative management. Readers will learn many lessons herein, including why the key to success in any business is maintaining a positive tension between the creative minds and the buttoned-up financial minds, and how to attract, motivate, and strategically deploy each type throughout an organization. This book features a new introduction and an epilogue in which Lutz introduces an eighth law that helps today's business leaders put his famed Seven Immutable Laws of Business into sharper perspective.

Robert A. Lutz (Scarsdale, NY) is General Motor's Vice Chairman of Product Development and Chairman of GM North America.

REVIEW:

Excellent book and well written.  I enjoyed the tough talk about taking things seriously.  The chapet about fear spoke to me and motivated me.

Book Review: The New Strategic Selling (Updated)

NEW STRATEGIC SELLING

Book Review:       NEW STRATEGIC SELLING
Author:    Stephen E. Heiman & Robert B. Miller
Language:    English
Format:        Paperback
ISBN-10:    044669519x

Topic:      SALES


SPONSOR:  Business Books


Publisher's Note:
UPDATED 


The Book That Sparked A Selling Revolution.  In 1985 one book changed sales and marketing forever. Rejecting manipulative tactics and emphasizing "process," Strategic Selling presented the idea of selling as a joint venture and introduced the decade's most influential concept, Win-Win. The response to Win-Win was immediate and helped turn the small company that created Strategic Selling, Miller Heiman, into a global leader in sales development with the most prestigious client list in the industry. The New Strategic Selling This modern edition of the business classic confronts the rapidly evolving world of business-to-business sales with new real-world examples, new strategies for confronting competition, and a special section featuring the most commonly asked questions from the Miller Heiman workshops. Learn: * How to identify the four real decision makers in every corporate labyrinth * How to prevent sabotage by an internal deal-killer * How to make a senior executive eager to see you * How to avoid closing business that you'll later regret * How to manage a territory to provide steady, not "boom and bust," revenue * How to avoid the single most common error when dealing with the competition.


By eliminating "fickle luck" from the sales process and replacing it with proven, visible, repeatable skills, this book offers a sure-fire method for making the sale every time. This expanded edition features the basic tenets from the first book, plus a valuable array of new features.

Presenting an effective method for making the sale every time, an expanded edition features the basic tenets of Buying Influences, Red Flags/Leverage from Strength, Response Modes, The Sales Funnel, Win Results, The Ideal Customer, and much more. Original.

The back list bestseller that demystifies methods for consistently and successfully "closing the deal" is now updated and expanded to address changes in client demand and the market.




REVIEW:

The company I worked for in 2009 used this method with much success.  Later when I started my own business, I used many of these concepts to open up larger accounts.  The section on defining the ideal customer was crucial.  It helped me to avoid wasting time and other resources pursuing inappropriate deals.

Saddam Hussein on eBay - Looted Loot gets Returned to Original Looters

Officials in New York have returned to Iraqi diplomats dinnerware once belonging to Saddam Hussein and the family of King Faisal II that was looted, then illegally imported to the United States and sold on eBay.

Looted Plates

Nineteen dinner and salad plates, some which contained the official seal of Iraq, were being used at the Park Avenue Autumn restaurant as part of an art exhibit. The plates, officials say, were returned to Iraqi representatives at the United Nations on Tuesday.

"After being advised of the illegal status of the Iraqi Plates, Creative Time, the owner of the Iraqi Plates, agreed to voluntarily relinquish them to the custody of the United States Attorney's Office, so they could be returned to their rightful owner, the Republic of Iraq," the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Wednesday.

News of the discovery comes on the same day President Obama marked the end of the war in Iraq with an address to troops at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Wednesday also marks eight years to the day that Saddam Hussein was discovered hiding in a spider hole and captured by U.S. forces.

The items are just a few among a large collection of artifacts that were stolen from Baghdad palaces and museums when U.S. tanks rumbled into the country's capital back in early 2003.

For some legal plates and glassware go here

Book Review: 9 Lies That Are Holding Your Business Back

Book Review:   9 Lies That Are Holding Your Business Back
Authors: Steve Chandler & Sam Beckford

9 Lies

ISBN: 156414836x
Topic:  Small Business
Format:  Hardcover
Language:  English
Publication Year:  2005

SPONSOR:  Civil War Books

Notes From The Publisher:  As an exciting sequel to his smash business bestseller 100 Ways to Motivate Others, Steve Chandler has teamed with Sam Beckford to write an astonishing wake-up call to the more than 20 million people in the United States and Canada who now own small businesses but don't know how to make them really pay off.

By exposing the nine most common (and often fatal) myths in business, Chandler and Beckford offer simple and inspired solutions to the self-induced problems created by small business owners every day. The surprising truths countering each lie – lies such as "It Takes Money to Make Money," "I Am A Victim of Circumstance," and "I Can Do This On My Own"—have been battle-tested for years by Sam Beckford and his hundreds of successful small business coaching clients.

Now, these same truths are delivered to millions of eager readers with the added kick of Chandler's trademark lively and entertaining writing style and powerful self-motivational tools. This book tells you not only how to guarantee that your business will be profitable, but also how to motivate yourself each day to do it!

Steve Chandler is one of America's best-selling authors whose eight books—including the bestsellers 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself and Reinventing Yourself—have been translated into more than 11 languages. Chandler is also a world-famous public speaker who was described by four-time Emmy-award winning PBS screen writer Fred Knipe as "an insane combination of Anthony Robbins and Jerry Seinfeld." Chandler was recently named to the faculty at the University of Santa Monica where he teaches in the graduate program of soul-centered leadership.

Sam Beckford is known throughout the United States and Canada as the "Small Business Millionaire." A five-time business failure who became a millionaire on attempt number six, his story has been told in books, on radio and television, and used in seminars across North America to help other business owners convert their own failures into successes. Beckford has successfully coached and been consulted by hundreds of business owners on how to get extraordinary results from ordinary small businesses, based on lessons from his own real-life experience.

Review:  Overall, the book is kind of simplistic with many pop television culture references, but the information is powerful and helpful.  I often battle the price demon, this book is a good reminder that value is more important to the customer than price.

Pennies from Heaven

The Penny's Future is Uncertain

The economy is not good right and Americans are very creative, hard working and entrepreneurial.  This is causing Americans to do seemingly odd things to make profit.

You cannot recycle a US copper penny as only the mint is legally allowed to melt the currency. It is a Federal offense to melt any US currency for sale despite the copper penny being worth less than it's face value. The Federal mint is losing money on every copper penny it mints and keeps in circulation today, which is one of the strongest reasons for ending it's circulation.

Yet, some are hoarding the pennies and waiting for the day for the US Mint and Congress to allow the melting of pennies.

Penny hoarders are opportunists. There are a slew of listing for pennies in bulk on eBay, but what's amazing is they include listings for $10 in pennies being sold for $20 dollars. If you think only a sucker would pay two cents for a penny, you're missing out on a business opportunity.  Pennies dated from 1982 and earlier are more valuable because those are the coins made with 95 percent copper. A copper penny is worth more than other pennies -- now mostly made of zinc -- currently priced at $0.024.

Read More on Yahoo

GOLD - How much is it worth? & Where to find it!

As of 12/2/2011 Gold is worth $1,747 per ounce.  There is debate as to will it go higher or fall back to $1,500 per ounce.

Reading BUSINESS BOOKS is a great way to increase your knowledge and relevance in your own business or at your place of employment. 

GOLD

Interesting fact:  Gold has been up 11 years in a row and that's unusual for any asset. Could it be somewhere along the line, gold is going to have a correction?

Also, from www.BusinessInsider.com , there are additional concerns regarding why gold could go down:

 Four Reasons for Metals Plunge

1. Fed did far less than expected
2. Mutual Fund redemptions
3. Margin calls at hedge funds
4. China growth story fading

So maybe it is a good idea not to buy at levels above $1,700, but, there are ways to find gold in the cracks of the sidewalk.  This guy claims to make up to $300 dollars a day by panning for gold and rare gems simply by walking the streets of New York City.   A fascinating video.   

DESIGNER AND VINTAGE HANDBAGS FOR LESS - Marc Jacobs, Timmy Woods