BOOKWORM.PH

Respected financial expert Dave Ramsey offers a comprehensive plan for getting out of debt and achieving financial health. Against a playful backdrop of fitness terminology, Dave gives solid, hard-hitting advice needed to make your goals a reality. Filled with both the hope and the how-to, The Total Money Makeover includes:

* Useful worksheets and forms
* Readable and informative charts and graphs
* The four factors that keep people from getting in shape financially
* Photos and amazing stories from people who have succeeded following The Total Money Makeover plan

The Total Money Makeover is a necessity for everyone in need of a financial makeover. Readers will learn to live by the The Total Money Makeover motto: If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.

Review
"…As in most of his other books, this new volume from Hybels take a decidely practical approach as he explains and promotes a substantive Christian concept. He understands the church to be a community of people with a variety of abilities and attributes who are called to serve. Certainly the church has an important 'service' mandate to fulfill. This small book communicates the essential message clearly and compellingly." — Christian Week

From Publishers Weekly
Bookstore shelves may be stuffed with time management tomes, but Tracy’s stands out for its insistence that the desire to become more efficient doesn’t always result in the necessary will to do so. Thus before bogging readers down with the necessary evils of time management—lists, lists and more lists—Tracy (Victory!; Focal Point; The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success), who has spent more than 20 years as a motivational consultant, builds enthusiasm for the task by showing how it extends beyond the office cubicle to create a successful and satisfying life. "You cannot even imagine a happy, fulfilled person whose life is in a state of disorganization and disarray," he writes. Assuming that readers don’t have the time to camp in an armchair and mull over his advice, Tracy "chunks up" the book by using headings to subdivide chapters and peppering his prose with numbered lists, such as the "12 Proven Principles for Peak Performance" and the "16 Ways to Overcome Procrastination." On occasion, his motivational bent can be too bubbly, especially in the "action exercises" found at the end of each chapter: "Resolve today that you are going to work and practice until you become one of the most efficient, effective, and productive people in your field," or "Resolve today to dedicate yourself to lifelong learning; decide to pay any price, invest any amount of time required, to be the best at what you do." This book offers a smorgasbord of tools and tips for time management, but readers should pick judiciously from this buffet—lest they burn more hours planning how they’ll manage their time than they actually save managing it.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Tracy, a consultant on personal and professional development, presents a comprehensive system designed to help us increase our productivity and income by taking control of our time. We learn that time management is really managing our lives, and it requires self-control, self-mastery, and self-discipline. Time is a scarce resource, and successful people value it, continually working to become more efficient and better organized. The author covers such topics as setting goals and objectives, establishing priorities, managing multitask jobs, overcoming procrastination, and saving time when dealing with others. His philosophy of time management includes a warning that the wrong job is a major waste of time; he also believes that one should admit mistakes and get on with one's life, adopt a long-term perspective, which will sharpen short-term decisions, and plan to retire at 75, which will be the norm for knowledge workers in the twenty-first century. Tracy has many thoughtful things to say, and while all of his ideas are not new, they are worth considering. We cannot be too successful at managing our lives. Mary Whaley

The freedom in falling short of God’s standard relies on His gift of grace. Unfortunately, too many of us forget the free offer. We spend our lives basing our relationship with God on our performance rather than on Him. We see our identity as never being worthy of His love.

Isn’t it time to stop trying to measure up and begin accepting the transforming power of God’s grace?

The product of more than 10 years of Bible study, Navigator author Jerry Bridges' Transforming Grace is a fountainhead of inspiration and renewal that will show you just how inexhaustible and generous God’s grace really is.

From the Back Cover
Funny how the exceeding riches of God’s grace seem to run out the moment we’re saved. From then on, we tend to base our relationship with Him on our performance rather than on His grace. Of course, God continues to deal with us on the basis of His grace, whether or not we understand it. It’s just that when we don’t, we forgo the abundant freedoms that come from not having to measure up.

The product of more than ten years of Bible study, Transforming Grace is a fountainhead of inspiration and renewal that will show you just how inexhaustible and generous God’s grace really is. You’ll never be able to ask for too much, need too much, hope for too much, or even sin too much. Like a never-ending stream of ocean waves crashing on the shore, His grace “superabounds” toward you without measure.

Product Description
This book takes readers through a step-by-step process that can help any church make the transition from being program driven to purpose driven.

From the Back Cover
A biblical look at how to steer a congregation in a new and exciting direction aligned with God’s unique purpose for them

Transitioning is written to help church leaders and their congregations successfully navigate change and discover that the rewards far exceed the risk. Drawing principles from the book of Nehemiah, Southerland maps out an eight-step strategy for moving from being a traditional, ministry-driven church to a purpose-driven church.

Transitioning illustrates practical, field-tested concepts with examples from the Bible and Southerland’s own experience. A detailed workbook section with fill-in-the-blanks, scripture passages, and action steps helps pastors and their leadership teams convert knowledge into reality.

Short on pages but long on repetition, this newest book by Godin (Purple Cow) argues that lasting and substantive change can be best effected by a tribe: a group of people connected to each other, to a leader and to an idea. Smart innovators find or assemble a movement of similarly minded individuals and get the tribe excited by a new product, service or message, often via the Internet (consider, for example, the popularity of the Obama campaign, Facebook or Twitter). Tribes, Godin says, can be within or outside a corporation, and almost everyone can be a leader; most are kept from realizing their potential by fear of criticism and fear of being wrong. The book's helpful nuggets are buried beneath esoteric case studies and multiple reiterations: we can be leaders if we want, tribes are the way of the future and change is good. On that last note, the advice found in this book should be used with caution. Change isn't made by asking permission, Godin says. Change is made by asking forgiveness, later. That may be true, but in this economy and in certain corporations, it may also be a good way to lose a job. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“Tribes is a must read for all of us. It’s up to each one of us to lead in today’s new kind of world.”
—Former U.S. senator Bill Bradley

""Ron brought a very thoughtful, honest and direct approach to helping our leadership team understand one another and work together more effectively. the concepts and tools he has developed help leaders shape their organization's culture and reflexes. We are a different and better company today as a result of Ron's influence on our leaders and corporate culture."

Product Description
At last there is a proven resource from Willow Creek created specifically for small group leaders, those who serve in the trenches of small group life and ministry.
From the Back Cover
Six Ways to Improve Your Balance as a Group Leader

Leading a successful small group is like walking a tightrope. You traverse a taut, exciting line, balancing the dynamic tensions characteristic of every group. Drawing from the concept of "polarity management," Bill Donahue and Russ Robinson help you understand and deal with six dynamic areas every group leader must manage in order to create genuine, transforming small group community.

Your group is in for unprecedented connection and growth when you harness the interplay between • Truth and Life • Care and Discipleship • Friendship and Accountability • Kindness and Confrontation • Task and People • Openness and Intimacy

Effective, life-giving small groups learn how to embrace both ends of each continuum. Walking the Small Group Tightrope will strengthen your sense of balance, help you gain confidence as a leader, and show you how to release the untapped creative and relational energy in your group.

Who'd have thought fighting with each other would be good for employees? Or that ignoring superiors would be a wise business practice? Sutton, consultant and professor at the Stanford Engineering School, advocates taking a nontraditional approach to innovation and management in this quirky business manual. He advises taking unorthodox actions, suggesting managers should forget the past, especially successes; hire people who make them uncomfortable and hire slow learners. According to Sutton, these unconventional steps are particularly important when companies are dealing with unusual problems or stuck in a rut. Standard management policy may work for routine work matters, but weird ideas are far more effective when employees are trying to use innovative techniques. Sutton uses many real-life examples, like Tetley's pioneering round teabags, to show readers how his suggestions can work. But he observes that even companies such as IBM, Lucent and GE, which have been praised for their innovation, devote only a small percentage of their annual budgets to testing new products and services. Sutton's writing is clear and persuasive, and his book takes an insightful look at innovation. (Nov. 13)

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

A professor at the Stanford Engineering School and a consultant who has worked with innovative firms, Sutton shows how "weird" ideas, many of which go against accepted management practices, can promote innovation and success in companies. Here he describes 11Ù weird ideas that work. Among these ideas are hiring "slow learners" of the organizational code; using job interviews to get new ideas and not just to screen candidates; rewarding both success and failure and punishing inaction; forgetting the past, especially a company's past successes; and encouraging people to ignore and/or defy their superiors and peers. Each idea is described thoroughly, and specific guidelines for putting them to use are included. These ideas are based not only on research but on interviews with employees representing all levels in various companies and are illustrated by specific case studies. This thought-provoking book is recommended to both practitioners and business students and should be purchased for academic management collections. Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Berland and Schoen, founding partners of a strategic research firm, take on a familiar subject—examining the common traits of highly successful people—with a fresh twist, arguing that success is achieved not by remaking your personality but by enhancing the skills you already have. They offer ways to use your own skills, attributes and personality as a path to charting an individualized course to achievement. Studies of 50 leaders in a variety of fields (e.g., Mark Burnett, Steve Forbes, Mario Andretti, Bob Woodward) make up the meat of the book and offer models as a learning tool as well as shedding insight into how the successful think. The authors identify four major categories of successful individuals—Natural-Born Leaders, Independence Seekers, Visionaries and Do-Gooders—and determine the inner personality, motivational and external traits that comprise each group. By identifying and embracing the unique potential of these archetypes, readers will be well positioned to put their best self forward. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"[Berland and Schoen] take on a familiar subject-examining the common traits of highly successful people-with a fresh twist, arguing that success is achieved not by remaking your personality but by enhancing the skills you already have....readers will be well positioned to put their best self forward." (Publishers Weekly )

From Publishers Weekly
The word "wiki" means "quick" in Hawaiian, and here author and think tank CEO Tapscott (The Naked Corporation), along with research director Williams, paint in vibrant colors the quickly changing world of Internet togetherness, also known as mass or global collaboration, and what those changes mean for business and technology. Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia written, compiled, edited and re-edited by "ordinary people" is the most ubiquitous example, and its history makes remarkable reading. But also considered are lesser-known success stories of global collaboration that star Procter & Gamble, BMW, Lego and a host of software and niche companies. Problems arise when the authors indulge an outsized sense of scope-"this may be the birth of a new era, perhaps even a golden one, on par with the Italian renaissance, or the rise of Athenian democracy"-while acknowledging only reluctantly the caveats of weighty sources like Microsoft's Bill Gates. Methods for exploiting the power of collaborative production are outlined throughout, an alluring compendium of ways to throw open previously guarded intellectual property and to invite in previously unavailable ideas that hide within the populace at large. This clear and meticulously researched primer gives business leaders big leg up on mass collaboration possibilities; as such, it makes a fine next-step companion piece to James Surowiecki's 2004 bestseller The Wisdom of Crowds.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Anyone who has done even a modest amount of browsing on the Internet has probably run across Wikipedia, the user-edited online encyclopedia that now dwarfs the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica. This is the prime example of what is called the new Web, or Web 2.0, where sites such as MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, and even the Human Genome Project allow mass collaboration from participants in the online community. These open systems can produce faster and more powerful results than the traditional closed proprietary systems that have been the norm for private industry and educational institutions. Detractors claim that authentic voices are being overrun by "an anonymous tide of mass mediocrity," and private industry laments that competition from the free goods and services created by the masses compete with proprietary marketplace offerings. The most obvious example of this is Linux, the open-source operating system that has killed Microsoft in the server environment. But is this a bad thing? Tapscott thinks not; and as a proponent of peering, sharing, and open-source thinking, he has presented a clear and exciting preview of how peer innovation will change everything. David Siegfried

Anyone who has done even a modest amount of browsing on the Internet has probably run across Wikipedia, the user-edited online encyclopedia that now dwarfs the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica. This is the prime example of what is called the new Web, or Web 2.0, where sites such as MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, and even the Human Genome Project allow mass collaboration from participants in the online community. These open systems can produce faster and more powerful results than the traditional closed proprietary systems that have been the norm for private industry and educational institutions. Detractors claim that authentic voices are being overrun by "an anonymous tide of mass mediocrity," and private industry laments that competition from the free goods and services created by the masses compete with proprietary marketplace offerings. The most obvious example of this is Linux, the open-source operating system that has killed Microsoft in the server environment. But is this a bad thing? Tapscott thinks not; and as a proponent of peering, sharing, and open-source thinking, he has presented a clear and exciting preview of how peer innovation will change everything. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description

In Winning, their 2005 international bestseller, Jack and Suzy Welch created a rare document, both a philosophical treatise on fundamental business practices and a gritty how-to manual, all of it delivered with Jack's trademark candor and can-do optimism. It seemed as if "no other management book," in the words of legendary investor Warren E. Buffett, would "ever be needed."

Instead, Winning uncovered an insatiable thirst to talk about work. Since the book's publication, the Welches have received literally thousands of questions from college students and seasoned professionals alike, on subjects ranging from leadership and global competition to tough bosses and building teamwork. Indeed, questions about virtually every business and career challenge have poured in—some familiar, others surprising, many urgent and probing, and all of them powerfully real.

Winning: The Answers takes on the most relevant of these questions, and in doing so, its candid, hard-hitting responses expand and extend the conversation Jack and Suzy Welch began with Winning. It is a dialogue that is sure to be both compelling and immensely useful to anyone and everyone engaged in the vital work of helping an organization grow and thrive.

Review
“A quick, practical, and extremely useful guide to word of mouth marketing.”

— Emanuel Rosen, author of The Anatomy of Buzz

“As I read through Word of Mouth Marketing I felt, more than anything else, relieved. Relieved that we finally have a marketing author who understands the simplicity (and complexity) of this business. This one's worth your time.”

— Jonah Bloom, Executive Editor, Advertising Age

“It's brief. It's elementary. It's obvious. But the Truth often is. Read this book to relearn what you always knew just in time for it to change your business life.”

— Bob Garfield, Co-host, NPR's On The Media*

“No one knows word of mouth (the good, the bad, and the measurable) better than Andy Sernovitz.”

— Peter Fader, Professor, Wharton School

“A primer chock full of great stories, tips, and exercises to make you a better word of mouth marketer, no matter what size company you work for. Read it, and you will increase your influence with your customers, and make yourself more influential in your company.”

— Ed Keller and Jon Berry, authors of The Influentials

“It's an actionable guide for anyone looking to capture the power of word of mouth. Andy has written a book that shows just how simple it is to get people talking about your business. You should read this book and then tell a friend.”

— Brad Santeler, Director, Kimberly-Clark

“Andy brings it together perfectly: the vision, the strategy, and the practical how-to. It’s all here.”

—Geoff Ramsey, eMarketer

Product Description
Who Is Talking About You

Foreword by Seth Godin and Afterword by Guy Kawasaki.

Master the art of word of mouth marketing with this practical hands-on guide.

With straightforward advice and humor, marketing expert Andy Sernovitz will show you how the world's most respected and profitable companies get their best customers for free through the power of word of mouth.

Learn the five essential steps that make word of mouth work and everything you need to get started using them. Understand the real purpose of blogs, communities, viral email, evangelists, and buzz--when to use them and how simple it is to make them work.

Learn what sparks the irrepressible enthusiasm of Apple and TiVo fans. Understand why everyone is talking about a certain restaurant, car, band, or dry cleaner--and why other businesses and products are ignored. Discover why some products become huge successes without a penny of promotion--and why some multi-million-dollar advertising campaigns fail to get noticed.

Open your eyes to a new way of doing business--that honest marketing makes more money, because customers who trust you will talk about you. Learn how to be the remarkable company that people want to share with their friends.

Amazon.com Review
Brief, reality-based business fables are all the rage these days, as consultants, strategists, and other savvy professionals seek interesting, reader-friendly ways to present their latest ideas. Zap the Gaps! continues in this genre by weaving a highly practical and easily adaptable program for improving workplace performance into a solidly informative tale--this time about the trials and tribulations at a large computer firm's troubled customer service center--that most corporate denizens will quickly identify with. Ken "The One-Minute Manager" Blanchard teams here with problem-solving specialists Dana Robinson and Jim Robinson to present the enlightening story of Dyad Technology's discovery and implementation of their anachronism-based GAPS approach for finding and resolving the root causes of many common business problems: (G)o for the Shoulds, (A)nalyze the Is, (P)in Down the Causes, and (S)elect the Right Solutions. By demonstrating how an "actual" company might absorb and initiate their strategy, the authors clearly show how it can aggressively bridge the spaces "between what is and what should be" and realize the true meaning behind their emphatically punctuated title. --Howard Rothman

Review
A gem of a management book, guaranteed to help improve your company's performance no matter what business you're in! -- Harvey Mackay, author of the New York Times bestseller, Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive