ASK A MANAGER: A EXPERIENCED MENTOR IN BOOK FORM

 

 

Book Review

I was pleased to receive an Advance Reader's Copy of "Ask a Manage: How to Navigate Clueless Colleagues, Lunch-Stealing Bosses, and the Rest of Your Life at Work" by Alison Green ...:

(Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books; Publishing Date:  May 2018 ISBN-13 978-0-39-918181-8; Price: USD 16.00)

Embarrassing questions or tricky situations: "ask a manager" with zero risk of further embarrassment or adverse consequences. 

This book should serve as a sourcebook of ideas and suggestions on how to cope with those difficult situations that arise in day-to-day company life. It appears, at least to me, that this book would best serve new employees, but can serve as a refresher course for older and more seasoned individuals.  

The book's value lies mostly in the snippets of suggested wording that will help you formulate an effective response to the situation at hand. 

I would have no problem with recommending this book to my readers -- especially after they visited the author's website to get a sampling of her style in dealing with office issues.

Yes, there are negatives?  

One, like most business advice, it is easier said than done and requires a certain amount of intestinal fortitude to face down your boss. 

Two, this book lacks a "keyword" index that would allow you to more quickly access and deal with a particular issue. Since this is an advance copy, perhaps that will be a feature that will be added during the publication process.

Three, much of the information is freely available on the internet at the author's website and by using a Google search you may be able to access those items that did not make it into the book. 

From the publisher ...

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York magazine’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to navigating 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice!
 
 There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when
  
• coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it
• you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all”
• you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all
• you catch a colleague in a lie
• your boss seems unhappy with your work
• your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal
• you got drunk at the holiday party

Like most business books, the advice is a mixture of common sense and time-tested practices. And like most things in life, your results will vary and will be proportional to the amount of time and effort you bring to the table. 

IS THAT BUSINESS BOOK WORTH A READ?

Book Review

I was pleased to receive an Advance Reader's Copy of "Cadence: A Tale of Fast Business Growth:

(Morgan James Publishing, Publishing Date:  August 2018 ISBN-13 978-1-60-037971-0 (eBook); ISBN 978-1-60-037970-3 (paperback); Price: USD 16.95)

Most books, tapes, and seminars are sold with the implied promise that if you get only one profitable idea it will more than pay for that book, tape, or seminar. And that your purchase or attendance is the first affirmative step on the path to success. 

So let us look at an example that comes from an advance reader’s copy of a business book about to be published …

The book is titled “Cadence: A Tale of Fast Business Growth” and was written by entrepreneur /triathlete Pete Williams

The book is a story told from the perspective of a bicycle shop owner, who doubles as an Ironman triathlete (running, swimming, bicycling) coach, whose business is failing. Not so coincidentally, this struggling shop owner is asked to coach a prominent businessman/triathlete who offers to help him double his shop’s profits over the same time it takes to train the businessman for an upcoming competition. 

Is there a secret or unique process to business profitability revealed in Cadence?

The short answer is No! The prescriptive advice is based on sound business techniques and achieving a ten-percent improvement in each of seven areas: Suspects, Prospects, Conversions, Items per Sale, Average Item Price, Transactions per Customer, and Margins. With the first six items increasing revenue and the seventh increasing profitability. 

Yes, there is value.

This book can serve as a source of motivation and a blueprint of time-tested business principles that may help you increase, both gross revenue and overall profitability.

For long-time readers who have decided to develop multiple income streams to help isolate them from a chaotic and capricious world with an uncertain employment environment, this book can serve as a checklist for evaluating your business processes to target key business areas to maximize your returns

Yes, there are negatives?  

One, like most business advice, it is easier said than done.

Two, many people are information junkies, collecting “how to” advice and “motivational” stories; but never seeming to implement and execute these “sure-fire” plans. Perhaps why the author also offers a personal coaching service to help you over the personal barriers to success.

Three, I have a hard time believing that any athlete, self-motivated and trained to push through pain, would not have had the initiative to seek out a solution on their own. 

And four, much of the information is freely available on the internet by Googling "incremental gains in seven areas double your profits" without the quotes. Or similar advice is being offered elsewhere by other people.

From the publisher ...

"Cadence is a parable of a business owner and triathlon coach named JJ who left his stable job as a teacher to fulfill his dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

Unfortunately, two years after opening his bike shop, JJ finds himself in a place that is all too familiar to most business owners—struggling to stay afloat. That all changes, fast, when an athlete he coaches teaches him how to turn the store’s profitability around with seven key “10% Wins.”

"Cadence uniquely communicates entrepreneur and advisor Pete Williams’s '7 Levers' approach to business growth through the vehicle of a story. Instead of offering a list of do’s and don’ts for business success, Cadence imparts wisdom by inviting readers on a journey into the lives of two characters who each have something valuable to teach the other.

Through the use of down-to-earth dialogue and realistic business challenges, readers will immediately be pulled into the story of JJ and Charlie, and how they each learn to hit their stride and turn profitability around."

"PETE WILLIAMS is an entrepreneur, advisor, and marketer from Melbourne, Australia. A Southern Region Finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Program, A Small Business ICON Recipient and Australian Business Award Winner for Marketing Excellence; he is the co-founder of numerous businesses across varying industries, telecommunications services to e-commerce."

Like most business books, the advice is a mixture of common sense and time-tested practices. And like most things in life, your results will vary and will be proportional to the amount of time and effort you bring to the table.