Book Review: Eat This Mr. President: How a Brazilian Immigrant Went From Truck Driver to Millionaire in 4 Years by Marcos Jacober

Eat This Mr. President: How a Brazilian Immigrant Went From Truck Driver to Millionaire in 4 Years by Marcos Jacober

What would you be willing to pay to learn how to make millions of dollars? Would it be worth it to you to spend less than $20 to learn many of the secrets one man used to make millions? In his book Eat This Mr. President: How a Brazilian Immigrant Went From Truck Driver to Millionaire in 4 Years, Marcos Jacober reveals many of the strategies he used to make millions in real estate tax liens.

This book is a relaunch of his previous book The Secret to 24% Returns Guaranteed By Law!: How a Brazilian Immigrant Went From Truck Driver to Millionaire in Four Years.

Some may see this book as a glorified sales brochure that you pay for. It isn’t. Readers are provided with most of the information they need to get started investing in tax liens. There is also a free website which provides the reader with most of the rest that is needed to get started.

Any information this book does not provide must come from the individual county or tax district. The potential investor must do a little leg work that Mr. Jacober simply could not provide because it is determined on a county by county basis.

We give Eat This Mr. President: How a Brazilian Immigrant Went From Truck Driver to Millionaire in 4 Years by Marcos Jacober and the previous version, The Secret to 24% Returns Guaranteed By Law!: How a Brazilian Immigrant Went From Truck Driver to Millionaire in Four Years all five stars. It is entertaining and informative.



We were sent a complimentary copy of booth of these books. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

PS Annie! is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
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Book Review: Competing With Giants: How One Family-Owned Company Took on the Multinationals and Won by Phương Uyên Trần and Jackie Horne

Competing With Giants: How One Family-Owned Company Took on the Multinationals and Won by Phương Uyên Trần and Jackie Horne

It is unusual to find a book like Competing With Giants: How One Family-Owned Company Took on the Multinationals and Won by Phương Uyên Trần and Jackie Horne. It works well as a casual reading experience about business. It also works well as a source of historical information.

In this book, readers learn a little about the history of Vietnam and the surrounding areas. Readers learn about the perceptions the Vietnamese people have of the United States of America and the rest of the world.

By now, you may be thinking that this book only works as a business book and a history book. It also gives readers an insight into how families can, and perhaps should, relate to one another.

This book works as a book to inspire small business owners as they seek to compete with larger companies. This book works also as a biography of the founder and founding family of one of the largest companies in Vietnam, as well as a biography of the author.

If you are in business and want to compete on a global level, you should read this book. It should help you understand a little better about how to think like the culture you are trying to market to.

We give Competing With Giants all five stars. We think it is written well and provides a wealth of information from the perspective of someone other than a Western business person. It would make a great textbook.



We were sent a complimentary PDF copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.  

PS Annie! is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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Book Review: Creative Economy Entrepreneurs: From Startup to Success: How Startups in the Creative Industries are Transforming the Global Economy by Alice Loy and Tom Aageson

Creative Economy Entrepreneurs: From Startup to Success: How Startups in the Creative Industries are Transforming the Global Economy by Alice Loy and Tom Aageson

Usually I, David, zone out when I hear the word creative. It has been said that I don’t have an artistic bone in my body and that I have never had an original idea.

However, if I had zoned out when I was reading Creative Economy Entrepreneurs: From Startup to Success: How Startups in the Creative Industries are Transforming the Global Economy by Alice Loy and Tom Aageson, I would have missed a lot.

This book works well for creatives as well as for budding entrepreneurs of any genre. The book would be interesting to those into business history as well.

This book should be read by government officials around the world, no matter what level of government they are in.

We give Creative Economy Entrepreneurs all five stars. It surprised me that it was so interesting and so well-researched.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.


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Book Review: The Future is Smart: How Your Company Can Capitalize on the Internet of Things--and Win in a Connected Economy by W. David Stephenson

The Future is Smart: How Your Company Can Capitalize on the Internet of Things--and Win in a Connected Economy by W. David Stephenson

This is one of those cases that we did not know what we did not know. In the book The Future is Smart: How Your Company Can Capitalize on the Internet of Things--and Win in a Connected Economy by W. David Stephenson, the author tells his readers some pretty amazing things.

Who knew that we needed wireless dumpsters? We would have to say that this book has truly been an eye-opener.

Stephenson does a great job at explaining this new technology so that even a big ol’ redneck can comprehend it.

The Future is Smart is very well-written and engaging. We give it all five stars. This book is something that anyone in business should read for new ideas. It is also of interest to the average person. Many of the examples listed are products we use every day and readers will recognize them.


We were sent a complimentary review copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Book Review: Learn from Failure: The Key to Successful Decision Making by Robert V. Sicina

Learn from Failure: The Key to Successful Decision Making by Robert V. Sicina

The book title Learn from Failure: The Key to Successful Decision Making by Robert V. Sicina promises a lot, but doesn’t really deliver on that promise.

I, David, believe that Sicina lost me on page 56 when he suggested that Henry Ford’s statement that customers could have any color they wanted, as long as it was black caused the birth of General Motors. Alfred P. Sloan discusses, in great detail, this occurrence in his book My Years With General Motors.

Ford’s statement was in response to what General Motors was doing in regards to making their vehicles available in a variety of colors. It was NOT the reason General Motors was born; they had been around a long time at that point.

If the author could not be accurate with something I know, how could I be sure he was correct in his analysis of the other companies?

In my opinion this book could have been better with a few more examples of businesses that failed and why, and less on the academic mumbo jumbo.

We give Learn from Failure three stars and that is being generous. It simply is not the kind of book that draws the reader into it. We devour business books ravenously, but this one was a sleeper.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Book Review: The Journey to WOW: The Path to Outstanding Customer Experience and Loyalty by Shaun Belding

The Journey to WOW: The Path to Outstanding Customer Experience and Loyalty by Shaun Belding  

Available September 24, 2018

By now, most of our blog followers know we read a lot of business related books. Out of the many, many books on customer service, I (David) would have to say that The Journey to WOW: The Path to Outstanding Customer Experience and Loyalty by Shaun Belding is by far the best.

One of the strongest points Belding makes is that outstanding customer service is a moving target. Back in the 1960s, a store would be considered to be outstanding if they had convenient parking and a clean restroom. Those things are now expectations and not an example of outstanding customer service.

Belding takes his readers on a delightful journey (imagine an old redneck using terms like “Delightful”) with a young man who is tasked with improving his company’s customer experience.

This book reads a little like Who Moved My Cheese. By this we mean that there is a story that, at first glance, is just a cute little story but, after a while, the reader learns that they actually learned something.

We give The Journey to WOW: The Path to Outstanding Customer Experience and Loyalty all five stars. We wish some online booksellers would read the part where the team discusses how their customers contact them.

We were sent a complimentary advance review copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

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Book Review: There's No Right Way to Do the Wrong Thing by Dr. Christopher Gilbert

There's No Right Way to Do the Wrong Thing by Dr. Christopher Gilbert

We’ve all heard that there is never a right time to do the wrong thing and there is never a wrong time to do the right thing. There's No Right Way to Do the Wrong Thing by Dr. Christopher Gilbert takes this idea and expounds on it.

While reading this book, my mind got stuck on the problem he introduced about his company that was basically put out of business by an unethical competitor. What kept going through my head was, why?

The original company was already entrenched in its market and the competitor entered another market. Cravings had the experience that money can’t buy. This company would have grown organically rather than with an infusion of cash. But, coulda shoulda woulda.

Other than that ethical situation, my mind was able to wrap itself around the different concepts of ethics as introduced by the book.

This reminds me of a finance company that I once worked for. They kept repeating in most of the company literature, “Not just the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law”. I think that told us that they intended to do what was right, no matter what.

In the world of ethics, Jerry Clower said it well, “If you can’t get down on your knees and thank God for being able to do whatever it is you are intending to do,, you ought not be doing it."

There's No Right Way to Do the Wrong Thing is very well-written and very well-researched. We give it all five stars. Your company may wish to add this to the required reading for management.

We think you will enjoy this book.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

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Book Review: How Customers Buy…& Why They Don’t: Mapping and Managing the Buying Journey DNA by Martyn R. Lewis

How Customers Buy…& Why They Don’t: Mapping and Managing the Buying Journey DNA by Martyn R. Lewis  

Available August 15, 2018

If you are like us, you have read countless books on selling. By now you probably are thinking, another program du jour on selling, right?

Wrong. How Customers Buy…& Why They Don’t: Mapping and Managing the Buying Journey DNA stands all that sales training on its ear.

This book is really targeted more towards B2B selling than those of us in B2C selling. However, there is still a wealth of information for all in sales.

You won’t get away from those graphics that it seems every sales improvement program thinks are the only tool in the toolbox.

Other than that, the material is presented in a simple, straightforward manner that is easy to read and understand.

If you are in B2B sales, How Customers Buy…& Why They Don’t is an important tool for you. If you are in other sales, this may help you as well.

We give it all five stars.

We were sent a complimentary advance reading copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Book Review: The Curiosity Muscle by Andy Fromm and Diana Kander

The Curiosity Muscle by Andy Fromm and Diana Kander




When a front line employee tells you, “It is corporate policy”, they mean, “We think it is stupid, too”.

The book The Curiosity Muscle by Andy Fromm and Diana Kander presents an excellent case regarding listening to your customers and your employees before corporate issues a new policy.

This book is interesting and engaging up until page 159, where the former owner of the company makes a statement that stops the flow of the entire book in its tracks. This statement really isn’t within the context of the rest of the book. It never really gets back on the rails after that.

This was sort of like when a high school class has that one shining example of a teacher who is respected by all. Then, for no apparent reason, completely out of context, they utter one foul word. You never hear them utter another word of profanity but, the whole tone of the class is changed forever more.

Overall, the lesson taught by The Curiosity Muscle is very important and spot on. We see what is happening at both Amazon and Walmart. It explains why both are struggling and losing ground, but continue to make a profit. Both have lost sight of their customers.

If you are in leadership or management you may wish to add this tool to your toolbox.

We were sent a complimentary advance reading copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.


Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Book Review: Triple Bottom-Line Compliance: How To Deliver Protection, Productivity, and Impact by Beth Haddock

Triple Bottom-Line Compliance: How To Deliver Protection, Productivity, and Impact by Beth Haddock

If you are a compliance officer, you owe it to yourself to read Triple Bottom-Line Compliance: How To Deliver Protection, Productivity, and Impact by Beth Haddock.

This short book is full of helpful advice on how to get buy-in from the powers that be at your company and your fellow employees.

No one wants to face a government audit, but there is a fine line which must be walked by the compliance officer to keep everyone satisfied.

Small companies will benefit from the helpful advice offered in Triple Bottom-Line Compliance.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.

I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
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Book Review: The Bank On Yourself Revolution: Fire Your Banker, Bypass Wall Street, and Take Control of Your Own Financial Future by Pamela Yellen

The Bank On Yourself Revolution: Fire Your Banker, Bypass Wall Street, and Take Control of Your Own Financial Future by Pamela Yellen

Anyone who has read our How To Manage Your Monkey blog knows when we review a book on finance, we try to be as fair and balanced with our review as possible.

By now our readers also know that when we find something wrong with a concept, we tell you. We have looked all the way through The Bank On Yourself Revolution: Fire Your Banker, Bypass Wall Street, and Take Control of Your Own Financial Future by Pamela Yellen and we have to tell you we did find one flaw. On page 95 when the author is discussing the alternatives to using The Bank On Yourself method, she says we could face a future where we say, “And would you like fries with that?” The flaw is, the training tells you to say, “You want fries with that” with the tone of a question. It is actually hypnotism at its best. And, it works.

Well, now that you have read that major flaw (said tongue in cheek) we will tell you that this plan just might work.

Like just about every other book on personal finance we have read, Yellen starts out by telling her readers the flaw in most other means of financing a retirement. That part of the book seems to go a little slow. Don’t give up. The book gets much better and the plan really seems to be a good one.

Albert J. Zdenek Jr, author of Master Your Cash Flow: The Key To Grow And Retain Wealth gives us some very sound advice that one should remember when reading any financial plan and that is, “Do the Math.”

It is too late for us to do the math. I was forced to retire 22 years ago. If I had The Bank On Yourself Revolution and not been too hard-headed to heed the advice given, we would not be having to try to make ends meet by eating beans and rice or ramen soup quite so often. Had we known about this plan and followed it the times spent in the nursing home (because that is the only way Medicare would pay for my IV fluids) could have been spent in my own home with visits from home health. With The Bank On Yourself Revolution, my wife and I could have made the choice.

We give The Bank On Yourself Revolution all five stars. It is very well-written and a well thought out plan for maximizing your wealth. We think anyone who plans to retire in this century needs to read this book. You will be glad you did.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  


Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
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Book Review: Conquer Change and Win: An Easy-to-Read, Fun Book about the Serious Subject of Change by Ralph Masengill, Jr.

Conquer Change and Win: An Easy-to-Read, Fun Book about the Serious Subject of Change by Ralph Masengill, Jr.

In any business, change is going to happen. Conquer Change and Win: An Easy-to-Read, Fun Book about the Serious Subject of Change by Ralph Masengill, Jr. addresses how best to change in business.

This book is chock full of jokes, stories, and quotes that help to illustrate the points being made by the author. Masengill has an excellent way of writing and telling us how to handle change in our business.

We give Conquer Change and Win all five stars. If you are in management or leadership, you owe it to yourself and your company to read this book. We think it should be required reading in any management training program.



We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.

I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
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Book Review: Buffett Beyond Value: Why Warren Buffett Looks to Growth and Management When Investing by Prem C. Jain

Buffett Beyond Value: Why Warren Buffett Looks to Growth and Management When Investing by Prem C. Jain

By now anyone who has read our reviews knows we read a great deal about Warren Buffett's investing style.

Buffett Beyond Value: Why Warren Buffett Looks to Growth and Management When Investing by Prem C. Jain helps would-be investors to learn a little more about how the Oracle of Omaha approaches investing.

Jain writes in an easy-to-understand style with many analogies to back up what he is trying to teach his readers.

We would love to read a book on investing written by Buffett. Unfortunately, he has yet to write one. The next best thing is to read books written by people who have studied his ways and have tried to imitate his investments.

We would love to know how Buffett makes money if he buys stocks to hold forever, but doesn’t look for stocks that pay a dividend.

The more we read about Buffett, the more we want to know. Buffett Beyond Value helps answer some of our many questions. We give it all five stars.

We borrowed a copy of this book from the Wharton County, Texas Library. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.

I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
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Book Review: Gulag 401(k): Tales of a Modern Prisoner by Richard A. Marin

Gulag 401(k): Tales of a Modern Prisoner by Richard A. Marin

The category listed on the back of Gulag 401(k): Tales of a Modern Prisoner by Richard A. Marin is fiction. I am not at all sure that is correct.

The back of the book states “In this book, the author recalls his career and explores how to afford retirement…” I am not sure all of that is entirely accurate either.

Readers really aren’t given any significant investing for retirement information. However, readers are treated to an inside look at the life of the author. This look does not appear to be fiction. Who could make this stuff up?

We live in a completely different world from the author. Marin does not see a $35 parking ticket as a significant expense, whereas we will drive out of our way to keep from having to pay a $1 toll on the toll road in Houston. For us, $35 is 3% of our monthly income.

We really would love to read more of Marin’s writing, especially a little more detailed look inside Bear Stearns and Bankers Trust.

We give Gulag 401(k): Tales of a Modern Prisoner all five stars. It is an extremely well-written story that takes us through the author’s very interesting career. We follow Marin from his first day at work on his first job at Bankers Trust to his time as a teacher at a university, all the way through to his planned retirement.

One can learn a lot about the financial world. Marin does a better job at describing the financial meltdown at Bear Stearns than many of the books we have read that were written to specifically address that particular era in American history.

We would love to read a book that was a compilation of this author’s in-the-trenches stories of big business and big finance.

Yes, the back of this book is a little misleading. However, readers will not be disappointed. Readers will be entertained and they just might learn a little bit about preparing for retirement through the eyes of someone who has blazed a trail ahead of us. You should order your copy of Gulag 401(k): Tales of a Modern Prisoner by Richard A. Marin today. Maybe give one to a friend.


We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

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Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.

I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
Please subscribe to David's YouTube Channel. Thanks!

Book Review: How To Be A GREAT Salesperson...By Monday Morning!: If You Want to Increase Your Sales Read This Book. It is That Simple by David R Cook

How To Be A GREAT Salesperson...By Monday Morning!: If You Want to Increase Your Sales Read This Book. It is That Simple by David R Cook

We have read countless books on selling. Some of these books were by salespeople recognized the world over as the top salesperson in their field. We have never heard of David R. Cook, until now.

In How To Be A GREAT Salesperson...By Monday Morning! Cook provides several of the key ingredients to becoming a top salesperson. The book is easy to read and a very fast read.

We are concerned that it does not contain “The Secret Sauce” of selling. Obviously, Cook knows what he is doing. According to Cook, he has been the number one salesperson in every sales organization he has been in.

There are two things that a salesperson must do in order to have more sales. The first one, Mr. Cook alludes to when he says practice, practice, practice. That key ingredient is get out and see the people.

We have been privileged to observe three of the most successful salespeople in their particular organizations and the one thing that all of them do, and we are sure Mr. Cook does as well, is build rapport.

The three greatest salespeople we have seen, one from NCR, one from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the third from a Fortune 500 company that is in the death industry, is that they never mentioned their product or that they were selling until the potential customer did.

Up to that point, the salesperson was talking about the customer and HIS business or HIS family. Never once was the product even mentioned. We are sure if Mr. Cook analyzed his selling style, he would see that he spends most of his time talking about everything but the product.

We give How To Be A GREAT Salesperson...By Monday Morning! all five stars. We think it is very well-written and would be an excellent tool in any salesperson’s toolbox. Grab two copies today. One copy to keep at home on your nightstand and one to keep with you at all other times. Read it and re-read it until the pages fall out. Then, buy more copies. Your sales WILL increase if you use the tools Mr. Cook has given you. But, you must actually use them.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

 Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.

I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
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Book Review: Give to Get: A Senior Leader's Guide to Navigating Corporate Life by Vishal Agarwal

Give to Get: A Senior Leader's Guide to Navigating Corporate Life by Vishal Agarwal

We read and review many books on business on our blogs. We also read and review books on genealogy and family history. Without even trying, Give to Get: A Senior Leader's Guide to Navigating Corporate Life by Vishal Agarwal brings the two together, in a roundabout way. With family history and genealogy, most people want to know about the dashes in a family. You probably know that the dash is how people lived their lives between their birth and death dates, the how and why they lived their lives the way they did.

Give to Get talks about something Zig Ziglar talked about many times over the years: How you can get anything you want in life IF you just help enough other people get what they want.

This book is a quick read, but it takes on several issues that are important to anyone in the C-suite, as well as that new branch manager of the local company.

Without coming out and saying it, Agarwal reminds us that it isn’t the people at the top who run the company. Most of the time, it is the people on the front line who run the company. Tapping into their strengths and getting to know what makes them tick is the key to a successful company.

Give to Get is very well-written and easy to read. We give it all five stars. We think this will make an excellent addition to any leader’s library.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

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Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.

I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
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Book Review: PowerPoint Basics In 30 Minutes: How to make effective PowerPoint presentations using a PC, Mac, PowerPoint Online, or the PowerPoint app by Angela Rose

PowerPoint Basics In 30 Minutes: How to make effective PowerPoint presentations using a PC, Mac, PowerPoint Online, or the PowerPoint app by Angela Rose

Our kids hate it when we say, “It is what it is.” In this case, that phrase works. The name says it all, BASICs. PowerPoint Basics In 30 Minutes: How to make effective PowerPoint presentations using a PC, Mac, PowerPoint Online, or the PowerPoint app by Angela Rose is really designed for the person who is somewhat computer savvy, but just does not have much experience with PowerPoint.

The author assumes the reader knows some basic concepts like how to drag a file.

This book is well-written and has some basic illustrations. Some less experienced Office users may find themselves still confused once they read the book. However, once they sit down at the computer and actually follow the steps, most readers will find that they actually can make a basic PowerPoint presentation.

We use PowerPoint all the time. We have found it to be a great tool for editing videos as well as making slide presentations. It also makes a pretty good photo editor.

We give PowerPoint Basics all five stars with the caveat that the reader should be a little familiar with Microsoft Office before they use this book to learn PowerPoint.

Good luck with your presentations.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

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Book Review: Thriving in the Gig Economy by Marion McGovern

Thriving in the Gig Economy by Marion McGovern

If you work on your own, or are thinking about striking out into the world of self-employment, even if just on a part-time basis, you need to read Thriving in the Gig Economy by Marion McGovern.

Once upon a time when a person said, “I am a consultant” or “I freelance”, that really meant “I am out of work with no hope of finding a job.”

This is not true in our new economy. The author explains how this world has evolved and some of the possible changes that might be made in the future based upon changes in the political environment.

We give Thriving in the Gig Economy all five stars. This book is very well-written. The author has years of experiences dating back to before there was such a term as “gig”.

Everyone who intends to earn enough money to make ends meet in the future should seriously think about the gig economy. This book will help you to know more about it.


We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.


Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Book Review: Stocks for the Long Run 5/E: The Definitive Guide to Financial Market Returns & Long-Term Investment Strategies by Jeremy J. Siegel

Stocks for the Long Run 5/E: The Definitive Guide to 

Financial Market Returns & Long-Term Investment Strategies 

by Jeremy J. Siegel

Many of us would like to invest in stocks, if we just 

knew how to go about it.  We are often presented with 

a world of different ideas and theories about how to 

time the market.

Stocks for the Long Run gives us some historical data 

and helps us to see what would have happened if we had 

used prevailing wisdom at the time to attempt to time 

the market.

This book does not tell you the one best way to invest, 

because there is none.  It simply presents the different 

beliefs and presents the historical data to show us how 

the trends and prevailing wisdom, at that time, would 

have worked regarding our investment.

We give Stocks for the Long Run all five stars.  It is 

very well-written and impeccably well-researched. We think 

anyone who is a wannabee investor should read this.

This book was a Christmas present. We are under no 

obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal 

Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit 
from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response 
to your comment.  Thank you!
 
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Book Review: Superconsumers: A Simple, Speedy, and Sustainable Path to Superior Growth By Eddie Yoon

Superconsumers: A Simple, Speedy, and Sustainable Path to Superior Growth

By Eddie Yoon

If you are interested in a different approach to growing your brand, Superconsumers: A Simple, Speedy, and Sustainable Path to Superior Growth by Eddie Yoon may just be the tool you need.

Yoon gives his readers some real world examples of how trends can be leveraged to optimize sales.  

We have had different experiences in the adult beverage industry that lead us to doubt some of the data Yoon cites in Superconsumers. While working at two different convenience stores in Texas, we discovered that the average beer consumer in those stores spent on average of $20 per day on beer every day of the year.  Maybe some Texan out there isn’t drinking his fair share.

Other than that observation, it appears that Superconsumers is spot on. It is well-written and well-researched.  If one is in leadership in a business and is looking to grow that business then, Superconsumers would be a helpful resource for them.

We give it all five stars.  We enjoyed the book and think it could be a valuable tool for someone trying to grow a business.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

 





Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
  
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